EPA Call for Applications: Training for Improved Protection of Drinking Water Sources

Deadline: 10/06/24
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications from eligible applicants to provide training to develop and expand the capability of state and Tribal UIC and SWP programs.

Program Details

In their applications, applicants should describe their proposed approach to providing training that will achieve these objectives. The project elements described below provide detail on roles and responsibilities that are important to improving the capability of states and Tribes to protect drinking water sources and public health. The description below is not comprehensive. Applicants are encouraged to identify additional project elements in their applications that may not be included in this funding opportunity that may contribute to overall project success.
- Provide leadership and support to states and tribes on emerging and/or high priority issues.
  - The successful applicant will provide leadership and support to states and Tribes by assisting state and Tribal officials who are responsible for implementing state and Tribal UIC and SWP programs in identifying UIC and source water protection issues, prioritizing those issues, and developing strategies to address those issues. The successful applicant will monitor, coordinate, represent, and advance environmental interests.
  - The successful applicant will identify one or two emerging and/or high priority issues for each of the UIC and SWP programs per year for each year of the three-year project period. The emerging and/or high priority issues should reflect input from state and Tribal agencies involved in implementation of the UIC and SWP programs to inform national policy. Examples of emerging and/or high priority issues for the UIC program include, but are not limited to, the items listed below.
    - Advancing environmental justice and community engagement as it relates to the management of all well classes.
    - Class II disposal wells and induced seismicity.
    - Class V wells such as aquifer storage and recovery wells.
    - Class VI well primacy and program revisions.
    - UIC Data Application utilization.
    - Identification of challenges and tools to protect and promote protection of sources of drinking water.
  - Examples of SWP program emerging and/or high priority issues include, but are not limited to, the items listed below.
    - Source water assessment updates
    - Source water protection plans
    - Source water quality monitoring plans
    - Coordination with Clean Water Act (CWA) Programs such as nonpoint source and water quality standards
    - Quantifying the impact of source water protection efforts on economic and human health endpoints
    - Coordination with funding programs such as the DWSRF, CWSRF, Section 319, FEMA, and others
    - Leveraging the BIL investments to provide SWP benefits
- Sponsor annual meetings for UIC and SWP programs.
  - The successful applicant will sponsor (or co-sponsor) an annual UIC meeting and an annual SWP meeting for state and Tribal agency officials engaged in implementing protection of drinking water (including UIC and SWP programs). For planning purposes, the expectation is that the annual meetings should be at least one day. The agenda for the annual meeting should be informed by a planning committee of state and Tribal agency officials and source water protection stakeholders. Meetings should supply ample opportunities for interaction between the EPA and state and Tribal co[1]regulators. Opportunities for state and Tribal co-regulator only sessions facilitated by the successful applicant, especially in situations where premature disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause misinterpretations or violate privacy interests, should be included. Applicants should, to the extent practicable, identify specific anticipated meetings in their application and indicate the expected target audience, include a plan for meeting-related outreach, and consider the benefit of a face-to-face meeting.
- Develop and deliver training for UIC Class VI regulators
  - The successful applicant will develop and deliver a (virtual and/or in person) training workshop or training series for regulators who review UIC Class VI well permit applications and issue Class VI permits. Class VI wells are used for the long-term storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep subsurface formations. This training will be of particular use to states and Tribes that have primary enforcement authority (primacy) for Class VI wells or have expressed interest in obtaining Class VI primacy. The target audience for this training is state and Tribal UIC regulators. Federal UIC regulators may also benefit from this training; however, federal staff will not be the primary audience.
  - Topics for this training may include, but are not limited to:
    - Background on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and the UIC Program and applicable authorities
    - Reference materials for Class VI permit writers
    - The unique properties of CO2, including CO2 water-rock interactions
    - Geologic site characterization
    - Multiphase fluid flow modeling, including how to evaluate an applicant’s modeling results
    - Evaluation of Class VI site-specific risk analysis
    - Evaluation of Class VI monitoring plans
    - Evaluation of pre-injection testing and characterization during Class VI well construction
    - Evaluation of Class VI corrective action plans
  - The successful applicant will:
    - Outline the steps that they will take to prepare, plan, and conduct the training (this will include the proposed format of the training, e.g., number of training events planned over the three year project period, anticipated duration of the training(s));
    - Establish a plan for consulting with states, Tribes, and other stakeholders throughout the training process to determine the audience’s needs (e.g., communication with state organizations);
    - Convey technical information related to UIC Class VI permitting to state and Tribal UIC regulators, including new and experienced staff; and
    - Describe how they will communicate the results of the training with states, Tribes, and other stakeholders (e.g., communication with state organizations, recording the training for later distribution)
- Support and encourage state and Tribal participation in the UIC Data Application.
  - The UIC program collects and maintains a national dataset on injection wells and regulatory activities conducted by the federal, state, and Tribal UIC programs. The data is used to increase public knowledge about the program’s protection of underground sources of drinking water and the effectiveness, management, and oversight of the National UIC program. Until 2018, the EPA collected the data through three mechanisms: the hardcopy Form 7520-1 through 7520-4, the electronic Inventory and Measures Reporting Site (IMRS), and the National UIC Database. In 2018, the EPA modernized the data process with the UIC Data Application, a web-based application that collects and utilizes data. The successful applicant will facilitate discussions with state and Tribal UIC programs to identify programs that may need technical assistance with submitting program information in the UIC Data Application.
- Disseminate and share information with states, Tribes, and other stakeholders.
  - The successful applicant will stay abreast of relevant and timely issues and share this information with states, Tribes, and other stakeholders. It is anticipated that information sharing (such as the items identified under Source Water high priority areas) may be accomplished by establishing multiple means of communication with and among states, Tribes, and other stakeholders including, for example, face-to-face meetings, a dedicated website, e-mail contact lists, conference calls, and video conferences. Opportunities for collaborating with other organizations and meetings should be employed to the maximum extent possible

Funding Information

The total amount of funding expected to be available under this announcement is approximately $2,100,000, depending on the agency’s funding levels, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations.
It is anticipated that one award will be made under this announcement.
It is anticipated that the award will be incrementally funded at approximately $700,000 per year and will have a three-year project period.

Eligibility Criteria

Consistent with Assistance Listing Number 66.424, eligible applicants under this solicitation are states, local governments, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S. (including the District of Columbia), public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, and public and private nonprofit institutions.
Individuals are not eligible to apply. For-profit organizations are not eligible to apply.
Nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in prohibited lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.