Virginia Biodiesel Buy Down Grant Fund Request for Proposals

August 9, 2010

In partnership with Virginia Clean Cities, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Quality Management Association (MARAMA) is soliciting applications from eligible parties interested in participating in the Statewide Biodiesel Buy Down under the Virginia Diesel Emission Reduction Recovery Grant. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded funds to the Commonwealth of Virginia under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to support this program. Eligible Virginia State diesel fleets operating in the Commonwealth of Virginia interested in seeking funding to address potential incremental costs of using large volumes of biodiesel blends over regular diesel are encouraged to apply.

DEQ Posting:  http://www.deq.virginia.gov/export/sites/default/news/docs/Biodiesel_RFP_FINAL.pdf

The goal for the Virginia Biodiesel Buy Down Grant Fund is to reduce diesel emissions in the Commonwealth of Virginia through biodiesel use. The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $150,000. MARAMA anticipates awarding up to 4 assistance agreements from this announcement, subject to availability of funds and the quality of proposals received. MARAMA reserves the right to partially fund proposals by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. Awards are expected to range in value from approximately from $25,000 to $150,000.
Awards are intended to be applied toward the incremental cost of using a biodiesel blend of two percent or higher over regular diesel. Only the incremental cost of biodiesel blends can be subsidized. Grant funds cannot be used towards the purchase of petroleum diesel. Grant funds may be used to cover the costs of an initial fuel filter change for vehicles previously using petroleum diesel fuel, if such fuel filter change is necessary in order to use the biodiesel.

Eligible Entities
Proposals will be accepted only for Virginia Commonwealth Government fleets operating in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Grant funds must be expended no later than August 31, 2011.

Funding Limits
Funding is available to subsidize the incremental cost of using a biodiesel blend over regular diesel up to the actual incremental cost between the specified biodiesel blend and petroleum diesel. Funds may be used to purchase the initial fuel filters needed to accommodate the introduction of biodiesel. Each project that is selected will have a maximum amount of funds available for offsetting the incremental cost of the biodiesel.

Submittal of Proposals
If your fleet organization is interested in being considered, please submit the information listed below to MARAMA by 5:00 p.m. EST September 7, 2010. One electronic copy of the complete proposal must be submitted. (MARAMA uses Word, Word Perfect, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat Reader, so electronic copies must use these programs.) Submit electronic copies to sstephenson@marama.org. It is suggested that one paper copy also be submitted by 5:00 p.m. EST September 7, 2010 to Susan S. Stephenson, Senior Policy Analyst, MARAMA, 8600 LaSalle Road, Suite 636, Towson, MD 21286.

Requirements
In addition to including the content outlined below, proposals are required to show compliance with the following:
• Biodiesel must be ASTM D6751 certified biodiesel blended at a two percent (98 percent petroleum diesel) or higher blend level.
• Proposals must include 3 quotes from fuel distributors showing the incremental cost of biodiesel blend as compared to ULSD/petroleum diesel.

Proposal Content and Format

Proposals should be limited to 4 pages, with 12-point font size with a margin of 1” on all four sides, and should address the following:

PROGRAM TITLE • Agency and Project Leader Contact Information: • CCR Number: • DUNS Number: • Narrative Project Description: • Timeline: • Location Where Fleet Operates: • Vehicle/Equipment Information: • Biodiesel Incremental Cost Quote 1*: • Biodiesel Incremental Cost Quote 2*: • Biodiesel Incremental Cost Quote 3*: • Anticipated Cost of New Fuel Filters: • Total Grant Funding Request: • Incremental Grant Funding Request if Sufficient Funds are not Available to Fully Fund Initial Request: • Cost Share Contribution (if not requesting 100 percent of incremental cost or cost of new fuel filters): • Estimated Diesel Emissions Reductions and Cost Effectiveness: (please use EPA’s Emissions Quantifier http://cfpub.epa.gov/quantifier/view/index.cfm) • Past Experience in Administering or Participating in an EPA funded Project:

Evaluation Criteria
␣ Amount of Emission Reductions and Cost Effectiveness 40%

␣ Clearly Defined, Timely Project Meeting Requirements of this Notice 30%

␣ Proposer’s Capability, Past Experience & Performance 25%

␣ MBE/WBE 5%

Review and Selection Process
Proposals will first be evaluated against the threshold factors listed under “Eligible Entities” and “Requirements,” above. Only those proposals which meet all of the threshold factors will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria listed above by a MARAMA evaluation team. Each proposal will be given a numerical score and will be rank-ordered according to the numerical score. Preliminary funding recommendations will be provided to the Executive Director based on this ranking.

Other Factors
Final funding decisions will be made by the Executive Director based on the rankings and preliminary recommendation of the evaluation team. In making the final funding decisions, the Executive Director may also consider the total amount of funds available and the amount of total and incremental funds requested for various projects.
Questions

Any questions about this RFP should be sent in writing via e-mail to Susan Stephenson at sstephenson@marama.org. Questions and answers will be posted on MARAMA’s web site at www.marama.org under “Contracts – RFPs.” No further questions or answers will be posted after September 2, 2010.

Following evaluation of proposals, all applicants will be notified regarding their status. MARAMA anticipates notices will be distributed via e-mail by October 7, 2010.