EPA South Florida Program to Address the Emerging Ecological Pressures

The EPA South Florida Program provides competitive grants to address the immediate and emerging ecological pressures and threats to south Florida waters including fresh waters, estuaries, bays, and coral reef, central to south Florida’s economic and ecological wellbeing.

Donor Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

State: Florida

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 07/14/2023

Size of the Grant: $650,000

Grant Duration: 6 months

Details:

This RFA solicits applications for the South Florida Program region that includes the 16-county area covered by south Florida Water Management District as well as the Florida Keys, Florida Reef Tract, Caloosahatchee Estuary, Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie Estuary, Florida Bay, and Biscayne Bay.

This RFA supports the Special Studies/Research component for the South Florida Program. Special Studies are projects that provide information specific to management questions and concerns, inform policy, and provide understanding of south Florida aquatic ecosystems. Examples of eligible projects include, but are not limited to:

• supporting monitoring, research, or innovative restoration efforts for key species (e.g. coral, seagrass, sponges, mangroves, etc)
• research, investigation, and demonstration projects to mitigate harmful algal blooms;
• residential canal pollution reduction demonstration projects;
• stormwater pollution reduction demonstration projects;
• water quality and benthic habitat monitoring;
• research, investigation and management strategies to address contaminants of emerging concern such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and/or microplastics;
• identifying and understanding cause-effect relationships of pollutants in the environment;
• addressing specific management questions and concerns to sensitive ecosystems;
• applying innovative approaches, methods, or techniques for preventing, treating, and handling pollution from entering waterbodies; and
• investigating localized water quality impacts from potential pollution sources.

FY23 South Florida Program RFA Priorities

• Aquatic Habitat Restoration in South Florida [up to $650,000 per project]
• Addressing Climate Resiliency through Nature Based Infrastructure [up to $650,000 per project]
• Water Quality Monitoring and Modeling [up to $400,000 per project]
• Support Local Community-Based Projects to Protect Waterways and Aquatic Habitat [up to $400,000 per project]
• Florida Reef Tract Coral Health [up to $450,000 per project]
• Nutrient Management to Reduce Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Sargassum [up to $500,000 per project]
• Stormwater/Nutrient Pollutant Reduction Projects [Up to $500,000 per project]

EPA 2022–2026 Strategic Plan Goals

• Goal 5 Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities.
  • Provide clean and safe water for all communities and protect their nation’s waterbodies from degradation
    • Objective 5.2: Protect and Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds .
• Goal 2 Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights
  • Achieve tangible progress for historically overburdened and underserved communities and ensure the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income in developing and implementing environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
    • Objective 2.1: Promote Environmental Justice and Civil Rights at the Federal, Tribal, State, and Local levels.

Outputs

The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal and objective that will be produced over a period of time or by a specific date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period. Examples of outputs for projects include:

• Evaluation of the effectiveness of efforts to reduce or eliminate sources of pollution and to evaluate progress toward achieving and maintaining water quality and protecting and restoring coral reef habitat and other living resources.
• Characterization of sources and causes of water quality impairment within a watershed that will allow the development of management/action/restoration plan(s).
• Developing quantifiable metrics to evaluate progress towards restoring waters and aquatic habitat.
• Preparation and timely delivery of semi-annual (for IIJA funded projects), annual, and draft/final project reports that document results of the special study project.
• Preparation and timely delivery and sharing of research findings through presentations and publications to benefit the scientific community and public.

Outcomes

The term “outcome” means the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be qualitative and environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature, but may be quantitative. They may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period. Projects to be funded with this announcement are expected to produce outcomes related to the outputs identified in the application and scope of work.

Examples of expected outcomes that may occur because of the technical/scientific information generated by the special studies projects associated with this announcement include:

• Increase knowledge of managers and elected officials concerning negative impacts of pollutants on water quality and living biological resources, which should lead to the development and implementation of action plans that will reduce pollutant loading and result in the conservation of natural resources.
• Improve water quality.
• Restore seagrass, sponge, oyster, or mangroves habitats.
• Restore and recover Florida’s Coral Reef.
• Reduce pollutant loading to waters in the project area.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $8,000,000
• Award Ceiling: $650,000

Project Period

The EPA recommends project start date in the timeframe of January 1, 2024, to June 1, 2024. Proposed project and budget periods can range from two to five years for this funding announcement.

Eligibility Criteria

• In accordance with Assistance Listing Number 66.484, applications will be accepted from States, local governments, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S. (including the District of Columbia); public and private universities and colleges; hospitals; laboratories; public or private nonprofit institutions; and intertribal consortia.
• Non-profit organizations 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.
• 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-profit organizations are not an eligible entity for this funding opportunity. Additionally, non-profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.