Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.  

October 2015

Announcements

Staff Changes and Job Opportunity

We extend our well wishes to Lorraine Larson, who has announced her retirement, scheduled for early December 2015.  Lorraine has served in the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) for more than 26 years and developed relationships with many staff across the statewide WAP network.  She will surely be missed.  Please join us in thanking Lorraine for her years of dedicated service.

Commerce will soon be posting a job opportunity for a WAP Administrative Monitor.  We encourage Service Providers to refer strong candidates to apply. The job will be posted on the Minnesota State Job Posting website.

Weatherization Assistant (WA) 8.10 Update

We continue to work on updates to the Weatherization Assistant (WA) software, including updates to the reports module, and plan to have it ready for roll out by the end of October. Wait to archive your WA database until the new version of 8.10 comes out. Contact weatherization.commerce@state.mn.us with any questions.

Task Force – Crew Based Agencies

At the PY15 Policy Training, Service Providers expressed interest in gathering representatives from crew based programs to develop best practices in meeting challenges of being your own contractor. Please email the WAP mailbox by October 31 with a list of any staff members who are interested in participating. In your email, indicate if conference calls or in-person meetings are preferred.

LIHEAP Kicks Off Program Year 2016

LIHEAP PY2016 began October 1, 2015.  Service Providers are reminded that if a household’s 2016 LIHEAP application has not been submitted or approved, you may download the 2015 application to perform an audit.  In these cases, audits must be performed by October 31, 2015. Any audit performed on November 1 or later must use the household’s 2016 application.   

Policy & Program Updates

SWS Variances

A complete list of SWS variances will be posted on the Commerce website soon.  Notification will be sent to the network once they are available.

Fuel Switch Policy Update – Coming Soon

Commerce has submitted its new fuel switch policy to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for approval and is awaiting the response. We are aware that a number of jobs with potential fuel switches are presently on hold. Your patience is appreciated.

Policy Manual Changes

Based on feedback received during Minnesota’s DOE monitoring visit in August, the following changes to the PY15 Policy Manual have been made and will be published for the mid-PY15 update.

Section 2 -- Household Eligibility

The following language is incorporated from the DOE and EAPWX State Plans into policy 2.1:

Dwelling units must be occupied by a household whose income is at or below 200% of Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, or is eligible for assistance under the LIHEAP income limit of 50% of State Median Income, whichever is greater.

Language in Policy 2.3 is changed to clarify that any household receiving WAP services must meet one of DOE’s priority categories.  Service Providers may only weatherize a non-priority household if all eligible priority households have been weatherized during one program year. 

Section 3 - Dwelling Eligibility

Policy 3.3.2: Language is removed that allows weatherizing only one unit of a rental dwelling containing two or more units.  DOE requires that an entire dwelling be weatherized.  If the dwelling does not meet the 66% eligibility requirement (50% for duplexes and fourplexes), then no units in the dwelling may be weatherized.  Service Providers are reminded that EAPWX funds may only be used to install measures in eligible units of a rental dwelling.

Policy 3.4: The procedure for weatherizing type 2 mixed-use buildings has been changed to the following:

Type 2: Evaluate the building prior to the energy audit to determine feasibility of weatherization activities.  The entire building must be weatherized which requires contribution from the business owner. Because situations vary widely, Commerce pre-approval is required when weatherizing a Type 2 building.

Administrative Monitoring Schedule

Due to upcoming staff changes, the tentative administrative monitoring schedule that was handed out at the PY15 Policy Training is under revision.  We will distribute an updated schedule to WAP coordinators once a new monitor is in place.

A2105 Ending

EAPWX A2105/CO2 funds ended on Wednesday, September 30, which is the final day to incur costs under this fund. All A2105 expenses must be paid to vendors and/or employees within 30 days. Service Providers have until October 30 to submit A2105 FSRs and cash requests, instead of submitting on October 10. Make sure to mark the FSR as final.

Renewable Energy Equipment Grant Program Administrative Allowance Change

The administrative allowance for completed projects involving solar thermal or outdoor boiler installations has been increased. Please see the website for details.

Technical & Training Assistance

DOE Memo Addresses OSHA Confined Spaces in Construction

Enforcement for OSHA’s new confined spaces rule begins today, October 2, 2015. Commerce encourages Service Providers to do their part to understand how the rule affects WAP. Information is available from the following resources: DOE’s WAP Memorandum 013, OSHA’s Small Entity Compliance Guide, OSHA’s website, DLI’s MNOSHA OSHA website, as well as a BPI sponsored webinar available to Efficiency First members.

CAZ Depressurization Testing

A BPI Testing Preparation video is available online from the Intermountain Weatherization Training Center. CAZ depressurization testing is covered in Part 1 (starting at minute 11) and Part 2 (from the beginning to minute 6).

Field Monitoring Presentation

A “PY15 Field Monitoring” webinar is available for download in the “problems” folder on the FTP site. The webinar details updates to the field monitoring process for PY15.

Threaded Plastic Plugs for PVC

During the DOE monitoring visit, we were directed to use threaded plugs/screws to seal PVC exhaust pipes after combustion testing. Metal tape and high temperature silicon is no longer acceptable in this application. An overview sheet was handed out at the recent MWAG meeting and will be emailed to all Coordinators.

Wood Foundations

Commerce has received a number of questions about how to approach wood foundations. The Standard Works Specifications (SWS) for crawlspace insulation and moisture barriers are written primarily to address masonry foundations. For wood foundation applications, contact Commerce for assistance.

Two Stage Furnaces

Reminder: The Heating Plant Replacement Section of the Policy Manual (4.4.2.2) stipulates that all furnaces installed with weatherization funds must have a burner with a minimum of two (2) stages. Contractors and QC Inspectors should be aware of what stage the furnace is on when performing combustion analysis and gas pressure testing.

Internal Vermiculite Policy

Each Service Provider should develop their own internal vermiculite policy based on page 28 of the State Plan. When developing this policy the main decision is to decide whether or not you will elect to proceed in weatherizing homes that contain vermiculite that has been tested and determined to not be an asbestos containing material (ACM). Vermiculite policies must be applied consistently in your territory.

Building Wrap on Kneewalls

Section 1, Line 18 of the Allowable Measures Chart (AMC) states that installing building wrap over kneewalls is only allowable as part of the installation of insulation or as an Incidental Repair that ensures the effectiveness of an installed conservation measure. Practically speaking, this means that Service Providers will sometimes leave kneewalls with existing insulation where the SIR does not allow for installing additional insulation.

Standalone WA Documentation

Reminder: Complete all required WA data entry tasks when you complete standalone events. This includes, but is not limited to, estimated costs (if applicable), actual costs, and work order statuses and dates.