What's Happening
On May 3, 2023, we filed a CR-101—Preproposal Statement of Inquiry, announcing that we were considering permanent rulemaking to Chapter 246-296 WAC—Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) rule to implement RCW 70A.125.160, the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and to conform to the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that passed in November 2021. To see more about this rulemaking visit our permanent rulemaking webpage.
To ensure that we are funding SRF loans in conformance with BIL, we must adopt emergency rules until the permanent rule is effective. Those emergency rules must remain in effect until all awarded loans have been successfully funded. For the 2023 SRF construction loan cycle, we adopted an emergency rule that allows us to forgive a portion or all the SRF loan amount, update the definition of a disadvantaged community, remove water system plan requirements for those systems that are seeking a loan to address LSL identification and replacement, and remove obsolete priority rating and ranking criteria to allow more water systems to qualify for loans in conformance with EPA’s direction to implement BIL requirements. The original CR-103E Rule-making order, WSR 23-18-044, was filed and effective August 30, 2023, but expires late December 2023. We are adopting a second emergency rule to extend the effective date until April 2024. WSR 24-02-060 was filed on December 29, 2023, and will remain in effect until April 24, 2024.
Why?
The SRF Loan Program must implement the requirements of BIL, which includes new criteria for public water systems to obtain an SRF loan. BIL requires that states provide loan subsidization, up to 100 percent principal forgiveness, to qualifying disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged communities. BIL also, dedicated $15 billion nationwide in funding to the SRF for lead service line (LSL) identification and replacement loans, 49 percent of which must be provided as forgivable loans to qualifying disadvantaged communities. To award LSL identification and replacement funding in accordance with BIL requirements, EPA recommends that each state evaluate and revise their definition of a disadvantaged community and furthermore, revise the SRF priority point system for project rating and ranking commensurate with need.
Rulemaking Files
| Current Documents | What's This | Date Filed |
|---|---|---|
| Announces intent of permanent rulemaking |
May 3, 2023 |
|
| 2022 Construction Loan: Adopts temporary rule amendments to SRF loan terms | February 13, 2023 | |
| 2023 Lead Service Line Loan: Adopts temporary rule amendments to SRF definitions, loan eligibility and application requirements, and Project priority rating and ranking criteria. | February 28, 2023 | |
| Adopts temporary rule amendments to SRF loan terms, definitions, loan eligibility and application requirements, and Project priority rating and ranking criteria. | August 30, 2023 | |
| CR-103E-Emergency Rulemaking Order (PDF) | Extends the emergency rule adopted on August 30, 2023 | December 29, 2023 |
| CR-103E-Emergency Rulemaking Order | Possible second extension of the emergency rule adopted on August 30, 2023 | April 2024 |
Contacts
Nina Helpling, Rules Coordinator
Chris Pettit, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Manager