OAR 123-041-0060: Application Review and Approval

(1) The Department will review all submitted applications to determine if they are complete and are accompanied by all necessary supporting documentation. (2) Once the Department has determined that an application is complete, the Department shall review the applications for the following: (a) Project feasibility; (b) Whether the applicant has any active Program projects. The Department may limit the number of open projects an applicant may have at any one time; (c) Project readiness, including the status of the applicant’s AR or ASR pre-application conference with OWRD; (d) Technical merit of the proposal, including the viability of target aquifer as determined by USGS aquifer characterization and the outcome of the evaluation by OWRD during the ASR or AR application process; and (e) Any other criteria set forth in the request for grant applications or other notice of funding availability issued by the Department. (3) Once the review is complete, the Department shall approve or reject the application. The Department will make grant award decisions in a manner that maximizes the use of available resources, including consideration of geographic diversity in award recipients. The level of grant funding will be determined by the Department on a case-by-case basis. It may offer a lower amount of assistance than requested. The amount of the award may be the minimum amount that the Department determines is necessary to enable the project to proceed, and the Department may investigate and recommend other sources of funds for all or part of a proposed project. Projects that the Department determines are not financially feasible will not be funded. (a) If an application is approved, the Authority shall issue the applicant a notice of intent to award which will detail the amount of the award and any other information the Authority considers necessary. (A) Grant awards will not exceed the total project cost. (B) If the parties have not executed a grant within 90 days after negotiations begin, the Authority may rescind its notice of intent to award and reallocate Program funds. (b) If the Department rejects an application, it will issue the applicant a letter of explanation. Rejection of an application does not preclude the applicant from reapplying at any time with respect to the same or another basin or aquifer.