TITLE 46
Waters and Navigation
CHAPTER 46-15.2
Water Facilities Assistance Program
SECTION 46-15.2-5
§ 46-15.2-5 Application to assistance
program.
(a) Applicants shall submit projects proposed for assistance under this program
to the water resources board, in the form and content prescribed by the board.
The board shall coordinate the review and disposition of all applications by
all agencies concerned in an expeditious manner. The board shall incorporate
the information required by all agencies to conduct their review of proposals
in its application documents.
(b) Upon receipt of an application, the board shall determine
whether the application is complete and contains all necessary information.
Incomplete applications shall be returned to the applicants. Complete
applications shall be formally acknowledged by the board.
(c) The board shall forward a copy of each application
accepted to the division of public utilities and carriers, to the state
planning council, to the department of health and to the department of
environmental management. Review of applications by these agencies shall be
conducted concurrently.
(d) The water resources board shall evaluate each application
to determine whether all requirements of §§ 46-15-1 and 46-15-3 have
been met, and shall further ensure that:
(1) Design and engineering of the project are sound, as
provided in § 46-15.2-4(g);
(2) The applicant has adequately demonstrated that a need
exists in its community for the water that would be provided by the project;
(3) The project links a water source with a water
distribution system, as set forth in § 46-15.2-4(e);
(4) The distribution system owned or to be owned by the
applicant has or will continue to have sufficient capacity to carry the
projected volumes of water, as set forth in § 46-15.2-4(e);
(5) The proposed water source is adequate to meet the
applicant's needs and will have sufficient capacity to serve all future demands
imposed by the applicant in combination with all other users, as set forth in
§ 46-15.2-4(e);
(6) The quality of the water meets the standards established
by the Rhode Island department of health water quality regulations for the
purpose intended, as provided in § 46-15.2-4(f);
(7) The project incorporates sound conservation techniques as
provided in § 46-15.1-5; and
(8) The project is properly related to all other water
systems serving adjacent or nearby areas in terms of interconnections and
mutual support.
(e) The division of public utilities and carriers shall
review the financing aspects of all projects, particularly with respect to
costs that will be imposed on water users as a result of the project. The
division shall perform an analysis of the proposed costs and benefits of the
project and shall, on the basis of its findings, make a determination as to
whether approval of the project is in the best interests of the water users. If
the division determines the project is in the best interests of the water
users, it shall approve the project. If the division determines that the
project is not in the best interests of the water users, it shall disapprove
the project. Since the division's review must be based on estimated costs and
interest rates, the full financing costs will not be precisely known. The
absence of specificity concerning the finance of costs must be considered by
the division.
(f) The state planning council shall review all proposed
projects to determine whether they are consistent with all relevant elements of
the state guide plan. Upon determination that a project is consistent with all
relevant elements of the state guide plan, the state planning council shall
render its approval. Upon a determination that the project is not consistent
with all relevant elements of the state guide plan, the council shall
disapprove the project. The state planning council will provide the policy
framework necessary to guide this program through the state guide plan.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1983 (S.S.), ch. 332, art. II, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 461, § 7;
P.L. 1999, ch. 461, § 3.)
