84-27814 May 11, 2022
1.3.11 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
City of Rialto
Attn: Mr. Thomas J. Crowley
150 S. Palm Avenue
Rialto, CA 92376-6406
Subject: Funding Opportunity No. R22AS00023– WaterSMART Grants: Water and Energy Efficiency Grants for Fiscal Year 2022 – Application Review Status, Your Application Titled, “Advanced Metering Infrastructure Implementation Project” (WEEG-048)
Dear Mr. Thomas J. Crowley:
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is pleased to inform you that your application for WaterSMART Grants: Water and Energy Efficiency Grant Funding Opportunity is being considered for award with funding available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), P.L. 117-58. This year, we received 131 applications for funding. We have conducted a review of the applications based on the prioritization criteria included in the Funding Opportunity. Due to funding limitations, only the 22 highest-rated applications have been identified for award with fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations and are included in today’s news release. Your application was not among those identified for award with FY 2022 appropriations and was therefore not included in today’s news release. We plan to include your project, and others identified for BIL funding, in a separate news release in the coming weeks.
Your application included a request for $2,000,000 to complete your proposal titled, “Advanced Metering Infrastructure Implementation Project.” Reclamation anticipates awarding Federal funds in the amount of $2,000,000 for your proposed project.
All new financial assistance awards for infrastructure projects must meet Buy America requirements.
Although those requirements were not included in the FY 2022 Funding Opportunity, which was posted prior to passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), P.L. 117-58, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implementing guidance has clarified that the Buy America provisions apply to projects carried out through BIL funding and annual appropriations. This likely includes your proposed project.
See OMB Memorandum M-22-11 for further details.
In addition, Section 41101 of the BIL requires that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractor in the performance of construction, alteration, or repair work on a project assisted in whole or in part by funding made available under the BIL shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar projects in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Davis-Bacon Act).
We will be scheduling a webinar with you and other new recipients to discuss the process for development of financial assistance agreements and next steps.
In working with you to develop your financial assistance agreement, Reclamation will closely review the activities outlined in your proposal to ensure that all activities are eligible for funding and that the proposed costs are allowable under financial assistance regulations. If some costs or activities are determined to be ineligible or unallowable, Reclamation will work with you to refine the scope of work and budget for the project.
In the coming months, we will work with you to gather the information needed to enter into a financial assistance agreement. Please note that this letter is not a final commitment of funding, and all pre-award clearances and approvals must be obtained as described in Section E.2.5 of the Funding Opportunity. In addition, Reclamation must have sufficient evidence prior to award that non-Federal cost share will be available. The final funding amount may be adjusted if necessary.
Federal statute (42 U.S.C. 10364(a)(3)(B)) requires that before any funds are awarded, you agree not to use any water savings resulting from your proposed project to increase your total irrigated acreage or to otherwise increase the consumptive use of water in your operations. This requirement, which was discussed in Section F.2.4 of the Funding Opportunity, will be included in the financial assistance agreement for your project.
Please be advised that your application has been ranked, in part, based on your description of the expected benefits of your project and the non-Federal cost share percentage identified in your application. Selection criteria placed an emphasis on conserving and using water more efficiently; increasing the production of renewable energy; mitigating conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict; and accomplishing other benefits that contribute to water supply sustainability in the western United States.
In order to demonstrate the success of the program and to provide a guide for future applicants, we will post copies of all successful Water and Energy Efficiency Grant applications as examples on Reclamation’s website. While this generally does not raise any issues, we find it prudent to provide successful grant applicants with an opportunity to redact any sensitive information from their proposals prior to posting them on our website. As a rule, we remove the SF-424s; however, if there are any other items you would like to request be redacted, please let me know by Wednesday, May 25, 2022. If we do not hear from you by this date, we will assume that there are no objections to posting the full application.
Again, a webinar will be scheduled to discuss next steps in further detail. Thank you for your interest and participation in the WaterSMART Program. The success of the WaterSMART Program depends on collaboration with partners to improve water management. We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
/s/ Beverly K. Nelson
Chief Grants Officer