Determination of eligibility and project selection

To be eligible to receive financial assistance under this chapter, a project shall meet the following criteria, as determined by the Secretary or Administrator, as applicable: The project and obligor shall be creditworthy, which shall be determined by the Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable. In determining the creditworthiness of a project and obligor, the Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall take into consideration relevant factors, including— The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall ensure that any financing for the project has appropriate security features, such as a rate covenant, supporting the project obligations to ensure repayment. The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall require each project applicant to provide, at the time of application, a preliminary rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating agency indicating that the senior obligations of the project (which may be the Federal credit instrument) have the potential to achieve an investment-grade rating. The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall require each project applicant to provide, prior to final acceptance and financing of the project, a final rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating agency indicating that the senior obligations of the project have an investment-grade rating. The Administrator shall develop a credit evaluation process for a Federal credit instrument provided to— Subject to subparagraph (B), the eligible project costs of a project shall be reasonably anticipated to be not less than $20,000,000. For a project described in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 3905 of this title that serves a community of not more than 25,000 individuals, the eligible project costs of a project shall be reasonably anticipated to be not less than $5,000,000. The Federal credit instrument for the project shall be repayable, in whole or in part, from dedicated revenue sources that also secure the project obligations. If an eligible project is carried out by an entity that is not a State or local government or an agency or instrumentality of a State or local government or a tribal government or consortium of tribal governments, the project shall be publicly sponsored. For purposes of this chapter, a project shall be considered to be publicly sponsored if the obligor can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary or the Administrator, as appropriate, that the project applicant has consulted with the affected State, local, or tribal government in which the project is located, or is otherwise affected by the project, and that such government supports the proposed project. For each eligible project for which the Administrator has authority under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 3902(b) of this title and for which the Administrator has received an application for financial assistance under this chapter, the Administrator shall notify, not later than 30 days after the date on which the Administrator receives a complete application, the applicable State infrastructure financing authority of the State in which the project is located that such application has been submitted. If, not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a notification under subparagraph (A), a State infrastructure financing authority notifies the Administrator that the State infrastructure financing authority intends to commit funds to the project in an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount requested under the application, the Administrator may not provide any financial assistance for that project under this chapter unless— The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall determine whether an applicant for assistance under this chapter has developed, and identified adequate revenues to implement, a plan for operating, maintaining, and repairing the project over the useful life of the project. An eligible project described in section 3905(1) of this title that has not been specifically authorized by Congress shall not be eligible for Federal assistance for operations and maintenance. The Secretary or the Administrator, as applicable, shall establish criteria for the selection of projects that meet the eligibility requirements of subsection (a), in accordance with paragraph (2). The selection criteria shall include the following: The extent to which the project is nationally or regionally significant, with respect to the generation of economic and public benefits, such as— The extent to which the project— The extent to which a project serves regions with significant water resource challenges, including the need to address— For a project described in section 3905(9) of this title, the Administrator shall only consider the criteria described in subparagraphs (B) through (K) of paragraph (2). Nothing in this section supersedes the applicability of other requirements of Federal law (including regulations).