42 USC 8835 - General requirements regarding financial assistance

Collapse to view only § 8835. General requirements regarding financial assistance

§ 8831. Municipal waste energy development plan
§ 8832. Construction loans
§ 8833. Guaranteed construction loans
§ 8834. Price support loans and price guarantees
§ 8835. General requirements regarding financial assistance
§ 8836. Financial assistance program administration
§ 8837. Commercialization demonstration program pursuant to Federal nonnuclear energy research and development
§ 8838. Jurisdiction of Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency
§ 8839. Office of Energy from Municipal Waste
§ 8840. Termination of authorities

§ 8831. Municipal waste energy development plan

(a) Preparation by Secretary of Energy; consultative requirements

(b) Transmittal to President and Congress

The comprehensive plan under this section shall include a statement setting forth—

(1) the anticipated research, development, demonstration, and commercialization objectives to be achieved;

(2) the management structure and approach to be adopted to carry out such plan;

(3) the program strategies, including detailed milestone goals to be achieved;

(4) the specific funding requirements for individual program elements and activities, including the total estimated construction costs of proposed projects; and

(5) the estimated relative financial contributions of the Federal Government and non-Federal participants in the program.

(d) Report to President and Congress; contents

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 231, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 696.)

§ 8832. Construction loans

(a) Authority of Secretary of Energy

(b) Estimated project construction costs as determinative of initial and revised amount of loan; interest rate

(1) Any loan under this section—

(A) may not exceed 80 per centum of the total estimated cost of the construction of the municipal waste energy project involved, and

(B) shall bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of Energy (taking into consideration the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the average maturities of such loans) plus not to exceed one per centum, as determined by the Secretary of Energy, and adjusted to the nearest one-eighth of one per centum.

(2) In the event the total estimated costs of construction of the project thereafter exceed the total estimated costs initially determined by the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary may in addition, upon application therefor, make a loan for so much of the additional estimated costs as does not exceed 10 per centum of the initial total estimated costs of construction.

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 232, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 697.)

§ 8833. Guaranteed construction loans

(a) Authority of Secretary of Energy

(b) Estimated project construction costs as determinative of revised amount of guarantee

(d) Termination, cancellation, or revocation, and conclusive nature of guarantee

(e) Payment to lenderIf the Secretary of Energy determines that—

(1) the borrower is unable to meet payments and is not in default,

(2) it is in the public interest to permit the borrower to continue to pursue the purposes of such project, and

(3) the probable net benefit to the United States in paying the principal and interest due under a loan guarantee agreement will be greater than that which would result in the event of a default,

then the Secretary may pay to the lender under a loan guarantee agreement an amount not greater than the principal and interest which the borrower is obligated to pay to such lender, if the borrower agrees to reimburse the Secretary for such payment on terms and conditions, including interest, which the Secretary determines are sufficient to protect the financial interests of the United States.

(f) Preconditions

(g) Payment of interest; tax consequences

(1) With respect to any loan or debt obligation which is—

(A) issued after June 30, 1980, by, or on behalf of, any State or any political subdivision or governmental entity thereof,

(B) guaranteed by the Secretary of Energy under this section, and

the interest paid on such obligation and received by the purchaser thereof (or the purchaser’s successors in interest) shall be included in gross income for the purposes of chapter 1 of title 26.

(2) With respect to the amount of obligations described in paragraph (1) that the issuer would have been able to issue as tax exempt obligations (other than obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the issuer as a general obligation of the issuer), the Secretary of Energy is authorized to pay only to the issuer any portion of the interest on such obligations, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury after taking into account the interest rate which would have been paid on the obligations had they been issued as tax exempt obligations without being so guaranteed by the Secretary of Energy and the interest rate actually paid on the obligations when issued as taxable obligations. Such payments shall be made in amounts determined by the Secretary of Energy, and in accordance with such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury shall require.

(h) Fees

(1) A fee or fees may be charged and collected by the Secretary of Energy for any loan guarantee under this section.

(2) The amount of such fee shall be based on the estimated administrative costs and risk of loss, except that such fee may not exceed 1 per centum of the maximum of the guarantee.

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 233, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 698; Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095.)

§ 8834. Price support loans and price guarantees

(a) Authority of Secretary of Energy with respect to loans for existing projects; disbursements, etc.

(1) In the case of any existing municipal waste energy project which produces and sells biomass energy, the Secretary of Energy may commit to make, and make, a price support loan in amounts determined under paragraph (3) for the operation of such project. Payments under any such loan shall be disbursed on an annual basis, as determined (in accordance with paragraph (3)) on the basis of the amount of biomass energy produced and sold by that project during the 12-month period involved and the type and cost of fuel displaced by the biomass energy sold.

(2)

(A)1

1 So in original. No subpar. (B) has been enacted.

In the case of any support loan under this section for an existing municipal waste energy project—

(i) disbursements under such loan may not be made for more than 5 consecutive 12-month periods;

(ii) the amount of the disbursement for the second and any subsequent 12-month period for which disbursements are to be made under the support loan shall be reduced by an amount determined by multiplying the amount calculated under paragraph (3) by a factor determined by dividing the number of 12-month periods for which disbursements are made under the support loan into the number of such periods which have elapsed;

(iii) commencing at the end of the last of such 12-month periods, the support loan shall be repayable over a period equal to the then remaining useful life of the project (as determined by the Secretary) or 10 years, whichever is shorter; and

(iv) commencing at the end of such last 12-month period, such loan shall bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of Energy (taking into consideration the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the average maturities of such loans) plus not to exceed one per centum, as determined by the Secretary of Energy, and adjusted to the nearest one-eighth of one per centum.

(3) The amount of the loan payment to be disbursed under this subsection for any year with respect to each type of biomass energy produced and sold by an existing municipal waste energy project shall be equal to—

(A)

(i) the standard support price reduced by the cost of the fuel displaced by the biomass energy sold, or (ii) $2.00, whichever is lower, multiplied by

(B) the amount of such biomass energy sold (in millions of Btu’s).

(b) Authority of Secretary of Energy with respect to loans for new projects; disbursements, etc.

(1) In the case of any new municipal waste energy project which produces and sells biomass energy, the Secretary of Energy may commit to make, and make, a price support loan in amounts determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a), except as provided in paragraph (2).

(2) In the case of any loan under this subsection for a new municipal waste energy project—

(A) disbursements under such loan may not be made for more than 7 consecutive 12-month periods (with reductions as provided in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii));

(B) such loan shall bear interest at a rate not in excess of the rate prescribed under subsection (a); and

(C) the principal of or interest on such loan shall, in accordance with the support loan agreement, be repayable, commencing at the end of the last 12-month period covered by the support loan, over a period not in excess of the period equal to the then remaining useful life of the project (as determined by the Secretary) or 15 years, whichever is shorter.

(1) In the case of any new municipal waste energy project which produces and sells biomass energy, the Secretary of Energy may commit to make, and make, a price guarantee for the operation of such project which guarantees that the price the owner or operator will receive for all or part of the production from that project shall not be less than a specified sales price determined as of the date of execution of the guarantee agreement.

(2)

(A) No price guarantee under this section may be based upon a cost-plus arrangement, or variant thereof, which guarantees a profit to the owner or operator involved.

(B) The use of a cost-of-service pricing mechanism by a person pursuant to law, or by a regulatory body establishing rates for a regulated person, shall not be deemed to be a cost-plus arrangement, or variant thereof, for purposes of subparagraph (A).

(3) In the case of any price guarantee under this subsection for a new municipal waste energy project—

(A) disbursements under such guarantee may not be made for more than 7 consecutive 12-month periods; and

(B) amounts paid under this subsection may be required to be repaid to the Secretary of Energy under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, including interest at a rate not in excess of the rate prescribed under subsection (a).

(d) Definitions; sale price of retained fuel; rules relating to fuel displacementFor purposes of this section—

(1) The term “new municipal waste energy project” means any municipal waste energy project which—

(A) is initially placed in service after June 30, 1980; or

(B) if initially placed in service before June 30, 1980, has an increased capacity by reason of additional construction, and as such is placed in service after such date.

(2) The term “existing municipal waste energy project” means any municipal waste energy project which is not a new municipal waste project.

(3) The term “placed in service” means operated at more than 50 percent of the estimated operational capacity.

(4)

(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the term “standard support price” means the average price (per million Btu’s) for No. 6 fuel oil imported into the United States on June 30, 1980, as determined, by rule, by the Secretary of Energy not later than 90 days after June 30, 1980.

(B) In any case in which the fuel displaced is No. 6 fuel oil or any higher grade of petroleum (as determined by the Secretary of Energy), the term “standard support price” means 125 per centum of the price determined by rule under subparagraph (A).

(C) In any case in which biomass energy produced and sold by a project is steam or electricity, the term “standard support price” means the price determined by rule under subparagraph (A), subject to such adjustments as the Secretary of Energy may authorize by rule.

(5) The term “cost of the fuel displaced” means the cost of the fuel (per million Btu’s) which the purchaser of biomass energy would have purchased if the biomass energy had not been available for sale to that purchaser.

(6) Any biomass energy produced by a municipal waste energy project which may be retained for use by the owner or operator of such project shall be considered to be sold at such price as the Secretary of Energy determines.

(7) Not later than 90 days after June 30, 1980, the Secretary of Energy shall prescribe, by rule, the manner of determining the fuel displaced by the sale of any biomass energy, and the price of the fuel displaced.

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 234, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 699.)

§ 8835. General requirements regarding financial assistance

(a) Priorities, terms, availability, etc.

(1) Priority for financial assistance under the provisions of sections 8832, 8833, and 8834 of this title and the most favorable financial terms available, shall be provided for any municipal waste energy project that will—

(A) produce a liquid fuel from municipal waste; or

(B) will displace petroleum or natural gas as a fuel.

(2)

(A) With respect to projects producing biomass energy other than biomass fuel, financial assistance under the provisions of sections 8832, 8833, and 8834 of this title shall be available only if the Secretary of Energy finds that the project does not use petroleum or natural gas except for flame stabilization or start-up.

(B) With respect to projects producing biomass fuel, financial assistance under such provisions shall be available to such project only if the Secretary of Energy finds that the Btu span of the biomass fuel produced substantially exceeds the Btu span of any petroleum or natural gas used in the project to produce the biomass fuel.

(3) Financial assistance may not be provided under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title unless the Secretary of Energy finds that necessary municipal waste feedstocks are available and it is reasonable to expect they will continue to be available for the expected economic life of the project.

(4) In providing financial assistance under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title, the Secretary of Energy shall give due consideration to promoting competition.

(5) In determining the amount of financial assistance for any municipal waste energy project which will yield byproducts in addition to biomass energy, the Secretary shall consider the value of such byproducts and the costs attributable to their production.

(6) The Secretary of Energy shall not provide financial assistance under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title for any municipal waste energy unless the Secretary determines—

(A) the project will be technically and economically viable;

(B) the financial assistance provided encourages and supplements, but does not compete with nor supplant, any private capital investment which otherwise would be available to the proposed municipal waste energy project on reasonable terms and conditions which would permit such project to be undertaken;

(C) assurances are provided that the project will not use, in any substantial quantities, waste paper which would otherwise be recycled for a use other than as a fuel and will not substantially compete with facilities in existence on the date of the financial assistance which are engaged in the separation or recovery of reuseable materials from municipal waste; and

(D) that the amount of financial assistance provided for the project is not greater than is necessary to achieve the purposes of this chapter.

(b) Terms, conditions, maturity, etc.Financial assistance may not be provided under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title unless the Secretary of Energy determines that—

(1) the terms, conditions, maturity, security and schedule and amounts of repayments with respect to such assistance are reasonable and meet such standards as the Secretary determines are sufficient to protect the financial interests of the United States; and

(2) the person receiving such financial assistance will bear a reasonable degree of risk with respect to the project.

(1) No financial assistance may be provided to any person under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title unless an application therefor—

(A) has been submitted to the Secretary of Energy by such person in such form and under such procedures as the Secretary shall prescribe, consistent with the requirements of this subchapter, and

(B) has been approved by the Secretary in accordance with such procedures.

(2) Each such application shall include information regarding the construction costs of the municipal waste energy project involved (if appropriate), and estimates of operating costs and income relating to that project (including the sale of any byproducts from that project). In addition, each applicant shall provide—

(A) access at reasonable times to such other information, and

(B) such assurances,

as the Secretary of Energy may require.

(d) Reports and recordkeeping

(1) Every person receiving financial assistance under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title shall, as a condition precedent thereto, consent to such examinations and reports thereon regarding the municipal waste energy project involved as the Secretary of Energy may require.

(2) With respect to each municipal waste energy project for which financial assistance is provided under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title, the Secretary shall—

(A) require from the recipient of financial assistance such reports and records relating to that project as the Secretary deems necessary;

(B) prescribe the manner in which such recipient shall keep such records; and

(C) have access to such records at reasonable times for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions upon which financial assistance is provided.

(e) Deposit of amounts received

(f) Contracts and instruments backed by full faith and credit of United States

(g) Contestability of contracts

(h) Eligibility of debt obligations for purchase, sale, or issuance to Federal Financing Bank or any Federal agency

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 235, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 701.)

§ 8836. Financial assistance program administration

The Secretary of Energy shall establish procedures and take such other actions as may be necessary regarding the solicitation, review, and evaluation of applications, and awarding of financial assistance under section 8832, 8833, or 8834 of this title as may be necessary to carry out the plan established under section 8831 of this title.

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 236, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 703.)

§ 8837. Commercialization demonstration program pursuant to Federal nonnuclear energy research and development

(a) Establishment and conduct pursuant to other Federal statutory authorities; required undertakings subsequent to consultations

(1) The Secretary of Energy shall establish and conduct, pursuant to the authorities contained in the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 [42 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.], an accelerated research, development, and demonstration program for promoting the commercial viability of processes for the recovery of energy from municipal wastes.

(2) The provisions of subsections (d), (m), and (x)(2) of section 19 of such Act 1

1 See References in Text note below.

shall not apply with respect to the program established under this section.

(3) As part of the program established under this section, the Secretary, after consulting with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Commerce, shall undertake—

(A) the research, development, and demonstration of technologies to recover energy from municipal wastes;

(B) the development and application of new municipal waste-to-energy recovery technologies;

(C) the assessment, evaluation, demonstration, and improvement of the performance of existing municipal waste-to-energy recovery technologies with respect to capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, total project financing, recovery efficiency, and the quality of recovered energy and energy intensive materials;

(D) the evaluation of municipal waste energy projects for the purpose of developing a base of engineering data that can be used in the design of future municipal waste energy projects to recover energy from municipal wastes; and

(E) research studies on the size and other significant characteristics of potential markets for municipal waste-to-energy recovery technologies, and recovered energy, and energy intensive materials.

(b) Financial assistance

(d) Obligation and expenditure of funds

(e) Deposit of moneys received

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 237, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 703.)

§ 8838. Jurisdiction of Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency

The provisions of section 5920(c) 1

1 See References in Text note below.

of this title, relating to the responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, shall apply with respect to actions under this subchapter to the same extent and in the same manner as such provisions apply to actions under section 5920 1 of this title.

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 238, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 704.)

§ 8839. Office of Energy from Municipal Waste

(a) Establishment in Department of Energy; appointment of Director

(b) Functions

It shall be the function of the Office to perform—

(1) the research, development, demonstration, and commercialization activities authorized under this subchapter (including those authorized under section 8837 of this title), and

(2) such other duties relating to the production of energy from municipal waste as the Secretary of Energy may assign to the Office.

(d) Transfer of related functions and personnel from Department of Energy

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 239, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 704.)

§ 8840. Termination of authorities

No financial assistance may be committed to or made under this subchapter after September 30, 1984. This section shall not be construed to affect the authority of the Secretary of Energy to spend funds after such date pursuant to any award of financial assistance made on or before that date.

(Pub. L. 96–294, title II, § 240, June 30, 1980, 94 Stat. 705.)