119-24 Attachment - Community Energy Plan Grant Application.pdf

Community Energy Plan Grant Program Application Packet Program Year 3 Page 3 4 See DCA, 2020 Municipal Revitalization Index – Alphabetical (2020), https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nj.gov%2Fdca%2Fhome%2F2020_MRI_ Scores_and_Rankings.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK. I. Minimum Qualification Requirements The purpose of this application is for municipalities to create a Community Energy Plan that aligns local community initiatives with the State’s EMP. All municipalities that submit a completed application for a CEPG are eligible to receive a $10,000 grant award. Municipalities identified as an overburdened municipality, as more fully described below in Section b. Overburdened Municipalities Defined, are eligible for a $25,000 grant award. a. Eligibility and Procedure The CEPG Program is open to proposals that meet the following minimum requirements. The applicant (“Applicant”), as defined below, must: 1. Be a municipality; 2. Submit a completed CEPG Program application in full (application is in Section B, subsections I and II below); 3. Submit a completed and notarized Applicant Certification form (found in Section C); and 4. Submit a signed, dated, and approved municipal resolution documenting the governing body’s approval of the application and commitment to implement the required Community Energy Plan Planning Process with the completed application form. See Appendix C (“Form of Resolution Evidencing Municipal Support of Application”) for a form of resolution. b. Overburdened Municipalities Defined Overburdened Municipalities have been identified based on the below criteria: 1. The municipality has over 50% of its population living in an Overburdened Community (OBC) Census Block as defined by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157; and 2. The municipality meets one or both of the following criteria (either A or B): a) Over 35% of the population is living under 200% of the poverty level according to U.S. Census 2019 ACS data; or b) The municipality has a distress score of 40 or higher according to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI).4 A list of Overburdened Municipalities is in Appendix A. II. Instructions for Completing the Community Energy Plan Grant Application Form