2015-sfl-rfp.pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

TITLE: 2015 SOUTH FL INITIATIVE

ACTION: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER (FON): EPA-R4-15-SFL-01

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO: 66.436

DATES: The closing date and time for submission of proposals through www.grants.gov is June 4, 2015, 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET). No hard copies will be accepted for this RFP.

Proposals received after June 4, 2015, 6:00 p.m. ET will not be considered for funding.

SUMMARY: This request for proposal announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals under a competitive announcement to fund projects for the South FL Water Geographic Initiative, Water Quality Protection Program for the FL Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Southeast FL Coral Reef Initiative/Land Based Sources of Pollution. This announcement is an open competition for applicants to apply for funding on projects meeting the goals and objectives under this program.

FUNDING/AWARDS: EPA Region 4 anticipates receiving approximately $250,000 in FY15 to fund three to five proposals with funding ranging from $25,000 - $200,000 each to address the five R4 Priority Areas, Special Studies/Research, and Public Education/Outreach activities described in Section I of this announcement. The total amount of funding and awards that will be made under this announcement depends on funding availability, the quality of proposals received, and other applicable considerations. Unless pre-award costs are specifically approved by EPA, recipients should not incur project costs, including nonfederal match, until they receive an award offer from EPA.

CONTENTS BY SECTION

I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Award Information III. Eligibility Information IV. Proposal/Application and Submission Information V. Proposal Evaluation and Review Information VI. Award Administration Information VII. Agency Contacts

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Background

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) was created with the signing of Public Law 101-605, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act of 1990. Included in the Sanctuary are 2,900 square nautical miles of nearshore waters extending from Biscayne Bay to the Dry Tortugas. Recognizing the critical role of water quality in maintaining Sanctuary resources, Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Florida, in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to develop a Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) for the Sanctuary – the first of its kind in the nation. The Act directs the WQPP to develop corrective actions and compliance schedules to address point and nonpoint sources of pollution to maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Sanctuary. This includes restoration and maintenance of a balance, indigenous population of corals, shellfish, fish and wildlife, and recreational activities in and on the water. In addition to corrective actions, the 1990 Act requires public participation developing and implementing the program.

In 1998, The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) was established by Executive Order #13089 to lead U.S. efforts to restore and protect coral reef ecosystems. In October 2002, the USCRTF implemented a National Action Plan to conserve coral reefs. The Local Action Strategy for coral reef conservation and management in southeast Florida was finalized in 2004 and includes the following focus areas: land-based sources of pollution;

fishing, diving and other uses; maritime industry and coastal construction impacts; and awareness and appreciation.

This funding opportunity is for Special Studies/Research and Public Education/Outreach for the South Florida Geographic Initiative including the Water Quality Protection Program for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative. Examples of eligible Special Studies/Research program activities include: identifying and understanding cause/effect relationships of pollutants, transport pathways and biological communities of the Sanctuary; developing effective remediation techniques for aquatic resources; addressing specific management questions and concerns; development of predictive models and monitoring tools; and overall improvement of our understanding of South Florida ecosystems. Examples of eligible Public Education and Outreach projects include: increasing public awareness regarding residential canal remediation; impacts of non-point source pollution; increasing awareness of South Florida aquatic resources; distribution of Best Management Practices literature; and solicitation of public participation to assist with implementation of FKNMS Water Quality and Protection Program corrective actions. The FKNMS Water Quality Protection Program has identified five individual topics below as priority areas for FY15 funding. Applicants must address one or more of these areas to be considered eligible.

B. Scope of Work

There are five Region 4 Priority Areas – Proposals must address one or more of the following priority areas as determined by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Water Quality Protection Program established in P.L. 101-605.

The Water Quality Protection Program Strategy and Activity measures come from the September 2013 FL Keys National Marine Sanctuary Water Quality Protection Program Report to Congress.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Water Quality Protection Program “September 2013 Report to Congress,” Appendix I:

http://ocean.floridamarine.org/fknms_wqpp/pages/wqpp.html

FKNMS Comprehensive Science Plan at:

http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/research_monitoring/fknms_science_plan.pdf

Restoration Techniques – Activity W.23 Implement a large-scale sponge restoration project employing donor sites and utilizing species identified as suitable for transplanting to demonstrate and evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and costs of re-establishing sponge communities after die-offs from injurious events such as harmful algal blooms

Special Study: Endocrine Disruptors Impacts on Aquatic Ecosystems in the Florida Keys – Activity W.23 Prepare a scientific report that reviews and evaluates the scientific literature identifying endocrine disruptors, that can adversely affect corals, fish, sponges, urchins, mollusks and other aquatic organisms within the Florida Keys; identifies both local and far-field sources of endocrine disruptors and reviews all available scientific data showing the presence and concentration of endocrine disruptors in surface waters and in land-based discharges within the Florida Keys, including treated wastewater effluent, stormwater runoff, mosquito control and far-field sources; provides information on the existing legal authorities and regulations that can be used to address the identified endocrine disruptor concerns; provides potential management strategies and techniques appropriate for the Florida Keys to minimize negative impacts to the environment associated with use of endocrine disruptors, including measures to discourage the disposal of endocrine disruptors, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, or household hazardous wastes into wastewater disposal systems or stormwater drainage systems; and identifies areas of future research.

Improve Water Quality in Residential Canals – Activity W. 10 The Monroe County Canal Master Plan (CCMP) identified those canals impaired due to low oxygen, high organic matter and poor water clarity. Identify and implement pilot projects that demonstrate innovative approaches to restoring water quality in the canal systems of the Florida Keys. Any innovative technologies or management practices identified in this study must, at a minimum, comply with all applicable regulations and water quality standards in effect in the Florida Keys.

Public Education and Outreach – Activity W.14 Increase awareness and involvement of the general public and government officials to implement Water Quality Protection Program corrective actions, restoration activities, education, program activities and projects designed to protect, maintain and restore the water quality and natural resources of the Florida Keys Ecosystem.

Special Study: Stormwater Pollutants – Activity W-22 Investigate stormwater impacts from roads and paved surfaces to near-shore waters and/or residential canal systems that contribute to impaired water quality and ecological impacts. Identify best management practices and cost-effective technologies available to improve stormwater management and treatment in the unique environment of the Florida Keys. The study shall include cost estimates for the construction and operation of the recommended best management practices and technologies. In addition, all the recommended best management practices and technologies must comply, at a minimum, with all applicable regulations and water quality standards in effect in the Florida Keys.

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.

1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan: All proposals must support EPA Strategic Plan Goal 2 “Protecting America’s Waters, Objective 2.2 “Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems”.

The special studies included in this announcement of the federal funding opportunity support EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, Goal: “Protecting America’s Waters” found at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-2018-strategic-plan and the FY15 National Water Program Guidance Strategies to Protect and Restore the Health of Communities and Large Aquatic - South Florida Ecosystem found at http://water.epa.gov/resource_performance/planning/FY-2015-National-Water- Program-Guidance.cfm

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 over a period of time or by a specific date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period.

Examples of outputs for projects include:

- Evaluation of the effectiveness of efforts to reduce or eliminate sources of pollution and to evaluate progress toward achieving and maintaining water quality and protecting and restoring coral reef habitat and other living resources.

- Characterization of sources and causes of water quality impairment within a watershed that will allow the development of management/action/restoration plan(s).

- Preparation and timely delivery of quarterly and draft/final project reports that document results of the special study project.

Progress reports and a final report will also be a required output, as specified in Section VI(C) of this announcement, “Reporting Requirement”.

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 may be quantitative. They may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period.

Projects to be funded with this announcement are expected to produce outcomes related to the outputs identified in the proposal.

Examples of expected outcomes that may occur because of the technical/scientific information generated by the special studies projects associated with this announcement include:

- Increase knowledge of managers and elected officials concerning negative impacts of pollutants on water quality and living biological resources, which should lead to the development and implementation of action plans that will reduce pollutant loading and result in the conservation of natural resources.

- Maintenance and/or improvement of water quality.

- Maintenance of health of seagrass beds.

- Restoration and/or maintenance of coral reef habitat.

- Reduce pollutant loading to inland, nearshore and coastal waters.

4. Performance Measures: The applicant should also develop performance measures expected to be achieved through the proposed activities and they should be described in the proposal. These performance measures will help gather insights and will be the mechanism to track progress concerning successful process and output and outcome strategies and will provide the basis for developing lessons to inform future recipients.

D. Supplementary Information

The statutory authority for this action is the Clean Water Act (Section 104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of assistance agreements for Water Quality and Watershed Management: Studies, Surveys, and Investigations; Grants and Cooperative Agreements.

This announcement supports the Water Quality Protection Program for the Florida National Marine Sanctuary and the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative.

- Examples of eligible Studies/Research include: identifying and understanding the cause and effects relationships of pollutants, transport pathways, and biological communities of the Sanctuary; developing effective remediation techniques for aquatic resources; addressing specific management questions and concerns; development of predictive models and monitoring tools; and overall improvement of our understanding of South FL ecosystems.

- Examples of eligible Public Education and Outreach include: increases public awareness regarding residential canal remediation; impacts of non-point source pollution; increasing awareness of South FL aquatic resources; citizen monitoring; distribution of Best Management Practices literature; solicitation of public participation to assist with implementation of FKNMS Water Quality and Protection Program corrective actions.

Section II. Award Information

A. Funding Amount: The total estimated funding expected to be available for awards under this competitive announcement is approximately $250,000. The total maximum grant funding is $200,000 per award.

B. Reject of Proposals: EPA reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no awards under this announcement or make fewer than expected.

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

The Project Officer and Technical Officer will contact the effected recipients to discuss the partial funding and whether the partial award is acceptable. If the recipient agrees to the partial funding, then the recipient will be requested to submit a revised scope of work and revised budget sheets.

D. Number of Awards: EPA anticipates awarding 3-5 assistance agreements under this announcement ranging in value from approximately $25,000 to $200,000, subject to the availability of funds, quality of evaluated proposals, and other applicable considerations.

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.

E. Project Period: The estimated project period for awards resulting from this selection may begin in August 2015. Proposed project/budget periods can range from one to three years for this funding announcement.

F. Funding Type: The funding for selected projects will be in the form of grants or cooperative agreements. The appropriate funding type and programmatic grant terms and conditions will be added to the grant award document. For most projects associated with the WQPP for the FKNMS, a cooperative agreement is the preferred funding mechanism.

The principal purpose of the federal and non-federal relationship established by a cooperative agreement is the transfer of money to the recipient to accomplish a “public purpose” of support or stimulation; in addition, there will be substantial involvement between EPA R4, the FKNMS Water “Quality Protection Program and the recipient during performance of the activity with coordination and collaboration to achieve the goals under this program. The successful applicant will be expected to participate and present project updates at the FKNMS Water Quality Protection Program meetings annually. If necessary, include and identify travel funds in the budget to attend these meetings.

Section III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligibility Entities: In accordance with CFDA 66.436, proposals will be accepted from States, local governments, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S.

(including the District of Columbia); public and private universities and colleges;

hospitals; laboratories; public or private nonprofit institutions; intertribal consortia; and individuals.

Non-profit organization, as defined by 2 CFR 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; (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve and/or expand its operations. Note that 2 CFR 200 specifically excludes the following types of organizations from the definition of “non-profit organization” because they are separately defined in the Circular: (i) colleges and universities; (ii) hospitals; (iii) state, local and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; and (iv) those non-profit organization that are excluded from coverage of this Circular in accordance with paragraph 5 of the

Circular. 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(s)(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: No matching funds are required under this competition.

Although cost sharing/matching is not required as a condition of eligibility under this competition, under Section V of this announcement EPA will evaluate proposals based on a leveraging criterion.

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

2. Voluntary cost share is a form of leveraging. Voluntary cost sharing is when an applicant voluntarily proposes to legally commit to provide costs or contributions to support the project when a cost share is not required. Applicants who propose to use a voluntary cost share must include the costs or contributions for the voluntary cost share in the project budget on the SF-424. If an applicant proposes a voluntary cost share, the following apply:

- A voluntary cost share is subject to the match provisions in the grant regulations 2 CFR Part 200 has applicable.

- A voluntary costs share may only be met with eligible and allowable costs.

- The recipient may not use other sources of federal funds to meet a voluntary cost share unless the statue authorizing the other federal funding provides that the federal funds may be used to meet a cost share requirement on a federal grant.

- The recipient is legally obligated to meet any proposed voluntary cost share that is included in the approved project budget. If the proposed voluntary cost share does not materialized during grant performance, the EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2 CFR Part 200 as applicable.

3. Other leveraged funding/resources that are not identified as a voluntary cost share.

This form of leveraging may be met by funding from another federal grant, from an applicant's own resources, or resources from other third party sources. This form of leveraging should not be included in the budget and the costs need not be eligible and allowable project costs under the EPA assistance agreement. While this form of leveraging should not be included in the budget, the grant workplan should include a statement indicating that the applicant is expected to produce the proposed leveraging consistent with the terms of the announcement and the applicant's proposal. If applicants propose to provide this form of leveraging, EPA expects them to make the effort to secure the leveraged resources described in their proposals. If the proposed leveraging does not materialize during grant performance, then EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2

CFR 200.

C. Threshold 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.

1. Proposals from eligible applicants must meet these requirements or else they will be rejected. 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.

2. Proposals must address one or more of the Priority Areas listed in Section I.

3. Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal/applicant and submission information instructions and requirements set forth in Sections IV of this announcement or else they will be rejected. However, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to the proposal, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed.

4. 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/application submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their proposal/application is timely submitted.

5. Proposals received after the submission deadline will be considered late and not considered for this RFP 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 Ms. Jennifer

Shadle as soon as possible after the submission deadline – failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

6. Applicants may submit multiple proposals under this announcement but each one must be for a different project. If an applicant submits than one proposal for the same project EPA will review the first one received and any additional proposals for the same project will be deemed ineligible.

Section IV. Proposal/Application and Submission Information

Proposal Information

A. Proposal

In order to simplify the review process, obtain the maximum degree of comparison, and provide a fair and equitable evaluation of proposals, reviewers will rely on the content of the full proposal for evaluation purposes. Therefore, it is important that all full proposals are complete and adhere to the standard format as described in detail in this Section. For completeness of the grant application, please refer to the Proposal Submission Checklist (Appendix A). The original application must be submitted through Grants.gov. Each proposal must consist of the following components:

1. Proposal Cover Page (see Appendix B for a sample)

2. A one page project proposal summary.

3. Application for Federal Assistance – Standard Form 424 (SF-424) Complete the form. There are no attachments. Please be sure to include the organization fax number and e-mail 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.

4. Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs – Standard Form 424A (SF-

424A) Complete the form. 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. If indirect costs are included, 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. In Section B:

Budget Categories column (1) should be filled out for federal funds, column (2) should be filled out for non-federal cost-share/match, and column (5) should be filled out for total project cost (combined federal funds and non-federal cost share/match).

B. Proposal Workplan (16 page maximum double spaced)

The workplan should be readable in PDF or MS Word and consolidated into a single file.

Please remember that there is a page limit for the workplan. All required documents, including the budget sheet should be attached at the beginning of the proposal.

The proposal workplan, must be no more than sixteen (16) double-spaced 8.5 x 11 inch pages (a page is one side of paper) (except for documents specifically excluded from the page limit as noted below). Pages should be consecutively numbered for ease of reading.

It is recommended that applicants use a standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins and that applicants format their workplan as described below for ease of reading. Applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in selection of an appropriate font for use in the proposal workplan. Additional pages beyond the 16 page limit will not be reviewed. If a single-spaced proposal workplan is submitted, it will only be reviewed up to the equivalent of the 16 page double-spaced page limit for proposal workplans [eight (8) single-spaced pages is the equivalent of the 16-page double-spaced proposal workplan page limit; any single-spaced pages in excess of 8 will not be reviewed]. The budget information, as described below, must be included within the 16-page limit not in the supporting materials or appendix. Any supporting materials (such as support letters from partners and annotated resumes) that the applicant chooses to provide are not included in the 16-page limit for the proposal workplan and should be submitted as attachments.

Full proposals that do not substantially comply with the criteria above may be returned unreviewed.

The Workplan must include the information below in paragraphs 1-12.

1. Introduction

a. Situation, Need, and Previous Efforts - Discuss notable gaps in knowledge or capabilities, why the proposed project should be performed, review significant work by yourself or by others in the proposed area of interest (include reference citations).

b. Objective(s) - State what is to be studied, measured, observed, or developed, and the anticipated results. State hypotheses that the proposed special study is designed to test.

c. Applications, Benefits, and Importance - Describe how the anticipated results relate to the goals/objectives of the FKNMS Water Quality Protection Program or the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative, the expected benefits, and their utility.

2. Methods and Approach

a. Description of Major Tasks - Divide the proposed effort into a meaningful set of tasks that must be performed to accomplish the objective(s) and describe each task. State the tasks in the same order as the hypotheses they are designed to test.

Experimental design must be described with statistical tests, if applicable, for hypotheses proposed.

b. Environmental Impact - State and explain any possible impact that your project will have on the environment, including the type and duration of such changes.

List in as much detail as possible the number of samples and species needed for your study. Document the need for sampling and objectively discuss potential impacts.

c. Future Efforts - If there are future efforts that should be performed in order for your project to be meaningful, or of major significance, please describe briefly the type, extent, and timing of those efforts. Is this a multi-year project? If possible, the individual parts (i.e., each year's effort) should stand alone.

3. Project Management

a. Administration - Describe the administrative responsibilities and authority of the Principal Investigator.

b. Roles/Assignments and Participation Time - Describe the team composition (including names and affiliations of key individuals) and the assignments of team members to major tasks. Provide specific estimates of the time (in hours, days, etc., not percent) that each member will work on the project.

4. Support Requirements and Conditions

a. Cooperation From Other Organizations - If a clearance or permit(s) from any government agency is required for execution of the project please provide the name of the agency, the method of obtaining the clearance or permit, and the time required or state "none".

b. Date or Facility Access - If access is required to data or facilities held by another organization, please identify the data or facility, the nature and type of access required, the methods of obtaining such access, and the effect of being denied access or state “none”.

5. Results/Outputs and Deliverables

Two types of reports are required from principal investigators.

a. Bi-Annual Reports - The principal investigator shall provide bi-annual progress reports to the Project Officer on March 30th and November 30th of each year.

These reports will consist of updates on progress toward work objectives, justification, approach, results to date, any problems encountered, actions taken to resolve problems, discussion of remaining tasks, and expenditures to date.

b. Final Report - Principal investigators shall prepare a draft final report summarizing the objectives, methods, approach, results, and significance of the study. The draft final report will be reviewed by the Project Officer and returned with comments. The principal investigator will address the comments and submit the final report with revisions. The final report will be due within six months of the completion of the project.

c. Deliverable Items and Schedule - Describe what items of data are to be delivered. State the format in which data will be presented. Provide a schedule for all deliverables.

Under a cooperative agreement with EPA and the FKNMS, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) have developed a data management plan and data management system for the monitoring and research programs in the FKNMS. Each grant recipient for special studies will work with FWRI to define data entry formats and data QA/QC protocols, and resolve data management conventions and issues. All original and ancillary data produced under the Special Studies Program will be generated, processed, stored, and archived in a manner that provides detailed documentation of the procedures used at all stages of data collection, reduction, processing, analysis, and storage.

6. Environmental Results – Outputs, Outcomes, and Results

a. Outputs (project products) - List the outputs expected to be produced through the completion of the proposed project; Outcomes (project objectives) - List the outcomes of the project to be accomplished as a result of the project outputs;

Link to EPA Strategic Plan - Describe how project products (outputs) and objectives (outcomes) support EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, Goal: “Protecting America’s Waters” found at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-2018-strategic-plan and National Water Program Guidance Strategies to Protect and Restore the Health of Communities and Large Aquatic - South Florida Ecosystem found at http://water.epa.gov/resource_performance/planning/FY-2015-National- Water-Program-Guidance.cfm

b. Tracking Outputs and Outcomes - Describe your approach for measuring and tracking your progress toward achieving the expected project output(s) and project outcome(s). Environmental Results-Applicants will be evaluated based on their plan and approach for measuring their progress towards achieving the expected project outcomes and outputs including those identified in Section I. B.

2. within this announcement.

7. Literature Cited

References used in the proposal narrative.

8. Budget Summary

Provide a detailed budget narrative describing funding for personnel, fringe benefits, travel expenses, equipment, supplies, contractual if applicable and other expenses.

General Information – Region 4 anticipates funding 3-5 Special Studies proposals in the $25,000 - $200,000 range until the $250,000 in anticipated funding is awarded for fiscal year 2015. Region Special Studies Program is viewed as long-term and additional dollars may be available to support additional special projects in future fiscal years. Applicants with accepted proposals will be eligible to receive funds from EPA via federal assistance agreements.

Specific budget information must be submitted in tabular form and summarized on Standard Form 424A. Applicants can download individual grant application forms, including Standard Forms (SF) 424 and SF 424A, from EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment website at: http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/application.htm. If you cannot access the electronic forms, contact the person listed in Section VII of this announcement and a paper application kit will be mailed upon request.

9. Biographies and Qualifications

Provide a brief biography for each team member that highlights education, experience, and publications related to the proposed project. Curriculum vitae must not exceed three pages each.

10. Programmatic 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 five years (no more than 5 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 past 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.

In addition, provide information on your organizational experience and plan for timely successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project, and your staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project.

11. Leveraging

Applicants should demonstrate (i) how they will coordinate the use of EPA funding with other Federal and/or non-Federal sources of funds to leverage additional resources to carry out the proposed project(s) and/or (ii) that EPA funding will complement activities relevant to the proposed project(s) carried out by the applicant with other sources of funds or resources. Leveraged funding or other resources need not be for eligible and allowable project costs under the EPA assistance agreement unless the Applicant proposes to provide a voluntary cost share or match. If EPA accepts an offer for a voluntary cost share/match/participation, applicants must meet their matching/sharing/participation commitment as a condition of receiving EPA funding. Applicants may use their own funds or other resources for voluntary match/cost share/participation if the standards at 2 CFR 200.306, as applicable, are met. Only eligible and allowable costs may be used for voluntary matches/cost shares/participation.

Other Federal grants may not be used as voluntary matches or cost shares without specific statutory authority (e.g. HUD's Community Development Block Grants). Any form of proposed leveraging that is evaluated under a section V ranking criteria must be included in the proposal and the proposal must describe how the applicant will obtain the leveraged resources and what role EPA funding will play in the overall project.

12. Appendices (3 pages maximum not included on the workplan 16 page limit) are recommended

Short appendices, not to exceed three total pages, may be used to provide technical backup material to the text, details of computation, and other pertinent information.

Techniques or methodologies, if critical to the successful completion of the research, should be discussed in detail within the proposal text (twelve-page limit). Do not attach copies of any journal articles or other proposals to your submittal.

NOTE: Proposals that do not follow the required format may be returned not reviewed.

C. Requirements 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., NW Mail Code: 3903R Washington, D.C. 20460

Courier Address:

OGD Waivers c/o Barbara Perkins Ronald Reagan Building 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Room #51267 Washington, D.C. 20460

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

- Funding Opportunity Number (FON)

- Organization Name and DUNS

- Organization’s Contact Information (email address and phone number)

- Explanation of how they lack the technical capability to apply electronically through Grants.gov because of 1) limited interest 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 alternative 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 contact and page limits (although the documentation of approval of an alternative 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 from submissions for any succeeding calendar year. For example, if there is a competitive opportunity listed 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 alternative submission methods. All other inquires about this announcement must be directed to the Agency Contact listed in Section VII of this announcement. Queries or requests submitted to the email address identified above for any reason other than to request an alternative submission method will not be acknowledged or answered.

D. Submission Instructions

Appendix D provides additional detailed information on Grants.gov Submission Instructions – please review it before submitting your proposal.

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. Please note: To apply through grants.gov, you must use Adobe Reader software and download the compatible Adobe Reader version. For more information about Adobe Reader, to verify compatibility, or to download the free software, please visithttp://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support/technical-support/software/adobe-reader-compatibility.html

You may also be able to access the application package for this announcement by searching for the opportunity onhttp://www.grants.gov. Go to http://www.grants.gov and then click on “Search Grants” at the top of the page and enter the Funding Opportunity Number, EPA-R4-15-SFL-01, or the CFDA number that applies to the announcement (CFDA 66.436), in the appropriate field and click the Search button. Alternatively, you may be able to access the application package by clicking on the Application Package button at the top right of the synopsis page for the announcement on http://www.grants.gov. To find the synopsis page, go tohttp://www.grants.gov and click “Browse Agencies” in the middle of the page and then go to “Environmental Protection Agency” to find the EPA funding opportunities.

E. Mandatory Documents:

Please include the following as part of your proposal/application when submitting through Grants.gov

Mandatory Documents:

1. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

2. Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)

3. Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

4. Grants.gov Lobbying Form

5. EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54

6. EPA Form 4700-4 – Preaward Compliance Review Report

7. Proposal Cover Page (Sample in Appendix B)

8. One page project proposal summary

9. Narrative Proposal as described in Section IV B. 1-12 of the announcement

Optional Documents:

1. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL), if applicable

2. Other Attachments, if applicable

F. Proposal Submission Deadline:

Your organization’s AOR must submit your complete application package electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than 6:00pm ES on June 4, 2015. Please allow for enough time to successfully submit your application process and allow for unexpected errors that may require you to resubmit. Please submit all of the application materials described below using the www.grants.gov application package that you downloaded using the instructions above. For additional instructions on completing and submitting the electronic application package, click on the “Show Instructions” tab that is accessible within the application package itself.

Section V. Proposal Evaluation and Review Information

A. Merit Evaluation

All eligible proposals will be evaluated by reviewers using the following criteria to receive a score up to a total of 115 points:

B. Proposals will be evaluated by reviewers using the following criteria:

1. Timely Expenditure of Grant Funds - Expenditure of Awarded Grant Funds - Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their approach, procedures, and controls for ensuring that awarded grant funds will be expended in a timely and efficient manner. (5 points)

2. Rationale - how well the proposed project addresses one or more of the Priority Areas listed in Section I (20 points).

3. Scientific Merit - How well the project advances the state of science and knowledge within the South Florida marine ecosystems to assist the management decision making process. Components of the scientific merit review includes: background of the project, statement of the purpose, significance of the study, research question and design, methodology, project assumptions/limitations and anticipated findings (20 points).

4. Feasibility - ability of the project to be successfully completed within the time frames discussed in this announcement and other relevant constraints (15 points).

5. Environmental Results: Outputs, Outcomes and Tracking – proposals will be evaluated based on how well the proposal demonstrates the following: (5 points each, total of 15 points).

a. Outputs (products) expected to be achieved by this project.

b. Outcomes (objectives) expected to be achieved by this project.

c. That their proposed project’s objectives/outcomes are related to both the

EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, Goal: “Protecting America’s Waters” found at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-2018-strategic-plan and the FY15 National Water Program Guidance Strategies to “Protect and Restore the Health of Communities and Large Aquatic - South Florida Ecosystem” found at http://water.epa.gov/resource_performance/planning/FY-2015-National-Water- Program-Guidance.cfm.

6. Relevance to Resource Management - degree to which the proposals’ approach to addressing one of the Priority Areas produces results/outputs that can be applied to identifying and solving problems within the South Florida ecosystem (10 points)

7. Programmatic Capability and Environmental Results Past Performance Criteria (15 Points (3.75 per subcriteria)) Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their ability to successfully complete and manage the proposed project taking into account the applicant’s:

a. past performance in successfully completing and managing the assistance agreements identified in response to Section IV of the announcement,

b. history of meeting the reporting requirements under the assistance agreements identified in response to Section IV of…