§8402 Loans to Assist Powerplant Acquisitions of Air Pollution Control Equipment

Summary

The Secretary can make loans to people who own or run existing electric powerplants that switch to coal or another alternate fuel after this law took effect. The loans pay for buying and installing certified air pollution control devices. Each loan can cover up to two‑thirds of the purchase and installation cost, must be paid back within 10 years, and must charge interest at least equal to a similar Treasury rate plus 1 percent. Borrowers must also pay a fee that covers any needed insurance to avoid Federal revenue loss plus 1 percent of the loan. The Secretary can only make a loan if the money is not available from other Federal agencies, the borrower cannot get reasonable funds elsewhere, full repayment looks likely, and making the loan will not limit competition. At least 25 percent of the money must go to small municipal or rural cooperative powerplants, and priority is given to plants covered by any prohibition under subchapter III or under section 792 of title 15. A “certified pollution control device” is a new device used to reduce air pollution, certified by the State and the EPA, not duplicating equipment with more than 2 years of useful life, not a regular building, and started after the law’s effective date. A “small municipal or rural cooperative electric powerplant” is a unit with a fuel rate limit set by the Secretary and owned or run by a municipality or rural electric cooperative. Loan recipients must keep records the Secretary requires and allow the Secretary and the Comptroller General to audit those records until the later of 3 years after the project ends or full loan repayment. If a borrower misses payments for 90 days, the Secretary can demand payment, use any loan security (including selling or operating related property), and notify the Attorney General to take legal action. Money repaid or collected goes into the U.S. Treasury. Up to $400,000,000 was authorized for fiscal year 1979 and $400,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, and the Secretary can only use the loan authority if Congress provides funds in appropriations.