507TrainingGrantRFP(FINAL)_6.21.17.pdf

OVERVIEW SECTION

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: “Host and Facilitation of the State Small Business Ombudsman/Small Business

Environmental Assistance Provider 507 Program’s Biannual Training”

ACTION: Request for Proposals (RFP) – Initial Announcement

RFP NO: EPA-OA-OSDBU-17-01

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO.: 66.610

DATES: The closing date and time for receipt of proposals is August 7, 2017 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (EST) in order to be considered for funding. Proposal packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov) no later than August 7, 2017, 4:00 pm EST to receive consideration.

To allow for efficient management of the competitive process, EPA requests submittal of an informal notice of ‘Intent to Apply’ by July 17, 2017 to hoag.paula@epa.gov. Submissions of Intent to Apply is optional; it is a process management tool that will allow EPA to better anticipate the total staff time required for efficient review, evaluation, and selection of submitted proposals.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities that can provide planning, hosting and training conference facilitation support for the nation-wide State Small Business Ombudsman (SBO)/Small Business Environmental Assistance Providers’ (SBEAP) 507 Program, a regulatory compliance assistance program created under section 507 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

The state compliance assistance 507 Programs, which are dispersed throughout the U.S. states and trust territories, often partner together to share ideas, resources and support small business assistance on a national level. Typically, their partnership efforts include communication, distributing and exchanging of information on compliance assistance and program activities, as well as locating environmental compliance and sustainability information focused on small business. In order to sustain the states’ partnership and sharing of resources, the state 507 Program staff members meet in person on an annual basis. Funding under this announcement will be used for planning, hosting and facilitation activities that support this nation-wide 507 Program Training Conference on a biannual basis only.

The goal of this co-sponsorship agreement is to provide state and trust territory SBO and SBEAP staff, as well as the small business community that are required to comply with environmental regulations, with support in regulatory compliance training and resource development through a biannual event, where each can access environmental regulatory/technical training and information, resources, small business content or activities; all which help this nation-wide program stay connected and provide well rounded environmental compliance assistance to the small business community and public overall.

FUNDING/AWARDS: The total estimated funding available under this competitive funding opportunity is approximately $88,000, subject to the availability of funds, quality of proposals received, and other applicable considerations. (Refer to Section 2.)

CONTENTS BY SECTION:

1. Funding Opportunity Description

2. Award Information

3. Eligibility Information

4. Proposal and Submission Information

5. Proposal Review Information

6. Award Administration Information

7. Agency Contact

8. Other Information (Appendices)

Section 1 - Funding Opportunity Description.

A. Background.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), Asbestos and Small Business Ombudsman (ASBO) is seeking proposals from eligible entities to develop a strategy in planning, hosting and facilitating the Small Business Ombudsman and Small Business Environmental Assistance Programs Training Conference, on a biannual basis, starting with the first training event to be held in the Spring of 2018.

Small Business Environmental Assistance Programs (SBEAPs) were created as a result of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Section 507. The statutory language requires that all states develop a program to assist small businesses in meeting the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Since 1990, many of these State 507 Programs have expanded to provide assistance in all media areas, including water, waste and other related issues for small businesses, often for medium and large businesses as well. SBEAPs provide free, confidential, environmental compliance and sustainability assistance to small businesses. As environmental regulation requirements and enforcement seemingly increase, and compliance assistance continues to decrease, the 507 Program Training Conference is one of the few opportunities to provide the essential support to the 507 Program’s environmental compliance assistance staff. In addition, the state programs work most effectively when partnering and consolidating their resources, an increasing necessity with shrinking budgets and to provide the evolving needs of the small business community throughout the country.

B. Program Funding History and Results In the past, the 507 Program Training Conference was fully funded by EPA, with either contractor planning support, or by agency staff development, on an annual or biannual basis. As time has gone on there has been an effort to save on funding and resources, while also encouraging more state-level engagement in the planning and hosting process. This shift in funding and planning support for the training has allowed efficiencies in developing the annual training efforts, while also reducing overall costs. The funding and hosting support now being offered through a co-sponsorship agreement with the states will allow for the training events to continue, with EPA partnership and support, while encouraging the states to maintain leadership of their training development and collaboration efforts in compliance assistance. Although the co-sponsorship funding will only support the annual training event on a biannual basis, EPA hopes that the state programs will continue to pool their resources together (as they have done in the recent past) for the years in which EPA cannot provide funding and continue to hold the training events on the off years in which the co-sponsorship funding is not available. As stated throughout this solicitation, EPA will support the training conference, through a co-sponsorship agreement, on a biannual basis only.

C. Assistance Activities This solicitation seeks eligible entities to submit proposals in support of the development and management of the National 507 Program Training Conference. Proposal applications are to focus on the 507 Program priorities based on the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment’s section 507 language (https://www.epa.gov/title-v-operating-permits/guidelines-implementation-section-507- 1990-clean-air-act-amendments) and clearly describe how the development and implementation of the 507 Program Training events provide benefit to environmental compliance assistance by outlining how the annual conference deliver the necessary training, collaboration and resource support opportunities directly related to the 507 Program activities.

D. Program Priorities

The 507 Program Training Conference is a necessary source of support, collaboration and information sharing for individual state programs that are spread throughout the country. The purpose of this training conference is to benefit the individual state SBO, SBEAP and Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP) members (that make up the 507 Program), the small business community that are provided the compliance assistance support, and the public that will benefit in reduced pollution and increased safety from a more environmentally compliant small business community.

The 507 Program Training Conference keeps the state small business assistance providers and the national small businesses community up to date on environmental policy and regulatory issues affecting small businesses, especially issues that pertain to environmental compliance assistance. The 507 Program Training event can meet those needs by providing the following activities:

1. Collaboration and Planning

Applicants should describe their strategy to best work with and manage the ongoing activities with State 507 Small Business Ombudsmen (SBOs), State 507 Small Business Environmental Assistance Programs (SBEAPs), 507 Program Compliance Assistance Coordinators (CAPs), and EPA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), as well as other EPA offices, small business community members, or potentially any other small business environmental assistance providers as necessary. In addition, the applicants must describe how they will collaborate and plan with any vendors or industry members that may be essential in supporting the goals of the 507 Program’s planning and participation of the annual training conferences. Under this co-sponsorship, collaboration and planning is especially important during the year leading up to the date of the biannual events, which are slated for the Spring 2018 and 2020.

2. Hosting and Facilitation of the Training Conference

Applicants should describe their strategy to best organize, host and facilitate the Program’s biannual training conference (for years 2018 and 2020), describing specific tools, activities and resources which will help encourage attendance, participation and engagement for those important face to face training and collaboration events. Additionally, consideration should be given as to how program members who cannot attend in person will still be able to participate in the training activities, through webinar participation or otherwise. Collaborating with those currently managing the 507 Program Website is also required in order to ensure information about the training event announcements, agenda and all other relevant training event content is accessible to all through the 507 Program Website.

3. Providing Support for 507 Annual Conference and Outreach

Applicants should outline a strategy in how the 507 Program Training Conference will provide educational support and partnership outreach to potential participants and attendees attending the annual 507 Program Training Conference, on a biannual basis, starting with the planning, hosting and facilitation training conference event for year 2018 and then again in year 2020. Information gathering from members and lessons learned approaches are encouraged to help determine the ever changing needs of the 507 Program members.

E. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage.

Proposals under this Solicitation must clearly demonstrate support of the EPA 2014-2018

Strategic Plan. The projects selected for award through this competition will support progress towards EPA Strategic Plan Goal 4 (Ensuring the Safety and Chemicals and Preventing Pollution), and Goal 5 (Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring Compliance) as the goal of this grant is to support and ensure pollution prevention, as well as provide regulatory compliance assistance to the small business community.

View EPA’s strategic plan at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan

F. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outcomes/Outputs.

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

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

Outputs and outcomes differ both in their nature and in how they are measured. Applicants must discuss environmental outputs and outcomes in their proposed workplan.

1. Outcomes: The term “outcome” refers to 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 environmental, behavioral, health-related or programmatic in nature, must be quantitative, and may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period.

EPA anticipates outcomes from projects expected to be awarded under this announcement will include but are not limited to the following:

a. For working/collaborating with the SBO/SBEAP’s 507 Program - better air quality conditions and reduced waste due to the small business community better able to comply with EPA regulations

b. For the development of the 507 Program Training Conference - the reduction of air toxins due to the increased awareness of air quality regulations.

2. Outputs: The term “output” refers to an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work products related to an environmental goal or objective, that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period.

EPA anticipates the outputs from the projects expected to be awarded under this announcement will include but are not limited to the following:

a. For working/collaborating with the SBO/SBEAP’s 507 Program – increased levels and quality of environmental compliance assistance through training and access to current, relevant studies for small businesses that are required to comply with US Environmental Protection Agency laws and regulations.

b. For the development of the 507 Program Training Conference– increased program capacity and cohesiveness among the compliance assistance providers nationwide through training and access to current, relevant studies, ensuring better outreach and assistance for the small business community in complying with environmental laws and regulations.

G. Supplementary Information.

The statutory authority to provide financial assistance 507 program can be found in the Clean Air Act, §103(b)(3), which authorizes the award of grants for research, investigations, training, and other activities or development of program for prevention and control of air pollution. The 507 Program National Training Conference helps states, territories, universities, small businesses and EPA share environmental compliance assistance information of air regulations more efficiently and effectively by providing resource/tool sharing, networking, training and compliance assistance support. The general public also benefits from the 507 Program Training Conference in pollution prevention because small businesses are more effectively complying with EPA regulations due to increased and successful outreach assistance from the training and compliance assistance partnership throughout the country.

Section 2 - Award Information.

A. What is the amount of available funding?

The total estimated funding available under this competitive opportunity is approximately $88,000 for the entire 4-year co-sponsorship agreement. It is estimated that for each biannual event the total cost should amount to roughly $44,000, so for two events in a four-year period the total amount slated for this solicitation is $88,000.

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

EPA anticipates award of up to approximately one (1) co-sponsorship agreement under this announcement, ranging in value from approximately $40,000 to $90,000, subject to the availability of funds, quality of evaluated proposals, and other applicable considerations. Funds will be awarded incrementally over a four-year period, with the first year funding estimated at approximately $44,000, subject to availability of funds. In addition, EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of original selection decision.

C. Funding Type

The funding for this project will be in the form of a cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements permit substantial involvement between the EPA Project Officer and the selected applicants in the performance of the work supported. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial Federal involvement for this project will include:

1. Close monitoring of recipient’s performance to verify the results proposed;

2. Collaboration during performance of the scope of work;

3. Review of any proposed changes to work plan and/or budget;

4. Review of proposed procurements in accordance with 2 CFR 200.317 and 2 CFR

200.318;

5. Approving qualifications of key personnel (EPA will not select employees or grantees employed by the award recipient);

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

7. Review and concurrence on project outputs for consistency with the EPA approved scope of work.

D. Will proposals be partially funded?

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

EPA reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no awards under this announcement or, to make fewer awards than anticipated.

E. What is the project period for award(s) resulting from this solicitation?

The project period for awards resulting from this announcement is estimated to begin in Fall 2017. Proposed project periods may be up to four years.

Section 3 - Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Entities.

Under this solicitation, EPA has limited eligible applicants to State air pollution control agencies or the state-specified entity (typically a state college or university) under the direction of a State air pollution control agency and approved by EPA in accordance with the Guidelines for Implementation of Section 507 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (Guidelines found here:

https://www.epa.gov/title-v-operating-permits/guidelines-implementation-section-507-1990-clean-air-act-amendments). Additionally, a state specified entity must be eligible for funding as described under section 103(b)(3) of the Clean Air Act (which clarifies the research, investigation, training and other activities related to prevention and control of air pollution) and CFDA 66.610. The other eligible entities identified in CFDA 66.610 are not eligible.

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 applications based on a leveraging criterion. 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 application (See Section IV of the announcement).

Leveraged funds and resources may take various forms as noted below.

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

• A voluntary cost 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 statute 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 materialize during grant performance, then EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2 CFR Part 200 as applicable.

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 Part 200 as applicable.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria.

These are requirements that, if not met by the time of proposal submission will result in elimination of the proposal from consideration for funding. Only proposals from eligible entities (see Section 3.A above) that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section 5 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. a. Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section 4 of this announcement or else they will be rejected.

However, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to the narrative proposal, or parts of the narrative proposal, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed. (See Section 4 for specific details).

b. In addition, initial proposals must be submitted through 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 4) on or before the proposal submission deadline published in Section 4 of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section 4 of this announcement to ensure that their proposal is timely submitted.

c. Proposals submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with

Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their proposal/application 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 Paula Hoag at 202-

566-2496 or hoag.paula@epa.gov as soon as possible after the submission deadline—failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

2. All proposal materials must be submitted in English.

3. The total funding requested may not exceed $88,000.

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

Section 4 - Proposal and Submission Information.

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

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

Mailing Address:

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

Mail Code: 3903R Washington, DC 20460

Courier Address:

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

Rm # 51267 Washington, DC 20004

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

• 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 internet access or 2) no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials through https://www.Grants.gov.

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

If an exception is granted, it is valid for submissions to EPA for the remainder of the entire calendar year in which the exception was approved and can be used to justify alternative submission methods for proposal submissions made through December 31 of the calendar year in which the exception was approved (e.g., if the exception was approved on March 1, 2016, it is valid for any competitive or non-competitive proposal submission to EPA through December 31, 2016). Applicants need only request an exception once in a calendar year and all exceptions will expire on December 31 of that calendar year. Applicants must request a new exception from required electronic submission through Grants.gov for submissions for any succeeding calendar year. For example, if there is a competitive opportunity issued on December 1, 2016 with a submission deadline of January 15, 2017, the applicant would need a new exception to submit through alternative methods beginning January 1, 2017.

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

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

Your organization’s authorized official representative (AOR) must submit your complete proposal electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov) no later than August 7, 2017, 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time (ET).

C. Content and Proposal Submission.

The following documents are required for all proposal packages. All packages must contain a “Narrative Proposal,” one completed and signed Standard Form 424 (SF 424), “Application for Federal Assistance,” and a budget narrative. The Narrative Proposal, a maximum of 17 single-spaced pages in length, must explicitly describe the applicant’s proposed project and specifically address each of the evaluation criteria disclosed in Section 5(A), Evaluation Criteria, and the threshold eligibility criteria in Section 3(C).

1. Standard Form 424 (SF-424), Application for Federal Assistance, with original signature and Standard Form (SF) 424A, Budget Information

Complete the forms found here: https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-grantee-forms. There are no attachments. Please be sure to include organization fax number and email address in Block 5 of the Standard Form SF 424. The total amount of federal funding requested for the project period should be on line 5(e) and on line 6(k) of SF-424A, the amount of the 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 included on line 22.

2. Narrative Proposal.

Narrative Proposals must be concise, well organized, and not exceed 17 typed, single-line spaced, 8 1/2 x 11" pages. The Narrative Proposal must provide the information detailed in this section, including responses to all Section 3(C), Threshold Criteria, and Section

5(A), Evaluation Criteria, identified in this announcement. Factual information about your proposed project must be provided. Do not include discussions of broad principles that are not specific to the proposed work or project covered by your proposal.

Responses to evaluation criteria should include the criteria number and title but need not restate the entire text of the criteria. Sufficient detail must be provided to allow for an evaluation of the merits of the proposal. Vague descriptions, redundancy, and failure to address the selection criteria will result in a lower ranking.

The Narrative Proposal must substantially conform to the following outline and content:

a. Cover Letter. The cover letter must include a brief description of your project, be written on your organization’s official letterhead, and signed by an official with the authority to commit your organization to the proposed project. The cover letter must also include:

i. Project Title: Indicate that the proposal package is for the “Host and Facilitation of the State Small Business Ombudsman/Small Business Environmental Assistance Providers 507 Program’ Biannual Training”

ii. Applicant Information: Provide the name and full address of the organization applying for funds. This is the agency or organization that will be receiving the grant and will be accountable to the EPA.

iii. Contacts: Provide phone/fax numbers, e-mail address, and mailing address of the

Project Manager and head of organization/Executive Director responsible for the project application. These individuals may be contacted if other information is needed.

iv. Cooperative Partners: Provide names and phone numbers of individuals and organizations that have agreed to participate in the implementation of the project, if any.

v. Funding Requested: Specify the total amount you are requesting from EPA. The total funding requested amount may not exceed $90,000 for the life of the 4-year cooperative agreement.

b. Detailed Project Description. The project description should provide the information requested below on how the applicant will implement and conduct its operation and discuss how the proposal addresses each of the evaluation criteria in Section 5 of this announcement.

The detailed project description must substantially conform to the following outline and content:

i. Project Description. Provide a description of how you will implement and conduct the proposed project activities for developing and managing the 507 small business environmental home page, as referenced in Section 1(D), Project

Priorities, and program objectives. The description should demonstrate consideration of the activities that will be conducted to accomplish objectives of the project. The project description should include: (1) the reason your proposal should receive funding support, including experience with and knowledge of the CAA 507 program; (2) the estimated timeline or schedule of expected target dates and milestones to achieve specific program priorities and accomplishments during the budget and project period; and (3) necessary program priorities and activities that will be conducted to accomplish the objectives. The program priorities and activities should be realistic and achievable within the budget and project period of the grant.

ii. Programmatic Capability and Past Performance

If applicable, submit a list of federally funded assistance agreements (assistance agreements include Federal grants and cooperative agreements but not Federal contracts) similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed project that your organization performed within the last three years (no more than 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 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.

iv. Anticipated Outcomes and Performance Measurement. Specify the expected environmental outcomes as described in Section 1(F), of this announcement.

Discuss how you propose to track and measure your progress in achieving the expected project outcomes and results.

v. Anticipated Outputs. Identify the expected project outputs, including those described in Section 1(F), Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated

Outcomes/Outputs of this announcement and how you will track and measure your progress in achieving the expected project outputs. Outputs, quantitative or qualitative, must be measurable during the project performance period.

vi. Voluntary cost share/match and other leveraged funds (See Section 3. B also)

Demonstrate how you will leverage additional funds/resources beyond the grant funds awarded to support the proposed project activities and how these funds/resources will be used to contribute to the performance and success of the proposed project. This includes but is not limited to funds and other resources leveraged from businesses, labor organizations, non-profit organizations, education and training providers, and/or Federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as appropriate. Describe the amount and type of leveraged resources to be provided, how you will obtain the leveraged resources, the likelihood the leveraging will materialize during grant performance, the strength of the leveraging commitment, and the role the leveraged resources will play to support the proposed project activities. Selected applicants are expected to abide by their proposed leveraging commitments during grant performance and the failure to do so may affect the legitimacy of the award.

3. Attachments. The following three documents should be included as attachments to the work plan. These documents will not count as part of the 17-page limit and do not have an individual page limitation. Please provide a list of all attachments to the proposal.

a. Budget/Resources. Include a detailed budget narrative which clearly explains how funds will be used for each of the following categories (see Appendix B for Budget Sample). For each major program priorities, indicate what portion of the cost EPA grant funds will be used and, what portion the applicant or other partners will fund.

Ensure that your budget narrative addresses the “Budget/Resources” and “Leveraging” evaluation criteria listed in Section 5 of this solicitation.

b. Milestones. Schedule indicating start times and completion dates of significant program priorities under your program.

c. Letters of Support. The applicant should provide names and phone numbers of persons to contact at these organizations along with what assistance or role they played with your organization/project.

D. Submission Dates and Time

The closing date and time for applicants to submit proposals under this announcement is August 7, 2017, 11:59 p.m. EST. Proposals will not be accepted via fax, email or mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.

Your organization’s authorized official representative (AOR) must submit your complete proposal electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov) no later than August 7, 2017. Please see Appendix A for complete instruction on submitting your proposal through Grants.gov.

Proposal materials submitted through https://www.Grants.gov will be time/date stamped electronically. If you have not received a confirmation of receipt from EPA (not from support@grant.gov) within 5 days of the proposal deadline, please email Paula Hoag at hoag.paula@epa.gov Failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

E. Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into The Solicitation:

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

Section 5 - Proposal Review Information.

A. Evaluation Criteria.

Only eligible entities whose proposals meet the threshold eligibility criteria in Section 3 of this announcement will be reviewed according to the evaluation criterion set forth below.

Applicants should explicitly address these criteria as part of their proposal package submittal.

Each proposal will be rated under a points system, with a total of 100 points possible.

Criteria Maximum Points per Criterion

Project Description: Under this criterion, EPA will evaluate the extent to which the proposal effectively addresses the Program Priority activities described in Section 1(D) of this announcement. This includes:

• The extent to which the “Proposal Narrative” clearly, concisely and realistically provides a description of the proposed 507 Program compliance/prevention project goals, activities, budget, and project milestones. (20 points)

• The extent to which the proposed project activities will contribute to overall 507 Program compliance assistance program implementation for states 507 Program and small businesses. (20 points)

• The extent to which the proposed project will lead to improved compliance assistance, collaboration, communication, and assistance for states and small business. (10 points)

Programmatic Capability and Past Performance: Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their ability to successfully complete and manage the proposed project taking into account their:

(i) (5pts) past performance in successfully completing and managing the assistance agreements identified in the narrative proposal as described in Section 4C of the announcement;

(ii) (5 pts) history of meeting the reporting requirements under the assistance agreements identified in the narrative proposal as described in Section IV.C of the announcement, including whether the applicant submitted acceptable final technical reports under those agreements and the extent to which the applicant adequately and timely reported on their progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes under those agreements and if such progress was not being made whether the applicant adequately reported why not;

(iii)(5 pts) organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project;

(iv) (5 pts) staff expertise and qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project.

Note: In evaluating applicants under items i and ii of this criterion, the Agency will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources including agency files and prior/current grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information supplied by the applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or reporting information, please indicate this in the proposal and you will receive a neutral score for these sub-factors (items i and ii above-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.

Expenditure of Awarded Grant Funds: Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on their approach, procedures, and controls are in place for ensuring that awarded grant funds will be expended in a timely and efficient manner.

Environmental Results—Outcomes, Outputs and Performance Measures Extent to which the “Narrative Proposal” realistically describes how the project will lead to measurable environmental results. The proposal should:

• Clearly specify anticipated environmental outcomes and outputs as described in Section 1(F), Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated

Outcomes/Outputs. (4 points)

• Clearly describe the measures of success for the project. Measure of success should be either measures of environmental improvement or should be directly linked to such measures. EPA will look for quantitative and qualitative measurability. (3 points)

• Describe how success in achieving project results (including the outcomes and outputs identified) will be evaluated and measured. (3 points)

Budget: Under this criterion, the Agency will evaluate the proposed project budget to determine whether,

(i) (5 pts) costs are reasonable to accomplish the proposed goals, objectives, and measurable environmental outcomes,

(ii) (5 pts) the proposed budget provides a detailed breakout of the approximate funding used for each major activity and clearly itemizes individual tasks, activities, etc.

• An applicant’s budget and budget narrative must account for both federal funds and any non-federal funds (e.g., any required or voluntary cost share/match if applicable). Applicants must precisely describe in their budget narrative how they will account for any required or voluntary cost share/match and what role EPA funding will play in the overall project.

Leveraging: Under this criterion, applicants will be evaluated based on the extent they demonstrate that they will leverage additional funds/ resources, beyond the grant funds awarded, to support the proposed project activities and how these funds/resources will be used to contribute to the performance and success of the proposed project. This includes but is not limited to funds and other resources leveraged from businesses, labor organizations, non-profit organizations, education and training providers, and/or Federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as appropriate. Applicants will also be evaluated based on the amount and type of leveraged resources to be provided, how they will obtain the leveraged resources, the likelihood the leveraging will materialize during grant performance, the strength of the leveraging commitment, and the role the leveraged funds/resources will play to support the proposed project activities.

Applicants will receive a neutral score of 3pts if no leveraging is included in the proposal

B. Review and Selection Process.

Proposals will first be evaluated against the threshold eligibility criteria listed in Section 3. Only those proposals which meet all of the threshold eligibility criteria under Section 3 will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria listed under Section 5 by an EPA evaluation team. Each proposal will be given a numerical score and will be rank-ordered according to the numerical score. EPA staff will evaluate each proposal based on the evaluation criteria described above in Section 5, and provide preliminary funding recommendations to the Selection Official.

C. Other Factors

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

D. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into The Solicitation

Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into The Solicitation:

Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation including the clause on Reporting and Use of Information Concerning Recipient Integrity and Performance can be found on the EPA Solicitation Clauses page. These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing proposals for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the provisions.

Section 6 - Award Administration Information.

A. Award Notices.

EPA anticipates notification to successful applicants will be made via telephone or electronic or postal mail by November 1, 2017. The notification will be sent to the original signer of the proposal or the project contact listed in the proposal. This notification, which informs the applicant that its proposal has been selected and is being recommended for award, is not an authorization to begin work. The official notification of an award will be made by GIAMD.

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

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements.

1. A listing and description of general EPA Regulations applicable to the award of assistance agreements may be viewed at https://www.epa.gov/grants/policy-regulations-and-guidance-epa-grants

2. Intergovernmental Review

Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs, may be applicable to awards resulting from this announcement. EPA implemented the Executive Order in 40

CFR Part 29. EPA may require applicants selected for funding to provide a copy of their application to their State Point of Contact (SPOC) for review as provided at 40 CFR 29.7 and 40 CFR 29.8 as applicable. The SPOC list can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc/

EPA may require successful applicants from states that do not have a SPOC to provide a copy of their application for review to directly affected state, area-wide, regional and local government entities as provided at 40 CFR 29.7 and 40 CFR 29.8 as applicable. These reviews are not required before submitting an application.

Please note that Intergovernmental Review does not apply to New York City.

3. Restrictions on Use of Federal Funds

All costs incurred under this program must be allowable under 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E.

In accordance with applicable law, regulation, and policy, any recipient of funding must agree to comply with restrictions on using assistance funds for unauthorized lobbying, fund-raising, or political activities (i.e., lobbying members of Congress or lobbying for other federal grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts). See e.g. 2 CFR 200.450.

Funds generally cannot be used to pay for travel by federal agency staff. Proposed project activities must also comply with all state and federal regulations applicable to the project area. The applicant must also review the solicitation for any other programmatic funding restrictions applicable to this program. If awarded funding, the recipient must refer to the terms and conditions of its award for other funding restrictions applicable to its award.