Deadline: 8-Dec-22
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gulf of Mexico Division (GMD) is announcing a Request for Applications (RFA) from applicants to demonstrate technologies, approaches and strategies to reduce nutrient pollution.
GMD is a non-regulatory program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) founded to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the Region. To carry out its mission, GMD continues to maintain and expand partnerships with State and Federal agencies, federally recognized Tribes, local governments and authorities, academia, regional business and industry, agricultural and environmental organizations, and individual citizens and communities
Scope of Work
- This must include demonstrations (see definition here) of innovative technologies and/or conservation projects that have the potential to reduce excess nutrient loads. This may also include the development and use of innovative approaches or strategies to overcome barriers to adoption of the most effective and efficient ways to reduce nutrient loading.
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Applications must address a nutrient reduction demonstration project with a plan for proof of concept in one of the following areas:
- Improving Habitat to Reduce Nutrient Pollution: Projects to enhance or restore riparian and near coastal areas in rural, urban, and suburban communities to reduce nutrients.
- Managing Urban Runoff: Projects to capture, store, filter, and treat runoff to reduce nutrient loads and improve water quality consistent with a broader strategy for watershed protection or restoration.
- Farmer to Farmer: Projects to reduce nutrient loads while enhancing performance of working lands through conservation practices and to advance the adoption of nutrient management through farmerled outreach and education networks.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $16,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $1,500,000.
Geographic Areas
- To be eligible for this funding opportunity, projects must take place in one or more of the five Gulf states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida) AND be within the Gulf of Mexico watershed.
Eligibility Criteria
- In accordance with Assistance Listing 66.475, applications will be accepted from governmental entities, including state agencies, interstate agencies, Indian tribes (Federal and State recognized), local governments, institutions of higher learning (i.e., colleges and universities), and non-profit organizations (as defined at 2 C.F.R. §200.1) are eligible to apply for funding under this RFA. School districts or high schools designated as one of the eligible entities above are eligible.
- Consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization at 2 CFR § 200.1, the term nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest and is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. The term includes tax-exempt nonprofit neighborhood and labor organizations. Note that 2 CFR 200.1 specifically excludes Institutions of Higher Education from the definition of non-profit organization because they are separately defined in the regulation. While not considered to be a nonprofit organization(s) as defined by 2 CFR 200.1, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA. For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible.
- Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status; such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or tribal law. Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible for EPA funding as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. 1611.
- For-profit organizations are not an eligible entity for this funding opportunity.
Ineligible
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Ineligible Activities: If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible activities, that portion of the application will be ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the application, render the entire application ineligible. The following are ineligible activities:
- Projects that do not comply with Clean Water Act § 104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of assistance agreements to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution.
- Actions required to settle a formal enforcement action or included in a court order; or specified as a required mitigation measure under a state, local, or federal permit for a specific project; however, grant funding may be used to enhance or expand such projects beyond minimum requirements for compliance.
- Work involving only routine maintenance of storm water infrastructure and other facilities.
- Projects which fall under the existing planning responsibilities of an individual state or local government (e.g., development of TMDLs or required components of MS4 permits).
- Solely “gray infrastructure” projects (e.g., installation of sewer lines).
- Construction activities that are not a part of a demonstration project. This includes, but is not limited to, preliminary planning to determine the economic and engineering feasibility of a facility; the engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal, and economic investigations and studies; surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other actions necessary to the construction of a facility; the erection, acquisition, alteration, remodeling, improvement, or extension of a facility; and the inspection and supervision of the constructionof a facility.
- Work to improve federal lands.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=344075
