Additionally, states are required to establish a definition of disadvantaged community based on the service area of a public water system that meets affordability criteria established by the state.
Oregon’s process for meeting these federal funding requirements is summarized below. Continuous process improvements are made to ensure program goals are accomplished.
Project Ranking and the Project Priority List
Each eligible project is rated, ranked, and placed on the Project Priority List. Rating points are assigned based on the five (5) rating categories listed below.
1. Risks to Human Health & Health Protection (40 points Max)
2. Compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act (30 points Max)
3. Consolidation of Two or More Systems (20 points Max)
4. Water System Size (5 points Max)
5. Community Affordability - includes community MHI, poverty and unemployment rate (25 points Max)
Specific rating questions for each category and the associated rating points are detailed in Oregon’s Intended Use Plan as approved by the USEPA. Visit the
Intended Use Plan website for more details.
At the end of the rating process, projects are placed on the Project Priority List in rank order. Projects ranked highest on the list receive funding priority with consideration given to readiness to proceed.
Definition of Disadvantaged Community (DAC)
Section 1452(d)(3) of the Safe Drinking Water Act states that the term “disadvantaged community” means the service area of a public water system that meets the affordability criteria established by the state.
Based on Oregon's DWSRF affordability criteria, Disadvantaged Community is defined as:
- Any PWS with an MHI less than the state MHI
- Or, if a PWS has an MHI equal to or greater than 100 percent of the state MHI but less than 120 percent of the state MHI, then the system must meet two of the following four criteria:
- Greater than the state poverty rate,
- Greater than the state unemployment rate,
- Greater than the state housing cost burdened rate,
- Greater than the state rate of people with less than a high school education.
DAC Definition Improvements:
Oregon DWSRF’s previous affordability criteria defined Disadvantaged Community as “a public water system with a service area that has a Medium Household Income (MHI) less than the state MHI."
In 2024, Oregon’s DWSRF Program collaborated with consultants, the Cadmus Group, to improve our current DAC definition to further recognize and expand DAC status to better reflect the intent of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and DWSRF funding in the future.
Oregon's DWSRF Program invited the public and interested parties to attend and participate in our DAC definition virtual open house (via Zoom) and the future public comment period afterwards. Details and revised DAC definition are below.
Oregon DAC Definition Final Report
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DAC FAQ –
English,
Spanish,
Russian,
Vietnamese
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Open House – Held on Tuesday, October 29, 2024.
Select button to view the recording. DAC Open House Recording
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Public Comment Period
– OHA accepted public comments for Oregon's proposed DAC definition through 5 p.m., Monday, December 16, 2024. Having received no requests for one-on-one engagement and no submissions of public comment, and after consideration of questions posed and input received from the Open House, the DWSRF program adopted the proposed revised DAC Definition as presented in the Oregon DAC Definition Report and referenced below.
- Oregon’s Revised DAC Definition – After careful analysis, Oregon’s DWSRF Program selected Scenario 5 as its preferred definition; it covers approximately 61 percent of the public water systems and 69 percent of the population served by public water systems. Scenario 5 defines DACs as:
- Any PWS with an MHI less than the state MHI
- Or, if a PWS has an MHI equal to or greater than 100 percent of the state MHI but less than 120 percent of the state MHI, then the system must meet two of the following four criteria:
- Greater than the state poverty rate,
- Greater than the state unemployment rate,
- Greater than the state housing cost burdened rate,
- Greater than the state rate of people with less than a high school education.
Disadvantaged Status for the Purpose of Subsidy Award
Subsidy in the form of forgivable loan award targeted specifically to disadvantaged communities is a characteristic of the “base” Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund program, also known as the
Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund that is managed by Business Oregon.
Subsidy for disadvantaged communities is also a characteristic of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding that will be administered under the DWSRF. A key priority of the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is to ensure that disadvantaged communities benefit equitably from this historic investment in water infrastructure. Therefore, federal funding requirements stipulate that a significant portion of funds be provided in the form of loan subsidy to disadvantaged communities as defined above.
For each eligible project placed on the Project Priority List, the Disadvantaged Community status of the public water system is identified and considered for additional subsidy when the project is funded.