Healthy and Resilient Gulf of Mexico: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (Select Areas) - FY 2023
| Agency: | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 66.475 |
| Federal FON: | EPA-I-R4-GM-2023 |
| Office: | Gulf of Mexico Division (GMD) |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 04/04/2024 (Application) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 12/06/2023 |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | $30,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $6,000,000 (Max) |
| Number of Awards: | 5 (Estimated) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to improve conditions in disadvantaged communities by investing in projects to improve water quality, habitat(s), community resilience, and environmental education. Supported projects must address the following priority areas:
- Priority area 1 - water quality improvement: demonstrate improvement in and/or understanding of water quality conditions of the Gulf of Mexico watershed through monitoring in at least one water quality parameter in a water body and/or segment by the end of the project period as compared to the initial project baseline; potential community-driven activities include:
- Studies or assessments and demonstration projects that identify and apply solutions to improve understanding of water quality conditions or to improve water quality via nutrient reduction, blue or green infrastructure, stormwater runoff prevention/infiltration, water quality monitoring, and other methods, as detailed on pages 5-6 of the NOFA file
- Priority area 2 - protect, enhance, or restore habitat: protect, enhance, or restore habitat acreage within the five Gulf states that benefit the Gulf of Mexico region, native species, and communities, including collaboration with private landowners; potential community-driven activities include:
- Demonstration projects that identify and apply nature-based solutions to improve habitat which improve ecosystem and community health
- Funding innovative efforts to produce native plants for restoration efforts
- Demonstrating the effectiveness of animal grazing to aid restoration efforts
- Priority area 3 - environmental education: engage disadvantaged communities located within the project area to promote and support environmental education and/or training and develop and/or improve existing environmental education programs; potential community-driven activities include:
- Development and demonstration of programs that will educate and provide job training for students or adults for careers in habitat creation or restoration, water quality issues and management, water quality testing, and other fields detailed on page 7 of the NOFA file
- Student-led research projects focused on habitat restoration, water quality, or community resilience
- Priority area 4 - strengthen community resilience: engage disadvantaged communities to develop and/or demonstrate programs, projects and/or tools that improve a community’s understanding of vulnerabilities and/or strengthen resilience or utilize existing or new techniques, tools, and information to assist coastal stakeholders in assessing risks and vulnerabilities to natural or man-made disasters; potential community-driven activities include:
- Studies or assessments and demonstration projects that identify and apply nature-based solutions to improve resilience as it relates to heat island, subsidence, stormwater, and/or flooding impacts, such as living shorelines, community or pollinator gardens, vulnerability assessments, and other activities listed on page 7 of the NOFA file
Refer to pages 5-7 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding eligible project activities.
Priority area 3 may be a component of any project, but may not be the primary priority area.
Supported projects must advance protection and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico watershed in support of the funding agency's FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.
For purposes of this program, disadvantaged communities refers to 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.
All projects must include an outreach component.
Funds may be used for acquisition costs in situations relating to the conduct of demonstration projects.
Eligibility is limited to projects located in the five Gulf states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, or coastal counties of those states. Refer to the Eligibility section for details.
Last Updated: March 18, 2024
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are:
- Governmental entities, including state agencies and interstate agencies
- State-designated or federally recognized Indian tribes
- Local governments
- Public or nonprofit institutions of higher education, such as colleges and universities
- Nonprofit organizations
- Intertribal consortia
School districts or high schools designated as one of the above entities are also eligible to apply.
For the purposes of this program, nonprofit organizations are defined as 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, including tax-exempt nonprofit neighborhood and labor organizations.
An intertribal consortium must meet the definition of eligibility in the Environmental Program Grants for Tribes Final Rule, as described in Title 40, Section 35.504 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (66 FR 3782; January 16, 2001) (FRL-6929-5), and be a nonprofit organization within the meaning of Title 2, Section 200.1 of the CFR.
All projects must be located in disadvantaged communities. Projects that address priority areas 1 and 2 must be located in the five Gulf states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas, and be within the Gulf of Mexico watershed. Projects in Florida must be located within eligible counties detailed on pages 38-40 of the NOFA file.
For priority 4 projects, all project activities must be located in the eligible coastal counties of the five Gulf states. Refer to page 8 of the NOFA file for a map of eligible counties, and pages 38-41 of the NOFA file for a list of eligible counties.
Eligible applicants must apply as part of a partnership of five or more eligible entities submitting a single application to fund multiple projects/activities. Two of the partners must be small community-based organizations, which for the purposes of this program are defined as organizations with ten or fewer full-time equivalent employees.
Federally recognized tribes in the Gulf states, as well as minority-serving institutions (MSIs), are strongly encouraged to apply and/or partner for this program. For the purposes of this program, MSIs include:
- Historically Black colleges and universities
- Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs)
- Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs)
- Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISIs)
- Predominantly Black institutions (PBIs)
There is no limit to the number of applications an organization may submit.
Ineligible entities include:
- For-profit entities, including for-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals
- Nonprofit organizations as 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
Eligible Applicants:
Local GovernmentAcademic Institutions
Consortia
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
Schools/School Districts
State Government
Application Notes:
Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 4, 2024.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
Applications must include:
- SF 424
- SF 424A
- EPA Form 5700-54
- EPA Form 4700-4
- Project narrative (12 pages max)
- Budget table
- Map(s) of project boundaries/location(s)
- Resumes or curriculum vitae of principal investigators and critical staff
- Negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (if applicable)
- Commitment and support letters
The project narrative must be formatted on standard-sized pages with one-inch margins using at least 11-point Calibri font.
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.
A recording of a webinar previously held for this program is available online at youtube.com.
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Project approach (30 points)
- Environmental results: outputs, outcomes, and milestones (25 points)
- Disadvantaged communities (10 points)
- Outreach (20 points)
- Timely expenditure of award (5 points)
- Programmatic capability (40 points)
- Past performance (5 points)
- Budget (15 points)
Refer to the NOFA, Budget, BudgetGuide, and Q&A files for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | $30,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $6,000,000 (Max) |
|---|---|
| Number of Awards: | 5 (Estimated) |
Match Notes:
Matching funds are not required for this program; however, applicants for priority area 1 are encouraged to leverage other resources.
Funding Notes:
Approximately $30 million is available to support approximately five grants or cooperative agreements of up to $6 million each through this program.
Funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis.
The project period will begin in calendar year 2024 and span up to five years.
Award notifications are expected to be made in July 2024. Awards are expected to be provided in November 2024.
At least 50 percent of the budget should be dedicated to funding at least four subawards for subrecipient projects, and no more than 25 percent should be dedicated to priority area 3. Applications for projects that allocate at least 50 percent of funds directly to subawards will be evaluated more favorably.
Funds may not be used for actions required to settle a formal enforcement action or included in a court order; or specified as a required mitigation measure under a state, local, or federal permit for a specific project; however, funding may be used to enhance or expand such projects beyond minimum requirements for compliance.
Funds may not be used for:
- Costs associated with responding to the solicitation or finalizing the application package
- Projects that do not comply with Clean Water Act Section 104(b)(3)
- Work involving only routine maintenance of stormwater infrastructure and other facilities
- Projects which fall under the existing planning responsibilities of an individual state or local government
- Solely gray infrastructure projects, such as installation of sewer lines
- Construction activities that are not a part of a demonstration project
- Certain telecommunications and video surveillance equipment or services, as detailed on page 7 of the SolicitationClauses file
- Land acquisition for the purpose of land banking
Contacts:
Program Staff
GMP-RFP@epa.gov
Agency Address
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the program staff using the information provided. Questions and answers will be posted online at epa.gov/gulfofmexico and updated weekly as new questions are received. Questions received after March 28, 2024, are not guaranteed a response.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US17043_NOFA_FY2023.pdf (729.8 Kb)Other Pre-Award File: US17043_Budget_FY2023.xlsx (122.7 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17043_BudgetGuide_FY2023.pdf (591.3 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17043_EPAStrategicPlan_FY2023.pdf (7.1 Mb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17043_SolicitationClauses_FY2023.pdf (478.1 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17043_Overview_FY2023.pdf (165.1 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17043_Q&A_FY2023.pdf (503.5 Kb)
Federal Forms:
SPOC (195.6 Kb)File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Budget file contains the suggested budget template for the application. The BudgetGuide file contains general guidance regarding budget development and eligible costs. The EPAStrategicPlan file contains the funding agency's strategic plan for FY 2022-2026. The SolicitationClauses file contains additional general requirements for funding agency programs. The Overview file contains general program information, including information regarding eligibility for this program. The Q&A file contains a list of questions and answers regarding this program. The SPOC file contains information on the state Single Point of Contact program.
March 18, 2024
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.
February 14, 2024
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.
January 31, 2024
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.
January 2, 2024
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. The Financial and Summary sections have been updated accordingly.
Grant Keywords
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AgricultureCommunity Development
Training & Vocational Services
Environment/Natural Resources
Water Supply/Quality