Amended FY20-FY21 SRA RFA_FINAL_0515201.pdf

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

TITLE: FY 2020 and FY 2021 Source Reduction Assistance Grant Program

ACTION: Request for Applications (RFA) Amendment No. 2

RFP NO: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-002

CFDA: 66.717

DATE: May 15, 2020

SUMMARY: This Notice revises the grant application submission deadline and revises the anticipated funding notification date.

Accordingly, Important Dates section now notes:

Applications are due May 20.

Anticipated Funding Notification July 24.

First paragraph now notes: Applications are due by Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 11:59 pm (EDT).

Section IV.A – Application and Submission Instructions

Application Submission Deadline now notes: The deadline to submit an application is Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 11:59 pm, (EDT).

Page C-3 of Appendix C

Grants.Gov Instructions paragraph now notes: Applications are due Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 11:59 pm, (EDT).

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FEDERAL AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE: FY 2020 and FY 2021 Source Reduction Assistance Grant Program

STATUTORY AUTHORITIES: Clean Air Act, Section 103(b)(3), as amended; Clean Water Act, Section 104(b)(3), as amended; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20, as amended; Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442 (a)(1) and (c), as amended; Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001(a), as amended; and Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10, as amended.

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Request for Applications (RFA)

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 66.717

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-002

IMPORTANT DATES

March 4, 2020 RFA OPENS May 20, 2020 RFA CLOSES – APPLICATIONS DUE July 24, 2020 ANTICIPATED NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING SELECTION September 30, 2020 ANTICIPATED AWARD

Applications are due Wednesday, May 20, 11:59 pm, (EDT). EPA will receive applications electronically through Grants.gov. Applications will be electronically date and time stamped. Please refer to Section IV.A. of this announcement for full information on the submission process. Applications must be submitted on time in order to be considered for funding.

SUMMARY OF ANNOUNCEMENT

EPA is announcing a grant competition to fund two-year Source Reduction Assistance (SRA) agreements that support research, investigation, study, demonstration, education and training using source reduction approaches (also known as “pollution prevention” and herein referred to as “P2”). P2 means reducing or eliminating pollutants from entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. EPA is particularly interested in receiving applications that offer hands on practical P2 tools, information and/or innovative P2 approaches to measurably improve the public health and the surrounding environment, by reducing the use of hazardous substances, reducing toxic pollutants, supporting efficiencies in reducing resource use (e.g., water and energy), and reducing business expenditures and liability costs.

Applicants must focus on at least one National Emphasis Area as noted in Section I.F. and must select at least one of the following technical assistance methods to address P2 activity: a) research, b) investigation, c) experiments, d) education, e) training, f) studies and/or g) demonstration of innovative techniques.

http://www.grants.gov/

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Under this competition, EPA is emphasizing the importance of grantees documenting and sharing P2 best practices identified and developed through these grants so that others can replicate these practices and outcomes. To achieve this, EPA will require grant recipients to document and report on P2 recommendations that they provide to a technical assistance beneficiary (e.g., state agencies, federally-recognized tribes, intertribal consortia, business, facility, trade association, municipal/local governments, and/or local communities that received the technical assistance) and, at a later date, report on the adopted P2 actions. Alternative reporting provisions are available if technical assistance is broadly provided to multiple technical assistance beneficiaries – see Section VI.C.3.c. We are also requiring grantees to develop P2 case studies on P2 practices that are new, not widely known or adopted, or where detailed information on the P2 practices could benefit other businesses, P2 professionals (technical assistance providers), or other entities (see Appendix F, “Guidance for Developing P2 Case Studies”). Each grantee will be expected to develop at least one case study during the grant period. In addition to case studies, we are also encouraging other means to document and widely share P2 best practices and lessons learned through the technical assistance (e.g., training, tools, videos). Awardee budgets and workplans may set aside funds from the potential two years of federal funding for an optional third year to collect and report on the P2 practices adopted and to complete P2 case studies.

Eligible applicants include: Any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any agency or instrumentality thereof exclusive to local governments (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals, city or townships governments, independent school district governments, state controlled institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, (other than institutions of higher education) private institutions of higher education, community-based grass roots organizations, and federally-recognized tribes and intertribal consortia. Individuals, private business/entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible for funding under this announcement.

EPA’s national P2 Program will host an information webinar for potential applicants and interested stakeholders on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm (EDT). More information on the webinar is provided in Section IV.D.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read this announcement in its entirety because it provides important information on the goals and priorities of the program, explains statutory program requirements and offers agency grant policies and procedures.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Programmatic Description

B. EPA Statutory Authorities for SRA Awards

C. How Does EPA Define P2?

D. What is Not P2?

E. Engaging Partners in SRA Activities…………………..........………………………………… F. Scope of Work – P2 National Emphasis Areas ………………………………………………....…... 9 G. EPA’s Strategic Plan Linkage H. Measuring and Reporting Environmental Results: Output and Outcome Performance Measures

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Number of Expected Awards and Federal Funding Amounts

B. Partial Funding

C. Agreement Types

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants B. Cost Sharing and Matching Requirements C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

A. Application Submission Deadline B. Content and Format of Application Package

C. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

D. Opportunity for Questions and Answers Regarding this Announcement

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Evaluation Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

C. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

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VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notification B. Submission Requirements

C. Administrative Requirements

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

APPENDICES

Appendix A NEA With Applicable NAICS Codes ................................................................................. A-1

Appendix B Examples of P2 Technical Assistance Projects.................................................................... B-1 Appendix C Grants.gov Instructions and Limited Exception Procedures................................................ C-1

Appendix D Sample Cover Page ............................................................................................................ D-1

Appendix E Guidance for Reporting Grant Outputs and Outcomes........................................................ E-1

Appendix F Guidance for Developing Case Studies............................................................................... F-1 Appendix G Itemized Budget Detail Guidance and Template Example ................................................. G-1

Appendix H Quality Assurance Guidance for Environmental Outcome Reporting for SRA Grant Projects..................................................................................................................................................... H-1

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FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

Section I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Programmatic Description: SRA grant funding is available to any state of the United States, the

District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any agency or instrumentality thereof exclusive to local governments (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals, city or townships governments, independent school district governments, state controlled institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, (other than institutions of higher education) private institutions of higher education, community-based grass roots organizations, and federally-recognized tribes and intertribal consortia. Under this solicitation, EPA is announcing a grant competition to support two-year SRA assistance agreements.1 EPA is seeking grant projects that will reduce or eliminate pollutants from entering any waste stream or otherwise could be released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal – which is how EPA defines pollution prevention. For this grant competition cycle, EPA looks forward to funding SRA projects that offer practical and innovative P2 tools, information or approaches to help reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous materials, reduce the use of water or energy consumption or reduce harmful air emissions.

In order for prospective applicants to demonstrate that their application merits funding consideration, applicants will need to propose project activities that deliver new P2 tools, information or approaches that can measurably improve the public’s health and surrounding environment and can be shared with others. To do this: 1) applicants will need to select an industry sector area of focus by addressing at least one of the SRA grant program’s National Emphasis Areas – as described in Section I.F. and, 2) applicants must select at least one of the following technical assistance methods as the primary approach for performing the grant activity: a) research, b) investigation, c) experiments, d) education,

e) training, f) studies, and/or g) demonstration of innovative techniques.

Additionally, under this round of grants, EPA is placing emphasis on having grant recipients document and share P2 best practices and innovations identified and developed through these grants so that others can replicate these approaches and outcomes. Therefore, in general, grant recipients must document and report on the P2 recommendations provided to a technical assistance beneficiary (e.g., state agencies, federally-recognized tribes, intertribal consortia, business, facility, trade association, municipal/local governments, and/or local communities that received the technical assistance) and at a later date, report on P2 actions adopted by the technical assistance beneficiary (alternative reporting provisions are available if information or technical assistance is broadly provided to others– see Section VI.C.3.c). If necessary, awardee budgets and workplans may allot time and/or set-aside funds from the two years of federal funding provided for an optional third year to collect and report on the P2 approaches adopted. The amount of grant funding released each year will be dependent on Congressional appropriation and the quality of applications received.

EPA is requiring grantees to develop P2 case studies on P2 practices that are new or not widely known or adopted, or where the grantee believes detailed information on the P2 practices could others

1 EPA Regions 1 and 4 are not participating in this announcement. Region 1 encompasses the states of: CT, NH, MA, ME, and VT. Region 4 encompasses the states of AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, and TN. Applicants in those states may propose work in one of the eight participating Regions.

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(see Appendix F, “Guidance for Developing P2 Case Studies”). EPA expects that each grantee will develop at least one of these case studies during the grant period. In addition, to case studies, EPA is also encouraging other means to document and widely share P2 best practices and lessons learned through the use of training, tools, or videos. SRA awardee workplans may set aside funds from the potential two years of federal funding for an optional third year to collect and report on the P2 practices adopted and to complete P2 case studies.

B. EPA Statutory Authorities for SRA Awards: SRA assistance agreements are awarded under the following EPA statutory authorities: Clean Air Act, Section 103(b)(3), as amended; Clean Water Act, Section 104(b)(3), as amended; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20, as amended; Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442 (a)(1) and (c), as amended; Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001(a), as amended; and Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10, as amended. All application activities must apply at least one of the statutory authorities listed above.

The grant authorities within each statute authorize the agency to award assistance agreements for research, investigations, experiments, education, training, surveys, studies and/or demonstration of innovative techniques. In this regard, SRA assistance agreements must relate to gathering or transferring new information or advancing awareness onto others. Applications must emphasize this “learning” concept, as opposed to “fixing” an environmental problem using a well-established method. Examples of well-established methods would involve: proposing established P2 activities that have been previously applied and used by others, recycling initiatives, treatment of contaminants, pollution control initiatives, clean-up, disposal of waste, and energy recovery projects.

For projects that will support demonstration activity, the project must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the demonstration project. A project that is accomplished through the performance of routine, traditional, or established practices, or a project that is simply intended to carry out a task rather than transfer information or advance the state of knowledge, however worthwhile the project might be, is not a demonstration. The applicant must clearly explain in the application how the P2 technologies, methods, or approaches used are new or experimental and how the project otherwise meets the requirements of a demonstration as described in this RFA. If your project uses technologies, methods or approaches that have been used previously in other geographic areas and/or business sectors, then your application must include an explanation as to how your demonstration project is different from such prior projects and is a true demonstration.

The applicant must also explain what will be learned in the industry from the demonstration project.

If your project is truly a demonstration and complies with other eligibility factors, then it will be considered for funding.

C. How Does EPA Define P2? Pollution prevention, also called "source reduction," is any practice which reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment (including fugitive emissions) prior to recycling of discarded material, treatment, or disposal; and reduces the hazards to public health and the environment associated with the release of those substances, pollutants, or contaminants. P2 practices

8 | P a g e include equipment or technology modifications, process or procedure modifications, reformulation or redesign of products, substitution of raw materials, and improvements in housekeeping, maintenance, training, or inventory control. EPA has also interpreted P2 as including practices that increase efficient use of water, energy, raw materials, or other resources that may protect natural resources through conservation methods, or in-process recycling (i.e., process improvements to reuse materials within the same business/facility in the production process). Reducing the amount of pollution in the environment means producing less waste to control, treat, or dispose. Less pollution means fewer hazards posed to public health and the environment.

D. What is Not P2? For purposes of this announcement, P2 does not involve practices which alter the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics or the volume of a pollutant, hazardous substance or contaminant through a process or activity which itself is not integral to and necessary to produce a product or in providing a service. See Pollution Prevention Act Section 6603 and 40 CFR 35.343 and

35.662. The following are not P2 activities and cannot serve as the basis for P2 grant funding:

recycling of discarded materials, waste clean-up, disposal activities, managing or processing of non-hazardous solid waste (e.g., paper, cardboard, glass, plastics), and the implementation of Lean manufacturing activities that do not involve reductions in the use/release of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, greenhouse gas releases or water use. If any of these activities represents more than a small and ancillary part of the proposed work, EPA will not consider the application for an award. For assistance with recycling of discarded materials, waste clean-up, disposal and management or processing of non-hazardous solid waste activities, please refer to EPA’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle website.

E. Engaging Partners in SRA Activities: Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop partnerships with other technical assistance providers, P2 experts, trade associations or environmental programs (at the federal, state or local-level) to strengthen their ability to provide technical assistance to businesses and facilitate the development, adoption and dissemination of P2 solutions. Partnerships may include university-based technical assistance and cooperative extension programs, and other environmental assistance programs offered within a State or Tribe. Partnerships are also encouraged among trade organizations, federal programs, nonprofit organizations, and with regional and national programs such as with EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) Compliance Assistance Centers, EPA's Small Business Environmental Assistance Programs (SBEAPs), the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Industrial Assessment Centers, etc.2

2 If a partnership is formed with another federal government program, the cash or in-kind contribution from the federal entity may not be used by the applicant to meet the match requirement of the SRA assistance agreement. For more information on Cost Sharing and Matching Requirements, refer to Section III.B. In addition, if partnerships will involve contracts and/or subawards, applicants are strongly advised to consult the applicable rules for using contracts and subawards in federal assistance agreements. Applicants will find a discussion of the applicable rules in Section IV of the EPA Solicitation Clauses website at – https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses.

https://www.epa.gov/recycle https://www.epa.gov/recycle https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses

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F. Scope of Work – P2 National Emphasis Areas: In order to direct resources and funding to generate more impactful and measurable results, EPA’s national P2 Program has adopted program priorities referred to as P2 National Emphasis Areas (NEAs), which are described below. Focusing SRA grant activities (i.e., research, investigation, experiments, education, training, studies, and/or demonstration of innovative techniques) on the NEAs should also provide opportunities for synergy among SRA grantees, businesses and/or other entities within similar sectors where they collectively may be able to share information, expertise, lessons learned, training, and tools. Many of the NEAs align with the Agency’s smart sector initiative to help develop sensible approaches that better protect the environment and public health.

All applications will be evaluated on:

• Whether the project narrative identifies and supports at least one of the NEAs as the focus of their

SRA grant work;

• How well the project narrative describes the grant work planned and how that work will support the NEA(s).

Note: Applicants may refer to Appendix A for NAICS codes covered by the NEAs, and to Appendix B for examples of possible SRA grant projects that can support an NEA. The NEA project examples in Appendix B are provided for illustrative purposes only.

NEA #1: Food and Beverage Manufacturing and Processing: Carry out P2 technical assistance and projects with food and beverage manufacturing and processing businesses normally associated with NAICS codes 311 and 3121 for the purpose of reducing toxic air emissions or water discharges, water or energy usage, hazardous materials generation and use. Technical assistance projects or activities associated with entities that are not included under NAICS codes 311 or 3121, such as restaurants, grocery stores and other retail establishments, do not qualify for this NEA.

NEA #2: Chemical Manufacturing, Processing and Formulation: Carry out P2 technical assistance and projects with businesses normally associated with NAICS code 325 and associated subsectors (4-6 digit NAICS codes under 325). Projects under this NEA should facilitate and encourage businesses within this NAICS code to identify, develop, and adopt P2 practices in the production of chemical products and formulations. Projects can also include working with businesses within this NAICS code to promote research, development, and marketing of green chemistry products and processes that reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous substances.

NEA #3: Automotive Manufacturing and Maintenance: Carry out P2 technical assistance and projects with businesses in the automotive industry, normally associated with NAICS codes 3361, 3362, 3363, and 8111 and associated subsectors. Projects under this NEA should facilitate and encourage businesses within these NAICS codes to identify, develop and adopt P2 practices in manufacturing and maintenance of automobiles and automotive products.

NEA #4: Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing and Maintenance: Carry out P2 technical assistance and projects with businesses in the aerospace industry, normally associated https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?code=311&search=2017%20NAICS%20Search https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?code=3121&search=2017%20NAICS%20Search https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?code=325&search=2017 https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=3361 https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=3362 https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=3363 https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=8111

10 | P a g e with NAICS codes 3364 and subsectors for manufacture and 488190 for maintenance. Projects under this NEA should facilitate and encourage businesses within these NAICS codes to identify, develop and adopt P2 practices in any aspect of aerospace product and parts manufacturing and maintenance.

NEA #5: Metal Manufacturing and Fabrication: Carry out P2 technical assistance and projects with businesses normally associated with NAICS codes 331 and 332, (primary metal manufacturing and/or fabricated metal manufacturing and subsectors). Primary metal manufacturing is associated with smelting and/or refining ferrous and nonferrous metals from ore, pig or scrap, using electrometallurgical and other process metallurgical techniques. Fabricated metal product manufacturing includes transforming metal into intermediate or end products, such as forging, stamping, bending, forming, and machining, used to shape individual pieces of metal;

and other processes, such as electroplating, polishing, coating, welding and assembling. Projects under this NEA should facilitate and encourage businesses within these NAICS codes to identify, develop and adopt P2 practices in any aspect of primary metal manufacturing and/or fabricated metal manufacturing and subsectors.

G. EPA’s Strategic Plan Linkage: Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7a1, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements” (https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015- 03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf), EPA must review the linkage of proposed assistance agreements with the Agency’s Strategic Plan. EPA will issue awards to applications that EPA judges to support the EPA’s FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan (http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html), under Goal 1: Core Mission – A Cleaner, Healthier Environment, Objective 1.1 – Improve Air Quality; Objective 1.2 – Provide for Clean and Safe Water; Objective 1.3 – Revitalize Land and Prevent Contamination; Objective 1.4 – Ensure Safety of Chemicals in the Marketplace; and, Goal 2: More Effective Partnerships, Objective 2.1 Enhance Shared Accountability. All applications must describe how the work proposed will support one or more of the goals and objectives identified above.

H. Measuring and Reporting Environmental Results: Output & Outcome Performance Measures:

Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7a1, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” EPA requires that grant applicants and recipients describe environmental outputs (e.g., activities, products) and outcomes (results achieved from the outputs, e.g., reduction in pounds of hazardous material used and of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants released, reductions in gallons of water used) expected under the assistance agreements. Applicants must provide an estimate of expected outputs and outcomes, as well as a plan for reporting outputs and outcomes during the grant period.

1. Requirements for Estimating Outputs and Outcomes: Grant applicants must describe and estimate their expected outputs (e.g., number of business facility visits, number of trainings, number of businesses or other entities attending a training/demonstration) and, to the maximum extent practicable, their expected outcomes. See Section I.H.2 directly below for a list of outputs and outcomes.

https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=3364 https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=488190 https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=331 https://siccode.com/naics-code/332/fabricated-metal-product-manufacturing https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf

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To estimate anticipated outcomes, applicants can refer to EPA’s P2 measurement guidance [https://www.epa.gov/p2/collecting-and-reporting-p2-results-regional-measurement-guidance], EPA P2 calculators [https://www.epa.gov/p2/pollution-prevention-tools-and-calculators; click on Calculators to Measure Outcomes], or use another identified means of their choosing.

2. Requirements for a Reporting Plan: Applicants must provide a comprehensive plan for gathering and reporting on outputs and outcomes described below. Grant recipients will be expected to report on grant output and outcome measures, as described in this section and Appendix E, and are encouraged to report outputs and outcomes in table form. See the reporting template examples offered in examples offered in Appendix E. For the convenience of grantees, an Excel spreadsheet template may be used for the required reporting and is available from the EPA Pollution Prevention Website and EPA Regional P2 Program Offices. EPA will use this information to determine if workplan requirements are being met and to build a repository of P2 practices that can be widely shared and replicated.

Grantees will be expected to follow up with all business facilities and/or other entities assisted over the course of the grant period to determine, as feasible, what P2 practices were adopted and applied. Reporting on that follow up will vary depending on the nature of the project – see below and Appendix E for specific requirements. Therefore, applicants must include in their comprehensive reporting plan how they intend to follow up with the business facilities and/or other entities they assist to determine P2 recommendation implementation as described below.

Listed below are the output and outcome elements that P2 grant recipients are required to report to EPA.

a. Output Measures:

o Number of case studies and other P2 documentation products describing specific P2 best practices identified, developed or implemented through the grant.

o Number of amplification activities that widely share P2 practices and documentation (i.e., training/demonstration projects, webinars, roundtables, or other outreach).

o Percentage of business facilities and/or other entities that received technical assistance and that the grantee intends to follow up with (e.g., phone calls, on-site visits, letters or emails) to determine which P2 practices were implemented (should be 100%).

o Number of business facilities and/or other entities that were provided technical assistance.

o Percentage of business facilities and/or other entities that implemented at least one new P2 practice as a result of the technical assistance provided by the grantee.

In addition, applicants may report optional project outputs, such as:

• Number of stakeholder groups involved in the process.

• Number of technical assistance assessments or visits.

• Number of recommendations made to business facilities.

• Number of P2 recommendations implemented by business facilities.

• Number of innovations and/or best practices developed.

https://www.epa.gov/p2/collecting-and-reporting-p2-results-regional-measurement-guidance https://www.epa.gov/p2/collecting-and-reporting-p2-results-regional-measurement-guidance https://www.epa.gov/p2/pollution-prevention-tools-and-calculators https://www.epa.gov/p2/pollution-prevention-tools-and-calculators https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-11/p2_grantee_facility_reporting_template_example_6-04-2018.xlsx https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-11/p2_grantee_facility_reporting_template_example_6-04-2018.xlsx

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• Number of workshops, trainings/project demonstrations and courses conducted.

• Number of businesses attending workshops, trainings and courses.

• Number of outreach materials developed (e.g., fact sheets, leaflets).

• Types of skills and abilities achieved by training participants.

b. Outcome Measures:

o Reduction in pounds of hazardous material used and of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants released, o Reductions in gallons of water used, o Reductions in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) released, and o The dollar savings associated with achieving reductions in hazardous material use, hazardous releases, water use, and energy use, including savings from reduced regulatory burden.

Section II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Number of Expected Awards and Federal Funding Amounts: Based on Congressional appropriation received in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 and anticipated in 2021 for the P2 Program, EPA plans to award a total of approximately $1.3 million in federal SRA grant funding issued over a two-year funding cycle (approximately $658,000 in FY 2020 funds and approximately $658,000 in FY 2021 funds). The federal funding amounts for individual grant awards are anticipated to be in the range of $20,000-$200,000 in total issued over a two-year funding period (i.e., award estimates per year may be between $10,000 - $100,000). Please refer to the list below for award funding ranges for each region. Future funding is contingent on satisfactory performance, funding availability, Congressional appropriation, and/or other applicable considerations. Applicants are required to provide funds to match the federal amount requested, as described in Section III.B.

The applicant’s budget and workplan may allot time and set aside funds from the two-year award to perform work for an optional third year for the purpose of obtaining and reporting the required information on the adoption of P2 practices by businesses and others to whom they provided technical assistance under the grant, as described in Section I.H. of this RFA.

In their applications, applicants should identify the region in which their project will be performed.

For a list of EPA regions and states within each region refer to Section VII. Please note that projects must be performed in Regions 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Projects performed in Regions 1 and 4 will not be considered. Applicants in Regions 1 and 4 may propose work in one of the eight participating regions.

• Region 2 – Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 - $175,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 -$87,500 incrementally funded per year).

• Region 3 - Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 - $200,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 -$100,000 incrementally funded per year).

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• Region 5 – Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 - $100,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 -$50,000 incrementally funded per year).

• Region 6 – Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 - $200,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 -$100,000 incrementally funded per year).

• Region 7- Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 - $200,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 -$100,000 incrementally funded per year).

• Region 8 - Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 - $200,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 -$100,000 incrementally funded per year).

• Region 9 – Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 – 160,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 – 80,000 incrementally funded per year).

• Region 10 – Federal funded awards may be in the range of $20,000 - $120,000 for the two-year funding period (between $10,000 - $60,000 incrementally funded per year).

Based on past years’ experience, EPA anticipates receiving approximately 40 applications and funding approximately 20 awards under this solicitation. EPA anticipates that final selections will be made 180 days after this announcement is published. EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and issue no awards or issue fewer awards than anticipated. All awards will be consistent with the applicable EPA regulations and grant policies. In addition, EPA reserves the right to issue additional awards under this announcement, if additional funding becomes available. Additional awards will be made no later than six (6) months from the date of the original selections.

B. Partial Funding: In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete activities, portions, or phases of an application. If EPA decides to partially fund an application, it will do so in a manner that will not prejudice any applicant or affect the basis upon which the application or a portion thereof will be evaluated or selected for an award and therefore maintain the integrity of the competition, evaluation and selection process.

C. Agreement Types: SRA grants will be issued in the form of grants and/or cooperative agreements under the statutory authorities noted in Section I.B.

Definition of a Grant: An award of financial assistance by the federal government to an eligible recipient in the form of money, property or in-kind assistance in lieu of money by the federal government to an eligible recipient. The term does not include: technical assistance from federal employees or other assistance in the form of revenue sharing, loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies, insurance, or direct appropriations. Also, the term does not include assistance, such as a fellowship or other lump sum award, which the recipient is not required to account for. The EPA will not be substantially involved in the performance of grants.

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Definition of a Cooperative Agreement: Under these types of agreements, substantial involvement between the EPA Project Officer and the selected applicants will occur in the performance of supported work. EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process. If a cooperative agreement is awarded, EPA will have substantial technical interaction with the cooperative agreement recipient. As such, EPA may:

Review and approve project phases;

Review proposed work of sub-grantees and contractors collaborating with the recipient;

Review and approve proposed procurements in accordance with 2 CFR 200.317 and 2

CFR 200.318;

Monitor the operation of the projects;

Approve qualifications of key personnel (EPA will not select employees or contractors employed by the award recipient);

Closely monitor the recipient's performance;

Approve any proposed changes to the work plan and/or budget; and Review and comment on tasks or deliverables and reports or publications prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient).

Section III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants include any state of the United States, the District of

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any agency or instrumentality thereof exclusive to local governments (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals, city or townships governments, independent school district governments, state controlled institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, (other than institutions of higher education) private institutions of higher education, community-based grass roots organizations, and federally-recognized tribes and intertribal consortia. Note: Individuals, private business/entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible for funding under this announcement.

B. Cost Sharing and Matching Requirements: SRA grant recipients, as required by the P2 Program, must provide at least a five percent match of the total allowable project cost. For example, the federal government will provide 95 percent of the total allowable project cost and the recipient will provide the remaining 5 percent. To further illustrate, if the total project cost is $80,000, in order to meet the 5% cost share/match requirement, the applicant must be able to provide $4,000 in cash or in-kind contributions in order to be eligible to receive $76,000 in federal grant funding from EPA.

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Federal Award: $76,000 + Cost share/match requirement: $4,000

Total Project Cost = $80,000

The match requirement may be applied at the time of award or at specified intervals during the two-year project period. Cost sharing and matching contributions may include, but are not limited to:

dollars; in-kind goods and services (e.g., volunteered time, photocopying and printing services); third-party contributions consistent with 2 CFR 200.306; university faculty time or effort which can be offered as a cash contribution if the cost sharing occurs during the assistant agreement period and while the faculty member is under a continuing contract with the university.

Additionally, applicants must document in their budgets the type of match applied and how it will be used. The EPA grant project officer in the region will monitor the grant recipient’s compliance with their match/cost share requirement. If the match requirement is not met or is not applied at specified intervals during the project period, federal funding will cease and the recipient may be subject to an enforcement action, in which EPA may disallow costs.3

Note: Cost sharing and matching requirements for applications under $200,000 for Insular area applicants (the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) are waived as a matter of law as authorized by the Omnibus Territories Act, as amended, 48 U.S.C. Section 1469a. Insular area applicants with applications that will require a cost share of $200,000 or more are advised to contact the applicable EPA contact in Section VII to determine if cost share requirements will be waived in whole or in part.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria: Applications must meet the Threshold Eligibility Criteria provided below at the time of submission in order to be considered for funding. These are requirements that if not met by the time of application submission will result in elimination of the application from consideration for funding. Only applications from eligible entities (see above) that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V.A. of this announcement.

Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Applications must adhere to the statutory criteria of SRA grants and definition of pollution prevention – Sections I.B. and I.C. respectively.

2. The preponderance of work described in applications must support methods of gathering or transferring P2 information and technical assistance or advancing P2 awareness using research, investigations, experiments, education, training, studies and/or demonstration of innovative techniques – Section I.A. Non-P2 focused activities may only represent a small and ancillary part of the proposed work. If applications include ineligible tasks or activities (i.e., those not considered to support P2) then those activities may be found ineligible for funding and may, 3 For additional information on cost share or matching requirements, refer to 2 CFR 200.306.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/pdf/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200-306.pdf

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3. Applications must address at least one of the P2 National Emphasis Areas as described in Section I.F.

4. Applications must describe how the work described in the application will link to the goals and mission of EPA’s Strategic Plan and support expected outputs and outcomes described in Section I.G. and I.H.

5. Applications must be from eligible applicants as described in Section III.A.

6. The application’s budget plan must adhere to the 5 percent cost share/match requirement described in Section III.B.

7. Only one application will be accepted and reviewed per applicant. If you submit more than one application for the identical project (either in error or to replace a previously submitted application), EPA will only review the most recently submitted application, unless you notify Michele Amhaz (amhaz.michele@epa.gov) and specify which application you want EPA to review.

8. Application packages must substantially comply with the submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV.A. of this announcement in order to be considered for funding or else they will be rejected. Applicants must adhere to the 14-page limit requirement for the narrative application – Section IV.B.3.e. Excess pages will not be reviewed.

9. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV.A. of this RFA (except in limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV.A. and Appendix C) on or before the submission deadline to ensure that their application is submitted in a timely fashion.

10. Applications 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 the System for Award Management (SAM) website at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/. An applicant’s failure to submit their application on-time through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov and Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. The applicant should confirm receipt of their application package with their applicable EPA region noted in Section VII. of this RFA as soon as possible after the submission deadline – failure to do so may result in the application not being reviewed. Note: To access https://www.sam.gov/SAM/, applicants are advised to use a supported browser (e.g.

Internet Explorer version of IE 11 or higher, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.)

mailto:amhaz.michele@epa.gov http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

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SECTION IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

A. Application Submission Deadline: The deadline to submit an application is Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 11:59 pm, (EDT). In order to apply, the applicant’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit a complete application package electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov). Instructions for applying through Grants.gov are provided in Appendix C of this announcement.

Please allow enough time to successfully submit your application in the event unexpected errors require you to resubmit your application.

Applications submitted through Grants.gov will be time and date stamped electronically. If you have not received a confirmation of receipt from EPA (not Grants.gov) within 30 days of the application deadline, please contact, EPA representative listed Section VII. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.

Prior to applying through Grants.gov, the applicant must:

• Have an active DUNS number;

• Have an active System for Award Management (SAM) account (http://www.sam.gov);

• Be registered in Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov), and

• Designate an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) as the individual submitting the application through Grants.gov.

Note: The registration process for applying through Grants.gov may take a month or more to complete. Please start the registration process early. The electronic submission of your application must be made by the AOR of the organization who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for federal funding assistance.

If you do not have the technical capability to apply electronically through Grants.gov because of limited or no Internet access which prevents you from being able to upload the required application materials to Grants.gov, please refer to the procedures for an alternate submission exception request in Appendix C.

B. Content and Format of Application Package: Please submit all of the application materials described below using the Grants.gov application package accessed using the instructions above and Appendix C.

1. Mandatory Documents:

a. Standard Form 424 – Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

b. Standard Form 424A, Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/

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c. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre-Award Compliance Review Report for All Applicants Requesting Federal Financial Assistance

d. EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54

e. Project Narrative Attachment Form – Used to attach your project narrative, prepared as described below in Section IV.B.3.e. Please note this includes the Cover Page.

Optional Attachments: The following documentation, while not required, may benefit the application:

f. Other Attachment Form – Used to attach your:

i. Letters of Support

ii. Staff resumes

iii. Graphs or tables of budgets and timelines for completing the work.

2. Instructions for Preparing Application Packages:

a. Application for Federal Assistance Form (Standard Form (SF)-424): When filling out this form, applicants must provide a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. Applicants can receive a DUNS number, at no cost, by calling the toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1-866-705-5711 or visiting the D&B website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform;

b. Standard Form 424A, Budget Information, Non-Construction Programs: Prepare form as indicated to document the budget details of the grant project;

c. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre-Award Compliance Review Report for All Applicants

Requesting Federal Financial Assistance: Prepare form as indicated;

d. Key Contacts Form (5700-54): Identify key personnel who will file and manage the paperwork, fund activities and direct funded work; and

e. Project Narrative Attachment Form: Use this form to attach your Project Narrative.

The Project Narrative must describe how the proposed P2…