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Redemption Center Grants Program:
A bill was passed and signed into law at the end of the 2008 State Legislative Session creating a program to award grants for improvements to independent beverage container redemption centers that were in existence prior to July 1, 2008. Click here for the text of the law. The legislature appropriated $1 million to fund the program, and no grant could exceed $15,000. The statute also directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to administer the program. Accordingly, the DNR drafted formal Administrative Rules to put clear criteria and procedures into place so that the grant application process might be as simple as possible, and for the awarding of grants to be fair. Click here for the text of the rules. The Administrative Rules process took until early September to complete, at which time the DNR mailed grant applications to redemption centers, with a return due-date in early October 2008. The review of applications and recommendation of grant awards was done by a third-party Applications Evaluation Committee, which included Teresa Kurtz, Iowa Recycling Association; JoAnn Finkenbinder, League of Women Voters; and Neila Seaman, Sierra Club. 93 grant awards ranging from $13,540 to $805.60 were announced on October 24. Click here for a list of facilities awarded grants. Program Update: Since mid-November 2008 and up through late April 2009, grant contracts and first payment requests have been submitted by 89 grantees. One grantee has stated that they have decided to not accept their award. And 3 grantees have yet to submit their contracts or other paperwork for accepting their awards, although they have indicated they do intend to. Most grantees are still implementing their grant-funded projects. Paperwork transactions and processing by grantees, the DNR Land Quality Bureau, DNR Budget & Finance, the Dept. of Revenue, and the Dept. of Administrative Services all meant that the first grant checks didn't go out until December 17, 2008; the latest ones were issued on April 21, 2009. Eighty-seven grantees have had the first 90% of their awards paid 'up-front', totaling $794,495.80. One grantee's first payment request is being further processed for problems in the information provided on their Taxpayer Identification form. One grantee submitted signed contracts and the Taxpayer Identification form, but no request for 90% of their awards up-front. Grantees are having materials mailed to them so they can submit their Final Reports, and get their 10% retainage paid. The DNR has received 23 sets of those materials back for processing. The statute that created the Redemption Center Grants program is still in effect, but the 2009 State Legislative Session did not appropriate any funding for a second round of grants. Redemption Center Grants Program:
DNR Contact
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