The Ohio air quality development
authority's ("authority") office of the ombudsman
ombudsperson
for the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance
assistance program (the "ombudsman
ombudsperson") shall issue grants from the small
business assistance fund pursuant to division (E) of section
3706.19 of the Revised Code
under the following terms and conditions.
(A) The
authority
ombudsman, to provide financial assistance to
eligible small businesses
upon advice of the
ombudsperson, has created the air quality
grant assistance program, which shall
be administered by the ombudsperson and which
shall:
(1) Provide financial assistance
through the issuance of grants
and air quality revenue
bonds
to
for
the benefit of eligible small businesses throughout the state that are
having difficulty complying with the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990..
(2) Promote the conservation of the air as a
natural resource and prevent or abate the pollution thereof.
(3) Assist in removing financial obstacles to
small business compliance with the clean air act Amendments of 1990 by taking any and all steps
necessary to implement the air quality grant assistance programs, including
leveraging of future small business assistance fund moneys.
(4) Make grants to eligible small businesses
of up to
thirty
twenty per cent
or a maximum
of twenty thousand dollars, whichever is less, of the
total cost of a Clean Air Act compliance strategy
that includes the financing of an air quality facility.
(B) As used in this rule:
(1) "Air Pollution" means the presence in the
ambient air of one or more air contaminants in sufficient quantity and of such
characteristics and duration as to injure human health or welfare, plant or
animal life, or property, or that unreasonably interferes with the comfortable
enjoyment of life or property.
(2)
"Air Quality Facility" means an air quality facility as defined in division (G)
of section 3706.01 of the Revised
Code.
(3) "Authority" means the
Ohio air quality development authority as defined in section
3706.02 of the Revised
Code.
(4) "Clean Air Act
Amendments" refers to the
federal Clean Air Act
of
1970 as codified in
42 U.S.C.
7401 et seq. and revisions, such as the Clean
Air Act Amendments of 1990, as promulgated in 104 Stat.
2399,
42 U.S.C.
7401, and the regulations adopted
thereunder.
(5) "Eligible Small
Business" means any individual, firm, partnership,
limited liability company, association, or
corporation, or any combination thereof operating a business having all of the
following characteristics:
(a) Principal
place of business in the state;
(b)
Maintains offices or operating facilities in the state;
(c) Employs one hundred or fewer employees;
and
(d)
A small business
concern as defined in the Small Business Act;
(d)
(e)
Demonstrates financial difficulty
Having financial difficulty complying with the "Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990."
; and
(f)
Has not been
issued a grant from the small business assistance fund during the previous two
years from the submission date of new application forms.
(6) "Financial Difficulty" shall
mean
having financial difficulty with
complying
the necessity to comply with
air pollution regulations, including the Clean Air Act
Amendments
, as
determined by the ombudsperson.
(7)
"Ombudsperson"
shall have the same meaning as in division (B) of section
3706.19 of the Revised Code and
may be served by the highest-ranking managerial employee of the authority, or a
designee of the authority during any temporary vacancy of the appointed
position.
(8)
"Small Business Act" shall mean the Public Law (P.L.)
85-536, enacted July 18, 1958, as codified in
15 U.S.C.
631 et seq.; 72 Stat. 384 et seq. and as
amended through P.L. 116-92, enacted December 20, 2019, and regulations adopted
thereunder.
(9)
"Small Business Assistance Fund" shall have the same
meaning as in division (E) of section
3706.19 of the Revised
Code.
(C) Each
eligible small business seeking financial assistance from the
ombudsman
ombudsperson under the air quality
grant assistance program shall:
(1) Apply for financial assistance under the
air quality
grant assistance program
through submission of
a grant application
forms which, upon
approval
award of the grant
by the ombudsman
by the authority, shall
become part of the
grant agreements between
the
ombudsman
authority and the eligible small business. Each
grant agreement entered into by the
eligible small business shall include those requirements necessary to carry out
the purposes of the air quality grant assistance program and shall include
provisions for the payment of eligible costs.
(2) Certify that:
(a) It is an eligible small
business:
(b)
It will:
(i)
Secure a loan from a lender or other entity, which will
purchase air quality revenue bonds issued by the authority in a principal
amount equal to the loan, to provide the necessary capital to fund the air
quality facility;
(ii)
Enter into a loan agreement with the authority to pay
principal, interest, and any premium on the air quality revenue bonds, which
will be assigned to the lender as the holder of the air quality revenue bonds;
and
(iii)
Assist in the coordination with the lender, who is
willing and able to execute on the loan agreement(s) in conjunction with the
agreement(s) prescribed by the authority for the issuance of air quality
revenue bonds:
(b)
(c) The grant
will not exceed twenty per cent or a maximum of twenty
thousand dollars, whichever is less, of the total cost of the approved air
quality facility, and will be used exclusively to pay:
(i) Legal fees, closing fees, authority fees
and other fees associated with the
authority's bond
financing for acquisition of air quality facilities that are necessary
for the
eligible small business to comply with
the Clean Air Act
amendments; and
(ii) The principal portion of the loan
incurred in connection with financing an air quality facility that is necessary
for the
eligible small business to comply with
the Clean Air Act amendments.
(c)
(d)
It has financial
difficulty in complying with the Clean Air Act and the
The
grant funds are being requested solely as financial assistance related
to the acquisition of an air quality facility.
(D) The
ombudsman
ombudsperson
may accept or reject
a grant
an application or any portion thereof, based upon
the
ombudsman
ombudsperson's evaluation of the eligible small
business' request and the amount of small business assistance funds available.
When evaluating the eligible small business, the
ombudsman
ombudsperson
shall give priority to the federal air quality compliance needs of the county
where the small business is located and shall also consider any reports,
statements, or plans applicable to the
eligible
small business as the
ombudsman
ombudsperson considers appropriate.
(E) Any grants or assistance made under the
air quality
grant assistance program shall
be in the form and conditioned upon terms as the
ombudsman
ombudsperson
deems appropriate
.
,
including but not limited to:
(1) establishing the grant amount to
cover legal fees, closing fees, closing cost, authority fees and other fees
associated with the acquisition of air quality facilities, as provided in
paragraph (C)(2)(b)(ii) of this rule, and the maximum as up to thirty per cent
but no more than thirty thousand dollars of the cost of an air quality facility
as defined in division (G) of section 3706.01 of the Revised Code;
and
(2) limiting the grant to air
quality facilities financed in full through the authority and that qualifies
for clean air resource center (CARC) financing.
(F) Upon award of the grant request, or any
portion thereof, the
ombudsman
ombudsperson shall set aside the grant amount within
the small business assistance fund and reduce the amount of funds available for
grant assistance by such amount.
(G) The portion of the grant used for
closing cost expenses
legal fees, closing fees, authority fees and other fees
associated with the authority's bond financing shall be funded after the
Clean Air Act compliance strategy loan closing
and as a
reimbursement to the eligible small business.
(H) The portion of the grant used for
equipment cost
the
principal payment of the loan related to the Clean Air Act compliance
strategy shall be funded no later than six months after the air quality
facility is installed and operational.
(I) Grants made under the air quality
grant assistance program and the small
business assistance fund shall, in all instances, be in conjunction with the
provisions of section
3706.19 of the Revised Code
provided that, at the time of grant approval, the combined amount of financial
assistance provided under division (E) of section
3706.19 of the Revised Code is
not more than one hundred per cent of the moneys credited to the small business
assistance fund pursuant to division (K) of section
3745.11 of the Revised Code or
other sources of assistance. The
ombudsman
ombudsperson
shall give priority to the investment, liquidity, and cash flow needs of the
small business assistance fund when deciding whether to
approve
consider and
process an application for approval by the authority for a grant to an
eligible small business.
(J) The
ombudsman
ombudsperson shall take any and all steps necessary to
implement the air quality
grant assistance
program.
(K) The
ombudsman
ombudsperson shall, when leveraging future small
business fund moneys, give priority to the repayment of such loans
or other moneys when considering future grants
made under the air quality
grant assistance
program.