Arkansas Administrative Code

15 CAR § 26-801. Scope. This subpart shall govern the Arkansas CWRLF’s hardship grant program as authorized by Arkansas Code § 15-5-901 et seq.

15 CAR § 26-802. Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this subpart, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) “Hardship criteria”. The “hardship criteria” used to determine if a project is eligible for a hardship gra…

15 CAR § 26-803. Policy declarations. (a)(1) The Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 164-134, which became law on April 26, 1996, provided fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) for grants. (2) The grants were designed to be used by small rur…

15 CAR § 26-804. Eligible activities of the hardship grant program. (a) In order to be eligible to receive a hardship grant, the borrower must meet United States Environmental Protection Agency’s hardship criteria. (b) In general, the hardship grant program is designed to work in…

15 CAR § 26-805. Intended use plan. (a)(1) As is required by the CWRLF program, the hardship grant program is required to prepare an intended use plan that shall be subject to public notice. (2) Since the hardship grant program is designed to work in conjunction with the CWRLF pr…

15 CAR § 26-806. Determination of grant amount. (a) It is Arkansas’s intent to use these grant funds to provide gap financing for wastewater projects. (b) That means that a community will be expected to borrow funds from the CWRLF program to the greatest extent possible, based on…

15 CAR § 26-901. Scope. This subpart shall govern the Arkansas CWRLF’s nonpoint source program as authorized by Arkansas Code § 15-5-901 et seq.

15 CAR § 26-902. Definitions. The following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) “Nonpoint source management project” means a project to abate either ground or surface water pollution or a project designed to protec…

15 CAR § 26-903. Policy declarations. (a) In addition to the specific eligible activities identified in 15 CAR § 26-201(a), funds in the CWRLF may be used to finance nonpoint source management projects. (b) Borrowers for these projects are frequently not local governmental entiti…

15 CAR § 26-904. Eligible activities of the nonpoint source program. (a) The following list provides some examples of the types of projects that are eligible for assistance from the RLF nonpoint source program. (b) This list is intended as an illustration and the types of project…

15 CAR § 26-905. Types of assistance. (a)(1) Initially, the nonpoint source program will provide assistance in the form of a linked deposit. (2) This form of assistance is based on the idea that local financial institutions will provide low interest loans to eligible borrowers if…

15 CAR § 27-101. Purpose. (a) The purpose of this program is to provide a procedure for accrediting floodplain administrators. (b) Each county, city, or town shall designate a person to serve as the floodplain administrator to administer and implement: (1) The community flood dam…

15 CAR § 27-102. Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to this part: (1) “Accreditation” means that the floodplain administrator has met the education and training standards specified by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission; (2)(A) “Accreditation year” means the…

15 CAR § 27-103. Designation of floodplain administrator. (a) Each community ordinance adopted to restrict or control the management and use of land, structures, and other developments in flood-zone areas shall designate a person to serve as the floodplain administrator to admini…

15 CAR § 27-104. Replacing floodplain administrator. (a) When the floodplain administrator position becomes vacant, the community shall: (1) Notify the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission within thirty (30) days; and (2) Provide a replacement within sixty (60) days. (b) The new…

15 CAR § 27-201. Authority. (a) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission is authorized to accredit persons having requisite knowledge in floodplain management and in minimization and prevention of flood hazards and losses pursuant to Arkansas Code §§ 14-268-106 and 15-24-102. (b…

15 CAR § 27-202. Requirements for accreditation. An applicant may obtain accreditation by satisfying all of the following requirements: (1) Satisfactorily completing and submitting to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission an application form provided by the commission; (2) De…

15 CAR § 27-203. Review of application. (a)(1) The application and supporting documentation to obtain accreditation will be reviewed by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission staff. (2) Commission staff will: (A) Inform the applicant in writing if the application is incomplete…

15 CAR § 27-204. Consideration of military training and experience in lieu of experience or education. When considering an application for licensure, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall: (1) Consider whether or not the applicant’s military training and experience is s…

15 CAR § 27-205. Accreditation of active duty military, returning military veterans, and spouses. The commission will issue accreditation to an individual applying for Arkansas accreditation who: (1) Holds a substantially equivalent accreditation issued by another state who is in…

15 CAR § 27-206. Expedited accreditation of active duty military, returning military veterans, and spouses. The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall expedite the process for accreditation of any person qualifying for accreditation through 15 CAR § 27-205.

15 CAR § 27-301. Renewal of accreditation. (a) Floodplain administrators shall submit the following each year prior to July 1 (when the new accreditation year begins) in order to renew their accreditation: (1) Renewal application on a form provided by the Arkansas Natural Resourc…

15 CAR § 27-302. Continuing education requirements. (a)(1) Between July 1 and June 30 of each year, accredited floodplain administrators will be required to obtain continuing education to maintain and improve their ability to implement local floodplain regulations. (2) Floodplain…

15 CAR § 27-303. Continuing education topics. Continuing education topics approved for accreditation may include: (1) Floodplain management; (2) Floodplain mapping; (3) Floodplain management regulations; (4) Flood proofing; (5) Floodplain management ordinance administration; (6) …

15 CAR § 27-304. Expiration. (a) Unless renewed, an accreditation certificate shall expire on July 1 following the issuance of the certificate. (b) Following the expiration of accreditation, reinstatement may be accomplished only by reapplication and compliance with all eligibili…

15 CAR § 27-401. Fee assessment. (a) In order to support the costs of operating the floodplain administrator accreditation program in the State of Arkansas, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission will assess the community the following fees: (1) Original accreditation, thirty …

15 CAR § 28-101. General administration. (a) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission administers Arkansas Community and Economic Development Program grants for water and wastewater projects. (b)(1) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission distributes federal funds under this p…

15 CAR § 28-102. Definitions. (a) The following definitions apply to this part. (b) If a word or term is not expressly defined in this section, then it is understood to have the common usage meaning to give the most reasonable application to this part. (c) As used in this part: (…

15 CAR § 28-201. Eligible projects. To be eligible for ACEDP grants through the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, grantees must demonstrate that: (1) Projects satisfy one (1) of the following criteria: (A) Fifty-one percent (51%) or more of the project beneficiaries must be …

15 CAR § 28-202. Open grant limitation. (a) ACEDP grants are classified by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission as either categorical grants, including grants to fund the construction of water and wastewater systems, childcare facilities, senior citizen centers, public he…

15 CAR § 28-203. Eligible applicants. Any general unit of local government within the state may be the recipient of ACEDP funding for an eligible project, provided that the applicant is not an entitlement community.

15 CAR § 28-204. Eligible applications. Any application submitted by an eligible applicant for an eligible project will be considered by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, so long as the application complies with all other provisions of this part.

15 CAR § 28-301. Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee preapplication. (a) Applicants seeking to qualify for an ACEDP grant on the basis that fifty-one percent (51%) or greater of the beneficiaries are LMI must obtain Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee (WWAC) approval of the proje…

15 CAR § 28-302. Commission application. (a) Applicants must submit new projects to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission on the form supplied by the commission and must include all information and documentation required by the form. (b) Applicants must submit completed appli…

15 CAR § 28-303. Applications based on LMI. (a) Applicants must demonstrate LMI beneficiary percentages of fifty-one percent (51%) or greater, based on: (1) A survey of one hundred percent (100%) of the households affected by the project, current to within thirty-six (36) months;…

15 CAR § 28-304. Imminent threat to health and safety. (a) In particularly urgent situations posing a serious and immediate threat to the health or safety of a community, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may solicit an ACEDP application concurrent with a WWAC preapplicat…

15 CAR § 28-305. Project resubmission. Applicants may resubmit unfunded projects for consideration, provided that: (1) The scope of the project has not changed since the previous application; (2) The cost estimate for the project is current to within twelve (12) months; (3) The n…

15 CAR § 28-306. Commission review and selection criteria. (a) Arkansas Natural Resources Commission staff will review applications in a timely manner, and corrections will be permitted up until the February 1 submission deadline. (b) Commission staff will select eligible project…

15 CAR § 28-307. Ties. If two (2) applications at the bottom of the funding list receive an equal rating and the commission only has funding for one (1) of the projects, the project with the highest percentage of LMI beneficiaries will be funded.

15 CAR § 28-308. ACEDP recipient requirements. (a) Prior to the awarding of the grant, applicants selected by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission to receive ACEDP moneys must accept and agree to abide by all federal and state requirements and by the policies contained in th…

15 CAR § 28-401. Project administration. (a) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission requires grantees to hire regional planning and development district personnel or a private grants management firm with expertise in water or wastewater project management to administer ACEDP p…

15 CAR § 28-402. Public participation. (a)(1) Grantees must prepare and follow a written plan to encourage citizen participation in funded projects. (2) A citizen participation plan should allow for the receipt of written grievances from citizens and provide timely responses to t…

15 CAR § 28-403. Project records. (a) All records pertaining to the project application, receipt of the grant, administration, and use of the ACEDP grant must be maintained in accordance with the recordkeeping requirements of Subpart I of 24 C.F.R. pt. 570, and in a manner accept…

15 CAR § 28-404. Environmental review. (a) Grant moneys may not be expended on activities other than eligible administrative costs, engineering design, or environmental review consistent with the requirements of 24 C.F.R. pt. 58. (b) Upon completion of the environmental review, t…

15 CAR § 28-405. General requirements for all procurements. (a)(1) Grantees procuring goods or services using ACEDP grant funds must take all necessary affirmative steps to assure that minority firms, women's business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms listed as relevant v…

15 CAR § 28-406. Specific procurement procedures. (a) Grantees may use any of four (4) types of procurement, as appropriate for a given procurement situation: (1)(A) Simplified procurement is an informal method of securing services or supplies by obtaining price quotes from an ad…

15 CAR § 28-407. Timing of costs. (a) Grantees may not hire, purchase, or otherwise obligate payment for any nonconstruction materials or professional services, soft costs, related to the project with an expectation of reimbursement from this program until receipt of the grant aw…

15 CAR § 28-408. Requests for payment. (a) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission will accept a request for payment (RFP) only after issuing an environmental clearance letter for the project. (b) Grantees must submit an RFP on a form provided by the commission. (c) Grantees mu…

15 CAR § 28-409. Bank account and check writing procedures. (a)(1) Grantees must provide a dedicated, FDIC-insured, non-interest-bearing checking account to receive ACEDP funds by electronic direct deposit. (2) Grantees may not use an existing account held by the grantee for gene…

15 CAR § 28-410. Eligible expenditures. The following items are eligible for repayment with ACEDP grant funds: (1) Construction costs. (A) Grantees may submit invoices for construction activities specified in the grant agreement after the work has been performed. (B) The project …