§1283 — Title 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters | U.S. Code

Summary

Applicants must send the Administrator their plans, specifications, and cost estimates for any treatment works project they want federal grant money for. The Administrator must review them quickly and, if approved, the United States is committed to pay its share. After the 60th day following February 4, 1987, the Administrator must make a written agreement before final approval that lists which parts of the project are eligible for federal payment. Those eligibility decisions can only be changed if they broke federal law or rules. The Administrator can still audit projects and can withhold or recover federal money for costs that are unreasonable, not supported, not allowed, or for work that fails to meet the agreed design or permit limits. If a project will cost $8,000,000 or less and the applicant town has 25,000 people or fewer, one grant may cover both the design and the building after an approved facility plan. The Administrator will make progress payments up to the federal share of work done and stockpiled materials, and will pay the remaining federal share after the project is finished and the final bill is approved. Grants are not limited only to projects that are already complete, operable units. At a grantee’s request, the Administrator can give technical and legal help and can join lawsuits to enforce contracts. An applicant may instead sign a special agreement with the Administrator to prepare plans and build the works. Those agreements are only for approved facility-plan projects that cost $8,000,000 or less and are certain types of systems (for example, aerated lagoons, trickling filters, stabilization ponds, land application, sand filters, or subsurface disposal). The agreement must set a maximum federal payment based on a competitive bid and the federal share, give start and finish dates and a payment schedule, require management and engineering support, promise the works will meet the rules and be operating within 1 year after completion to meet any permit, require a contractor bond, and include other terms needed for compliance. Sections on regular approval and payments do not apply to these agreements. The Administrator will hold back part of the grant until final approval, return any excess after audit to the State for that fiscal year, may not use more than 20 percent of a State’s annual allotment for such agreements, cannot pay more than the agreed federal amount, can recover funds for noncompliance, and the grantee cannot get another grant for the same project.

Title 33, §1283

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Each applicant for a grant shall submit to the Administrator for his approval, plans, specifications, and estimates for each proposed project for the construction of treatment works for which a grant is applied for under section 1281(g)(1) of this title from funds allotted to the State under section 1285 of this title and which otherwise meets the requirements of this chapter. The Administrator shall act upon such plans, specifications, and estimates as soon as practicable after the same have been submitted, and his approval of any such plans, specifications, and estimates shall be deemed a contractual obligation of the United States for the payment of its proportional contribution to such project.

(2)(A)Before taking final action on any plans, specifications, and estimates submitted under this subsection after the 60th day following February 4, 1987, the Administrator shall enter into a written agreement with the applicant which establishes and specifies which items of the proposed project are eligible for Federal payments under this section. The Administrator may not later modify such eligibility determinations unless they are found to have been made in violation of applicable Federal statutes and regulations.

(B)Eligibility determinations under this paragraph shall not preclude the Administrator from auditing a project pursuant to section 1361 of this title, or other authority, or from withholding or recovering Federal funds for costs which are found to be unreasonable, unsupported by adequate documentation, or otherwise unallowable under applicable Federal cost principles, or which are incurred on a project which fails to meet the design specifications or effluent limitations contained in the grant agreement and permit pursuant to section 1342 of this title for such project.

(3)In the case of a treatment works that has an estimated total cost of $8,000,000 or less (as determined by the Administrator), and the population of the applicant municipality is twenty-five thousand or less (according to the most recent United States census), upon completion of an approved facility plan, a single grant may be awarded for the combined Federal share of the cost of preparing construction plans and specifications, and the building and erection of the treatment works.

(b)The Administrator shall, from time to time as the work progresses, make payments to the recipient of a grant for costs of construction incurred on a project. These payments shall at no time exceed the Federal share of the cost of construction incurred to the date of the voucher covering such payment plus the Federal share of the value of the materials which have been stockpiled in the vicinity of such construction in conformity to plans and specifications for the project.

(c)After completion of a project and approval of the final voucher by the Administrator, he shall pay out of the appropriate sums the unpaid balance of the Federal share payable on account of such project.

(d)Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require, or to authorize the Administrator to require, that grants under this chapter for construction of treatment works be made only for projects which are operable units usable for sewage collection, transportation, storage, waste treatment, or for similar purposes without additional construction.

(e)At the request of a grantee under this subchapter, the Administrator is authorized to provide technical and legal assistance in the administration and enforcement of any contract in connection with treatment works assisted under this subchapter, and to intervene in any civil action involving the enforcement of such a contract.

(f)(1)Consistent with State law, an applicant who proposes to construct waste water treatment works may enter into an agreement with the Administrator under this subsection providing for the preparation of construction plans and specifications and the erection of such treatment works, in lieu of proceeding under the other provisions of this section.

(2)Agreements under this subsection shall be limited to projects under an approved facility plan which projects are—

(A)treatment works that have an estimated total cost of $8,000,000 or less; and

(B)any of the following types of waste water treatment systems: aerated lagoons, trickling filters, stabilization ponds, land application systems, sand filters, and subsurface disposal systems.

(3)An agreement entered into under this subsection shall—

(A)set forth an amount agreed to as the maximum Federal contribution to the project, based upon a competitively bid document of basic design data and applicable standard construction specifications and a determination of the federally eligible costs of the project at the applicable Federal share under section 1282 of this title;

(B)set forth dates for the start and completion of construction of the treatment works by the applicant and a schedule of payments of the Federal contribution to the project;

(C)contain assurances by the applicant that (i) engineering and management assistance will be provided to manage the project; (ii) the proposed treatment works will be an operable unit and will meet all the requirements of this subchapter; and (iii) not later than 1 year after the date specified as the date of completion of construction of the treatment works, the treatment works will be operating so as to meet the requirements of any applicable permit for such treatment works under section 1342 of this title;

(D)require the applicant to obtain a bond from the contractor in an amount determined necessary by the Administrator to protect the Federal interest in the project; and

(E)contain such other terms and conditions as are necessary to assure compliance with this subchapter (except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection).

(4)Subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section shall not apply to grants made pursuant to this subsection.

(5)The Administrator shall reserve a portion of the grant to assure contract compliance until final project approval as defined by the Administrator. If the amount agreed to under paragraph (3)(A) exceeds the cost of designing and constructing the treatment works, the Administrator shall reallot the amount of the excess to the State in which such treatment works are located for the fiscal year in which such audit is completed.

(6)The Administrator shall not obligate more than 20 percent of the amount allotted to a State for a fiscal year under section 1285 of this title for grants pursuant to this subsection.

(7)The Administrator shall determine an allowance for facilities planning for projects constructed under this subsection in accordance with section 1281(l) of this title.

(8)In no event shall the Federal contribution for the cost of preparing construction plans and specifications and the building and erection of treatment works pursuant to this subsection exceed the amount agreed upon under paragraph (3).

(9)In any case in which the recipient of a grant made pursuant to this subsection does not comply with the terms of the agreement entered into under paragraph (3), the Administrator is authorized to take such action as may be necessary to recover the amount of the Federal contribution to the project.

(10)A recipient of a grant made pursuant to this subsection shall not be eligible for any other grants under this subchapter for the same project.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1987—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–4, § 203, designated provision relating to submission of plans, specifications, and estimates, and provision relating to contractual nature of approval by Administrator as par. (1), designated provision relating to requirements for awarding single grant for combined Federal share of cost of preparing plans and specifications, and building and erection of treatment works as par. (3), and added par. (2). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–4, § 204, added subsec. (f). 1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–117 substituted “$8,000,000” for “$4,000,000” and struck out provision that, if any State is found by the Administrator to have unusually high costs of

Construction

, the Administrator may authorize a single grant where the estimated total cost of the treatment works does not exceed $5,000,000. 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–483 substituted “$4,000,000” and “$5,000,000” for “$2,000,000” and “$3,000,000”, respectively. 1977—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95–217, § 18, provided that, in the case of a treatment works that has an estimated total cost of $2,000,000 or less (as determined by the Administrator), and the population of the applicant municipality is twenty-five thousand or less (according to the most recent United States census), upon completion of an approved facility plan, a single grant may be awarded for the combined Federal share of the cost of preparing

Construction

plans and specifications, and the building and erection of the treatment works, and that, if any State is found by the Administrator to have unusually high costs of

Construction

, the Administrator may authorize a single grant where the estimated total cost of the treatment works does not exceed $3,000,000. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 95–217, § 19, added subsec. (e). 1974—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 93–243 added subsec. (d).

§1283 Plans, specifications, estimates, and payments

Summary

Title 33, §1283

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Construction

Construction

Construction

Citations & Metadata