Section 49-2-131 - [Repealed effective 1/1/2027] Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure (MCWI) Grant Program established; matching funds; definitions; certified projects; application; ranking of applications; reports(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure Grant Program Act of 2022."(2) There is hereby established within the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure (MCWI) Grant Program under which municipalities, counties and certain public utilities not regulated by the Public Service Commission may apply until February 1, 2023, for reimbursable grants to make necessary investments in water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure to be funded by the Legislature utilizing Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds made available under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Such grants shall be made available to municipalities and counties to be matched with the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds awarded or to be awarded to them under ARPA on a one-to-one matching basis. Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds that a county transfers to a municipality or that a county or municipality transfers to a public utility not regulated by the Public Service Commission are eligible on a one-to-one matching basis. Municipalities that received less than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) in the total allocation of Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds are eligible for a two-to-one match only on the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds awarded or to be awarded to them under ARPA. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality shall only accept two (2) rounds of submissions under the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure (MCWI) Grant Program. The second round of submissions shall be the final round. The dollar amount for professional fees that can be allocated as a part of a county's, municipality's or public utility's matching share is not to exceed four percent (4%) of the total project cost.(3) For purposes of this section, unless the context requires otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed herein: (a) "MCWI Grant Program" means the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure Grant Program.(b) "ARPA" means the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, which amends Title VI of the Social Security Act.(c) "State Recovery Funds" means Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds awarded through Section 602 of Title VI of the Social Security Act amended by Section 9901 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2.(d) "Local Recovery Funds" means Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds awarded through Section 603 of Title VI of the Social Security Act amended by Section 9901 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2.(e) "Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.(f) "Professional fees" means fees for the services of attorneys and engineering, surveying, and environmental studies.(g) "Project" means the infrastructure improvements defined in an application that (i) complies with all requirements of ARPA, and (ii) is eligible for a grant award under this section.(4)(a) On or before July 1, 2022, the Department of Environmental Quality shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to administer the MCWI Grant Program prescribed under this section, including application procedures and deadlines. The department is exempt from compliance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law in fulfilling the requirements of this section.(b) The Department of Health shall advise the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality regarding all such rules and regulations as related to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.(5) Funding under the MCWI Grant Program shall be allocated to projects certified by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality as eligible for federal funding, including, but not be limited to, the following:(a) Construction of publicly owned treatment works;(b) Projects pursuant to the implementation of a nonpoint source pollution management program established under the Clean Water Act (CWA);(c) Decentralized wastewater treatment systems that treat municipal wastewater or domestic sewage;(d) Management and treatment of stormwater or subsurface drainage water;(e) Water conservation, efficiency, or reuse measures;(f) Development and implementation of a conservation and management plan under the CWA;(g) Watershed projects meeting the criteria set forth in the CWA;(h) Energy consumption reduction for publicly owned treatment works;(i) Reuse or recycling of wastewater, stormwater, or subsurface drainage water;(j) Facilities to improve drinking water quality;(k) Transmission and distribution, including improvements of water pressure or prevention of contamination in infrastructure and lead service line replacements;(l) New sources to replace contaminated drinking water or increase drought resilience, including aquifer storage and recovery system for water storage;(m) Storage of drinking water, such as to prevent contaminants or equalize water demands;(n) Purchase of water systems and interconnection of systems;(o) New community water systems;(p) Culvert repair, resizing, and removal, replacement of storm sewers, and additional types of stormwater infrastructure;(q) Dam and reservoir rehabilitation, if the primary purpose of dam or reservoir is for drinking water supply and project is necessary for the provision of drinking water;(r) Broad set of lead remediation projects eligible under EPA grant programs authorized by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act; and(s) Any eligible drinking water, wastewater or stormwater project through ARPA guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, by the United States Department of the Treasury.(6) The governing authority of a municipality, county or public utility that is not regulated by the Public Service Commission may submit an application for grant funds under this section if the applicant is an operator-member of Mississippi 811, Inc., as defined in Section 77-13-3. Applicants shall certify to the department that each expenditure of the funds awarded to them under this section is in compliance with ARPA guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, by the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the State Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds. Subsequent submissions will be due by the dates established by the department.(7) An application for a grant under this section shall be submitted at such time, be in such form, and contain such information as the department prescribes. Each application for grant funds shall include the following at a minimum: (a) applicant contact information;(b) project description and type of project;(d) estimate of population affected by the project;(e) disadvantaged community criteria (population, median household income, unemployment, current water/sewer rates);(f) estimated project cost;(g) list of match funds of direct Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds received and to be received from the federal government, a certification that such funds have been or will be used for the project detailed in the application, and documentation of commitment;(h) estimated project schedule and readiness to proceed;(i) engineering services agreement; (j) engineering reports; and(k) information about status of obtaining any required permits.(8) The department must apply a system for use in ranking the grant applications received, unless the Legislature funds all eligible grant requests under the program. When applying the ranking system, the department shall apply a greater weight to projects that have approved engineering/design, plans and permits if the department has deemed the project is ready to begin construction within six (6) months. Projects that are included on the municipal or county engineer's approved list and provide applicable supporting documentation shall receive additional consideration awarded to the application. The ranking system shall include the following factors, at a minimum: (a) the environmental impact of the proposed project;(b) the proposed project's ability to address noncompliance with state/federal requirements;(c) the extent to which the project promotes economic development;(d) the number of people served by the project and the number of communities the project serves;(e) impacts of the proposed project on disadvantaged/overburdened communities;(f) the grant applicant's prior efforts to secure funding to address the proposed project's objectives;(g) the grant applicant's proposed contribution of other funds or in-kind cost-sharing to the proposed project;(h) the grant applicant's long-term plans for the financial and physical operation and maintenance of the project;(i) the grant applicant's capacity to initiate construction in a timely manner and complete the proposed project by the deadline specified by the United States Department of Treasury rules for ARPA funds;(j) the extent to which the project benefits multiple political subdivisions in a regional manner;(k) the project's ability to enhance public service infrastructure, including transportation and emergency access; and(l) any other factors as determined by the department.(9) The grant program shall include a specific emphasis on addressing the needs of an economically disadvantaged community, including providing safe, reliable drinking water in areas that lack infrastructure, providing sewage treatment capacity in unsewered areas and providing regional development of infrastructure to serve multiple communities.(10) Applications shall be reviewed and scored as they are received, unless the Legislature funds all eligible grant requests under the program. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality shall certify whether each project submitted is a "necessary investment" in water, wastewater, or stormwater infrastructure as defined in the American Rescue Plan Act and all applicable guidance issued by the United States Department of the Treasury. The Department of Environmental Quality shall review the lists of recommended water infrastructure projects and issue its list of recommended projects to the Mississippi Department of Health for its advice. Grant agreements shall be executed between the recipient and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. All final awards shall be determined at the discretion of the executive director of the department. Any funds awarded to the City of Jackson under this section shall be deposited in the Capital City Water/Sewer Projects Fund of the State Treasury. Funds shall be obligated to a grantee upon the execution of a grant agreement between the department and the approved applicant. Funds shall be made available to a grantee when the department obtains the necessary support for reimbursement. The department is authorized to conduct additional rounds of grants as needed; however, in the first round no more than forty percent (40%) of the total funds appropriated for each grant program may be awarded by the department, and the remaining funds may be awarded in the final round which shall occur no later than six (6) months from the previous round. To ensure equitable treatment between the categories of projects, no less than twenty percent (20%) awarded under this section shall be allocated to each of the three (3) categories of drinking water projects, wastewater projects and stormwater projects. In the final round, any funds not requested may be allocated to any category.(11) Grant funds shall be used prospectively; however, grant funds may be used to reimburse expenses incurred before the enactment of this program if the costs are adequately documented and comply with applicable ARPA guidelines. An applicant must agree to obtain all necessary state and federal permits and follow all state bidding and contracting laws and fiscally sound practices in the administration of the funds.(12)(a) Monies must be disbursed under this section in compliance with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund, established by the American Rescue Plan of 2021.(b) The use of funds allocated under this program shall be subject to audit by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Inspector General and the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. Each person receiving funds under these programs found to be fully or partially noncompliant with the requirements in this section shall return to the state all or a portion of the funds received.(13) The department shall submit to the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, House and Senate Appropriations Chairmen, and the Legislative Budget Office quarterly reports and annual reports that are due by the dates established in the Compliance and Reporting Guidance by the United States Department of Treasury. The reports shall contain the applications received, the score of the applications, the amount of grant funds awarded to each applicant, the amount of grant funds expended by each applicant, and status of each applicant's project. The score of the applications is not required if the award was provided in the final round of grants and the Legislature provided the total amount of funds for all eligible grant requests.(14) Grant funds shall be available under this section through December 31, 2026, or on the date of the fund expenditure deadline provided by the federal government, whichever occurs later. Each grant recipient shall certify for any project for which a grant is awarded that if the project is not completed by December 31, 2026, and the United States Congress does not enact an extension of the deadline on the availability of ARPA funds, then the grant recipient will complete the project through other funds.(15) The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality may retain an amount not to exceed five percent (5%) of the total funds allocated to the program to defray administrative costs.(16)Repealed effective 1/1/2026] The department shall be exempt from provisions of the Public Procurement Review Board for any requirements of personal or professional service contracts or the pre-approval of the solicitation for such contracts used in the execution of its responsibilities under this section. This subsection shall stand repealed on January 1, 2026.(17) The provisions of this section shall stand repealed on January 1, 2027.Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 469, SB 2444,§ 1, eff. 4/14/2023.Added by Laws, 2022, ch. 509, SB 2822,§ 1, eff. 4/26/2022.