Deadline: 31-May-23
The Environmental Protection Agency announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible applicants that are interested in advancing EJ in the restoration and recovery of Puget Sound.
Goals and Objectives
The overall goal of this RFA is to advance EJ by directing resources and ultimately environmental and community benefits toward overburdened, underserved, or communities adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental and human health harms or risks (communities with potential EJ concerns). They also anticipate that this RFA will support improved, longer-term integration of EJ principles into Puget Sound restoration and recovery.
The RFA’s primary objective is to establish a competitive subaward program that advances EJ in the restoration and recovery of Puget Sound ecosystem and its communities. The applicant will develop and administer a competitive subaward program that will fund projects and activities 4 that focus on providing environmental and community benefits. In addition, the successful applicant will work collaboratively in the Puget Sound restoration and recovery process and provide capacity support and assistance for communities and subawardees.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $7,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $7,000,000
Details
- Specifically, the successful applicant will:
- Develop and administer a competitive subaward program.
- Provide technical assistance, capacity support, and coordinate meaningful engagement with communities with EJ concerns.
- Manage this cooperative agreement with EPA. Applicants should demonstrate their ability and approach for managing this cooperative agreement by describing:
- How they have experience or expertise working with communities with potential EJ concerns.
- How they have experience or expertise working and collaborating with the various Puget Sound restoration partners through the management conference and other mechanisms.
- How their efforts would result in improved EJ integration into the 2022-2026 Puget Sound Action Agenda implementation.
- How they would use these funds efficiently and effectively.
Outputs
Examples of some expected outputs from funded project(s) may include the following:
- Draft and final plans for a subaward cycle that includes a solicitation phase, a proposal review process and phase, a subaward contracting phase, a subrecipient monitoring and support phase, and a closeout phase.
- Mechanisms for ensuring that communities with potential EJ concerns’ input and interests are considered in environmental decision making.
- Assessment results that demonstrate ways to improve public participation from communities with potential EJ concerns.
- A study into the feasibility of creating a public participation/meaningful engagement program.
- Community engagement and participation program with fair treatment and meaningful participation priorities.
- Draft and final plans for coordinating with PSP, SIL, Tribal Implementation Lead, and other Management Conference Puget Sound recovery partners.
- Documentation of subaward monitoring activities.
- Documentation of compliance with award terms and conditions, as appropriate (e.g., documentation of applicant quality assurance and quality management systems, a record of submitted progress reports, etc.).
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible entities are:
- Federal government agencies and Washington State government agencies.
- Public and private institutions of higher education located in the United States.
- Units of local government organized under Washington State law and located within the Greater Puget Sound basin.
- Special purpose districts, as defined by Washington State law at RCW 36.93.020, including but not limited to, irrigation districts, and water and sewer districts that are located in or govern land and water resources within the greater Puget Sound basin; and conservation districts located in or governing land and water resources within the greater Puget Sound Basin.
- Intrastate organizations such as associations of cities, counties or conservation districts in the greater Puget Sound basin.
- Federally recognized tribes located within the greater Puget Sound basin and any consortium of these eligible tribes. An Intertribal consortium must have adequate documentation of the existence of the partnership and the authorization of the member tribes to apply for and receive assistance. Documentation that demonstrates the existence of the partnership of Tribal governments may consist of Tribal Council resolutions, Intertribal consortia resolutions in conjunction with a Tribal Council resolution from each member tribe, or other written certification from a duly authorized representative of each tribal government that clearly demonstrates that a partnership of tribal governments exists. An Intertribal consortium resolution is not adequate documentation of the member tribe’s authorization of the consortium unless it includes a written certification from a duly authorized representative of each tribal government.
- EPA encourages partnerships for this program. As such groups of two or more eligible entities may choose to form a partnership and submit a single application under this RFA. However, one entity must be responsible for the Cooperative Agreement. Partnerships must identify which eligible organization will be the primary recipient of the Cooperative Agreement, and which eligible organization(s) will be subawardees of the primary recipient.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
