§ 35.3540 - Requirements for funding set-aside activities.

§ 35.3540 Requirements for funding set-aside activities.

(a) General. If a State makes a grant or enters into a cooperative agreement with an assistance recipient to conduct set-aside activities, the recipient must comply with 2 CFR part 200 and the EPA general assistance regulations in 2 CFR part 1500.

(b) Set-aside accounts. A State must maintain separate and identifiable accounts for the portion of its capitalization grant to be used for set-aside activities.

(c) Workplans -

(1) General. A State must submit detailed annual or multi-year workplans to EPA for approval describing how set-aside funds will be expended. For the administration and technical assistance set-aside under § 35.3535(b), the State is only required to submit a workplan describing how it will expend funds needed to provide technical assistance to public water systems. In order to ensure that funds are expended efficiently, multi-year workplan terms negotiated with EPA must be less than four years, unless a longer term is approved by EPA.

(2) Submitting workplans. A State must submit workplans in accordance with a schedule negotiated with EPA. If a schedule has not been negotiated, the State must submit workplans no later than 90 days after the capitalization grant award. If a State does not meet the deadline for submitting its workplans, the set-aside funds that were required to be described in the workplans must be transferred to the Fund to be used for projects.

(3) Content. Workplans must at a minimum include:

(i) The annual funding amount in dollars and as a percentage of the State allotment or capitalization grant;

(ii) The projected number of work years needed for implementing each set-aside activity;

(iii) The goals and objectives, outputs, and deliverables for each set-aside activity;

(iv) A schedule for completing activities under each set-aside activity;

(v) Identification and responsibilities of the agencies involved in implementing each set-aside activity, including activities proposed to be conducted by a third party; and

(vi) A description of the evaluation process to assess the success of work funded under each set-aside activity.

(4) Amending workplans. If a State changes the scope of work from what was originally described in its workplans, it must amend the workplans and submit them to EPA for approval.

(d) Reserving set-aside funds.

(1) A State may reserve set-aside funds from a capitalization grant and expend them over a period of time, provided that the State identifies the amount of funds reserved in the IUP and describes the use of the funds in workplans approved by EPA. For the administration and technical assistance set-aside under § 35.3535(b), the State is only required to submit a workplan to reserve funds needed to provide technical assistance to public water systems.

(2) With the exception of the local assistance and other State programs set-aside under § 35.3535(e), a State may reserve the authority to take from future capitalization grants those set-aside funds that it has not included in workplans. The State must identify in the IUP the amount of authority reserved from a capitalization grant for future use.

(e) Fund and set-aside account transfers.

(1) A State may transfer funds among set-aside categories described in § 35.3535(b) through (e) and among activities within these categories, provided that set-aside ceilings are not exceeded.

(2) A State may transfer funds between the Fund and set-asides, provided that set-aside ceilings are not exceeded. Set-aside funds may be transferred at any time to the Fund. If a State has taken payment for the set-aside funds to be transferred to the Fund, it must make binding commitments for these funds within one year of the transfer. Monies intended for the Fund may be transferred to set-asides only if the State has not yet taken a payment that includes those funds to be transferred in accordance with the payment schedule negotiated with EPA.

(3) The capitalization grant agreement must be amended prior to any transfer among the set-aside categories or any transfer between the Fund and set-asides.

[65 FR 48299, Aug. 7, 2000, as amended at 79 FR 76057, Dec. 19, 2014]