Deadline: 11-Aug-23
The Environmental Protection Agency is accepting applications for the Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Program.
The purpose of this RFA is to solicit applications for awards for one or more cooperative agreements through which recipients will develop and implement Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Programs (GLEJGP) in cooperation with EPA. This represents a new type of funding opportunity designed by EPA’s GLNPO to implement the Administration’s goal of directing funds to projects benefitting underserved communities experiencing or affected by adverse and disproportionate environmental and human health risks or harms. In alignment with EPA Strategic Plan Goal 2 and the six priorities identified by the EPA in its Equity Action Plan, the GLEJGPs are being established to make GLRI funds available to underserved communities to promote the restoration and protection of the Great Lakes ecosystem in or near those communities.
EPA intends to make up to $30 million available for one or more GLEJGPs via this RFA to provide funding for the implementation of environmental protection and restoration projects in underserved communities that will further the goals of the GLRI. This RFA expects to provide funding available for two types of applications:
- applications that aim to create a GLEJGP to provide funding for projects in a particular region of the Great Lakes Basin; and
- applications that aim to create a GLEJGP to provide funding for projects across the entire Great Lakes Basin.
While the primary goal of this RFA is the implementation of projects in underserved communities, EPA recognizes that many such communities may not have the capacity for pursuing such grants directly from EPA. Due to historical under-investment, these communities may lack the resources that would enable them to:
- effectively prepare competitive federal grant applications that can be readily submitted and processed through grants.gov; or
- effectively comply with the wide array of requirements that accompany receipt of a grant from EPA, such as grant management and oversight, reporting, and closeout. Additionally, the awards process (i.e., the time it takes for a successful federal applicant to receive the funding) can be very time-consuming such that the awarded funding may not be made available to grantees for 6 months or more.
This RFA and the resultant GLEJGPs reflect GLNPO’s attempt to address this lack of resources by:
- alleviating the administrative and other burdens faced by such communities when trying to apply for federal funds and;
- where appropriate, providing technical support to selected Project Subrecipients that will better enable them to utilize and manage federal funds.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $20,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $20,000,000
- Award Floor: $2,000,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Qualified non-federal entities eligible to apply for grants include non-federal governmental entities: State agencies; any agency or instrumentality of local government; interstate agencies; and federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations. Institutions of Higher Education and non-profit organizations are also eligible to apply.
- Non-profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible applicants as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. 1611. ‘For profit’ organizations, federal agencies, foreign entities, and individuals are not eligible applicants.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.