Announcements regarding hearings, grants, and public comment notices of importance to California's rural counties.

 

State of Emergency Declared in 16 Counties to Support Recovery from October Storms

On Wednesday, March 23rd, Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency in in the counties of Amador, Butte, Contra Costa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Plumas, San Francisco, Solano, Sonoma, and Trinity to support their ongoing recovery from severe October storms that caused widespread damage to roads and other infrastructure. The proclamation directs Caltrans to request immediate federal assistance for highway repairs or reconstruction, among other provisions. A copy of the proclamation can be found here.

 

CPUC Seeks New Members for Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group

The Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group (DACAG), which advises policymaking at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission (CEC), is seeking applications to fill open positions to advise these agencies on the development, implementation, and impacts of clean energy and transportation programs in disadvantaged communities. This group is comprised of 11 members and appointed to 2 year terms. DACAG members define a scope of annual priority areas; for 2022 these include transportation electrification, building decarbonization, reliability, gas transition, distributed energy resources, affordability, community engagement, and more. This is a unique opportunity to inform policymakers about the particular needs of rural communities outside of the narrow definition of CalEnviroScreen that often disenfranchises low-income communities in a rural setting. For more information, including how to apply, see here. 

 

USDOT Opens Application Window for Competitive Grants to Support Infrastructure Projects

On Wednesday, March 23rd, United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $2.9 billion in competitive grants is available for major infrastructure projects as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. While there are three major grant programs with funding up for grabs, including the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (RURAL), USDOT has combined the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)  into a single application to reduce the burdens on state, regional and local government applicants, as well as make it easier to apply for more than one program at a time. Up to $300 million is available this year for rural highway, bridge, and tunnel projects that help improve access to an agricultural, commercial, energy, or transportation facilities that support the rural economy. 

The application deadline is May 23, 2022 at 11:59pm EST. The NOFO can be found here. For more information, including frequently asked questions or how to apply, see here. 

 

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources to Hire 48 More UC Cooperative Extension Advisors 

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) has released 48 more UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Advisor positions for recruitment in counties throughout California over the next 12 months, thanks to increased 2021-22 state funding. This brings the total to 89 new UCCE Advisor positions since July 2021.The new UCCE advisors will be providing research-based information to residents about nutrition, community development, crop production, forestry, pest management, water management, youth development, landscape management and wildfire. In addition to traditional issues, some of the new UCCE advisors will be focusing on climate adaptation for Indigenous farmers, cultural burning and Indigenous land stewardship, repurposing green waste, and community development with Californians who are Black, Indigenous or speak English as a second language. For more information, see the UC ANR press release here.

For details about the open positions, see the full list posted online at https://bit.ly/CEpositions2021-22. 

 

Grant Funding Available for Behavioral Health Projects

On January 31, 2022, the California Departments of Health Care Services and Social Services released Requests for Applications (RFA’s) for funding for behavioral health “launch-ready” projects AND capital expansion projects, as follows: 

  • $518.5M from Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) for expanding or developing infrastructure for behavioral health services; and 

  • $570M from Community Care Expansion (CCE) program for capital expansion of adult and senior care facilities that serve Supplemental Security Income / State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) applicants and recipients, and other adults who are experiencing or at risk for homelessness. 

The RFA’s are due by March 31, 2022. These funds are open to counties, cities, tribal entities, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, and private organizations whose projects reflect the state’s priorities. Additional information about the funding is available at the following locations by clicking on the respective links: 

 

California Air Resources Board Webinars on Regulatory Compliance Training

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is offering a variety of training webinars for regulatory compliance on issues affecting public fleets such as Off-Road Regulations, Truck and Bus Rules, and Diesel Truck Rules. 

The New Programs and Regulations course covers the requirements of existing regulations and then CARB's new regulatory programs that will eventually be in effect. The goals for this class are to cover the proposed program elements and elicit participation in the regulatory process.

Date:               March 31, 2022
Time:               1:00 p.m.
Webinar:         Register

 

CDFA Announces New Funding to Help Nutrition Program Participants with Purchases of California-Grown Produce

The California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP), of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, has announced seven projects selected to receive $750,000 in total grant awards to facilitate the purchase of California-grown fruit and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets by shoppers using the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition programs. CNIP addresses food insecurity and access to fresh fruits and vegetables among low-income Californians while simultaneously supporting and expanding markets for California farmers. CNIP currently offers nutrition incentives to CalFresh shoppers at more than 280 locations throughout the state, including Certified Farmers’ Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and retail outlets.
 
Among the new grantees are the rural counties of Tulare, Butte, Shasta, and Tehama. A detailed list of grantees and project descriptions is available on the CNIP webpage here. 
 

USDOT Announces $1.5 Billion in Discretionary Grants Available for Local and Regional Infrastructure

The United States Department of Transportation released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1.5 billion in grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program—originally created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as TIGER grants. RAISE grants can be used for a wide variety of projects and under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, RAISE expands the number of communities eligible for 100 percent federal share of funding, specifically those in rural communities, Areas of Persistent Poverty and Historically Disadvantaged Communities. To determine if a project location is considered as a Historically Disadvantaged Community, please use the tool available here. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. EST on April 14, 2022, and selections, which are vigorously reviewed and selected based on merit, will be announced no later than August 12, 2022. 

 

USDA Offers Rural Communities Financial Assistance for Renewable Energy Projects 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the application window is now open for (competitive) Rural Energy Pilot Program grants. State, Local, Tribal and non-profit entities are eligible for up to $2 million over three years to support community-scale renewable energy projects in rural communities, with priority given to distressed and high-energy burden communities that spend a greater proportion on energy costs than the average U.S. household. Funds may be for planning, installing, equipping, and maintaining community scale distributed renewable energy technologies, systems and resources. For more information, see here. Letters of Intent are due on or before April 19, 2022, and completed applications are due no later than July 18, 2022.

 

Registration Open for 2nd Annual Virtual Statewide Conference on Illegal Dumping

The 2nd Annual Virtual Statewide Conference on Illegal Dumping is happening April 19-21, 2022 The Conference will begin at 9:00 AM daily. This virtual conference is free to attend and designed for elected officials, city and county staff, public works agency employees, community based organizations, faith groups, community members and anyone interested in illegal dumping, community beautification or blight removal. Registration is now open! See here to register or for more information.

 

PG&E Safety Net Program – How to File a Claim 

If you are a residential customer who has gone without power for at least 48 hours because of severe storm conditions, you may qualify for an automatic payment under our Safety Net program. This program provides a payment of $25 - $100, which we pay automatically about 60 days following the storm outage.  However, you may submit a claim if you believe that PG&E caused a loss for which you should be compensated. You can make this type of claim using various methods, but online is the fastest way for it to be processed.  

View this message from PG&E for details. 

 

Access the State Grants Portal for a Multitude of Funding Opportunities

Billions of dollars are up for grabs to public agencies and other entities, including tribes and businesses. Grant seekers can access a centralized portal of grant and loan opportunities here, or sign up to receive new grant opportunities delivered straight to your inbox.