BWR.NOI.FY22.WQM.GRANT.11.16.21.docx

Charles D. Baker Governor

Karyn E. Polito Lieutenant Governor

Kathleen A. Theoharides Secretary

Martin Suuberg Commissioner

NOTICE OF GRANT OPPORTUNITY

Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program

REQUEST FOR GRANT PROPOSALS

State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022

Summary of Grant Opportunity: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is seeking grant proposals from Eligible Entities for the purpose of supporting ongoing or new monitoring and data collection efforts to increase the amount of external data MassDEP uses for water quality assessments.

Grant Program Scope: With more than 3,000 lakes and ponds and 12,000 miles of streams and rivers and almost 3,000 square miles of coastal waters in the Commonwealth, MassDEP’s Watershed Planning Program (WPP) can sample only a fraction of these surface waters in any given year. MassDEP supplements its own surface water quality dataset (“internal dataset”) with data collected by entities outside of the agency (“external dataset”). Internal and certain external data meeting MassDEP’s acceptance criteria for data quality are used as the basis for assessing surface water quality in accordance with requirements set forth in §305(b) and §303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).

Through this grant program, MassDEP seeks to facilitate the efforts of Eligible Entities with continued and new work to (1) perform direct monitoring of rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and estuaries (surface waters) through field and laboratory work; (2) perform associated capacity-building actions (including, but not limited to, equipment and supply purchases and training) that increase monitoring of surface waters through field and laboratory work; and (3) develop regional and long-term monitoring programs and networks.

Eligible Entities and Projects: Eligible Entities for this Grant Opportunity are limited to (1) federally recognized Tribal Nations within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and (2) non-profit organizations that can include watershed groups, lake and pond associations, and other non-profit organizations with the ability to conduct, or develop the capacity to conduct, monitoring activities using technically-sound, approvable methodologies. While coalitions are not required for this grant application, collaborative projects that effectively leverage partnerships to create synergies will be given priority for funding. Academic institutions and municipalities are not eligible for this SFY2022 grant program.

Eligible Entities must describe in their proposals how the grant funding will support one or more of the following or similar activities aligned with the scope of the grant program.

1. Direct monitoring of surface waters through field and laboratory work that includes:

a. Purchase of monitoring equipment and supplies for field or in-house laboratory use (e.g., enzyme-substrate analytical systems, incubators, reagents, sample containers, Secchi disk, temperature or conductivity data loggers, etc.).

b. Fees for external laboratory analyses performed during the contract period (i.e., services) of samples also collected during the grant contract period.

c. Salary for field staff performing monitoring activities specific to this project during the grant contract period.

d. Salary for a coalition coordinator (only if submitting as a coalition) for activities to coordinate the coalition’s work specific to this project during the grant contract period.

e. Actions for project design and planning (e.g., Quality Assurance Project Plan/Sampling and Analysis Plan production).

2. Actions that increase the organization’s or coalition’s capacity to perform monitoring of surface waters through field and laboratory work, including:

a. Training of volunteer monitors or organization personnel to conduct monitoring activities.

b. Training on Quality Assurance (QA) activities such as probe calibration or laboratory best practices.

c. Training on data management and review.

3. Actions to develop regional and long-term monitoring programs or networks, including:

a. Purchase of monitoring equipment specifically intended for regional and long-term monitoring.

b. Training of organization personnel to perform actions specific to developing regional and long-term monitoring programs.

Funding Availability: MassDEP currently anticipates that up to $150,000 in total grant funding may be available for the WQMG program in SFY2022, which ends on June 30, 2022. MassDEP reserves the right not to award the total funding currently available for this grant program. Grant awards may range from $20,000 (minimum) to $75,000 (maximum) per application as an individual organization or coalition, although the MassDEP grant review team reserves the right, in its discretion, to (1) grant smaller awards to proposals of exceptional merit; and (2) grant awards smaller than requested by grant applicant(s) based on the availability of funds. MassDEP currently anticipates that two to six grants will be awarded through this program.

The estimated start date for all grant projects is March 30, 2022 (the formal start date will be identified on the fully executed grant contract following the award). The funding provided through this grant program is available only for Eligible Expenses incurred between the project contract start date and June 30, 2022. The SFY2022 grant funding awarded through this Program is on a reimbursement basis, and Eligible Entities must provide all supporting documentation required by MassDEP indicating that all Eligible Expenses were incurred between the contract start date and June 30, 2022.

Grant Application Process: The Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program section on MassDEP’s website contains a Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program Request for Grant Proposals document that contains a grant procurement schedule describing the steps of the application process, all project proposal and qualification requirements, and a specific format for responding to this Grant Opportunity; see https://www.mass.gov/info-details/grants-financial-assistance-watersheds-water-quality.

Application Deadline: All applications must be received by MassDEP by 5:00 p.m. on December 27, 2021. Applications received after the deadline will be rejected automatically. Application must be submitted electronically, via email, to the WQMG Program Coordinator, Robert F. Smith at WQMG@Mass.Gov

Evaluation Criteria: The evaluation criteria components for MassDEP’s review and scoring of Grant Proposal Responses are as specified in the Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program Request for Grant Proposals.

Question and Answer Period: Written questions can be submitted to the WQMG Program Coordinator via email at WQMG@Mass.Gov until December 2, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. (noon). A complete question and answer document will be posted on the MassDEP website (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/grants-financial-assistance-watersheds-water-quality) by December 9, 2021.

Additional Information: For additional information regarding the Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program, please refer to the MassDEP website link: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/grants-financial-assistance-watersheds-water-quality.

This information is available in alternate format. Contact Michelle Waters-Ekanem, Director of Diversity/Civil Rights at 617-292-5751.

TTY# MassRelay Service 1-800-439-2370 MassDEP Website: www.mass.gov/dep

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