§ 1710.501 - Loan application documents.

§ 1710.501 Loan application documents.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 17274, Mar. 11, 2024.

(a) All borrowers. Borrowers may be eligible to submit their loan application via RUS' electronic application intake system instead of submitting a paper submission. Please consult your GFR in accordance with § 1710.500. All applications for electric loans shall include the documents listed in this paragraph (a).

(1) Loan application letter. A letter signed by the borrower's manager indicating the actual corporate name, the borrowers RUS Designation, the borrowers RUS Loan Designation, and taxpayer identification number of the borrower and addressing the following items:

(i) The amount of loan and loan type. The sources and amounts of any supplemental or other financing. For an insured loan, a statement of whether the application is for a municipal rate loan, with or without the interest rate cap, or a hardship loan. If the application is for a municipal rate loan, the board resolution must indicate whether the borrower intends to elect the prepayment option. See 7 CFR 1714.4(c);

(ii) The Maturity Date/Term of the Loan in number of years (useful life to determine maximum);

(iii) A short description of the purpose of the loan, i.e., generation, distribution, transmission, energy efficiency, etc.;

(iv) Method of Amortization;

(v) The Borrower's Unique Entity Identifier;

(vi) The Borrower's Organization Number from its State Corporation Commission or similar entity;

(vii) The Borrower's Exact Legal Name (please state the legal name and identify the legal document used to state the name or attach such document;

(viii) List of current counties and Tribal lands where real property is located;

(ix) Attach current property schedule;

(x) Identify any new counties and Tribal lands with property since last loan;

(xi) Authorized/registered place of business;

(xii) Debt Limit;

(xiii) Identify any State or Tribal regulatory approvals needed;

(xiv) List any subsidiaries;

(xv) Identify any material financial or other material change since last loan, including a list of any pending litigation and where there is insurance to cover such;

(xvi) Breakdown of loan funds by State and Tribal lands;

(xvii) Construction Work Plan (CWP), if not previously submitted through RD Apply or other method;

(xviii) Environmental Report (ER), if not previously submitted through RD Apply or other method;

(xix) Statement authorizing RUS to release appropriate information and data relating to the loan application to the FFB and any existing supplemental lenders.

(2) Special resolutions. Included any special resolutions required by Federal, State, or Tribal Authorities and any others as identified and required by the RUS General Field Representative (for example, use of contractors, corrective action plans, etc.). Resolutions of support from Tribal government or Tribal regulatory authority are required by any non-Tribal applicant intending to serve Tribal areas before any loan is approved by RUS.

(3) RUS Form 740c, Cost Estimates and Loan Budget for Electric Borrowers. This form together with its attachments lists the construction, equipment, facilities, and other cost estimates from the construction work plan or engineering and cost studies. The projects and related costs, included on this form, shall be used to justify the loan amount and are not meant to be an exclusive list of those projects that could receive funds under this loan. In addition, to be included on this form, the project must have received written documentation of RUS concluding its environmental review. The advance of loan funds for projects shall be governed by 7 CFR part 1721. The date on page one (1) of the RUS Form 740c is the beginning date of the loan period. RUS Form 740c also includes the following information, exhibits, and attachments:

(i) Description of funds and materials. This description details the availability of materials and equipment, any unadvanced funds from prior loans, and any general funds the borrower designates, to determine the amount of such materials and funds to be applied against the capital requirements estimated for the loan period.

(ii) Useful life of facilities financed by the loan. Form 740c must include, as a note, either a statement certifying that at least 90 percent of the loan funds are for facilities that have a useful life of 33 years or longer, or a schedule showing the costs and useful life of those facilities with a useful life of less than 33 years. This statement or schedule will be used to determine the final maturity of the loan. See § 1710.115.

(iii) Reimbursement schedule. This schedule lists the date, amount, and identification number of each inventory of work orders and special equipment summary that form the basis for the borrower's request for reimbursement of general funds on the RUS Form 740c. See § 1710.109. If the borrower is not requesting reimbursement, this schedule need not be submitted.

(iv) Location of consumers. If the application is for a municipal rate loan subject to the interest rate cap, or for a loan at the hardship rate, and the average number of consumers per mile of the total electric system exceeds 17, Form 740c must include, as a note, a breakdown of funds included in the proposed loan to furnish or improve service to consumers located in an urban area. See 7 CFR 1714.7(c) and 1714.8(d). This breakdown must indicate the method used by the borrower for allocating loan funds between urban and non-urban consumers.

(4) Financial and statistical report. RUS will use the Borrower's year end filed Financial and Operating Report Electric Distribution (formerly known as the RUS Form 7) or the Financial and Operating Report Electric Power Supply (formerly known as the RUS Form 12) unless the borrower has failed to meet its applicable financial ratios, as required by its security instrument and loan contract. The reports are required to be filed electronically in the agency's Data Collection System. If the borrower's financial requirements have not been met, RUS will require a current Financial and Operating Report to be submitted with the loan application, which shall contain the most recent data available and shall not be more than 60 days old when received by RUS. In addition, for those borrowers not meeting their financial ratios, the following information shall also be provided as part of the loan application:

(i) Any other information required to be submitted by RUS;

(ii) A Plan to meet their Financial Ratios;

(iii) The Date of the Borrower's last rate change and the amount/percentage of that rate change;

(iv) A list of any Subsidiaries along with a brief summary identifying the purpose of each subsidiary and identify the percentage interest in each if less than 100%;

(v) If the issues with the Borrower not meeting its financial ratios involves the subsidiary or equity investment losses a business plan and exit strategy shall be provided;

(vi) An updated Financial and Operating Report within 60 days of actual loan approval which will be requested by RUS and can be submitted later.

(5) Load Forecast Study. A current Load Forecast Study will be included in the loan application which is not more than 2 years old when the loan application is submitted unless the borrower is a member of a Power Supplier which only completes a Load Forecast once every 3 years. In that case the Load Forecast shall not be more than 3 years old when the loan application is submitted.

(6) Long Range Financial Forecast and assumptions. Along with the loan application, the borrower shall submit to RUS a Long-Range Financial Forecast (LRFF) that meets the requirements of subpart G of this part in a form acceptable to RUS. The forecast shall include any sensitivity analysis and/or analysis of alternative scenarios only if requested by the RUS General Field Representative.

(7) Rate disparity and consumer income data. If the borrower is applying under the rate disparity and consumer income tests for either a municipal rate loan subject to the interest rate cap or a hardship rate loan, the application must provide a breakdown of residential consumers either by county, Tribal land, or by census tract. In addition, if the borrower serves in 2 or more States, the application must include a breakdown of all ultimate consumers by State. This breakdown may be a copy of Form EIA 861 submitted by the Borrower to the Department of Energy or in a similar form. See 7 CFR 1714.7(b) and 1714.8(a). To expedite the processing of loan applications, RUS strongly encourages distribution borrowers to provide this information to the GFR prior to submitting the application.

(8) Standard Form 100—Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Report EEO—1. This form, required by the Department of Labor, sets forth employment data for borrowers with 100 or more employees. A copy of this form, as submitted to the Department of Labor, is to be included in the application for an insured loan if the borrower has more than 100 employees. See § 1710.122.

(9) Form AD-1047, Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters—Primary Covered Transactions. This statement certifies that the borrower will comply with certain regulations on debarment and suspension required by Executive Order 12549, Debarment and Suspension (3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189). See 2 CFR 417, and § 1710.123 of this part.

(10)

Uniform Relocation Act assurance statement. This assurance, which need not be resubmitted if previously submitted, provides that the borrower shall comply with 49 CFR part 24, which implements the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970, as amended by the Uniform Relocation Act Amendments of 1987 and 1991. See § 1710.124.

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10) Lobbying. The following information on lobbying is required pursuant to 2 CFR 418, and § 1710.125. Borrowers applying for both insured and guaranteed financing should consult RUS before submitting this information.

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11) Federal debt delinquency requirements. See § 1710.126. The following documents are required:

(i) Report on Federal debt delinquency. This report indicates whether or not a borrower is delinquent on any Federal debt.

(ii) Certification regarding Federal Government collection options. This statement certifies that a borrower has been informed of the collection options the Federal Government may use to collect delinquent debt. The Federal Government is authorized by law to take any or all of the following actions in the event that a borrower's loan payments become delinquent or the borrower defaults on its loans:

(A) Report the borrower's delinquent account to a credit bureau;

(B) Assess additional interest and penalty charges for the period of time that payment is not made;

(C) Assess charges to cover additional administrative costs incurred by the Government to service the borrower's account;

(D) Offset amounts owed directly or indirectly to the borrower under other Federal programs;

(E) Refer the borrower's debt to the Internal Revenue Service for offset against any amount owed to the borrower as an income tax refund;

(F) Refer the borrower's account to a private collection agency to collect the amount due; and

(G) Refer the borrower's account to the Department of Justice for collection.

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13) Assurance regarding Felony Conviction (AD Form 3030). This form must be included with each application to document the status regarding a felony criminal violation and status of any unpaid federal tax liability; (14)

12) RD Form 400-4, Assurance Agreement. This form provides assurance to USDA that recipients of federal financial assistance are in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 7 CFR part 15 and other agency regulations;

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13) Seismic safety certifications. This certification shall be included, if required under 7 CFR part 1792.

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14) Other forms. Other forms as required by law or as requested.

(b) New or returning borrowers. In addition to the items in paragraph (a) of this section, applications for loans submitted by new or returning borrowers shall include the items listed in this paragraph (b).

(1) A copy of the Borrower's Current Bylaws;

(2) Identify the Borrower's Type of Organizational Structure and a copy of their Articles of Incorporation;

(3) Provide evidence of where Borrower is registered to do business;

(4) Copies of the Borrower's Audited GAAP financials for the past 1-3 years, if available or other financial information, as requested on a case by case basis;

(5) A list of any secured outstanding debt including the amount and name of lender;

(6) Evidence of Collateral and/or its ability to pledge such collateral;

(7) An Attorney Opinion for the Borrower including the counties served, a property schedule, the state of incorporation, any pending litigation, the corporate debt limit, the Borrower's legal name and type of legal organization, and the borrower's legal authority to pledge its collateral or other assets.

(8) Copies of the Borrower's Power Supply Contracts and arrangements (including wholesale rate contracts);

(9) Competitive position information including its rates and rate disparity between neighboring utilities;

(10) Construction Work Plan and/or Engineering Power Cost Study, if not previously submitted;

(11) An Environmental Report related to the facilities for which financing is being requested, if not previously submitted.

(c) Power Supply Borrowers. In addition to the loan application, consisting of the documents required by paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, Power Supply Borrowers must also provide RUS with the following:

(1) Information on its Power Supply arrangements and/or wholesale power contracts including the maturity dates. Please note copies of the contracts may be requested on a case by cases basis;

(2) A Profile of the Power Supply Borrowers' fuel supply arrangements;

(3) The Borrowers Load Resource Table;

(4) Information on its Transmission and Interconnection arrangements. Please note that copies of the contracts related to such arrangements may be requested on a case by case basis;

(5) The Power Supply Borrowers' New/Returning membership chart profile and relationships as applicable.

(d) Submission of documents.

(1) Generally, all information required by paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section is submitted to RUS in a single application. Borrowers may be eligible to submit their loan application via RUS' electronic application intake system instead of submitting hard copies of the loan applications. Please contact your respective General Field Representative or RUS Headquarters to determine if you are eligible to utilize the electronic system.

(2) To facilitate loan review, RUS urges borrowers to ensure that their applications contain all of the information required by this section before submitting the application to RUS. Borrowers may consult with RUS field representatives and headquarters staff as necessary for assistance in preparing loan applications.

(3) RUS may, in its discretion, return an application to the borrower if the application is not materially complete to the satisfaction of RUS within 10 months of receipt of any of the items listed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section. RUS will generally advise the borrower in writing at least 2 months prior to returning the application as to the elements of the application that are not complete.

(4) If an application is returned, an application for the same loan purposes will be accepted by RUS if satisfactory evidence is provided that all of the information required by this section will be submitted to RUS within a reasonable time. An application for loan purposes included in an application previously returned to the borrower will be treated as an entirely new application.

(e) Complete applications. An application is complete when all information required by RUS to approve a loan is materially complete in form and substance satisfactory to RUS.

(f) Change in borrower circumstances. A borrower shall, after submitting a loan application, promptly notify RUS of any changes in its circumstances that materially affect the information contained in the loan application or in the primary support documents.

(g) Interest rate category. For pending loans, RUS will promptly notify the borrower if its eligibility for an interest rate category changes pursuant to new information from the Department of Energy or the Bureau of the Census. See 7 CFR part 1714.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0572-0017, 0572-0032 and 0572-1013)

[60 FR 3731, Jan. 19, 1995. Redesignated at 78 FR 73366, Dec. 5, 2013, as amended at 79 FR 76002, Dec. 19, 2014; 81 FR 11026, Mar. 2, 2016; 84 FR 32613, July 9, 2019; 86 FR 36196, July 9, 2021; 87 FR 73438, Nov. 30, 2022; 89 FR 17274, Mar. 11, 2024]