SECTION 363.1207. Prioritization System

(a) The executive administrator will prioritize all applications not previously considered by the board twice annually. An application must be submitted by February 1 to be prioritized in March. An application must be submitted by August 1 to be prioritized in September. The executive administrator will provide the prioritization to the board for approval in March and September of each year or as soon thereafter as practicable. The executive administrator may set additional application deadlines, prioritize applications, and present the prioritization and those applications to the board for a commitment if the executive administrator deems it necessary in order to utilize available funds in any fiscal year. To be considered for prioritization, an applicant must provide adequate information to establish that the applicant qualifies for Water Infrastructure Fund funding, to describe the project comprehensively, and to establish the cost of the project, as well as any other information requested by the executive administrator. The executive administrator will develop and provide to applicants detailed information on the abridged application necessary for prioritization. If an applicant submits an abridged application for prioritization purposes, the applicant must submit a complete application to the board within 30 days after the board meeting at which the applicant's project received priority for funding, or the project will lose its priority ranking and the board may commit to other projects consistent with the prioritization.

(b) Prior to each board meeting at which applications may be considered for prioritization, the executive administrator shall:

(1) for each application that the executive administrator has determined has adequate information for prioritization purposes, prioritize the applications by the criteria identified in §363.1208 of this title (relating to Prioritization Criteria).

(2) provide to the board a prioritized list of all applications as recommended by the executive administrator, the amount of funds requested and the priority of each application received and

(3) identify the total amount of funds available in the Water Infrastructure Fund for new applications.

(c) If there are funds in the Water Infrastructure Fund available for all or part of any of the prioritized projects, the board will first consider any projects that the legislature has determined shall receive priority for financial assistance from the Water Infrastructure Fund. If, after considering projects with legislative priority, there are funds available for other eligible projects in the Water Infrastructure Fund, then the board will consider applications to make a commitment for financial assistance in descending order of priority according to §363.1208 of this title. The board will consider the next application on the list only if there are funds available in the account to fund all or, if acceptable to the applicant, a part of the application. The Board reserves the right to limit the amount of funding available to an individual entity based on a proportionate share of total funds available for a particular round of prioritization.

Source Note: The provisions of this §363.1207 adopted to be effective December 25, 2007, 32 TexReg 9721; amended to be effective April 15, 2009, 34 TexReg 2385; amended to be effective July 11, 2010, 35 TexReg 5897; amended to be effective August 29, 2011, 36 TexReg 5368