The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality State Energy Office will hold a public hearing on September 12 on the proposed adoption of three regional service providers for the Weatherization Assistance Program’s five-year plan under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Public comments will also be accepted through September 20, 2023.
Under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), also the known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Weatherization Assistance program (WAP) was appropriated $89 million to expend over a five-year period. The United States Department of Energy requires each state to submit a five-year BIL plan that will address: (1) program management; (2) subgrantee networks; (3) production and expenditures; (4) training; (5) monitoring; and (6) BIL flow-down requirements such as “Davis-Bacon,” “Buy American,” and “Justice 40.” The initial five-year BIL plan was approved by the United States Department of Energy on August 14, 2023.
The focus of the comment period and hearing is the proposed adoption of the following service providers, related qualifications, and associated service territories under the five-year BIL program:
- Blue Ridge Community Action [Region 6],
- Community Action Opportunities [Region 7], and
- Economic Improvement Council [Region 1].
In accordance with 10 CFR 440.15(a)(3), and the five-year BIL Plan, these providers were granted the first right to participate and were subsequently selected before “requests for proposal” were issued by the SEO.
The public is invited to attend online or in-person and provide comment on the proposed amendment at the hearing at 3 p.m., September 12, 2023, in the first-floor training room at the DEQ Green Square building.
Event: Public hearing concerning proposed amendment to Weatherization Assistance Program’s five-year plan under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
When: 3 pm. Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023
Where: First-floor training room, Greene Square building
217 W. Jones St., Raleigh, NC 27603
Online: Webex Link
Meeting Number: 2427 645 2554
Password: NCWAP (62927 from phones and video systems)
Join by Telephone: +1-415-655-0003 US Toll
Access Code: 2427 645 2554
Those who wish to comment either in person or online should sign up by noon on September 12 using the form here. Any person desiring to comment is requested to submit a written statement for inclusion in the record of proceedings at the public hearing. The hearing officer may limit the length of oral presentations if many people want to speak.
For more information or to submit comments, contact Matthew Davis at (919) 397-9788. You may also send comments via mail to the State Energy Office, 1613 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1613, or via email to seo.publiccomments@deq.nc.gov. For email comments, please type “Five Year Weatherization BIL Plan” in the subject line.
To be included in the hearing record, all comments must be postmarked, emailed, or received by the State Energy Office (if delivered in person) no later than Sept. 20, 2023.
Copies of the proposed plan may be downloaded at the following address: https://deq.nc.gov/energy-climate/state-energy-office/weatherization-assistance-program.