§ 61.10. Special conditions.
(a) Amendments. Amendments to approved grant projects for time extensions, minor scope or grant fund revisions, and the recouping of administrative reimbursement are not subject to the Open Project Selection Process (OPSP) review system. In those cases involving a major scope or grant fund revision, or both, the amendment proposal will be evaluated by the central office in accordance with the rating criteria to establish a new rating score. The central office will be responsible for making a determination of whether an amendment is minor or major in nature.
(1) An amendment not involving a major grant fund increase will be submitted to the National Park Service for approval, if the new rating score is equal to or greater than the rating score of the lowest ranked project funded in the same category—development/rehabilitation or acquisition—for the OPSP period of the original evaluation and funding.
(2) An amendment involving a major grant fund increase will be considered in one of the following manners:
(i) If funds are available for the requested increase, the amendment will be submitted to NPS for approval if the new rating score is equal to or greater than the rating score of the lowest ranked project funded in the same category—development/rehabilitation or acquisition—for the most recent OPSP period.
(ii) If funds are not available for the requested increase, the proposal will be held for rating and ranking under the next OPSP period.
(b) Staged projects. A project may be accomplished in stages. Because the funding and approval of subsequent stages is not assured, each stage of the project shall be self-sustaining and without reliance on future stages. Since each stage is considered a separate identifiable project, each stage shall compete for funding through the OPSP being conducted at the time funding assistance is being sought.
(c) Waiver of regional office involvement in the selection process. If the Department elects to retain all funds in the central office for a Statewide competition, § 61.6 (relating to regional office selection of candidates for funding) is waived and the central office will make the selection of candidates for funding under § 61.7 (relating to central office selection of candidates for funding). Refer to § 61.3(b)(2) (relating to Department allocation—funding plan/conditions).
(d) Waiver of program announcement/open application period. If the Department’s annual allocation is less than $1 million, the Department reserves the right to waive announcement of the open application period under § 61.4 (relating to program announcement/open application period) and to administer the funds in a more cost beneficial and economically efficient manner. If this waiver right is exercised, § § 61.3 and 61.5—61.9 are also waived. Under this waiver option, the Department’s allocation may be used, at the Department’s sole discretion, to fund one or more categories of projects including, but not limited to:
(1) Selected substitute projects from an OPSP or similar process administered by the Department for other recreation grant programs.
(2) Selected substitute projects from an OPSP administered by the Department for a prior allocation of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Program funds.
(3) Amendments for increases to LWCF grant amounts for projects approved from an OPSP administered by the Department for a prior allocation of LWCF Program funds.
(4) Projects that address emergency situations or unique opportunities, or both, are innovative in nature, or help meet special Departmental/Commonwealth priorities subject to the following conditions:
(i) LWCF Program funds for this category do not exceed 20% of the Department’s allocation.
(ii) The projects being funded receive a ranking score of at least 20 total points, excluding the socio-economic criterion in § 61.25 (relating to socio-economic criterion).
(5) Special projects, initiatives or studies related to the implementation of the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.
(6) Department administrative costs related to the LWCF Program.
(7) A combination of the categories of projects in paragraphs (1)—(6).
Cross References This section cited in 17 Pa. Code § 61.4 (relating to program announcement/open application period).
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.
This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Code full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
