Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia - FY 2024
| Agency: | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 66.920 |
| Federal FON: | EPA-I-OLEM-ORCR-24-06 |
| Office: | Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 03/14/2025 (Application) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 09/16/2024 |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | $20,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Min) / $1,500,000 (Max) |
| Number of Awards: | 20 (Estimated) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to support tribes and intertribal consortia in a range of high-impact projects to increase recycling, reduce contamination, and promote a circular economy for materials by making much-needed investments in solid waste management infrastructure. Specifically, the goals of this program are to support projects that:
- Focus on encouraging environmentally sound post-consumer materials management
- Result in a decrease in the generation of municipal solid waste and/or an increase in the diversion of municipal solid waste from landfills and incineration
- Provide or expand access to source reduction, reuse, recycling, backhaul, anaerobic digestion, and composting for tribal communities
All projects must address one or more of the following objectives:
- Develop or update plans focused on encouraging environmentally sound post-consumer materials management, such as source reduction, collection, storage, transportation, composting, recycling, and/or markets for recyclables
- Develop, strengthen, and/or implement comprehensive data collection efforts that demonstrate progress toward the National Recycling Goal and Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal
- Establish, increase, or expand materials management infrastructure, such as facilities for reuse, recycling, or composting; collection and storage bins for recyclable or organic material; and purchasing and maintaining equipment or supplies such as scales, crushers, balers, sorting equipment, trucks, forklifts, and safety equipment
- Establish or identify end markets for the use of recycled materials
- Demonstrate an increase in the diversion recycling rate and/or quality of materials collected
Eligible projects and activities include:
- Developing or updating plans focused on improving post-consumer materials management
- Planning and construction of facilities for food recovery, reuse, recycling, composting, or anaerobic digestion
- Purchasing collection or storage bins for recyclables or organic material
- Purchasing or leasing recycling equipment or supplies for post-consumer materials management recovery efforts
- Activities focused on development of end markets for materials
- Activities to support increasing and improving collection of recyclable materials and/or organics and food waste, and backhaul
- Activities to reduce, reuse, and recycle building materials, including deconstruction and construction and demolition debris recycling equipment and projects
- Activities focused on reducing contamination in the recycling stream
- Training, technical assistance, and/or tools required to plan, establish, or implement post-consumer materials recovery
- Education and outreach activities related to post-consumer materials management
- Land acquisition, when necessary for construction or improvement for improvements to tribal recycling facilities and waste management facilities
- Other activities that the applicant believes will further the objectives of the program
The funding agency encourages the use of project labor agreements, an appropriately trained workforce, appropriately credentialed workforce, and neutrality in respect to union organization.
All projects must have a linkage to the national strategies , as detailed on page 9 of the NOFA file.
Refer to pages 7-10 of the NOFA file for additional details regarding program requirements.
The funding agency may prioritize certain sustainable materials management (SMM), environmental, and/or public health issues.
Funds may be used for personnel costs, fringe benefits, travel integral to the project, equipment, supplies, contractual costs, eligible construction costs, other direct costs, and indirect costs.
Optional webinars are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.
Last Updated: November 22, 2024
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are:
- Indian tribes
- Intertribal consortia
Depending on the number and quality of applications received, the funding agency intends to make one awards through this program per Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) region.
Applicants may submit separate applications for one or more projects. However, if selected for multiple awards, the funding agency may opt to make a single award that combines separate applications.
The following entities are not eligible to apply:
- States and territories
- Political subdivisions of states and territories
- For-profit organizations
- Nonprofit organizations, other than intertribal consortia
Previous award recipients include:
- Seneca Nation of Indians (NY)
- Wyandotte Nation (OK)
- Pueblo of San Felipe (NM)
- Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians (CA)
- Igiugig Village (AK)
Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.
Eligible Applicants:
ConsortiaNative American Tribe
Application Notes:
Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 14, 2025.
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 attachment, including:
- Summary information cover letter (1 page max)
- Narrative proposal (10 pages max)
- Budget table and description (4 pages max)
- Additional attachments, such as milestones, documentation demonstrating consortium eligiblity, negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, and/or a copy of a financial record displaying drawdown amounts from previous awards (as applicable)
Unsolicited documents/additional information should not be submitted.
The following are required in order to submit an application:
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
- SAM (System for Award Management) registration
Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.
Optional webinars for this program are scheduled as follows:
Solicitation Overview Webinar:
October 16, 2024
12:30 p.m. ET
Register: www.zoomgov.com
Additional Topics Webinar:
October 29, 2024
3:30 p.m. ET
Register: www.zoomgov.com
Recordings of the webinars will be made available online at www.epa.gov.
Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Project summary and approach (40 points)
- Impactful approaches and solutions (25 points)
- Measuring environmental results: anticipated outcomes and outputs (10 points)
- Programmatic capability and past performance (10 points)
- Budget and expenditure of awarded funds (15 points)
Refer to the NOFA file for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | $20,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Min) / $1,500,000 (Max) |
|---|---|
| Number of Awards: | 20 (Estimated) |
Match Notes:
Matching funds are not required for this program. Voluntary matching contributions will not be accepted or evaluated.
Funding Notes:
An estimated $20 million is available to support approximately 20 cooperative agreements ranging from $100,000 to $1.5 million through this program.
Depending on the number and quality of applications received, the funding agency intends to make one awards through this program per Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) region.
Award notifications are expected to be issued in September 2025. Awards are expected to be made in March 2026.
Project periods are expected to begin in March 2026, and will span up to three years.
All project income must be used for approved project activities.
Pre-award costs may be allowable, as detailed on page 12 of the NOFA file.
Food preprocessing is only an eligible cost when paired with recycling activities,
Funds may not be used for:
- Constructing, improving, or operating landfills; incineration; burn units; waste-to-energy, except for anaerobic digestion; chemical and thermal recycling; biofuels; and environmental cleanup
- Designing or administering the collection of identical information from ten or more parties, such as through surveys or focus groups
- Carrying out the same activities that are already funded or in the process of being funded under other funding agency financial assistance programs
- Duplication of activities
- Providing a source of payment of, or security for, an obligation of interest on which is excluded from gross income under Section 103 of Title 26
- Management fees or similar charges in excess of direct costs and approved indirect costs
- Fundraising, without prior approval
- Supporting or opposing union organizing
- Purchase of waste compactors and roll-off containers used for the management of non-recyclable materials destined for a landfill
For FY 2023, 59 awards were issued through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.
Contacts:
Chris Carusiello
SWIFRTribal@epa.gov
Jamie Lutz
SWIFRTribal@epa.gov
Agency Address
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR)
MC 5306P
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the program staff. Answers to questions will be posted online at www.epa.gov.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
Award File: US17294_Award_FY2024.pdf (173.4 Kb)Other Pre-Award File: US17294_Webinars_FY2024.pdf (123.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17294_WebinarPresentation_FY2024.zip (8.4 Mb)
NOFA File: US17294_NOFA_FY2024.pdf (490.7 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17294_Q&A_FY2024.pdf (19.2 Mb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the revised solicitation for this program. The Webinars file contains information regarding the optional webinars scheduled for this program. The WebinarPresentation folder contains the presentation slides for the webinars held for this program. The Q&A file contains a list of questions and answers regarding this program. The Award file contains information regarding previous award recipients.
November 22, 2024
A revised solicitation containing updated eligibility information for this program has been released and attached as the NOFA file. The Eligibility section has been updated accordingly. In addition, an updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. A recording of a webinar for this program has also been released, and a link to the presentation is available in the Application section.
November 6, 2024
The presentation slides for the October 29, 2024, webinar held for this program have been released and attached as the October29WebinarPresentation file in the WebinarPresentation folder.
October 25, 2024
The presentation slides for a webinar held for this program have been released and attached as the WebinarPresentation file.
October 8, 2024
A list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. The Financial section has been updated accordingly.
Grant Keywords
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Community DevelopmentTraining & Vocational Services
Environment/Natural Resources
Recycling & Reuse
Human Services