NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Weatherization Assistance Program; Proposed State Plan; Public Hearing
[52 Pa.B. 5660]
[Saturday, September 3, 2022]The Department of Community and Economic Development (Department) publishes notice of a public hearing to be held electronically, by means of web/conference call on Tuesday, September 13, 2022. This public hearing will only be held virtually by the methods listed. There will be no in-person opportunity to attend the hearing.
The public hearing by means of the web/conference call will be held at 1 p.m. and will last as long as there are comments to be received. This more widely available computer access/conference call will replace the onsite public hearing. The format will be more accessible than an in-person meeting because those who wish to make comment may participate directly from their electronic device, telephone or computer. Access information can be found at the end of this notice.
The purpose of this hearing is to receive comments on the proposed Pennsylvania 2022—2027 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) appropriated by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) State Plan (Plan).
The proposed 2022—2027 BIL Plan will authorize the formula-based distribution for each county. Specific performance goals emphasize production; quality of the work product; prompt, accurate and complete reporting; and compliance with program standards and regulations.
The Plan includes the following changes:
• Additional leveraging activities to enhance weatherization funding and assist with energy efficiency policies.
• Proposed allocation formula for DOE BIL funds based on Allocation Committee recommendation for DOE Annual funds.
• Updated Statewide Climatic Regions information based on updated county Heating Degree Days.
• Proposed production and expenditure plans for a 5-year period.
• Increased monitoring schedule for Quality Control Inspection visits, in-progress and Admin/Fiscal monitoring based on significant amount of additional units.
• Plans for meeting milestones and a reallocation plan, based on meeting production and expenditure goals, agency capacity and quality of weatherization work.
• Robust workforce development and Training and Technical Assistance plans to help build a much-needed workforce.
• Proposed updates to Grantee and Subgrantee staffing plans based on workforce needs assessment survey.
• Plans to transition to Hancock Cloud-Based data management system.
• Plans to request approval from DOE to continue to use the energy auditing tool, HEAT, for single family and manufactured housing—which is also included in the DOE Annual Plan.
There is a continued National focus on coordination of efforts where other health and safety, lead-abatement, utility weatherization and housing rehab services are coordinated locally with weatherization services.
Copies of the proposed 2022—2027 DOE WAP BIL Plan may be obtained beginning September 2, 2022, by contacting the Department of Community and Economic Development, Center for Community Services, (717) 425-7597 or it can be downloaded from the Department's web site at www.dced.pa.gov. Written comments may be submitted electronically to ra-wxmail@pa.gov until 5 p.m. on September 13, 2022.
There is no registration to join the meeting, but if testifying reach out to (717) 425-7597 to be allotted time to speak.
Individuals may join the public hearing at https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_ %23%2Fl%2Fmeetup-join%2F19%3Ameeting_ZDc5OWU 5YjktNzQ0Yy00ZWQ5LWFmODktNDQzOTFjNWQ5ZDU 3%40thread.v2%2F0%3Fcontext%3D%257b%2522Tid% 2522%253a%2522418e2841-0128-4dd5-9b6c-47fc5a9a1bde %2522%252c%2522Oid%2522%253a%252238d19553-8a44-47fa-a000-a2a5677040ee%2522%257d%26anon%3Dtrue &type=meetup-join&deeplinkId=beceba30-8a7a-4bd5-9 cdd-bb157ac95b6f&directDl=true&msLaunch=true& enableMobilePage=true&suppressPrompt=true. The meeting ID # is 244 274 052 825 and the passcode is qDQxRg.
Individuals can join the public hearing by phone at (267) 332-8737. The conference ID # is 264 895 427#.
The hearing will be shortened if there is no one to testify or there is minimal response.
Persons with a disability who wish to participate in this hearing should contact Yvonne Adams at (717) 425-7597 to discuss how the Department may accommodate their needs.
NEIL WEAVER,
Acting Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 22-1354. Filed for public inspection September 2, 2022, 9:00 a.m.]
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