As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(1)  “Agency” means the Rhode Island clean water finance agency, and, effective September 1, 2015, and thereafter, shall mean the Rhode Island infrastructure bank;

(2)  “Approved project” means any project or portion thereof that has been issued a certificate of approval by the department for financial assistance from the agency, and also includes any project approved for financial assistance from the agency in accordance with state law, and, furthermore, shall include water pollution abatement projects funded outside of the water pollution control revolving fund, the Rhode Island water pollution control revolving fund, or the local interest subsidy trust fund, without the requirement of the issuance of a certificate of approval; and, furthermore, shall include resiliency related infrastructure projects, and projects which may, subject to compliance with all state and federal requirements, include state and federal infrastructure located within the state of Rhode Island;

(3)  “Board” means the board of directors of the agency;

(4)  “Bond act” means any general or special law authorizing a local governmental unit to incur indebtedness for all or any part of the cost of projects coming within the scope of a water pollution abatement project, or for other projects related to this chapter, including but not limited to, § 45-12-2;

(5)  “Bonds” means bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness of the agency;

(6)  “Certificate of approval” means the certificate of approval contemplated by § 46-12.2-8;

(7)  “Chief executive officer” means the mayor in any city, the president of the town council in any town, and the executive director of any authority or commission, unless some other officer or body is designated to perform the functions of a chief executive officer under any bond act or under the provisions of a local charter or other law;

(8)  “Clean Water Act” or “act” means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, act of June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as added Oct. 18, 1972, Pub. L. No. 92-500, 86 Stat. 896, as added Dec. 27, 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-217, 91 Stat. 1566 (codified at 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended and as hereafter amended from time to time);

(9)  “Corporation” means any corporate person, including, but not limited to: corporations, societies, associations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and sole proprietorships;

(10)  “Cost” as applied to any approved project, means any or all costs, whenever incurred, approved by the agency in accordance with § 46-12.2-8, of planning, designing, acquiring, constructing, and carrying out and placing the project in operation, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, amounts for the following: planning, design, acquisition, construction, expansion, improvement, and rehabilitation of facilities; acquisition of real or personal property; demolitions and relocations; labor, materials, machinery, and equipment; services of architects, engineers, and environmental and financial experts and other consultants; feasibility studies, plans, specifications, and surveys; interest prior to and during the carrying out of any project and for a reasonable period thereafter; reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses; costs of issuance of local governmental obligations or non-governmental obligations issued to finance the obligations including, without limitation, fees, charges, and expenses and costs of the agency relating to the loan evidenced thereby, fees of trustees and other depositories, legal and auditing fees, premiums and fees for insurance, letters or lines of credit or other credit facilities securing local governmental obligations or non-governmental obligations and other costs, fees, and charges in connection with the foregoing; and working capital, administrative expenses, legal expenses, and other expenses necessary or incidental to the aforesaid, to the financing of a project, and to the issuance therefor of local government obligations under the provisions of this chapter;

(11)  “Department” means the department of environmental management;

(12)  “Financial assistance” means any form of financial assistance provided by the agency to a local governmental unit, person, or corporation in accordance with this chapter for all or any part of the cost of an approved project, including, without limitation: grants, temporary and permanent loans, with or without interest, guarantees, insurance, subsidies for the payment of debt service on loans, lines of credit, and similar forms of financial assistance; provided, however, notwithstanding the foregoing, for purposes of capitalization grant awards made available to the agency, pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5), or as otherwise required in connection with other capitalization grant awards made available to the agency, financial assistance shall also include principal forgiveness and negative interest loans;

(13)  “Fully marketable form” means a local governmental obligation in form satisfactory to the agency duly executed and accompanied by an opinion of counsel of recognized standing in the field of municipal law whose opinions have been and are accepted by purchasers of like obligations to the effect that the obligation is a valid and binding obligation of the local governmental unit issuing the obligation, enforceable in accordance with its terms;

(14)  “General revenues,” when used with reference to a local governmental unit, means revenues, receipts, assessments, and other moneys of the local governmental unit received from or on account of the exercise of its powers and all rights to receive the same, including without limitation:

(i)  Taxes;

(ii)  Wastewater system revenues;

(iii)  Assessments upon or payments received from any other local governmental unit that is a member or service recipient of the local governmental unit, whether by law, contract, or otherwise;

(iv)  Proceeds of local governmental obligations and loans and grants received by the local governmental unit in accordance with this chapter;

(v)  Investment earnings;

(vi)  Reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses;

(vii)  Receipts from any tax, excise, or fee heretofore or hereafter imposed by any general or special law all or a part of the receipts of which are payable or distributable to or for the account of the local governmental unit;

(viii)  Local aid distributions; and

(ix)  Receipts, distributions, reimbursements, and other assistance received by or for the account of the local governmental unit from the United States or any agency, department, or instrumentality thereof;

(15)  “Loan” means a loan by the agency to a local governmental unit, or person, or corporation for costs of an approved project, including, without limitation, temporary and permanent loans, and lines of credit;

(16)  “Loan agreement” means any agreement entered into by the agency with a local governmental unit, person, or corporation pertaining to a loan, other financial assistance, local governmental obligations, or non-governmental obligations, including, without limitation: a loan agreement, trust agreement, security agreement, reimbursement agreement, guarantee agreement, financing lease agreement, appropriation agreement, or similar instrument;

(17)  “Local aid distributions” means receipts, distributions, reimbursements, and other assistance payable by the state to or for the account of a local governmental unit, except such receipts, distributions, reimbursements, and other assistance restricted by law to specific statutorily defined purposes;

(18)  “Local governmental obligations” means bonds, notes, financing lease obligations, appropriation obligations, and other evidences of indebtedness in fully marketable form issued by a local governmental unit to evidence a loan or other financial assistance, from the agency in accordance with this chapter or otherwise as provided herein;

(19)  “Local governmental unit” means any town, city, district, commission, agency, authority, board, bodies politic and corporate, public corporation, or other political subdivision or instrumentality of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, including the Narragansett Bay commission; and, for purposes of dam safety or dam maintenance projects, any person seeking financial assistance as a joint applicant with any of the above entities;

(20)  “Local interest subsidy trust fund” means the local interest subsidy trust fund established under § 46-12.2-6;

(21)  “Non-governmental obligations” means bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness in fully marketable form issued by a person or corporation to evidence a loan, or other financial assistance, from the agency in accordance with this chapter or otherwise as provided herein;

(22)  “Person” means any natural person;

(23)  “Priority determination system” means the system by which water pollution abatement projects are rated on the basis of environmental benefit and other criteria for funding assistance pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the department as they may be amended from time to time;

(24)  “Projected energy efficiency savings” means, at the time a loan agreement is entered into between the agency and a local governmental unit, the savings projected to be derived from the implementation of energy efficient and renewable-energy upgrades to public buildings, as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the Rhode Island infrastructure bank pursuant to this chapter;

(25)  “Qualified energy conservation bond” or “QECB” means those bonds designated by 26 U.S.C. § 54D [repealed];

(26)  “Revenues,” when used with reference to the agency, means any receipts, fees, payments, moneys, revenues, or other payments received or to be received by the agency in the exercise of its corporate powers under this chapter, including, without limitation: loan repayments, payments on local governmental obligations, non-governmental obligations, grants, aid, appropriations, and other assistance from the state, the United States, or any agency, department, or instrumentality of either or of a political subdivision thereof, bond proceeds, investment earnings, insurance proceeds, amounts in reserves, and other funds and accounts established by or pursuant to this chapter or in connection with the issuance of bonds, including, without limitation, the water pollution control revolving fund, the Rhode Island water pollution control revolving fund, and the local interest subsidy fund, and any other fees, charges or other income received or receivable by the agency;

(27)  “Rhode Island water pollution control revolving fund” means the Rhode Island water pollution control revolving fund established pursuant to § 46-12.2-6;

(28)  “Trust agreement” means a trust agreement, loan agreement, security agreement, reimbursement agreement, currency or interest rate exchange agreement, or other security instrument, and a resolution, loan order, or other vote authorizing, securing, or otherwise providing for the issue of bonds, loans, or local governmental obligations or non-governmental obligations;

(29)  “Wastewater system revenues” means all rates, rents, fee assessments, charges, and other receipts derived or to be derived by a local governmental unit from wastewater collection and treatment facilities and water pollution abatement projects under its ownership or control, or from the services provided thereby, including, without limitation: proceeds of grants, gifts, appropriations, and loans, including the proceeds of loans or grants awarded by the agency or the department in accordance with this chapter, investment earnings, reserves for capital and current expenses, proceeds of insurance or condemnation, and the sale or other disposition of property; wastewater system revenues may also include rates, rents, fees, charges, and other receipts derived by the local governmental unit from any water supply of distribution facilities or other revenue producing facilities under its ownership or control; wastewater system revenues shall not include any ad valorem taxes levied directly by the local governmental unit on any real and personal property;

(30)  “Water pollution abatement project” or “project” means any project eligible pursuant to Title VI of the Clean Water Act including, but not limited to, a wastewater treatment or conveyance project that contributes to removal, curtailment, or mitigation of pollution of the surface water of the state, and conforms with any applicable comprehensive land use plan which has been adopted or any dam safety, removal or maintenance project; it also means a project to enhance the waters of the state, which the agency has been authorized by statute to participate in; it also means any other project to which the agency has been authorized to provide financial assistance;

(31)  “Water pollution control revolving fund” means the water pollution control revolving fund contemplated by title VI of the Water Quality Act and established under § 46-12.2-6;

(32)  “Water Quality Act” means the Water Quality Act of 1987, Pub. L. No. 100-4, 101 Stat. 7, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended from time to time.

History of Section.
P.L. 1989, ch. 303, § 2; P.L. 1993, ch. 259, § 2; P.L. 2001, ch. 112, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 135, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 144, § 4; P.L. 2001, ch. 163, § 4; P.L. 2009, ch. 5, art. 3, § 1; P.L. 2010, ch. 179, § 1; P.L. 2010, ch. 189, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 219, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 308, § 1; P.L. 2015, ch. 141, art. 14, § 17; P.L. 2017, ch. 480, § 4; P.L. 2019, ch. 216, § 1; P.L. 2019, ch. 257, § 1.