Columbia River Basin Restoration Funding Assistance Program in the US

Deadline: 13-Mar-23

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (EPA), is issuing a Request for Applications (RFA) from eligible entities to improve water quality in the Columbia River Basin, through specific actions to reduce toxics, and/or increase public education and outreach. The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program (CRBRP) will assist tribal, state, and local governments; nongovernmental entities, and others as they implement the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Action Plan and the Lower Columbia River Estuary Plan – Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and conduct activities to support EPA national goals for the Columbia River Basin.

Scope of Work

• EPA is soliciting applications from eligible entities that are interested in acting as a Toxic Reduction Lead (TRL). The primary role of a TRL is to:
  • Develop, implement, and manage a multi-phase or large-scale program or programs which leverage partnerships and include a comprehensive toxics reduction plan;
  • Lead program and policy development and provide technical assistance;
  • Award and manage subawards;
  • Participate in the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program Working Group and

FY 2023 Program Priorities

• Pursuant to CWA § 123(b)(3)(C) and (d), eligible activities must address at least one of the following categories: eliminating or reducing pollution; cleaning up contaminated sites;
• Improving water quality; reducing runoff; protecting habitat; or promoting citizen engagement or knowledge. In addition, priority for funding will be given to proposals which are also consistent with FY 2023 Priorities; and build off successful efforts in the Columbia River Basin to address toxics and that leverage or expand on existing partnerships.
• Evaluation scores are contingent on one or more program priorities being addressed but scores will not depend on the number of priorities addressed, rather on the quality with which the priorities are addressed.  there is a focus on toxics and their impact on human health and fish and wildlife.
• Agriculture best practices to reduce toxics
• Green infrastructure to reduce stormwater and improve water quality
• Pollution prevention to prevent toxics from entering the environment
• Clean-up actions to remove toxics which do not duplicate similar work efforts of other EPA funded programs including but not limited to CERCLA, RCRA and Brownfields
• Community education and outreach to help the public take actions to reduce toxics in the Basin

Categories

• Eliminating or reducing pollution including strategies or projects to reduce toxics into streams of the Columbia River Basin, including agricultural best management practices such as Pesticide Stewardship Partnerships, stormwater and sediment management, and pesticide collection and take back programs.
• Cleaning up contaminated sites including targeted small-scale clean-up actions which do not duplicate with similar work efforts of other EPA funded programs including but not limited to CERCLA, RCRA, and Brownfields.
• Improving water quality to reduce toxics in the Columbia River Basin.
• Reducing runoff through agricultural best management practices and/or sediment and stormwater runoff controls, including green infrastructure.
• Protecting habitat to reduce the impact of toxics on Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife.
• Promoting citizen engagement or knowledge by increasing engagement and communication with individual community members (such as local, state and tribal environmental managers, and/or NGOs), creating bi-lingual outreach and education materials on the topic of toxics reduction, green chemistry pilot projects, and/or sharing examples of successful toxics reduction efforts.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $40,000,000
  • Award Ceiling: $7,000,000
  • Award Floor: $3,000,000
• Duration: The estimated project period for awards resulting from this solicitation is 4-6 years. The program activities are expected to begin around September 2023, with an expected completion date of 6 years after award.

Eligibility Criteria

• Under this solicitation, only the following entities are eligible to apply for assistance, in accordance with 33 U.S.C. § 1275 and Assistance Listing 66.962:
  • State governments, tribal governments, regional water pollution control agencies and entities, local government entities, nongovernmental entities, or soil and water conservation districts.
  • For the purposes of this announcement, EPA has determined that nongovernmental entities must be nonprofit organizations to be eligible for funding. 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: (1) is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization.
  • Note that 2 C.F.R. 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 non-profit organization(s) as defined by 2 C.F.R. 200.1, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA. Hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments or that meet the definition of nonprofit  are also eligible to apply as nonprofits or as instrumentalities of the unit of government depending on the applicable law. For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are not eligible to apply.
  • 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.

For more information, visit EPA.