1738.21—Interim financing.
(a)
Upon notification by RUS that an applicant's application is considered complete, the applicant may enter into an interim financing agreement with a lender other than RUS or use its own internally generated funds for interim construction.
(b)
For an applicant to preserve the option of obtaining loan funds for reimbursement of interim financing, the following procedures must be followed:
(1)
Interim construction shall be conducted in accordance with RUS Bulletin 1738-2 and 7 CFR part 1788, except that the applicant shall not begin interim construction until all necessary licenses, permits, and other governmental approvals have been obtained;
(2)
Equal employment opportunity requirements apply to interim construction. See RUS Bulletin 20-15: 320-15; and
(3)
Interim construction shall be covered by an Environmental Report prepared in accordance with 7 CFR part 1794 and approved by RUS.