Section 18.73.010. Construction grant project eligibility.

	(a)  An Alaska municipality, or a combination of municipalities, may apply to the department, if money is available, for a grant for a public  
		(1) water quality enhancement project;  
		(2) water supply, treatment, or distribution system;  
		(3) wastewater collection, treatment, or discharge system; or  
		(4) solid waste processing, disposal, or resource recovery system.  
	(b)  Grants administered under this chapter are available for new construction, including replacement, upgrade, expansion, and extension or service lines.  
	(c)  Grants administered under this chapter are not available for  
		(1) the operation, maintenance, and repair of an existing system; or  
		(2) the construction of a storm sewer system, unless the system  
			(A) is part of an approved water quality enhancement project; or  
			(B) separates storm water run-off from a sanitary sewer system.  
	(d)  A project to construct a public water supply system is eligible for a grant under this chapter only if the area to be served has either a sewage disposal system or a department-approved construction plan and schedule for a sewage disposal system. An approved sewage disposal system may include onsite disposal if the system conforms with standards established in 18 AAC 72.  
	(e)  A project to construct sewage collection lines, trunk lines, interceptors, force mains, or pump stations is eligible for a grant under this chapter only if adequate sewage treatment facilities exist, or will exist, after the project is complete. For purposes of this subsection, an "adequate sewage treatment facility" is one that conforms, or is on an approved schedule to conform, with the standards established in 18 AAC 70 and 18 AAC 72 and that has sufficient capacity to treat the increase in flow that will result from the project for which a grant is sought.  
	(f)  Grant-eligible costs may be incurred up to 120 days before the date of the state grant offer. Grant-eligible costs include construction, equipment, engineering, legal, and administrative expenses that are incurred as a direct result of the project, or that are otherwise directly attributable to the project, with the following conditions:  
		(1) if approved by the department, the costs of engineering design, construction management, inspections, and actual construction performed in-house are eligible for grant reimbursement; force account labor and equipment charge rates must be approved by the department before expenses are incurred against the grant; force account rates may include salaries except as provided in (g) of this section, benefits, and vacation and sick leave, and must be submitted in a format specified by the department;  
		(2) the capital costs of landfill operating equipment are eligible for grant reimbursement; the department will determine the eligibility of equipment costs, based on the size and type of equipment required to perform the work and the percentage of time the equipment is to be used for activities other than operation of the landfill;  
		(3) the cost of preparing project-specific facility plans and feasibility studies, planning reports, as-built drawings, and operation and maintenance manuals are eligible for grant reimbursement; and  
		(4) for a water quality enhancement project, the costs of preparing reports, testing, research, education, enforcement, and cleanup programs directed toward discovering or solving potential or existing water pollution problems are eligible; before a grant will be made for these expenditures, a grantee must have a department-approved program plan.  
	(g)  Grant-ineligible costs include expenditures associated with acquisition of land and rights-of-way; purchase of privately-owned water, wastewater, and solid waste facilities; interest and financing; formation of local improvements districts; operation, maintenance, or system repair; preparation of grant applications; salaries of existing administrative staff working normally-scheduled hours; and vehicles used to collect and transport solid waste from its point of generation to a point of disposal. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the following costs are eligible for grant reimbursement:  
		(1) the cost of land when used for a solid waste landfill site or as an integral part of a treatment process;  
		(2) portable compaction units, if part of a solid waste transfer system, and the vehicles necessary to transport these units to a landfill or processing site;  
		(3) the cost of a one-time closure of a solid waste disposal site or conversion of a disposal site to a landfill that meets the standards in 18 AAC 60; eligible costs may include fencing, access roads, covering of waste, signs, scales, trenches, and monitoring wells, but not cover material in excess of the amount generated during construction of the facility; and  
		(4) water and sewer service connections, but only for those portions constructed on public property or within a utility easement reserved in the public domain.  

Authorities

46.03.020;46.03.030;46.03.090;46.03.720

Notes

Reference

18 AAC 73.020

Authority

AS 46.03.020(10) AS 46.03.030 AS 46.03.090 AS 46.03.720

History

Eff. 12/10/77, Register 64; am 6/11/81, Register 78; am 12/23/88, Register 108; am 11/24/94, Register 132