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SRF Guidance Documents

Table of SRF Guidance Documents. Also see the current Intended Use Plans.
CW = Clean Water (wastewater and stormwater); DW = Drinking Water
1 Guidance Document 1, Priority List Applications (CW and DW) Eligible applicants must apply every year to the Project Priority List in order to access construction loan funds. See Priority List Applications for the current form. Combined CW/DW
2 Guidance Document 2, Priority List Development (DW) - application, criteria, and scores used to develop the ranked draft and final priority lists. Last updated 1/2/2024.  
3 Guidance Document 3, Fund Availability Notification - Notifies applicant that funds are available and outlines key deadlines for document submission Combined CW/DW
4 Guidance Document 4, Project Bypass Procedure (CW and DW) - Criteria used to assess a project's readiness to proceed or else be bypassed to fund other projects on the current IUP cycle. Use the current IUP for most up to date info.  
5 Guidance Document 5, Loan Application (CW and DW)  
6 Guidance Document 6, Loan Application Review and Approval - Process SRF staff used to process and approve a loan Combined CW/DW
7 Guidance Document 7, Municipal Authority to Execute Loans- Statutory reference that gives authority to Municipalities to enter into loan agreements Combined CW/DW
  Borrower, Project, and Cost Eligibility
CWSRF federal eligibility guidance and Environmental Protection Rules Chapter 2

DWSRF federal eligibility handbook (June 2017)
DWSRF federal eligibility memo for rehabilitation of dams & raw water reservoirs (July 2021)
DWSRF state eligibility Guidance Document 8 - details on VT interpretations and restrictions of federal eligibility (Jan 2021, with dam update March 2023, source protection and interest updates Sept 2023)

 
9 Guidance Document 9, Engineering Allowance for DWSRF Projects- Procedures for engineering services agreements, engineering fee curve allowances, standard and non-standard tasks (For CW see #33 below.)  
 

DW Guidance Document 10, Loan Terms, revised 7/19/23. Describes process for determining Loan Term, Interest Rate, Administrative Fee, and Loan Repayments. Interest and fee rates were updated per a memo to the State Treasurer in 2020. 

 
  Guidance Document 11, Median Household Income Determination (CW and DW) - Outlines how the SRF programs determine MHI in a given community, including procedure for conducting an income survey. MHI data table as of 2021 Census American Community Survey. Combined CW/DW
12 DWSRF PER Requirement DW

CW

13 DWSRF Annual Operation and Maintenance Costs, Equivalent Units and Existing Debt Annual- Outlines the three primary elements in determining the loan term and interest rate. Applies to Drinking Water loans only DW
14 Project Cost Estimate Adjustments and Loan Amount Adjustments- Procedure for adjusting approved loan amounts Combined CW/DW
15 Environmental Review - Procedure for review and approval of required Environmental Report/Environmental Information Document (ER/EI for all SRF funded construction projects). Some aspects of GD 15 are out of date as of Dec 2021; see Env. Review page instead. DW

CW

16

DW Emergency Projects- Procedure for placing a project on the DW priority list, thereby bypassing other projects

CW Emergency Projects- Procedure for requesting consideration for placing a project on the CW priority list, thereby bypassing other projects.

DW

CW

17 Archeological and Historic Properties Review- Reference to the MOU with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) for review of archaeological and historic properties as part of the  DW
18 Project Design Review for Petroleum Contamination and Hazardous Waste Sites- Procedure for when petroleum contamination is involved at a site where SRF funds will be used DW
19 Canadian Border Projects- Outlines procedures for funding projects that serve populations on both sides of the border DW
20 5-Year Municipal Bond Construction Loans- Procedure for municipalities that want to authorize loan for a term 5 years or less and a value of more than $75,000. Combined CW/DW
21 Municipal Construction Loans less than $75,000 or Loan Increases less than $75,000- Statutory reference to municipalities' ability to authorize loan increases and SRF review and approval of such actions. Combined CW/DW
22 Planning Loan Forgiveness - For DWSRF planning loans from the WPL account to municipalities prior to July 2020. For recent and current planning loans from the RF3 account, see GD 10 above DW
23 DWSRF Loan Capacity Reviews- Procedure for determining the technical, managerial and financial capacity of an entity that applies for a DWSRF loan. DW
24 School Loan Forgiveness- Procedure for forgiveness for municipally-owned school construction loans. Applies to Drinking Water loans only. DW
25 Procurement Guidelines- Procedure the Construction Engineering Section takes when bidding and procuring goods and services for projects using SRF funds. DW
26 DW Guidance Document 26, Asset Management Plan, updated April 2022. Criteria for DWGPD approval of an AMP.
Clean Water Asset Management Plans are defined in Chapter 2.
 
27 Request for Qualifications- Procurement guidelines for Architectural/Engineering Services. Applies to Clean Water loans only. CW
28 Joint Funded Projects- USDA-RD and SRF DW
29 American Iron and Steel Combined CW/DW
30 Fiscal Sustainability Plan- Applies to Clean Water loans only CW
31 Lead Subsidy Policy for DWSRF (draft) - NOT CURRENT DW
32 Basis of Final Design Guidance Document CW
33 Engineering Fee Curve Guidance Document & Fee Curve Calculator CW
34 Project Cost Summaries (Pending) & Project Cost Summary Template Combined CW/DW
35 Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications Equipment Combined CW/DW
36 Growth Center and Growth Management Guidance Document  & Draft Checklist  CW
37 Floodplain Guidance Document (Pending) Combined CW/DW
38 Guidance for the Application of the Municipal Pollution Control Priority System Rule to the New Soil-based Wastewater Systems (Village Community Wastewater Eligibility) CW

39

Engineering Services Agreement Contract Documents Required Edits (Pending) CW/DW