Deadline: 27-Sep-2024
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking applications for the Region 8 Sustainable Materials Management Grant Program.
EPA Region 8 (the Region) is soliciting applications that address the national and regional priority of decreasing the environmental impact of materials with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs, EPA Overview of Greenhouse Gases). This funding opportunity is designed to both decrease materials generated (source reduction) and increase the diversion of materials through reuse, recycling, and other strategies.
Goals and Objectives
- Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis
- Objective 1.1: Reduce Emissions that Cause Climate Change
- Objective 1.2: Accelerate Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts
- Objective 1.3: Advance International and Subnational (Regional) Climate Efforts
- Goal 2: Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights
- Objective 2.1: Promote Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at the Federal, Tribal, State, and Local Levels
- Objective 2.2: Embed Environmental Justice and Civil Rights into EPA’s Programs, Policies, and Activities
- Objective 2.3: Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement in Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns
- Goal 3: Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance
- Objective 3.1: Hold Environmental Violators and Responsible Parties Accountable
- Objective 3.2: Detect Violations and Promote Compliance
- Goal 4: Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities
- Objective 4.1: Improve Air Quality and Reduce Localized Pollution and Health Impacts
- Objective 4.2: Reduce Exposure to Radiation and Improve Indoor Air
- Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities
- Objective 5.1: Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure
- Objective 5.2: Protect and Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds
- Goal 6: Safeguard and Revitalize Communities
- Objective 6.1: Clean Up and Restore Land for Productive Uses and Healthy Communities
- Objective 6.2: Reduce Waste and Prevent Environmental Contamination
- Objective 6.3: Prepare for and Respond to Environmental Emergencies
- Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment
- Objective 7.1: Ensure Chemical and Pesticide Safety
- Objective 7.2: Promote Pollution Prevention
Funding Information
- The total estimated funding for this competitive funding opportunity is up to $51,000. EPA Region 8 anticipates funding one to two cooperative agreements from this announcement. The anticipated award range is between $25K – $51K. The number of awards will depend on the quality of applications received, fiscal year program funds available, and other applicable considerations. The anticipated total number and total amount of awards to be provided are estimates only and are being provided solely for application preparation purposes. EPA expressly reserves the right to make no awards under this particular competitive funding opportunity or to adjust the number of awards originally anticipated.
Output and Outcomes
- Outputs in the areas of CBSM may include:
- Number of stakeholder outreach events, publications, or communication strategies designed to promote community-based messaging for behavior change for improved management of materials;
- Number of individuals, state, and local governments, and/or businesses served by education, outreach, training, technical assistance, and/or tools related to community-based behavior change for the improved management of materials;
- Number of new organizations/entities (e.g., state departments of transportation, real estate developers, city planning organizations, etc.) that are using and or promoting community-based messaging for improved management of materials;
- Number and types of skills or abilities achieved by training participants to promote community-based messaging for behavior change strategies related to improved management of materials;
- Number of completed surveys received before and after project completion
- Projects to be funded under this announcement are expected to produce at least one of the following outcomes or outcomes similar in nature to the ones listed below and specifically articulated in the Project Narrative.
- Increased resources and technical assistance available through education, outreach, and training to individuals and/or businesses regarding source reduction, life cycle assessment strategies, or the beneficial reuse and use of materials;
- Increased public and/or business participation in training or technical assistance, source reduction, life cycle assessment strategies, the environmental benefits of the beneficial reuse, and use of materials;
- Improved capacity of businesses and/or facilities to incorporate source reduction, life cycle assessment processes, or reuse of materials to the maximum extent possible;
- Improved quality of materials for beneficial reuse or use in post-consumer products;
- Measurable improvements to environment and/or ecosystem conditions related to source reduction, life cycle assessment, beneficial reuse, or use of materials;
- Energy conserved or dollars saved as a result of source reduction, life cycle assessment, or beneficial reuse or use of materials.
Activities
- Promotion of source reduction
- Source reduction, also known as waste prevention, means reducing waste at the source (reducing waste in the first place), and is the most environmentally preferred strategy. It can take many different forms, including reducing consumption, substituting materials, limiting packaging, redesigning products, changing practices, reducing toxicity, equipment or technology modifications, process or procedural modifications, reformulation or redesign of products, substitution of raw materials, improvements in housekeeping, maintenance, training or inventory control, Environmentally Preferred Purchasing, or modifying a production process to produce less waste.
- Source reduction can:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change,
- Save natural resources,
- Conserve energy,
- Reduce pollution,
- Reduce the toxicity of the waste,
- Reduce the environmental impacts of food production and disposal, and
- Save money for consumers and businesses alike.
- Promotion of reuse
- Reuse involves the recovery or reapplication of salvaged, usable materials or products in a manner that maintains items in their original form. Reuse takes advantage of embodied carbon and energy, resources, and impacts already incurred in the production of original products such as lumber, refillable glass bottles, reusable food storage containers, refurbished wood pallets, and repaired electronics.
- Examples of reuse include:
- Repurposing building materials through deconstruction, salvage, or building retrofits;
- Implementing reusable or refillable containers instead of disposable containers;
- Promoting the right and ability to repair consumer goods;
- Establishing tool or equipment libraries to facilitate communal reuse of those items.
- Promotion of market development
- Increased demand for diverted materials (waste that is recycled, composted, or diverted from disposal) will enhance opportunities for expansion of existing sustainable materials management capacity as well as development of new capacity.
- Projects may include:
- Feasibility studies;
- Technology and process evaluations;
- Technical assistance, outreach, and/or training to model or accelerate solutions;
- Outreach workshops;
- Improvements to the collection or quality of materials feedstocks;
- Evaluating or developing solutions to barriers that support source reduction, or reuse of materials;
- Expanding processing capacity (training, improved efficiency); or
- Developing or improving feedstock collection networks.
Eligibility Criteria
- In accordance with Assistance Listing 66.808, applications will be accepted from:
- States (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands), local, Tribal, interstate, and intrastate government agencies and instrumentalities, and non-profit organizations that are not 501(c)(4) organizations that lobby, including non-profit educational institutions and non-profit hospitals.
- Nonprofit Organizations. 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; 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. While not legally considered to be a non-profit organization(s) as defined by 2 CFR 200.1, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are eligible to submit applications under this RFA. Hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments or that meet the definition of nonprofit at 2 CFR 200.1 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 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.
- Partnerships: Groups of two or more applicants may choose to form a partnership and submit a single application under this RFA; however, one eligible applicant must be responsible for the grant. Partnerships must identify which eligible organization will be the recipient of the grant and which organization(s) will be sub-awardees of the recipient. Subawards and subgrants must be consistent with the definitions of those terms in 2 C.F.R. 200.1. The recipient must administer the grant, will be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds and reporting, and will be the point of contact for the partnership. As provided in 2 C.F.R. 200.331, subrecipients or subgrantees are accountable to the recipient or grantee for proper use of EPA funding. Please review the EPA Subaward Policy for subaward requirements, guidance, and training.
- Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible for funding under this opportunity. Additionally, nonprofit 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 to apply. Eligible non-profit organizations must have documentation of non-profit status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or their state of incorporation.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
