OFFICE OF LOCAL DEFENSE COMMUNITY COOPERATION

Notice of Funding Opportunity

1. BASIC INFORMATION

2. ELIGIBILITY

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Local Cost Sharing

C. Eligible Projects

D. Eligible Costs

3. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. Purpose

B. Funding Priorities

C. Program Goals and Objectives

4. PROPOSAL CONTENTS AND FORMAT

A. Standard Form 424

B. Summary of Proposer and Eligibility

C. Summary of Community-Installation Need

Guidance for Installation Commander Support Letters

Guidance on National Security Wavier

D. Summary of Construction Readiness

5. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES

A. Proposal Resources

B. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management

C. Submission Instructions and Deadlines

D. Intergovernmental Review

6. PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Proposal Screening

B. Proposal Scoring Review Criteria

1. Criteria 1 – Community-Installation Need (36 points)

2. Criteria 2 – Construction Readiness (9 points)

3. Criteria 3 – Military Family Quality of Life Prioritization (55 points)

C. Ranking and Selection Process

Pa ge

D. Risk Review

7. AWARD NOTICES

8. POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION

A. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

B. Reporting Performance

C. Disbursements

D. Financial Reporting

E. Other Reporting

F. Project Closeout

9. OTHER INFORMATION

10. APPENDIX A

1. BASIC INFORMATION

A. Federal Agency Name: Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

B. Funding Opportunity Title: FY 2026 Defense Community Infrastructure Program

C. Announcement Type: Notice of Funding Opportunity

D. Funding Opportunity Number: OLDCC-26-F-0001

E. Assistance Listing Number: 12.027

F. Funding Details: Program funding of $230 million is available and will expire if not obligated prior to the close of business on September 30, 2026. No award may exceed $20 million or be less than $250,000. Requests for funding that are more than $20 million or less than $250,000 will not be scored and will be removed from consideration. Per statute, $76.65 million is available for projects that enhance the readiness of a military department or mission assurance at a military installation, and $76.65 million is available for projects that enhance military family quality of life at a military installation. The remaining $76.7 million is available for the remaining top-ranked projects as rated by the Defense Community Infrastructure Program Review Panel.

G. Key Dates: The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation will hold two (2) pre-proposal webinars at 3 p.m. EDT on April 28, 2026, and May 5, 2026. Details regarding those webinars can be found here: https://OLDCC.gov/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip

Complete proposals must be submitted to the funding opportunity number on Grants.gov by 5 p.m. PDT on June 25, 2026, the Proposal Deadline. Proposals will be screened to ensure eligibility and completeness prior to being scored.

Complete and eligible proposals will be evaluated against the criteria in Section 6, paragraph B. (Section 6.B.). A final proposal ranking will be provided to the Assistant Secretary of War (Energy, Installations, and Environment) for approval. Once approved, the listing will be provided to the Director, Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, to invite a formal grant application on or about August 11, 2026.

All grant agreements must be issued and countersigned prior to September 28, 2026, to ensure the appropriated funds are obligated no later than September 30, 2026.

H. Executive Summary: This Notice of Funding Opportunity announces available funding from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program to assist state and local governments, and not-for-profit, member-owned utilities, in addressing deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation. For purposes of the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, “Community Infrastructure” includes projects related to transportation; schools; hospitals;

https://oldcc.gov/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip police, fire, or emergency response, or other community support facilities; utility projects (e.g., water, wastewater, telecommunications, electric and natural gas facilities); and demolition projects. The facility or project itself must be owned by a state or local government, or a not-for-profit, member-owned utility. The facility addressed in the proposal must not be located on a military installation unless it is on property under the jurisdiction of a military department that is also subject to a real estate agreement (including a lease or an easement) held by an eligible community.

No award under this program may exceed $20 million or be less than $250,000. The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation will determine the final amount of each award based on the recommendation of a Defense Community Infrastructure Program Review Panel, the availability of appropriations, and the provisions of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200 - Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 C.F.R. Part 200). Review of an invited grant application will include consideration of the reasonableness, allowability, and allocability of the proposed funding.

Defense Community Infrastructure Program grants may supplement funds available under federal programs administered by agencies other than the Department of War (hereinafter “the Department”). Additionally, subject to statutory authority, the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation may transfer funds to another federal agency for that agency’s award to state or local governments. School construction or renovation projects for a facility listed in the April 2019 “Secretary of Defense 2018 Public Schools on Military Installations Prioritized List” (and any future updates) are not eligible.

I. Agency contact information: Please access the Defense Community Infrastructure Program link on the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation homepage (https://OLDCC.gov/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip) for general information about both the Defense Community Infrastructure Program and the proposal solicitation period. Requests for further information or for help with problems related to this program should be directed to: oldcc.ncr.oldcc.mbx.dcip@mail.mil

Interested parties may sign up for email updates about the Defense Community Infrastructure Program at this web address:

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDODOLDCC/signup/14050

2. ELIGIBILITY

A. Eligible Applicants

The Secretary of War1 (hereinafter “the Secretary”), through the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, may award grants under this Notice to state and local governments, and to not-for-profit, member-owned utility services. “State” and “local governments” are

1 10 U.S.C. § 2391(d) provides this authority to the “Secretary of Defense.” However, pursuant to Executive Order 14347, Restoring the United States Department of War, and subsequent guidance, this Notice uses ”Secretary of War” instead of the statutory title.

https://oldcc.gov/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip mailto:oldcc.ncr.oldcc.mbx.dcip@mail.mil https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDODOLDCC/signup/14050 defined in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 200.1 (2 C.F.R. § 200.1). The guidance in 2 C.F.R. § 200.332 prescribes how entities eligible to receive funding under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program may act as pass-through entities. Proposals must be submitted on behalf of any proposed sub-recipient. Any proposals submitted by a sub-recipient will not be considered.

B. Local Cost Sharing

Grant recipients must agree to contribute not less than thirty percent (30%) of the total funding required for the community infrastructure project as a local cost share. For example, if the total project cost is $10 million, the required local cost share is $3 million for a $7 million Defense Community Infrastructure Program award. A proposal that does not commit to this required cost sharing, and is not subject to an exception below, will be deemed ineligible and removed from further consideration.

There are two exceptions to the local cost sharing requirement:

1. Local cost share funding contributions are not required for proposed community infrastructure projects located in rural areas, defined as a city, town, or unincorporated area that has a population of not more than 100,000 inhabitants. The absence of a local cost share contribution for a rural area in no way adversely impacts the competitiveness of the proposal.

2. Local cost share contributions are not required for proposed community infrastructure projects that are determined to be advantageous for reasons of national security. The absence of a local cost share contribution for a project that is determined to be advantageous for reasons of national security in no way adversely impacts the competitiveness or scoring of the proposal.

The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation does not score cost sharing of proposals.

Proposers seeking either of the cost sharing exceptions outlined above should follow the steps in Section 4.D.1.c of this Notice for the specific exception that applies to their project.

If a recipient intends to use both Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation funding and funding from another U.S. Federal Government agency for the same project, the local cost share contribution for the proposed Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation grant may not be used to satisfy a funding contribution required by the other federal agency. Additionally, the ability to use other federal funds as a local cost share contribution for this program must be approved by the relevant Grantor and will be governed by the relevant authority and appropriation for those funds.

Any proposal relying on contributions sourced from other federal funds that have not been awarded through a counter-signed financial award pre-dating the proposal submission will not be considered. All proposals including the participation of other federal funds as a funding source must include with the proposal a copy of a counter-signed funding agreement with the awarding federal agency.

C. Eligible Projects

Eligible community infrastructure projects are any complete and usable transportation projects;

community support facilities (e.g., school, hospital, police, fire, emergency response, or other community support facility); utility infrastructure projects (e.g., water, wastewater, telecommunications, electric, gas, or other utility infrastructure (with necessary cyber safeguards)); or demolition projects that:

• are on land located off of a military installation or on property under the jurisdiction of a Secretary of a military department that is subject to a real estate agreement allowing the project or facility to be located on military property (including a lease or easement);

• support a military installation;

• are owned by a state, local government, or a not-for-profit, member-owned utility service;

• are supported by the installation commander representing the installation benefitting from the proposed project;

• are located where ground-disturbing work has not yet commenced; and,

• are construction-ready so that the project can be completed within five (5) years of grant award.

Projects that involve the installation of equipment on an existing building or structure (e.g., security cameras or purchase of communication equipment and their installation) and do not require ground disturbance are not eligible “hard construction or renovation” projects.

Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. §§ 2391(e)(1) and 2687, the term “military installation” means a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department, including any leased facility, which is located within any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam. It does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects, or flood control projects, but it does include a military facility owned and operated by a U.S. State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam, even though the facility is not under the jurisdiction of the Department, if the Secretary determines that the military facility is subject to significant use for training by the armed forces.

To be eligible, projects that will contribute to the training of cadets enrolled in an independent Reserve Officer Training Corps program at a covered educational institution must meet the requirements listed above. Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2391(e)(6), the term “covered educational institution” means a college or university that also meets each of the following criteria:

a) is a part B Institution, as defined in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1061);

b) is an 1890 Institution, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. § 7601);

c) is not affiliated with a consortium; and,

d) is located at least 40 miles from a major military installation.

The location of the proposed infrastructure project contributing to the training of such cadets does not have to be on the campus of the covered educational institution.

Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2391(d)(3), the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation will consider the information provided in the report on strategic seaports required by section 3515 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat.

1985) when evaluating projects pursuant to the selection criteria provided in 10 U.S.C. § 2391(d)(1)(B). There are eighteen (18) strategic seaports: Port of Anchorage (AK), Port of Port Arthur (TX), Port of Beaumont (TX), Port of Charleston (SC), Port of Corpus Christi (TX), Port of Everett (WA), Port of Guam (GU), Port of Gulfport (MS), Port of Jacksonville (FL), Port of Long Beach (CA), Port of Morehead City (NC), Port of Oakland (CA), Port of Philadelphia (PA), Port of San Diego (CA), Port of Savannah (GA), Port of Tacoma (WA), Port of Virginia (VA), and Port of Wilmington (NC).

Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2391(e)(4)(C), when considering military family quality of life pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2391(d)(1)(B)(ii), the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation will consider the impact of the community infrastructure on alleviating installation commuter workforce issues and the benefit of schools or other local infrastructure located off of a military installation that will support members of the armed forces and their dependents residing in the community.

D. Eligible Costs

Eligible costs include only hard construction and renovation costs, defined as those costs directly associated with construction project administration, inspection, construction, utilities, and contingency costs required to undertake a construction project, as well as costs of capital equipment affixed to real property with a depreciable life of not less than seven (7) years.

The following soft costs, are not eligible costs for Defense Community Infrastructure Program funding but can be used as a source for local cost share contribution funds:

• Project management,

• Planning,

• Design,

• Permitting,

• Responding to federal agency requests for compliance with environmental planning, and

• Some site or land acquisition (see below).

Construction contingency costs are limited to no more than fifteen percent (15%) of the proposed project.

Site or land acquisition as part of the project is subject to the following conditions:

• The purchase of real property, whether with Defense Community Infrastructure Program award funds, local cost share contributions, or some combination thereof, is not an eligible activity.

• The costs to acquire leases or easements may be funded through local cost share contributions.

• The appraised value of owned real estate that is contributed to a project may be an eligible source for local cost share, if accepted by the Grantor. Such inclusions are subject to compliance with the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 4601 et seq., 49 C.F.R. Part 24).

Proposals that identify ineligible costs proposed for reimbursement with Defense Community Infrastructure Program award funds will be deemed ineligible and removed from further consideration.

3. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. Purpose

Section 2391(d) of Title 10, United States Code, authorizes the Secretary to “make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement funds available under federal programs administered by agencies other than the Department to assist State governments, local governments, and not-for-profit, member-owned utility services to address deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation.” The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (Public Law No. 119-75), provided $130 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, and section 20001 of the One Big Beautiful Bill (Public Law No. 119-21) provided an additional $100 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, totaling $230 million available for grant awards under the Fiscal Year 2026 competition.

B. Funding Priorities

10 U.S.C. § 2391(d)(1)(B) directs the Secretary to establish criteria for the selection of community infrastructure projects for each of the following categories:

1. Projects that will enhance the readiness of a military department or mission assurance at a military installation;

2. Projects that will enhance military family quality of life at an installation, taking into consideration the factors described in 10 U.S.C. § 2391(e)(4)(C);

3. Projects that will enhance military installation resilience, as defined at 10 U.S.C.

§ 101(f)(8); and,

4. Projects that will contribute to the training of cadets enrolled in an independent Reserve Officer Training Corps program at a covered educational institution.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law No: 119-60) requires that for a two-year period after enactment of the Act, the Secretary give priority under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program to projects that enhance military family quality of life at a military installation for which a proposal2 has previously been submitted. The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation identified the proposals that may qualify for this prioritization and these proposals are listed in Appendix A.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 also requires that the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation allocate not less than two-thirds of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for such program equally among projects that will enhance the readiness of a military department or mission assurance at a military installation and projects that will enhance military family quality of life.

All proposed projects must be construction-ready, include ground-disturbing activity, and result in a stand-alone project that produces complete and usable facilities, improvements to existing facilities, or that completes a distinct, definable phase of a larger project that will be completed during the period of performance of the grant agreement. For a project to be viable, the applicant and subsequent Grantee must demonstrate throughout the term of the award that project activity can be completed so all awarded funds can be disbursed no later than June 30, 2031.

C. Program Goals and Objectives

The Defense Community Infrastructure Program is a competitive grant program designed to address deficiencies in community infrastructure that can support a military installation’s readiness and lethality by investing in relationships and collaborations between local installations and states, communities, and non-profit owners of critical infrastructure assets essential for the delivery of essential military missions. This program benefits and supports the readiness and lethality of our military installations as well as our service members and their families, and the communities in which they live and work.

4. PROPOSAL CONTENTS AND FORMAT

Each interested respondent must submit a complete proposal through Grants.gov. A complete proposal includes:

A. Standard Form 424 (Grants.gov form) B. Summary of Proposer and Eligibility

2 The statutory direction for the program in the FY 2026 NDAA uses the word “application” and not “proposal.”

Since its inception, the Defense Community Infrastructure program has had a two-step process for grantees to obtain funded grant awards. First, interested parties submit a “proposal” detailing their project and funding requirements.

These proposals are subject to a rigorous review process to create a ranked list. Next, proposals on this ranked list are invited to submit “applications” up to the appropriated funding amount. These applications then lead to funded grant awards. Given all “applications” as defined by the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation are funded, prioritizing these projects would be inconsistent with the intent of the Congressional direction. Rather the Congressional intent is to fund projects that have remained unfunded in at least one round of grant competition.

Thus, this NOFO uses the word “proposal” for purposes of discussing these prioritized military family quality of life prior submissions to be consistent with the program and how other NOFOs have referred to such submissions.

C. Summary of Project Enhancement Category and Community-Installation Need (includes the installation letter of support with references to national security, if applicable)

D. Summary of Construction Readiness

Sections B. through D. listed above may not exceed twenty-one (21) pages (single-sided, single-spaced with 1-inch margins, 11-point Times New Roman font). The Standard Form 424, the letter of support from the installation commander, and documentation showing evidence of the availability of any other participating federal funding do not count against this twenty-one (21) page limit. No other attachments should be submitted.

Proposals that exceed twenty-one (21) pages will not be scored and will be removed from consideration.

Any plans, designs, studies, construction estimates, or other documents referenced to support a proposal should be summarized within the twenty-one (21) page limit. A copy of any document referenced within a proposal must be available at the time the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation invites grant applications.

The requirements for each of these sections are described below. The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation provides optional resources for proposers to use at their discretion for several of these sections. Information on those resources and where to access them is described in this Notice in Section 5., Submission Requirements and Deadlines.

The pace of technological advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) and its adoption continue to accelerate, often faster than the speed at which guidance, governance structures, and risk-management policies can be developed. Thus, if AI or AI tools are used to draft or review a proposal, the proposer must ensure that all usage complies with any applicable internal policies and that all documents are subject to human review (i.e., human-in-the-loop) to ensure data security and accuracy of responses. The proposer must state in the proposal that artificial intelligence was used to draft the submission so that the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation can ensure it complies with Federal AI policies. If a proposer is selected to apply for a grant and uses AI to prepare that application, the proposer must ensure and state the same in the grant application. All awarded Grantees must agree to be bound by the requirements for AI use in the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation Grants Management Manual Terms & Conditions applicable at the time of award.

A. Standard Form 424

Completion of a Standard Form 424 is required to submit a proposal through Grants.gov. Please refer to the instructions provided with the Grants.gov form on how to complete the Standard Form 424. If inaccurate information is entered into Box 18 (Estimated Funding), the proposal will still be considered for funding provided all other estimated funding information in the proposal is consistent.

B. Summary of Proposer and Eligibility

The Summary of Proposer and Eligibility section provides information necessary to determine eligibility under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program and may not exceed two (2) pages in length. Content for this section should only include the following:

1. Proposing Entity Name & Contact Information. Please identify:

a) Submitting entity name;

b) Primary point of contact name, phone number, e-mail address, and organization address;

and,

c) The organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) as obtained from SAM.gov.

****Note: entity name must match UEI registration in SAM.gov.****

2. Project Name. Name the proposal as follows: city/county project location, project type, benefitting installation, ZIP+4 code (e.g., Johnson County Sewer Infrastructure Improvement Project for Fort Blue 44122-5555).

3. Proposed Project Location. Using latitude and longitude coordinates (e.g., 38°51'12.9"N

77°02'56.1"W), identify the approximate location for the proposed project, including the zip code(s).

4. Project Type. Select one of the following eligible project types: transportation project (e.g.

roadway, runway, bridge); community support facility (e.g., school, hospital, police, fire, emergency response, or other community support facility); utility infrastructure project (e.g., water, wastewater, telecommunications, electric, gas, or other utility infrastructure); or demolition project.

5. Benefitting Installation. Please identify the primary military installation to benefit from the proposed project or if multiple installations benefit, please identify all installations.

6. Enhancement Category. Indicate the enhancement category benefitting a military installation

(select only one): the readiness of a military department or mission assurance at a military installation, military family quality of life, military installation resilience, or contributing to training of cadets at an independent program at a covered educational institution.

7. Project Description: Provide a summary that describes the project type, the deficiencies in community infrastructure that the project will address, and the expected outcome after the project is implemented.

8. Quality of Life Prioritization: Indicate if the proposal is a repeat military family quality of life submission:

a) Including the full and complete title of the project as it was previously submitted per

Appendix A.

b) Attest no groundbreaking activity has occurred for the project and it is scoped as it was originally submitted.

c) Provide the Tracking # identified in Appendix A associated with the previous submission.

d) Include a statement that this project is seeking priority consideration for the military family quality of life category.

Proposals seeking to be prioritized as a repeat military family quality of life submission must include this information or it will not be scored for prioritization. If a project was submitted multiple times, the proposer only needs to identify one of the previously submitted projects and should choose the project that most closely mirrors their current FY 2026 proposal submission. See Section 6.B.3. for additional information as to how the similarity of projects will be assessed and scored.

9. Status of Local Cost Share Contributions. Indicate only one of the following possible statuses for local cost share funding:

a) The proposal includes the required at least thirty percent (30%) local cost share and/or another (non-Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation) federal grant source project cost contribution;

b) The proposal does not include a non-federal project cost contribution due to the rural location of the project;

c) The proposal does not include a local cost share contribution but the project is advantageous for reasons of national security; or,

d) The proposal includes a local cost share and/or another (non-Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation) federal grant source project cost contribution even though one is not required due to either the project being in a rural area or by being advantageous for reasons of national security.

10. For projects that include local cost share and/or another (non-Office of Local Defense

Community Cooperation) federal grant source cost contributions, indicate (more than one can apply):

a) All proposed local cost share contributions are currently available and funds are under the control of the proposer;

b) All proposed local cost share contributions are not currently under the control of the proposer but will be available for use on the project in time to meet the proposed construction start date;

c) Proposed local cost share cost contributions include funding from another (non-Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation) federal grant source that has already been awarded (i.e., financial agreement signed as of the date of this proposal); and/or,

d) Proposed local cost share contribution will be used to pay for costs listed in the project budget that are unallowable, such as design, planning, environmental, indirect, and other soft costs.

11. Each proposal shall include evidence of the intended Grantee’s ability and authority to manage grants (do not attach resumes); for example, a summary of past federal funding received, the existence of project staff with federal grant management experience that will manage the project, etc.

12. Each proposal shall include evidence of the intended Grantee’s ability and authority to manage the construction of improvements and then own, operate, and maintain those improvements.

13. Each proposal shall identify that the Grants.gov Submitting Official is authorized by the proposer to submit a proposal and subsequently apply for assistance.

14. Each proposal shall identify if artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence tools were used to draft a proposal and attest that the proposal was subject to human review to ensure data security and accuracy of responses.

C. Summary of Community-Installation Need

The Summary of Community-Installation Need section provides information necessary to assess the characteristics of the proposed project against the criteria listed below. Proposer should describe the proposed project and provide information on the community-installation need. This section may not exceed twelve (12) pages in length. A support letter from the benefitting installation commander must be included as part of this section; however, the length of that letter does not count towards the twelve (12) page maximum length for this section.

Content for this section should only include the following:

1. A description of the proposed project.

The project description must include the following pieces of information:

a) A general description of the project;

b) Major scope elements (e.g., site work, utility upgrades, horizontal construction, any installation of mechanical systems, etc.);

c) Engineering information that demonstrates the technical feasibility of the construction project, and that the final project will be complete and usable; and,

d) The parties participating in successfully achieving the goals of the project, to include contemplated grant sub-recipients as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.1.

2. A description of how the project meets one of the enhancement categories identified below.

Proposals must select and describe only one enhancement category. Proposals that describe how projects meet multiple enhancement categories will be evaluated against the enhancement category identified in Section 4.B., the Summary of Proposer and Eligibility, required item #6.

a) A description of how/if the project will enhance the readiness of a military department or mission assurance at a military installation.

Proposals will be evaluated based on their evidence that the proposed project will enhance the readiness of a military department or mission assurance at a military installation, ensuring the continued ability to produce, deploy, and sustain military forces that will perform successfully in combat. Projects in this category are essential to mission success and operations. An assertion underlying this enhancement category is that, if such projects are not carried out, the mission of an installation would fail. Proposals must describe how mission failure would occur and the associated impacts.

b) A description how/if the project will enhance military family quality of life at a military installation, taking into consideration 10 U.S. Code § 2391(e)(4)(C).

Proposals will be evaluated based on their evidence that the proposed project will enhance military family quality of life. Proposals will be evaluated based on the impact of the project on installation commuter workforce issues and the benefit of schools or other local “community support” infrastructure (e.g., childcare, health, fitness center/gymnasiums/recreation, utility infrastructure to support housing) off a military installation that will support members of the armed forces and their dependents residing in the community near a military installation.

Projects in this category provide facilities focused on improving the physical, psychological, and social well-being of service members and their families.

c) A description how/if the project will enhance military installation resilience, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 101(f)(8).

Proposals will be evaluated based on their demonstrated ability to avoid, prepare for, minimize the effect of, adapt to, and recover from extreme weather events and changes in environmental conditions that impact military installations or essential services. Projects in this category address conditions that are a result of a natural or man-made event. Projects address issues that may cause a temporary mission disruption or failure. These projects often provide redundancy and serve an installation and community versus being directly tied to an essential mission.

d) A description how/if the project will enhance cadet training at “covered educational institutions.”

Proposals supporting the training of cadets must describe: (1) how the infrastructure project will contribute to the training of cadets enrolled in an independent program at a “covered educational institution,” and (2) the resulting impact to the benefitting installation, identifying in the proposal the specific covered educational institution. Proposals must describe how the project serves a covered educational institution as described in Section 2.C.

3. A narrative describing the community-installation need.

The community-installation need narrative must include:

a) Details about how the completed project will address a specific deficiency in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation;

b) A summary of how the selected enhancement category addresses installation need including a description of how the absence of the proposed community infrastructure project degrades the readiness of a military department or mission assurance at a military installation, military family quality of life, military installation resilience, or the training of cadets enrolled in an independent Reserve Officer Training Corps program at a covered educational institution;

c) A list of the benefits of the project and the likely beneficiaries of the project, including metrics such as an assessment of the population of military service members or cadets and/or their families that will benefit (e.g., 0-100% of the population); and,

d) A letter of support from an installation commander of a benefitting installation. If multiple installations are to benefit from a project, one letter of support is sufficient as long as the letter is signed by all benefitting installations.

Guidance for Installation Commander Support Letters

Failure to include a signed letter in the submitted proposal from a benefitting installation commander (or senior military service leader authorized to represent the Military Department for the purposes of this letter of support) will result in the removal of a proposal from consideration under the competition. An installation commander’s signature on a letter of support is not prohibited under the Joint Ethics Regulations or federal ethics regulations provided that the letter complies with and contains only the following information:

a) Proposers must ensure that the installation commander is aware of, and the letter reflects support for, the scope of the entire project, including operational benefits or impacts. The letter of support must detail:

i. Information about the existing conditions at the local installation that the proposed community infrastructure project will address;

ii. An assessment of impact to the local installation, should the proposed project not proceed; and,

iii. A description of the criticality of the proposed project to the installation’s or tenant’s mission and/or operations.

b) The letter of support must state the installation commander’s willingness to support the community’s or covered educational institution’s execution of the project, including assisting the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation with review of and advice on required environmental compliance and consultation documentation for the proposed project about which the installation has relevant information, technical expertise, or established relationships with consulting parties. The purpose of including a statement regarding the installation commander’s willingness to assist with environmental compliance is to acknowledge that installation personnel are authorized to advise and support the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation Grantees in gathering data, evaluating site conditions, reviewing documentation, and applying expertise to assist with completing required compliance documentation for the National Environmental Policy Act or other regulatory consultations.

c) In instances where a waiver from identifying a local project cost share contribution source is being requested due to national security needs/importance, the issuance of the National Security Waiver must occur on or not more than one year before the deadline for the submission of a proposal and be included in the proposal.

d) In instances where multiple projects are proposed to benefit an installation (whether the projects are proposed by one or multiple proposers), the letter of support must prioritize the projects.

Guidance on National Security Wavier

Proposers seeking a national security wavier must initiate this request in advance with their local installation, and the request for the waiver should be raised by the installation commander to the cognizant Military Department Secretary attesting to the national security need/importance of the proposed project. The issuance of the National Security Waiver must occur on or not more than one year before the deadline for the submission of a proposal and be included in the proposal. If a waiver for national security is being sought and an approved waiver is not included in the proposal, that proposal will not be scored and will be removed from consideration.

4. A description how/if the project supports strategic seaports.

Proposals supporting a strategic seaport must identify that: (1) the proposed project is listed in the report on strategic seaports provided to Congress in response to Section 3515 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92); and (2) the strategic seaport where the proposed project is located. Proposers should work with the benefitting local installation commander to confirm whether the proposed project is listed in the aforementioned report.

D. Summary of Construction Readiness

Proposers must provide evidence that the proposed project can commence (i.e., break ground) quickly enough to ensure that the project can be completed within five (5) years of a grant award date. The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation will determine the viability of a project based on the evidence provided. This Summary section may not exceed seven (7) pages in length.

The Summary of Construction Readiness section must contain information for the following three (3) scored characteristics of construction readiness:

1. Budget and funding sources.

All submissions must include a project budget section that identifies the information below.

Proposals must state if an item below does not apply; budgets that fail to address the following items will be down-scored.

a) Proposals must provide a reasonable, allowable, and allocable project budget that demonstrates an understanding of eligible costs. Costs identified in this project budget must be broken out by major cost elements for project administration, inspection, construction, and contingency costs. This project budget must also identify the total cost for the proposed project, identifying which costs would be contributed by other sources of funding (e.g., other federal matching funds, cash on hand, in-kind contributions, etc.).

An itemization or breakdown of major cost elements must accompany the budget to show how the budget was developed.

If soft costs (i.e., costs that are not direct construction costs) are required for grant management, planning, design, and execution are identified as part of the project budget, they must be funded as part of the local cost share portion of the project.

Please note that all costs included in project budgets must have been incurred after August 13, 2018, the date of enactment of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.

b) If the proposed project is part of a larger project (i.e., a phase), the proposer must provide details about the status of all funding to complete the total project, and the severability of the project portion being requested in the proposal from the larger project.

c) An overview of all funding sources, including for each proposed local cost share source a firm commitment and unconditioned availability (including any eligibility of federal funds to be counted as the funding contribution) to complete the project. The proposal itself must include evidence that the necessary local cost share funding will be available to execute the project prior to disbursement of Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation funds. Section 2.B. of this Notice outlines the two exceptions to the local cost share contribution requirement.

If a project is located in a rural area and seeking an exception to the local cost share requirement, the proposal must include: 1) a statement identifying the city, town, or unincorporated area with jurisdiction over the project location, including the zip code in which the project is located, and include that jurisdiction’s population from last official count; and 2) state the proposer is not required to provide a local cost share contribution.

If a proposal is advantageous for reasons of national security and seeking an exception to the local cost share requirement, the proposer must assert in their proposal the basis for this reduction or waiver of the required cost share and include a signed statement from the cognizant Military Department Secretary (i.e., Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, or Secretary of the Air Force) attesting to the national security need/importance of the proposed project.

d) Proposals relying on debt financing for any portion of their project must demonstrate how any Federal Interest that is created through the proposed project will be preserved through any subsequent refinancing, foreclosure, or other actions that may change the purpose, life, and/or benefactors of the enhancement that was the basis for the Federal Interest. For more information on the applicable Federal Interest policy, see the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation Grants Management Manual on oldcc.gov.

e) If necessary, provide an acknowledgment that the requested grant funds do not supplant other available federal funds, such as those through the Defense Access Road Program, Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development Grant Program, the Economic Development Administration Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs, etc. If other federal funding is required to execute the project, the proposer must include a copy of a counter-signed funding agreement with the awarding federal agency.

f) The proposing entity must also state its capability to secure a surety bond (e.g., a bid guarantee, performance bond, payment bond, etc.) prior to the commencement of construction activity in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.326.

g) Acknowledgement that any cost overruns will be the obligation of the proposer.

h) Acknowledgment that the Build America, Buy America Act applies to all grant awards under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program. Please note that the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation does not provide waivers for compliance with the Build America, Buy America Act.

2. Proposed project schedule.

A detailed project development schedule must be included that explains the project execution strategy. The proposer must demonstrate that the project can commence quickly enough to ensure that the project can be completed no later than five (5) years following the obligation of federal funds. Proposals must state if an item below does not apply. Schedules that fail to include the following items will be down-scored.

a) Status and timeline to complete design and engineering for the project.

b) Status and identification of all required federal and state/local permits including status and timeline to obtain such permits; this includes construction, planning, and environmental permits, reviews, or authorizations. If applicable, proposers must identify whether the proposed project is subject to inclusion in state, regional, metropolitan, or local approval regimes, or a certification from another agency (e.g., a Metropolitan Planning Organization) of the inclusion of the project in any such planning document.

The proposer must demonstrate that conformance with applicable state, regional, and/or local planning requirements is attainable within a reasonable timeline of grant award, list all necessary permitting, and the schedule for obtaining such permits.

Any required long lead-time permits to include federal agencies and/or those requiring multi-agency consideration or approval (e.g., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, etc.) must be identified. Failure to identify all necessary permits with a schedule in submitted proposals will result in down-scoring during the proposal review period and potential grant termination should the project be awarded and it determined that information was knowingly withheld.

c) Status and identification of federal and state/local environmental compliance and consultation requirements (e.g., National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.)) and a detailed plan for their completion. If awarded a grant, the Grantee must ensure the project schedule and budget allow for full compliance with all environmental requirements. Grantees should incorporate time, resources, and expertise necessary to gather appropriate information and data, conduct analysis, complete notifications, secure permitting, and prepare documentation in coordination with the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to satisfy all environmental compliance and consultation requirements. Construction and ground disturbance may not begin for a grant project until the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation determines that the National Environmental Policy Act and other pre-construction documentation is complete and is of sufficient quality to inform a reliable conclusion about the potential environmental impacts of the project.

If an environmental review was already completed by another Federal agency or the benefitting military installation for the proposed project, this documentation must be of sufficient quality for the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to adopt or otherwise rely upon for its independent determination under applicable laws. The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation reserves the right to return the Grantee’s proposed documentation for revision, in full or part, if determined unsuitable to adopt or rely upon for the project.

If awarded a grant, the Grantee may also be required to comply with other environmental laws with requirements that support but are independent of the National Environmental Policy Act, including but not limited to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. These laws may include consultation, plans, permits, or other requirements which are the responsibility of the Grantee to fulfill in coordination with the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.

d) Timeline for contracting and bidding process.

e) Start and end dates of construction.

f) Timeline to establish site control. If the site is not under the proposer’s control for construction or renovation purposes, the schedule must identify a timeline or key milestones to obtaining site control (including the acquisition of any necessary easements) to ensure the project can be completed within five (5) years of a grant award date when the funds for this competition will expire.

3. Status of site control.

Proposals must provide details on the status of site control for the life of the investment.