ej-cps-rfp-2018_final_11.15.2017.pdf

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AGENCY: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ)

TITLE: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS)

Cooperative Agreement

ACTION: Request for Proposals (RFP)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER (FON): EPA-OP-OEJ-18-01

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 66.306

DATES: ANNOUNCEMENT DATE: November 15, 2017 CLOSING DATE: February 16, 2018

Translations available: To receive a Spanish translation of this announcement contact Jacob Burney in the Office of Environmental Justice at (202) 564-2907 or via email at burney.jacob@epa.gov. Please note that applications must be written in English only.

Applications written in languages other than English will not be considered for award.

Hay traducciones disponibles de este anuncio en Español. Si usted esta interesado en obtener una traduccion de este anuncio en Español, por favor llame a La Oficina de Justicia Ambiental conocida como “Office of Environmental Justice,” linea gratuita (1-800-962-6215).

DEADLINE: Proposal packages must be submitted through Grants.gov and must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on February 16, 2018. Proposals received after the closing date and time will not be considered for funding.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program provides funding to support community-based organizations in their efforts to collaborate and partner with local stakeholder groups (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical providers, and academia) as they develop and implement solutions that address environmental and/or public health issues for underserved communities. For purposes of this announcement, the term “underserved community” refers to a community with environmental justice concerns and/or vulnerable populations, including minority, low income, rural, tribal, and indigenous populations. Eligible projects must demonstrate use of the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model to support their collaborative efforts during the project period. Applying organizations should have a direct connection to the underserved community impacted by the environmental harms and risks detailed in the workplan.

The long-term goals of the EJCPS Program are to help build the capacity of communities with environmental justice concerns and to create self-sustaining, community-based partnerships that will continue to improve local environments in the future.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION: For the 2018 opportunity, the EJCPS program will give special consideration to high ranking proposals to be performed in rural areas as defined by the program.

Rural areas, for the purposes of this competition, are defined as local areas with populations of 50,000 or less that have limited access to public or private resources commonly found in metropolitan areas. Applicants claiming rural status must provide sufficient detail (census data, population figures, descriptions of local resources, etc.) for EPA to validate the rural status of the mailto:burney.jacob@epa.gov

- 2 -underserved community. The goal of this special consideration is to encourage and increase project performance in rural areas in the EPA EJ Grants program.

Additionally, EPA will give special consideration to high ranking proposals submitted by eligible organizations that have not previously received an EJCPS award. This means that EPA may factor in an applicant’s award history with the EJCPS program when making final selections among high ranking proposals. (see Section V.C).

PLEASE NOTE: All eligible organizations are encouraged to apply. Under this announcement, projects not located in rural areas and/or proposed by organizations that have previously received an EJCPS award are still eligible for award. The special considerations described above and in Section V apply as an “other” selection factor the selection official may consider in determining selections among high ranking proposals.

FUNDING/AWARDS: The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $1,200,000. EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement of $120,000 within each of the 10 EPA Regions, subject to availability of funds, the quality of proposals received, and other applicable considerations. Funded assistance agreements will have a two-year project period. Applicants should plan for projects to start September 1, 2018.

EPA reserves the right to increase or decrease the total number of grants awarded or reject all proposals and make no awards under this announcement. Such changes may be necessary as a response to the quality of proposals received by EPA or the amount of funds available.

An eligible applicant MUST BE one of the following entities:

• incorporated non-profit organizations—including, but not limited to, environmental justice networks, faith based organizations and those affiliated with religious institutions;*

• federally recognized tribal governments—including Alaska Native Villages; OR

• tribal organizations

* Applicant non-profit organizations must include documentation that shows the organization is either a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization as designated by the Internal Revenue Service; OR a non-profit organization recognized by the state, territory, commonwealth or tribe in which it is located. For the latter, documentation must be on official state government letterhead.

Applicants must be located within the same state, territory, commonwealth, or tribe in which the proposed project is located. This means that an applicant’s registered address of record (i.e.

the address designated on their IRS or State-sanctioned documentation) must be in the same state, territory, commonwealth or tribe as the location of the proposed project.

The following entities are INELIGIBLE to receive an award, but we encourage applicants to partner with these organizations as appropriate (see Contracts and Subawards solicitation clause referenced in Section IV):

• colleges and universities;

• hospitals;

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses#contractssubawards

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• state and local governments and their entities;

• quasi-governmental entities (e.g., water districts, utilities)*;

• national organizations and chapters of the aforementioned organizations**;

• non-profit organizations supporting lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995; and***

* Generally, a quasi-governmental entity is one that: (1) has a close association with the government agency, but is not considered a part of the government agency; (2) was created by the government agency, but is exempt from certain legal and administrative requirements imposed on government agencies; or (3) was not created by the government agency but performs a public purpose and is significantly supported financially by the government agency.

** National organizations are defined as comprising of one centralized headquarters or principal place of business that creates and controls the mission, structure and work carried out by its chapters or affiliates.

*** Funds awarded under this announcement may not be used to support lobbying activities or any activities related to lobbying or the appearance thereof. Subawards made to nonprofit organizations that lobby are not allowed.

CONTENTS BY SECTION

I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Award Information III. Eligibility Information IV. Proposal and Submission Information V. Proposal Review Information VI. Award Administration Information VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information and Appendices

A – Tips on Preparing an EJ Grant Application B – Illustration of EJCPS Model C – Sample of Performance Measure/Milestones (Logic Model) D – Blank Logic Model E – EJCPS Detailed Itemized Budget example F – Blank Itemized Budget Sheet

G – Quality Assurance Project Plan Questionnaire

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION (back to Contents by Section)

A. DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

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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. Fair treatment means that no one group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal environmental programs and policies. Meaningful involvement means that: (1) potentially underserved community residents have an appropriate opportunity to participate in decisions about a proposed activity that will affect their environment and/or health; (2) the public’s contribution can influence the regulatory agency’s decision; (3) the concerns of all participants involved will be considered in the decision-making process; and (4) the decision-makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially underserved. An “underserved community”, for the purposes of this competition, refers to a community with environmental justice concerns and/or vulnerable populations, including minority, low income, rural, tribal, and indigenous populations that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental harms and risks and has a local environmental and/or public health issue that is identified in the applicant’s proposal.

B. BACKGROUND & EJ COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING MODEL

In 2003, the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) initiated the first solicitation for the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program. To find the latest information about the EJCPS Program visit:

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-cps-grants.html

The purpose of the EJCPS Program is for EPA to provide financial assistance to support community-based organizations to collaborate and partner with other stakeholders (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical providers, academia, etc.) to develop and implement solutions that will significantly address environmental and/or public health issue(s) at the local level. The program’s objective is to support projects that demonstrate the utility of the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Model. Because this program requires substantial involvement and interaction between the applicant and EPA, these awards will be made in the form of cooperative agreements. See Section II.A.ii for more detail on cooperative agreements.

For the purposes of this EJCPS Program, collaborative problem-solving is defined as an effort to bring together groups and resources (e.g., information, labor, money) by three or more stakeholders to solve a set of problems that any single entity cannot solve individually. Collaborative problem-solving builds upon existing community understanding to establish and maintain partnerships capable of producing meaningful environmental and/or public health results. To provide a systematic approach towards collaborative problem-solving, OEJ has developed a Collaborative Problem-Solving Model (Model). Such a Model is intended to assist vulnerable and underserved communities in developing proactive, strategic, and visionary approaches to address their environmental justice issues and achieve community health and sustainability.

Collaborative problem-solving also involves developing and implementing a well-designed strategic plan with a built-in evaluation component to measure and achieve results on local environmental and/or public health issues and to sustain the partnerships. These elements are cross-cutting and interdependent and should be utilized in a proactive, strategic, and iterative manner. Determining which elements to undertake, and in what order, can vary greatly, however, depending upon the unique facts and circumstances surrounding each environmental and/or http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-cps-grants.html

- 5 -publ ic health issue. Not all the elements are required to be used in every situation. Rather, the CPS Model and its seven elements can be viewed as a “tool box” filled with different tools that can be used as needed. The seven elements are as follows:

1. Issue Identification, Visioning, and Strategic Goal-Setting;

2. Community Capacity-Building and Leadership Development;

3. Development of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships and Leveraging of Resources;

4. Consensus Building and Dispute Resolution;

5. Constructive Engagement with Other Stakeholders;

6. Sound Management and Implementation; and

7. Evaluation

For additional information about OEJ’s CPS Model, please see follow the link below:

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/cps-manual-12-27-06.pdf

A key starting point for any collaborative problem-solving project is the identification of an environmental and/or public health issue and the community’s leadership in formulating goals (e.g., diesel reduction, lead abatement, reducing high incidence of asthma, land use changes, pollution prevention, implementation of fish advisories, hazardous waste, emissions reduction, risk reduction, community cleanups, or compliance with local environmental and/or public health regulations, etc.). Collaborative problem-solving involves the establishment and/or maintenance of partnerships between and among other stakeholders and the underserved community to address the community’s local environmental and/or public health issues.

These partnerships can include, but are not limited to the following stakeholder groups:

• Other local community-based non-profit organizations;

• Local, regional, and national environmental non-profit organizations;

• State, local, and tribal governments;

• Federal government agencies;

• Health care providers;

• Faith-based organizations and local churches;

• Philanthropic organizations;

• Civic organizations;

• Local economic and/or community development corporations/organizations;

• Educational institutions (e.g. schools, colleges, and universities);

• State, local and tribal government agencies;

• Local Businesses and Industry;

• Elected officials (you may not use Federal grant funds or cost-sharing funds to conduct lobbying activities); and

• Labor and professional organizations.

C. QUALIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL STATUTES

The EJCPS Program is designed to address multi-statute environmental and/or public health issues.

For this reason, each project must include activities related to at least one of the following federal environmental statutes. Failure to clearly and conclusively identify and cite at least one of the federal statutes in your work plan will result in your project not being considered for award.

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/cps-manual-12-27-06.pdf

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1. Clean Air Act, Section 103(b)(3): conduct research, investigations, experiments, demonstration projects, surveys, and studies (including monitoring) related to the causes, effects (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention, and control of air pollution.

2. Clean Water Act, Section 104(b)(3): conduct and promote the coordination of research, investigations, training, demonstration projects, surveys, and studies (including monitoring) relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution.

3. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20(a): conduct research, development, monitoring, public education, training, demonstration projects, and studies on pesticides.

4. Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, Section 203: conduct research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstration projects, surveys, and studies relating to the minimizing or ending of ocean dumping of hazardous materials and the development of alternatives to ocean dumping.

5. Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442(b)(3): develop and expand the capability to carry out a program (that may combine training, education, and employment) for occupations relating to the public health aspects of providing safe drinking water.

6. Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001(a): conduct and promote the coordination of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstration projects, surveys, public education programs, and studies relating to solid waste (e.g., health and welfare effects of exposure to materials present in solid waste and methods to eliminate such effects).

Please note that proposals supporting brownfields work are not eligible for funding under this announcement.

7. Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10(a): conduct research, development, monitoring, public education, training, demonstration projects, and studies on toxic substances.

D. EPA STRATEGIC PLAN LINKAGE & ANTICIPATED OUTPUTS, OUTCOMES

& PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT:

Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” (see https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements). EPA must link proposed assistance agreements to the Agency’s Strategic Plan.

EPA’s draft Strategic Plan 2018 - 2022 is available at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html). The activities to be funded under this announcement are intended to further EPA’s current priorities for:

1. Improving air quality to ensure more Americans are living and working in areas that meet high air quality standards

2. Ensuring clean and safe water by improving water infrastructure and supporting drinking water, aquatic ecosystems, and recreational, economic and subsistence activities

3. Cleaning up contaminated sites and returning land back to communities

4. Improving environmental protection through joint governance, state/tribal primacy efforts, and compliance assistance

5. Increasing transparency, public participation, and collaboration with communities.

Applicants should explain in their proposal how their project will further at least one of the https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.html

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EPA Order 5700.7 also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements. 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 goals and objectives described above.

1. Outputs (Evaluation Criteria, Section V.A) The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal and 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 funding period. Examples of some expected outputs from the project(s) may include the following:

• The number of residents trained by an environmental and/or public health program to reduce resident exposure to environmental and/or public health hazards (e.g., number of residents trained on safe shellfish harvesting)

• Creation of an environmental and/or public health program to achieve and sustain environmental and/or public health improvements (e.g., a community-wide asthma coalition)

2. Outcomes (Evaluation Criteria, Section V.A.) The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that relates to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature; must be quantitative; and may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period. EPA encourages recipients to identify outcomes wherever possible because they lead to environmental and/or public health improvement more clearly than outputs.

Examples of expected outcomes may include but are not limited to the following:

1. The number of residents that actually adopt safe shellfish harvesting

2. The number of community members that utilize an asthma action plan to manage asthma at home, work, and/or school

3. The number of families that have reduced exposure to lead paint as a result of their homes undergoing a lead abatement program

4. Reduction of carbon emissions/pollution

3. Performance Measurement Plan (Evaluation Criteria, Section V.A.) Outputs and outcomes are critical components of an applicant’s overall plan for measuring their project’s performance. An applicant will be evaluated on the quality of their overall performance measurement plan including the proposed outputs, outcomes, and associated timeframes for achieving those results. An applicant’s performance measurement plan will help gather insights, will be the mechanism to track progress concerning successful progress, output and outcome strategies, and will provide the basis for developing lessons learned to inform future recipients. A logic model is useful in developing an overall performance measurement plan. See Appendices C and D for a sample logic model template.

The following questions are also useful to consider when developing output and outcome measures of quantitative and qualitative results:

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1. What are the measurable short term and longer term results the project will achieve?

2. How does the project measure progress in achieving the expected results (including outputs and outcomes) and how will the approach use resources effectively and efficiently?

II. AWARD INFORMATION (back to Contents by Section)

A. FUNDING AVAILABILITY AND PROJECT PERIOD

i) Total estimated funding expected to be available for awards under this competitive opportunity is approximately $1,200,000 contingent on the availability of funds, the quality of proposals, and other applicable considerations. Cooperative agreements are fully funded at time of award.

ii) EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement of $120,000 in each of the 10 EPA

Regions (Section VII), subject to availability of funds, the quality of proposals received, and other applicable considerations. The funding for selected projects will be in the form of cooperative agreements because this program requires substantial involvement and interaction between the applicant and EPA. EPA will negotiate the precise terms and conditions of “substantial involvement” as part of the award process. Federal involvement may include: close monitoring of the recipient’s performance to verify the results proposed by the applicant; collaboration during the performance of the scope of work; in accordance with 2 CFR 2 CFR 200.317 and 2 CFR 200.318, as appropriate, review of proposed procurements; reviewing qualifications of key personnel; and/or review and comment on the content of printed or electronic publications prepared. EPA does not have the authority to select employees or contractors employed by the recipient. The final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient.

iii) Proposed projects are for two years. The estimated project period start date for awards is September 1, 2018.

iv) EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selections. In addition, EPA reserves the right to increase or decrease the total number of grants awarded or reject all proposals and make no awards under this announcement. Such changes may be necessary as a response to the quality of proposals received by EPA or the amount of funds available.

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

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION (back to Contents by Section)

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A. Eligible Entities based on CFDA. In accordance with CFDA 66.306, an eligible applicant must be one of the following:

• incorporated non-profit organizations —including, but not limited to, environmental justice networks, faith based organizations and those affiliated with religious institutions;*

• federally recognized tribal governments—including Alaska Native Villages; OR

• tribal organizations

* Applicant organizations claiming non-profit status must include documentation that shows the organization is either a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization as designated by the Internal Revenue Service; OR a non-profit organization recognized by the state, territory, commonwealth or tribe in which it is located. For the latter, documentation must be on official state government letterhead.

Applicants must be located within the same state, territory, commonwealth, or tribe in which the proposed project is located. This means that an applicant’s registered address of record (i.e.

the address designated on their IRS or State-sanctioned documentation) must be in the same state, territory, commonwealth or tribe as the location of the proposed project.

The following entities are INELIGIBLE to receive an award, but we encourage applicants to partner with these organizations, as appropriate (see Contracts and Subawards solicitation clause):

• colleges and universities;

• hospitals;

• state and local governments and their entities;

• quasi-governmental entities (e.g., water districts, utilities)*;

• national organizations and chapters of the aforementioned organizations**;

• non-profit organizations supporting lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995; and***

* Generally, a quasi-governmental entity is one that: (1) has a close association with the government agency, but is not considered a part of the government agency; (2) was created by the government agency, but is exempt from certain legal and administrative requirements imposed on government agencies; or (3) was not created by the government agency but performs a public purpose and is significantly supported financially by the government agency.

** National organizations are defined as comprising of one centralized headquarters or principal place of business that creates and controls the mission, structure and work carried out by its chapters or affiliates.

*** Funds awarded under this announcement may not be used to support lobbying activities or any activities related to lobbying or the appearance thereof. Subawards made to nonprofit organizations that lobby are not allowed.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses#contractssubawards

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B. THRESHOLD ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

These are requirements that, if not met by the time of proposal submission, will result in elimination of the proposal from consideration for funding. Only proposals from eligible entities (Section III) that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration because of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or else they will be rejected.

However, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to the proposal workplan, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed.

In addition, initial proposals must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for, as explained in Section IV) on or before the proposal submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement to ensure that their proposal is timely submitted.

2. Proposals submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to submit their proposal through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. DO NOT wait to register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov. Finalizing these registrations could take a month or more. Register as soon as possible. Applicants should confirm receipt of their proposal with Jacob Burney, burney.jacob@epa.gov, as soon as possible—failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

3. Qualified Environmental Statutes: Projects must include activities related to at least one of the Qualified Environmental Statutes listed under Section I.C. A project workplan must explain how it is tied to the local environmental and/or public health issue in the underserved community. Any failure to clearly and conclusively identify and cite at least one of the federal statutes in your work plan will result in your project not being considered for award.

4. Applicant/Project Location: Applicants must be located within the same state, territory, commonwealth, or tribe in which the proposed project is located. This means that an applicant’s registered address of record (i.e. the address designated on their IRS or State-sanctioned documentation) must be in the same state, territory, commonwealth or tribe as the location of the proposed project.

5. Three Letters of Commitment: Applicants must have partners from at least THREE different stakeholder groups as documented by at least THREE signed letters of commitment http://www.sam.gov/ http://grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ http://grants.gov/

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6. Ineligible activities: Projects must not be used for the purposes of routine program implementation, implementation of routine environmental protection restoration measures, duplication of work performed under a prior EPA grant, or completion of work which was to have been completed under a prior EPA grant. If a proposal includes any ineligible tasks or prohibited activities, that portion of the proposal will be ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the proposal, render the entire proposal ineligible for funding.

7. Multiple Proposals: Applicants may submit only one proposal under this solicitation. If an applicant submits more than one, then they will be contacted by EPA prior to the evaluation process to determine which one to withdraw. However, an applicant organization may be a partner on a proposal from another organization.

8. Please note that proposals must be written in English only. Proposals written in languages other than English will not be considered for award.

C. COST-SHARING OR MATCHING FUNDS

No cost-sharing or matching is required as a condition of eligibility or otherwise considered for evaluating proposals for award.

IV. PROPOSAL & SUBMISSION INFORMATION (back to Contents by Section)

A. CONTENT AND FORM OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

All proposals must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov. Proposals transmitted via postal mail, fax, and/or email will not be considered. Proposals are due by Friday, February 16, 2018 at 11:59 PM (ET).

REQUIRED FORMS & DOCUMENTS: The following forms and documents are required.

Failure to include all documents listed below may result in your proposal being rendered ineligible:

1) SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance (part of the Grants.gov application submission process)

2) Proposal Work plan (subject to page limit described below and see optional template in Section IV.A.2) - use “Project Narrative” form in Grants.gov to submit your workplan

3) Itemized Budget Sheet (Appendices E and F)

4) Project Performance Measures / Logic Model (Appendices C & D)

5) Letters of Commitment from Partners (from at least three stakeholder groups)

6) Key Contacts List (EPA Form 5700-54) – use “Key Contacts” form in Grants.gov

7) Resumes of the Project Manager (PM) and other key personnel

8) Proof of Non-Profit Status http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-09/documents/epa_form_5700_54.pdf

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For items 3 thru 8 (except for 6), applicants can submit using the “Other” attachments form in Grants.gov.

It is strongly advised that applicants organize their proposals in the order presented above when submitting through Grants.gov. This will facilitate review and scoring of your proposal. However, applicants will not be penalized if documents are ordered differently. The following is a detailed description of all the required forms and documents:

1) SF-424 APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE: The SF-424 is the official form required for all federal grants and cooperative agreements. This form is a required form when submitting a grant application through www.Grants.gov. The form requests the basic information about your organization and proposed project. To complete the SF-424 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 dedicated toll-free request line at 1-800-627-3867 or by visiting the D&B website at http://www.dnb.com.

2) PROPOSALWORK PLAN (Template available in Section IV.A.2): The work plan is the most important part of the proposal package. The work plan describes the project.

Work plans that are focused and succinct are stronger than ones that try to address too many issues. Under this announcement, applicants must submit a project focused on activities related to at least one Qualified Environmental Statute. Types of eligible activities are those described within the Qualified Environmental Statutes, as discussed in Section I of this announcement. Applicants should identify the chosen Qualified Environmental Statute in the Summary Page. Proposals will be evaluated on the extent and quality of how well the project addresses program objectives and allowable activities. The work plan, as described below, must not exceed fourteen (14) single-spaced typewritten pages and be on letter size pages (8 1/2 X 11 inches). Any pages beyond 14 pages (including the Summary Page) will not be read by the Review Panel. It is recommended that applicants use a standard font (e.g. Times New Roman, Calibri, and Arial) and a 12-point font size with 1-inch margins. Supporting materials, such as resumes and partnership letters, can be submitted as attachments and are not included in the 14-page limit.

The following table may be helpful when drafting the work plan:

The 14-page work plan must contain the following components (items 1.0-6.0 below) and should be identified by the headings in the EXACT ORDER as listed below. Also ensure that the workplan addresses all the evaluation criteria in Section V and any necessary threshold eligibility criteria in Section III:

1.0 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

a. Project Summary – Recommended one-page summary document (does count as part of 14-page workplan limit). Summary includes:

http://www.dnb.com/

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• Project Title

• Project Location (including community/neighborhood(s), city, state, and zip code)

• Rural Area? (Yes / No)

• New EJCPS Recipient (if awarded)? (Yes / No)

• Applicant Information (name, address, main contact information)

• Brief Description of Applicant Organization -- Provide a brief description (100 words or less) of the applicant organization, including its mission and key ongoing projects/activities in which it is involved.

• Project Period Dates

• Environmental Statute(s)

• Project Type(s) -- such as training, monitoring, demonstration, public education

(related to statute identified above)

• List of Project Partners -- include partner name and stakeholder group. (For example State University (academic); County commissioner (local government);

Facility, Utility, etc. (industry)).

• Project Abstract -- Brief description (250 words or less) of the main objective, activities, and outputs/outcomes of the project, including the specific geographic areas of focus.

• Will you need to develop a QAPP for your project? (see Appendix G)

b. Environmental and Public Health information of the Underserved Community -the applicant will be evaluated on the ability to clearly describe the local environmental justice issue(s) the project proposes to address and the community that is impacted. Please describe the following:

• What are the local environmental/public health issue(s) that the project seeks to address;

• What are the local environmental/public health results the project seeks to achieve;

• Describe the underserved community the applicant is directly working with to address the issues

• How the underserved community is disproportionately impacted by environmental harms and risks;

• How the underserved community will benefit from the project’s intended local results; and

The applicant must include relevant information such as demographics, geographic location, and community history. We strongly encourage the use of EPA’s EJSCREEN tool to characterize and describe your target community (along with local insight and perspective). Instructions and resources on how to use EJSCREEN are included at the hyperlink above. For any questions you have about EJSCREEN, please contact Alyssa Edwards at edwards.alyssa@epa.gov or 202-564- 0473.

https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen

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*Applicants proposing projects in RURAL AREAS must provide sufficient detail (census data, population figures, descriptions of local resources, etc.) for EPA to validate the rural status of the underserved community

c. Organization’s Historical and Sustained Connection to Underserved Community - The applicant will be evaluated on the description of the strong connection between their organization and the underserved community as that term is defined in this announcement.

Please describe the following:

• History of the applicant’s involvement with the underserved community, including duration of involvement and circumstances that led to your involvement;

• How the applicant has worked with the underserved community’s residents and/or organizations to address local environmental and public health issues;

• How the underserved community’s residents and/or organizations were involved in developing the current project plan and are part of the decision-making process; and

• How the applicant will sustain an ongoing relationship with the underserved community’s residents and/or organizations.

d. EJCPS Model - Demonstrate the utility of the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Model (Section I.B). Provide a clear and concise description about:

• Which of the seven elements of the EJCPS Model will be undertaken for this project. Also describe which EJCPS Model element(s) associated with this project may have already begun or been accomplished, o for example, EJCPS Model Element 1 – Community Vision and Strategic Planning may have occurred prior to applying. The EJCPS program focus is on developing and implementing solutions; it is anticipated that applicants may have accomplished some aspects of EJCPS Model elements.

e. Project Linkages

Please describe the following:

• How the project supports EPA’s draft Strategic Plan 2018 - 2022 and how the project furthers at least one of the current priorities listed below:

1. Improving air quality to ensure more Americans are living and working in areas that meet high air quality standards

2. Ensuring clean and safe water by improving water infrastructure and supporting drinking water, aquatic ecosystems, and recreational, economic and subsistence activities

3. Cleaning up contaminated sites and returning land back to communities

4. Improving environmental protection through joint governance, state/tribal

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5. Increasing transparency, public participation, and collaboration with communities.

• How the project is related to the qualified environmental statute(s) identified in your Project Summary. Please note each project must include activities that are authorized by at least one of the federal environmental statutes listed in Section I.C.

f. Partner and Collaborate - Provide a clear and concise description of how the proposed project collaborates with other stakeholders to develop and implement solutions that will address environmental and/or public health issues at the local level. We encourage applicants to seek diversity in partnerships in an effort to enhance the process of achieving the project’s goals. Applicants must have at least THREE signed letters of commitment from partners representing at least THREE different stakeholder groups.

• Describe how the project will accomplish its goals through the use of appropriate and diverse partnerships from multiple stakeholder groups, such as industry, business, academia, government, etc.

• Identify and describe all partners involved, including those partnerships that may be under development. Include the following details about each of your partners:

- Planned roles of each partner listed in your Project Summary. Include which stakeholder group the partner represents and the project activities each partner will be responsible for

- What resources each partner brings to the partnership

- How the partner has a vested interest in working with this partnership [other than just getting income]

- How the applicant organization plans to maintain and sustain these relationships on into the future

2.0 Project Activities / Milestone Schedule / Detailed Budget Narrative

• Project Activities - Clear description of steps the applicant will take to meet the program objectives. Descriptions of the detailed project activities or components and the anticipated products/results associated with each activity.

• Milestone Schedule - Clearly articulated milestone schedule, including timeframes and major milestones to complete significant project activities.

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• Itemized Budget Sheet / Budget Narrative - Clearly explain how EPA funds will be used. Applicants must itemize costs into the following budget categories:

personnel, fringe benefits, contractual costs, travel, equipment, supplies, other direct costs, indirect costs, and total costs. Describe itemized costs in sufficient detail for EPA to determine the reasonableness and allowability of costs for each work plan component/activity. Applicants are permitted to attach the itemized budget sheet as an “Other Attachment” to their application so the sheet will not count against the 14-page workplan limit.

3.0 Environmental Results – Outputs, Outcomes, and Performance Measures (Logic Model)

• Environmental Results-Outputs/Outcomes - Applicants will be evaluated based on the expected project outputs and outcomes identified in the proposal for their project. The expected outputs and outcomes should be effective in achieving the Program Objectives listed in Section I, including collaborating and developing partnerships to effectively address local environmental and public health issues, educating and empowering the community about those issues, and developing strategies and approaches for building consensus and setting community priorities in the underserved community. (examples of outputs and outcomes are provided in Section I and Appendix C of the announcement).

• Performance Measurement Plan – Applicants will be evaluated on the extent and quality to which the proposal demonstrates a sound plan for tracking progress toward achieving the expected outputs, outcomes, and associated timeframes for achieving those results. Applicants are permitted to attach their completed logic models as an “Other Attachment” to their applications so the sheet will not count against the 14-page workplan limit.

4.0 Programmatic Capability

In order to be evaluated under this criterion in Section V, applicants must provide information on their:

o Organizational Experience related to the proposed project and their infrastructure as it relates to their ability to successfully implement the proposed project.

o Staff Experience / Qualifications of Project Manager (PM) - Provide information that clearly demonstrates that the proposed PM and other staff associated with the project are qualified to perform the project successfully. This will be determined through the description of the following:

• Why the PM and associated staff are qualified to undertake the project;

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• Illustrating the PM’s ties/historical connection to the community and the applicant organization. Please include detailed descriptions of any activities that the PM has worked on with the community and/or applicant organization.

o Expenditure of Awarded Grant Funds - Applicants will be evaluated based on their approach, procedures, and controls for ensuring that awarded grant funds will be expended in a timely and efficient manner and applicants must describe this in the workplan.

5.0 Past Performance

Submit a list of federally funded assistance agreements (assistance agreements include Federal grants and cooperative agreements but not Federal contracts) similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed project that your organization has performed within the last three years. Include the dollar amounts of each agreement. List no more than 5 agreements (preferably EPA agreements if applicable) and describe:

• whether, and how, you were able to successfully complete and manage those agreements; and

• your history of meeting the reporting requirements under those agreements including whether you adequately and timely reported on your progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes of those agreements (and if not, explain why not) and whether you submitted acceptable final technical reports under the agreements.

In evaluating applicants under these factors in Section V, EPA will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources, including information from EPA files and from current/prior grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information provided by the applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or past reporting information, please indicate this in the proposal and you will receive a neutral score for these factors (a neutral score is half of the total points available in a subset of possible points). If you do not provide any response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors.

6.0 Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) Information (If applicable)

• Indicate whether you believe that your project will involve the use of existing environmental data or the collection of new data (use the checklist in Appendix G to assist you in making this determination). For more information about Quality Assurance Project Plans, please consult the following website http://www.epa.gov/quality/qs-docs/g5-final.pdf.

http://www.epa.gov/quality/qs-docs/g5-final.pdf

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You are not required to develop a QAPP at this point. You are only being asked to determine whether or not you will need a QAPP should your project be selected for funding. If required, then an approved QAPP must be in place prior to the initiation of project activities.

3) Itemized Budget Sheet (Template available in Appendices E and F): Provide a detailed budget and estimated funding amount for each project component/activity. Identify the requested federal dollars. Clearly explain how EPA funds will be used. Applicants must itemize costs related to personnel, fringe benefits, contractual costs, travel, equipment, supplies, other direct costs, indirect costs, and total costs. All subaward funding should be located under the “other” category. This section provides an opportunity for narrative description of the budget or aspects of the budget such as “other” and contractual. Provide itemized costs with sufficient detail for EPA to determine the reasonableness and allowability of costs for each work plan component/activity. Helpful tips on writing a budget can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/ogd_budget_detail_guidance.pdf

If the applicant does not have a current negotiated indirect cost (IDC) rate, the applicant may include a flat IDC rate of 10% of salaries and wages. Please note: Recipients that opt to use the 10% flat rate are obligated to use the flat rate for the life of the grant award.

Total estimated costs in the budget breakdown should reflect federal funding only. Include in the narrative how/if partners will contribute to the project via in-kind or financial support.

Applicants are permitted to attach the itemized budget sheet as an “Other Attachment” to their application so the sheet will not count against the 14-page workplan limit.

Grantee Networking and Training Workshop: All EJCPS recipients will be required to attend a two-day workshop to be held at each EPA regional office. The tentative timeframe of the workshops will be Fall 2018. Recipients will need to identify at least one authorized official to participate and travel to their corresponding EPA regional office. Recipients will be permitted to use awarded funds to pay for travel to the workshop. Applicants should include those travel costs in proposed budgets.