The Environmental Protection Agency solicits applications from eligible applicants that are interested in advancing EJ in the restoration and recovery of Puget Sound.
Donor Name: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
State: Washington
County: King County (WA), Snohomish County (WA), Pierce County (WA) and Kitsap County (WA)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/31/2023
Size of the Grant: $7,000,000
Grant Duration: 4 years
Details:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to make good on their commitment in “Building Community Capacity and Climate Resilience and Maximizing Benefits to Overburdened and Underserved Communities: EPA will increase support for community-led action by providing unprecedented investments and benefits directly to communities with Environmental Justice (EJ) concerns and by integrating equity throughout Agency programs.” This RFA will help EPA achieve its strategic goals and serve as a mechanism to fund current actions and inspire future actions with the long-term goal of transformative EJ.
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).
Program Goals and Objectives
The long-term goal of this RFA is toward achievement of EJ by directing resources and ultimately environmental and community benefits toward communities with potential EJ concerns. They also anticipate that this RFA and the resulting project outputs and outcomes will lead to improved, longer-term integration of EJ principles into Puget Sound restoration and recovery. To achieve this, EPA plans to select and fund one organization (or collaborating organizations) to manage and implement Puget Sound restoration, recovery, and community engagement with a focus on EJ and consistent with the 2022-2026 Puget Sound Action Agenda.
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.
Funding Information
- EPA expects to provide up to $7 million over four years of funding, with approximately $2.5 million of funding available in the first year of the competitive grant program. EPA is seeking applications where most of the funding will be provided to communities for projects and activities through subawards, along with funding for the applicant to assist and support the subawardees and to coordinate engagement with the Puget Sound Management Conference.
- EPA will provide funds annually over four years to be used for awards and subawards under this competitive opportunity, subject to the availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. Application project periods can be up to six years.
Eligible Applicants
- 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.
- 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.
- Consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization at 2 C.F.R. § 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 purpose in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization
- 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; 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.
- 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.
The greater Puget Sound basin is defined as all watersheds draining to the U.S. waters of Puget Sound, southern Georgia Basin, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
