§8833 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Energy may promise to cover up to 90% of the principal and interest on a loan made only to build a municipal waste‑to‑energy project, as long as the loan itself does not exceed 90% of the project’s construction cost as the Secretary estimates on the day the promise is made. If later cost overruns push the project above that first estimate, the Secretary may, if asked, cover up to 90% of the extra costs so long as those extra costs do not exceed 10% of the original estimated total. Before acting, the Secretary must be satisfied that the borrower can’t meet payments but is not in default, that letting the project continue is in the public interest, and that paying principal and interest would likely be better for the United States than allowing a default. The Secretary may only guarantee a loan when the applicant shows the lender won’t make the loan at reasonable market rates without the guarantee. If the Secretary pays under a guarantee, the Secretary gets the same rights as whoever was paid. Guarantees can’t be ended except under their own terms and are final proof the guarantees meet the law. The Secretary may charge fees based on costs and risk, but fees cannot exceed 1 percent of the maximum guarantee. For certain state or local obligations issued after June 30, 1980 that are guaranteed but not backed by full faith and credit, the Secretary may pay part of the interest to the issuer in amounts and under rules the Treasury and Secretary set.

Title 42, §8833

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Subject to section 8835 and 8836 of this title, the Secretary of Energy may commit to guarantee, and guarantee, against loss on up to 90 per centum of the principal and interest, any loan which is made solely to provide funds for the construction of a municipal waste energy project and which does not exceed 90 per centum of the cost of the construction of the project involved, as estimated by the Secretary on the date of the guarantee or commitment to guarantee.

(b)In the event the total estimated costs of construction of the project thereafter exceed the total estimated costs initially determined by the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary may in addition, upon application therefor, guarantee, against loss on up to 90 per centum of the principal and interest, a loan for so much of the additional estimated total costs as does not exceed 10 per centum of the total estimated costs.

(c)The terms and conditions of loan guarantees under this section shall provide that, if the Secretary of Energy makes a payment of principal or interest upon the default by a borrower, the Secretary shall be subrogated to the rights of the recipient of such payment (and such subrogation shall be expressly set forth in the loan guarantee or related agreements).

(d)Any loan guarantee under this section shall not be terminated, canceled, or otherwise revoked, except in accordance with the terms thereof and shall be conclusive evidence that such guarantee complies fully with the provisions of this chapter and of the approval and legality of the principal amount, interest rate, and all other terms of the securities, obligations, or loans and of the guarantee.

(e)If the Secretary of Energy determines that—

(1)the borrower is unable to meet payments and is not in default,

(2)it is in the public interest to permit the borrower to continue to pursue the purposes of such project, and

(3)the probable net benefit to the United States in paying the principal and interest due under a loan guarantee agreement will be greater than that which would result in the event of a default,

(f)A loan may not be guaranteed under this section unless the applicant for such loan has established to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Energy that the lender is not willing without such a guarantee to extend credit to the applicant at reasonable rates and terms, taking into consideration prevailing market rates and terms for loans for similar periods of time, to finance the construction of the project for which such loan is sought.

(g)(1)With respect to any loan or debt obligation which is—

(A)issued after June 30, 1980, by, or on behalf of, any State or any political subdivision or governmental entity thereof,

(B)guaranteed by the Secretary of Energy under this section, and

(C)not supported by the full faith and credit of the issuer as a general obligation of the issuer,

(2)With respect to the amount of obligations described in paragraph (1) that the issuer would have been able to issue as tax exempt obligations (other than obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the issuer as a general obligation of the issuer), the Secretary of Energy is authorized to pay only to the issuer any portion of the interest on such obligations, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury after taking into account the interest rate which would have been paid on the obligations had they been issued as tax exempt obligations without being so guaranteed by the Secretary of Energy and the interest rate actually paid on the obligations when issued as taxable obligations. Such payments shall be made in amounts determined by the Secretary of Energy, and in accordance with such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury shall require.

(h)(1)A fee or fees may be charged and collected by the Secretary of Energy for any loan guarantee under this section.

(2)The amount of such fee shall be based on the estimated administrative costs and risk of loss, except that such fee may not exceed 1 per centum of the maximum of the guarantee.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original “this title”, meaning title II of Pub. L. 96–294, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 683, known as the Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act of 1980, which enacted this chapter, section 1435 and 3129 of Title 7, Agriculture, and section 3391a of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, and amended section 341, 342, 3104, and 3154 of Title 7, section 753 of Title 15, and section 590h and 1642 of Title 16, Conservation. For complete classification of title II to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 8801 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

1986—Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”, which for purposes of codification was translated as “title 26” thus requiring no change in text.

§8833 Guaranteed construction loans