Section 110.90   Set-Aside for Emergency Public Facilities Component

Certain types of conditions, such as natural disasters or other unique circumstances, e.g., loss of infrastructure due to construction, environmental incidents such as oil spills, ruptured public utility lines, etc., do not lend themselves well to a designated (yearly or quarterly) application cycle.  In order to better respond to severe public works problems funds will be made available on an "as needed" basis.  There is no application deadline for this set-aside.  Awards could be made to communities that are faced with an immediate threat to health and safety.  If no situations arise which warrant this type of assistance, the set-aside funds will be reallocated at the end of the program year to the competitive public facilities component.

a)         Project Eligibility Criteria – For a project to be eligible for funding under this component, applicants must document the following:

1)         At minimum, 51% of those benefiting from the project will be low to moderate-income persons (as defined in Section 110.30 of this Part).

2)         At minimum, 25% of project costs will be paid from other non-department funds. Examples of other funding sources may include USDA Rural Development, EPA or local funds.  After the project is completed, the grantee may request, in writing, that the 25% minimum leverage requirement be waived.  This request must include a reasonable justification, which would include, but not be limited to, instances where the actual total project cost was less than originally estimated, resulting in the return of a relatively small amount of CDAP grant funds in order to meet the 25% minimum.  The Department shall review each request on a case-by-case basis.

3)         A serious and urgent threat to the health and safety of community residents exists, i.e., a serious deficiency exists in a community public facility (or that the community lacks the facility entirely), and problems clearly attributable to the deficiency have occurred such as serious illness, disease outbreak, or serious environmental pollution.  The community must substantiate that the situation was unforeseen.

4)         The project is ready to proceed and expend funds and the project addresses the identified problem.

5)         A financial need for grant assistance in order to address the identified problem.

b)         Application Review and Approval

1)         Funds will be made available on an as needed basis through a noncompetitive process until all funds are obligated.

2)         Applications shall be prepared and submitted to the Department as specified in Section 110.70 of this Part.

3)         Applications shall be reviewed in accordance with Section 110.103 of this Part.

(Source:  Amended at 28 Ill. Reg. 13468, effective September 23, 2004)