EPA-OLEM-OBLR-20-04(FINAL).pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: FY2021 SUPPORTING EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT AND

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN BROWNFIELDS COMMUNITIES

ACTION: Request for Applications (RFA)

RFP NO: EPA-OLEM-OBLR-20-04

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO.: 66.814

DATE: The closing date and time for receipt of applications is SEPTEMBER 21, 2020, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Applications must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on SEPTEMBER 21, 2020. Applications received after 11:59 p.m. ET on

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 will not be considered. Please refer to the Due Date and Submission

Instructions in Section IV.B. and Appendix 1 for further instructions.

COVID-19 Update: EPA is providing flexibilities to applicants experiencing challenges related to COVID-19. Please see the Flexibilities Available to Organizations Impacted by COVID-19 clause in Section IV of EPA’s Solicitation Clauses available at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to provide technical assistance to communities on the integration of environmental justice and equitable development when developing solutions to brownfields cleanup and revitalization challenges.

For the purposes of these guidelines, the term “grant” refers to the cooperative agreement that

EPA will award to a successful applicant. Please refer to Section II.C for a description of EPA’s anticipated substantial involvement in the financial assistance agreements awarded under these guidelines.

In addition, prior to naming a contractor or subawardee in your application, please carefully review Section IV.G. of these guidelines.

FUNDING/AWARDS: EPA anticipates awarding one grant for an estimated $600,000; subject to availability of funds, quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. The award is anticipated to be funded incrementally on an annual basis over three years, at approximately $200,000 per year.

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

CONTENTS BY SECTION

SECTION I. – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION 3

I.A. Description of Grant 3 I.B. Uses of Grant Funds 5 I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage 7 I.D. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes 7

I.E. Supporting Environmental Justice and Equitable Development 8

SECTION II. – AWARD INFORMATION 8

II.A. What is the Amount of Available Funding? 9 II.B. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation? 9 II.C. Substantial Involvement 9

SECTION III. – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION AND THRESHOLD CRITERIA 9

III.A. Who Can Apply? 9 III.B. Voluntary Cost Share/Leveraging 10

III.C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria 11

SECTION IV. – APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION 13

IV.A. How to Obtain an Application Package 13 IV.B. Due Date and Submission Instructions 13

IV.C. Content and Form of Application Submission 14 IV.D. Cover Letter 15

IV.E. Narrative/Ranking Criteria 16 IV.F. Attachments 22 IV.G. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation 23

SECTION V. – APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 24

V.A. Evaluation Criteria 24 V.B. Review and Selection Process 28 V.C. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation 29

SECTION VI. – AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 29

VI.A. Award Notices 29

VI.B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 30 VI.C. Reporting Requirements 30 VI.D. Disputes 30

VI.E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation 31

SECTION VII. – EPA CONTACT 31

Appendix 1 Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions 31

A. Requirement to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures 31

B. Submission Instructions 32

C. Technical Issues with Submission 34

SECTION I. – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was amended by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in 2002 to include Section 104(k), which provides federal financial assistance authorities for brownfields revitalization. The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act enacted in 2018 reauthorized EPA’s Brownfields Program and made additional amendments to

CERCLA that affect EPA’s brownfield grant authorities, and the statute’s provisions governing the definition of ownership and its liability provisions. (Note: References to CERCLA in this solicitation refer to CERCLA as amended by the 2002 Small Business Liability Relief and

Brownfields Revitalization Act and the 2018 BUILD Act.)

A brownfield site is defined as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, controlled substances, petroleum or petroleum products, or mine-scarred land.

A critical part of EPA’s Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program is to ensure that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination have an opportunity to reap the benefits from brownfields redevelopment. The Program has a rich history rooted in a commitment to environmental justice and to helping communities revitalize brownfield properties, mitigate potential health risks, and restore economic vitality.

As described in Section V.A. of this announcement, applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: a comprehensive and realistic plan for carrying out eligible activities under this funding opportunity; experience in strong community engagement; a demonstration toward the reasonable and appropriate use of grant funds; and the capacity for managing and successfully implementing the cooperative agreement.

I.A. Description of Grant

The EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) is soliciting applications for funding under Section 104(k)(7) of CERCLA, which authorizes funding to eligible entities to provide training, research, and technical assistance to facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, or site preparation.

Grants awarded under this solicitation will help communities, organizations, government agencies, nonprofits, and individuals tackle the challenge of cleaning up and revitalizing brownfield properties. For purposes of this grant, the general definition of technical assistance is provided below. This definition provides guidance for the types of activities the EPA is interested in supporting.

Technical Assistance

The term “technical assistance” refers to the delivery of direct ongoing advice and support, in the form of specialized knowledge, to a person(s) or organization(s) with the https://www.epa.gov/brownfields goal of guiding them through a particular process or helping them understand complex brownfields-related subject matter.

The EPA anticipates awarding one grant in the subject area below. Applicants may propose additional or similar activities that achieve the objectives outlined below. Applicants that propose projects in a different subject area will not receive funding consideration. Applicants may only submit one application. Applicants may receive only one award under this competition.

The EPA anticipates that one applicant will be chosen from the pool of applicants that successfully address the technical areas described below and who meet the threshold and ranking criteria.

Technical Assistance to Help Communities Integrate Environmental Justice and Equitable

Development Approaches into Brownfield Activities:

EPA is seeking to fund an eligible organization to provide direct technical assistance to brownfields communities nationwide who wish to develop clear and effective strategies that ensure low-income and minority residents participate in and directly benefit from brownfields revitalization in their communities. Technical assistance must include assistance on how to increase the capacity of communities (including community organizations, institutions and development corporations) to integrate environmental justice and equitable development approaches in their brownfield redevelopment plans.

Focus areas should include providing “how-to” advice on incorporating equitable development strategies, approaches, regulations and policies into brownfield assessment, cleanup, reuse planning and revitalization. Technical assistance activities should be designed to coach and train brownfields communities on a variety of innovative and effective community engagement approaches. Applicants should explain their approach for delivering technical assistance engagements with varying depths of involvement and timeframes (e.g., ranging from providing technical assistance over the phone using pre-prepared materials available online to intensive one-on-one technical assistance that results in a site visit and/or specific deliverable). In the event of social distancing or other restrictions as a result of COVID-19, applicants must provide a backup plan for delivering all in-person technical assistance activities. The goal of the technical assistance should be to encourage long-term community participation and build local capacity among residents, organizations, government agencies and institutions so they can lead efforts that advance equitable development and address environmental justice impacts as part of revitalization and reuse of brownfield sites. Special emphasis should be on equipping multigenerational members of low-income or minority communities to participate in and lead these efforts at the local or regional level.

Technical assistance activities should also integrate sustainability principles (e.g., minimize waste, recycle and reuse training materials) and support effective engagement across organizations with similar goals (e.g., helping local governments and one or more nonprofits work together to achieve equitable development outcomes at brownfields). This support includes advice to communities on how to measure and communicate progress in meeting equitable development and environmental justice goals to the affected community, how to communicate success and value of these approaches to elected leaders and funders, and how to spur and maintain involvement of local leaders and residents.

To encourage communities’ active implementation and progress towards incorporating equitable development at brownfields, the EPA encourages digestible, creative and highly visual guides or videos and judicial use of webinars. Guides/videos may be a product of technical assistance engagements or may be developed to assist in delivering technical assistance. Guides should include a variety of specific community engagement activities that focus on environmental justice and equitable development for brownfields. Guides should also include “how to” information and general cost approximations for equitable development/environmental justice strategies that will help a community, organization, government, or institution appropriately budget its time and resources. The successful applicant should collect examples and results of equitable development and environmental justice implementation strategies that support brownfields redevelopment, identify those that are most transferrable, and develop a visual library of approaches.

In addition, the successful applicant should also regularly communicate with EPA Regional

Programs and other EPA Brownfields Technical Assistance Providers to coordinate its technical assistance activities. For example, the successful applicant may have semiannual calls with each

EPA Regional Program, train other EPA Brownfields Technical Assistance Providers on specific effective tools and approaches developed, and/or lead an activity(ies) at workshops organized by

EPA regional, state or other EPA technical assistance providers to increase the visibility and understanding of brownfields, environmental justice and equitable development. EPA Regional

Programs may invite the successful applicant to attend workshops as appropriate (such as workshops for regional Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup and Multipurpose grantees) to discuss how to include environmental justice and equitable development-focused community engagement in grantee workplans and budgets.

I.B. Uses of Grant Funds

Eligible uses of grant funds include direct costs necessary to provide brownfields technical assistance identified in the approved workplan. This includes eligible programmatic costs necessary to perform your project, such as: costs for personnel, technical experts, materials, supplies, room rentals, travel, and transportation expenses.

Grant funds cannot be used for the payment of:

1. Conducting site assessments or actual cleanups;

2. construction and land acquisition;

3. foreign travel;

4. direct costs for application preparation;

5. a penalty or fine;

6. a federal cost share requirement (for example, a cost share required by other federal funds);

7. administrative costs, including all indirect costs and direct costs for grant administration in excess of five (5) percent of the total amount of EPA grant funding, with the exception of financial and performance reporting costs (which are considered allowable programmatic costs and not subject to the 5% limitation);

8. a cost of compliance with any federal law, excluding the cost of compliance with laws applicable to environmental cleanup; or

9. unallowable costs (e.g., lobbying) under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.

Administrative Costs. Under CERCLA § 104(k)(5)(B), CARs and subrecipients may use up to

5% of the amount of federal funding for this cooperative agreement for administrative costs, including indirect costs under 2 CFR § 200.414. As required by 2 CFR § 200.403(d), the CAR and subrecipients must classify administrative costs as direct or indirect consistently and may not classify the same types of cost in both categories. Eligible cooperative agreement and subaward administrative costs subject to the 5% limitation include direct costs for:

a. Costs incurred to comply with the following provisions of the Uniform

Administrative Requirements for Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for

Federal Awards at 2 CFR Parts 200 and 1500 other than those identified as programmatic.

i. Preparing revisions and changes in the budgets, scopes of work, program plans and other activities required under 2 CFR § 200.308;

ii. Maintaining and operating financial management systems required under 2

CFR § 200.302;

iii. Preparing payment requests and handling payments under 2 CFR §

200.305;

iv. Financial reporting under 2 CFR § 200.327;

v. Non-federal audits required under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart F; and

b. Closeout under 2 CFR § 200.343 with the exception of preparing the recipient’s final performance report. Costs for preparing this report are programmatic and are not subject to the 5% limitation on direct administrative costs.

I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage

The activities to be funded under this announcement support EPA’s FY 2018-2022 Strategic

Plan1. Awards made under this announcement will support Goal 1 – A Cleaner, Healthier

Environment, Objective 3 – Revitalize Land and Prevent Contamination of EPA’s Strategic Plan.

All applications must be for projects that support the goal and objective.

I.D. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

EPA requires that applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements2. Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the goal and objective described above in Section I.C.

Applicants are required to describe how funding will help EPA achieve environmental outputs and outcomes in their responses to the ranking criteria in Section IV.E. Outputs and outcomes specific to each project will be identified as deliverables in the negotiated workplan if the application is selected for award. Recipients will be expected to report progress toward the attainment of expected project outputs and outcomes during the project performance period.

Outputs and outcomes are defined as follows:

1. Outputs

The term “outputs” refers to an environmental activity, effort and/or associated work product 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 the project period. The expected outputs for the grant awarded under these guidelines may include, but are not limited to, development and delivery of information, materials and technical assistance to brownfields stakeholders; and production, publication, and dissemination of equitable development and environmental justice research, tools and engagement activities as they pertain to brownfields redevelopment.

2. Outcomes

The term “outcomes” refers to the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out the activities under the grant. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic; must be qualitative or quantitative, and may not necessarily be achievable during the project period. The expected outcomes for the grants awarded under these guidelines may include, but are not limited to: improved capacity of brownfields

1 EPA’s Strategic Plan is available at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan.

2 EPA Order 5700.7, EPA’s Policy for Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements is available at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements.

https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements stakeholders to effectively address, be involved in, and integrate environmental justice and equitable development principles into brownfields activities; increased attention on the protection of human health and the environment, economic development, and equitable development issues, particularly in low-income and minority communities with a disproportionate number of brownfields; improved community involvement, communication, and the development of partnerships among differing stakeholders; increased knowledge about the environmental and economic benefits of revitalizing brownfields; and enabling brownfields stakeholders to stimulate public, economic or other beneficial reuses of brownfields properties and to leverage resources in order to improve environmental conditions and human health.

I.E. Supporting Environmental Justice and Equitable Development

EPA defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across the nation. Environmental justice will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.3

Environmental justice can be supported through equitable development approaches and intentional strategies to ensure that low-income and minority communities not only participate in but also benefit from decisions that shape their neighborhoods and regions. There are many different approaches that promote equitable development, such as ensuring a mix of healthy housing types across a range of incomes; access to fresh food; access to jobs and transportation;

access to recreational opportunities; access to health care; community resiliency, and access to local capital. Programs or policies can be put in place to help ensure creation or integration of affordable housing; local or first-source hiring; minority contracting; inclusionary zoning (where a percentage of new housing is designated as affordable housing); healthy food retailers in places where they do not exist (e.g. food deserts); co-operative ownership models where local residents come together to run a community-owned, jointly owned business enterprise; rent control or community land trusts (to help keep property affordable for residents); anti-displacement practices and policies; supportive local entrepreneurial activities; and adherence to equal lending opportunities.

Applicants should discuss and provide specific examples of how their proposed project will address environmental justice challenges in Section IV.E.

SECTION II. – AWARD INFORMATION

3 For more information please visit www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice.

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

II.A. What is the Amount of Available Funding?

The estimated total funding available for this grant is approximately $600,000. The EPA anticipates awarding one grant, subject to the availability of funds, quality of applications, and other applicable considerations. Cooperative agreements awarded will be funded incrementally on an annual basis. Additional funds may be added in each subsequent year of the agreement, subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funds.

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

II.B. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

The project period for this grant is up to three years. It is anticipated that the grantee will complete all deliverables under their award during the third year of its project to allow time for reporting accomplishments data and disseminating final reports as applicable.

II.C. Substantial Involvement

This grant will be awarded in the form of a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement permits the EPA Project Officer to be substantially involved in overseeing the work performed by the selected recipient. 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 includes:

• close monitoring of the recipient’s performance to verify the results;

• collaborating during the performance of the scope of work;

• reviewing substantive terms of proposed contracts, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.317 and 2 CFR 200.318, as appropriate;

• reviewing qualifications of key personnel (EPA will not select employees, consultants, or contractors employed by the award recipient);

• reviewing and commenting on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient); and

• reviewing and concurring on project outputs for consistency with the EPA approved scope of work.

SECTION III. – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION AND THRESHOLD

CRITERIA

III.A. Who Can Apply?

The following information indicates which entities are eligible to apply for this grant.

• General Purpose Unit of Local Government. [For purposes of the EPA Brownfields Grant

Program, a “local government” is defined as stated under 2 CFR § 200.64.: Local government means a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority

(including any public and Indian housing agency under the United States Housing Act of

1937), school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under state law), any other regional or interstate government entity, or any agency or instrumentality of a local government.]

• Land Clearance Authority or another quasi-governmental entity that operates under the supervision and control of, or as an agent of, a general purpose unit of local government.

• Government Entity Created by State Legislature.

• Regional Council or group of General Purpose Units of Local Government.

• Redevelopment Agency that is chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a state.

• State.

• Indian tribe other than in Alaska. (The exclusion of Alaskan Tribes from Brownfields

Grant eligibility is statutory at CERCLA § 104(k)(1)). Intertribal Consortia, comprised of eligible Indian tribes, are eligible for funding in accordance with EPA’s policy for funding intertribal consortia published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2002, at

67 Fed. Reg. 67181. This policy also may be obtained from Elyse Sutkus at EPA via email at sutkus.elyse@epa.gov)

• Alaska Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native Village Corporation, and Metlakatla

Indian Community. (Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village

Corporations are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following.)

• Nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal

Revenue Code.

• Limited liability corporation in which all managing members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or limited liability corporations whose sole members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

• Limited liability partnership in which all general partners are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or limited liability corporations whose sole members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

• Qualified community development entity as defined in section 45D(c)(1) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986.

• Other Nonprofit organizations. (For purposes of this grant program, the term “nonprofit organization” means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest; is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. The term includes nonprofit colleges, universities, and other educational institutions.)

III.B. Voluntary Cost Share/Leveraging

Matching funds are not required under this competition. Although cost-sharing or matching is not required as a condition of eligibility under this competition of this announcement, EPA mailto:sutkus.elyse@epa.gov will evaluate responses to the Leveraging criterion (Section IV.E.5.). Leveraging is when an applicant proposes to provide its own additional funds/resources or those from third party sources to support or complement the project awarded under the competition that are above and beyond the EPA grant funds awarded. Any leveraged funds/resources, and their source, must be identified in the application. 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

200.306, 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 200.338.

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 be discussed in the application but should not be included in the budget narrative or table. Costs covered by this form of leveraging need not be eligible and allowable project costs under the

EPA cooperative agreement. While this form of leveraging should not be included in the budget, if selected, the grant work plan should include a statement indicating that the applicant is expected to produce the proposed leveraging consistent with the terms of the announcement and the submitted application. If applicants propose to provide this form of leveraging, EPA expects them to make the effort to secure the leveraged resources described in their applications. 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 Parts

200 or 1500.

III.C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

This section contains the threshold eligibility criteria that ensure applicants are eligible to receive this grant. Threshold criteria are evaluated on a pass or fail basis. Only those applications that specifically address and pass each of the threshold criteria listed below will be evaluated against the ranking criteria in Section IV.E. of this announcement.

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

For purposes of the threshold eligibility review, EPA may seek clarification of applicant information. Applicants that simply fail to address a threshold criterion may not be provided an opportunity to respond or submit clarifying information so as not to provide an applicant an unfair competitive advantage or to provide the appearance of an unfair competitive advantage over applicants who submit complete applications. The applicant’s responses to the threshold criteria must be included in the cover letter submitted to EPA or the application will be rejected.

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

1. Applicant Eligibility

Describe how you are an eligible applicant as described in Section III.A. For entities other than cities, counties, tribes, or states, please attach documentation of your eligibility, such as nonprofit status, resolutions, or statutes.

2. Project Eligibility

Applicants must propose an acceptable technical assistance project, per the parameters described in Section I.A of this announcement.

3. Substantial Conformity

Applications must substantially conform to the outline and content detailed in Section IV.C

Content and Form of Application Submission of this announcement or they will be rejected.

Pages in excess of the page limitations expressed in Section IV.C Content and Form of

Application Submission will not be reviewed.

4. Submission of Applications

Applications must be submitted and successfully received electronically through www.grants.gov by the deadline of SEPTEMBER 21, 2020. Applications submitted after the submission deadline of SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 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 www.grants.gov or relevant www.sam.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through www.grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in www.sam.gov or www.grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. Applicants are responsible for ensuring their application is submitted and accepted by www.grants.gov by the deadline. Additional instructions for submitting your application can be found in Appendix 1. Applicants should confirm receipt of their application with Elyse Sutkus at EPA at (202) 564-2858, or via email at sutkus.elyse@epa.gov, as soon as possible after the submission deadline if the applicant has concerns regarding www.grants.gov submission —failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/

5. Backup Plan for COVID-19 Restrictions

In the event that in-person activities are restricted as a result of COVID-19 (e.g. under quarantine situations, if social distancing is required in a community locale), applicants must include a backup plan for any in-person activities proposed as a part of their technical assistance project. A backup plan should include information such as how you will structure your technical assistance, what format(s) you propose to use (e.g. reducing meeting size, switching to an online format), how participants will have access to the meeting format, and what advisories you will follow regarding restrictions of in-person meetings (e.g. state, county or city government, etc.). Applications that do not propose a backup plan as a part of the Narrative/Ranking Criteria 2. Project Description will be rejected. When addressing this threshold criterion, indicate which page(s) of the application your backup plan for in-person activities can be found.

SECTION IV. – APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A. How to Obtain an Application Package

A copy of these guidelines can be obtained from the EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization

Program website4 or through www.grants.gov.

IV.B. Due Date and Submission Instructions

Your organization’s Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must submit your complete application package electronically to EPA through www.grants.gov. Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on SEPTEMBER 21, 2020. Please allow enough time to successfully submit your application package and allow for unexpected errors that may require you to resubmit. Occasionally, technical and other issues arise when using www.grants.gov.

Applications received after 11:59 p.m. ET on SEPTEMBER 21, 2020, will not be considered for funding.

In order to submit an application through www.grants.gov, you must:

• Have an active DUNS number;

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

• Be registered in www.grants.gov; and

• Be designated as your organization’s AOR.

The registration process for all the above items may take a month or more to complete.

The electronic submission of your application must be made by the AOR of your institution who is registered with www.grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for federal assistance.

Refer to Appendix 1 for specific instructions on how to apply through www.grants.gov

4 EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program website is available at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields.

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields http://www.epa.gov/brownfields http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

If you do not have the technical capability to apply electronically through www.grants.gov because of limited or no Internet access which prevents you from being able to upload the required application materials to www.grants.gov, please refer to the procedures in Appendix 1.

IV.C. Content and Form of Application Submission

All pages exceeding the page limits described below will not be reviewed. Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed for substantial conformity with the format requirements and page limits listed below, per the threshold eligibility criteria in Section III.C. All application materials, including support letters, must be submitted in English. Photos and graphics will not be considered. The Narrative and cover letter must be typed on letter-sized (8½ x 11 inch) paper, be single-spaced, and should use Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri font, sized no smaller than

11 point, and have one (1)-inch margins. Attachments are limited to those identified below and are limited to one scanned image per page. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application, as described below, by the due date.

1. Application Content

All applications must substantially conform to the following outline and content (pages in excess of the stated page limitations will not be reviewed):

• The cover letter, including responses to threshold eligibility criteria in Section

III.C (3-page limit, single-spaced) – See IV.C.2. below.

• The Narrative, which includes the responses to all ranking criteria (12-page limit, single-spaced) – See IV.C.3. below.

• Attachments (12-page limit, single-spaced) – See IV.C.4. below.

- Milestones schedule

- General letters of support from partners, including employers, as identified in your application

• Documentation of applicant eligibility, if applicable

Note: Documentation of nonprofit applicant eligibility must be included with the required attachments but does NOT count towards the attachments page limitation.

With submission through www.grants.gov, applicants are required to submit the federal application materials listed below. These materials do not count against the above-referenced page limits. See Appendix 1 for information on using grants.gov.

1. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

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

3. Pre-award Compliance Review Report (EPA Form 4700-4)

4. EPA Key Contacts (Form 5700-54) https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grants.gov%2F&data=02%7C01%7Csutkus.elyse%40epa.gov%7C6cf895f2d8c641ca747808d7eb8aab36%7C88b378b367484867acf976aacbeca6a7%7C0%7C0%7C637236853111063788&sdata=FIWEHtcO3qiNF6F%2BI3I6hfuthrDKPuQDbmPcqZkPnSE%3D&reserved=0

When completing the SF-424 form, applicants will be required to provide a Dun and

Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS number). Applicants can receive a DUNS number for FREE by calling 1-800-591-8534, or visiting the D&B website at https://www.dnb.com/duns-number.html.

IV.D. Cover Letter

The cover letter shall only address the information below and shall not exceed three, single-spaced pages. Any pages submitted over the page limit will not be considered. EPA does not consider information in the cover letter to be responses to the ranking criteria. Each cover letter must be on the applicant’s official letterhead and should be addressed to the EPA Contact listed in Section VII.

1. Applicant Identification: Provide the name and full address of the entity applying for funds.

This is the agency or organization that will receive the grant and be accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.

2. Grant Type: Indicate “Brownfields Technical Assistance Grant.”

3. Reponses to Threshold Criteria:

a. Applicant Eligibility

b. Project Eligibility

c. Substantial Conformity

d. Submission of Application

e. Backup Plan for COVID-19 Restrictions

4. Location: Provide your city, county, and state or reservation.

5. Contacts:

a. Project Director: Provide the name, phone number, email address, and mailing address of the Project Director assigned to this proposed project. This person should be the main point of contact for the project and should be the person responsible for the project’s day-to-day operations. The Project Director may be contacted if other information is needed.

b. Chief Executive/Highest Ranking Elected Official: Provide the name, phone number, email address, and mailing address of the applicant’s Chief Executive or highest-ranking elected official. For example, if your organization is a municipal form of government, provide this information for the Mayor or County Commissioner. Otherwise, provide this information for your organization’s Executive Director or President. These individuals may be contacted if other information is needed.

https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dnb.com%2Fduns-number.html&data=02%7C01%7Csutkus.elyse%40epa.gov%7C6cf895f2d8c641ca747808d7eb8aab36%7C88b378b367484867acf976aacbeca6a7%7C0%7C0%7C637236853111073783&sdata=rTpglpsPIDIvQtCrOaudfE93JQp5%2FhiQPT3wYi%2F82uo%3D&reserved=0

IV.E. Narrative/Ranking Criteria

The narrative includes response to all five ranking criteria. The narrative (including citations) shall not exceed 12 single-spaced pages. Any pages submitted over the page limit will not be evaluated.

The narrative must be clear, concise, and specifically address all the applicable ranking criteria.

Responses to the criteria should include the criteria number and title but need not restate the entire text of the criteria. Applications must provide sufficient detail to allow for an evaluation of the merits of the application. Any criterion left unanswered may result in zero points given for that criterion. Factual information about your proposed project and the communities you intend to serve must be provided. Do not include discussions of broad principles that are not specific to the proposed work or project covered by your application. Do not provide photos or extraneous materials.

1. COMMUNITY NEED

This section of your application provides the context for your project. The needs defined in this section should provide the foundation for your proposed project, planned community involvement and partnerships, and the ways the program will ultimately benefit community residents and other stakeholders affected by brownfields.

a. Community Description

This section of your narrative should describe how the proposed project will benefit communities with demographic and environmental indicators of need and how those needs relate to current brownfield and other environmental challenges. Discuss how the project will increase the capacity of communities (including community organizations, institutions and development corporations) to integrate environmental justice and equitable development approaches in their brownfield redevelopment plans.

b. Community Involvement

This section of your narrative should describe how you have, and/or will, involve stakeholders, including residents, organizations, government agencies and institutions, in the development of the proposed project and support of the proposed project. Here you may reference any support letters included as attachments.

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This section of your application provides a description of your proposed project and the degree to which it is comprehensive and realistic.

a. Project Description

Describe how the proposed project specifically addresses the subject area presented in

Section I.A. Describe the proposed project goals, activities, and project milestones. A milestone chart should be included in the attachments section of the application, but can be referenced here within the narrative.

b. Project Impact

Describe the following:

• Number and range of communities and brownfields stakeholders who will be supported nationally, including how you will ensure the fair distribution of assistance between urban and non-urban areas;

• The new and innovative aspects of the proposed project;

• How long-term community participation will be encouraged;

• Local capacity building, including how multigenerational members of low-income or minority communities will be involved;

• How the project will help organizations with similar goals effectively engage and collaborate;

• How the results of the project will be practically and meaningfully applied by or for brownfield stakeholders; and

• How the proposed project will be delivered, how your project will ensure the target audience will be reached, and how your project will meet target audience needs.

Note that for EPA to meet its statutory obligations to evaluate proposals using the criteria at CERCLA 104(k)(5)(C) the Agency intends to ensure that this technical assistance serves as a means to:

• Address/facilitate the identification and/or reduction of threats to the health and welfare of sensitive populations (e.g., children, pregnant women, minority or low-income communities), including threats in areas in which there is a greater-than-normal incidence of diseases or conditions (including cancer, asthma, or birth defects) that may be associated with exposure to hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

• Promote sustainable reuse of brownfields, subsequent use/reuse of existing infrastructure, energy efficiency or siting a facility that generates renewable energy on a brownfield, and prevention of future brownfields.

• Incorporate sustainable reuse themes that foster protection and restoration of a park, a greenway, undeveloped property, recreational property, or other property used for nonprofit purposes.

• Incorporate educational information to stimulate availability of other funds for environmental assessment or remediation, subsequent reuse, and/or economic development of an area in which one or more brownfield sites are located, including brownfields adjacent to a body of water or a federally designated flood plain.

c. Project Sustainability

Describe how your program will integrate sustainable and equitable development principles, such as innovative engagement that minimizes waste; recycling and reuse of training materials; use of existing infrastructure; purchasing or leasing more sustainable supplies, and services; or other practices that directly reduce water, materials, energy, or air impacts.

3. PROGRAMMATIC CAPABILITY AND PAST PERFORMANCE

This section of your application provides information on your organization’s abilities to successfully complete the proposed project and manage the grant.

a. Programmatic Capability

Describe the organizational structure you will use to ensure the timely and successful expenditure of funds and complete all technical, administrative and financial requirements of the project and grant. Include a brief discussion of the key staff including their roles, expertise, qualifications, and experience. Describe the system(s) you have in place to appropriately acquire any additional expertise and resources (e.g., contractors or sub-awardees) required per grant requirements to successfully complete the project.

(Refer to Section IV.G. regarding contractors and subawards.)

Describe your organization’s experience in working with brownfield stakeholders, including both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, and your organization’s ability to form key relationships and partnerships to successfully complete the proposed project (as referenced in any support letters included as attachments).

b. Past Performance and Accomplishments

If you have ever received an EPA Technical Assistance Grant, please respond to item i.

below.

If you have never received an EPA Technical Assistance Grant, but have received other federal or non-federal assistance agreements (such as a grant or cooperative agreement), please respond to item ii. below.

If you have never received any type of federal or non-federal assistance agreements, please indicate this in response to item iii. below.

i. Currently Has or Previously Received an EPA Technical Assistance Grant

Identify and provide information regarding each of your current and most recent EPA

Technical Assistance Grant(s) (no more than three). Demonstrate how you successfully managed the grant(s), and successfully performed all phases of work under each grant by providing information on the items listed below.

(1) Accomplishments

Describe the accomplishments (including specific outputs and outcomes) of your grant-funded program. Discuss whether these outputs and outcomes were accurately reflected in quarterly reports; and if not, please explain why.

(2) Compliance with Grant Requirements

Discuss your compliance with the workplan, schedule, and terms and conditions.

Include whether you have made, or are making, progress towards achieving the expected results of the grant in a timely manner. If not, discuss what corrective measures you took, or are taking, and how the corrective measures were effective, documented and communicated.

Discuss your history of timely and acceptable quarterly performance and grant deliverables.

For all open EPA Technical Assistance Grant(s) indicate the grant period (start and end date), if there are funds remaining, and the plan to expend funds by the end of the grant period.

For all closed EPA Technical Assistance Grant(s), indicate if there were funds remaining when the grant closed, the amount of remaining funds, and a brief explanation of why the funds were not expended.

– OR –

ii. Has Not Received an EPA Technical Assistance Grant but has Received Other

Federal or Non-Federal Assistance Agreements

Identify and describe each of your current and/or most recent federally and non-federally funded grants (no more than three) that are most similar in size, scope, and relevance to the proposed project. Demonstrate how you successfully managed the grant(s), and successfully performed all phases of work under each grant by providing the following information.

(1) Purpose and Accomplishments

Describe the awarding…