U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 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).
Donor Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territories: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/22/2023
Size of the Grant: $25,000
Grant Duration: 1 year
Details:
This funding opportunity is designed to both decrease materials generated (source reduction) and increase the diversion of materials through reuse, recycling, and other strategies.
Currently, there is inadequate infrastructure in the Mountains and Plains Region (EPA Region 8) to support these goals. Applications must directly benefit at least one of the EPA Region 8 States (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming) or one of the 28 tribal nations in the Region.
Goals
- 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
Objectives
- Objective 1: Reduce environmental impacts of materials
- This objective focuses on reducing the environmental impacts of materials across their life cycles, including greenhouse gas emissions and reductions in water and energy use.
- Objective 2: Decrease disposal rate
- This objective focuses on tracking and reducing the overall amount of materials disposed, which would encompass activities targeting source reduction, reuse, recycling, and prevention.
- Objective 3: Increase socio-economic benefits
- This objective focuses on tracking and reporting material impacts on the economy as well as social aspects.
- Objective 4: Increase capacity of state and local governments, communities, and key stakeholders to adopt and implement SMM policies, practices, and incentives
- This objective involves increasing the number of states and communities that aim to expand SMM capacity through EPA’s technical assistance and support. This objective also involves increasing the per capita quantity and/or quality of recyclables recovered for manufacturing and increasing the number of households with access to organic collection and recycling.
EPA Region 8 Activities (your project application should address one or more)
Activity 1
- 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 (EPP), 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 their waste
- Save money for consumers and businesses alike
Activity 2
- 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.
Activity 3
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)
- Developing or improving feedstock collection networks
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $45,000
- Award Ceiling: $25,000
- Award Floor: $10,000
Project Period
The estimated project period for awards resulting from this announcement will begin October 1, 2023, although project start dates can be negotiated. Projects are normally funded for one year.
Eligibility Criteria
In accordance with Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA) No. 66.808 and EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements (EPA Order 5700.5A1), 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.
- 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
- Individuals and for-profit organizations are NOT eligible for funding under this opportunity. 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.
For more information, vista Grants.gov.
