The US Department of Agriculture faces a lawsuit for allegedly applying new technical merit requirements without proper notice for its Rural Energy for America grant applicants.
More than 60 of Ovanova Inc.’s REAP grant applications are now subject to a technical merit criteria that the developer claims is “unclear, unstated, and inconsistently applied,” according to its complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. These applications included an approved grant to Ovanova client La Finca Naturals LLC that was rescinded nearly a week after the company received a USDA Commitment of Funds letter on April 5. ...