NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Spotted Lanternfly Program Grants for Conservation Districts; 2024-2025 Application Period
[54 Pa.B. 6436]
[Saturday, October 12, 2024]The Department of Agriculture (Department) announces the program requirements and application period for grants to be distributed to conservation districts performing work in cooperation with the Department's Spotted Lanternfly Program (Program). The Program is authorized to utilize Federal funds received through the Plant Protection Act Section 7721 for this purpose. The Department intends to make up to $150,000 available for grants to Conservation Districts under the Program.
1. Program objective.
(a) Purpose. The Department will award grants to assist conservation districts with activities designed to enhance spotted lanternfly (SLF) quarantine compliance by businesses and residents of their county. Priority will be given to regional projects, in which one county serves as the lead to coordinate a project across multiple counties in partnership with other county conservation districts. Activities may include:
(1) General SLF communication (answering phone inquiries and the like).
(2) Establishment of or participation in SLF Community Engagement Taskforces or other local or regional SLF partnership meetings to engage in larger scale education, trapping, surveying or other approved activity across all counties within the region.
(3) Educational support for or coordination of citizen survey efforts, or both, for SLF. An example would be to educate the public on the use of iMapInvasives, encouraging the reporting of areas negative for SLF to increase detail of SLF extent maps.
(4) Coordination of outreach events with Penn State Extension or other partners; serving as available speakers for local groups requesting information on SLF and distribution of SLF literature or outreach products (available through Penn State distribution center).
(5) Distribution or subsidizing of SLF circle traps. Circle traps are the preferred trap type, since studies have shown them more effective than sticky traps and because of the concerns with sticky trap bycatch. Circle traps will not be provided by the Department; conservation districts would have to purchase circle traps or circle trap supplies out of their agreement funds.
(6) Engaging with businesses located in or doing business within counties in the Department's SLF quarantine zone to inform them of the Department's SLF permit program and directing them to the Department's resources.
(7) Engaging in treatment projects using conservation district in-house staff who have appropriate pesticide applicator licensing.
(8) Participation in a specific local project of high importance to the District or the region, being directed by other partners.
(b) Applicants. A Pennsylvania County Conservation District may apply to receive grant funds.
(c) Project funding priorities. The Department will prioritize eligible projects for the Program to receive grant funding. Priority will be given to projects that cover all or most of a Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts region, as identified at https://pacd.org/?page_id=14512.
(d) Competitive program. The Program is competitive. Grant requests and related documentation will be reviewed by the Department, who will approve or reject each grant request.
(e) Funds available basis. Grants will only be awarded to the extent that funds are available for this purpose. The Department need not expend all the funds that are available for the Program.
2. Definitions. The following words and terms have the following meanings:
Applicant—A Pennsylvania county conservation district which applies for grant funds under the Program.
Bureau—The Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department.
Secretary—The Secretary of the Department.
3. Limitations on grants. The amount of a grant shall be up to $7,500 for individual applicants or up to $25,000 for groups of conservation districts. A grant is a reimbursement grant, meaning payment of grant funds will not be made by the Department until the applicant documents the completion of work to the Department in accordance with this notice. Request for reimbursement may be submitted once at the end of the grant period.
4. Uses of grant funds.
(a) Conformity to application. Grant funds awarded to an applicant shall be expended solely to reimburse the cost of the specific activities described in the grant application.
(b) Allowable expenditures of grant funds. Grant funds may be expended to pay for any of the activities previously listed in section 1(a).
(c) Prohibited expenditure of grant funds. Grant funds may not be used to hire dedicated full-time SLF staff, to design and produce new marketing materials or to pay contractors to perform spotted lanternfly treatments.
5. Applications.
(a) Application required. Interested Conservation Districts shall submit grant applications to the Department. An application should include a detailed work plan and project budget.
(b) Project start and completion dates. An application should designate March 1, 2025, or a later date, as the project start date, and December 31, 2025, or earlier, as the project completion date. Program grant funds will not be awarded or paid for project activities that occur before the stated project start date or beyond the stated project completion date.
(c) Electronic applications only. Interested applicants must submit a complete electronic project proposal and grant application using the Department's Electronic Single Application web site at https://grants.pa.gov.pa.us.
(d) Application window. Applications should be submitted by 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
6. Review of application.
(a) Transmittal of application to Bureau. When the Bureau receives a complete and accurate grant application, it will forward this application, together with supporting documentation submitted therewith, to the Secretary for review. The Bureau may also forward a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved or rejected, whether the grant should be in an amount less than requested and whether special restrictions or limitations should be placed on the grant.
(b) Factors. The Secretary will review and evaluate the application and supporting documentation and may consider the following factors, among others, in deciding whether to approve or reject the grant request:
(1) The relevance of the project to the Program and to the goals and objectives identified in this announcement.
(2) The innovativeness of the project described in the application.
(3) The scope of the project and the number of people who will be exposed to or affected by the project described in the application. Projects that are regional in nature will be given preference over projects involving only one county.
(4) The impact which the project will have upon SLF quarantine compliance.
(5) The apparent ability of the applicant to complete the project as described in the application.
(6) Whether the project has been assigned priority for funding, as previously described in section 1(c).
(c) Decisions. The Secretary may approve a grant in an amount less than that requested in the grant application. In addition, the Secretary may impose restrictions or special conditions upon the issuance of a grant. The Secretary will review all recommendations of the Bureau but will have final authority to accept or reject these recommendations.
7. Notice of disposition of application.
The Department will e-mail notice of the acceptance or rejection of a grant application by Tuesday, December 31, 2024. This notice will be by e-mail to the address provided by the applicant in the grant application.
8. Grant agreement.
After the Secretary approves a grant application, and as a precondition to the Department's release of grant funds to a successful applicant, the Department and the applicant will execute a written or electronic grant agreement which describes the terms and conditions subject to which the grant is made. The grant agreement will contain and conform to the requirements of this notice and will also contain any special terms and conditions as required by the Secretary. Among the terms of the grant agreement will be a requirement that the grant recipient provide the Department full and complete access to the records relating to the performance of the project and submit the information as the Department may require. Applicants who wish to view the full terms and conditions of the grant agreement in advance of submitting an application may contact the Department at the address set forth in section 11. Applicants who are unable to agree to the terms and conditions should not apply.
9. Verification of project completion.
(a) General. Within 30 days of completion of the subject project, the applicant will provide the Department with proof of the completion of the project and eligibility to receive reimbursement grant funds from the Department.
(b) Required documentation. The proof described in subsection (a) will consist of:
(1) Copies of invoices for goods or services directly related to the project, confirming that the total billed amount is at least the amount of the grant, along with the written certification of the president or treasurer of the applicant that the goods or services that are the subject of the invoices have been delivered or provided to the applicant.
(2) A certificate of completion, signed by its president or treasurer, verifying completion of the subject project and stating that the grant funds will reimburse the applicant for costs incurred by the applicant in completing the subject project.
(3) A brief narrative describing the work completed, including any available metrics.
10. Delivery of grant funds by the Department. The Department will pay the grant amount to the applicant in a single payment within 45 days of receiving the proof of completion previously described in section 9.
11. Questions and additional information. Questions on this Program, including the online application process, may be directed to Jacob Henry, Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9408, (717) 908-6530.
RUSSELL REDDING,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-1463. Filed for public inspection October 11, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]
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