EPA-I-R4-GM-2024-FARMER.pdf

U.S. EPA GULF OF MEXICO DIVISION

Federal Agency Name: Environmental Protection Agency – Region 4 Funding Opportunity Title: Farmer to Farmer 2024 BIL Announcement Type: Initial Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-I-R4-GM-2024-FARMER Assistance Listing: 66.475

DATES: Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than January 28, 2025, at 11:59 ET in order to be considered for funding.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications to improve water quality, habitat, resilience, and environmental education through the demonstration of innovative practices on working lands. The project is designed to support farmer-led or farm focused organizations in the Gulf of Mexico watershed within the Continental United States.

FUNDING/AWARDS: The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $20 million. EPA anticipates awarding 10 to 20 assistance agreements from this announcement. Awards will range from approximately $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 with a typical project period of three years.

KEY DATES: All dates listed below are tentative.

September 30, A recorded presentation will be posted to provide helpful hints to develop your application. You can find the presentation, Q&A, and the common errors document at the Farmer to Farmer 2024 BIL Funding Opportunity link. If you have a question not included in the Q&A or presentation, please submit questions to GMP-RFP@epa.gov. Q&A will be updated weekly if new questions are received.

EPA will respond to questions through January 14, 2025, but cannot guarantee a response to questions received thereafter.

January 28, Applications Submission Deadline 11:59pm ET

April 2025 Anticipated Notification of Selection

December 2025 Anticipated Award http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico/us-environmental-protection-agency-gulf-mexico-division-farmer-farmer-2024-bil-funding mailto:GMP-RFP@epa.gov

Contents

I. APPLICATION INFORMATION

II. AWARD INFORMATION Amounts, Targets, and Number of Projects

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

V. APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION

Appendix A. Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions

Appendix B. Helpful Links

Appendix C. Project Narrative Guidance and Budget Table Format

Appendix D. Eligible Coastal County List

I. APPLICATION INFORMATION

I.A. Background and Authority

Gulf of Mexico Division (GMD) is a non-regulatory division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) founded to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the Region. To carry out its mission, GMD continues to maintain and expand partnerships with state and federal agencies, federally recognized Tribes, local governments and authorities, academia, regional business and industry, agricultural and environmental organizations, and individual citizens and communities. For more information, please see EPA's Work in the Gulf of Mexico.

GMD’s statutory authority to award assistance agreements is the Clean Water Act, §104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of assistance agreements to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution as codified in 33 U.S Code 1254(b)(3). In addition, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, directs EPA to “coordinate with the Department of Agriculture, the Gulf States, and other State, local, and private partners to leverage greater resources toward conservation projects on working-lands within the Gulf Region and Mississippi River Basin.”

In the Gulf of Mexico watershed, farmers manage millions of acres of privately held working lands. While farmers are working in this watershed to provide the food, fuel, and fiber for the world, they are also managing challenges across the landscape to minimize nonpoint source pollution, specifically the excess nitrogen and phosphorous that can enter waterbodies dissolved in runoff or attached to sediment via erosion. Farmers also manage lands that contain critical habitats for migratory species and pollinators. Many of these habitats are important for conservation and agricultural success.

Excess nutrients delivered to the Gulf of Mexico come from sources across the entire watershed; many of which are delivered as nonpoint sources from the agricultural landscape. When elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus enter waterbodies, those impacted can be described as eutrophic (nutrient rich). When eutrophication of waterbodies occurs, it becomes possible for low dissolved oxygen levels (< 2 mg/L = hypoxia) to occur. For example, within the Gulf of Mexico, excess nutrients entering via the Mississippi river watershed has resulted in a large hypoxic zone that is commonly referred to as a dead zone, which can result in fish kills and a decrease in aquatic life. In addition to problems associated with low dissolved oxygen, excess nutrients can cause harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater systems, which not only disrupt wildlife but can also produce toxins harmful to humans.

Farmers are often the first line of action in reducing nonpoint source pollution of nutrients across the agricultural landscape and have developed innovative practices and leadership models to share their knowledge with others. For more information on the practices listed above, please see:

https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture.

I.B. Scope of Work

This NOFO is seeking applications for GMD’s Farmer to Farmer program. Projects activities must improve water quality, habitat, or resilience within the Gulf of Mexico watershed. Collaboration and outreach with farmers are required, while partnerships between organizations are encouraged.

https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2021-title33/html/USCODE-2021-title33-chap26-subchapI-sec1254.htm https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture

This funding is available to develop innovative practices within farming communities, measure the results of those practices, and identify how the practices will be incorporated into farming operations. For the purpose of this NOFO the term “farmer” refers to those individuals that make management decisions concerning agriculture lands, including cropland, forestland, and grazing lands.

Allowable Project Types. As authorized under the statutory authority for this grant program, proposals must carry out project activities using one or more of the following methods – surveys, studies, research, investigation, experimentation, education, training, and/or demonstrations. For projects that will support demonstration activity, the project must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the demonstration project. The applicant must clearly explain in the proposal how the technologies, methods, or approaches used are new or experimental and how the project otherwise meets the requirements of a demonstration as described in this NOFO. If your project uses technologies, methods or approaches that have been used previously in other geographic areas and/or other situations, then your proposal must include an explanation as to how your demonstration project is different from such prior projects. The applicant must also explain what will be learned from the demonstration project.

For nutrient projects, the proposed project location(s) and activities should be consistent with state nutrient reduction strategies and/or other regional resource management documents. The proposed project location(s) must also be in the Gulf of Mexico watershed.

Below are examples of activities that could be components of a project workplan:

• Water quality focused: nutrient reduction with creative runoff treatment solutions; innovative year-round ground cover to limit erosion; planting field buffers; conservation tillage; managing livestock access to streams.

• Habitat focused: riparian zone improvement; observing environmental windows; restoration or protection of wildlife corridors; partner easements; landowner habitat planting/restoration; and/or other innovative habitat ideas; conservation and restoration of perennially flooded grasslands and forests.

• Collaboration: partner organizations replicate existing successes in watersheds to build stakeholder and farmer capacity through technical trainings and outreach, including subawards to local farmer organizations to demonstrate techniques; work with farmer-led organizations or consortiums to reach out to small farms that are having financial, technological or other challenges in adopting nutrient reduction practices and develop creative solutions to overcoming those barriers; working with farming communities to stand up a farmer-led organization that provides technical assistance to farmers.

• Sustainable and resilient agricultural operations: identifying vulnerabilities to climate-related risks including understanding potential exposures (e.g., weather variability such as drought, flooding, etc.); assessing the operation’s sensitivities to those exposures (e.g. soil health degradation and soil nutrient losses); and developing adaptive capacity or resilience to respond, recover and transform continued operations after exposure that will result in reduced soil nutrient losses and improved downstream water quality. (For more information on farming resilience, see https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Cultivating-Climate-Resilience-on-Farms-and- Ranches).

https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Cultivating-Climate-Resilience-on-Farms-and-Ranches https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Cultivating-Climate-Resilience-on-Farms-and-Ranches

• Sustainable forest management: utilizing sustainable forestry practices that protect and maintain water quality and habitat; improve utilization of sustainable forestry practices through training, education, and public outreach; and monitor effectiveness of sustainable practices.

NOTE: Projects must include the four elements described below. Each applicant should develop an application that is most suited to their experience, needs and the needs of their partners and follow the requirements identified in Sections III-V.

Project Elements. All projects must include the following:

1. Novel or innovative techniques, methods, or approaches to improve water quality, habitat and/or the adoption of resilient and sustainable practices;

2. Collaboration, including within and among farming communities;

3. Data collection and analysis to demonstrate the results of the applied technique(s), method(s) or approach(es); and

4. Communication of results to the farming community to inform future farm management and to better understand (or ground truth) how different land management and operation practices affect water quality, habitat, and/or operational resilience as well as ancillary improvements of yields and farming costs.

Project Design. In addition to the information requested for project design in the project narrative guidance, the applicant should:

• Describe how the applicant will determine where water quality, habitat conservation, and/or resilience practices are needed and how project activities improve understanding of these practices.

• Describe how water quality, habitat conservation, and/or resilience measures will be included in the project.

• Describe how these activities will be coordinated with or complement existing or ongoing water quality, habitat conservation, and/or resilience efforts.

Environmental Results. In addition to the information requested for environmental results in the project narrative guidance, the applicant must include:

Output means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal and objective that will be produced or provided by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable over the term of the grant funding period.

Outputs as a result of training, education, monitoring, surveys, demonstrations and other activities authorized by CWA 104(b)(3). These must include:

• Farmer to farmer education events/presentations (report number of events and participants)

• Number of farmers or farming communities who have demonstrated farming practices

• Number of acres over which farming practices are being demonstrated

• Number of farming practices demonstrated

Additional Outputs could also include, but are not limited to:

• Number of agricultural/farming communities informed of their climate-related vulnerabilities that have identified risk management actions

• Number of acres receiving technical and/or financial assistance on farming practices

Outcome means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out a program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective and is used to gauge a project's performance. Outcomes may be qualitative and environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature, but must also be quantitative. Outcomes may be short-term (changes in learning, knowledge, attitude, skills), intermediate (changes in behavior, practice, or decisions), or long-term (changes in condition of the natural resource).

Outcomes as a result of training, education, monitoring, surveys, demonstrations and other activities authorized by CWA 104(b)(3) must include:

• Change in willingness to adopt practices as a result of project outreach. For example, number of farmers who intend to adopt or are adopting these farming practices as a result of project outreach

• At least one of the following:

o Estimated acres of habitat enhanced, protected or restored over the life of the project with quarterly milestones clearly reflected. An initial baseline must be included to provide an accurate view of progress.

o Estimated improvement in at least one water quality parameter in a water body and/or segment over the life of the project with quarterly milestones clearly reflected. An initial baseline must be included to provide an accurate view of progress.

o Examples of water quality parameters that could be demonstrated in a water quality improvement project include but are not limited to: excess nutrients, turbidity (and/or total suspended solids), dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature.

o Estimated number of farming communities that are more resilient over the life of the project.

The applicant should describe how the change will be measured and how resiliency was improved.

Additional outputs and outcomes accomplished as a result of project activities should also be included.

Outreach and Communication. In addition to the information requested for outreach/communication in the project narrative guidance, the applicant must:

• Describe how project results (e.g., presentations, data and reports) will be disseminated to interested stakeholders (e.g., farmers; local, state and tribal entities; academia and/or other interested stakeholders) in a timely manner and the potential of the project for transferability and applicability to other places.

• Describe how data obtained from the project will be utilized for future water quality improvements and/or habitat conservation either through development of an actionable plan or how data will be used to support existing plans.

Partnerships/Collaborations with Farmers. In addition to the information requested for partnerships/collaborations in the project narrative guidance, the applicant must:

• Describe how existing and/or anticipated partnerships will inform decision making.

Location Eligibility Criteria. All project activities must be within the Gulf of Mexico Watershed (see Figure 1 for Gulf of Mexico watershed and see eligible Florida counties in Appendix D). If you have a question about the eligibility of your watershed(s), please email gmp-rfp@epa.gov at least two weeks before the NOFO deadline.

Figure 1

I.B.1 Subawards If subawardees are identified, the recipient must comply with applicable provisions of 2 CFR Part 200 and the EPA Subaward Policy, including the National Terms and Conditions for subawards. Additional guidance on compliance is available in EPA’s Subaward Frequent Questions.

I.B.2 Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) EPA recognizes that it is important to engage a diverse group of stakeholders to address the environmental challenges the nation faces. At the same time, EPA seeks to expand the environmental conversation by including members of communities which may not have previously participated in such dialogues to engage in EPA programs. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages all eligible applicants identified in Section III.A, including MSIs, to apply and/or partner under this opportunity. The following are considered MSIs:

1. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1061(2)).

A list of these schools can be found at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

2. Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059c(b)(3) and (d)(1)). A list of these schools can be found at American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and

Universities.

3. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1101a(a)(5)). A list of these schools can be found at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

mailto:gmp-rfp@epa.gov https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-general-terms-and-conditions-effective-october-1-2023-or-later https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-subaward-frequent-questions https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/whiaiane/ https://sites.ed.gov/whiaiane/ https://sites.ed.gov/hispanic-initiative/hispanic-serving-institutions-hsis/

4. Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions; (AANAPISIs), as defined by the

Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059g(b)(2)). A list of these schools can be found at Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions.

5. Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act of 2008, 20 U.S.C.

1059e(b)(6). A list of these schools can be found at Predominately Black Institutions.

6. Native American-Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20

U.S.C § 1059f(b)(2); and

7. Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (AANHs), as defined by the Higher Education Act

(20 U.S.C § 1059d(b)(2) and (b)(4)).

I.B.3 Federally Recognized Tribes EPA recognizes the importance of the nation-to-nation relationships with

Federally Recognized Tribes in the environmental challenges the U.S. faces. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages Federally Recognized Tribes in the Gulf states to apply and/or partner under this opportunity.

I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage, Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes and Performance Measures

Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7A1, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” EPA must link proposed assistance agreements with the Agency’s Strategic Plan. EPA also requires that grant applicants and recipients adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements. See EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements.

I.C.1.Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan Funded awards must advance protection and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico watershed in support of the FY2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan. Awards made under this funding opportunity must support Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities, Objective 5.2: Protect and Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds. Applicants are also encouraged but not required to describe if project activities will also support EPA’s Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis, Objective 1.2: Accelerate Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts.

I.C.2. Environmental Results 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 priorities described above. See NOFO terms for definitions of outputs and outcomes. See Section I.B for expected outputs and outcomes in this funding opportunity.

I.C.3. Performance Measures Applicants should describe how they plan to track and monitor their project performance and progress throughout the project period. The applicant should also develop performance measures they expect to achieve through the proposed activities and describe them in their application. These performance measures will help gather insights and will be the mechanism to track progress concerning successful processes and output and outcome strategies and will provide the basis for developing lessons to inform future recipients. It is expected that the description of performance measures will directly relate to the project outcomes and outputs.

Outputs and outcomes (as defined in Section I.B) are critical components of an applicant’s overall plan for measuring project performance. The following are questions to consider when developing output and outcome measures of quantitative and qualitative results:

• What are the measurable short-term and long-term results the project will achieve?

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1XVkOWKMDORm53pvU0L8EPsrJC94&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&z=3&source=embed&ll=40.58644586187277%2C-148.28228249999984 https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1XVkOWKMDORm53pvU0L8EPsrJC94&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&z=3&source=embed&ll=40.58644586187277%2C-148.28228249999984 https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1wlIi3j7gtlNq_w-0NKAb2bF2VmY&ie=UTF&msa=0&ll=37.35160769312534%2C-96.17229800000001&z=4 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan

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

• Are the projected outputs and outcomes specific and detailed? Are specific target measures included where possible? Are target measures reasonable and achievable within the project period and for the funding amount? How will the approach use resources effectively and efficiently?

I.D. NOFO TERMS

The following are defined for the purposes for this NOFO only:

Community means any group of people working on or planning for strengthening community resilience. This can include municipalities, cities, towns, states, specific Gulf of Mexico watershed waters, regional planning commissions, and other groups. Community should be defined within the project by the applicant.

Demonstration Projects must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the demonstration project. The applicant must clearly explain in the proposal how the technologies, methods, or approaches used are new or experimental and how the project otherwise meets the requirements of a demonstration as described in this NOFO. If your project uses technologies, methods or approaches that have been used previously in other geographic areas and/or other situations, then your proposal must include an explanation as to how your demonstration project is different from such prior projects. The applicant must also explain what will be learned from the demonstration project.

Disadvantaged Community refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life such as communities with environmental justice concerns and/or vulnerable populations, including, but not limited to, people of color, low income, rural, tribal, indigenous, and homeless populations that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental harms and risks. More examples are identified in Section 2 of the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities. Disadvantaged communities also include communities that are adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental, climate and human health harms and risks including remote, rural, and urban communities.

I.E. Additional Provisions

Additional provisions that apply to Sections III, IV, V, and VI of this funding opportunity and/or awards made under this funding opportunity, can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses. These provisions are important for applying to this funding opportunity and applicants must review them when preparing applications. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please contact the EPA point of contact listed in Section VII to obtain the provisions.

II. AWARD INFORMATION Amounts, Targets, and Number of Projects

II.A. Award Amounts

EPA expects to provide approximately $20 million for 10 to 20 projects. Proposed project periods may be up to three years. The maximum amount of federal funds that will be awarded for any project in this funding https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses opportunity is $2,000,000.

The actual award amounts and number of projects awarded may differ from the estimated amounts including the number of meritorious applications received, agency priorities, and funding availability. EPA reserves the right to increase or decrease (including decreasing to zero) the total number and amounts of awards under each priority or change the ratio of assistance agreements it awards among the priorities.

Please note, however, that the specified maximum amount of $2,000,000 that will be awarded for an individual project establishes a per-project limit for the EPA funding; applications seeking EPA funding in excess of that amount will be rejected. In addition, an application for a multi-phase project will be treated as a request for the full amount for all phases. If that combined amount exceeds the specified maximum, the application will be rejected.

II.B. Anticipated Project Start and End Dates

Applicants are encouraged to submit certifications and other documentation required for a full and complete funding package so that their projects could proceed expeditiously if selected. The estimated project period for awards resulting from this funding opportunity will begin in Calendar Year 2025. Proposed project periods may be up to three years.

II.C. Funding Type

Successful applicants will be issued a grant or cooperative agreement as appropriate. A cooperative agreement is an assistance agreement that is used when there is substantial federal involvement with the recipient during the performance of an activity or project. EPA awards cooperative agreements for those projects in which it expects to have substantial interaction with the recipient throughout the performance of the project. 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; collaboration during the performance of the scope of work;

• review of proposed procurements, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.317 and 2 CFR 200.318, as appropriate;

reviewing qualifications of key personnel; and/or

• review and comment on the content 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.

II.D. Additional Funding Information

Additional Awards: EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy and guidance if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than 6 months after the original selection decisions.

Award Funding: Awards may be fully or incrementally funded, as appropriate, based on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR45ddd4419ad436d/section-200.317 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR45ddd4419ad436d/section-200.318

Future Funding: Selection or award of funding under this NOFO is not a guarantee of future funding.

Partial Funding: 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, then it 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, and therefore maintains the integrity of the competition and selection process.

Pre-Award Costs: Recipients may incur otherwise eligible and allowable pre-award costs up to 90 days prior to award at their own risk without prior approval from EPA’s award official. Pre-award costs must comply with 2 CFR 200.458 and 2 CFR 1500.9. If EPA determines that the requested pre-award costs comply with the relevant authorities, and that the costs are justified as allocable to the project, then these costs may be included as allowable expenditures at the time that the assistance award document is prepared. However, if for any reason EPA does not fund the application or the amount of the award is less than the applicant anticipated, then EPA is under no obligation to reimburse the applicant for these costs incurred. Applicants incur pre-award costs at their own risk. Costs incurred more than 90 days prior to award require the approval of EPA Region 4’s Award Official.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

Note: Additional provisions that apply to this section can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses.

III.A. Eligible Entities

In accordance with Assistance Listing 66.475, governmental entities, including state agencies, interstate agencies, Indian tribes, local governments, institutions of higher learning, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for funding under this NOFO. School districts or high schools designated as one of the eligible entities above are eligible.

An intertribal consortium must meet the definition of eligibility in the Environmental Program Grants for Tribes Final Rule, at 40 CFR 35.504 and be a nonprofit organization as defined in 2 CFR 200.1.

Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue

Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or tribal law.

For-profit organizations are not eligible entities for this funding opportunity. Additionally, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply.

III.B. Eligible Activities

Projects submitted must align with the Clean Water Act 104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of grants to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72/section-200.458 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72/section-200.458 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-XV/part-1500/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFRafb95c49532a236/section-1500.9 https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://sam.gov/fal/ba1197ac85c749c8b85b49260fedb529/view https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Institutions%20of%20Higher%20Education%20(IHEs)) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Nonprofit%20organization) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-35/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFR7560dab1b022383/section-35.504 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Nonprofit%20organization)

Demonstration projects must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the demonstration project. The applicant must clearly explain in the proposal how the technologies, methods, or approaches used are new or experimental and how the project otherwise meets the requirements of a demonstration as described in this NOFO. If your project uses technologies, methods or approaches that have been used previously in other geographic areas and/or other situations, then your proposal must include an explanation as to how your demonstration project is different from such prior projects. The applicant must also explain what will be learned from the demonstration project.

III.C. Match or Cost-share

There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement as a condition of eligibility under this NOFO.

III.D Ineligible Activities

If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible 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. The following are ineligible activities:

• Projects that do not comply with Clean Water Act Section 104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of assistance agreements to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution.

• Actions required to settle a formal enforcement action or included in a court order; or specified as a required mitigation measure under a state, local, or federal permit for a specific project; however, grant funding may be used to enhance or expand such projects beyond minimum requirements for compliance.

• Work involving only routine maintenance of storm water infrastructure and other facilities.

• Projects which fall under the existing planning responsibilities of an individual state or local government (e.g., development of TMDLs or MS4 permits).

• Solely “gray infrastructure” projects (e.g., installation of sewer lines).

• Projects whose sole purpose is to improve federal lands; any improvements to Federal land must be incidental to the overall purpose of the project and review by EPA legal personnel is required before the activity on Federal land commences.

• Construction activities that are not a part of a demonstration project. This includes, but is not limited to, preliminary planning to determine the economic and engineering feasibility of a facility;

the engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal, and economic investigations and studies; surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other actions necessary to the construction of a facility; the erection, acquisition, alteration, remodeling, improvement, or extension of a facility; and the inspection and supervision of the construction of a facility.

III.E. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

All applications will be reviewed for eligibility and must meet the eligibility requirements described in Section III to be considered eligible. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration because of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Substantial Compliance: Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV.B of this announcement or else they will be rejected. Where a page limit is stated for the Project Narrative in Section IV.B with respect to the application, or parts thereof, pages more than the limitation will not be reviewed. Applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in application format, including selecting a legible font type and size for use in the application.

2. Grant.gov submission: In addition, initial applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV.A of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Appendix A) on or before the application submission deadline published in Section IV.A of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV and Appendix A of this announcement to ensure that their application is timely submitted. Please note that applicants experiencing technical issues with submitting through Grants.gov should follow the instructions provided in Appendix A, which include both the requirement to contact Grants.gov and email a full application to EPA prior to the deadline.

3. Application Deadline: Applications submitted after the submission deadline will be deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was due to EPA mishandling or technical problems associated with Grants.gov or SAM.gov. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application 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 submission outside of Grants.gov.

4. Project Scope: Each application must address the four Project Elements in the scope of work as described in Section I.B.

5. Project Location: Project activities must take place within the Gulf of Mexico watershed. (see Figure 1 for Gulf of Mexico watershed and see eligible Florida counties in Appendix D).

6. Funding Request Limit: Applications seeking funding more than $2,000,000 of EPA funding for an individual project will be rejected. In addition, an application for a multi-phase project will be treated as a request for the full amount for all phases. If that combined amount exceeds the specified maximum, the application will be rejected.

7. Eligible activities: An application must identify how its activities meet the funding authority described in Section III.B. In addition, if an application is submitted that includes any ineligible 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.

8. The application will NOT be considered unless it includes each of the following:

• Anticipated Environmental Results

• Budget Table

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Additional provisions that apply to this section can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses.

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

Complete application packages must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on January 28, 2025. Please see the complete instructions for submitting applications via Grants.gov and the limited exception procedures in Appendix A of this announcement.

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

IV.B Content of Application Submission

Unless otherwise stated, the application package must include the following materials:

1. Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance: Complete the form. Include applicant (organization) name, address, contact person, phone number, fax, and e-mail address. This form also requires a registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), and a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. See Appendix A for more information. The contact individual provided in Block 8.f. should be different than the Authorized Representative listed in Block 21.

2. SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs: Complete the form. Provide overall budget information. The total amount of federal funding requested for the project period should be shown on line 5(e) and on line 6(k) of SF-424A. If indirect costs are included, the amount of indirect costs should be entered on line 6(j). The indirect cost rate (i.e., a percentage), the base (e.g., personnel costs and fringe benefits), and the amount should also be indicated on line 22.

3. EPA Form 5700-54, EPA Key Contacts Form: Complete the form. A minimum of two individuals (contacts) should be identified. Please be sure the contacts on this form are consistent with all other forms, as applicable.

4. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre-Award Compliance Review Report: See Tips for Completing EPA Form 4700-4 for guidance on completing this form.

5. Project Narrative Attachment Form – Prepared as described in Appendix C: Includes the Summary Information Page; Workplan; Detailed Budget Narrative; and Maps. The project narrative must explicitly describe how the proposed project meets the threshold eligibility criteria in Section III.E, the requirements of Section I.B, and address the evaluation criteria set forth in Section V.A. The project narrative cannot exceed a maximum of 12, single-spaced typewritten pages, including the summary page, workplan, and detailed budget narrative. Excess pages will not be reviewed. The project narrative must substantially comply with the specific instructions, format and content as defined in Appendix C or it will be rejected.

6. Other Attachments Form – Budget Table. A fillable template for the budget table is available for download with the NOFO on Grants.gov and at the Farmer to Farmer 2024 BIL Funding Opportunity link.

Prepare as described in the budget table section of the announcement. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the budget table template. This file should be submitted using the “Other Attachments Form” in Grants.gov and may be uploaded as an excel file.

7. Other Attachments Form - Resumes or curriculum vitae of Principal Investigators and critical staff. Use the “Other Attachments Form” to attach a copy of the resume or curriculum vitae of principal investigators and critical staff for the proposed project. Such documentation should outline the education, work history, and knowledge/expertise of the individual(s) that relate to managing the proposed project. Please consolidate all resumes into one file and include the word “resume” in the filename.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/tips-completing-epa-form-4700-4 https://grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico/us-environmental-protection-agency-gulf-mexico-division-farmer-farmer-2024-bil-funding

8. Other Attachments Form – Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, if applicable. Use if indirect costs other than the 15% de minimis are included in the project budget. Use the “Other Attachments Form” to attach a copy of your organization’s Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, if applicable. See Application Preparation and Submission Instructions below for more details. Please include the words “cost agreement” in the filename. Please see EPA's Indirect Cost Policy for Recipients of EPA Assistance Agreements for more information about indirect cost rate requirements.

9. Other Attachments Form (if applicable) – Support Letters. Use the “Other Attachments Form” to attach relevant letters from partners, collaborators or communities in support of the project. Please consolidate all support letters into one file and include the word “Letters of support” or “LOS” in the file name.

Communications: See EPA Solicitation Clauses for general provisions regarding communications with applicants.

A recorded presentation with helpful hints to develop your application, a Q&A and common errors document can be found at the Farmer to Farmer 2024 BIL Funding Opportunity link. Any questions you have after reading the Q&A and the common errors document should be submitted to gmp-rfp@epa.gov. EPA will update the Q&A weekly with responses to questions received through January 14, 2025, but cannot guarantee that it will respond to questions received thereafter.

Documents 1 through 5 listed under Application Materials above should appear in the “Mandatory Documents” box on the Grants.gov Grant Application Package page.

For documents 1 through 4, click on the appropriate form and then click “Open Form” below the box. The fields that must be completed will be highlighted in yellow. Optional fields and completed fields will be displayed in white. If you enter an invalid response or incomplete information in a field, you will receive an error message.

When you have finished filling out each form, click “Save.” When you return to the electronic Grant Application Package page, click on the form you just completed, and then click on the box that says, “Move Form to Submission List.” This action will move the document over to the box that says, “Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.”

For document 5, you will need to attach electronic files. Prepare your narrative proposal as described above and in Appendix C and save the documents to your computer as a PDF file. When you are ready to attach your proposal to the application package, click on “Project Narrative Attachment Form,” and open the form. Click “Add Mandatory Project Narrative File,” and then attach your proposal (previously saved to your computer) using the browse window that appears. You may then click “View Mandatory Project Narrative File” to view it.

Enter a brief descriptive title of your project in the space beside “Mandatory Project Narrative File Filename;”

the filename should be no more than 40 characters long. If there are other attachments to submit to accompany your proposal, you may click “Add Optional Project Narrative File” and proceed as before. When you have finished attaching the necessary documents, click “Close Form.” When you return to the “Grant Application Package” page, select the “Project Narrative Attachment Form” and click “Move Form to Submission List.” The form should now appear in the box that says, “Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.”

Other Attachments: Documents 6 through 9 are submitted using the Other Attachments form. You must submit document 6 – Budget Table and document 7 - Resumes or curriculum vitae of Principal Investigators and critical staff. You are required to submit document 8 – Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement – if you have included any indirect costs in your proposed budget. You are required to submit document 9 – Support https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2018-g02-r https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2018-g02-r https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico/us-environmental-protection-agency-gulf-mexico-division-farmer-farmer-2024-bil-funding mailto:gmp-rfp@epa.gov.

Letters – to demonstrate evidence of the partnership. To attach documents 6 - 9, use the “Other Attachments Form”. After attaching the documents, please remember to highlight the “Other Attachments Form” and click “Move Form to Submission List”. Please submit each document from 6 through 9 as a separate file.

V. APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

Additional provisions that apply to this section can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses.

Application Review: Applications meeting the threshold eligibility criteria in Section III.E will be evaluated based on the criteria set forth below. Applicants should explicitly address these criteria as part of their application package submittal and should follow the Project Narrative Format in Appendix C. If not, applicants risk the possibility of information being left out, overlooked, or not fully comprehended by the reviewers when the project is scored. Each application will be rated under a points system, with a total of 140 points possible.

Applicants will be evaluated based on the quality and extent to which they address the criteria; the failure to provide applicable information in the application may affect the score assigned for a criterion.

V.A. Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on the completeness and strength to which the project narrative demonstrates the applicant’s ability to:

Project Design

(35 points)

Applications will be evaluated based on the quality and extent to which application:

A. Describe the proposed project approach, rationale, and plans for project execution (30 points).

B. Describe how the project meets the GMD’s Statutory Authority AND how the results will support: FY 2022-26 EPA Strategic Plan Goal 5: Ensure

Clean and Safe Water for All Communities, Objective 5.2: Protect and

Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds (5 points).

Applicants should refer to Project Design in the Project Narrative Format for information to include.

Environmental Results:

Outputs and Outcomes

(30 points)

Applications will be evaluated based on the quality and extent to which they demonstrate…