§ 6863 — Weatherization Program

(a) The Secretary shall develop and conduct, in accordance with the purpose and provisions of this part, a weatherization program. In developing and conducting such program, the Secretary may, in accordance with this part and regulations promulgated under this part, make grants (1) to States, and (2) in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d), to Indian tribal organizations to serve Native Americans. Such grants shall be made for the purpose of providing financial assistance with regard to projects designed to provide for the weatherization of dwelling units, particularly those where elderly or handicapped low-income persons reside, occupied by low-income families. (1) The Secretary, after consultation with the Director, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the heads of such other Federal departments and agencies as the Secretary deems appropriate, shall develop and publish in the Federal Register for public comment, not later than 60 days after August 14, 1976, proposed regulations to carry out the provisions of this part. The Secretary shall take into consideration comments submitted regarding such proposed regulations and shall promulgate and publish final regulations for such purpose not later than 90 days after August 14, 1976. The development of regulations under this part shall be fully coordinated with the Director. (2) The regulations promulgated pursuant to this section shall include provisions— (A) prescribing, in coordination with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Department of Commerce, for use in various climatic, structural, and human need settings, standards for weatherization materials, energy conservation techniques, and balance combinations thereof, which are designed to achieve a balance of a healthful dwelling environment and maximum practicable energy conservation; (B) that provide guidance to the States in the implementation of this part, including guidance designed to ensure that a State establishes (i) procedures that provide protection under paragraph (5) to tenants paying for energy as a portion of their rent, and (ii) a process for monitoring compliance with its obligations pursuant to this part; and (C) that secure the Federal investment made under this part and address the issues of eviction from and sale of property receiving weatherization materials under this part. (3) The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretaries and Director described in paragraph (2)(A) and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall develop and publish in the Federal Register for public comment, not later than 60 days after November 9, 1978, proposed amendments to the regulations prescribed under paragraph (1). Such amendments shall provide that the standards described in paragraph (2)(A) shall include a set of procedures to be applied to each dwelling unit to determine the optimum set of cost-effective measures, within the cost guidelines set for the program, to be installed in such dwelling unit. Such standards shall, in order to achieve such optimum savings of energy, take into consideration the following factors— (A) the cost of the weatherization material; (B) variation in climate; and (C) the value of energy saved by the application of the weatherization material. (4) The Secretary may amend the regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) to provide that the standards described in paragraph (2)(A) take into consideration improvements in the health and safety of occupants of dwelling units, and other non-energy benefits, from weatherization. (5) In carrying out paragraphs (2)(A) and (3), the Secretary shall establish the standards and procedures described in such paragraphs so that weatherization efforts being carried out under this part and under programs described in the fourth sentence of paragraph (3) will accomplish uniform results among the States in any area with a similar climatic condition. (6) In any case in which a dwelling consists of a rental unit or rental units, the State, in the implementation of this part, shall ensure that— (A) the benefits of weatherization assistance in connection with such rental units, including units where the tenants pay for their energy through their rent, will accrue primarily to the low-income tenants residing in such units; (B) for a reasonable period of time after weatherization work has been completed on a dwelling containing a unit occupied by an eligible household, the tenants in that unit (including households paying for their energy through their rent) will not be subjected to rent increases unless those increases are demonstrably related to matters other than the weatherization work performed; (C) the enforcement of subparagraph (B) is provided through procedures established by the State by which tenants may file complaints and owners, in response to such complaints, shall demonstrate that the rent increase concerned is related to matters other than the weatherization work performed; and (D) no undue or excessive enhancement will occur to the value of such dwelling units. (7) As a condition of having assistance provided under this part with respect to multifamily buildings, a State may require financial participation from the owners of such buildings. (c) If a State does not, within 90 days after the date on which final regulations are promulgated under this section, submit an application to the Secretary which meets the requirements set forth in section 6864 of this title, any unit of general purpose local government of sufficient size (as determined by the Secretary), or a community action agency carrying out programs under title II of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2781 et seq.], may, in lieu of such State, submit an application (meeting such requirements and subject to all other provisions of this part) for carrying out projects under this part within the geographical area which is subject to the jurisdiction of such government or is served by such agency. A State may, in accordance with regulations promulgated under this part, submit an amended application. (A) Subject to subparagraph (B) and notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the Secretary shall reserve from amounts that would otherwise be allocated to a State under this part not less than 100 percent, but not more than 150 percent, of an amount which bears the same proportion to the allocation of that State for the applicable fiscal year as the population of all low-income members of an Indian tribe in that State bears to the population of all low-income individuals in that State. (B) Subparagraph (A) shall apply only if— (i) the tribal organization serving the low-income members of the applicable Indian tribe requests that the Secretary make a grant directly; and (ii) the Secretary determines that the low-income members of the applicable Indian tribe would be equally or better served by making a grant directly than a grant made to the State in which the low-income members reside. (C) If the tribal organization requesting the grant is a tribally designated housing entity (as defined in section 4103 of title 25) that has operated without material audit exceptions (or without any material audit exceptions that were not corrected within a 3-year period), the Secretary shall presume that the low-income members of the applicable Indian tribe would be equally or better served by making a grant directly to the tribal organization than by a grant made to the State in which the low-income members reside. (2) The amounts reserved by the Secretary under this subsection shall be granted to the tribal organization serving the low-income members of the Indian tribe, or, where there is no tribal organization, to such other entity as the Secretary determines has the capacity to provide services pursuant to this part. (3) In order for a tribal organization or other entity to be eligible for a grant for a fiscal year under this subsection, it shall submit to the Secretary an application meeting the requirements set forth in section 6864 of this title. (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may transfer to the Director sums appropriated under this part to be utilized in order to carry out programs, under section 222(a)(12) of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2809(a)(12)], which further the purpose of this part.