17-08.pdf

OVERVIEW

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: FY18 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELDS REVOLVING LOAN FUND

GRANTS

ACTION: Request for Proposals (RFP)

RFP NO: EPA-OLEM-OBLR-17-08

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

DATES: The closing date and time for receipt of proposals is November 16, 2017, 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time (ET). Proposals must be submitted through www.grants.gov. Proposals received after 11:59 ET on November 16, 2017 will not be considered. 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 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.

Under these guidelines, EPA is seeking proposals for Revolving Loan Fund Grants only. If you are interested in requesting funding for Assessment Grants and/or Cleanup Grants, please refer to announcement EPA-OLEM-OBLR-17-07 (Assessment Grant Guidelines) or EPA-

OLEM-OBLR-17-09 (Cleanup Grant Guidelines) posted separately on www.grants.gov and www.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 cooperative agreements awarded under these guidelines.

EPA urges applicants to review the Frequently Asked Questions, which can be found at www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/fy18-arc-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, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants is estimated at $50 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 198 grants among all three grant types. Under this competitive https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/fy18-arc-faqs.pdf opportunity, EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 15 Revolving Loan Fund Grants for an estimated $9 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. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes I.E. Linking to Sustainable and Equitable Development Outcomes, and Supporting

Environmental Justice

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. - ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION and THRESHOLD CRITERIA

III.A. Who Can Apply?

III.B. Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants

1. Applicant Eligibility

2. Description of Jurisdiction

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

4. 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

1. Standard Form (SF) - 424, Application for Federal Assistance

2. Cover Letter

3. The Narrative Proposal/Ranking Criteria

1. COMMUNITY NEED

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND FEASIBILITY OF SUCCESS

3. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS

4. PROGRAM BENEFITS

5. PROGRAMMATIC CAPABILITY AND PAST PERFORMANCE

4. Threshold Criteria Responses IV.D. Voluntary Cost Share/Leveraging

IV.E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

SECTION V. - PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A. Evaluation Criteria

1. COMMUNITY NEED (17 Points)

2. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND FEASIBILITY OF SUCCESS (30 Points)

3. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS (20 Points)

4. PROJECT BENEFITS (13 Points)

5. PROGRAMMATIC CAPABILITY AND PAST PERFORMANCE (20 Points)

V.B. Considerations and Other Factors

V.C. Review and Selection Process

V.D. Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

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) .. 48 Appendix 2 www.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.

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.

As described in Section V. of this announcement, proposals will be evaluated based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: economic and environmental needs of the target area; a vision for the reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites and the capability to achieve that vision; reasonable and eligible tasks; appropriate use of grant funding; incorporation of equitable and sustainable approaches; community engagement, partnerships and leveraged resources to complete the project; economic, environmental, health, and social benefits associated with the reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites; and other factors.

I.A. Description of Grant

Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants provide funding to a grant recipient to capitalize an RLF program. RLF programs provide loans and subgrants to eligible entities to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites contaminated with hazardous substances and/or petroleum.

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. Entities receiving RLF subgrants must own the site that is the subject of the subgrant. An RLF grant recipient cannot make a loan or a 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.

Some features of the RLF Grants are:

RLF programs are designed to operate for many years (possibly decades) and as such, they require long-term resource commitments by the RLF Grant recipients and reporting to the EPA, even after the RLF Grant is closed.

Recipients need to have a strong understanding of real estate financing principles and approaches, including loan underwriting, loan servicing and credit analysis.

Recipients need to have the ability to market the RLF program on an on-going basis during the performance period of the grant, and after the close out of the RLF Grant.

Recipients commit to properly manage the program income generated by their RLF program in perpetuity, unless they terminate the agreement and return the program income to EPA.

o Majority of program income is generated from the repayments of loans issued by the RLF program.

o Loan repayment terms can be short- or long-term, i.e., few years to decades;

hence, the program income can be generated over several years.

o Program income must be used in accordance with the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement. EPA prefers that the program income be used for future loans.

o Program income must be maintained in an interest-bearing account.

o Recipients must manage program income after closeout of the grant, including required Annual Reporting after closeout for the first five years, and every five years thereafter until the agreement is terminated. The termination of the cooperative agreement occurs when there is no remaining program income or the recipient elects to close the RLF program and return the remaining amount to

EPA. Once the cooperative agreement is terminated, recipients must retain the program records for an additional three years.

Sites where hazardous substances and petroleum contamination are distinguishable must meet eligibility requirements for both types of funding. If the hazardous substances and petroleum 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, or contaminants; sites that are contaminated with controlled substances; or sites that are mine-scarred lands. The proposal must indicate the dollar amount of funding requested for each type of contamination.

Eligible RLF applicants may apply as individual entities or as RLF Coalitions comprised of two or more entities. RLF applicants may apply for up to $1,000,000. The performance period for

RLF Grants is five years. Refer to Section VI. for a list of certain grant and programmatic requirements.

RLF Coalition Grants

RLF Grant 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, nor submit an RLF proposal as an individual applicant, 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 coalition’s site selection process must be in place prior to the expenditure of any funds that have been awarded to the coalition. The coalition members should identify and establish relationships necessary to achieve the project’s goal. A process for successful execution of the project’s goal, to include a description and role of each coalition member, should be established along with the MOA. The purpose of the MOA is for coalition members to agree internally on the distribution of funds and the mechanisms for implementing the cleanup work.

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 www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-

07/documents/fy18-arc-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 in Section

III.B.4. for additional information.

RLF Grant Option Summary

Individual Entity Coalition

Maximum amount of funding request

Up to $1,000,000 for hazardous substances, or petroleum, or combination of both types of funding

20% cost share Required; may request hardship waiver

Project Period 5 years

For more information on a range of brownfields funding topics, please refer to the Brownfields

FAQs at www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/fy18-arc-faqs.pdf. If you do not http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/fy18-arc-faqs.pdf 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:

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 2 CFR 200 Subpart

E.

2. A local government (as defined in 2 CFR 200.64, Local Government, and summarized in

Section III.A. of these guidelines) 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; and

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

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

See the Brownfields FAQs at www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/fy18-arc-faqs.pdf for additional information on purchasing environmental insurance.

Grant funds cannot be used for the payment of:

1. proposal preparation costs;

2. a penalty or fine;

3. a federal cost-share requirement (for example, a cost share required by other federal funds);

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

5. a response cost at a brownfield site for which the recipient of the grant or loan is potentially liable under CERCLA §107;

6. a cost of compliance with any federal law, excluding the cost of compliance with laws applicable to the cleanup; or

7. unallowable costs (e.g., lobbying) under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E as applicable.

See the Brownfields FAQs at www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/fy18-arc-faqs.pdf for additional information on ineligible grant activities and ineligible costs.

I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage

EPA’s Strategic Plan is available at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html.

The activities to be funded under this announcement will be linked to EPA’s strategic plan consistent with EPAs current priorities for cleaning up contaminated sites and returning land back to communities. Applicants must explain in their proposal how their project will further these current priorities.

I.D. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

EPA requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7, Environmental Results under

Assistance Agreements, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf). Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the goals and objectives described above in Section I.C.

Applicants are required to describe how funding will help EPA achieve environmental outputs and outcomes in their responses to the ranking criteria (Sections IV.C.3.2., Program Description and Feasibility of Success and IV.C.3.4., Program Benefits). Outputs and outcomes specific to each project will be identified as deliverables in the negotiated workplan 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.

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 cleaned-up brownfield sites. Other outputs may include the number of community meetings held and/or the number of tanks pulled.

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 created and 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.

https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf

I.E. Linking to Sustainable and Equitable Development Outcomes, and Supporting

Environmental Justice

Under the Program Benefits ranking criterion in Section IV.C.3.4., applicants should discuss how their proposed Brownfield RLF program will advance and incorporate sustainable and equitable practices. The proposal will be evaluated on the extent to which it will lead to sustainable and equitable development outcomes and will address environmental justice challenges as discussed below. EPA encourages applicants to provide specific examples of how the proposed Brownfields RLF program will work to remove economic, environmental and social barriers to make sustainable and equitable brownfields reuse of the highest priority.

Linking Brownfield 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;

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. Brownfield 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 occurs when intentional strategies are put in place to ensure that low-income and minority communities not only participate in but also 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.

Linking Brownfield RLF Approaches to Environmental Justice

Environmental justice can be supported through sustainable and equitable development approaches. EPA defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across the nation. Environmental justice will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.1

SECTION II. - AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. What is the Amount of Available Funding?

The total estimated funding available under the national competition for Assessment, RLF and

Cleanup Grants is estimated at $50 million subject to the availability of funds, quality of proposals, 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 198 grants among all three grant types. Under this announcement, EPA anticipates awarding an estimated 15 RLF Grants for a total amount of approximately $9 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.

1 For more information please visit www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice.

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

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 the performance of the scope of work;

in accordance with 2 CFR 200.317 and 2 CFR 200.318, as appropriate, review of proposed procurements;

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 monitoring use of program income after the cooperative agreement project period ends.

SECTION III. - ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION and THRESHOLD CRITERIA

III.A. Who Can Apply?

The following information indicates which entities are eligible to apply for a Revolving Loan

Fund (RLF) Grant. Nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply for an RLF Grant unless the entity is included as a “General Purpose Unit of Local Government” as defined below.

General Purpose Unit of Local Government. [For purposes of the EPA Brownfields Grant

Program, a “local government” is defined as stated under 2 CFR 200.64.: Local government means a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority (including any public and Indian housing agency under the United States Housing Act of 1937), school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under state law), any other regional or interstate government entity, or any agency or instrumentality of a local government.]

Land Clearance Authority or another 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 www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/fy18-arc-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 evaluation criteria in Section V.A. 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.

If a proposal is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks or activities, that portion of the proposal will be ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the proposal, render the entire proposal ineligible 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 documents that must be submitted.

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.

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).

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 Cover Letter and Narrative Proposal, and attachments not specifically required, will not be reviewed.

In addition, 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 https://www.grants.gov/ deadline. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV. of this announcement to ensure that their proposal is submitted in a timely manner.

Proposals received 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.

EPA will verify that the Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number listed on the application is the correct DUNS number for the applicant’s organization. If the correct DUNS number is not included on the application, the application may be deemed ineligible.

1. Applicant Eligibility

Provide information that demonstrates how you are an eligible entity for an RLF Grant as specified in Section III.A., Who Can Apply? For entities other than cities, counties, tribes, or states, attach documentation of your eligibility (e.g., resolutions, statutes, etc.).

RLF Coalitions 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. An active Memorandum of Agreement that includes a description and role of each coalition member may serve in place of the individual coalition members’ letters. Attach the document(s) to your proposal.

2. Description of Jurisdiction EPA awards RLF Grants to clean up sites that are located within the jurisdiction of the applicant as defined in the application. 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. 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 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 you will comply with the competitive procurement provisions of the procurement https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ standards of 2 CFR 200.317 through 200.326 and 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 RLF 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.

4. 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 EPA awards you $700,000 of federal cleanup 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 www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-

07/documents/fy18-arc-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.

In your proposal:

1 Applicants for an RLF Grant may use fees from borrowers, interest on loans, and other “program income excluding loan principal repayment” 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.

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 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. Cite all sources for data provided.

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

A copy of these guidelines can be obtained from the EPA Brownfields Program website at www.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding or through www.grants.gov.

IV.B. Due Date and Submission Instructions

Your organization’s Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must submit your complete application package electronically to EPA through www.grants.gov. Proposals must be received http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on November 16, 2017. Please allow enough time to successfully submit your application package and allow for unexpected errors that may require you to resubmit. Occasionally, technical and other issues arise when using www.grants.gov.

Proposals received after 11:59 p.m. ET November 16, 2017, will not be considered for funding.

In order to submit a proposal1 through www.grants.gov, you must:

1. Have an active DUNS number,

2. Have an active System for Award Management (SAM) account in www.sam.gov,

3. Be registered in www.grants.gov, and

4. Be designated as your organization’s AOR.

The registration process for all of the above items may take a month or more to complete.

The electronic submission of your application must be made by the official representative (AOR) of your institution who is registered with www.grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for federal assistance. Refer to Appendix 2 for specific instructions on how to apply through www.grants.gov.

After signing and successfully submitting the application package, within 24 to 48 hours the

AOR should receive notification emails from www.grants.gov with the following subject lines:

1. GRANT###### Grants.gov Submission Receipt

2. GRANT###### Grants.gov Submission Validation Receipt for Application

If the AOR did not receive either notification emails listed above, contact the www.grants.gov

Help Desk at 1-800-518-4726. The Help Desk is open 24/7 (except federal holidays).

After the application package is retrieved out of the www.grants.gov system by EPA, the AOR should receive the following notification emails from www.grants.gov:

3. GRANT###### Grants.gov Grantor Agency Retrieval Receipt for Application

4. GRANT###### Grants.gov Agency Tracking Number Assignment for Application

In the event that you experience difficulties transmitting the proposal through www.grants.gov, please refer to the procedures in Appendix 2.

If you do not have the technical capability to apply electronically through www.grants.gov because of limited or no Internet access which prevents you from being able to upload the required application materials to www.grants.gov, please refer to the procedures in Appendix 2.

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. Each proposal must stand on its own merits based on the responses to the relevant

1 Note that the terms “proposal” and “application” mean the same thing for the purposes of this competition. The files that you submit through www.grants.gov as your Brownfields proposal is what is known as an application package in www.grants.gov.

http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ criteria for the type of grant submitted and must not reference responses to criteria in another proposal.

All proposal materials must be in English. The Cover Letter and Narrative Proposal must be typed, single-spaced, on letter-sized (8.5 x 11-inch) paper, and use standard Times New

Roman, Arial, or Calibri fonts with a 12-point font size and 1-inch margins. While these guidelines establish the font and minimum type size requirements, applicants are advised that readability is very important.

The checklist above reflects the documents required for proposals. All proposals must contain a completed and signed SF-424; a Cover Letter (2-page limit, single-spaced); a Narrative Proposal, limited to 15 single spaced typed pages; and required attachments, as listed below. Extraneous materials, including photos, graphics and attachments not listed, will not be considered.

Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance (no page limit - see Section

IV.C.1.)

Cover Letter (2-page limit, single-spaced) (see Section IV.C.2.)

Cover Letter Attachments:

o Other Factors Checklist (located in Appendix 3), if applicable (see Section

IV.C.2.g.)

o Letter from the state or tribal environmental authority (see Section IV.C.2.h.)

The Narrative Proposal, which includes the responses to ranking criteria (15-page limit, single spaced) (see Section IV.C.3.)

Narrative Proposal Attachments:

o Documentation indicating committed leveraged resources, if applicable (see

Section IV.C.3.2.c.)

o Letters of Commitment from all community organizations identified in the

Partnerships with Community Organizations ranking criterion (see Section

IV.C.3.3.c.ii.)

Threshold Criteria Responses Attachments: (see Section III.B.)

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

Section III.B.1.)

o Letters of commitment from each RLF Coalition member or an active

Memorandum of Agreement), if applicable (see Section III.B.1.)

o Description of Jurisdiction (see Section III.B.2.)

o Oversight Structure and Legal Authority to Manage an RLF (see Section III.B.3)

Description of cleanup oversight (see Section III.B.3.a.)

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.3.b.)

o Statutory Cost Share (see Section III.B.4.)

o Justification for RLF cost share waiver, if applicable (see Section III.B.4.)

1. Standard Form (SF) - 424, Application for Federal Assistance www.grants.gov will automatically prompt applicants to submit the SF-424 form.

2. Cover Letter

The cover letter shall identify the applicant and a contact for communication with EPA and address the information below. The cover letter shall not exceed two, single spaced pages.

Any pages submitted over the page limit will not be considered. The cover letter must be 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 cover letters for each proposal they submit. EPA does not consider information in cover letters to be responses to the ranking criteria. Each cover letter should be addressed to the Regional Brownfields

Contact listed in Section VII. and include the items listed below.

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

EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.

b. 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).

c. 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 Coalition Grants, list all jurisdictions covered under the proposal.

d. Contacts

i) Project Director Provide name, phone number, email 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 number, email 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.

e. Population

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

ii) If you are not a municipal form of government, provide the population of the municipality of the identified target area(s). Tribes must provide the number of tribal/non-tribal members affected. Your jurisdiction’s population can be found at www.census.gov/.

iii) Affirm whether or not your jurisdiction is located within, or includes, a county experiencing “persistent poverty” where 20% or more of its population has lived in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.

f. Other Factors Checklist Attach the “Other Factors” Checklist in Appendix 3 to the Cover

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.

g. 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 conduct RLF activities and is planning to apply for FY18 federal brownfields grant funds.