CSBG ARRA Amendment 1 - Contract Language Changes

CSD has released the CSBG ARRA Amendment 1.

This amendment contains revisions to ARRA Exhibits A and B. The ARRA Exhibit A includes an added provision stating the Federal Office of Management and Budgets has designated all federal programs with ARRA expenditures are "high risk" as a ressult of the new transparency and accountability requirments. ARRA Exhibit B includes revisions to the programmatic reporting due dates, reporting intervals, and advance repayment language.

CSD encourages each Contractor to review the amended contract language in its entirety.

You can access CSBG ARRA Amendment 1 on CSD's web site --click here

ARRA Guidance: DOE WAP ARRA Amendement 1 - Contract Language Changes

CSD has released DOE WAP ARRA Guidance No. 6: DOE ARRA Amendment 1 - Contract Langage Changes.

The purpose of this guidance is to provide DOE Energy Service Providers with modifications to provisions and budgets contained in both the DOE ARRA Contract and the subsequent amendment issued on September 30, 2009.

You can access this guidance (which contains two attachments) on CSD's web site at:

http://www.csd.ca.gov/Recovery/DOE%20WAP%20ARRA%20Guidance.aspx?PageView=Shared

CSD ARRA Guidance: DOE ARRA Contract Amendment

CSD has issued new ARRA Guidance for the DOE WAP Program.
The purpose of this guidance is to instruct CSD’s Energy Service Providers on the policies and procedures surrounding the changes to the DOE ARRA Contract Amendment.

View the Guidance at: http://www.csd.ca.gov/Recovery/DOE%20WAP%20ARRA%20Guidance.aspx?PageView=Shared

CSD ARRA Guidance: DOE WAP Policies and Procedures for Davis-Bacon Wage Plan

CSD has issued new ARRA Guidance for the DOE WAP Program. The purpose of this guidance is to instruct CSD’s Energy Service Providers on the policies and procedures surrounding the Davis-Bacon Wage Plan. Note that this guidance includes four attachments.

View the Guidance at: http://www.csd.ca.gov/Recovery/DOE%20WAP%20ARRA%20Guidance.aspx?PageView=Shared

Recovery Money for Weatherization: How Much Did We Get and Where Does it Go?

CSD staff get asked frequently about the weatherization money California received as a result of the Recovery Act, or ARRA. Though we address this question in a number of ways via various reports and such, this post attempts to answer the questions of "how much?" and "where is it going?" all in one place.

Total Award: $185 million, which must be spent by March 31, 2012.

How Much Money and When:

• In April 2009, CSD received 10% of the total award, or $18.6 million to be used for what’s called “ramp-up” or getting ready. That includes things like planning, purchasing needed equipment, hiring, training and other tasks necessary to enable us and our providers to deal with this large influx of money.
• In June, 2009, CSD received an additional 40% or $74.3 million to be used for weatherization of low-income homes. There was some delay while we waited for the U.S. Department of Labor to decide the job and wage classifications for weatherization work subject to Davis Bacon Requirements (this issue was often referred to as “prevailing wage” or the “Davis-Bacon Act” in reference to the 1930’s Act that required people who work on federal construction projects to earn a certain level of wages). In September, 2009, CSD distributed this money to 36 local energy providers throughout the state. The distribution of the $74.3 million did not include all services areas, such as: Parts of LA County, Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, Alameda County (serviced by Spectrum Community Service, Inc.). Within these areas CSD is either seeking a new service provider to administer services locally, or we've decided to withhold the release of ARRA funding pending the completion of an active departmental investigative or programmatic compliance review of the designated local energy service provider. For those areas receiving funding, the contracts specified the amount of funding issued to each provider. These contracts and funding amounts are posted on CSD’s website: http://www.csd.ca.gov/Contractors/ENERGY/2009%20ARRA%20DOE%20WAP%20Amendment%201%20Contracts.aspx?PageView=Shared

• At a future date, we are scheduled to receive the remaining 50% or $92.9 million. We’ll get this after we achieve certain performance and expenditure goals, which have yet to be determined by the U.S. Department of Energy. At that time, that money will also be distributed to local providers to weatherize additional homes.

What We’re Doing With the $92.9 million we’ve received so far:

• $75.5 million has been awarded to local energy providers throughout California to ramp-up and to weatherize homes.
• $11.6 million has been retained by CSD to hire technical and other consultant services for things like developing and implementing training standards, improving the statewide energy audit tool, and performing “third-party” inspections to be sure local providers are installing weatherization properly.
• $4.6 million has been retained by CSD to support the administrative costs of the State’s monitoring, audit and oversight of the DOE weatherization program.

Update on CSBG ARRA reporting requirements

There has been some confusion regarding the programmatic reporting requirements for the CSBG ARRA contract; CSD will be clarifying the programmatic reporting intervals and due dates in the forthcoming amendment #1. To continue the open communication with all eligible entities receiving CSBG ARRA funds click here to view the revised reporting dates.

If you have further questions, please contact your field representative.

CSBG ARRA Webinar: Risk Assessment and Risk Mitigation

On October 7, 2009, CSD conducted a webinar on the CSBG ARRA Risk Assessment and Risk Mitigation Webinar--click here to view the PowerPoint presentation. Information shared in this webinar includes an overview of the "Big Picture" from the federal and state level, the purpose of the risk assessment, and a review of the questions.

Also, available on CSD's Recovery Act webpage under the heading "CSBG Programs >Webinars & Videos" is the audio version of the webinar, to listen to the full webinar click here.

Critical dates to remember:

• October 15, 2009 -- Risk Assessment Certification due to CSD
  
• October 30, 2009 -- CSD must submit all risk assessments to OCS

CSBG Programmatic Reporting Update

The CSBG ARRA Project Status report (CSD 924) slated to be submitted quarterly (first report due October 15th), is now on hold. This means that no Project Status Report will be due on October 15th. CSD will inform eligible entities when the first quarter’s project data will be collected.


Please stay tuned to CSD Train Tracks as information becomes available.

DOE Webinar for the Weatherization Network: Wednesday, October 7!

DOE is offering a webinar on how to comply, fill-out, certify, and submit certified payrolls required by the Davis-Bacon Act for the Weatherization network.

The two identical 90 minute sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, 2009. The first session is scheduled for 10:00 AM EDT and the second for 3:00 PM EDT (Remember! That's 7am or 12 noon for those of you in California).

While space is limited to a first come - first served basis, they should have enough lines to accommodate all those who wish to attend. For those unable to attend, DOE will record the session and post it on the DOE WAP Recovery Act web page. This training is designed to be helpful for States, CAA's, and contractors who will be working under ARRA funding which requires DBA compliance that includes the submission of weekly certified payrolls. The information below can be forwarded as many times as needed.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Wed, Oct 7, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/315603881

Wed, Oct 7, 2009 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/961009456

Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.

Please check your system in advance of October 7 to ensure compatibility with your server. If you have any problems using this software, please consult your system administrator or the GoToWebinar support hotline at1-800-263-6317 (reference Meeting #315603881 for the morning session or#961009456 for the afternoon session).

Attention Energy Providers: 2009 ARRA DOE WAP Contracts Available for Download Now

2009 ARRA DOE WAP Amendment 1: Contracts and associated documents are now available for download at CSD's web page. Note: These contracts will not be mailed to you. You must download them from the link above.

By posting contracts on-line, rather than mailing them to you as we have in the past, CSD eliminates delivery charges, and you have access to an electronic copy of your contract.

Signed contracts due to CSD no later than October 30, 2009