Budget_Templates_2026.zip

This file is a budget templates package for the Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program's National Ground-Water Monitoring Network cooperative agreement opportunity. The USGS is offering up to $900,000 in total federal FY2026 funding to support state governments, federally recognized Native American Tribal governments, and local water-resources agencies in connecting new groundwater data providers to the Network and maintaining existing data services. Individual applications are capped at $150,000 for one-year projects or $300,000 for two-year projects, with routine maintenance work under Objective 2A limited to $20,000 annually ($40,000 for agencies managing over 500 sites). Applications will be accepted from mid-September 2025 through mid-January 2026, with notification of awards provided by USGS contracting officers within 60 to 120 days. All projects must be completed within a two-year cycle, and work performance is subject to 2 CFR Part 200 and Department of the Interior regulations under 2 CFR Part 1402.

The budget templates package provides the standardized formats required for applicants to develop proposals for this cooperative agreement. Eligible applicants include interstate, state, U.S. territory or possession, and local public nonprofit water-resource agencies that collect and maintain groundwater-level or groundwater-quality data. The program authorizes funding under Public Law 111-11, Section 9507, as amended by Public Law 118-174. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov using Standard Form (SF) 424, with proposals evaluated by the NGWMN Program Board according to four criteria: Proposal Quality, Relevance, Technical Quality, and Budget, each scored on a 1-to-10 scale.