Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) (EPA Region 9) - FY 2026
| Agency: | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 66.926, 66.605 |
| Federal FON: | EPA-CEP-01, EPA-CEP-02 |
| Office: | Office of International and Tribal Affairs American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 Intergovernmental Branch Environmental Justice, Community Engagement, and Environmental Review Division (EJCEERD) |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 01/29/2025 (Multiple) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 10/29/2024 |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Award Range: | $75,000 (Min) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to assist tribal governments and intertribal consortia in planning, developing, establishing, and maintaining the capacity to implement federal environmental programs administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and to assist in implementation of tribal solid and hazardous waste programs. Funding will support tribal efforts to develop core environmental program capacities needed to implement and/or meaningfully participate in federal environmental protection programs. Core capacities include administrative, financial management, information management, environmental baseline needs assessment, public education/communication, legal, technical/analytical, and capacity needed to implement and/or meaningfully participate in federal environmental protection programs.
Specifically, the goals of this program are to:
- Ensure tribal governments have the opportunity to build the capacity to:
- Implement federal environmental programs through EPA delegations, authorizations, and approvals
- Meaningfully participate and engage in environmental protection activities that inform, support, or enhance direct implementation under federal environmental statutes administered by the EPA
- Promote tribal self-governance by working closely with tribes to:
- Accomplish tribal environmental program goals in EPA-tribal environmental plans (ETEPs) that reflect federal environmental program areas of need to protect human health and the environment
- Support tribes' development of strong core environmental program capacities for media-specific programs administered by the EPA
- Foster tribes' capacity to assume the authority to implement programs administered by the EPA
- Promote intergovernmental collaboration and partnership among the EPA, tribes, states, and other partners; and focus program financial and technical assistance on protecting human health and the environment
- Support implementation of established solid and hazardous waste regulatory programs in accordance with the purposes and requirements of applicable provisions of law, including the Solid Waste Disposal Act
- Maintain strong national program management practices to produce compelling results that align with the EPA's statutory authorities
Funding is also provided for wildfire prevention, preparedness, and response activities, as detailed in the EligibleWildfireActivities file.
Applicants seeking funding for service delivery activities, such as the collection, transportation, backhaul, and disposal of solid waste and/or recovered resources must structure their applications to identify the elements outlined on page 13 of the FederalNOFA file.
This program will also support tribal efforts in planning, program development, and intergovernmental partnerships to address climate change, as detailed on pages 20-22 of the NOFA file.
Eligible costs include personnel costs, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual costs, other direct costs, and indirect costs.
Eligibility is limited to applicants and projects located in Region 9 of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which includes American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, and Nevada.
Last Updated: November 13, 2024
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are federally recognized tribes and intertribal consortia in EPA Region 9, which includes American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, and Nevada.
For the purposes of this program, an intertribal consortium is defined as a partnership between two or more tribes authorized by their governing bodies to apply for and receive assistance under this program. An eligible consortium must be able to adequately document compliance with each of the requirements detailed on page 7 of the FederalNOFA file.
In addition, all applicants must have completed and submitted to the funding agency the documents detailed on page 5 of the NOFA file for awards to be made by October 1, 2025.
All individual tribes must have an approved Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-tribal environmental plan (ETEP) to receive funding. If applicants have not finalized their ETEPs, funds may not be awarded or may be reduced. Refer to pages 18-19 of the FederalNOFA file for additional information regarding the development of an ETEP.
Individual tribes will receive the highest priority. Funding for consortia, therefore, will be considered after individual tribes' projects are funded. Consortia work plans must meet the capacity-building needs of their member tribes without duplicating members' efforts.
Eligible Applicants:
ConsortiaNative American Tribe
Application Notes:
Applications, workplans, and budgets must be submitted by one of the following dates:
- January 29, 2025, for individual tribes applying for a standalone GAP cooperative agreement
- January 29, 2025, for intertribal consortia applying for GAP funding
Individual tribes applying for GAP funding through a performance partnership grant (PPG) must submit their workplans and budget details by January 29, 2025. Applications must be submitted by the date provided by the appropriate tribal program officer, likely in spring or early summer 2025.
Prior to submitting an application, applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their project with the appropriate tribal program officer listed in the Contact file and on page 25 of the NOFA file.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov, and workplans and budget details must be submitted to the appropriate tribal program officer listed on page 25 of the NOFA file.
Applications must include:
- Workplan
- SF 424
- SF 424A
- EPA Form 6600-06 (if applicable)
- EPA Form 5700-54
- EPA Form 4700-4
- Indirect cost rate agreement (if applicable)
- Project narrative
- Detailed budget
- A list of PPG-eligible grant programs that the applicant intends to include in its final FY 2026 PPG (if applicable)
- Written authorizations from each tribal government that is a member of a consortium or documentation of a consortium resolution (if applicable)
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.
Planning meetings and phone calls between tribal program officers and applicants are scheduled to occur between November 2024 and January 29, 2025. Applicants are encouraged to submit optional draft workplans and budgets during the planning period to the appropriate tribal program officer, as detailed on page 5 of the NOFA file.
Tribal program officers will begin reviewing workplans and budget details as they are received.
Applications will be evaluated according to criteria that include:
- Completeness of application
- Degree to which costs are necessary, reasonable, allowable, and allocable
- Extent to which the proposed activities reflect the purpose of this program
- Description of tribal environmental program capacity-building needs and environmental or health risks
- Clarity, complexity, and scale of workplan activities
- Feasibility and likelihood of completing workplan activities
- Past and current performance under EPA grants (if applicable)
Refer to the NOFA and FederalNOFA files for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Award Range: | $75,000 (Min) |
|---|
Match Notes:
Matching funds are not required for this program.
Funding Notes:
An unspecified amount of funding is available to support grants or cooperative agreements through this program. Awards must range between $75,000 and no more than 10 percent of total funding appropriations for the program. Award amounts will be based on factors that include activities proposed, prior awards, existing award balances, and reporting status.
Awards are expected to be issued by September 30, 2025.
Project periods may not exceed four years, beginning on October 1, 2025. At the end of the four-year period, applicants may apply for additional funding. If award funds are included in performance partnership grants (PPGs), project periods may last five years. Refer to pages 8 of the FederalNOFA file for information regarding PPGs.
Current award recipients are encouraged to submit multiyear funding requests if they are completing proposed activities as scheduled, submitting progress reports on time, fulfilling closeout requirements, regularly drawing funds down, and meeting all other award requirements. Applicants should discuss this option with their appropriate program officer using the information provided in the Contact section prior to submitting a multiyear application.
Award recipients are expected to begin drawing down award funds within 21 days of award, or not submit a notice of disagreement with award terms and conditions within 21 days.
The funding agency may recommend that award recipients with a high balance of unspent funding request a no-cost extension or reduced award.
Funds may not be used for implementing an all-hazards mitigation plan or responding to an emergency in ways that may be recoverable by the applicant under a future disaster declaration.
Contacts:
Primary Contact:
Rubén Mojica Hernandez
Manager
(415) 972-3268
mojica-hernandez.ruben@epa.gov
Federal Contact:
David Jones
jones.david@epa.gov
Agency Address
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9
75 Hawthorne St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the appropriate program contact, or to the appropriate tribal program officer listed in the Contact file.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov, and workplans and budgets must be emailed to the appropriate tribal program officer.
Draft workplans and budgets must be submitted to the appropriate tribal program officer.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US5451_NOFA_FY2026.pdf (545.8 Kb)Other Pre-Award File: US5451_FederalNOFA_FY2026.pdf (496.3 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US5451_EligibleWildfireActivities_FY2026.pdf (188.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US5451_Contact_FY2026.pdf (166.3 Kb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The FederalNOFA file contains the full solicitation of the program's parent federal program. The EligibleWildfireActivities file contains a list of eligible wildfire activities under this program. The Contact file contains contact information for the tribal program officers. Additional program resources can be found online at www.epa.gov.
November 13, 2024
Contact information for the tribal program officers has been released and attached as the Contact file. The Contact section has been updated accordingly.
Grant Keywords
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Community DevelopmentHazardous Waste/Remediation/Brownfields
Environment/Natural Resources
Solid Waste
Wastewater
Water Supply/Quality
Fire/EMS