The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is issuing this RFA to support the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership’s continuing mission of evaluating the effectiveness of implemented and proposed management actions taken to reduce nutrient and sediment pollutant loads and to improve Chesapeake Bay water quality through the seven watershed jurisdictions’ Watershed Implementation Plans under current and future climate change and growth.
Donor Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/22/2023
Size of the Grant: $150,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
EPA seeks to support one recipient to work in close support and collaboration with CBP scientists and modelers using machine learning and/or other appropriate techniques, applied to the high-resolution land use, landform, hydrography data, and additional derivatives from these data that are relevant to hydrology and nutrient and sediment processes. The work will generate meaningful information on watershed processes to inform and improve the development of the CBP’s Phase 7 CAST and Dynamic Watershed Models. The CBP is currently updating its Phase 6 suite of models, including the watershed model, for use in decision-making by the CBP partnership in 2027. Development will continue through 2025 with review by the partnership occurring in 2026, which will likely result in further model refinements in response to CBP partnership review. In 2027, the Phase 7 Models will be applied to assess the levels of water quality management required under 2035 climate conditions of higher sea levels, temperatures, flows, and nutrient-sediment loads. The model updates to the land use, watershed, airshed, estuary and living resources are collectively known as the Phase 7 suite of models.
The following are tasks expected to be included in the workplan. Applicants should address how they will conduct these tasks or describe in detail alternative approaches to providing the requested support.
- Task 1: In collaboration with CBPO and non-CBPO modelers, hydrologists, and nutrient transport experts, the recipient will use machine learning or other appropriate methods to develop proposed approaches to assess the effects of fine scale landforms and land use on nutrient and sediment delivery potential to streams and through the stream system at the NHD100k scale. Methods proposed should produce interpretable information that can identify areas of high and low nutrient transport. Once the proposed methods are approved by the Modeling Workgroup, Task 1 work will proceed.
- Task 2: In collaboration with CBPO and non-CBPO modelers, hydrologists, and nutrient transport experts, the recipient will use machine learning or other appropriate methods to propose approaches to temporally downscale long-term estimations to hourly estimates of flow, temperature, and concentration at the NHD100k scale. Proposed methods should produce time series appropriate for loading to estuarine models. Once the proposed methods are approved by the Modeling Workgroup, Task 2 work will proceed.
- Task 3: The recipient will work with technical staff at the CBPO to develop approaches to integrate the methods or findings from Task 1 and Task 2 into the CBP Partnership’s Phase 7 watershed model to predict the effects of management actions on temperature, nutrients, and sediment.
Priorities
The CBP’s mission includes enhancing and maintaining the accountability of systems dependent on tracking, verifying, reporting, and quantifying the estimated pollutant load reduction potential of practices, treatments, and technologies implemented throughout the watershed and assessing their collective influence on Chesapeake Bay tidal water quality. The resultant analysis will be used by the CBP partnership’s seven watershed jurisdictions and other signatories to the Bay Agreement to:
- Assess achievement of meeting water quality goals beyond 2025.
- Assess progress towards implementing their current and potential future restoration plans.
- Examine past and future CBP management of nutrient and sediment pollutant load reduction and prevention practices, treatments, and technologies.
- Assist in reporting Bay and watershed restoration actions to the public in the 2025 assessment and options available to address future climate, growth, and other challenges.
- Support the jurisdictions in creating effective management plans.
- Support adaptive management by the CBP partnership.
Applications submitted under this RFA should be oriented towards demonstrating:
- Gathering and/or deriving important data sets, including but not limited to high-resolution land use, geomorphometry, hydrography, and water quality data described in the Scope of Work section of this RFA.
- Development of analysis methods to address the elements of the Machine Learning Activity.
- Working with multi-institutional and multi-agency teams on collaborative development and assessment of analyses to address elements of the Machine Learning Activity.
- Active research necessary to address elements of the Machine Learning Activity.
- Working collaboratively with CBP scientists.
- Generating products that can be used within the policy and development context of the CBP Phase 7 watershed models.
- Fully documenting the Machine Learning Activity elements in reports and presentations to CBP groups.
Funding Information
The total estimated federal funding under this solicitation is approximately $450,000 for one cooperative agreement. Funding will be awarded incrementally in the amount of $150,000 per year for three years depending on funding availability, satisfactory performance, Agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. There is no guarantee of funding throughout this period or beyond.
Project Period
The expected project period for the cooperative agreement is three years, with funding provided on an annual basis
Eligibility Criteria
- Consistent with Assistance Listing 66.466, Clean Water Act Section 117(d), and EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements, competition under this solicitation is available for technical and general assistance grants to nonprofit organizations, state, tribal (federally recognized) and local governments, colleges, universities, and interstate agencies. For-profit organizations are not eligible to submit applications in response to this RFA.
- Consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization, 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 and 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. Note, 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, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA. Hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments or that meet the definition of nonprofit 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.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
