The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications to provide training and technical assistance to rural, small, and tribal municipalities, publicly owned wastewater treatment works, and decentralized wastewater treatment systems for the prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution.
Donor Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/22/2022
Size of the Grant: $18,000,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Eligible activities include training and technical assistance only. Infrastructure construction projects such as repairing water or sewer lines, adding new equipment, or upgrading, retrofitting, or rehabilitating existing equipment are not eligible for funding under this announcement.
The total estimated amount of federal funding potentially available under this announcement is$18,000,000, depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. It is anticipated that between eight (8) and twenty-two (22) agreements, each with a project period of up to three (3) years, may be awarded under this announcement. The Agency is seeking applications from organizations that serve a range of geographic service areas with project budgets appropriate to the number of rural, small, and tribal entities to be supported.
EPA’s current priorities include working to advance equity, address climate change, and responsibly support and implement the IIJA. These priorities include helping ensure that communities that have struggled to access public funding receive the help they need. EPA aims to maximize the potential for the IIJA funds to significantly benefit rural, small, or tribal communities with clean water projects. Awards made through this RFA are intended also to enable communities to comply with environmental regulations and build their technical, managerial, and financial capacity to sustainably operate wastewater infrastructure. Providing this support will allow communities to better protect both public health and the environment.
Priority Areas
- Priority Area 1 – Acquisition of Finance/Funding: Training and technical assistance for rural, small, and tribal municipalities for planning, developing and acquisition of financing/funding for CWSRF eligible activities.
- Priority Area 2: Protect Water Quality and Compliance Assistance: Training and technical assistance for rural, small, and tribal publicly owned treatment works and decentralized wastewater systems to help improve water quality and to achieve and maintain compliance.
- Priority Area 3 -Tribal: Training and technical assistance focused specifically on tribes for planning developing and acquisition of financing/funding, to help improve water quality and achieve and maintain compliance, and/or to support emerging contaminants project development.
- Priority Area 4 – Decentralized Systems: Information Dissemination, Training and Technical Assistance focused specifically on decentralized wastewater treatment systems to support planning, development and acquisition of finance.
- Priority Area 5 – Lagoon Systems: Information Dissemination, Training and Technical Assistance focused specifically on municipalities that use lagoon wastewater treatment systems to support planning, development, and acquisition of finance, to improve water quality and achieve and maintain compliance.
Funding Information
Award Ceiling: $18,000,000
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants under this competition are public and private nonprofit organizations, subject to CWA 104(w), that are qualified and experienced in providing on-site training and technical assistance to rural, small, and tribal municipalities and/or small publicly owned treatment works and/or decentralized wastewater treatment systems. 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 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 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 nonprofit 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. EPA may ask applicants to demonstrate that they are eligible for funding under this announcement.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
