Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District – 
Low Income Assistance Program Per EO 12898 (Environmental Justice) 


The following summarizes the Monroe County Housing Authority’s (HA) 
Implementation Plan for financial assistance to qualifying low- and very-low income Bay 
Point service recipients. 

The HA will conduct a survey to collect relevant demographic data from the Bay Point 
service area residents. The data will help determine the number of assistance program 
applicants and the funding level needed to meet the FEMA environmental justice 
compliance requirements. This survey will also provide an advanced funding availability 
announcement to qualified service recipients. 

The application process will begin after WWTP construction has been contracted. The 
process will be based on Monroe County’s Housing Assistance Plan. Assistance 
Program availability will be advertised in local papers; along with other outreach 
activities such as press releases, public meeting announcements, and pertinent non-profit 
organization notifications. There will be a minimum sixty (60) day application period. 

The application will consist of a cover letter, application instructions, an application form 
(for information on address, household composition, income level, and status [owner 
occupied, primary residence or owner renting to eligible tenant]), a release form, a 
resident income certification form, a social security consent for release of information 
form, and a statement of no tax return form. The HA’s Special Programs Office (SPO) 
will work with each applicant to ensure application sufficiency. After the application 
period has closed and all applications are completed, the SPO will send a letter to each 
applicant informing them whether they have or have not met the eligibility requirements. 

The HA’s Assistance Program primary eligibility criteria are as following: 

• 
Priority #1 
o 
Single family 
o 
Owner occupied 
o 
Primary residence 
o 
Contain Housing Code violations, Housing Quality Standards violations, 
• 
Health/Safety violations, or has sewer connection requirements. 
• 
Priority #2 
o 
Property owners 
• 
Single family or multifamily rental property occupied by qualified 
beneficiaries 
o 
Has sewer connection requirements 
Applications received within the application period which meet the primary criteria 
above will be prioritized based on the scoring system outlined below. Funding will be 
distributed starting with applicants having the greatest priority score, followed by lower 
priority scores until all available funding has been expended. 


Priorities and associated points: 

· Elderly (one owner greater than 62 years old) 10 
· Disabled household member 10 
· Documented Multiple Housing Code violations 10 
· Very low income 5 
· Children in household (greater than 2) 5 
· Length of ownership between 0 and 5 years 0 
· Length of ownership between 6 and 10 years 2 
· Length of ownership between 11 and 15 years 3 
· Length of ownership greater than 15 years 5 
· Single head of household (2 or more persons) 5 
Note: In the event of tie scores, very low-income households will receive priority. 

The Assistance Program will fund sewer connection and on-site system 
abandonment/removal costs. Priority #1 applicants will receive assistance in the form of 
a grant. Priority #2 applicants would receive assistance in the form of a loan. 
Applicants would execute a note secured by a mortgage on the subject property. The 
term of the note will be for five (5) years at zero (0) percent interest and will require no 
regular payments. The principal balance will be forgiven by 1/5th annually on the 
anniversary date. The mortgage will contain affordability covenants that require that 
during the term of the loan, the property shall be rented on an annual lease to very low-
and low-income households subject to annual income certification. The SPO will 
coordinate all payments through the County. 

An order-of-merit listing with qualified applicants will be prepared for approval by the 
CATF and forwarded to the BOCC for conflict of interest resolution and approval. Based 
on available funding and the number of listed applicants, a household dollar amount will 
be awarded to each applicant. 

When the funding allocation for each household is known, the SPO will send a 
commitment letter to the household, including instructions on plumber contracting. The 
SPO will work with the applicant to ensure plumber work is completed appropriately (i.e. 
permits obtained, county inspections made, DOH certifications received for system 
abandonment, etc.) and that services are paid in a timely manner. The Assistance 
Program will be funded through funding requests to DCA for a combination of the 
individual funding amount awarded to the eligible household and the plumbing contractor 
costs.