15-05.pdf

OVERVIEW

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: FY16 Guidelines for Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants

ACTION: Request for Proposals

RFP NO: EPA-OSWER-OBLR-15-05

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO.: 66.818

DATES: Proposals must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 18, 2015. Please refer to Section IV.B, Due Date and Submission Instructions, for further instructions.

SUMMARY: The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act

(“Brownfields Law”, P.L. 107-118) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) to publish guidance to assist applicants in preparing proposals for grants to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA’s Brownfields Program provides funds to empower states, communities, tribes, and nonprofits to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites. EPA provides brownfields funding for three types of grants.

1. Brownfields Assessment Grants – provides funds to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning (including cleanup planning) and community involvement related to brownfield sites.

2. Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants – provides funding for a grant recipient to capitalize a revolving fund and to make loans and provide subgrants to conduct cleanup activities at brownfield sites.

3. Brownfields Cleanup Grants – provides funds to conduct cleanup activities at a specific brownfield site owned by the applicant.

Under these guidelines, EPA is seeking proposals for Revolving Loan Fund

Grants only. If you are interested in requesting funding for Assessment and/or

Cleanup Grants, please refer to announcement EPA-OSWER-OBLR-15-04

(Assessment Grant guidelines) or EPA-OSWER-OBLR-15-06 (Cleanup Grant guidelines) posted separately on www.grants.gov and www2.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding.

For the purposes of these guidelines, the term "grant" refers to the cooperative agreement that EPA will award to a successful applicant. Please refer to Section

II.C for a description of EPA's anticipated substantial involvement in the financial assistance agreements awarded under these guidelines.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www2.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding

EPA urges applicants to review the Frequently Asked Questions which can be found at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf.

In addition, prior to naming a contractor or subawardee in your proposal please carefully review Section IV.F of these guidelines.

FUNDING/AWARDS: The total funding available under the national competitions for assessment, cleanup, and RLF grants is estimated at $54.5 million subject to the availability of funds and other applicable considerations. EPA may expend up to 25 percent of the amount appropriated for brownfields grants on sites contaminated with petroleum. EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 223 grants among all three grant types. Under this announcement, EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 12 RLF grants for an estimated $8.5 million.

CONTENTS BY SECTION

SECTION I - FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

I.A Description of Grant I.B Uses of Grant Funds I.C EPA Strategic Plan Linkage

I.D Livability Principles I.E Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

SECTION II - AWARD INFORMATION

II.A What is the Amount of Available Funding?

II.B What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

II.C Substantial Involvement

SECTION III - APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A Who Can Apply?

III.B Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants

1. Applicant Eligibility

2. Description of Jurisdiction

3. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority

4. Oversight Structure and Legal Authority to Manage a Revolving Loan Fund

5. Statutory Cost Share (See also Section IV.E on Leveraging)

SECTION IV - PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A How to Obtain a Proposal Package IV.B Due Date and Submission Instructions

IV.C Content and Form of Proposal Submission

IV.D Intergovernmental Review

IV.E Voluntary Cost Share/Leveraging IV.F Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

SECTION V - PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A Review and Selection Process V.B Ranking Criteria for Revolving Loan Fund Grants

1. Community Need [15 points]

2. RLF Program Description and Feasibility of Success [30 points] http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf

3. Community Engagement and Partnerships [20 Points]

4. Program Benefits [15 points]

5. Programmatic Capability and Past Performance [20 points]

V.C Other Factors

V.D Proposal Checklist for RLF Grants

SECTION VI - AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VI.A Award Notices VI.B Administrative and National Policy Requirements VI.C Reporting Requirements

VI.D Brownfields Programmatic Requirements VI.E Use of Funds VI.F Disputes VI.G Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

SECTION VII – AGENCY CONTACTS - – Regional Brownfields Contacts Appendix 1 Information on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding Under CERCLA §104(k) .. 41

Appendix 2 Grants.gov Proposal Submission Instructions Appendix 3 RLF Other Factors Checklist

SECTION I - FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or the

Superfund law) was amended by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields

Revitalization Act (Brownfields Law) to include section 104(k), which provides federal financial assistance for brownfields revitalization, including grants for assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan funds.

A brownfield site is defined as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, controlled substances, petroleum or petroleum products, or is mine-scarred land.

As described in Section V of this announcement, proposals will be evaluated based, among other factors, on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: economic and environmental needs of the targeted communities; a vision for the reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites and the capability to achieve that vision; reasonable and eligible tasks; partnerships and leveraged resources to complete the project; incorporation of livability and sustainability principles; and economic, environmental, health, and social benefits associated with the reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites.

A critical part of EPA’s assessment and cleanup efforts is to ensure that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination have an opportunity to reap the benefits from brownfields redevelopment. EPA’s Brownfields Program has a rich history rooted in environmental justice and is committed to helping communities revitalize brownfield properties, mitigate potential health risks, and restore economic vitality.

I.A Description of Grant

RLF grants provide funding for a grant recipient to capitalize a revolving loan fund from which to provide loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites contaminated with petroleum and/or hazardous substances. Eligible RLF applicants may apply as individual entities or as RLF coalitions (comprised of two or more entities), and apply for up to $1,000,000.

Sites where hazardous substances and petroleum contamination are distinguishable must meet eligibility requirements for both types of funding. If the petroleum and hazardous substances are not easily distinguishable, the site must meet eligibility requirements for the predominant contaminant. Sites eligible for hazardous substance funding are those properties with the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants and sites that are contaminated with controlled substances or that are mine-scarred lands.

The proposal must indicate the dollar amount of funding requested for each type of contamination. The performance period is five years for RLF grants. For a list of certain grant and programmatic requirements refer to Section VI. For more information on brownfield sites eligible for cleanup under RLF grants please refer to Appendix 1.

Revolving loan funds generally are used to provide no-interest or low-interest loans for eligible brownfields cleanups and other eligible programmatic costs necessary to manage the RLF. An

RLF grant recipient must use 50% or more of the awarded funds for loans. RLF grantees may not subgrant to themselves. However, the RLF grant recipient may subgrant to other coalition members. Subgrants are limited to $200,000 per site; however, after award, the recipient may request that EPA waive the $200,000 limit on a case-by-case basis if such a waiver would facilitate effective cleanup and sustainable reuse of the site or further other goals specified in the terms of the RLF agreement or CERCLA 104(k). Entities receiving RLF subgrants must own the site which is the subject of the subgrant. An RLF grant recipient cannot make a loan or subgrant to a party potentially liable for the contamination at the brownfield site under CERCLA

§107, nor may the RLF grant recipient make a loan or subgrant to clean up a site that it is potentially liable for under CERCLA §107.

RLF Coalition Grants

RLF proposals may be submitted by one “lead” eligible entity on behalf of a coalition of eligible entities to create a “pool” of grant funds. (See Section III.A for a list of entities eligible to apply for an RLF grant). A coalition is a group of two or more eligible entities that submits one grant proposal under the name of one of the coalition participants who will be the grant recipient, if selected. Coalition members may not have the same jurisdiction (for example, different departments in the same county) unless they are separate legal entities (for example, a city and a redevelopment agency). The grant recipient must administer the grant, be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds, and be the point of contact for the other coalition members.

Coalition members may not be members of other RLF coalitions or apply for their own

RLF funding in the same grant competition cycle. A coalition member wishing to apply as a separate applicant must withdraw from the coalition to be eligible for individual RLF funds. RLF coalitions may submit only one proposal with requested grant funding of up to $1,000,000.

Please note that once the “lead” eligible entity submits the proposal it becomes the applicant and the coalition members may not substitute another eligible entity as the lead eligible entity after the deadline for submitting proposals has passed.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) documenting the roles, relationships and responsibilities necessary to achieve the program’s goal must be in place prior to the expenditure of funds awarded. The purpose of the MOA is for coalition members to agree internally about the distribution of funds and the mechanisms for implementing the assessment work. MOAs do not need to be included as part of your proposal.

Cost Share Requirement

The Brownfields Law requires applicants to provide a 20 percent cost share for RLF grants. For example, a $1,000,000 RLF grant will require a $200,000 cost share. The cost share, which may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services, must be for eligible and allowable costs under the grant and cannot include administrative costs, as described in the

Brownfields Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf. Applicants may request a waiver of the 20 percent cost share requirement based on hardship. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case basis and will approve such requests on a limited basis. Refer to threshold criterion Section III.B.5. for additional information.

For more information on a range of brownfields topics, please refer to the Brownfields FAQs at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf. If you do not have access to the Internet, you can contact your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section

VII.

I.B Uses of Grant Funds

In addition to direct costs associated with the cleanup of a brownfield site, grant funds also may be used for the following activities:

1. Grant funds may be used for direct costs associated with programmatic management of the grant, such as required performance reporting, environmental monitoring of cleanup work, and funds management.

All costs charged to RLF grants must be consistent with the applicable OMB Cost Circular 2

CFR 200 Subpart E.

2. A local government (as defined in 2 CFR 200.64, Local Government) may use up to 10 percent of its grant funds for any of the following activities:

a. health monitoring of populations exposed to hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from a brownfield site;

b. monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human exposure to any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant from a brownfield site; and

c. other related program development and implementation activities (e.g., writing local brownfields-related ordinances) to effectively oversee assessments and cleanups described in an EPA-approved work plan.

The term local government does not include state or tribal governments but may include, among others, public housing authorities, school districts, and councils of governments.

3. A portion of the brownfields grant or loan may be used to purchase environmental insurance.

See the Brownfields FAQs at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf for additional information on purchasing environmental insurance.

Grant funds cannot be used for the following activities:

1. administrative costs, such as indirect costs, of grant administration with the exception of financial and performance reporting costs; and

2. proposal preparation costs.

See the Brownfields FAQs at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf for additional information on ineligible grant activities and ineligible costs.

I.C EPA Strategic Plan Linkage

EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan defines goals, objectives and sub-objectives for protecting human health and the environment. Brownfields assessment grants will support progress toward

Goal 3 (Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development), Objective 3.1

(Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities). Specifically, these grants will help sustain, clean up and restore communities and the ecological systems that support them by providing funds to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA will negotiate work plans with recipients to collect information about the hazardous substances, pollutants and petroleum contaminants addressed and the amount of land made safe for communities’ economic and ecological use.

(View EPA’s Strategic Plan on the Internet at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan and view EPA’s Order 5700.7A1 at www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf.)

I.D Livability Principles

Under the Program Benefits ranking criterion in Section V, applicants will be evaluated on how their proposed Brownfield RLF program will advance the livability principles discussed below.

In addition, the proposal will be evaluated on the extent to which it will lead to sustainable and equitable development outcomes as discussed below.

Link to the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities

EPA’s Brownfields RLF Program is being carried out consistent with the principles for the

Partnership for Sustainable Communities (PSC) established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and EPA. The PSC was conceived to advance development patterns and infrastructure investment programs that achieve improved economic prosperity, and healthy, environmentally sustainable, and opportunity-rich communities for all Americans, regardless of race or income. Recognizing the fundamental role that public investment plays in achieving these outcomes, the Administration charged three federal agencies whose programs impact the physical form of communities - HUD, DOT, and EPA - to coordinate and incorporate the Livability Principles into their policies and funding programs to the maximum degree possible. The Livability Principles can be found at www.sustainablecommunities.gov and include: (1) provide more transportation choices; (2) promote equitable, affordable housing; (3) increase economic competitiveness; (4) support existing communities; (5) leverage federal investment; and (6) value communities and neighborhoods.

Linking BF RLF Approaches to Sustainable and Equitable Development Outcomes

Applicants should incorporate sustainable and equitable reuse approaches into their proposed

Brownfield RLF program. Sustainable and equitable approaches can ensure brownfields are reused in ways that:

contribute to greener and healthier homes, buildings, and neighborhoods;

http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/ mitigate environmental conditions through effective deconstruction and remediation strategies which address solid and hazardous waste, and improve air and water quality;

improve access by residents to greenspace, recreational property, transit, schools, other nonprofit uses (e.g., libraries, health clinics, youth centers, etc.), and healthy and affordable food;

improve employment and affordable housing opportunities for local residents;

reduce toxicity, illegal dumping, and blighted vacant parcels; and retain residents who have historically lived within the area affected by brownfields.

Sustainable development practices facilitate environmentally-sensitive brownfields cleanup and redevelopment while also helping to make communities more attractive, economically stronger, and more socially diverse. While ensuring consistency with community-identified priorities, sustainable development approaches encourage brownfield site reuse in ways that provide new jobs, commercial opportunities, open space amenities, and/or social services to an existing neighborhood. Brownfields site preparation strategies that prevent contaminant exposure through green building design, materials recycling, enable urban agricultural reuse, promote walkability to/around the site and contribute to community walkability, and on-site stormwater management through green infrastructure, among other approaches, can contribute to sustainable development outcomes.

Equitable development outcomes come about when intentional strategies are put in place to ensure that low-income and minority communities not only participate in, but benefit from, decisions that shape their neighborhoods and regions. There are many different approaches that promote equitable development, such as ensuring a mix of housing types across a range of incomes; access to fresh food; access to jobs; and access to local capital. Programs or policies can be put in place to help ensure creation or integration of affordable housing; local or first-source hiring; minority contracting; inclusionary zoning (where a percentage of new housing is designated as affordable housing); healthy food retailers in places where they do not exist (e.g.

food deserts); co-operative ownership models where local residents come together to run a community-owned, jointly owned business enterprise; rent control or community land trusts (to help keep property affordable for residents); supportive local entrepreneurial activities; and adherence to equal lending opportunities.

EPA encourages applicants to provide specific examples of how the proposed Brownfield

Revolving Loan Fund program will work to remove economic, environmental and social barriers to make sustainable and equitable brownfields reuse of the highest priority.

I.E Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

Pursuant to EPA Order 5700.7, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,”

EPA requires that all grant applicants and recipients adequately address environmental outputs and outcomes.

EPA must report on the success of its Brownfields Program through measurable outputs and outcomes, such as the number of sites assessed, number of jobs created and amount of funding leveraged. Applicants are required to describe how funding will help EPA achieve environmental outputs and outcomes in their responses to the ranking criteria (Section V.B.2., Program

Description and Feasibility of Success). Outputs specific to each project will be identified as deliverables in the negotiated work plan if the proposal is selected for award. Grantees will be expected to report progress toward the attainment of expected project outputs and outcomes during the project performance period. Outputs and Outcomes are defined as follows:

1. Outputs: The term “outputs” refers to an environmental activity, effort and/or associated work products related to an environmental goal or objective that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during the project period. The expected outputs for the grants awarded under these guidelines are the cleanup of brownfield sites and may include but are not limited to the number of brownfield sites cleaned up and/or the number of loans or subgrants awarded.

2. Outcomes: The term “outcomes” refers to the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out the activities under the grant. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic; must be qualitative or quantitative; and may not necessarily be achievable during the project period. Expected outcomes of brownfields grants include the number of jobs leveraged and other funding leveraged through the economic reuse of sites;

the number of acres made ready for reuse or acres of greenspace created for communities;

and whether the project will minimize exposure to hazardous substances and other contamination.

SECTION II - AWARD INFORMATION

II.A What is the Amount of Available Funding?

The total estimated funding available under the national competition for assessment, cleanup, RLF grants is estimated at $54.5 million subject to the availability of funds and other applicable considerations. A separate announcement is posted for the assessment and cleanup grant competitions. EPA may expend up to 25 percent of the amount appropriated for brownfields grants on sites contaminated with petroleum. EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 223 grants among the three grant types. Under this announcement, EPA anticipates awarding an estimated

12 RLF grants for a total amount of approximately $8.5 million in funding. In addition, EPA reserves the right to award additional grants under this competition should additional funding become available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selection decision. EPA reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no awards under this announcement or make fewer awards than anticipated.

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund proposals by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. To maintain the integrity of the competition and selection process, EPA, if it decides to partially fund a proposal, will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award.

II.B What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

The project period for RLF grants is up to five years.

II.C Substantial Involvement

The brownfield RLF grant will be awarded in the form of a cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements permit the EPA Project Officer to be substantially involved in overseeing the work performed by the selected recipients. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial federal involvement for this project may include:

close monitoring of the recipient’s performance to verify the results;

collaborating during performance of the scope of work;

reviewing substantive terms of proposed contracts;

reviewing qualifications of key personnel (EPA will not select employees or contractors employed by the award recipient);

reviewing and commenting on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient);

reviewing sites to verify they meet applicable site eligibility criteria; and negotiating a RLF closeout agreement.

SECTION III - APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A Who Can Apply?

The following information indicates which entities are eligible to apply for an RLF grant.

Nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply for an RLF grant.

General Purpose Unit of Local Government. (For purposes of the brownfields grant program, EPA defines general purpose unit of local government as a “local government” as defined under 2 CFR 200.64.)

Land Clearance Authority or other quasi-governmental entity that operates under the supervision and control of, or as an agent of, a general purpose unit of local government.

Government Entity Created by State Legislature.

Regional Council or group of General Purpose Units of Local Government.

Redevelopment Agency that is chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a state.

State.

Indian Tribe other than in Alaska. (The exclusion of Alaskan tribes from brownfields grant eligibility is statutory at CERCLA §104(k)(1). Intertribal Consortia, comprised of eligible

Indian Tribes, are eligible for funding in accordance with EPA’s policy for funding intertribal consortia published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2002, at 67 Fed. Reg. 67181.

This policy also may be obtained from your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section

VII.)

Alaska Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native Village Corporation, and Metlakatla

Indian Community (Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village

Corporations are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following). For more information, please refer to Brownfields FAQs at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf.)

III.B Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants

This section contains the threshold eligibility criteria that ensure applicants are eligible to receive

RLF grants. Threshold criteria are pass/fail and include certain requests for information identified below. The information you submit will be used by EPA solely to make site eligibility determinations for Brownfields grants and is not legally binding for other purposes including federal, state, or tribal enforcement actions. Only those proposals that pass all the threshold criteria will be evaluated against the ranking criteria in Section V.B of this announcement.

Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination. Applicants must respond to the items listed below to ensure that they are eligible for funding.

Your responses to these items are required and must be included as an attachment to the

Narrative Proposal you submit to EPA. See Section IV.C for a complete list of required proposal content.

For purposes of the threshold eligibility review, EPA, if necessary, may seek clarification of applicant information and/or consider information from other sources, including EPA files.

Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or they will be rejected. Pages in excess of the page limits described in Section IV for the Transmittal Letter and Narrative Proposal, and attachments not specifically required, will not be reviewed.

In addition, initial proposals must be submitted through www.grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Appendix 2) on or before the proposal submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement to ensure that their proposal is timely submitted.

Proposals submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to

EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with www.grants.gov or relevant www.SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their proposal through www.grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in www.SAM.gov or www.grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission.

Applicants should confirm receipt of their proposal with Jerry Minor-Gordon at 202-566-1817 or minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov as soon as possible after the submission deadline—failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov

1. Applicant Eligibility

Applicants must demonstrate they are an eligible entity for an RLF grant. Refer to the description of applicant eligibility in Section III.A, Who Can Apply? For entities other than cities, counties, tribes, or states, please attach documentation of your eligibility (e.g., resolutions, statutes, etc.).

Coalitions applying for RLF grants must document how all coalition members are eligible entities. All coalition members must submit a letter to the grant applicant (lead coalition member) in which they agree to be part of the coalition. Attach these letters to your proposal.

2. Description of Jurisdiction

EPA will only award RLF grants on a community-wide and jurisdiction-wide basis. This allows for the use of grant funds throughout the jurisdiction, as defined by the applicant in its proposal. This does not preclude applicants from targeting specific communities or areas within the jurisdiction in their marketing, outreach, and cleanup activities. Applicants must provide a description of the boundaries of their jurisdiction (e.g., the city limits of The City of ABC).

3. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority

For an applicant other than a state or tribal environmental authority, attach a current letter from the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority acknowledging that the applicant plans to establish a revolving loan fund and conduct cleanup activities and is planning to apply for federal grant funds. Failure to submit this letter will result in the rejection of the proposal for further consideration. Letters regarding proposals from prior years are not acceptable. If you are applying for multiple types of grant program activities, you need to receive only one letter acknowledging the relevant grant activities. However, you must provide a copy of this letter as an attachment to each proposal. Please note that general correspondence and documents evidencing state involvement with the project (i.e., state enforcement orders or state notice letters) are not acceptable. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide advance notice to the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority to allow adequate time for you to obtain the acknowledgement letter and attach it to your proposal.

4. Oversight Structure and Legal Authority to Manage a Revolving Loan Fund

Please note that you will be required to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and ensure that the cleanup protects human health and the environment.

a. Describe how you will oversee cleanup at sites. Indicate whether you plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program. If you do not plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program, or an appropriate state or tribal response program is not available, you will be required to consult with U.S. EPA to ensure cleanups are protective of human health and the environment. Therefore, if you do not plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program, provide a description of the technical expertise you have to conduct, manage, and oversee the cleanup and/or whether you plan to acquire additional technical expertise. If you do plan to acquire additional technical expertise, discuss how, consistent with the competitive procurement provisions of the procurement standards of 2 CFR 200.317 through 200.326, you will ensure that this technical expertise is in place prior to beginning cleanup activities.

b. Provide a legal opinion from your counsel that demonstrates:

(1) you have legal authority to access and secure sites in the event of an emergency or default of a loan agreement or non-performance under a subgrant; and

(2) you have legal authority to perform the actions necessary to manage a revolving loan fund. At a minimum, legal authority must include the ability to hold funds, make loans, enter into loan agreements, and collect repayments.

This opinion must cite the relevant state law(s) or local ordinance(s) that allow you access to sites and the authority to manage an RLF. Attach your counsel’s legal opinion.

Note: For coalitions, the lead applicant must have the broader jurisdiction, authority, and/or program capacity to ensure adequate program performance of coalition members, borrowers, and/or subgrantees, if warranted.

5. Statutory Cost Share (See also Section IV.E on Leveraging)

RLF grant recipients are required by the Brownfields Law to provide a 20 percent cost share.1 This cost share is calculated as 20 percent of the total federal RLF funds awarded. For example, if you are applying for $700,000 of federal RLF funds, you must provide a cost share of an additional $140,000. The cost share may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services from a non-federal source. If the cost share is in the form of a contribution of labor, material, or other services, it must be incurred for an eligible and allowable expense under the grant and not for ineligible expenses, such as administrative costs (see Brownfields FAQs at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

10/documents/fy16_faqs.pdf for a discussion of prohibited costs).

RLF grant applicants may petition EPA to waive the cost share requirement if it would place an undue hardship on the applicant. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case basis and will approve such requests on an extremely limited basis. In considering such requests, EPA will look for indicators such as low per-capita income, unemployment rate significantly above the national average, or unemployment or economic adjustment problems resulting from severe short-term or long-term changes in economic conditions.

1 Applicants for an RLF grant may use fees from borrowers, interest on loans, and other “program income” to meet the cost share requirement. However, if an RLF grant applicant plans to use anticipated program income for cost share, the applicant also must demonstrate how alternative sources for obtaining money, labor, material, or services can be used to meet its cost share requirement if program income is less than anticipated during the performance period of the grant. Recipients of RLF grants may not use repayments of loan principal to meet the cost share requirement.

In your proposal:

i) Demonstrate how you will meet the required cost share, including the sources of the funding or services, as required for this RLF grant.

ii) If you are requesting a hardship waiver of the cost share, provide an explanation for the basis of your request as part of your proposal. This explanation must be submitted on a separate page, titled “Hardship Waiver Request.” Your explanation should include the following information: the unemployment rate; per capita income; data demonstrating substantial out-migration or population loss, if relevant; data demonstrating underemployment, that is, employment of workers at less than full-time or at less skilled tasks than their training or abilities permit, if relevant;

information regarding military base closures or realignments, defense contractor reductions-in-force, or U.S. Department of Energy defense-related funding reductions, if relevant; local natural or other major disasters or emergencies, if relevant; information regarding extraordinary depletion of natural resources, if relevant; closure or restructuring of industrial firms and negative effects of changing trade patterns, if relevant; whether you are located in a President-Declared Disaster area (declared within 18 months of the submission date for your proposal); whether you have exhausted effective taxing (for governmental entities only) and borrowing capacity. Also, your explanation should include whether the proposed program/candidate project could still proceed if the cost share waiver was not approved.

Where available, applicants must supply data derived from the most recent American

Community Survey (ACS) published by the U.S. Census Bureau. In cases where such data are not available, applicants may provide data from other sources (including data available from the Census Bureau and the Bureaus of Economic Analysis, Labor

Statistics, Indian Affairs, or other federal sources). In cases where no federal data are available, applicants may submit the most recent data available through their state, tribal, or local government.

Successful applicants will be notified at the time of the grant announcement if their cost share waiver request was approved. Approval of a cost share waiver does not increase the amount of funding which will be provided by EPA in the grant award. Rather, approval of the cost share waiver, will relieve the applicant of the responsibility for providing the cost share amount for the grant award.

SECTION IV - PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A How to Obtain a Proposal Package

Electronic copies of these guidelines can be obtained from the EPA Brownfields Program website (www2.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding) or through www.grants.gov. Hard copies may be requested by contacting your Regional Brownfields

Contact listed in Section VII.

http://www2.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding

In order to maintain the integrity of the competition process, EPA staff cannot meet with individual applicants to discuss draft proposals, provide informal comments on draft proposals, or provide advice to applicants on how to respond to ranking criteria. EPA's limitations on staff involvement with grant applicants are described in EPA’s Assistance Agreement Competition

Policy (EPA Order 5700.5A1). However, EPA staff will respond to questions regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the proposal, and requests for clarification about this announcement.

IV.B Due Date and Submission Instructions

Proposals are due December 18, 2015.

One complete proposal package must be electronically submitted through www.grants.gov. This will be the official proposal submission. A second complete courtesy copy of the proposal should be emailed to the appropriate EPA Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section VII.

Proposals must be received by www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 18, 2015. Proposals received after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 18, 2015, will not be considered for funding. Refer to Appendix 2 for specific instructions on the use of www.grants.gov.

Note: There is a registration process to complete for electronic submission via www.grants.gov.

The registration process may take a week or more to complete. Occasionally, technical and other issues arise when using www.grants.gov. EPA encourages applicants to submit their proposals early.

If an applicant does not have the technical capability to apply electronically through www.grants.gov because of limited or no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials to www.grants.gov, please refer to the procedures in

Appendix 2.

In the event that an applicant experiences difficulties transmitting their proposal(s) through www.grants.gov, please refer to the procedures in Appendix 2.

Applications will be time and date stamped electronically. If you have not received a confirmation of receipt from EPA within 30 days of the proposal deadline, please contact Jerry

Minor-Gordon at 202-566-1817 or minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov. Failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

IV.C Content and Form of Proposal Submission

Refer to Section I.A for information on the types of RLF grants and amount of funding that may be requested.

Pages exceeding stated page limits will not be copied or evaluated. The page limits indicated for the Transmittal Letter and Narrative Proposal do not include the required attachments described http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov in item 3 in the Proposal Content below. There is no page limit for the attachments. Only required attachments are allowed – no other attachments will be considered.

All proposal materials must be in English. The Transmittal Letter, Narrative Proposal, and attachments must be typed, on letter-sized (8.5 x 11-inch) paper, and should use standard 12-point font and 1-inch margins. While these guidelines establish the minimum type size requirements, applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete proposal, as described below, by the due date.

Proposal Content: Refer to the sections indicated below for detailed instructions on what to include in your proposal. (See Appendix 2 for www.grants.gov instructions.)

1. Transmittal Letter (2 single-spaced page limit; attach Other Factors Checklist – not subject to page limit) – See No. 1 below.

2. The Narrative Proposal (i.e., responses to all ranking criteria in Section V.B; 15 single-spaced page limit) – See No 2 below.

3. Attachments (Only the listed attachments will be accepted - all others will be removed from the proposal prior to review. There is no page limit for attachments.) – See No. 3 below.

1. Transmittal Letter

The transmittal letter shall identify the applicant and a contact for communication with EPA.

The transmittal letter, including the applicant identification information, shall not exceed two single spaced pages. Any pages submitted over the page limit will not be considered. The transmittal letter must be written on the applicant’s official letterhead, and signed by an official with the authority to commit your organization to the proposed project. Applicants are to submit separate transmittal letters for each proposal they submit. EPA does not consider information in transmittal letters to be responses to the ranking criteria. Each transmittal letter must also include the following.

a. Applicant Identification Provide the name and full address of the entity applying for funds. This is the agency or organization that will be receiving the grant and will be accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.

b. Applicant DUNS number [Refer to Section VI.G for more information if you do not have a DUNS number.]

c. Funding Requested

i) Grant type Indicate “RLF”.

ii) Federal Funds Requested $______ and whether you are requesting a cost-share waiver (refer to funding limitations for RLF grants).

iii) Contamination Indicate “Hazardous Substances”, “Petroleum”, or both.

Note: If both, provide a breakdown of the amount of funding you are requesting by contaminant type (e.g., for an overall grant request of $700,000, the breakdown might be $600,000 hazardous substances and $100,000 petroleum).

d. Location City, county, and state or reservation, tribally owned lands, tribal fee lands, etc., of the brownfields community(ies) that you propose to serve. For RLF grant coalitions, list all jurisdictions covered under the proposal.

e. Contacts

i) Project Director Provide name, phone/fax numbers, e-mail address, and mailing address of the Project Director assigned to this proposed project. This person should be the main point of contact for the project, and should be the person responsible for the project’s day-to-day operations. The Project Director may be contacted if other information is needed.

ii) Chief Executive/Highest Ranking Elected Official Provide the name, phone/fax numbers, e-mail address, and mailing address of the applicant’s Chief Executive or highest ranking elected official. For example, if your organization is a municipal form of government, provide this information for the Mayor or County Commissioner.

Otherwise, provide this information for your organization’s Executive Director or

President. These individuals may be contacted if other information is needed.

f. Date Submitted The date your proposal is submitted electronically through www.grants.gov.

g. Project Period The project period must not exceed five years for RLF grants.

h. Population

i) Provide the general population of your jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of any coalition partners, if applicable.

ii) If you are not a municipal form of government, provide both the population of the target area and the jurisdiction to be addressed by this proposal. Tribes must provide the number of tribal/non-tribal members affected. Your jurisdiction’s population can be found at http://www.census.gov.

i. Other Factors Checklist Attach the “Other Factors” Checklist in Appendix 3 to the transmittal letter identifying which, if any, of the items are applicable to your proposal.

The “Other Factors” Checklist does not count towards the two-page limit for this section.

2. The Narrative Proposal

The narrative proposal must include responses to all ranking criteria (see Section V.B). The narrative proposal (including citations) shall not exceed 15 single-spaced pages. Any pages submitted over the page limit will not be evaluated. The narrative proposal must be clear, concise, and specifically address all of the applicable ranking criteria. Responses to the criteria must include the criteria number and title but need not restate the entire text of the criteria. Proposals must provide sufficient detail to allow for an evaluation of the merits of the proposal. Factual information about your proposed project and community must be provided. Do not include discussions of broad principles that are not specific to the proposed work or project covered by your proposal.

http://www.census.gov/

3. Attachments

a. Threshold eligibility documentation including cost share documentation (see Section

III.B).

b. Letter from the state or tribal environmental authority (see Section III.B.3.).

c. Documentation of applicant eligibility if other than city, county, state, or tribe (see

Section III.B.1.).

d. Legal opinion establishing that the applicant has authority to (1) access and secure sites in the event of an emergency or default of a loan agreement or non-performance under a subgrant; and (2) to make loans and accept payments of fees, interest, and principal

(see Section III.B.4.).

e. Letters of commitment from all community organizations identified in the Community

Engagement and Partnerships ranking criterion (see Section V.B.3.). You must attach commitment letters to your proposal. Letters not attached or sent separately will not be considered.

f. Documentation indicating leveraged funds are committed to the program (see Section

V.B.2.c.).

g. Justification for RLF cost share waiver, if applicable (see Section III.B.5.).

h. RLF coalition member letter(s), if applicable (see Section III.B.1.).

IV.D Intergovernmental Review

The State Intergovernmental Review process will be needed if you are selected to receive a grant. As appropriate for your state, applicants are encouraged to contact their State

Intergovernmental Review Office early to start the required intergovernmental review process.

This effort is separate from the threshold criteria related to a state environmental letter attachment (see Section III.B.3). Contact your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section

VII for assistance.

IV.E Voluntary Cost Share/Leveraging

Leveraging is generally when an applicant proposes to provide its own additional funds/resources or those from third party sources to support or complement the project they are awarded under the competition which are above and beyond the EPA grant funds awarded. Any leveraged funds/resources, and their source, must be identified in the proposal. Leveraged funds and resources may take various forms as noted below.

Voluntary cost share is a form of leveraging. Voluntary cost sharing is when an applicant voluntarily proposes to legally commit to provide costs or contributions to support the project when a cost share is not required or when it is beyond the required cost share requirements.

Applicants who propose to use a voluntary cost share must include the costs or contributions for the voluntary cost share in the project budget on the Standard Form 424.

A voluntary cost share is subject to the match provisions in the grant regulations (2 CFR Section

200.306). A voluntary cost share may only be met with eligible and…