(c) The notice required by paragraph (a) or (b) of this section shall be issued in writing by registered mail with return receipt requested and include

(1) A statement of the reasons for the intended denial, termination or suspension of financial assistance, including an explanation of whether any amendments or other actions would result in compliance with this part;

(2) The date, place and time of a public hearing to be held by a review panel concerning the intended denial, termination or suspension of financial assistance. The hearing shall be held within 15 working days after the date of receipt by the Governor of the notice; and

(3) The manner in which views may be presented.

(d) The Governor may submit written views with supporting data to the Operations Office Manager on or prior to the date of the public hearing and shall be offered an opportunity to make an oral presentation at the public hearing.

(e) No person who is member of the EES office shall be a member of the review panel. The review panel shall be appointed by the Operations Office Manager and shall consist of

(1) One person generally representative of State interests other than a person who represents the interests of the State whose application is being considered;

(2) One person representative of DOE; and

(3) One person representative of the EES target audiences in the State affected.

(f) The review panel shall consider all relevant views and data submitted on or prior to the date of the public hearing. The review panel shall submit a written report containing its findings and recommendations to the Operations Office Manager within 10 working days after the date of the public hearing.

(g) The Operations Office Manager shall submit the report, together with his or her recommendations, to the Director and to the Secretary within 5 working days after receipt of the report.

(h) The Secretary shall issue a final determination, accompanied by a statement of the reasons for the actions taken, within 10 working days after receipt of the submission from the Operations Office Manager.

(i) Upon issuance of the notice referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, the Secretary may suspend financial assistance to the grantee pending a final determination. If the Secretary makes a final determination adverse to the grantee, the Operations Office Manager may terminate continued financial assistance to the grantee.

(j) If financial assistance to the grantee has been terminated, the Operations Office Manager may continue to provide financial assistance to persons other than the grantee to implement any acceptable provision of the State plan for the remainder of the budget period specified in the annual grant.

§ 465.11 Prohibited expenditures.

(a) No financial assistance provided to a State under this part shall be used

(1) For construction, such as construction of mass transit systems and exclusive bus lanes, or for construction or repair of buildings or structures;

(2) To purchase land, a building or structure or any interest therein;

(3) To subsidize fares for public transportation;

(4) To subsidize utility rate demonstrations or State tax credits for energy conservation;

(5) To conduct or purchase equipment to conduct research, development or demonstration of conservation techniques and technologies not commercially available; or

(6) To purchase or install equipment or materials for energy conservation building retrofits or weatherization.

(b) No more than 20 percent of the financial assistance awarded to the State for this program shall be used to purchase office supplies, library materials, or other equipment whose purchase is not otherwise prohibited by this section.

(c) Demonstrations of commercially available conservation techniques and

§ 465.13 Administration of financial assistance.

Grants provided under this part shall comply with applicable law including, but without limitation, the requirements of—

(a) Office of Management and Budget Circular A- 97, entitled "Rules and Regulations Permitting Federal Agencies to Provide Specialized or Technical Services to State and Local Units of Government under Title III of the Intergovernmental Coordination Act of 1968;"

(b) DOE Financial Assistance Rules (10 CFR Part 600); and

(c) Other procedures which DOE may from time to time prescribe for the administration of financial assistance under this part.

As used in this part

'Act" means the Energy Research and Development Administration Appropriation Authorization of 1977, Pub. L. 95-39, 91 Stat. 180, 42 U.S.C. 5907a.

"Affiliate" means a concern which, either directly or indirectly, controls or has the power to control another concern, is controlled by or is within the power to control of another concern or, together with another concern, is controlled by or is within the power to control of a third party, taking into consideration all appropriate factors, including common ownership, common management and contractual relationships.

"Concern" means any business entity organized for profit (even if its ownership is in the hands of a nonprofit entity) with its principal place of business located in the United States. "Concern" includes, but is not

limited to, an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, association or cooperative. For the purpose of making affiliation findings, any business entity, whether organized for profit or not, and any foreign business entity (i.e., any entity located outside the United States), shall be included.

"DOE" means the Department of Energy.

"DOE-AR" means the Department of Energy Assistance Regulations (10 CFR Part 600).

“DOE-PR” means the Department of Energy Procurement Regulations (41 CFR Part 9).

"Indian tribe" means any tribe band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians (including any Alaska native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Pub. L. 92-203, 85 Stat. 688, which (1) is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians; or (2) is located on, or in proximity to, a Federal or State reservation or rancheria, acting through its tribal organization.

"Local agency" means an agency or instrumentality of a local government. "Local government" means a local unit of government including specifically a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, intrastate special district, district, council of governments, sponsor group representative organization, and other regional or intrastate government entity.

"Local nonprofit organization or institution" means any corporation trust, foundation, trade association, or other institution (1) which is entitled to exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or (2) which is not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which insure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

"Program" means the appropriate technology small grants program.

"Small business" means a concern, including its affiliates, which is organized for profit, is independently owned and operated, is not dominant in the field of operation in which it is

submitting a proposal to DOE, and has 100 employees or less.

"Standard Federal regions" means the 10 standard Federal regions established by Office of Management and Budget Circular A-105, entitled "Standard Federal Regions."

"State" means any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession of the United States.

"State agency" means an agency or instrumentality of a State govern

ment.

"State government" means the government of a State, or an interstate organization.

"Support" means financial support or award under the program by grants, cooperative agreements or contracts.

"Tribal organization" means the recognized governing body of an Indian tribe, or any legally established organization of Native Americans which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body.

§ 470.10 Establishment of program.

There is established, under direction of the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Solar Energy of DOE, an appropriate technology small grants program for the purpose of encouraging development and demonstration of, and the dissemination of information with respect to, energy-related systems and supporting technologies appropriate to

(a) The needs of local communities and the enhancement of community self-reliance through the use of available resources;

(b) The use of renewable resources and the conservation of non-renewable resources;

(c) The use of existing technologies applied to novel situations and uses; (d) Applications which are energy conserving, environmentally sound,

small scale and low cost; and

(e) Applications which demonstrate simplicity of installation, operation and maintenance.

§ 470.11 Eligibility requirements.

(a) Support under this part may be made to individuals, local non-profit

organizations and institutions. State and local agencies, Indian tribes and small businesses.

(b) The aggregate amount of support made available to any participant in the program, including affiliates, shall not exceed $50,000 during any 2year period. This limitation applies only to support for projects and not to funds received by participants from DOE for other purposes, such as performance of services.

(c) Projects which shall be considered for support are those which carry out the purposes of the program as expressed in § 470.10 and which are within the following categories—

(1) Idea development, i.e., the development of an idea or concept or an investigative finding in areas ranging from development of new concepts of energy sources to the utilization of old procedures or systems for a new application;

(2) Device development, i.e., the systematic use and practical application of investigative findings and theories of a scientific or technical nature toward the production of, or improvements in, useful products to meet specific performance requirements but exclusive of manufacturing and production engineering. The dominant characteristic is that the effort be pointed toward specific energy problem areas to develop and evaluate the feasibility and practicability of proposed solutions and determine their parameters. Device development includes studies, investigations, initial hardware development and ultimately development of hardware, systems, or other means for experimental or operational test; or

(3) Demonstration, i.e., the testing of a system or technique under operation conditions to show that commercial application is technically, economically and environmentally feasible.

(d) Support for each category in paragraph (c) of this section shall not, for a single participant in the program, including affiliates, exceed the following limits for any project—

(1) For idea development, $10,000; (2) For device development, $50,000; and

(3) For demonstration, $50,000.

(4) A participant may receive under a subsequent program solicitation

(i) Additional support for a funded project or;

(ii) Initial support for a new project, subject to the support limits set forth in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section.

§ 470.12 Management.

(a) The program shall be managed by a National Program Director within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Solar Energy of DOE.

(b) The program shall be implemented regionally, based on the 10 standard Federal regions or combinations thereof, to insure substantial consideration of the needs, resources, and special circumstances of local communities. Regions may be combined provided the requirements of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-106 entitled "Standard Federal Regulations" are met. Regional Program Managers shall design and manage the regional programs as directed by the National Program Director and shall consult, as appropriate, with State and local officials, the appropriate technology community and other interested parties.

§ 470.13 Program solicitation.

(a) The Regional Program Managers shall be responsible for the preparation of program solicitations which solicit proposals for support under the program pursuant to simplified application procedures. Projects may be supported under the program only if they have successfully completed under a program solicitation.

(b) Each program solicitation shall include

(1) A description of the program; (2) The eligibility requirements; (3) A time schedule for submission of, and action on, proposals;

(4) A simple application form for submitting a proposal for support under the program, together with instructions for completing the application form;

(5) Evaluation criteria, along with a narrative description of their relative importance;

(6) An explanation of the evaluation and selection procedures, including a notice to proposers that if the proposer expressly indicates that only Government evaluation is authorized, DOE may be unable to give full consideration to the proposal.

(7) Other applicable information, terms and conditions, including the desired budget format;

(8) Place for, and manner of, submission;

(9) A unique number for identification purposes;

(10) A statement notifying potential proposers that an announcement does not commit DOE to pay any proposal perparation costs and that DOE reserves the right to select for support any, all, or none of the proposals received in response to a solicitation;

(11) A late proposal provision;

(12) A statement notifying proposers how to identify information in the proposal which the proposer does not want disclosed for purposes other than the evaluation of the proposal.

(13) A statement notifying proposers that all information contained in the proposal will be handled in accordance with the policies and procedures set forth in DOE-AR and DOE-PR, as applicable, and disclosed, if appropriate, in accordance with 10 CFR Part 1004 entitled "Freedom of Information."

(14) A statement notifying proposers of their right to request a debriefing pursuant to the procedures set forth in § 470.18; and

(15) A statement notifying proposers of their right to request a waiver of DOE's title to inventions made under the program.

(c) Each program solicitation shall be synopsized in the Commerce Business Daily prior to or concurrent with release. The program solicitation also shall be announced to appropriate newspapers, trade and technical publications, and State and local governments, and shall be circulated directly to interested individuals, entities, and associations thereof, to the maximum extent feasible.

sufficient technical, cost, and other information to enable comprehensive evaluation and that it has been properly signed. If the proposal does not meet these requirements, a prompt reply shall be sent to the proposer, indicating the reason(s) for the proposal not being selected for support under the program solicitation. A proposer may correct any minor informality or irregularity or apparent clerical mistake prior to the entering into of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. A minor informality or irregularity is one which is merely a matter of form and not of substance or pertains to some immaterial or inconsequential defect or variation from the exact requirements of the program announcement.

(b)(1) The Regional Program Manager shall select a number of technical evaluation reviewers representing several disciplines to ensure adequate technical review of proposals.

(2) After receiving nominations from each State or combinations of States within the Region, the Program Manager shall select a number of State reviewers for each State or combinations of States, respectively. The nominations and selections of State reviewers shall take into consideration representation by persons from a variety of backgrounds, in order that the reviewers are able to evaluate proposals of potential merit in various fields and from various types of proposers.

(3) The Regional Program Manager or designee shall provide proposals to the technical evaluation and State reviewers and shall provide their findings and comments to the selection panel established pursuant to paragraph (3) of this section.

(4) In carrying out the responsibilities set forth in paragraphs (b) (1), (2) and (3) of this section, the Regional Program Manager (i) shall determine the number of technical evaluation and State reviewers who shall review each proposal; (ii) shall determine the sequence of the technical and State review; (iii) may designate a person to serve as both a technical and State reviewer, if appropriate to the needs of the program in the Region. A decription of the Program Manager's determinations under this paragraph shall