42 U.S.C. § 16371 — Definitions

In this part, the following terms mean: (1) CIFIA program: the carbon dioxide transportation infrastructure finance and innovation program established under section 16372(a). (2) Common carrier: a transportation infrastructure operator or owner that (A) publishes a publicly available tariff listing just and reasonable, nondiscriminatory rates, terms, and conditions of service, and (B) holds itself out to provide transportation services to the public for a fee. (3) Contingent commitment: a commitment to obligate money from future available budget authority that is (A) contingent on that money being made available by law at a future date, and (B) not an obligation of the federal government. (4) Eligible project costs: amounts substantially all paid by, or for the account of, an obligor in connection with a project, including (A) the cost of (i) development-phase activities — planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, permitting, preliminary engineering and design, and other preconstruction activities; (ii) construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, replacement, and acquisition of real property (including land and improvements), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, and acquiring and installing equipment (including labor); and (iii) capitalized interest necessary to meet market requirements, reasonably required reserve funds, capital issuance expenses, and other carrying costs during construction; and (B) transaction costs tied to financing the project, including (i) the cost of legal counsel and technical consultants, and (ii) any subsidy amount paid under section 16372(c)(3)(B)(ii) or section 16373(b)(6)(B)(ii). (5) Federal credit instrument: a secured loan or loan guarantee authorized to be provided under the CIFIA program for a project. (6) Lender: a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined under SEC Rule 144A (a category of sophisticated financial institutions under the Securities Act of 1933) that is not itself a federal qualified institutional buyer. (7) Letter of interest: a letter a potential applicant submits before applying for credit assistance, in a format the Secretary prescribes on the CIFIA program's website, that (A) describes the project and its location, purpose, and cost; (B) outlines the proposed financial plan, including requested credit and grant assistance and the proposed obligor; (C) provides the status of environmental review; and (D) provides information showing the project satisfies other CIFIA eligibility requirements. (8) Loan guarantee: any guarantee or other pledge by the Secretary to pay all or part of the principal and interest on a loan, or debt obligation, made to or issued by an obligor and funded by a lender. (9) Master credit agreement: a conditional agreement that (A) is for extending credit assistance for a high-priority project under section 16372(c)(3)(A), or a project covered under section 16372(c)(3)(B); (B) does not provide for a current obligation of federal funds; and (C) would (i) make a contingent commitment of a federal credit instrument or grant at a future date, subject to future funding being available for the CIFIA program and all conditions being satisfied, including under section 16373(b); (ii) establish the maximum amounts and general terms and conditions of the federal credit instruments or grants; (iii) identify the revenue sources that will secure repayment of the federal credit instruments; (iv) provide for obligating funds for the credit instruments or grants once all requirements are met, including compliance with the CIFIA program's requirements under sections 16372(d) and 16373(b)(1), and the availability of funds; and (v) require that contingent commitments result in a financial close and obligation of credit or grant assistance no later than 4 years after entering the agreement or releasing the commitment, unless the Secretary extends that deadline. (10) Obligor: a corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, non-federal governmental entity, agency, or instrumentality, or other entity liable for paying the principal or interest on a federal credit instrument. (11) Produced in the United States: for iron and steel, means all manufacturing processes — including applying any coating — occur within the United States. (12) Project: a project for common carrier carbon dioxide transportation infrastructure or associated equipment, including pipeline, shipping, rail, or other transportation infrastructure, that will transport or handle carbon dioxide captured from human-caused sources or ambient air, as the Secretary determines appropriate. (13) Project obligation: any note, bond, debenture, or other debt obligation an obligor issues in connection with financing a project, other than a federal credit instrument. (14) Secured loan: a direct loan to an obligor, or a debt obligation an obligor issues and the Secretary purchases, in each case funded by the Secretary to help finance a project under section 16373. (15) Subsidy amount: the amount of budget authority sufficient to cover the federal government's estimated long-term cost of a federal credit instrument, (A) calculated on a net present value basis, and (B) excluding administrative costs and any incidental effects on government receipts or outlays, following the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990. (16) Substantial completion: for a project, the date (A) on which the project starts transporting carbon dioxide, or (B) of a comparable event, as determined by the Secretary and specified in the project's credit agreement.