Sec. 136. Determination of eligibility and project selection
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To be eligible to receive financial assistance under this subtitle, a project shall meet the following criteria, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior: Subject to subparagraph (B), the project shall be creditworthy, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, who shall ensure that any financing for the project has appropriate security features, such as a rate covenant, to ensure repayment. The Secretary of the Interior shall require each applicant to provide a preliminary rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating agency indicating that the senior obligations of the project (which may be the Federal credit instrument) have the potential to achieve an investment-grade rating.
The eligible project costs of a project shall be reasonably anticipated to be not less than $20,000,000. The Federal credit instrument for the project shall be repayable, in whole or in part, from dedicated revenue sources that also secure the project obligations. A project carried out by a private entity shall be sponsored by a State, department of a State, subdivision of a State, or a public agency organized pursuant to State law. The Secretary of the Interior shall establish criteria for the selection of projects that meet the eligibility requirements of subsection (a), in accordance with paragraph (2).
The selection criteria shall include the following: The extent to which a project serves a region with significant water resources challenges. The extent to which the project is nationally or regionally significant. The extent to which assistance under this section would foster innovative public-private partnerships and attract private debt or equity investment. The extent to which the project fosters— collaborative partnerships between cities, counties, water districts, and State and Federal agencies; and innovative recycling programs that augment a combination of industrial, commercial, residential, and agricultural uses.
The likelihood that assistance under this section would enable the project to proceed at an earlier date than the project would otherwise be able to proceed. The amount of budget authority required to fund the Federal credit instrument made available under this subtitle. The extent to which the project helps maintain or protect the environment. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue eligibility requirements under this title for water recycling projects that reclaim and reuse municipal, industrial, domestic, or agricultural wastewater or impaired ground or surface waters.
Receipt of a Federal grant or contract or other Federal funding to support an eligible project shall not preclude the project from being eligible for assistance under this subtitle. Assistance under this subtitle shall not be counted as Federal funding under cost-sharing requirements otherwise applicable to a project eligible for assistance under this subtitle.