NOTICES
Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant Applications under Act 101, Section 904 of The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988; Calendar Year 2009
[40 Pa.B. 3918]
[Saturday, July 10, 2010]The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) announces a request for applications from municipalities for recycling performance grant assistance for recycling programs under section 904 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act (act) (53 P. S. § 4004.904). Municipalities include counties, cities, boroughs, incorporated towns, townships, home rule municipalities, their authorities, councils of governments, consortiums or similar entities established by two or more municipalities under 53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 23, Subchapter A (relating to intergovernmental cooperation). This application period is for eligible materials recycled and marketed in calendar year 2009.
Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant funds will be awarded to municipalities based upon the weight of source separated recyclable materials identified in section 1501(c)(1)(i) of the act (53 P. S. § 4004.1501(c) (1)(i)) recovered by municipal recycling programs, and the population of the municipality as determined by the most recent decennial census. Municipalities will be eligible to receive an award based on a formula of $5 for each Department approved ton of eligible recyclable materials recycled or marketed and $1 per approved ton for each percentage of municipal waste calculated by the Department to be diverted from disposal. The weight of eligible materials allowable from nonresidential (commercial, institutional and municipal) sources under the preceding formula will be limited to no more than the weight of approved eligible materials from residential sources. Any Department approved materials from nonresidential sources not factored into the preceding formula will be awarded a bonus of $10 per ton. The Department may not award grants calculated to be less than $10.
Applicants that have failed to comply with the conditions set forth in previously awarded grants, the recycling program performance requirements contained in the act of November 9, 2006 (P. L. 1347, No. 140), the grant requirements of the act, or the regulations of the Act will not be awarded funds under this grant program. An applicant, if required, must be compliant with all previously noted conditions by September 30, 2010, in order to submit a performance grant application. Applicants must ensure that they are in compliance with 25 Pa. Code § 272.314(b)(2) (relating to limits in Department's authority to award grants), regarding the submittal of the annual recycling report.
Eligible materials include post-consumer: clear glass, colored glass, aluminum cans, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper, other marketable grades of paper and plastics. Grants will be awarded only for properly documented, eligible materials that were actually marketed on or after January 1, 2009, to and including, December 31, 2009. Applicants should only claim those tonnages for which they have documentation at the time they complete their application. Grant funds will not be awarded for residues, materials not listed as eligible including, but not limited to, leaf and yard wastes, or any materials which cannot be documented as being recycled into a new product or use. In particular, recovered glass that is being stockpiled or used as daily cover at a landfill will not be considered as recycled. Applicants must be able to document the amount of residue attributable to their recycling program.
Documentation to support all claims that eligible recyclable materials were generated within the municipality and marketed must be made available for auditing by the Department, the Office of the Auditor General, the Office of the Treasurer, or agents of those offices for 4 years. The Department will not require applicants to retain hauler customer lists; however, the lists may be required to be examined in the event of an audit. It will be the applicant's responsibility to arrange for hauler customer lists to be provided, or for haulers to be present with their customer lists, during a grant audit. Supporting documentation is not required to be submitted with the application. Any tonnages not properly documented at the time of an audit will not be credited towards the applicant's Performance Grant award. No additional/supplemental documentation will be accepted after the audit is completed. Failure to submit a complete and valid application may result in a denial of the application and possible enforcement proceedings.
Acceptable Supporting Documentation: Weight slips or receipts verifying that the materials were recycled or marketed are required as supporting documentation for the grant application. The documentation must include: 1) the date the materials were recycled/marketed; 2) the type of material recycled/marketed; 3) the name of the municipality where the material was generated; 4) weight, stated in pounds or tons, of the material recycled/marketed; 5) the name of the entity that collected, weighed and/or processed the material; and 6) must state residential or commercial tonnages. Documentation supporting materials source separated from municipal waste by commercial/institutional establishments and recycled/marketed must bear the name of the establishment and the municipality where the establishment is located.
Acceptable documentation must be provided in one of the following formats: 1) a dated weight/market receipt identifying the generator of the recyclable materials and the market; 2) a dated report submitted by the hauler or market on company letterhead clearly indicating the name of the company generating the recyclable materials; or 3) a dated report submitted by the generator, which is signed by the hauler or market vendor that received the materials. Reports may be submitted on annual, monthly, weekly or other time period format. All information must be legible.
Estimates of weight will not be accepted, except in cases where: 1) the material is packaged in uniform bales and the average weight of a bale can be demonstrated and supported by weight receipts and a record of the number of bales was provided by the market vendors; or when 2) multiple generators contribute to a known quantity of marketed material, and the hauler or market estimates the quantities attributable to any individual establishment or municipality, and verifies the estimate with a signature.
Although the supporting documentation is not required to be submitted with the grant application, any documentation provided must conform to the previously listed requirements or the materials claimed will not be credited toward the grant award. Potential applicants should review the Department's booklet, ''Documentation Requirements and Examples'' (www.depweb.state.pa.us, Keyword: ''Recycling Grants''), prior to completing the grant application.
Grant applications must be on forms provided by the Department for calendar year 2009. Grant applications must be delivered to the 14th Floor of the Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg by 4 p.m., September 30, 2010, or postmarked on or before that day. Applications received by the Department after the deadline will be returned to the applicant. Grant awards are predicated on the receipt of recycling fees required by Sections 701 and 702 of Act 101, and the availability of moneys in the Recycling Fund.
Municipalities wishing to file an application should contact the Department at the address that follows. Applicants who filed a Performance Grant application for calendar year 2008 will be mailed a current application by the Department as soon as they are available. Information on the grant program may also be obtained from the Department's web site. Inquiries concerning this notice should be directed to Mark Vottero, Bureau of Waste Management, Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P. O. Box 8472, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8472 or mvottero@state. pa.us.
JOHN HANGER,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 10-1257. Filed for public inspection July 9, 2010, 9:00 a.m.]
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