2015 gulf-mexico-program-rfp.pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: Gulf of Mexico Program Cooperative Agreements 2015

ACTION: Request for Proposals (RFP)

RFP NUMBER: EPA - GM - 2015-1

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO: 66.475

DATES: Proposal packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than September 15th 2015, 5:00 p.m. ET in order to be considered for funding.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals that address water quality improvement; coastal habitat and ecosystems enhancement, restoration and/or protection; environmental education and outreach; and strengthen community resilience in the Gulf of Mexico region and its watersheds.

FUNDING/AWARDS: The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $3.5 million. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 15 cooperative agreements from this announcement, subject to availability of funds, the quality of proposals received, and other applicable considerations.

Tentative Timeline

July 28th RFP Posted August 13th Q&A Posted on Website; Please submit questions for response by Tuesday, August 11th to GMP-RFP@epa.gov September 15th Proposals Due to the Gulf of Mexico Program November 17th EPA Issues Notice of Tentative Awards February 2nd EPA Funds Approved Application Package

The above lines (other than the proposal submission date) are anticipated dates and subject to change.

CONTENTS BY SECTION

I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Award Information III. Eligibility Information IV. Proposal and Submission Information V. Proposal Review Information VI. Award Administration Information VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information (Appendices)

Appendix A. Grants.gov Instructions http:Grants.gov http:http://www.grants.gov

Appendix B. Project Proposal and Budget Sample

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background The Gulf of Mexico Program (GMP) is a non-regulatory program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) founded to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the Region. To carry out the GMP mission, EPA continues to maintain and expand partnerships with State and Federal agencies, Federally recognized Tribes, local governments and authorities, academia, regional business and industry, agricultural and environmental organizations, and individual citizens and communities. For more information, please see: http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/.

B. Scope of Work

Under this solicitation, the EPA will only consider funding projects that support one of the following four priority areas: Water Quality Improvement; Protect, Enhance or Restore Habitat; Environmental Education and Outreach; and Strengthen Community Resilience. On the title page, the applicant must declare which priority area the project should be evaluated under. The project must include one or more of the activities listed below and demonstrate that the project will result in meeting at least one of the outputs (also listed below). In addition, the projects place of performance must be in the Gulf of Mexico region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida) and its watersheds, including their out-of-geographic region contributory watersheds.

Activities considered for funding:

Priority Area I: Water Quality Improvement

The following output must be included in any water project:

Demonstrate at least a 5% improvement in at least one water quality parameter by the end of the project period as compared to the initial project baseline. Examples of water quality parameters include, but are not limited to:

dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, bacteria, temperature.

Activity One:

GMP is looking for projects to improve water quality in a watershed(s). Please identify the eight or twelve digit HUC watershed. For more information on HUC identification see: http://cfpub1.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm (eight digit) or https://www.azdeq.gov/environ/water/watershed/download/easysteps.pdf (twelve digit)

These projects can use agricultural BMPs; urban stormwater BMPs; green practices at schools/colleges;

improved and innovative community wastewater deficiency solutions; and, locally driven practices within small communities. Partnerships are encouraged to increase efficiency of practices to improve water quality.

Partnerships are encouraged between local, state, and federal agencies, business and industry, non-governmental organizations, and private land owners to identify critical areas in the region where on-the-ground efforts will produce visible results.

Activity Two:

https://www.azdeq.gov/environ/water/watershed/download/easysteps.pdf http://cfpub1.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm http://www.epa.gov/gmpo

GMP is looking for projects to implement green practices in a Gulf of Mexico coastal urban setting to restore previously commercially used areas into greenway habitat for a city. Ideally, this would include the restoration of a previously built-on/blighted/abandoned area that could be turned into a green space for urban dwellers to use and maintain as a natural habitat.

Priority Area II: Protect, Enhance or Restore Habitat

The following output must be included in any habitat project:

Estimate the expected number of habitat acres that will be enhanced, restored and/or protected and provide a report at the end of project period of the actual number of acres enhanced, restored, and/or protected.

Activity One:

GMP seeks to fund habitat restoration projects using grassroots and community based organizations, especially citizen driven on the ground restoration projects, as well as working with underserved community landowners.

New and innovative techniques are encouraged as well as tried and true techniques to increase efficiency of cost per habitat acre impacted. These projects could include but are not limited to: wildlife corridors; partner easements; controlled burning; community habitat planting; riparian zone improvement; and, other innovative ideas.

Activity Two:

GMP is looking for projects that restore, protect, and enhance the remnant Gulf of Mexico coastal prairies.

Develop new technologies or adapt established practices and promote successful projects and their associated practices. Partner with local, state, and federal agencies, business and industry, non-governmental organizations, and private land owners to identify critical areas in the region where on-the-ground efforts will produce visible results.

Activity Three:

Design and implement a project to restore, enhance, and protect Gulf of Mexico coastal pollinator habitat and/or use BMPs to improve and protect pollinator habitat. Develop new practices or adapt established practices and promote successful projects and their associated practices throughout the region. Use communication based practices to promote safe activities around pollinators and habitats, use new approved pesticides to protect pollinator’s habitat, and use BMPs to protect habitats of pollinators. Partner with local, state, and federal agencies, business and industry, non-governmental organizations, and private land owners to identify critical areas in the region where on-the-ground efforts will produce visible results.

Activity Four:

GMP is looking for projects to implement green practices in a Gulf of Mexico coastal urban setting to restore previously commercially used areas into greenway habitat for a city. Ideally, this would include the restoration of a previously built-on/blighted/abandoned area that could be turned into a green space for urban dwellers to use and maintain as a natural habitat.

Priority Area III: Environmental Education and Outreach

The following output must be included in any environmental education project:

Estimate of the number of expected audience(s) and/or individuals to be served. Track and report the actual number of individuals reached and the method(s) used to reach them as a result of the project.

Activity One:

Develop an environmental education project that targets non-traditional students (i.e. Job Corp). The project must center on improving water quality, restoring habitats, or increasing smart growth practices that enhance communities’ resilience to natural disasters.

Activity Two:

Develop a workforce development program in a community plagued by an environmental injustice or impacted by a disaster that will equip the community with essential skills.

Activity Three:

Develop an environmental education program that increases literacy as it relates to improving water quality, restoring habitats, or promoting smart growth practices. The program must target schools (elementary, middle, or high school students) with a majority enrollment of underserved and underrepresented students from the Gulf coastal area of Texas and Louisiana specifically, however could span the remaining Gulf States-MS, AL, and

FL.

Activity Four:

Develop a habitat restoration and conservation education project that enhances literacy of youth from a federally recognized tribe in the Gulf region. The project must be experiential in nature and lectures must center on habitat restoration and conservation of tribal lands and its connectedness to improved water quality.

Activity Five:

Develop a community plan that brings attention to an environmental injustice(s) with the overarching goal of promoting sustainable communities. The community plan must contain goals, objectives, results, and hone in on impediments to environmental justice. To ensure the development of an effective and comprehensive plan, partnerships with the following are encouraged: community leaders, environmental justice organizations (or alike) non-profits, local and state government.

Activity Six:

Develop a project that promotes environmental justice and strengthens communities’ ability to become self-sustaining. The project must address an issue that the community has identified as a concern. The project must involve partnerships with others (i.e., community organizations, local or state government) in order to strengthen capacity, to ensure that the appropriate agency or entity is involved in addressing issues relative to their purview, and to increase sustainability of project. The target community must be in one of the coastal counties or parishes in a Gulf State.

Activity Seven:

Create and implement an environmental campaign to improve awareness on an environmental issue that affects the Gulf of Mexico.

Priority Area IV: Strengthen Community Resilience

The following output must be included in any resilience project:

Estimate how the community will become more resilient at the end of the project. Report the actual number of communities reached and how a resilience assessment, tool or program served to strengthen the community resilience.

Activity One:

Develop additional user applications and modules to enhance and expand the access and value of the StormSmart Coast network for Gulf coast stakeholders.

Activity Two:

Develop techniques, tools and information to assist coastal communities in better understanding vulnerabilities in their communities related to resilience.

EACH PROPOSAL MUST ALSO INCLUDE AN OUTREACH COMPONENT. The outreach component could include, but is not limited to:

Developing news releases for local media sources Presenting project to community groups, schools, local/state government organizations, etc Involving community members in project Disseminating lessons learned, project goals etc to others/stakeholders

C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage & Anticipated Outcomes, Outputs & Performance Measures Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” EPA must link proposed assistance agreements to the Agency’s Strategic Plan. EPA also requires that grant applicants and recipients adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements, http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/award/5700.7.pdf).

1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan. All proposals must support progress towards at least one of the following EPA 2014-2018 Strategic Plan Goals:

a) Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality. “Objective 1.1: Address Climate

Change,” which states “minimize the threats posed by climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking actions that help to protect human health and help communities and ecosystems become more sustainable and resilient to the effects of climate change.”

b) Goal 2: Protecting America’s Waters. “Objective 2.2: Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems,” which states “protect, restore, and sustain the quality of rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands on a watershed basis, and sustainably manage and protect coastal and ocean resources and ecosystems.”

c) Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development. “Objective 3.1:

Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities,” which states “support sustainable, resilient, and livable communities by working with local, state, tribal, and federal partners to promote smart growth, emergency preparedness and recovery planning, redevelopment and reuse of contaminated and formerly contaminated sites, and the equitable distribution of environmental benefits.”

d) Cross Agency Strategy: Working Toward a Sustainable Future, which states, “expand the conversation on environmentalism by engaging and empowering stakeholders, including groups with which EPA has not traditionally worked, using multiple forms of outreach, collaboration, and information.”

Please read EPA’s FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan for more information.

http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/award/5700.7.pdf

2. Outputs. The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal and 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 an assistance agreement funding period.

Progress reports and a final report will also be a required output for every project, as specified in Section VI(C) of this announcement, “Reporting Requirement.” In addition, at least one of the expected outputs from the project(s) to be funded under this announcement must be one of the outputs listed in Section I.B.

3. Outcomes. The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be qualitative and environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature, but must also be quantitative.

4. Project Performance. During preparation of the proposal, the applicant should consider the following questions in order to develop output and/or outcome measures which document project results:

i) What are the measureable short term and longer term results that the project will achieve?

ii) How will the applicant measure progress in achieving the expected and measureable results?

D. Supplementary Information.

The statutory authority for this action is the Clean Water Act, §104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of cooperative agreements to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. What is the amount of funding available?

The total estimated funding expected to be available for awards under this competitive funding opportunity is approximately $3.5 million.

B. How many agreements will EPA award in this competition?

EPA anticipates award approximately 15 cooperative agreement(s) under this announcement, with each award being no more than $300,000, subject to the availability of funds, quality of evaluated proposals, and other applicable considerations.

The following is the expected range of awards in each of the priority areas:

1. Zero to eight awards under Priority Area I: Water Quality Improvement of no more than $300,000 each;

2. Zero to eight awards under Priority Area II: Protect, Enhance or Restore Habitat of no more than $300,000 each;

3. Zero to eight awards under Priority Area III: Environmental Education and Outreach of no more than $300,000 each;

4. Zero to eight awards under Priority Area IV: Strengthen Community Resilience of no more than $300,000 each;

In addition, EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selections.

C. Partial Funding

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

D. What is the project period for awards resulting from this solicitation?

The estimated project period for awards resulting from this solicitation will begin in Calendar Year 2016.

Proposed project periods may be up to three years.

E. Funding Type

The funding for selected projects will be in the form of a cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements permit substantial involvement between the EPA Project Officer and the selected applicants in the performance of the work supported. 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 will be:

close monitoring of the successful applicant’s performance to verify the results proposed by the applicant;

the award recipient);

review and comment on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient).

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Entities

The following entities are eligible to apply for funding under this announcement unless restricted by the authorizing statute(s); State and local governments, interstate agencies, Tribes, colleges and universities, and other public or non-profit organizations.

Non-profit organization, as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative or other organization that: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve and/or expand its operations. Note that 2 CFR Part 200 specifically excludes the following types of organizations from the definition of “non-profit organization” because they are separately defined in the Regulation: (i) colleges and universities; (ii) hospitals; (iii) state, local and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; and (iv) those non-profit organizations that are excluded from coverage of this Regulation. While not considered to be a “non-profit organization(s)” as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, colleges and universities, hospitals, state, local and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments are, nevertheless, eligible to submit proposals under 2 CFR Part 200 and this RFP.

For-profit organizations are not an eligible entity for this funding opportunity. Additionally, non-profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Neither a cost share nor matching funds are required under this competition.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria These are requirements that if not met by the time of proposal submission will result in elimination of the proposal from consideration for funding. Only proposals from eligible entities (see above) that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V 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.

Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or else they will be rejected. However, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to the narrative proposal, pages in excess of the page limitation 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 Section IV) 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 Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their proposal through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. Applicants should confirm receipt of their proposal with Gerry Martin via email to GMP-RFP@epa.gov as soon as possible after the submission deadline—failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

mailto:GMP-RFP@epa.gov http:Grants.gov http:www.grants.gov

1. Proposals must support at least one of the following EPA Strategic Goals (See Section I.C):

i Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality ii Goal 2: Protecting America’s Waters iii Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development.

iv Cross Agency Strategy: Working Toward a Sustainable Future

2. Proposals must include at least one of the activities listed in Section I.B. and demonstrate how the project meets at least one of the outputs in Section I.B.

3. Projects that are not carried out in the Gulf of Mexico region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida) and its watersheds, including their out-of-geographic region contributory watersheds, are ineligible.

4. Requests for EPA funding amounts in excess of a total of $300,000, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered.

5. Projects that do not identify the priority area the project should be evaluated under will not be considered.

6. Proposals that do not contain an outreach component will not be considered.

7. Ineligible activities: 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.

IV. PROPOSAL AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Requirement to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures

Applicants, except as noted below, must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the grants.gov instructions in this announcement and Appendix A. If an applicant does not have the technical capability to apply electronically through grants.gov because of limited or no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required proposal materials to Grants.gov, the applicant must contact OGDWaivers@epa.gov or the address listed below in writing (e.g., by hard copy, email) at least 15 calendar days prior to the submission deadline under this announcement to request approval to submit their proposal materials through an alternate method.

Mailing Address:

OGD Waivers c/o Barbara Perkins USEPA Headquarters William Jefferson Clinton Building 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N. W.

Mail Code: 3903R Washington, DC 20460 mailto:OGDWaivers@epa.gov http:grants.gov http:grants.gov

Courier Address: OGD Waivers c/o Barbara Perkins Ronald Reagan Building 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Rm # 51267 Washington, DC 20004

In the request, the applicant must include the following information:

of 1) limited internet access or 2) no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials through www.Grants.gov.

EPA will only consider alternate submission exception requests based on the two reasons stated above and will timely respond to the request -- all other requests will be denied. If an alternate submission method is approved, the applicant will receive documentation of this approval and further instructions on how to apply under this announcement. Applicants will be required to submit the documentation of approval with any initial application submitted under the alternative method. In addition, any submittal through an alternative method must comply with all applicable requirements and deadlines in the announcement including the submission deadline and requirements regarding proposal content and page limits (although the documentation of approval of an alternate submission method will not count against any page limits).

If an exception is granted, it is valid for submissions to EPA for the remainder of the entire calendar year in which the exception was approved and can be used to justify alternative submission methods for proposal submissions made through December 31 of the calendar year in which the exception was approved (e.g., if the exception was approved on March 1, 2015, it is valid for any competitive or non-competitive proposal submission to EPA through December 31, 2015). Applicants need only request an exception once in a calendar year and all exceptions will expire on December 31 of that calendar year. Applicants must request a new exception from required electronic submission through Grants.gov for submissions for any succeeding calendar year. For example, if there is a competitive opportunity issued on December 1, 2015 with a submission deadline of January 15, 2016, the applicant would need a new exception to submit through alternative methods beginning January 1, 2016.

Please note that the process described in this section is only for requesting alternate submission methods. All other inquiries about this announcement must be directed to the Agency Contact listed in Section VII of the announcement. Queries or requests submitted to the email address identified above for any reason other than to request an alternate submission method will not be acknowledged or answered.

B. Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions (see Appendix A.)

http:www.Grants.gov

Your organization’s authorized official representative (AOR) must submit your complete proposal electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than September 15th 2015 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

C. Content of Proposal Submission

The proposal package must include all of the following materials:

D Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance Complete the form (available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm ) .There are no attachments.

Please be sure to include organization fax number and email address in Block 5 of the Standard Form SF 424.

Please note that the organizational Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number must be included on the SF-424. Organizations may obtain a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711.

D Standard Form (SF) 424A , Budget Information Complete the form (available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm ).There are no attachments.

The total amount of federal funding requested for the project period should be shown on line 5(e) and on line 6(k) of SF-424A, the amount of indirect costs should be entered on line 6(j). The indirect cost rate (i.e., a percentage), the base (e.g., personnel costs and fringe benefits), and the amount should also be indicated on line 22.

D Standard Form (SF) 424B, Assurances for non-construction forms Complete the form (available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm).

D Narrative Proposal (See Appendix B Narrative and Budget Sample) The Narrative Proposal (sections 1-3 below) cannot exceed a maximum of ten single-spaced typewritten pages, 12 point font or larger, including the Summary Page. Supporting materials, such as resumes, can be submitted as attachments and are not included in the ten page limit.

1. Proposal Information Page (one page only)

a. Project Title

b. Applicant Information. Include applicant (organization) name, address, contact person, phone number, fax, e-mail address and DUNS number.

c. Total Project Cost. Specify total cost of the project and specify the amount you are requesting from EPA, if different.

d. Priority Area. Identify the priority area your project should be evaluated under. Choose

ONLY one of the following: Water Quality Improvement; Protect, Enhance, and/or Restore Habitat; Environmental Education and Outreach; Strengthen Community Resilience.

e. Briefly describe how your project meets at least one of the following EPA Strategic Goals (Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality; Protecting America’s http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm

Waters; Cleaning up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development; Working Toward a Sustainable Future, See Section I.C for more information)

Example: This project expects to protect 300 acres of wetland habitat in Southern Mississippi.

h. Outreach Component: Provide a brief description of the project’s outreach component. If the whole project encompasses outreach, you only need a brief sentence stating such.

project will take place. For more information see:

http://cfpub1.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm (eight digit) or https://www.azdeq.gov/environ/water/watershed/download/easysteps.pdf (twelve digit)

k. Project period. Provide beginning and ending dates. (Projects are anticipated to begin date and end no later than date.)

2. Narrative Proposal Work-Plan

The narrative proposal work-plan must explicitly describe how the proposed project meets the guidelines established in Sections I-III of this announcement (including the threshold eligibility criteria in Section III.C), and must address each of the evaluation criteria set forth in Section V.

a. Project Description/Approach: The summary shall contain the following components:

i. Detailed project description, description of specific actions and methods to be undertaken and the responsible institutions, including estimated time line for each task.

audience(s) served. In addition, please describe why the results are important and who they will be shared with, provided to or used to better inform the public (outreach component).

project.

vi. Description of staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project.

vii. For awards under this competition that are expected to exceed $200,000 in federal funding AND involve the generation or use of environmental data, please provide a statement acknowledging 1) your need to demonstrate competency prior to beginning work and 2) your understanding that a Quality Management Plan (QMP) and/or a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) may be required. Please see Section VI. N. at the following link for more information:

http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/solicitation_provisions.htm#Competencythe necessity For further information, please see the Frequently Asked Questions http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/solicitation_provisions.htm#Competencythe

Document regarding this EPA requirement: http://www.epa.gov/fem/pdfs/faqs-competency-policy-091213.pdf

b. Environmental Results—Outcomes, Outputs and Project Performance

Identify the expected quantitative and qualitative outcomes and outputs of the project (See Section I), including what timeline of milestones, or other means will be used to track and measure your progress towards achieving the expected outcomes and outputs and how the results of the project will be evaluated.

It is expected that the description of project performance will include the following:

Target numbers associated with the outputs and how the project will support achieving them oversight of project partners, subgrantees, and/or contractors and vendors;

tracking and reporting project progress on expenditures, purchases, and other fiscal activities;

tracking and reporting actual accomplishments versus proposed outputs/outcomes and proposed timelines/milestones;

c. Applicant Capability and Past Performance

Submit a list of federally funded assistance agreements (assistance agreements include Federal grants and cooperative agreements but not Federal contracts) similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed project that your organization performed within the last three years (no more than three agreements, and preferably EPA agreements) and describe (i) whether, and how, you were able to successfully complete and manage those agreements and (ii) your history of meeting the reporting requirements under those agreements including whether you adequately and timely reported on your progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes of those agreements (and if not, explain why not) and whether you submitted acceptable final technical reports under the agreements. In evaluating applicants under these factors in Section V, EPA will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources, including information from EPA files and from current/prior grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information provided by the applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or reporting information, please indicate this in the proposal and you will receive a neutral score for these factors (a neutral score is half of the total points available in a subset of possible points). If you do not provide any response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors.

3. Detailed Budget Narrative (See Appendix B, Narrative and Budget Sample)

funds will be expended in a timely and efficient manner.

c. Applicants must itemize costs related to personnel, fringe benefits, contractual costs, travel, equipment, supplies, other direct costs, indirect costs, and total costs. *Selected applicant(s) will http://www.epa.gov/fem/pdfs/faqs need to submit a copy of their current indirect cost rate that has been negotiated with a federal cognizant agency prior to award.

Attachments. These are optional and are not included in the ten page limit. Nor are these attachments considered during evaluation of an applicant’s proposal

a. Biographical Sketch. If desired, provide biographical sketch of Principal Investigators and/or any other key personnel.

b. If applicable, approval letter to use alternate means to submit initial application.

D. Submission Dates and Times

The closing date and time for submission of proposals is September 15th, 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET).

Proposals submitted after the closing date and time will not be considered for funding.

E. Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into The Solicitation

Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, including but not limited to those related to confidential business information, contracts and subawards under grants, and proposal assistance and communications, can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/solicitation_provisions.htm . These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing proposals for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the provisions.

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Only eligible entities whose proposals meet the threshold criteria in Section III of this announcement will be reviewed according to the evaluation criterion set forth below. Applicants should explicitly address these criteria as part of their proposal package submittal. Each proposal will be rated under a points system, with a total of 100 points possible.

A. Evaluation Criteria Criteria Points

1. Project Description/Approach:

Under this criterion, the Agency will evaluate the following factors:

i. (15 pts) the quality to which the project specific narrative proposal addresses the identified priority area and output (see Section I.B), the relevance or importance of the project;

and, how the project specifically supports one or more EPA Strategic Goal (see Section I. C.)

ii. (15 pts) whether the proposal contains sufficiently detailed information on the project approach including, but not limited to, details on the “how and when”, the applicants’ ability to perform the proposal work; and, who will be working together and how these partnerships will benefit the project and the Gulf of Mexico region.

http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/solicitation_provisions.htm

2. Environmental Results—Outcomes, Outputs and Performance Measures:

Under this criterion, the Agency will evaluate proposed deliverables using the following factors:

i. (10 pts) The proposal must also clearly state the target numbers associated with the output(s) and how the project will support achieving the output requirements.

ii. (10 pts) The proposal must contain a detailed written narrative plan for tracking and measuring progress. The proposal must also include a tracking tool (such as a milestone or GANTT chart) which lists quarterly or semi-annual project goals/objectives.

iii. (10 pts) The proposal must contain a detailed written narrative on how the project partners will work together to achieve the expected outputs and outcomes.

3. Applicant Capability and Past Performance

Under this criterion, the Agency will evaluate whether the applicant has clearly demonstrated that they are fully capable of performing the project work, either independently or in partnership, using specific examples of past performance work. The applicant must sufficiently document a history of meeting the reporting requirements as described in Section IV.C. of the announcement, including the extent to which the applicant adequately and timely reported on their progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes under those agreements and if such progress was not being made whether the applicant adequately reported why not.

The applicant must also include information on staff expertise and qualifications (do not submit individual resumes).

Note: In evaluating applicants under items I and II of this criterion, the Agency will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources including agency files and prior/current grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information supplied by the applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance, please indicate this in the proposal and you will receive a neutral score (half the total points available). If you do not provide any response for past performance, a score of zero will be given.

4. Budget:

Under this criterion, the Agency will evaluate whether the applicant has provided both a detailed narrative which describes the project budget by categories; and, a breakout of the approximate dollar amount of funding for each major activity. Budget categories include:

Personnel, Fringe, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other and Indirect Costs.

5. Outreach Component:

Under this criterion, the Agency will evaluate whether the applicant has provided detailed information on why the results are important and who they will be shared with, provided to, or otherwise used to inform better environmental stewardship, where applicable. Note: For academic applicants, this Outreach criterion is about how the results will be shared and why they are important outside the academic area.

5 6. Expenditure of Awarded Funds : Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their approach, controls to ensure that awarded funds are expended in a timely and efficient manner..

B. Review and Selection Process

Proposals will first be evaluated against the threshold factors listed in Section III. Only those proposals which meet all of the threshold factors will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria listed above by a panel(s) comprised of EPA staff. One panel will be developed for each priority area. Each project will be scored by the panel for the priority area specified by the applicant. The panel(s) will score and rank the eligible proposals by priority area (as submitted by applicant) using the evaluation criteria identified in Section V.A. Four ranking lists (one for each priority area) will be developed. Each proposal will be given a numerical score and will be rank-ordered according to the numerical score. Preliminary funding recommendations for each priority area will be provided to the Approving Official based on this ranking.

C. Other Factors

Final funding decisions will be made by the Approving Official based on the rankings and preliminary recommendations of the EPA evaluation team. In making the final funding decisions, the Approving Official may also consider programmatic priorities and geographic diversity of funds. Once final decisions have been made, a funding recommendation will be developed and forwarded to the EPA Award Official.

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices

Following evaluation of proposals, all applicants will be notified regarding their status.

Proposal Notifications (allow for review time, usually 45-60 days after closing date)

1. EPA anticipates notification to successful applicants will be made via e-mail. The notification will be sent to the original signer of the proposal or the project contact listed in the proposal. This notification, which informs the applicant that its proposal has been selected and is being recommended for award, is not an authorization to begin work. The official notification of an award will be made by the Region 4 Grants Management Officer.

Applicants are cautioned that only a grants officer is authorized to bind the Government to the expenditure of funds; selection does not guarantee an award will be made. For example, statutory authorization, funding or other issues discovered during the award process may affect the ability of EPA to make an award to an applicant. The award notice, signed by an EPA grants officer, is the authorizing document and will be provided through electronic or postal mail. The successful applicant may need to prepare and submit additional documents and forms (e.g., work plan), which must be approved by EPA, before the grant can officially be awarded. The time between notification of selection and award of a grant can take up to 90 days or longer.

2. EPA anticipates notification to unsuccessful applicant(s) will be made via email or postal mail. The notification will be made to the original signer of the Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirement

A listing and description of general EPA Regulations applicable to the award of assistance agreements may be viewed at: http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/applicable_epa_regulations_and_description.htm.

Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs, may be applicable to awards resulting from this announcement. Applicants selected for funding may be required to provide a copy of their application to their State Point of Contact (SPOC) for review, pursuant to Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. This review is not required with the Initial Application and not all states require such a review. A listing of State Point of Contacts (SPOC) may be viewed at:

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html

C. Reporting Requirement

Semi-annual progress reports and a detailed final technical report will be required. Semi-annual reports summarizing technical progress, planned activities for the next half of the year and a summary of expenditures are required. The final technical report shall be completed within 90 calendar days of the completion of the period of performance. The final technical report should include: summary of the project or activity, advances achieved, and costs of the project or activity. In addition, the final technical report should discuss the problems, successes, and lessons learned from the project or activity that could help overcome structural, organizational or technical obstacles to implementing a similar project elsewhere. The schedule for submission of semi-annual reports will be established by EPA, after award.

D. Disputes

Assistance agreement competition-related disputes will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures published in 70 FR (Federal Register) 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005) which can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/resolution.htm. Copies of these procedures may also be requested by contacting Gerry Martin at martin.gerry@gmail.com.

E. Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into The Solicitation

Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, including but not limited to those related to DUNS, SAM, copyrights, disputes, and administrative capability, can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/solicitation_provisions.htm.These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing proposals for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the provisions.

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

For further information, contact:

http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/solicitation_provisions.htm.These mailto:martin.gerry@gmail.com http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/resolution.htm www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/applicable_epa_regulations_and_description.htm

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Gulf of Mexico Program

ATTN: Gerry Martin

Bldg 1100

Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000

GMP-RFP@epa.gov

All questions or comments must be communicated in writing via email by July 30th to GMP- RFP@epa.gov. Questions and answers will be posted at the GMP home page by August 7th:

http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/.

VIII. Other Information (Appendices)

Appendix A. Grants.gov Submission Instructions

Grants.gov Proposal/Application Instructions

The electronic submission of your application must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for Federal assistance. For more information on the registration requirements that must be completed in order to submit an application through grants.gov, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on “Applicants” on the top of the page and then go to the “Get Registered” link on the page. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a DUNS number and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more. Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline. Registration on grants.gov, SAM.gov, and DUNS number assignment is FREE.

To begin the application process under this grant announcement, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on “Applicants” on the top of the page and then “Apply for Grants” from the dropdown menu and then follow the instructions accordingly.