401 KAR 49:040. Solid Waste Planning Assistance Program

      Section 1. Applicability. This administrative regulation governs the general conditions, application procedures, approval criteria, and priority systems to implement the Kentucky solid waste management financial assistance program established by KRS 224.43-710.

 

      Section 2. Financial Assistance Program. Financial assistance provided under this program may be used for those activities specified in KRS 224.43-720. The financial assistance program consists of the following four (4) parts:

      (1) Area solid waste management plans. Financial assistance may be used to prepare area solid waste management plans.

      (2) Disposal site engineering and geotechnical studies. Financial assistance may be used to prepare disposal site engineering plans and to conduct geotechnical studies required by KRS 224.855 for a new landfill or for a major modification to an existing landfill.

      (3) Resource recovery studies. Financial assistance may be used to investigate the feasibility of developing a resource recovery facility or implementing a resource recovery activity. Studies may include technological analyses of alternative recovery systems, preliminary engineering design, legal, economic, financial, environmental, administrative and institutional analyses.

      (4) Relevant solid waste management studies. Financial assistance may be used to conduct specific studies and detailed analyses necessary to implement or improve a solid waste collection, transportation, processing, public education, enforcement, or resource conservation system.

 

      Section 3. Eligibility. (1) Recipients eligible for financial assistance to prepare area solid waste management plans are cities, counties, waste management districts, or any combination thereof. Where counties have delegated the responsibility for plan preparation to a waste management district, city or other entity, the county shall submit the application and retain primary responsibility for plan development. Counties that have received financial assistance from the cabinet to prepare an area solid waste management plan are ineligible to receive another grant to prepare an area solid waste plan for four (4) years from the date that a grant was awarded.

      (2) Recipients eligible to receive financial assistance for other studies include counties, cities, waste management districts, or any combination thereof located within a designated solid waste management area. The proposed study shall be recommended in an approved area solid waste management plan or an approved and adopted plan update. Financial assistance shall be limited to one (1) study for each designated solid waste management area per year. Eligibility to receive assistance for a disposal site engineering or geotechnical study is contingent on the applicant having the legal right to conduct the study and develop and operate a landfill at the specified site if the facility is approved by the cabinet.

 

      Section 4. Application Process and Content. The general application procedures to be followed by all applicants and the cabinet are:

      (1) Based on the availability of funds, the cabinet may administer two (2) to three (3) grant cycles each year.

      (2) Applications to prepare solid waste management plans shall receive first consideration. In selecting the recipients in a grant cycle, the cabinet shall consider the following factors:

      (a) The current availability of a permitted municipal solid waste disposal facility;

      (b) The adequacy of the current solid waste collection system;

      (c) The volume of waste generated in the proposed service area;

      (d) Whether the plan or proposed facility shall serve a multicounty area;

      (e) The mean annual income level of the residents to be served;

      (f) The applicant's annual budget and its ability to finance the planning activity;

      (g) The projected benefits of the proposed plan or facility;

      (h) The promotion of resource conservation and recovery practices;

      (i) The existence of an organizational framework capable of implementing any subsequent plan;

      (j) The innovative nature of the proposed facility or planning process; and

      (k) Implementation of an approved universal collection system.

      (3) Selection of recipients for financial assistance grants shall be made using the criteria listed in subsection (2) of this section.

      (4) The cabinet shall notify applicants in writing within thirty (30) days after the close of a grant cycle of award acceptance or rejection.

      (5) Applicants shall prepare a work program identifying study tasks to be completed, their estimated cost, who shall conduct the study tasks, and timetable for plan development.

      (6) Based on the work program the cabinet and the applicant shall enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) identifying the level of financial assistance to be provided, activities to be performed, a timetable for study completion, and any other necessary conditions.

      (7) Memorandums of Agreement shall be written for periods of one (1) year or less. Those written for periods longer than one (1) year shall be staged in phases of one (1) year or less with interim audits at the end of each stage. Planning studies shall be initiated within ninety (90) days of notice of award acceptance or the agreement to provide financial assistance may be withdrawn.

 

      Section 5. Financial Assistance Levels. (1) Eligible recipients may receive grants for up to fifty (50) percent of the cost of the planning or study activity. The local cost share may include in-kind services. Activities that cannot be considered as in-kind services include those associated with advertising for, selecting, or administering a contract for a consultant; costs incurred outside of the grant period; plan review activities or discussions of the plan or study conducted at normally scheduled public meetings; or any plan or study implementation activity.

      (2) The maximum levels of available financial assistance are as follows:

      (a) An area solid waste management plan for each county is $10,000.

      (b) A disposal site engineering study or geotechnical studies is $15,000.

      (c) Resource recovery studies is $25,000.

      (d) Relevant solid waste management studies is $10,000.

      (3) The recipient shall maintain appropriate records to document expenditures and in-kind services provided during development of the plan. These records shall be made available to the cabinet upon request.

      (4) Payment shall be on a reimbursable basis. Partial payments may be authorized by the cabinet during the course of plan development. Recipients shall only receive total reimbursement only upon final approval by the cabinet of the plan or study.

      (5) Any additional expenditures by the grant recipient over the amount of the original estimated project costs shall not be considered for matching payment by the cabinet.

      (6) The cabinet may terminate the grant if the cabinet determines that there has been no substantial performance on the plan or study, unless good cause is shown.

      (7) The cabinet may determine that any or all of the uncompleted portions of a study are not eligible for reimbursement where preliminary analyses indicates that project implementation would be infeasible for economic, environmental, technical or any other reason. When a determination is made, the cabinet shall notify the recipient and withdraw its agreement to cost share any additional portions of the study. This determination shall not effect the reimbursement of those parts of the study completed by the recipient prior to receiving the notification of ineligibility. (11 Ky.R. 96; eff. 9-11-84; Am. 19 Ky.R. 198; 782; eff. 9-23-92.)

Notation

      RELATES TO: KRS 109.011, 224.40-100, 224.43-340, 224.43-345

      STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 224.10-100, 224.43-340, 224.43-710, 224.43-720, 224.43-730

      NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 224.43-710 establishes a program to provide technical and financial assistance to cities, counties, waste management districts, or any combination thereof for the purposes of encouraging the development of local strategies to address solid waste management opportunities and problems. This administrative regulation establishes the procedures and criteria by which financial assistance shall be provided.