Iowa Code r. 21-13.23 - Contract administration
(1)
Notice of award. The department will notify approved
applicants in writing of the board's award of grants, including any conditions
and terms of the approval.
(2)
Contract required. The board will direct the department to
prepare a cost-share agreement that includes the terms and conditions of the
grant established by the board. The agreement shall:
a. Describe the project in sufficient detail
to demonstrate the eligibility of the project.
b. State the total cost of the project
expressed in a project budget that contains sufficient detail to meet the
requirements of the infrastructure board.
c. State the project completion
deadline.
d. State the project
completion requirements that are preconditions for payment of the grant by the
board.
e. Recite the penalty for
the storage or dispensing of motor fuel other than the type of renewable fuel
for which the grant was awarded.
(1) Awards
for projects under construction or not yet started. The five-year obligation to
continue dispensing renewable fuel begins on the date the project is
completed.
(2) Awards for projects
already completed. The five-year obligation to continue dispensing renewable
fuel begins on the date the department issues the first disbursement of grant
funds, not on the date of project completion.
f. Be amended to include a supplemental
financial incentive, if a supplemental financial incentive is awarded by the
board.
(3)
Disbursement of funds.
a.
Beginning January 1, 2023, the department shall only reimburse an applicant for
qualifying expenditures that comply with Iowa Code sections
455G.32 and 455G.33 unless a
grant was awarded to the applicant with moneys appropriated in the 2022 fiscal
year budget or prior.
b. In cases
where both state and federal incentives are being utilized for a project at a
retail motor fuel site, and those incentives, when combined, would exceed the
total cost of the project at the retail motor fuel site, the department will
reduce the state financial incentive to an amount that would not exceed the
total cost of the project.
(4)
Repayment penalty for
nonexclusive renewable fuel use. In the absence of a waiver from the
board, the department may impose a 25 percent penalty due to a grant
recipient's use of infrastructure equipment for which a grant was awarded, for
the storage or dispensing, within the time frame stated in the agreement, of
motor fuel other than the type of renewable fuel for which the grant was
awarded.
(5)
Repayment or
board waiver. A grant recipient may not use the infrastructure to
store and dispense motor fuel other than the type approved by the board, unless
one of the following applies:
(1) the grantee
is granted a waiver by the board, or
(2) the grantee pays back the moneys awarded
including a 25 percent penalty.
(6)
Waiver criteria. The
board may waive repayment of grant funds plus the 25 percent penalty. A grant
recipient seeking a waiver during the time period in which a cost-share
agreement is in effect shall submit a written waiver request to the board. The
board will consider waiver requests under the following circumstances:
a.
Permanent waiver.
(1) Waiver due to demonstration of good cause
(no repayment and no 25 percent penalty). A grant recipient may request a
permanent waiver during the time period in which a cost-share grant agreement
is in effect if the grant recipient can demonstrate good cause for failure to
continue using the approved renewable fuel. "Good cause" includes, but is not
limited to, events such as the following:
1.
Permanent business closure due to bankruptcy.
2. Permanent closure of underground or
aboveground storage tanks.
(2) Waiver due to demonstration of financial
hardship (repayment on a sliding scale and no 25 percent penalty). A grant
recipient may seek a permanent waiver of exclusive use of the approved
renewable fuel during the time period in which a cost-share agreement is in
effect due to financial hardship. The grant recipient must demonstrate that
continuing to dispense the renewable fuel at a project site will cause a
financial hardship. A request for waiver due to financial hardship shall
include documentation to show a "good faith" effort to market the fuel,
specifically the most recent six-month history of gallons of approved renewable
fuel sold by month, marketing/advertising efforts, retail price comparison of
E-15 or E-85 to E-10 (or regular gasoline) or of biodiesel to regular diesel.
If a waiver is granted, the 25 percent penalty will not be assessed, but the
grant funds shall be repaid at 100 percent for months one through ten of a
cost-share agreement or 2 percent of the grant amount for each month remaining
on the cost-share agreement after month ten.
b.
Temporary waiver (temporary
suspension of repayment and 25 percent penalty). A grant recipient may
request a temporary suspension of the obligation to use only the approved
renewable fuel and a temporary waiver of the repayment plus penalty
requirement. A request for a temporary waiver, or an extension of a temporary
waiver, will only be considered by the board if the recipient can document to
the board's satisfaction that market forces are not allowing for advantageous
sales of the approved renewable fuel. A grant recipient shall submit
documentation of the previous six-month sales history and marketing attempts to
substantiate the grant recipient's request for a temporary waiver. The
following conditions apply to requests for a temporary waiver:
(1) A temporary waiver will not be granted
during the first six months of a cost-share agreement.
(2) A temporary waiver will not shorten the
grant recipient's obligation to use the infrastructure to store and dispense
the approved renewable fuel for a minimum of five years. If the board approves
a temporary waiver, the duration of the cost-share agreement will be extended
by the length of the approved waiver period.
(3) A grant recipient may request a temporary
waiver of up to six months. The board may approve one or more six-month
waivers, provided the total cumulative time period allowed for temporary
waivers shall not exceed two years.
(4) If a state executive order suspending the
Iowa Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) schedule is issued, the board may decide to
grant a temporary waiver to all grant recipients. The board will establish the
duration of the waiver and provide written notice to all grant recipients of
the board's action. When the board determines that a temporary waiver is
necessary due to suspension of the Iowa RFS schedule, the five-year duration of
the cost-share agreement will not be extended by the length of the temporary
waiver.
Notes
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