Program Year 2015 Policy Training
The PY15 Policy Training will be held on July 14-15, 2015 at
the Holiday Inn & Suites located at 75 South 37th Ave, St.
Cloud, MN 56301. Rooms have been blocked
for Service Provider (SP) staff for July 13 and 14. Attendees can call 320-253-9000 to reserve
rooms for a discounted rate of $89.95/night for the “Commerce Weatherization”
group.
Service Providers should plan to send their WAP Coordinator,
Lead Auditor, and Fiscal Director (or alternate key staff members who work
directly with WAP). The Commerce WAP
team will present on all policy manual changes for PY15 and the finalized MN
Field Guide and it will end with a PY15 planning session with all SP staff. Although the July Fiscal Directors meeting will
be held at the conference on the 15th, fiscal staff
should plan to attend the entire conference. Register for the training.
State Plan Documents
Public hearing comments and Commerce responses have been
posted on the Commerce
website and submitted to USDOE with the State Plan. Minutes from the May Public Advisory
Committee (PAC) meeting are also posted.
The final version of the PY15 State Plan will be posted on the Commerce
website once approved by USDOE.
End-of-Year
Production Planning
Service Providers may experience delays or other issues may
arise that cause a job to carry over into the following program year. Current policy does not allow jobs to carry
over program years (see WAP Policy Manual
page 5-3). Every effort should be
made to close all jobs out by June 30.
In the event that a job must be carried over, USDOE funds
may not be used, but the use of EAPWX
funds is allowed. Submit a list of EAPWX-only jobs (HH# and fund(s) used) that
are anticipated to be carried over to weatherization.commerce@state.mn.us
by June 19, 2015. As a reminder, starting with A2106, EAPWX funds may be used
for eligible baseload measures. Service
Providers who have not yet received A2106 must use alternate (not USDOE) funds
to pay for baseload measures for jobs that carry over.
Service Providers are reminded of the risk in carrying over
jobs into the next program year—payment is contingent on a fully executed
contract and NFA.
End-of-Year Financial
Reporting
Final Financial Status Reports (FSRs) are due to Commerce 30
days after the end of the Program Year.
Service Providers do not need to submit a June FSR on July 10, only on
July 30. Final cash requests must also
be submitted by July 30. Expenses cannot
be incurred past June 30 and all payments to vendors must be paid by July 30.
Pre-Contract Requirements
Program Year 2015 contracts will be emailed to Service Providers in early June.All Service Providers will be required to meet pre-contract requirements, as described below, prior to receiving an executed contract. Some Service Providers may need to meet additional requirements:
- Resolution of any findings or compliance issues identified in monitoring reports
- List of board members and term limits as set forth in board by-laws
- Most recent audit, if not yet submitted to Commerce
- Staff organizational chart
- Assignment agreements/MOUs, if applicable
- eHeat budget and work plan (allocations will be sent with the pre-contract letters)
- QCI certificate(s) or plan for inspections if no agency staff person has yet qualified
- Copy of the agency’s Affirmative Action Certificate of Compliance from the Commissioner of Human Rights.
Program Year 2015 Funding Notes
EAPWX A2105
Service Providers may carry over up to 25% of their total
EAPWX A2105 fund into the first quarter of PY15, expiring September 30,
2015. The first PY15 Notice of Funds
Available (NFA) will show the balance of A2105 based on the May FSR and will
make note of how the balance was calculated.
EAPWX A2106
For Service Providers who have already received EAPWX A2106
funding, there is no limit for carry over amounts into PY15. There will be a 25% carry over limit into PY16, beginning
July 1, 2016. The final expiration date
for A2106 funds is September 30, 2016.
PY15 DOE
The first NFA for PY15 will show each agency’s allocation as
shown on the submitted State Plan. Any
excess balances after PY14 closeout will be reallocated and made available on a
second NFA. A separate email will be
sent to Service Providers with a breakdown of DOE admin, TTA, and program
funds. The spreadsheet was handed out at
the most recent Fiscal Directors Meeting.
Update on Quality
Work Plan Implementation
WPN 15-4
Section 1 – Definition of Work, Quality Guidelines, and
Standards
The new Standard Work Specifications (SWS) aligned MN Field
Guide is complete and has been posted on our website
in PDF and web version formats. Both
contain hyperlinks to the SWS online and the PDF version is formatted for
printing. The Field Guide, in effect
through June 30, 2015, is still posted on the website. NOTE: As variance requests are currently under review by USDOE,
additional changes can be anticipated.
Section 2 – Communication
of Guidelines and Standards
Technical Requirements
Commerce staff is currently aligning all technical resources
by revising the MN Policy Manual, NEAT Reference Manual, and Allowable Measures
Chart. The revised Policy Manual will include updates to the required audit
tests and procedures and will lay out the requirements for the Quality Control
Inspection.
Contractor Contracts
USDOE requires that subgrantees and contractors confirm
receipt of WAP SWS technical requirements, in accordance with this
section. Service Providers will confirm
receipt of these requirements by signing the PY15 Commerce WAP contract. Contractors must confirm receipt to each
Service Provider by signing a contract, amendment or alternate form as
determined by the local agency. The
following sample language can be used in SP contractor contracts. If the following language is not used, the SP
must ensure compliance with WPN 15-4.
Contractor
has been made aware of and shall adhere to all (agency), Department of Commerce, USDOE, and LIHEAP
standards pursuant to the following documents and manuals which have been
incorporated by reference and made part of this Agreement as is attached
hereto:
- MN WAP Policy Manual
- MN WAP Field Guide
- USDOE Standard Work Specifications (SWS)
- Official State and Federal Program Notices
- (list any other documents deemed necessary by the local SP)
For agencies that allow hiring of
subcontractors:
Prior
to the commencement of subcontracted services under the Agreement, Contractor
shall provide assurance in the form of a signed contract or other document
showing the subcontractor has agreed to comply with all terms, conditions,
assurance and certifications of the Agreement with (the agency), including awareness of and compliance with
USDOE Standard Work Specifications (SWS) and the MN WAP Field Guide.
Section 3 – Inspection
and Monitoring of Work Using Guidelines and Standards
Quality Control
Inspector (QCI)
As of July 1, 2015, all units (regardless of when the work
was initiated) must be inspected by a certified QCI to the standard described
in the SWS. Every client file must include a form signed by the QCI verifying
that all work was done in accordance with the SWS.
The
Quality Control Inspection process must include an assessment of the original
audit and confirm that the measures called for on the work order were
appropriate and in accordance with the MN Policy Manual audit procedures and
protocols.
USDOE
requires that QCIs who inspect multifamily buildings must attend and pass a
training based on the NREL Multifamily Quality Control Inspector Job Task Analysis.
Commerce plans to provide this training once in PY2015.
Section 4 – Provide
Training to Implement and Maintain Guidelines/Standards
Commerce
is currently developing a calendar of all PY15 tier1 and tier 2 trainings. This information will be made available at
the Program Year 2015 Policy Training in July.
Preparation for Standard
Work Specification
Since the SWS describes how all measures must be installed
in order to pass inspection, each Service Provider should be familiar with the
details of the SWS and determine how best to convey that information to their
crews and contractors. In order to help facilitate this process, Commerce staff
is currently developing a series of PowerPoint videos to support SPs in their
efforts. Commerce staff will not provide direct training to contractors.
Weatherization
Assistant – NEAT/MHEA Training Videos
Commerce will be offering NEAT/MHEA training in PY15. For service providers who need basic training
in the interim, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has a series of online
videos for the NEAT/MHEA software. The training is based on the NEAT/MHEA
manual recently published by Oak Ridge National Labs. Commerce will offer
Minnesota-specific companion language to this manual early in PY15.
Contractor Retention
Agreements
When
T&TA funds are used to train contractors at the subgrantee level, USDOE
requires that Service Providers secure a retention agreement in exchange for
training. The retention agreement should
require that contractors will work in the Program for a specific amount of
time, to be determined by the Service Provider, and must align with the cost of
the T&TA provided. Retention
agreements can be included in contractor contracts or on a separate document. Sample
retention agreements can be found on the WAPTAC
website.
EPA Extends RRP
Certifications
Effective April 16, 2015, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has extended Renovator certifications as described in an amendment
to 40 CFR 745. Read the full Rule
document here.
Individuals
who complete a renovator course accredited by EPA or an EPA authorized program
on or before March 31, 2010, must complete a renovator refresher course
accredited by EPA or an EPA authorized program on or before March 31, 2016, to
maintain renovator certification. Individuals who completed a renovator course
accredited by EPA or an EPA authorized program between April 1, 2010 and March
31, 2011, will have one year added to their original 5-year certification.
Contractors and Service Provider staff who are required to
maintain Renovator certification may have additional time to renew if they meet
the criteria described in the amendment. Monitoring of contractor files will take the
extension rule into account. Additional information about EPA and DOE WAP lead
requirements can be found in WPN
11-6. NOTE: The rule change does
not apply to or extend Lead Firm certifications.
Fiscal Audits
Service
Providers need to mail only one copy of their annual single or program specific
audits to the Department of Commerce.
Audits are tracked and reviewed jointly by Commerce EAP and WAP fiscal
staff. Audit mailings should be
addressed to Alex Larson. Fiscal audits
are required to be submitted within the earlier of 30 calendar days after
receipt of the auditor’s report, or nine months after the end of the audit
period, as required by OMB A-133 (2 CFR Part 200.512).
eHeat URL Changes
As provided in the May 20, 2015 EAP Energizer:
Because eHEAT upgraded the software
and platform that eHEAT runs on, the eHEAT URL web address has changed to: https://eheat.commerce.mn.gov/eHEAT/security/login.do.
eHEAT will look and function the same way at this new URL, but this change will
help eHEAT run more smoothly.
The change was effective Thursday, May
21, 2015. However, the old site will redirect users to the new one. It is
important to get in the habit of directly using this new URL now. Users should
change their bookmarks and short cuts to go to the new URL.
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