02. 508-FY2024 NOFO Renewal Memo.05.07.2024.pdf

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC 20528

MEMORANDUM

TO: DHS Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight (FAPO)

THROUGH: Victoria Salinas Resilience Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Administrator

FROM: Stephanie Dobitsch National Preparedness Directorate Assistant Administrator

DATE: May 2, 2024

SUBJECT: Renewal Memorandum for FY 2024 Chemical Stockpile Emergency

Preparedness (CSEP) Program 97.040

A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the 2024 Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness (CSEP) Program 97.040 was originally approved and funded in Fiscal Year 2020 for a five-year period; this is year five of five. Below is the required information for the continuing application in Fiscal Year 2024. The final award amount is subject to the recipient completing the application process with approval from FEMA.

The period of performance is for an overall period of 60 months, to be allocated among five budget periods. The award under this Continuation NOFO for budget period five (5) is for 24 months.

Future budget periods are subject to the availability of funds, program authority, satisfactory performance, and compliance with the terms and conditions of the award. Pre-award costs for this budget period are authorized. Extensions to the overall period of performance and to this budget period are allowed, in accordance with the same procedural requirements as stated in the Allowability of Extensions section below. Requests to carry forward unobligated balances to subsequent budget periods must also follow the same procedural requirements as for extension requests.

The following sections are to be used in the application submission process. For Fiscal Year 2024, the CSEP Program received an exemption from the Grants Policy Division and is not required to submit an accompanying logic model or a DHS Evidence Overview based on the program’s forecasted final closeout. Where information is not included in this memorandum, the most recently approved CSEP Program 97.040 NOFO has been attached for reference.

If you have any questions, please contact Martin Cybulski, CSEP Program, Branch Chief, at

(202) 716-8503 or martin.cybulski@fema.dhs.gov.

Program Description Assistance Listing Number 97.040 Assistance Listing Title Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness (CSEP) Program Grant Recipient(s)/Eligible Applicant(s) Government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

Authorizing authority (Please include the full Public Law name and number. If the Public Law has been codified, include the U.S. Code number)

Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1986, Title 14, Part B, Section 1412, Public Law 99-145 (50 U.S.C. § 1521).

Current appropriations authority (Please provide sufficient detail to include the full Public Law name, number, Division and Title)

Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-47), Division A, Title VI—Other Department of Defense Programs, Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction, Defense

NOFO number DHS-24-NPD-040-000-99 Funding Instrument; # of Awards Cooperative Agreement; One Award

Available Funding and Fiscal Year $18,000,000.00 – FY 2024

Period of Performance

The period of performance is 60 months, to be allocated among five budget periods. The award under this NOFO is for budget period five (5), which is for 24 months. Pre-award costs are authorized to be charged to the fourth budget period.

Future budget periods are subject to the availability of funds, program authority, satisfactory performance, and compliance with the terms and conditions of the award.

Projected Budget Period Five Start Date: 10/01/2023.

Projected Budget Period Five End Date: 09/30/2025

Extensions to the overall period of performance and this budget period are allowed. For additional information on periods of performance and budget period extensions, please refer to the next section on Allowability of Extensions.

mailto:martin.cybulski@fema.dhs.gov

Requests to carry forward unobligated balances to subsequent budget periods must also follow the same procedural requirements as for extension requests.

Allowability of Extensions

Extensions to the overall period of performance (POP) for this program are allowed. Extensions to this budget period are allowed. Extensions will be considered only through formal, written requests to the recipient’s FEMA Regional Assistance Officer and must contain specific and compelling justifications as to why an extension is required. Recipients are advised to coordinate with the FEMA Regional Assistance Officer as needed when preparing an extension request. All extension requests must address the following:

a. The grant program, fiscal year, and award number;

b. Reason for the delay—this must include details of the legal, policy, or operational challenges being experienced that prevent the final outlay of awarded funds by the applicable deadline;

c. Current status of the activity(ies);

d. Approved POP end date, approved budget period end date, and new project completion date;

e. Amount of funds drawn down to date;

f. Remaining available funds, federal and, if applicable, non-federal;

g. Budget outlining how remaining federal and, if applicable, non-federal funds will be expended;

h. Plan for completion, including milestones and timeframes for achieving each milestone, and the position or person responsible for implementing the plan for completion;

i. Certification that the activity(ies) will be completed within the extended POP or budget period, respectively, depending on the extension request type, without any modification to the original statement of work, as described in the [investment justification, application, or other relevant document] and as approved by FEMA; and

j. Whether the recipient is requesting to carry forward unobligated balances to a future budget period.

Extension requests will be considered only for the following reasons:

• Contractual commitments by the grant recipient with vendors or subrecipients prevent completion of the project, including delivery of equipment or services, within the existing POP or budget period.

• For this budget period, there are no new projects allowed to be initiated or modifications to existing projects.

• Other special or extenuating circumstances exist.

Recipients should submit all proposed extension requests to FEMA CSEPP Regional Program Manager for review and approval from FEMA Headquarters Program Office at least 90 days prior to the end of the POP or budget period to allow sufficient processing time. Extensions are typically granted for no more than a six-month period. A recipient may not obligate CSEP Program funds after the expiration of the specified budget period and after the overall period of performance unless the FEMA Regional Assistance Officer extends that period. A recipient must have submitted all required financial status reports and performance reports before the FEMA Regional Assistance Officer will process a request for an extension.

The FEMA Regional Assistance Officer and the FEMA CSEP Program Regional Program Manager will analyze the recipient’s justification to determine whether to extend the performance period. If the FEMA Regional Office is still reviewing the request at the end of the performance period or budget period and has made no determination, the recipient should undertake no further activity until the FEMA Regional Assistance Officer provides written notification.

The recipient/subrecipients may continue to liquidate obligated funds. The FEMA Regional Office will initiate closeout of the Cooperative Agreement once it is determined that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the federal award have been completed by the non-federal entity. The recipient does not have to wait until the end of the 60-month POP.

The FEMA Regional Assistance Officer, in coordination with the FEMA CSEP Program Regional Program Manager, can make one extension of the initial performance period or budget period of a Cooperative Agreement. Subsequent extensions must receive the concurrence of the FEMA Headquarters Program Office. Extensions require explicit prior approval from the FEMA Headquarters Program Office when:

• The terms and conditions of the federal award prohibit the extension;

• The extension requires additional federal funds; and

• The extension involves any change in the approved objectives or scope of the project.

FEMA may extend performance periods or budget periods even if no funds remain available for obligations to complete Cooperative Agreement management activities.

Program Overview

The CSEP Program has supported communities near the U.S.

Army depots that store our nation’s stockpile of chemical warfare agents and munitions for 35 years. In 1985, as described in 50 U.S.C. § 1521(d)(1), Congress directed the U.S.

Department of Defense (DoD) to dispose of its lethal unitary (pre-mixed) chemical agents and munitions while providing “maximum protection for the environment, the general public, and the personnel who are involved.” FEMA joined the Army in implementing the CSEP Program through a memorandum of understanding originally signed in August 1988.

Under this agreement, the Army provides protection for personnel at its chemical depots (on-post), and FEMA assists state, local, and tribal governments in executing the emergency preparedness and response functions in communities surrounding the Army’s remaining chemical stockpile sites (off-post). The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) is responsible for overseeing CSEP Program execution. FEMA executes the CSEP Program through the National Exercises and Technological Hazards Division as well as FEMA’s regional program offices where chemical installations are located.

Recognizing that preparedness is a shared responsibility, the CSEP Program presents a whole community approach to building a culture of preparedness. The CSEP Program accomplishes this by engaging with government at all levels, communities, individuals, and the private sector, to protect the general public from the unlikely event of a chemical agent accident/incident at one of the Department of the Army’s remaining chemical stockpile sites. The CSEP Program aligns with and supports the 2022–2026 FEMA Strategic Plan through its own 2019–2024 Strategic Plan and twelve CSEP Program benchmarks. The CSEP Program’s goals and benchmarks contribute to the accomplishment of FEMA Strategic Goal 3:

Promote and Sustain a Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation. The CSEP Program also contributes to the National Preparedness Goal by building and sustaining core capabilities within all five mission areas that address risks and vulnerabilities associated with chemical stockpile sites, thereby strengthening community security and resilience.

Cost-Share/Matching Requirements

There are no cost-share or matching requirements.

If no change in nature or extent of scope (i.e., program or award agreement) from previous fiscal year, mark “X” below.

No Change X Current Project Progress The DHS Financial Assistance Performance Measures Definition Template (FAPMDT) must be submitted for each allowable activity with this memorandum.

The CSEP Program FAPMDT was approved in August 2022, and reflects the actions required to achieve program goals and the performance indicators within the 12 CSEP Program benchmark capabilities.

The Program Office (PO) has verified and validated recipient performance reporting for timeliness, accuracy, and completeness.

(Yes or No)

Yes, the program office has verified and validated recipient performance reporting for timeliness, accuracy, and completeness for each funding benchmark and all open cooperative agreements that have been expended or unexpended on a quarterly basis via WebCA.

The Financial Assistance Office (FAO) has verified and validated recipient financial reports for timeliness, accuracy, and completeness. (Yes or No)

Yes, the FAO has verified and validated recipient financial reports for timeliness, accuracy, and completeness for each funding benchmark and all open cooperative agreements that have been expended or unexpended on a quarterly basis via WebCA.

As part of the CFO’s Grants Performance Measures Initiative, POs and FAOs should meet the grants performance measure target for the previous quarter.

Yes, the POs and FAOs have met the grant performance measure target of fully capable for the previous quarter.

Attachment: CSEP Program 97.040 NOFO, 2020 CSEPP Programmatic Changes from FY23 to FY 24