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March 7, 2007, was the deadline for submitting questions
regarding the Liquefied Natural Gas from Landfill Gas Demonstration Grant.
Additional questions cannot be answered.
Note: Attachments C-1 and C-2 have been revised for simplification and clarification purposes. Please use the revised versions of these documents for submittal with your application. Of
particular note are the modifications to indirect and overhead costs.
The revised Attachments C-1 and C-2 are available on the
LNG Grant web page (Updated March 23, 2007).
Q: If a project has not currently obtained all land use permits and does
not anticipate having them before the tentatively scheduled grant award date of
May 15, 2007, does this preclude the project from being eligible?
A: Yes. If a project has not obtained all applicable land use
permits and does not anticipate having them before the tentatively scheduled
grant award date of May 15, 2007, this would preclude the project from being
eligible.
The basis of this requirement in the grant solicitation is the fiscal
year 2006/07 Budget Act whereby the Legislature conditioned grant funding
authority as follows:
“Of this appropriation, an amount not to exceed
$1,000,000 may be awarded in the form of a grant for demonstration
projects that convert landfill gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for
use as a clean transportation fuel, provided that the demonstration
project meets all the following conditions:
- The project shall produce at least 10,000 gallons of
LNG per day.
- The project shall utilize landfill gas that is
currently flared.
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The project shall have obtained all applicable land
use permits before award of the grant.
The grant amount shall not exceed 15 percent of the total project
cost.” (emphasis added)
Note, it is the responsibility of the applicant to properly fill out and
certify under penalty of perjury form Appendix A-2: General Checklist of
Business Permits, Licenses, and Filings (CIWMB 669) (Adobe
PDF, 278 KB | MS Word,
220 KB). The category of Land Use Permits is in the form under Local
Permits, Licenses and Filings.
Q: "Eligible Applicants" are described as "businesses and California
cities, counties, special districts, other political subdivisions and
jurisdictions joined together by formal agreements". Does this mean California
based businesses only? Would a business headquartered out of state, but with a
California office be eligible?
A: Eligible business applicants are not restricted to California
based businesses. A business headquartered out of state but with a
California office would be eligible, however, the business must be in
compliance with all applicable California and local laws, ordinances,
regulations and permits.
Q: Is a not-for-profit organization considered a "business"?
A: Yes. Eligible business applicants include not-for-profit
organizations. A not-for-profit entity must include with its grant
application a copy of its most recent Determination Letter for Declaration
of Nonprofit Status issued by the Internal Revenue Service and must also
include a Letter of Good Standing issued by the California Franchise Tax
Board. These documents are not counted for purposes of the 35 page
limitation.
Q: Are there any eligibility requirements for California based businesses
and not-for profit organizations that are not specifically addressed in the
grant solicitation and application package (Adobe PDF, 142 KB
| MS Word, 119 KB)?
A: Yes. Like out of state businesses, California-based businesses
and not-for profit organizations must be in compliance with all applicable
California and local laws, ordinances, regulations and permits.
Q: Are there any eligibility requirements specific to corporations?
A: Yes. If the business applicant is a corporation, the
corporation must be in good standing and currently qualified to do business
in the State. "Doing business" is defined in Revenue and Taxation Code
Section 23101 as actively engaging in any transaction for the purpose of
financial or pecuniary gain or profit.
Q: Ineligible Costs include "Overhead and indirect costs above five
percent (5%) of the amount approved for payment". We would like "Amount approved
for payment" defined to clarify what this means: A) is there a 5% limit on
exceeding the total overhead budget (the amount of overhead and indirect costs)
approved for payment?, or B) does it mean that overhead and indirect costs are
limited to 5% of the direct costs approved for payment? or C) something else?
A: Eligible Grant Project overhead and indirect costs are limited
to five percent (5%) of the total amount of eligible grant project costs
approved for payment. To be eligible, overhead and indirect costs must be
associated with the eligible grant project activities.
Q: Please clarify the apparent contradiction of a 5% overhead and indirect
cost limit vs. the 10% indirect overhead and 5% G&A rates listed in the table on
the last page (page 8) of Attachment C-2
Category Budget Instructions
A: Eligible grant project overhead and indirect costs are limited
to five percent (5%) of the total amount of eligible project grant costs
approved for payment. This limitation does not apply to the match share.
The “ID % Rate” of 10% shown in the sample Detail Project Category Budget
form C-2 on page 8 is for illustration purposes only. The actual ID % rate
will be determined by each applicant based on its business considerations.
As noted above Attachments C-1 and C-2 will be revised. All references to
G&A in Attachments C-1 and C-2 will be eliminated and should not be captured
as a separate category under overhead. This is being done to simplify
reporting of these costs. G&A costs can be considered a component of
overhead and indirect costs, and reported accordingly. This does not change
the 5% cap on overhead and indirect costs.
Q: The description of "Indirect" on the first page of Attachment C-2
Category Budget Instructions states "If the rates have been approved by a
federal agency, the applicant should submit a copy of the approval". 1) Does
this imply that federally approved rates will be allowable? 2) Would this
supersede the 5% overhead and indirect limitation if that is the case?
A: 1) If applicable, federally approved rates are allowable for
match funds, however, they are not required. Federally approved rates are
not allowable for LNG grant funds.
2) Eligible grant project overhead and indirect costs are limited to five
percent (5%) of the total amount of eligible project grant costs approved
for payment. This five percent (5%) limit does not apply to the match funds.
Q: Does the 35 pages total limitation of the proposal include all of the
required standard forms (A-1 to A-5, and Attachment B) as part of the 35 page
limit?
A: The 35-page limitation does not include the required standard
forms A-1 through A-5 and Attachment B.
Q: Can key personnel's biographical information (resumes) be included in
an appendix to the proposal and not count as part of the 35 page limitation on
proposal length?
A: Applicants may include resumes for key personnel in an appendix
to the proposal. The appendix does not count as part of the 35-page proposal
limitation.
Q: On page 5 of the grant solicitation and application package it states
“Grant and matching costs may not be incurred until receipt of the Notice to
Proceed.” This would preclude expending any matching funds until approximately
June 30, 2007. Is this correct?
A: No. The statement should read “LNG Grant costs
may not be incurred until receipt of the Notice to Proceed.” Matching funds
may be expended prior to receipt of the Notice to Proceed.
Q: On page C-1-1 of Attachment C-1 Task Budget Instructions it states
“Please note: No profit is allowed (either as reimbursable or match share) in
grant funding awards.” Is this correct?
A: No. The sentence should read “Please note: No profit is
reimbursable from LNG Grant funds.”
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