BASA Hot Topics COVER PAGE

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Reporting on Nutrition Standards Due Next Month
Ohio law requires each school district board of education to adopt and enforce nutrition standards governing the
types of food and beverages available for purchase on school premises.
Please remember that schools are required to report compliance annually to the Ohio Department of Education
and by Friday, September, 30.
Middle Grades Career-Tech Waiver Form Due
If your district does not offer seventh- or eighth-grade career-tech programming, you or your designee must submit
a middle school waiver through the SAFE account. You can view submission instructions at this link:
.
In addition, a resolution template is available on the BASA home page under the link to Hot Topics. You must
complete this waiver yearly by Friday, September 30.
Notice from Ohio EPA on Diesel Emission Reduction Grant (DERG) Program
Ohio EPA and the Ohio Department of Transportation announce the release of the 2016 Request for Proposals to
the Diesel Emission Reduction Grant (DERG) program. We are soliciting proposals from all public sector and private
sector (with a public sponsor) diesel fleets that will undertake vehicle/equipment replacement, re-power, and
retrofit projects i for the purpose of emissions reduction. Fleets may also apply for idle
reduction equipment and infrastructure. We expect to award $12 million this cycle, with approximately $4 million
allocated for transit projects, and $4 million allocated for school bus replacement and retrofit projects, in keeping
with ODOT and Ohio EPA priorities.
The deadline to submit applications is 5:00 p.m. on Friday October 7th, 2016. An information session and question
and answer opportunity will be offered on Tuesday September 6th, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. until noon at the Ohio
Department of Transportation Auditorium, 1980 W. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43223. Conference calls will also
be offered on Wednesday September 14th and Tuesday September 20th to allow prospective applicants to pose
additional questions. Ohio EPA will post Frequently Asked Questions and responses on the
Send questions to .
Beginning this cycle, all applications must be submitted online, at .
The application form changes as applicants enter information about project type. Applicants with more than one
type of project should submit separate applications. Applicants may apply for projects costing between $50,000
and $1 million. No applicant will be awarded more than $1 million.
Other changes this grant cycle include the following:
• Cost effectiveness will be calculated based on the federal share of the project (DERG grant award amount) rather
than the total project cost.
• DERG-funded fueling infrastructure must be made available to the public at least 20 hours per week.
• Diesel fire trucks, ambulances and other government general services vehicles are eligible for partial
reimbursement (i.e., up to 80% of the components of the replacement vehicle that reduce emissions, typically the
engine and engine management software).
• The DERG program is no longer accepting applications for dual-fuel or hybrid technology or projects involving
leased vehicles.
We have corrected several broken links that were found after the RFP was initially posted to the DERG program
website on August 15th. Please be sure you are using the RFP dated August 17th on the cover as the correct
current version.