W. Va. Code R. § 33-10-12

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 33-10-12 - Requirements of Grant Recipients

12.1. All recycling assistance grants are for a fourteen-month period beginning the first of January and ending the last day in February of the following year.

12.2. Unless a grant recipient specifically requests and can demonstrate a need for a larger portion of the awarded grant to initiate the project, the department shall disburse all grants on the following schedule: 30% at the time of grant award with subsequent payments of 30% to be made upon receipt of a quarterly report. The final payment shall be 10% and shall be withheld until receipt of the third quarterly report.

12.3. The grant recipient shall retain and make available upon request by the Department of Environmental Protection for a period of five years after the grant period, all financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records as they relate to the proposal, acceptance and use of the grant. The provisions of West Virginia Code § 12-4-14 apply to all recycling assistance grants. The grant recipient shall provide the department with a copy of the grant recipient's independent audit report or sworn statement of expenditures, whichever may apply, that cover the entire grant period.

12.4. The grant recipient shall return any unexpended grant funds remaining as of March 1 of the following year to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. If the grant recipient expends any grant funds on or after March 1 this shall be considered an unauthorized expenditure.

12.5. If, through any cause, the grant recipient fails to fulfill in a timely and proper manner its obligation as proposed in the grant proposal, and as accepted and approved by the department, the department shall terminate payment of the remaining grant funds. The grant recipient shall return any amount of the grant used for unauthorized expenditures. Authorized expenditures are those outlined in the original budget that was approved by the grant review committee.

12.6. The grant recipient shall comply with all federal, state and local laws, codes, ordinances, rules and regulations. The department may withdraw all funds from grant recipients who fail to comply with grant guidelines.

12.7. The grant recipient shall deposit the grant immediately upon receipt in a separate checking account. The department may waive this requirement for grant recipients who anticipate having a minimal number of expenditures from the grant during the entire grant period and can demonstrate a high level of accountability through proper internal controls.

12.8. The department shall consider requests made in writing for a change in budget only if the change does not materially significantly alter the original scope of the grant proposal approved by the grant review committee Conservative spending resulting in excess, changes in operational needs, and/or emergency events are examples of reasonable requests for changes in budget.

12.9. The grant recipient shall solicit a minimum of three verbal bids for all purchases which have an estimated value between five thousand dollars ($5,000) and ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The lowest bid meeting specifications shall be awarded the contract, unless the grantee receives approval from the Department to award based upon other criteria with valid justification as determined by the Department. Electronic bids are acceptable. Screen prints from internet sites in which the commodity or service is for sale and may be procured can substitute for a verbal bid. All bids must be recorded in the grant reports submitted to the Department and retained in the grant recipient's file. Any attempts to segregate the project into sections having an estimated value of less than $5,000 may be cause for termination of the grant.

12.10. The grant recipient shall solicit written bids for all purchases having an estimated value of more than $10,000. All bids received prior to the bid opening deadline shall be reviewed equally and given proper consideration. The lowest bid meeting specifications shall be awarded the contract, unless the grantee receives approval from the Department to award based upon other criteria with valid justification as determined by the Department. All bids must be recorded in the required grant reports and retained in the grant recipient's file. Any attempt to segregate the project into sections having an estimated value of less than $10,000 may be cause for termination of the grant.

12.10.a. The written bids shall be obtained by public notice as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provision of West Virginia Code § 59-3-2. This notice shall be published by the grant recipient in the newspaper with the largest circulation serving the general area twice within fourteen days preceding the final date of submitting bids. The grant recipient shall submit all bid documentation and other evidence of compliance with these procedures for review and approval to the Department of Environmental Protection prior to accepting a bid.

12.10.b. Upon prior approval from the Department, alternative publication methods can be used in lieu of a newspaper Class II legal advertisement to obtain written bids when the alternative method renders a larger pool of competition. Examples of alternative methods may include, but are not limited to, official procurement websites for a city or county government.

12.10.c. Feasibility studies may be procured using a Best Value Procurement method. This method is used to acquire services where the specifications or scope of work may not be well defined, or cost is not the sole factor in determining the value. Best Value Procurement techniques such as Requests for Proposals (RFPs) can be used to solicit proposals from potential bidders, taking into consideration the vendor's ability, resources, experience, and proposed methods to provide the required services. Grantees shall advertise RFP opportunities following the appropriate state or local competitive bidding process. The grant recipient shall submit all bid documentation, scoring criteria, and other evidence of compliance with these procedures for review and approval to the Department prior to award. All proposals must be retained in the grant recipient's file.

12.10.d. The Department may waive or modify the bidding procedures to allow direct purchase of commodities and services identified to be non-competitive, and/or ineffective or impossible to bid. The grant recipient must submit a written request prior to the purchase with justification as to why competitive bids are not possible and receive written approval from the Department before proceeding. Examples include, but are not limited to, promotional and educational advertising, utilities, postage, and equipment maintenance requiring specific manufacturer service. Advertising may include: any promotional and educational advertisement placed directly with newspapers, trade magazines, internet publications, social media, or billboards; broadcast television and radio advertisements placed directly with the broadcaster or publisher; or participation fees for conferences. Advertising does not include any indirect placement, advertisements for bids, promotional items, or advertising consultant services. The grant recipient must continue to follow documentation requirements.

12.11. All grant recipients shall submit the title to equipment purchased with a grant to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection listing the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection as first lienholder for the lien term. The lien shall apply to equipment purchased with the grant, in whole or part. The grant recipient shall assume the risk of loss and maintain adequate insurance on the equipment.

12.11.a. The department shall determine the lien period for each individual piece of equipment purchased with grant funds using the class-life depreciation schedules published by the Internal Revenue Service. If a piece of equipment is in question as to which class the equipment is to be placed in, the department shall make that determination; and

12.11.b. Public and private sector grants involving equipment shall have subsequent on-site inspections for the term specified.

12.12. Grant recipients shall submit a final report for approval on or before March 31 following the end of the grant period. The report shall include the following:

12.12.a. An evaluation of successes and failures encountered in implementing the original proposal's work tasks;

12.12.b. An evaluation of the operating costs and community support for the project;

12.12.c. An analysis of the economic development achievements, such as job creation;

12.12.d. An analysis of the project including: total volume (tons) of waste diverted from the solid waste stream, the estimated cost per ton to recycle that volume, the estimated revenue per ton of recycled material, and the estimated savings from recycling in lieu of land filling; and

12.12.e. A complete accounting of the grant expended for the entire year.

12.13. A progress status report and expenditure statement shall be submitted by all grant recipients to the department every quarter containing a brief narrative of accomplishments (including individual volumes of material recycled), projections for the next report period and detailed grant expenditures for the past three months.

12.13.a. The grant recipient shall attach evidence of all grant expenditures to the quarterly reports, including but not limited to: copies of invoices, checks, titles, bids, and bank statements.

12.13.b. The department shall return an incomplete quarterly report to the grant recipient for completion. The department shall withhold any remaining grant payments until it receives a complete report as required in section 12.12. of this rule.

12.14. The department shall periodically conduct site visits with grant recipients. These visits shall be conducted to provide assistance, to review progress, to discuss any problems encountered in project implementation, or to review financial compliancy and clarify discrepancies found in reports the grant recipient has submitted to the department.

W. Va. Code R. § 33-10-12