September 20, 2012

The Department of Energy's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – Ohio State Energy Program

The Department of Energy's State Energy Program (SEP) provides grants to states, territories and the District of Columbia (states) to support their energy priorities and fund projects that meet their unique energy needs.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) significantly expanded the SEP by providing an additional $3.1 billion for state projects.  The State of Ohio's, Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) was allocated $96.1 million in SEP funds under the Recovery Act.  The Office of Inspector General contracted with an independent certified public accounting firm, Otis & Associates, PC (Otis), to perform the examinations and express an opinion on selected Ohio sub-grantees' compliance. The four sub-grantees selected were New Horizons Baking Company (NHBC); Metro Regional Transit Authority (MRTA); Forest City Residential Management, Inc.; and Timken Company.  Otis expressed the opinion that except for the weaknesses described in its reports to NHBC and MRTA, each of the sub-grantees complied in all material respects with the requirements and guidelines relative to SEP.  Regarding the areas of non-compliance, the examination found that NHBC did not comply with the Davis-Bacon Act requirements to pay locally prevailing wage rates, and, MRTA did not separate Recovery Act funding from other sources of funding, as required.  Recommendations made to the Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to correct these issues, were accepted by management.

Topic: Financial Assistance