The EPA is soliciting applications under the BIL funded SFBWQIF Request for Applications (RFA) to fund projects that have measurable positive impacts in underserved communities, particularly those facing climate change stressors in the San Francisco Bay and its watersheds.
Donor Name: Environmental Protection Agency
State: California
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/29/2023
Size of the Grant: $200,000 to $1,000,000
Grant Duration: 4 years
Details:
Since 2008, EPA has administered the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund (SFBWQIF) competitive grant program. In November 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which broadens the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reach and focus under the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund (SFBWQIF) over a five year period. The BIL specifically expands the SFBWQIF to focus on inequities in the access to Federal funding and implementation of projects and climate resilience in underserved communities. It provides additional funding to advance the Biden Administration’s goal of investing in America’s infrastructure and delivering environmental and public health benefits for communities with environmental justice (EJ) concerns, that is, communities adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental, climate and human health harms or risks. The purpose of this RFA is to expand water quality restoration efforts in underserved communities and build regional resilience to climate change stressors through funding of efforts and partnerships within historically underserved communities (i.e., economically underserved or other populations with disproportionate exposure to environmental harm).
Program Priorities
- All applications must be consistent with the San Francisco Estuary Partnership’s (SFEP) Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) and must indicate the CCMP objective(s) and action(s) to be implemented under the project. (Attachment A identifies a list of the CCMP objectives and actions that address program priorities and should be used as a basis to provide this information in the proposal narrative.)
- If an application includes a monitoring component, it should be compatible with the California Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP), the California Wetland and Riparian Area Monitoring Program, the California EcoAtlas and/or the San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program (RMP).
- Environmental Justice (EJ)/Underserved Communities
- This RFA aims to support a broad array of project types that will deliver environmental and public health benefits to communities with potential EJ concerns, including underserved communities, within the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties.
- Environmental justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies. Fair treatment means no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental, and commercial operations or policies. Meaningful involvement means people have an opportunity to participate in planning efforts and decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health; the public’s contribution can influence the regulatory agency’s decision; community concerns will be considered in the decision-making process; and decision makers will seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.
- For purposes of this competition and the evaluation of applications, “underserved communities” means populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, consistent with the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14008 on environmental justice and climate change. The SFBWQIF underserved community map identifies areas with underserved communities that have been adversely and disproportionately affected by multiple sources of pollution.
Funding Information
- The funding amount available under this announcement is approximately $5 million for federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. The amount of funding per award is estimated to range from approximately $200,000 to $1,000,000. EPA anticipates awarding 10 to 15 grants and/or cooperative agreements under this solicitation.
- Project Period for Awards: EPA anticipates making awards resulting from this solicitation in September 2023. It is anticipated that the grants or cooperative agreements awarded under this announcement will have one- to four-year project periods.
Eligible Applicants
The following entities are eligible to apply for funding under this announcement:
- State, local government agencies, districts, and councils;
- regional water pollution control agencies and entities;
- State coastal zone management agencies;
- Federally and non-federally recognized tribes;
- public and private universities and colleges,
- public or private non-governmental, non-profit institutions are eligible to apply, unless restricted by the authorizing statutes.
- submit applications under this announcement for projects within the nine Bay Area counties (Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco.)
- Non-profit organizations must have documentation of non-profit status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or their state of incorporation, except that non-profit organizations as defined in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or superseding legislation are ineligible.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
