(a) There is established a beverage container recycling grant program account. All moneys in such account shall be used by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to provide forgivable grants in urban centers and environmental justice communities in accordance with the beverage container recycling grant program described in subsection (b) of this section. For the purposes of this section “urban center” has the same meaning as “regional center”, as contained in the state plan of conservation and development, as amended from time to time, “environmental justice community” has the same meaning as provided in § 22a-20a and “beverage container” and “redemption center” have the same meanings as provided in § 22a-243.

(b) The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall implement the beverage container recycling grant program. The beverage container recycling grant program shall provide funding for new or expanded beverage container redemption centers that are located in communities that lack access to beverage container redemption locations. Such grant program shall prioritize the award of such grants to first-time redemption center owners and those that are locally-owned, minority-owned and women-owned businesses. When awarding grants pursuant to such program, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or the commissioner‘s designee, shall consider current access to beverage container redemption sites, walking distances to such sites, public access to reliable transportation, population density, customer convenience, type of redemption technology to be deployed and the volume of beverage containers sold in the relevant community.

(c) Grant proceeds received pursuant to the beverage container recycling grant program may be used for infrastructure, technology and costs associated with the establishment or expansion of a beverage container redemption center and for initial operational expenses of such redemption center. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, shall issue, not later than December 1, 2021, a grant application process that distributes such grant proceeds.

(d) Any person or entity that receives a grant pursuant to the beverage container recycling grant program shall, not later than October first of each year, submit to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection a financial audit of grant expenditures by such person or entity until all grant moneys have been expended by such person or entity. Any such audit shall be prepared by an independent auditor and if said commissioner finds that any such grant is used for purposes that are not in conformity with uses set forth in this section, said commissioner may require repayment of such grant.