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File #: 24-6006    Version: 1 Name:
Type: Grant Status: Passed
File created: 9/11/2024 In control: Commissioners Court
On agenda: 9/19/2024 Final action: 9/19/2024
Title: Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to accept from the U.S. Department of Energy grant funds in the amount of $4,860,332, with no required match, for the ZEEBRA: Zoos Educating on Electronics and Battery Recycling Awareness program.

Department: County Administration

Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator

 

Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA

Type of Request: Grant

 

Project ID (if applicable):

Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable):

 

MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):

MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable):

Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal:  N/A - Goal not applicable to request

 

Request Summary (Agenda Caption):

title

Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to accept from the U.S. Department of Energy grant funds in the amount of $4,860,332, with no required match, for the ZEEBRA: Zoos Educating on Electronics and Battery Recycling Awareness program.

end

 

Background and Discussion:

 

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the purpose of the DOE’s Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling, Reprocessing, and Battery Collection funding opportunity is to support the recycling of consumer electronics batteries and battery-containing devices to help build a robust domestic critical material supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the country. Awards were provided to increase consumer participation in recycling programs, improve the economics of consumer battery recycling to create a market for recycling them, or increase the number of these program. The awarded grant was for Topic Area 1: Expanding Consumer Participation in Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling Programs.

 

Expected Impact:

 

The goals of the ZEEBRA program are to improve consumer knowledge on battery recycling, enhance awareness of the importance of battery recycling and circularity, highlight recycling locations and promote recycling participation, and disseminate educational materials about battery recycling to Harris County residents. DOE funding will go towards behavior change research, design and installation of an interactive educational display at the Houston Zoo as well as mobile educational displays, and a countywide education campaign. Harris County, as the lead, will be collaborating with the following subrecipients to deliver the ZEEBRA program: the Houston Zoo, the University of Houston, CORE Design Studio, and Elevate Communications. The period of performance will be for 36 months. There is no required match for this grant.

 

Alternative Options:

To not accept this grant award from DOE through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

 

Alignment with Goal(s):

_ Justice and Safety

_ Economic Opportunity

_ Housing

_ Public Health

_ Transportation

_ Flooding

X Environment

_ Governance and Customer Service

 

Prior Court Action (if any):

Date

Agenda Item #

Action Taken

11/14/23

158

Request by the Office of County Administration for approval to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Energy for grant funds in an amount up to $5,000,000, with no required match, for the ZEEBRA: Zoos Educating on Electronics and Battery Recycling Awareness Program

 

Location:

Address (if applicable):

Precinct(s): Countywide

 

Fiscal and Personnel Summary

Service Name

 

 

 

Current Fiscal Year Cost

Annual Fiscal Cost

 

Labor

Non-Labor

Total

Recurring Expenses

Funding Sources

 

Existing Budget

 

 

 

 

Choose an item.

$

$

$

$

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$

$

$

$

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$

$

$

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Total Current Budget

$

$

$

$

Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form)

 

Grant

$885,514

$3,974,818

$4,860,332.00

$

Choose an item.

$

$

$

$

Choose an item.

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$

$

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Total Additional Budget Request

$885,514

$3,974,818

$4,860,332.00

$

Total Funding Request

$885,514

$3,974,818

$4,860,332.00

 

Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs)

 

Current Position Count for Service

-

-

-

-

Additional Positions Request

-

-

-

-

Total Personnel

-

-

-

-

 

Anticipated Court Date: 9/19/24

Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 10/1/24

 

Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item

 

Contact(s) name, title, department: Lisa Lin, Director, Office of Sustainability, Office of County Administration

 

Attachments (if applicable): Grants Documents