Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant Applications

NOTICES

Application Period for Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant Applications under Act 101, Section 904 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act; Calendar Year 2011

[42 Pa.B. 3525]
[Saturday, June 16, 2012]

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. § 4000.904). 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 2011.
 Municipal Recycling Program Performance Grant (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. § 4000.1501(c)(1)(i)) recovered by municipal recycling programs and the population of the municipality as determined by the most recent decennial census. Performance Grants will be calculated utilizing the same formula as for the calendar year 2010 grants.
 Applicants who have failed to comply with the conditions set forth in previously awarded grants, the recycling program performance requirements in the act of November 9, 2006 (P. L. 1347, No. 140), the grant requirements of the act or the regulations of the act may not be awarded funds under this grant program. Applicants must ensure that they are in compliance with 25 Pa. Code § 272.314(b)(2) (relating to limits on Department's authority to award grants) regarding the submittal of the annual recycling report.
 Eligible materials include the following post-consumer items: 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, 2011, to and including December 31, 2011. Applicants should only claim those tonnages for which they have documentation at the time they complete their application. Any residues, materials not listed as eligible or any materials that cannot be documented as being generated within the municipality or marketed or recycled into new products or uses are not eligible for consideration toward the grant. 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 accurate application may result in a denial of the application.
 Grant applications must be on forms provided by the Department for calendar year 2011. Grant applications must be delivered by 4 p.m. on October 1, 2012, or postmarked on or before this date. 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 under sections 701 and 702 of the act (53 P. S. §§ 4000.701 and 4000.702) and the availability of moneys in the Recycling Fund.
 Applicants who filed a Performance Grant application for calendar year 2010 will be mailed a current application by the Department as soon as it is available. Applications may also be obtained from the Department's web site at www.dep.state.pa.us (Keyword: ''Recycling Grants''). 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.

MICHAEL L. KRANCER, 
Secretary