Sec.22a-439-1. Introduction and priority management system

(a) Purpose and Limitations

These regulations are set forth to describe the manner and procedures by which state funding assistance shall be made available to and utilized by Connecticut municipalities to plan, design and construct water pollution abatement facilities pursuant to Section 22a-439 of the General Statutes. Any municipality which receives federal grant assistance under the Federal Clean Water Act, as amended, and a state matching grant shall be governed by applicable federal regulations only.

(b) Definitions

"Act" means the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., as amended).

"Ad valorem tax" means a tax based upon the value of real property.

"Applicant" means a municipality as defined in Section 22a-423.

"Architectural or engineering services" means consultation, investigations, reporting and design services offered within the scope of the practice of architecture or professional engineering as defined by the laws of the State of Connecticut.

"Building" means the erection, acquisition, alteration, remodeling, improvement or extension of pollution abatement facilities.

"Collector sewer" means the common lateral sewers, within a publicly owned sewer system, which are primarily installed to receive wastewaters directly from facilities which convey wastewaters from individual systems, or from private property, and which include service "Y" connections designed for connection with those facilities including:

(A) Crossover sewers connecting more than one property on one side of a major street, road, or highway to a lateral sewer on the other side when more cost effective than parallel sewers and

(B) Pumping units and pressurized lines serving individual structures or groups of structures when such units are cost-effective and are owned and maintained by the municipality.

(C) This definition excludes other facilities which convey wastewater from individual structures, from private property to the public lateral sewer, or its equivalent and also excludes facilities associated with alternatives to conventional pollution abatement facilities in small communities.

"Combined sewer" means a sewer that is designed as a sanitary sewer and a storm sewer.

"Compatible industrial wastewater" means wastewater that is produced by an industrial user, has a pollutant strength and other characteristics similar to those of domestic wastewater, and can be efficiently and effectively transported and treated with domestic wastewater.

"Complete waste treatment system" means a complete waste treatment system that consists of all the pollution abatement facilities necessary to meet the requirements of Title III of the Act, involving the transport of wastewater from individual homes or buildings to a plant or facility where treatment of the wastewater is accomplished; the treatment of the wastewater to remove pollutants; and the ultimate disposal, including recycling or reuse, of the treated wastewater and residues which result from the treatment process.

"Construction" means the erection, building, acquisition, alteration, remodeling, improvement or extension of pollution abatement facilities or the inspection and supervision of any of the foregoing items.

"Cost Analysis" means the review and evaluation of each element of subagreement cost to determine reasonableness, allocability and allowability.

"Design" means studies, surveys, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, field testing of innovative and alternative wastewater treatment processes and techniques (excluding operation and maintenance) requisite for the construction of pollution abatement facilities.

"Excessive infiltration/inflow" means the quantity of infiltration/inflow which can be economically eliminated from a sewer system as determined in a cost-effectiveness analysis that compares the costs for correcting the infiltration/inflow conditions to the total costs for transportation and treatment of the infiltration/inflow.

"Grantee" means a municipality as defined in Section 22a-423.

"Individual systems" means privately owned alternative pollution abatement facilities (including dual waterless/gray water systems) serving one or more principal residences or small commercial establishments. Normally these are onsite systems with localized treatment and disposal of wastewater, but may include systems serving a cluster of principal residences or small commercial establishments.

"Infiltration" means water other than wastewater that enters a sewer system (including sewer service connections and foundation drains) from the ground through such means as defective pipes, pipe joints, connections, or manholes. Infiltration does not include, and is distinguished from, inflow.

"Inflow" means water other than wastewater that enters a sewer system (including sewer service connections) from sources such as, but not limited to: roof leaders, cellar drains, yard drains, area drains, drains from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers, connections between storm sewers and sanitary sewers, catch basins, cooling towers, storm waters, surface runoff, street wash waters, or drainage. Inflow does not include, and is distinguished from, infiltration.

"Initiation of operation" means the date specified by the municipality on which use of the project begins for the purpose that it was planned, designed and built.

"Interceptor sewer" means a sewer which is designed for one or more of the following purposes:

(A) To intercept wastewater from collector sewers and convey such wastes directly to a treatment facility or another interceptor.

(B) To replace an existing pollution abatement facility and transport the waste to an adjoining collector sewer or interceptor sewer for conveyance to a treatment plant.

(C) To transport wastewater from one or more municipal collector sewers to another municipality or to a regional plant for treatment.

(D) To intercept an existing discharge of raw or inadequately treated wastewater for transport directly to another interceptor or to a pollution abatement facility.

"Municipality" is as defined in Section 22a-423.

"Nonexcessive infiltration" means the quantity of wastewater flow which cannot be economically and effectively eliminated from a sewer system as determined in a cost-effectiveness analysis.

"Nonexcessive inflow" means the rainfall induced peak inflow rate which does not result in chronic operational problems related to hydraulic overloading of the pollution abatement facility during storm events. These problems may include surcharging, backups, bypasses, and overflows.

"Operation and maintenance" means activities required to assure the dependable and economical function of pollution abatement facilities.

(A) Maintenance: Preservation of functional integrity and efficiency of equipment and structures. This includes preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance and replacement of equipment as needed during the useful life of the facility.

(B) Operation: Control of the unit processes and equipment which make up the pollution abatement facility. This includes financial and personnel management, records, laboratory control, process control, safety and emergency operation planning.

"Pollution abatement facility" is as defined in Section 22a-423 and is synonymous with the terms project, treatment works, treatment system, and treatment facility.

"Pollution abatement facility phase or segment" means any portion of a complete pollution abatement facility described in an approved engineering report which can be identified as a contract or discrete sub-item or subcontract. Completion of building of a pollution abatement facility phase or segment may, but need not in and of itself, result in an operable pollution abatement facility.

"Planning" means all necessary engineering reports and studies to determine the feasibility of pollution abatement facilities including pertinent engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal and economic investigations prior to design.

"Project performance standards" means the performance and operations requirements applicable to a project including the enforceable requirements of the Act and the specifications which the project is planned and designed to meet.

"Price analysis" means the process of evaluating a prospective price without regard to the contractor's separate cost elements and proposed profit. Price analysis determines the reasonableness of the proposed subagreement price based on adequate price competition, previous experience with similar work, established catalog or market price law, or regulation.

"Principal residence" means the habitation of a family or household for at least 51 percent of the year. Second homes, vacation or recreation residences are not included in this definition.

"Profit" means the net proceeds obtained by deducting all allowable costs (direct and indirect) from the price.

"Project schedule" means a timetable specifying the dates of key project events including public notices of proposed procurement actions, subagreement awards, issuance of notice to proceed with building, key milestones in the building, initiation of operation and completion of the project.

"Replacement" means expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories, or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the pollution abatement facility to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term "operation and maintenance" includes replacement.

"Sanitary sewer" means a conduit intended to carry liquid and watercarried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions together with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally.

"Services" means a contractor's labor, time or efforts which do not involve the delivery of a specific end item, other than documents which may result from the contractor's labor, time or efforts (e.g., reports, design drawings, specifications). This term does not include employment agreements or collective bargaining agreements.

"Small commercial establishments" means for purposes of the provisions contained in these regulations providing funding for privately owned individual systems, private commercial establishments such as: restaurants, hotels, stores, filling stations, or recreational facilities; or private, non-profit entities such as: churches, schools, hospitals, or charitable organizations having dry weather wastewater flows of less than 25,000 gallons per day.

"Small community" means for purposes of the provisions contained in these regulations providing funding for small community systems, any municipality with a population of 5,000 or less, or highly dispersed sections of large municipalities, as determined by the Commissioner.

"Storm sewer" means a sewer designed to carry only storm waters, surface runoff, street wash waters and drainage.

"Subagreement" means a written agreement between a grant recipient and another party (other than another public agency) and any lower tier agreement for services, supplies, equipment, or construction necessary to complete the project. Subagreements include contracts and subcontracts for personal and professional services, agreements with consultants and purchase orders.

"Useful life" means the period during which a pollution abatement facility will be operated.

"User charge" means a charge levied on users of a pollution abatement facility, or that portion of the ad valorem taxes paid by a user, for the user's proportionate share of the cost of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of such facility.

"Value engineering" means a specialized cost control technique which uses a systematic and creative approach to identify and to focus on unnecessarily high cost in a project in order to arrive at a cost saving without sacrificing the reliability or efficiency of the project.

(c) Development and Format of Project Priority List

(1) Priority List Format

(A) The Commissioner shall make funding assistance available for projects on a state priority list as established under this section for such periods as authorized by the Legislature under Chapter 446k.

(B) The Commissioner shall prepare an ordered priority listing of projects for which state grant assistance shall be made available for the period effective October 1st to the following September 30th corresponding to the federal fiscal year.

(C) The priority list shall contain two portions: (i) a fundable portion consisting of those highest priority projects ready for construction and anticipated to be funded within the current federal fiscal year, and (ii) a planning portion consisting of those projects that may be funded from future authorized allotments. The priority list shall contain two parts; one for municipally owned pollution abatement projects and the second for state owned projects.

(d) State Priority System and Project Priority List

(1) Priority Rating Criteria

All projects eligible for funding assistance shall be evaluated and assigned a priority rating in accordance with the criteria set forth below and will appear on the project priority list. The Commissioner may determine that large-scale, multiphase projects be segregated and rated separately. Each project shall be evaluated and given points as applicable for each of the following rating criteria, the sum of which shall determine its priority number. These criteria are consistent with the rating system used to establish Federal construction grant project priorities and are shown in the following table:

Priority Rating Point System

I. Benefit of project upon adversely impacted potable water supplies. (10 points maximum)

A. Impaired water supply affecting less than 25 people — 2 points.

B. Impaired water supply affecting 26 to 100 people — 4 points.

C. Impaired water supply affecting 101 to 1,000 people — 6 points.

D. Impaired water supply affecting 1,001 to 5,000 people — 8 points.

E. Impaired water supply affecting more than 5,000 people — 10 points.

II. Benefit of project toward attainment of designated water quality standards and goals. (28 points maximum)

A. Project is necessary for attainment of water quality standards where the impacted water resource is:

1. Smaller than main stem of a sub-regional drainage basin or groundwater goals will be attained — 5 points.

2. Main stem of sub-regional drainage basin — 10 points.

3. Main stem of regional drainage basin — 15 points.

4. Main stem of major drainage basin — 20 points.

5. Projects which impact coastal areas are considered the equivalent of a regional drainage basin and assigned 15 points.

For the purposes of this subsection, the above drainage basin designations are defined on the map entitled "Natural Drainage Basins in Connecticut: 1981" prepared by the Natural Resources Center of the Department of Environmental Protection in cooperation with the United States Geological Services.

B. Project will enable impacted waters to meet minimum dissolved oxygen standards — 8 points.

III. Project will enhance specific water resource values. (24 points maximum)

A. Fishery resources — (6 points maximum).

1. Project will improve recreational fisheries — 3 points.

2. Project will improve anadromous fisheries — 6 points.

3. Project will open new streams for fish stocking programs — 6 points.

B. Shellfish resources — (6 points maximum).

1. Project will lower coliform bacteria levels in the waters of shellfish beds — 3 points.

2. Project will open new areas for shellfishing — 6 points.

C. Swimming (6 points maximum).

1. Project will enhance existing swimming opportunities — 3 points.

2. Project will allow for new swimming opportunities — 6 points.

D. Eutrophication — (6 points maximum).

1. Project will reduce eutrophication of a lake or impoundment by diverting septic system discharges out of a drainage basin — 3 points.

2. Project will reduce eutrophication of a lake or impoundment by providing nutrient removal in a municipal treatment plant or by relocating an existing treatment plant discharge — 6 points.

IV. Population equivalent (including commercial and industrial waste) initially served by the project. (12 points maximum)

A. Less than 5000 — 2 points.

B. 5,000 but less than 10,000 — 4 points.

C. 10,000 but less than 20,000 — 6 points.

D. 20,000 but less than 40,000 — 8 points.

E. 40,000 but less than 75,000 — 10 points.

F. 75,000 or greater — 12 points

V. Health and Sanitation Impacts. (6 points)

Project will eliminate ponding of sewage from failing septic systems, backup of sewage into basements, or overflow of sewage in streets (combined sewer overflow correction projects are not eligible for points).

VI. Miscellaneous. (20 points maximum)

A. Project involves the upgrading of an existing primary facility in order to comply with secondary treatment standards — 5 points.

B. Project that will result in Commissioner rescinding an Order concerning a sewer connection moratorium — 5 points.

C. Project will eliminate nuisance odors associated with treatment processes or pump stations but exclusive of large-scale expansion or upgrading of pollution abatement facilities — 5 points.

D. Remedial action will improve treatment plant operations where treatment standards are already being achieved — 5 points.

(NOTE: In cases where the priority rating or score is the same for two or more projects, the order is determined by highest score assigned cumulatively in criteria II (total), III (total), and IV. If a tie still remains, preference will be given to those projects ready to proceed at the earliest date within the limit of funds available.)

(2) Project Ranking Mechanism

The relative position or rank of a project on the priority list for funding will be determined by its priority number and its readiness to proceed to construction during the funding year under consideration. The Commissioner may choose to assign a higher rank for projects which fall into one of the following categories:

(A) Category I — Consists of projects for which a construction grant application was submitted for review during the previous funding period and which were on the fundable portion of that year's priority list. These applications have undergone preliminary review, are essentially complete and represent the good faith efforts of municipalities to comply with grant program requirements. Only those projects from the fundable portion of the previous year's priority list can be placed in this category.

(B) Category II — Consists of projects where previously funded segments of pollution abatement facilities have been built and are not usable or are severely restricted in use until the downstream project(s) are fully constructed and operational. This category enables these projects to be highly ranked for construction and thus allow full use of all facilities.

(C) Category III — Consists of projects which remedy documented pollution of potable water supplies. In order to qualify for high ranking for funding within this special category, projects must meet the following basic criteria: 1. the scope of the pollution problem is significant; 2. the affected water supply is not potable, i.e. does not meet minimum drinking water standards and requires treatment beyond chlorination; and 3. pollution abatement facilities are the cost-effective solution to the problem. This category does not apply to potential emergency use of class B waters for potable water supply as defined in the Connecticut Water Quality Standards adopted pursuant to Section 22a-426.

(3) Order of Funding Priority

The Commissioner shall distribute funds authorized under Section 22a-446 subject to the requirements for public hearing set forth in this section. The following funding designations establish the general order in which assistance is made. It is the goal to establish a balance between planning, design and construction. Therefore, all needs within the highest funding designation need not be fulfilled before proceeding to the next highest funding designation.

(A) State matching grants for projects defined under Section 22a-439 for advanced treatment pollution abatement facilities and new secondary treatment pollution abatement facilities jointly funded with the Federal Construction Grants Program.

(B) Funds for the construction of state-owned pollution abatement facilities as provided under Section 22a-439a.

(C) Funds to finance grants or advances for planning allowable under Section 22a-439 to provide for program continuity including future fundable projects and townwide planning efforts; and for design allowable under Sections 22a-439 and 22a-443 for projects planned to proceed to construction within three years of award.

(D) Funds to provide 55% grants for construction of municipal pollution abatement facilities eligible under the remaining provisions of Section 22a-439. Within this category the Commissioner may also establish reserves of funds for the following purposes:

(i) A reserve of funds to finance unanticipated cost increases for projects previously funded under Section 22a-439.

(ii) A reserve of funds sufficient to finance at least one small community project as determined by the Commissioner in Section 22a-439-3 (b).

(iii) A reserve of funds sufficient to finance regional septage disposal facilities determined eligible by the Commissioner.

(iv) A reserve of up to $1,000,000 for projects deemed by the Commissioner to qualify for special priority funding status. This reserve is intended to allow flexibility in providing grant assistance for unanticipated needs which may arise during the fiscal year and are deserving of special consideration. Such projects may include emergency potable water supply protection, correction of pollution problems which immediately threaten the public health, expedited planning studies or investigations, or other unexpected high priority concerns.

(4) Annual Public Hearing

The amount of funds applied to each of the funding designations described above shall be determined annually by the Commissioner based upon available funds and shall be designated in a draft priority list. The draft priority list will indicate which specific projects are proposed to receive funding within each funding designation for the upcoming Federal fiscal year and shall be made available to appropriate local officials at least 30 days prior to a specified date for Public Hearing. The Commissioner will consider all written and oral testimony presented at the Hearing and may elect to modify the draft priority list on the basis of such testimony. The Commissioner shall also indicate his reasons for accepting or rejecting any suggested revisions as part of the Hearing record. Following notice of any changes to the priority list which may result from the Hearing, the priority list shall be deemed final except for minor revisions allowable under Section 22a-439-1 (e) (5).

(5) Revisions to the Priority List

(A) The priority system shall include a project bypass procedure. The Commissioner may bypass a project on the fundable portion of the priority list if he determines that the bypassed project will not be ready to proceed within the first six months of the funding year. The Commissioner shall advise, in writing, each municipality he intends to bypass and the reasons therefore. Projects that are bypassed will retain their relative priority rating for consideration in future years. Projects bypassed will be replaced by the next highest ranking project ready to proceed. Projects will be removed from the priority list the following year after they receive a grant.

(B) Revisions to the priority list may be made at any time during the funding period. If the Commissioner determines the change to be significant, a public hearing with appropriate notice will be held and all affected by such a change will be notified directly.

(Effective August 22, 1985)