The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking proposals from eligible applicants to act, in coordination with the Puget Sound Partnership (“Partnership” or PSP), EPA, leaders and funders in agricultural and working land conservation, Puget Sound federally-recognized tribes, salmon recovery practitioners, and other relevant parties in the Puget Sound Management Conference, as the Puget Sound Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead under the 2022-2026 Puget Sound Action Agenda, and subsequent updates of the Action Agenda.
Donor Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/31/2023
Size of the Grant: $8,000,000 to $10,000,000
Grant Duration: 4 years
Details:
This RFA seeks to spur innovation in working voluntarily with landowners and build upon existing riparian and salmon conservation programs and processes, in partnership with state and federal agencies and funding programs, such as those of USDA/NRCS. This EPA funding opportunity aims to leverage other state and non-EPA federal funding sources and programs, in order to work most effectively with landowners to achieve maximum Puget Sound riparian conservation to promote climate resiliency. Note that other federal funds cannot be used as match for this award.
Puget Sound Action Agenda — Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead aims to use nature-based solutions (i.e., riparian conservation) to support salmon survival, as well as reduce flooding and erosion, by providing compensation to landowners for providing climate and water quality related ecosystem services. This RFA announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible applicants that are interested in acting as the Puget Sound Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead. This funding opportunity is focused on working with local programs and landowners to voluntarily protect and restore Puget Sound riparian habitat in priority watersheds, supporting salmon recovery and resilience to climate change. The successful applicant will develop a shared approach to achieving permanent protection (and restoration, as appropriate) of riparian areas concentrated within prioritized stream reaches across Puget Sound. The funding from this RFA is intended to go towards direct implementation of riparian conservation and climate resiliency goals, as well as other Vital Sign recovery objectives, as described in the 2022 Puget Sound Action Agenda (particularly Strategy 4 – Riparian Areas, and Strategy 20 – Climate Adaptation and Resilience as well as relevant Implementation Strategies).
Goals
The overall goal of the Puget Sound Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead RFA is to establish an innovative and collaborative riparian conservation program that provides financial incentives for landowners to set aside and restore riparian areas important for salmon recovery, while successfully implementing approaches to climate resiliency and riparian conservation that become a robust and sustainable program. The successful applicant will administer a subaward program to directly implement riparian conservation for climate resilience under the Puget Sound Action Agenda.
Funding Information
Funding for the award is expected to be provided incrementally over a four-year period, with an initial amount of approximately $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 for the first year and subsequent incremental funding through year four.
Project Period
The successful applicant should plan for projects to begin on or after July 1, 2023. EPA will accept proposals for a 4-year funding period, for a 6-year total project period to allow time for subaward work completion and spend down.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible entities are:
- Federal 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;
- Watershed planning units formed under RCW 90.82.040 and RCW 90.82.060, local management boards organized under RCW 90.88.030, salmon recovery lead entities organized pursuant to RCW 77.85, regional fisheries enhancement groups organized pursuant to RCW 77.95.060 and Marine Resource Committees organized pursuant to RCW 36.125.010 and RCW 36.125.020 if they are located within or their jurisdictions include waters and/or lands within the greater Puget Sound basin;
- Intrastate organizations such as associations of cities, counties or conservation districts in the greater Puget Sound basin;
- Nonprofit non-governmental entities, as defined by 2 C.F.R 200.70, means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that: is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; is not organized primarily for profit; and uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations (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 non-profit 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. 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; 22 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, and;
- Federally recognized tribes located within the greater Puget Sound basin and any consortium of these eligible tribes.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
