Source Water Protection
Noncommunity Transient Grant

We will accept applications from
October 1 until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Request for Proposal and Application Form

Notification of Grant Availability
This notice applies to the noncommunity transient public water supply systems.

The Minnesota Department of Health announces the availability of funding to support source water protection grants for noncommunity transient public water suppliers. Noncommunity transient systems are defined as public water suppliers that serve at least 25 people at least 60 days of the year, but do not serve the same 25 people over that period of time. Source water protection activities that are funded under this grant program must support measures that address a potential contamination source that presents a high risk to a source of drinking water as determined by the Minnesota Department of Health. The funding for noncommunity transient systems grants is provided under Chapter 6, Art. 2, Sec. 8(b) (2011 Session Law). 

Introduction
The Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota constitution provides funding to the Minnesota Department of Health to establish the noncommunity transient public water supply grant program. This program will be administered through the Drinking Water Protection Section.

These are competitive grants for noncommunity transient public water suppliers that will help implement source water protection measures that must address a public health risk that has been identified by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The fundamental goal of source water protection is to prevent contamination from entering sources of public drinking water at levels that present a risk to people. Source water protection applies to all types of public water supply systems and is based on requirements in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and authorities granted to the Minnesota Department of Health by the state legislature.

Grant Awards
The total amount of funding that is available under this notice is $75,000 and the maximum amount for any grant is $10,000. However, when more than one qualifying noncommunity transient public water supplier apply under the same grant request, the cap amount will be increased by as much as $10,000 for each additional public water supplier up to a maximum grant amount of $30,000.

Please note that no equipment is to be purchased or construction is to take place until the construction plans have been reviewed and approved by this office, and a grant agreement signed with MDH.

Matching Funds
An equal cost share is required for receiving a grant. Cost sharing is subject to an audit and must be allowable under cost principles and verifiable to records.

Funding Period
All of the funds that are awarded under this program must be expended by June 30, 2014. Based upon availability of funds, noncommunity transient system source water protection grants will be offered annually, during the months of April and October.

Termination for insufficient funding
The State may immediately terminate this grant if it does not obtain funding from the Minnesota Legislature, or other funding source. Termination will be by written or fax notice to the Grantee within a reasonable time. The State will not be assessed any penalty if the grant is terminated because of the decision of the Minnesota Legislature, or other funding source, not to appropriate funds.

Eligibility
A source water protection noncommunity transient competitive grant is intended to support implementation of the source water protection measures that address a potential source of contamination exhibiting a high risk that is recognized by the Department of Health either 1) in a sanitary survey; or 2) through corrective actions relating to monitoring for a contaminant that may result in an acute public health concern.

A public water supplier must meet the following conditions in order to qualify under this notice:

  • Be a noncommunity transient public water supplier and
  • The public water supplier is not currently subject to administrative penalty action by the Minnesota Department of Health for violation of state or federal public water supply regulations.

Each eligible noncommunity transient public water supplier can submit only one application per grant program announcement.

Scope of Work
Grant funding is to be used solely to support work that:
1) Is identified as a corrective action in an MDH-prepared sanitary survey
2) Needs to correct an acute public health concern that has been identified by monitoring of the drinking water.

Reporting or other administrative costs related to using a source water protection transient grant are not eligible. Costs that are associated with developing and submitting a project are allowed as part of the cost share. Fundable activities involve costs that are associated with implementing and completing the project. Grant money can only be used for:

  • Design/development costs (engineer, plumber, well contractor);
  • Material costs, treatment equipment, well casing, piping;
  • Salaries of plumbers, well contractor, laborers for installation of well, treatment equipment, well sealing, water service line, etc.

Activities not fundable include:

  • Activities that are not protecting drinking water;
  • Activities that are already completed;
  • Routine maintenance/operation of infrastructure;
  • Infrastructure type of work (e. g., replace pumphouse building);
  • Illegal activities (do not meet state/local construction requirements);
  • State/local plan review or inspection fees;
  • Construction permits or fees; well sealing fees

A grant application must identify:

  • A description of the work that is to be performed;
  • The entity responsible for completing the work;
  • The cost of performing the work including estimate(s) from the contractor;
  • Reference to the correspondence from the Minnesota Department of Health that describes the work that will be conducted (e.g. sanitary survey report, or a letter from the Health Department)—these documents must also be attached to the application; and
  • The outcome or deliverable that will be achieved by conducting the work.

Application Review Process
Applicants may submit a grant application either by mail or electronically using the form provided by the Minnesota Department of Health. Applications must be received by 4:30 PM on Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

Applications must be sent to:
Ms. Cristina Covalschi
SWP Grant Coordinator

Mail:
Minnesota Department of Health
P.O. Box 64975
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975

Hand Deliver:
625 Robert Street North
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101

Fax: (651) 201- 4701 (attention Cristina Covalschi)
Email: Cristina.Covalschi@state.mn.us

The Minnesota Department of Health is not responsible for grant applications that are lost in the mail or delayed in electronic transmission. Upon receipt, a grant application will be assigned a time and date which will be used to place the grant on the priority for funding waiting list once the Minnesota Department of Health has determined the minimum score to qualify has been achieved.

Applications received after the deadline will be disqualified from consideration.

Application form
You may obtain a copy of the source water protection noncommunity transient grant request form by:

Scoring Grant Applications
Grant applications are scored using a standard set of questions and associated point values. Noncommunity transient competitive grants will likely be offered during a specific period during a state fiscal year. Overall, the noncommunity transient public water supplier owner must provide sufficient detail to indicate that the work to be performed will meet applicable state regulations, particularly plan review and inspection requirements. Also, the public water supplier must include sufficient documentation to confirm that:

  • it will provide a cost share amount to pay for at least one half of the project cost and
  • the work can be completed with the time period that the grant is in effect.

The total score for each grant will be used to place it on a priority list providing that the total score meets or exceeds the minimum value. Once on the list, grants will be funded based upon:
- score
- date placed upon the list, and
- availability of grant funds

A grant application will only apply to the grant notification under which it was submitted. Therefore, if a noncommunity transient public water supplier does not receive a grant under this announcement, it must reapply to be considered for the next.

MDH will assign points based upon the following grant review questions:

1. Has the public water supplier provided sufficient detail to indicate that the work to be performed will meet applicable state and local regulations, particularly plan review and inspection requirements? If not, the grant review cannot proceed further.
2. Is the work that is to be performed described in enough detail with associated costs so that the Minnesota Department of Health can clearly communicate to the public how the money is being spent to protect drinking water?
Up to 20 points
3. Is the work that is to be performed identified as a corrective action in an MDH-prepared sanitary survey or needed to correct an acute public health concern? Non-acute contaminants will be considered but at a lower priority.
Up to 45 points
Points will be awarded based on the following priorities:
 
A. Contaminant of public health concern (max 15 points):
   
  • Acute microbial:
      a. Surface Water, E.Coli, treatment technique (turbidity, chlorine contact)
15 points
      b. Groundwater, Groundwater under the direct influence, E. Coli
15 points
      c. Groundwater, Total Coliform
10 points
      d. Public health exposure risk (failed SSTS, ruptured fuel or sewer line)
15 points
   
  • Acute chemical (nitrate/nitrite, fuel, agricultural chemicals, solvents)
      a. Surface water or groundwater
10 points
   
  • Nonacute contaminants, arsenic, volatile organic compounds, etc
5 points
  B. Correction of a sanitary survey defect/deficiency (max. 10 points).
  C. Method of correction (max 10 points):
      a. Consolidation/connection to a community public water supply
10 points
      b. Alternative water supply/construction of a new well, repairing existing well
10 points
      c. Treatment surface water or groundwater under the direct influence of a surface water source
10 points
      d. Treatment groundwater source
5 points
      e. Sealing existing well(s)
5 points
      f. Remove potential contamination source
10 points
  D. Water Quality (max 10 points).  
Scoring results
The minimum score required to be placed on the grant award list is
30 points
The maximum score that can be awarded is
65 points


Trade secret information
The source water protection measures that are contained in a source water protection plan have already been reviewed and approved by the Minnesota Department of Health. Those that have been communicated to a public water supplier through formal correspondence from the Minnesota Department of Health have also been reviewed and approved. Therefore, the scoring serves to prioritize work that will provide the greatest public health benefit that is achieved using public funding. The Minnesota Department of Health does not anticipate that trade secret information will be compromised as a result of the information presented in a grant application nor documenting the work that is performed and reported under a grant agreement.

Notification process
The Minnesota Department of Health will provide written notification to grant applicants of the scoring results by November 20, 2012. Systems which are not funded under this notice are encouraged to reapply to the upcoming grant programs.

If awarded a grant, NO work should begin until ALL required signatures have been obtained on the grant agreement and until the grantee receives a signed copy of the grant agreement.

Allocation of the grant award
The public water supplier will be reimbursed once all the project duties and the grant reporting requirements have been successfully met and MDH is satisfied that the project has been completed according to the terms of the grant agreement.

Grantee reporting requirements
A public water supplier who receives a noncommunity transient grant must report the results of each work item that is funded by providing all of the following information:

  • the results of performing the work that is described in the grant application
  • the total amount of grant funds that were expended to perform each work item
  • a summary of the costs that are attributed to performing each work item
  • a summary of the contribution that a recipient makes to the award – referred to as cost-share

Additional requirements will be listed in the grant agreement, based on the nature of the project.

Application Questions
Questions regarding grant application should be directed to:

Ms. Cristina Covalschi
SWP Grant Coordinator
Telephone: 651-201-4696
e-mail:cristina.covalschi@state.mn.us

Noncommunity Transient Grant: Frequently Asked Questions

Noncommunity Transient Grant Application (Word: 135KB/3 pages)

Noncommunity Transient Grant Application (PDF: 193KB/3 pages)

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Updated Thursday, 13-Sep-2012 15:40:44 CDT