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                                                            Clean  Water
                                                            State Revolving Fund
ACTIVITY  One-Stop Shopping in the Clean Water State
UPDA TE  Revolving Fund Program
  States with
  One-Stop
  Shopping
  Initiatives

   Arizona
  Arkansas
  California
  Colorado
    Illinois
  Louisiana
  Missouri
  Montana
  Nebraska
   Nevada
 New Mexico
  New York
     Ohio
  Oklahoma
    Oregon
  Vermont
  Washington
West Virginia
  Wisconsin
v	
                     With more than $42 billion in assets
                     and continuing financial support
                 from USEPA, the Clean Water State
                 Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program is the
                 largest water quality funding program in
                 the country. However, many other federal
                 and state assistance programs have similar
                 water quality or public health objectives.
                 For this reason, some state CWSRF
                 programs have worked with federal and
                 state financial assistance programs to
                 develop "one-stop shopping" initiatives
                 that provide one point of contact for water
                 quality improvement projects.

                 CWSRF programs have developed many
                 variations of the one-stop  shopping
                 concept. Some states have developed
                 internet sites that help potential applicants
                 identify funding for which they are
                 eligible.  Other states have developed
                 funding committees that help applicants
                 identify which funding sources are most
                 applicable to their needs.  Some states
                 have developed application materials and
                 environmental review documents that can
                 be used for many federal and state
                 assistance programs.  Finally, the most
                 integrated example of a one-stop
                 shopping program uses a single
                 application process for multiple programs.

                 One-stop shopping initiatives provide
                 many benefits:

                 •  Joint funding packages can provide
                    borrowers with greater amounts of
   funding, helping borrowers afford
   appropriate water quality solutions

•   Coordinated funding initiatives can
   help CWSRF programs support more
   projects and use more of their
   available loan funds

•   One-stop shopping programs ensure
   that assistance programs support
   projects that address a state's highest
   priority water quality problems and
   help eliminate competition with other
   programs

•   Applicants find a one-stop shopping
   funding process to be easier and more
   convenient.  Projects are able to
   navigate the process quickly and
   move forward with project
   implementation

•   Both the financial assistance
   programs and the applicants in one-
   stop shopping initiatives reduce
   administrative costs because water
   quality projects are directed to the
   most appropriate funding sources

This document highlights one-stop
shopping initiatives in Washington,
Arizona, and Montana.  Washington's
single application method is highly
efficient for applicants and funding
programs, but the joint application only
serves three financial assistance programs.
Arizona's funding committee method

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                 directs applicants to more than ten
                 financial assistance programs, but if a
                 project's most appropriate financing
                 solution involves funding from multiple
                 programs, the project has to complete
                 multiple applications.  Montana uses a
                 funding committee method similar to that
                 used by Arizona to direct applicants to
                 appropriate funding programs.  Montana
                 also developed a uniform application for
                 their programs, but the funding process for
                 each program remains separate.

                 Washington

                 The State of Washington coordinates loan
                 and grant funding from three water quality
                 programs - the Clean Water State
                 Revolving Fund  loan program, the §319
                 Nonpoint Source Grants program, and the
                 state's Centennial Clean Water Fund loan
                 and grant program.  Washington's
                 Department of Ecology manages  all three
                 programs (www.infrafunding.wa.gov). In
                 state fiscal year 2002, these programs
                 supported $107.0 million in water quality
                 projects ($80.4 million, $2.3 million, and
                 $25.1 million, respectively.)

                 Washington's water quality financial
                 assistance programs support projects
                 sponsored by Indian Tribes, state agencies,
                 local governments, and special districts.
                 Loans and grants have supported  many
                 types of projects:

                 •   Planning, design and construction
                     of wastewater and storm water
                     treatment facilities
                 •   Water reuse planning and facilities
                 •   Agricultural best management
                     practices
                 •   Public boat pump-out construction
                 •   Lake restoration
                 •   Stream and salmon habitat
   restoration
   Wetland habitat acquisition
   Wellhead protection
   Watershed planning
   Water quality monitoring
   Public information and education
            Marina pump-out station
Joint funding process

Washington's Department of Ecology tries
to manage these three financial assistance
programs as one. The programs share one
funding cycle, one application form, and
one offer list. In each funding cycle, the
Department reviews all proposed projects
and places them on a priority-ordered offer
list.  If a project is in the fundable portion
of the offer list, the Department identifies
the most appropriate funding source for the
project.

Washington's Department of Ecology
identifies the most appropriate funding
source(s) for each project by considering
six questions:

•  Does the proj ect have a revenue
   stream that could repay a loan?
•  How do proj ect obj ectives match the

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   slightly different objectives of the
   three funding programs?
•  How much assistance is each
   program offering this year?
•  Will the CWSRF program meet its
   goal of using 20 percent of its
   available resources for nonpoint
   source and estuary projects?
•  Have legislative budget provisos
   directed to the Department to award
   Centennial loans and grants to specific
   projects?
•  Do project sponsors suffer financial
   hardships that would be alleviated
   with partial grant support?

Projects have one year to accept funding
offers.
       Restored wetland preserve
Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service
 Coordinated Information on the Internet and in Environmental Review
 Documentation

 Washington's Infrastructure Assistance Coordination Council (IACC) is a nonprofit
 organization that identifies ways of streamlining and coordinating the delivery of
 infrastructure-related financial and technical assistance to communities. This Council
 is composed of staff from state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, local
 government associations, and universities that provide assistance to local governments
 in Washington State. Two of the lACC's greatest successes have been the development
 of a web-based directory of assistance programs (www.infrafunding.wa.gov) and a
 standardized approach to environmental documentation for water and sewer
 infrastructure.

 The web-based directory of assistance programs allows potential assistance recipients
 to identify assistance programs for which they may be eligible.  The directory sorts
 assistance programs by type of borrower, type of water quality project,  type of
 assistance, and match requirements.

 The standardized approach to environmental documentation for water and sewer
 infrastructure adopted the most encompassing requirements of the National
 Environmental Policy Act, the State Environmental Policy Act, and the State
 Environmental Review Process.  As a result of this coordination, communities are not
 required to complete multiple environmental review processes.
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                Integration of the funding programs

                Washington developed a joint application
                for the CWSRF loan program and the
                Centennial Fund loan and grant program as
                a pilot project in 1995.  This joint
                application process received positive
                feedback from applicants, and the §319
                Nonpoint Source Grants Program was added
                to the joint application in 1997.  The
                funding programs required similar
                information and used similar evaluation
methods—the joint application meets the
needs of all three programs. Washington
further streamlined the programs by
combining program guidelines.

Arizona

Arizona's Rural Water Infrastructure
Committee (RWIC) is an informal
partnership that works to improve the
wastewater and drinking water
infrastructure in Arizona. This committee
                 A RWIC Success Story

                 The experience of Fredonia, Arizona provides a typical example of the packaging of
                 multiple funding sources through the efforts of the RWIC. Fredonia was one of the
                 first RWIC participants to participate in the project meeting process. Town officials
                 came to RWIC meetings several times over a period of 2 to 3 years to seek technical
                 and funding consultation and advice.  The RWIC partners worked together and with
                 the town to develop a funding plan.

                 Fredonia is a small community located on the north rim of the Grand Canyon; it has a
                 population of just over 1100 people. When the town first came to the RWIC, it had
                 no sewer system and many of the septic tanks in the  community were failing. In
                 addition, the local economy was declining because its main logging industry had
                 closed.  This situation was compounded by a low median household income.

                 The community decided to build a new sewer system with sewerage lagoons and also
                 came up with a plan to attract industry.  Town leaders pursued an aggressive
                 campaign to fund the $3.9 million project.

                 With the assistance of the RWIC, the following funding was procured for the sewer
                 system and economic development:

                 US Dept. of Commerce Economic Development Administration Grant
                 (Industrial Park development)                        $1,035,900
                 US Dept. of Agriculture RD Grant                   $ 1,000,000
                 US Dept. of Agriculture RD Loan                    $  828,200
                 Local Funding                                     $  232,500
                 WIFA Hardship grant                              $  150,000
                 WIFA CWSRF Loan                               $  660.120
                                                                   $3,936,720

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of federal, state, local, and private sector
organizations meets regularly to coordinate
financial and technical assistance. RWIC
partners include the following groups:

Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs
Arizona Corporation Commission
Arizona Department of Emergency
  Management
Arizona Department of Environmental
  Quality
Arizona Department of Commerce
Arizona Department of Water Resources
Arizona State Environmental Training and
  Technology Center
Arizona Small Town Environment Program
Arizona Small Utilities Association
Arizona Water and Pollution Control
  Association
Border Environment Cooperation
  Commission
Greater Arizona Development Authority
  Intertribal Council
North American Development Bank
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural
  Development
          Wastewater treatment plant
   Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Department of Commerce,
  Economic Development Administration
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
  Development
U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of
  Reclamation
Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of
  Arizona (includes Clean Water State
  Revolving Fund and Drinking Water
  State Revolving Fund)

The RWIC meeting process

Arizona's Rural Water Infrastructure
Committee has considered projects from
almost every rural community in the state
within its structured format. Each project
sponsor spends 75 minutes discussing its
project with the committee. The sponsor
first describes its situation and its proposed
project. The committee then offers
technical advice and recommends further
sources of technical and financial support
for the project. At the end of each meeting,
the chair of the Rural Infrastructure
Committee summarizes the discussion and
recommended "next steps" for the project.

The RWIC most often suggests that
communities constructing wastewater
treatment projects apply for funding from
the Water Infrastructure Financing
Authority of Arizona (CWSRF) or the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (Rural
Development Program).  To a lesser extent,
other partners, including the Greater
Arizona Development Authority, the
Economic Development Administration,
the North American Development Bank,
the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and the Arizona Department
of Emergency Management also support
construction projects.  Technical assistance
is provided by many sources, as well. The
RWIC  identifies financial assistance
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   o
                programs that are most appropriate for
                each proposed project, and it offers advice
                on how to develop a funding package that
                coordinates multiple funding sources.

                Development of the RWIC

                The Rural Water Infrastructure Committee
                formed in 1990 as an informal
                organization of state and federal funding
                programs. Committee participants
                discussed how they could best meet the
                infrastructure needs of rural  communities,
                and the funding programs implemented
                many of the committee's ideas. The
                committee first  hosted project-oriented
                meetings in 1994, and this format
                blossomed in 1996 when funding
                programs increased their participation in
                RWIC activities. Since 1996, RWIC
                meetings have assisted almost every rural
                jurisdiction in Arizona and more than 200
                projects.
Montana
Montana's Water, Wastewater, and Solid
Waste Action Coordinating Team
(W2ASACT) is a group of state, federal,
and nonprofit organizations that provides
financial and technical assistance to
communities and to water and sewer
districts. The following five organizations
coordinate six funding programs (including
the CWSRF) through their participation in
W2ASACT.

Montana Board of Investments
Montana Department of Commerce
Montana Department of Environmental
  Quality
Montana Department of Natural Resources
  and Conservation
U.S. Department of Agriculture

W2ASACT meets on a bimonthly basis to
coordinate program efforts, and
subcommittees pursue program
improvements between meetings. A series
of workshops around the state in the spring
and the fall allow W2ASACT programs to
provide face-to-face advice and assistance
to communities as they develop and finance
water, wastewater,  and solid waste
infrastructure projects. These workshops
                                       Montana W2ASACT workshop participants

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steer projects to appropriate sources of
funding and help them complete the
application process.

W2ASACT has also developed a uniform
application form, environmental
checklist, and preliminary engineering
report that is accepted by the six federal
and state funding programs.  While the
application process remains separate for
each funding program, and while each
program does require some
supplementary information, the uniform
materials reduce the time, effort, and
expense that local governments incur
when they apply to multiple agencies for
financial assistance.

Development of W2ASACT and
uniform application materials

W2 AS ACT was created in 1983 as a
forum for water and wastewater
financing professionals in Montana.
This coordinating team was created in
response to new state-funded grant
programs for infrastructure financing. In
the early years of W2ASACT's existence,
this forum discussed the progress of
local infrastructure projects, especially
problem projects where local
governments were struggling.
W2ASACT has hosted workshops for
local governments since its creation in
1983, but in 1990 W2 AS ACT agencies
expanded their outreach and  hosted
workshops in three or four communities
across the  state.

In 1995, W2ASACT  developed a
common preliminary engineering report
format that was acceptable to each of the
agencies that fund water,  wastewater,
and solid waste projects in Montana.
Spurred by this success, some of the
state agencies also adopted a common
application summary form and
environmental checklist that same year. In
1997, W2ASACT members adopted a
uniform publication that contains a
common application form, environmental
checklist and preliminary  engineering
report. Critical to these efforts was the
identification of the core information that
must be provided for all projects that
receive assistance from any of these
funding sources.
Contact Information
Arizona

Suzanne Price
Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance
Authority
ph: 602-230-9770x217
suzanne.price@wifa. state.az.us
www.wifa.state.az.us
Montana

John Tubbs
Montana Department of Natural Resources
and Conservation
ph: 406-444-6689
jtubbs@state.mt.us
www.dnrc.state.mt.us/cardd/wasact.htm
Washington

Brian Howard
Washington Department of Ecology
ph:306-407-6510
brh0461 @ecy. wa.gov
www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding

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 For more information about the Clean Water Revolving Fund, or for a program representative in your State,
                                        please contact:
                             Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch
                              U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                         1201 Constitution Avenue, NW (Mailcode 4204M)
                                    Washington, DC  20004
                           Phone: (202) 564-0752 Fax: (202) 501-2403
                       Internet: http://www.epa.gov/owm/cwfmance/index.htm
                                      Clean Water
                                      State Revolving Fund
Office of Water                             January 2003                        EPA 832-F-03-001

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