Application Notes:

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with the following cut-off dates:

• 4:00 p.m. MT on December 7, 2023
• 4:00 p.m. MT on September 30, 2024

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov, or mailed or delivered to the appropriate address provided. If submitting paper applications, applicants must email the appropriate address provided in the Contact section no later than 2:00 p.m. MT on each respective due date. The funding agency strongly encourages the online submission of applications. Emailed and faxed applications will not be accepted.

Applications must include:

• SF 424
• SF 424A
• SF 424B
• SF LLL (if applicable)
• Technical proposal (40 pages max)
• Project budget
• Environmental and cultural resources compliance
• Required permits or approvals
• Overlap or duplication of effort statement
• Conflict of interest disclosure
• Uniform audit reporting statement (if applicable)
• Letters of support
• Official resolution
• Letters of funding commitment

Applications are limited to 125 consecutively numbered pages. Applications must be formatted on standard-sized pages using one-inch margins, and using at least a 12-point, easily readable font. Oversized pages will not be accepted. Hard-copy applications may only be bound with a binder clip; staples or other bindings may not be used.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
• SAM (System for Award Management) registration
• SPOC (state Single Point of Contact) notification

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam. Applicants in states participating in the SPOC program must contact the relevant SPOC listed in the SPOC file before applying.

An optional webinar for this program is scheduled as follows:

October 25, 2023
11:00 a.m. MT
URL: teams.microsoft.com

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria: 

• Water supply (33 points)
• Environment and water quality (15 points)
• Economic benefits (22 points)
• Presidential and Department of the Interior priorities (15 points)
• Funding agency's obligations and watershed perspective (10 points)
• Leveraging state funding and experience of international partners (5 points)

Refer to the NOFA and Guide files for additional application information.

Match Notes:

Applicants must provide at least 75 percent of the total project costs via cash and/or in-kind matching contributions.

Projects that leverage state funding for research and development of desalination technologies and projects will be awarded additional points during the application evaluation process.

Funding from sources outside of the applicant's organization should be secured and available prior to the award.

Projects must be constructed, operated, and maintained by the applicant, or be sponsored by the applicant. To sponsor a project, the applicant must contribute funding for a substantial portion of the capital construction costs of the project within the project period.

In general, federal funds may not be used as a match, unless specifically permitted by federal statute.

The cost or value of third-party in-kind contributions that have been used, or will be relied on, to satisfy a cost-sharing or matching requirement for another federal award may not be used as a match.

Funding Notes:

Up to $52 million is expected to be available to support up to ten grants or cooperative agreements of up to $30 million through this program.

In addition to monetary awards, this program may provide technical assistance at the request of the award recipient; however, technical assistance costs must be accounted for in the budget.

Award notifications and awards are expected to be issued as follows:

• For applications received by December 7, 2023, award notifications will be issued in May 2024, and awards in September 2024
• For applications received by September 30, 2024, award notifications will be issued in April 2025, and awards in September 2025

Project periods will span up to three years. For applications received by December 7, 2023, project periods will end in December 2026; and for applications received by September 30, 2024, project periods will end in November 2027.

Pre-award costs will only be allowed with funding agency approval, as detailed on page 36 of the NOFA file.

Funds may not be used for:

• Lobbying
• Ground-disturbing activities prior to completion of environmental and cultural resource compliance
• Projects that reclaim or reuse municipal, industrial, domestic, or agricultural wastewater
• Desalination projects that include water recycling components, such as municipal, industrial, or agricultural wastewater reuse, or treatment of impaired water supplies where primary targeted contaminants for removal are not brackish or ocean water
• Projects that do not have a completed feasibility study
• Projects that are not constructed, operated, and maintained by the applicant and do not include a substantial financial contribution to capital construction costs by the applicant during the project period
• Lab-scale research, piloting, or demonstration research focused on the development and commercialization of new advanced water treatment technology
• Projects that have a project-specific congressional authorization
• Projects that have already received funding under the WaterSMART Drought Response Program
• Operations, maintenance, and replacement (OM&R) activities

Refer to pages 21-23 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding unallowable costs.

February 12, 2024
An announcement regarding updated required forms for the application has been released and attached as the ApplicationUpdate file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

October 13, 2023
Information regarding an optional webinar scheduled for this program has been released and attached as the Webinar file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.