EPA-OAR-ORIA-25-03 - Final.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Applications Due: April 15, 2026

Office of Air and Radiation

Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings

Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-OAR-ORIA-25-03 i

Contents

1. Basic Information

A. Executive Summary:

B. Key Information:

C. Key Dates:

D. Funding Details:

E. Agency Contact Information:

2. Eligibility

A. Eligible Applicants

(1) Other Eligibility Requirements B. Cost Sharing

3. Program Description

A. Purpose, Priorities, and Activities B. Program Goals and Objectives C. Statutory Authority D. Funding Type

4. Application Contents and Format

A. Application Forms B. Project Narrative Description C. Applicants Using Contractors D. Coalition Coverage E. Other Program-Specific Application Information

5. Submission Requirements and Deadlines

A. Submission Dates and Times B. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM.gov) C. Submission Instructions D. Technical Issues with Submission E. Intergovernmental Review

6. Application Review Information

A. Responsiveness Review B. Review Criteria

Project Summary and Approach (55 points) Environmental Results – Outputs, Outcomes, and Performance Measures (15 points) Programmatic Capability and Environmental Results Past Performance Criteria (15 points) Budget (15 points)

C. Review and Selection Process

(1) Other Evaluation Factors

D. Risk Review

7. Award Notices

8. Post-Award Requirements and Administration ii

A. Administrative and National Policy Requirements B. Reporting C. Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting

9. Other Information

A. Additional Provisions for Applicants B. Further Information Regarding Contracts, Subawards, and Participant Support Costs

1. Basic Information U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Air and Radiation

Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings https://www.epa.gov/emergencies-iaq/wildfire-smoke-preparedness-community-buildings-grant-program

A. Executive Summary:

Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings is a federal grant program to enhance community wildfire smoke preparedness.

This program provides grants to states, federally recognized Tribes, public pre-schools, local educational agencies, and non-profit organizations for the assessment, prevention, control, or abatement of wildfire smoke hazards in community buildings and related activities. These grants are intended to support activities that will reduce indoor exposure to pollutants in wildfire smoke and, in turn, reduce the public health burden of wildfire smoke exposure.

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to improve public health protection against smoke from wildfires by enhancing preparedness in community buildings. The EPA is soliciting applications for projects that support this effort through activities such as:

• Smoke readiness planning;

• Outreach and training for smoke readiness;

• Indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring;

• Deployment of portable air cleaners;

• Identification and preparation of cleaner air spaces or shelters;

• Significant improvements to buildings such as upgrading and repairing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units or systems and weatherization.

Activities may include research, demonstrations, technical assistance, training, education and/or outreach components. Applications must target public buildings or buildings that serve the public.

C. Key Dates:

January 30, 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Opens February 25, 2026 Information Session April 8, 2026 Final Date to Submit Questions April 15, 2026 11:59 pm ET Application Submission Deadline July 2026 Anticipated Notification of Selection September 2026 Anticipated Award Notification

B. Key Information:

Opportunity Number:

EPA-OAR-ORIA-25-03

Assistance Listing:

66.044

Announcement Type:

Initial

Funding Available:

$13,580,000

Number of Awards:

8 – 11 https://www.epa.gov/emergencies-iaq/wildfire-smoke-preparedness-community-buildings-grant-program

D. Funding Details:

Under this announcement the EPA is combining $6,790,000 of fiscal year 2024 and $6,790,000 of fiscal year 2025 funds into one competition for a total of $13,580,00 of available funding. It is anticipated that up to 11 award(s) will be made under this announcement. Awards are expected to be between $350,000 and $2,500,000, depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. Awards funded under this opportunity are expected to have a 3-year project period.

A maximum of $3,395,000 (25%) of total funding available may go to award recipients in any one state.

Note that Tribes are sovereign nations; funding awarded to a Tribe would be considered separately from funding granted to other recipients in a particular state.

E. Agency Contact Information:

Further information, if needed, may be obtained from the EPA contact(s) indicated below.

Wildfire Smoke Grants Team WildfireSmokeGrants@epa.gov

2. Eligibility A. Eligible Applicants Only these types of organizations may apply:

• States (including the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions);

• Federally recognized Tribes;

• Public pre-schools (consistent with the definitions of ”public” and “preschool” in 34 CFR §77.1, the term “public pre-school” means any agency, organization, or institution under the administrative supervision or control of a government that provides education from a child’s birth to the time at which the State provides elementary education);

• Local educational agencies (as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 7801(30));

• Public and private non-profit organizations.

(1) Other Eligibility Requirements Applications must meet the following threshold criteria to be considered eligible:

1. Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section 5.

2. Applications must not request more than $2,500,000.

3. Applicants may only submit 1 application under this opportunity. Applicants that submit more than 1 application will be contacted to determine which application to evaluate. The remaining application(s) will be deemed ineligible.

4. Applications must characterize the population served by the project as described in Section 3.A.

5. Applications must describe a detailed approach to measure project effectiveness consistent with Section 3.A.

mailto:WildfireSmokeGrants@epa.gov https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1#p-200.1(State) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1#p-200.1(Indian%20Tribe) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/subtitle-A/part-77/section-77.1 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title20/pdf/USCODE-2023-title20-chap70-subchapVIII-partA-sec7801.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1#p-200.1(Nonprofit%20organization)

6. Applications must describe how much or how often the buildings or communities served by the project are impacted by wildfire smoke consistent with Section 3.A.

7. Applications must not be exclusively designed to conduct scientific research consistent with Section 3.A.

Any of the following ineligible costs or activities may lead to a portion or all the application not being reviewed, depending on the extent to which they affect the application:

1. Activities must not make permanent improvements in private residences, such as the installation of HVAC equipment (see Section 3.A).

2. Activities must not promote the use of air cleaning technologies of unknown or unclear performance against air pollutants in wildfire smoke such as bipolar ionization, ozone generators, ionizing air cleaners, and oxidizing air cleaners (see Section 3.A).

3. If an application requests a waiver of the required cost share but does not meet the eligibility criteria as described in Section 2.B., the EPA may contact the applicant to either revise the application to provide the required cost share or withdraw the application.

4. Applications cannot include any costs that are included as a cost of any other federally financed grant, as required under 2 CFR § 200.403(f). If these costs are included in an application, the activities associated with these costs will not be reviewed or selected for funding.

Please see Section 6 for additional threshold criteria.

B. Cost Sharing Applicants must demonstrate in their proposal how they will meet the cost share requirement to be considered eligible. Selected recipients must comply with 2 CFR § 200.306 when meeting a cost share requirement. Applicants are not authorized to use other sources of federal funding to meet their cost share requirements under this competition.

There is a 10% cost share requirement for awards under this announcement. The required 10% cost share amount is calculated based on the total project cost, and applicants may choose to cover that amount in any combination of budget categories, as appropriate for their situation. For example, if an applicant is requesting $1,000,000 in EPA funding and is not requesting a cost share waiver, then the applicant must propose a cost share of at least $111,111 to ensure that the cost share is at least 10% of the total project cost ($1,111,111). The example budget table in Section 4.B, Workplan Section IV illustrates how to demonstrate the cost share requirement is met in the project narrative.

Cost Share Waiver

Cost sharing may be waived for facilities located in economically distressed communities. To be considered for a cost share waiver, the application must include a rationale demonstrating that the project meets the requirements described in this section in either the project narrative or as an attachment (see Section 4.A).

For purposes of this competition and the evaluation of applications, an “economically distressed community” must meet one (or more) of the following economic distress criteria:

(i) an unemployment rate that is, for the most recent 24-month period for which data are available, at least one percentage point greater than the national average unemployment rate;

(ii) per capita income that is, for the most recent period for which data are available, 80% or less of the national average per capita income; or https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRea20080eff2ea53/section-200.403 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.306

(iii) percentage of the population 25 years and over with a high school diploma (or equivalent) or higher education that is, for the most recent period for which data are available, below the national average.

Applicants must provide third-party data that clearly indicate how the subject community meets these criteria, including the national averages used for comparison.

Applicants are encouraged to use federal data sources such as the most recent American Community Survey published by the US Census Bureau (http://data.census.gov), unemployment data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics within the Department of Labor (https://www.bls.gov/bls/unemployment.htm), or other federal sources. If no federal data are available, state, local, or Tribal data can be an acceptable alternative.

Applicants must self-define the appropriate community geographically. An economically distressed community may be a county, region, municipality, smaller area within a larger community, or other geographic area. The geographic area comprising a community need not be contiguous or defined by political boundaries.

To waive the cost-sharing requirement, applications that propose projects that target specific facility(s) must provide data for the geographic area in which each facility is located. Applications may also include data for nearby geographic areas which are served by the target facility(s) and explain how the additional areas are served by the facility(s) (e.g., school boundary encompasses multiple census tracts).

At least one area served by the facility must meet the definition of an economically distressed community above to waive the cost-sharing requirement.

To waive the cost-sharing requirement for proposed projects that do not target specific facilities, such as outreach and training projects, applications must demonstrate that the proposed target population belongs to or is expected to serve an economically distressed community. Applications must provide data for the geographic area(s) expected to be targeted by the project and include an explanation of how the project will benefit area(s) that meet the definition of an economically distressed community above to waive the cost-sharing requirement.

3. Program Description A. Purpose, Priorities, and Activities The EPA is requesting applications to conduct research, demonstrations, technical assistance, training, education and/or outreach projects that seek to improve public health protection against smoke from wildfires by enhancing preparedness in community buildings. The EPA is requesting applications for the assessment, prevention, control, or abatement of wildfire smoke hazards and related activities that target public buildings and/or buildings that serve the public but are privately owned or operated.

Activities will improve the capability and capacity of communities and buildings to effectively reduce indoor concentrations of air pollutants in wildfire smoke, especially particulate matter (PM). This may include improvements to building structures and activities that increase the capacity of building owners, operators, service providers, occupants, and others to effectively manage buildings during wildfire smoke events. Applicants are encouraged to integrate project activities under a comprehensive smoke management plan at the building or community level, where appropriate.

Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

http://data.census.gov/ https://www.bls.gov/bls/unemployment.htm

• Smoke Readiness Planning to develop specific plans, procedures, and decision-making frameworks at the building or community level to be implemented before and during wildfire smoke events.

• Outreach activities such as adaptation of wildfire smoke preparedness materials, or targeted outreach to members of the public through community organizations and institutions.

• Technical training on the effectiveness and implementation of ventilation and filtration strategies for wildfire smoke mitigation in different types of buildings with various HVAC systems.

• Deployment of portable air cleaners or do-it-yourself (DIY) air cleaners for use in community buildings, including the purchase, provision and/or loan of these devices.

• Indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring to inform and evaluate the effectiveness of wildfire smoke mitigation activities.

• Identification and preparation of community cleaner air spaces or cleaner air shelters.

• Significant improvements to buildings such as upgrades and repairs to HVAC units or systems and weatherization. Such activities should include training and planning elements to ensure that improvements are properly maintained and operated.

All applications should:

• Characterize the population served by the project, such as the estimated number of people served, and the location and type of community (e.g., urban, rural). Maps, data, analyses, and results characterizing the population served by the project may be included as an optional attachment.

• Describe a detailed approach to measure project effectiveness (e.g., evaluation of knowledge or skills gained from outreach and training activities, collection of air quality monitoring data to demonstrate lower indoor PM concentrations as a result of changes to the operation or maintenance of a building).

• Describe how much or how often the buildings or communities served by the project are impacted by wildfire smoke (e.g., over a recent timeframe, such as each of the past 5 years, the number of days the community was impacted by smoke; number of school closures due to smoke; number of smoke-related air quality alerts issued). If the building or community has not been significantly impacted by smoke in the past, state why you anticipate that wildfire smoke preparedness may be important in the future.

Applicants may find the following resources helpful for describing wildfire smoke impacts, but are not limited to these data sources:

• EPA Air Data: Air Quality Data Collected at Outdoor Monitors Across the US:

https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data

• US Forest Service PM2.5 Monitoring – Historical Data: https://tools.airfire.org/historical/

• US Forest Service Wildfire Risk to Communities – Explore Risk: https://wildfirerisk.org/explore

• National Interagency Fire Center National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlooks:

https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive-services/outlooks

• AirNow Fire and Smoke Map: https://fire.airnow.gov/

• AirNow Past Data: https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/index.html?tab=3

• Census OnTheMap for Emergency Management Tool: https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/em/

• State Smoke Blogs:

o California: http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com/ o Idaho: http://idsmoke.blogspot.com/ o Montana: https://deq.mt.gov/air/Programs/smokeforecasts https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data https://tools.airfire.org/historical/ https://wildfirerisk.org/explore https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive-services/outlooks https://fire.airnow.gov/ https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/index.html?tab=3 https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/em/ http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com/ http://idsmoke.blogspot.com/ https://deq.mt.gov/air/Programs/smokeforecasts o Oregon: https://www.oregonsmoke.org/ o Washington: https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/

Applicants are encouraged to describe how the project addresses multiple hazards that may be concurrent with wildfire smoke (e.g., extreme heat, power outages, and airborne infectious disease transmission) and how the project improves overall capacity to comprehensively address indoor air quality issues, and/or the extent to which the applicant demonstrates their ability to effectively promote and continue or replicate efforts after EPA funding for this project has ended.

Applicants should describe how the project addresses engagement with communities and/or populations affected by wildfire smoke, especially local residents, to ensure their meaningful participation with respect to the design, planning, and performance of the project. Meaningful involvement means people have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health; community concerns will be considered in the decision-making process; and decision makers will seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.

If the proposed project involves environmental information operations (EIOs), applicants are encouraged to describe how they plan to collect and use that information. Examples of EIOs include, but are not limited to, installing air sensors to collect air quality data, developing a data-driven decision support tool, and compiling and using existing environmental information (e.g., literature review). See Section 4.E for additional examples of EIO.

The EPA will not consider applications that do not demonstrate how much or how often the buildings or communities served by the project are impacted by wildfire smoke.

The EPA will not consider activities that make permanent improvements in private residences, such as the installation of HVAC equipment. Note that activities that utilize temporary improvements, such as giving or loaning portable air cleaners to private residences, are eligible activities.

The EPA will not consider activities that promote the use of air cleaning technologies of unknown or unclear performance against air pollutants in wildfire smoke such as bipolar ionization, ozone generators, ionizing air cleaners, and oxidizing air cleaners. Note that activities related to DIY air cleaners are eligible. More information about air cleaning technologies is available on the EPA website:

• Air Cleaners and Air Filters in the Home

• Wildfires and Indoor Air Quality: Consider purchasing a portable air cleaner or high-efficiency

HVAC filter

The EPA will not consider any applications that are exclusively designed to conduct scientific research.

Applications may include research components such as building blocks for demonstration, training, education and/or outreach projects. In such cases, proposals should clearly articulate this link, explain why the research is necessary for the project’s success, and ensure that such research does not already exist.

Environmental Results – Outputs, Outcomes, and Performance Measures

Applicants are required to describe how funding will help the EPA achieve outputs and outcomes in their responses to the criteria in Section 6. Outputs and outcomes specific to each project will be identified as deliverables in the negotiated workplan if the application is selected for award. Recipients will be expected to report progress toward the attainment of expected project outputs and outcomes during the project performance period. Outputs and outcomes are defined as follows:

Outputs are an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal or objective that will be produced or provided over time or by a specified date.

https://www.oregonsmoke.org/ https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/ https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/air-cleaners-and-air-filters-home https://www.epa.gov/emergencies-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-iaq#_What_Can_I:%7E:text=Consider%20purchasing%20a%20portable%C2%A0air%20cleaner%20or%20high%2Defficiency%20HVAC%20Filter https://www.epa.gov/emergencies-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-iaq#_What_Can_I:%7E:text=Consider%20purchasing%20a%20portable%C2%A0air%20cleaner%20or%20high%2Defficiency%20HVAC%20Filter

Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during the project period. The expected outputs for the grants awarded under these guidelines may include but are not limited to:

• Number of communities with an established Smoke Readiness Plan.

• Number of wildfire smoke preparedness materials adapted.

• Number of building owners, managers, or technicians trained.

• Number of technical training events conducted.

• Number of buildings that received portable air cleaners and the number they received.

• Number of buildings served by an indoor and outdoor air monitoring network.

• Number of community cleaner air spaces available for wildfire smoke events.

• Number of buildings upgraded or repaired to improve wildfire smoke mitigation.

Outcomes are the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out the activities under the grant. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic; must be qualitative or quantitative; and may not necessarily be achievable during the project period. The EPA anticipates the outcomes from the projects awarded under this announcement may be an increase in the capacity to:

• Implement a coordinated response to wildfire smoke events at the level of individual buildings and across communities.

• Reduce building occupants’ exposure to wildfire smoke within highly impacted communities.

• Inform wildfire smoke management activities in buildings with air monitoring data.

Performance Measures. 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 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.

Additional details on reporting requirements are included in Section 8.B. It is expected that the description of performance measures will directly relate to the project outcomes and outputs, including but not limited to:

• Overseeing subrecipients, and/or contractors and vendors.

• Tracking and reporting project progress on expenditures and purchases.

• Tracking, measuring, and reporting accomplishments and proposed timelines/milestones.

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

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

• 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?

Program Background

To inform the development of this funding opportunity, the EPA sought input on the design of the program to inform the types of projects and grant recipients that may be eligible for the program in fall 2022. In 2024, the EPA awarded $10,670,000 in grant funding to nine recipients to support community wildfire smoke preparedness with individual awards ranging from approximately $350,000 to $2,000,000. More information about the program and the current grant recipients is available on the EPA website: https://www.epa.gov/emergencies-iaq/wildfire-smoke-preparedness-community-buildings-grant-program.

B. Program Goals and Objectives The activities to be funded under this funding announcement support “Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American” of Administrator Zeldin's Five Pillars.

The Assistance Listing for this opportunity is No. 66.044.

C. Statutory Authority The statutory authority for this action is the Clean Air Act, §103(b)(3), which authorizes the award of grants for research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys, and studies related to the causes, effects (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention, and control of air pollution, as supplemented by authority provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-42) and the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Pub. L. 119-4) to fund abatement activities. The Assistance Listing for this opportunity is No. 66.044.

D. Funding Type It is anticipated that grants will be funded under this funding opportunity.

4. Application Contents and Format A. Application Forms The following forms and documents are required under this announcement (note that instructions to all EPA grantee forms can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-grantee-forms):

Mandatory Documents:

1. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

2. Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) (Note that projects that involve construction may still use this form. Report applicable construction costs in Section B, Line 6.g. “Construction”. For more information, see the instructions for SF-424A on Grants.gov: https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/instructions/SF424A-V1.0- Instructions.pdf)

3. EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54

4. EPA Form 4700-4 Preaward Compliance Review Report

5. Project Narrative Attachment Form: use this to submit your Project Narrative

Optional Documents:

6. Other Attachments Form: Use this to submit other attachments, if applicable

7. Cost share waiver rationale (if applicable and not included in the Project Narrative attachment)

8. Project Team Biographies

9. Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (note that this will be required if application is selected for funding)

10. Partnership Letter(s)

11. Maps, data, analyses, and results characterizing the population served by the proposed project https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-announces-epas-powering-great-american-comeback https://sam.gov/fal/f2229ea80d2d4ae6a621bda38c4d1e58/view https://sam.gov/fal/f2229ea80d2d4ae6a621bda38c4d1e58/view https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-grantee-forms https://grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/instructions/SF424A-V1.0-Instructions.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/instructions/SF424A-V1.0-Instructions.pdf

12. Maps, data, analyses, and results describing wildfire smoke impacts in the proposed project area

Applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in application format, including selecting a legible font type and size, spacing and margins for use in the application.

B. Project Narrative Description The project narrative attachment should clearly address the evaluation criteria in Section 6.B. The project narrative, including the project synopsis workplan, budget table, and budget detail, must not exceed a maximum of 10 single-spaced typewritten pages in clearly readable 11-point font. Pages in excess of the 10-page limit will not be reviewed.

Applicants should ensure that their project narratives are written clearly using understandable terms.

Doing so will help ensure that the evaluation team members understand the purpose, outputs, and outcomes of the proposed project.

Optional documents, such as cost share waiver rationale (if an attachment), project team biographies, negotiated indirect cost rate agreements, partnership letters, and maps, data, analyses, and results characterizing the population served by the project or describing wildfire smoke impacts in the project area can be submitted as attachments and are not included in the 10-page limit. Supporting materials should be submitted using the Other Attachments form.

Applicants may use the following template for their project narrative. The EPA will not penalize or withhold a benefit from an applicant who provides information in another format.

I. Project Synopsis:

• Project Title – one descriptive sentence

• Project Location: Primary location(s) where the benefits of the project will be realized.

• Applicant Information o Applicant organization o Address, clearly indicating the state in which the organization is based o Primary contact name, phone number, and e-mail address o UEI number

• Budget Summary: Include and complete the following table:

EPA Funding Requested Required Cost Share, if applicable Total Project Cost

[fill in total EPA funding from budget detail in workplan]

[fill in required cost share or indicate request for waiver]

[fill in total project cost from budget detail in workplan]

Indicate requests for a cost share waiver in this table. Note below the table where to find the rationale for the cost share waiver as detailed in Section 2.B (e.g., section or page number in the workplan, name of the attachment).

• Project Period: Beginning and ending dates.

• Short Project Description: Project description in one to three sentences including expected outputs and outcomes.

II. Workplan:

The following outline includes further guidance on how to respond to the evaluative criteria. Section and subsection numbers, headings and point totals below correspond with the evaluation criteria in Section 6.B.

Section I - Project Summary and Approach (55 total points)

This section describes the project and the following information:

a. Overall Project (25 points)

Describe the proposed project plan and activities to be undertaken, not found in any other section of the workplan, consistent with Section 3.A. (Purpose, Priorities, and Activities).

b. Wildfire Smoke Impacts (5 points)

Describe how much or how often the buildings or communities served by the proposed project are impacted by wildfire smoke.

c. Population Served and Community Engagement (10 points)

Describe the population served by the proposed project and how the project addresses engagement with communities and/or populations affected by wildfire smoke, especially local residents, to ensure their meaningful participation with respect to the design, planning, and performance of the project.

d. Approach to Measure Project Effectiveness (5 points)

Describe a detailed approach to measure project effectiveness.

e. Multi-hazard Approach and Sustainability (10 points)

Describe how the proposed project addresses multiple hazards that may be concurrent with wildfire smoke and/or how the project improves overall capacity to comprehensively address indoor air quality issues, and/or the extent to which the applicant demonstrates their ability to effectively promote and continue or replicate efforts after EPA funding for this project has ended.

Section II - Environmental Results (15 total points)

a. Expected Outputs and Outcomes (5 points)

Describe the expected outcomes and outputs of the project as defined in Section 3.A. This may include narrative discussion, bulleted lists, tables, or figures as appropriate to convey relationships between the expected outputs, outcomes, and project activities.

b. Performance Measures (5 points)

Describe the performance plan and proposed performance measures and how project results will be evaluated, as described in Section 3.A.

c. Timeline (5 points)

Include a detailed project timeline including milestones for specific tasks, such as bidding, procurement, installation, and reports, along with estimated completion dates.

Section III - Programmatic Capability and Environmental Results Past Performance (15 total points)

a. Past Performance (3 points)

List up to three assistance agreements that the applicant (as an organization) is directly performing or has performed within the last three years. This may include federal and non-federal grants and cooperative agreements but not contracts. EPA assistance agreements are preferred. For each agreement, include:

• Project title

• Assistance agreement number

• Funding agency and, for federal agreements, assistance listing number (formerly known as the

CFDA number)

• Brief description of the agreement – no more than two sentences

• Describe the successful management and completion of each agreement (as applicable).

b. Reporting Requirements (3 points)

For each assistance agreement listed, describe how reporting requirements were met consistent with Section 6.B.

Note: If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or past reporting information, please indicate this in the application and you will receive a neutral score for these subfactors (items a.

and b. above), which is half of the total points available for these sub-criteria in Section 6.B. If you do not provide any response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors.

c. Organizational Experience (4 points)

Describe the applicant’s organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project.

d. Staff Expertise (5 points)

Describe the staff’s knowledge, expertise, qualifications, and resources and/or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the proposed project’s goals. Biographical sketches, including resumes or curriculum vitae for key staff, managers and any other key personnel can be included as an optional project team biography attachment and does not count towards the 10-page limit of the project narrative.

Section IV - Budget (15 total points)

Provide a detailed narrative description of the budget found in the SF-424A including a discussion of the applicant’s approach to ensuring proper management of grant/cooperative agreement funds, and an itemized budget table (example below). The budget is part of the maximum 10-page limit for the Project Narrative. Cover the entirety of the expected 3-year period of performance. Account for both federal funds and any non-federal cost share, if applicable. Round up to the nearest dollar. Selected applicant(s) will need to submit a copy of their current indirect cost rate that has been negotiated with a federal cognizant agency prior to award.

Additional guidance for developing the applicant’s budget is available in “Interim General Budget Development Guidance for Applicants and Recipients of EPA Financial Assistance.”

a. Budget Detail (5 points)

A detailed breakout by funding type included in the proper budget category for each activity requesting funds. Use the instructions, budget object class descriptions, and example table below. Include applicable rows of costs for each budget category in the budget table. Itemize costs related to personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, installation or labor supplies, contractual costs, other direct costs (i.e., https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2019-g02 https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2019-g02 subawards, participant support costs), indirect costs, and total costs. If providing a cost share, specify the amount of federal funding and the cost share amount for each category.

• Personnel - List all staff positions by title. Give annual salary, percentage of time assigned to the project, and total cost for the budget period. This category includes only direct costs for the salaries of those individuals who will perform work directly for the project (paid employees of the applicant organization as reflected in payroll tax records). If the applicant organization is including staff time (in-kind services) as a cost-share, this should be included as Personnel costs. Personnel costs do not include: (1) costs for services of contractors (including individual consultants), which are included in the “Contractual” category; (2) costs for employees of subrecipients under subawards or non-employee program participants (e.g., interns or volunteers), which are included in the “Other” category; or (3) effort that is not directly in support of the proposed project, which may be covered by the organization’s negotiated indirect cost rate. The budget detail should identify the personnel category type by Full Time Equivalent (FTE), including percentage of FTE for part-time employees, number of personnel proposed for each category, and the estimated funding amounts.

• Fringe Benefits - Identify the percentage used, the basis for its computation, and the types of benefits included. Fringe benefits are allowances and services provided by employers to their employees as compensation in addition to regular salaries and wages. Fringe benefits may include, but are not limited to the cost of leave, employee insurance, pensions and unemployment benefit plans. If the applicant’s fringe rate does not include the cost of leave, and the applicant intends to charge leave to the agreement, it should provide supplemental information describing its proposed method(s) for determining and equitably distributing these costs.

• Travel - Specify the mileage, per diem, estimated number of trips in-state and out-of-state, number of travelers, and other costs for each type of travel. Travel may be integral to the purpose of the proposed project (e.g., inspections); related to proposed project activities (e.g., attendance at meetings); or to a technical training or workshop that supports effective implementation of the project activities. Only include travel costs for employees in the travel category. Travel costs do not include: (1) costs for travel of contractors (including consultants), which are included in the “Contractual” category; (2) travel costs for employees of subrecipients under subawards and non-employee program participants (e.g., trainees), which are included in the “Other” category. Further, travel does not include bus rentals for group trips, which would be covered under the contractual category. Finally, if the applicant intends to use any funds for travel outside the United States, it should be specifically identified. All proposed foreign travel must be approved by the EPA’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs prior to being taken.

• Equipment - Identify each item to be purchased which has an estimated acquisition cost of $10,000 or more per unit and a useful life of more than one year. Equipment also includes accessories necessary to make the equipment operational. Equipment does not include: (1) equipment planned to be leased/rented, including lease/purchase agreement; or (2) equipment service or maintenance contracts that are not included in the purchase price for the equipment.

These types of proposed costs should be included in the “Other” category. Items with a unit cost of less than $10,000 should be categorized as supplies, pursuant to 2 CFR § 200.1, “Equipment.” The budget detail should include an itemized listing of all equipment proposed under the project. If installation costs are included in the equipment costs, labor expenses shall be itemized with the detailed number of hours charged and the hourly wage. If the applicant has written procurement procedures that define a threshold for equipment costs that is lower than $10,000, then that threshold takes precedence.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1

• Supplies - “Supplies” means all tangible personal property other than “equipment.” The budget detail should identify categories of supplies to be procured (e.g., laboratory supplies or office supplies). Non-tangible goods and services associated with supplies, such as printing service, photocopy services, and rental costs should be included in the “Other” category.

• Contractual - Identify each proposed contract and specify its purpose and estimated cost.

Contractual services (including consultant services) are those services to be carried out by an individual or organization, other than the applicant, in the form of a procurement relationship. The EPA’s Subaward Policy and supplemental Frequent Questions has detailed guidance available for differentiating between contractors and subrecipients. Leased or rented goods (equipment or supplies) should be included in the “Other” category. Do not name a procurement contractor (including a consultant) as a “partner” or otherwise in your application unless the contractor has been selected in compliance with competitive procurement requirements (see Section 4.C for more information for applicants using contractors). The applicant should list the proposed contract activities along with a brief description of the anticipated scope of work or services to be provided, proposed duration, and proposed procurement method (competitive or non-competitive), if known.

Any proposed non-competed/sole-source contracts in excess of $3,500 should include a justification.

Note that it is unlikely that the EPA will accept proposed sole source contracts for goods and services (e.g., consulting) that are widely available in the commercial market. Refer to the EPA’s Best Practice Guide for Procuring Services, Supplies, and Equipment Under EPA Assistance Agreements for the EPA’s policies on competitive procurements and encouraging the use of small and disadvantaged business enterprises.

• Other - List each item in sufficient detail for the EPA to determine the reasonableness and allowability of its cost. This category should include only those types of direct costs that do not fit in any of the other budget categories. Examples of costs that may be in this category are insurance;

rental/lease of equipment or supplies; equipment service or maintenance contracts; printing or photocopying; participant support costs such as non-employee training stipends and travel, subsidies or rebates for purchases of exposure mitigation equipment (such as a specified amount of funding for portable air cleaners or low-cost air sensors); and subaward costs. Applicants should describe the items included in the “Other” category and include the estimated amount of participant support costs in a separate line item. Additional information about participant support costs is contained in Section 9.B and “EPA Guidance on Participant Support Costs.”

Subawards (e.g., subgrants) and participant support costs are a distinct type of cost under this category. The term “subaward” means an award of financial assistance (money or property) by any legal agreement made by the recipient to an eligible subrecipient even if the agreement is referred to as a contract. Rebates, subsidies, and similar one-time, lump-sum payments to program beneficiaries for purchase of eligible emission control technologies are considered participant support costs. Please refer to Section 9.B for detailed guidance on funding projects and partnerships and how to correctly categorize these costs in the workplan budget. “Other” does not include procurement purchases, technical assistance in the form of services instead of money, or other assistance in the form of revenue sharing, loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies, insurance, or direct appropriations. Subcontracts are not subawards and belong in the contractual category.

Applicants must provide the aggregate amount they propose to issue as subaward work as a separate line item in the “Other” category, and a description of the types of activities to be supported. Refer to EPA’s Subaward Policy and supplemental Frequent Questions for additional guidance.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients https://www.epa.gov/grants/best-practice-guide-procuring-services-supplies-and-equipment-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/best-practice-guide-procuring-services-supplies-and-equipment-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2018-g05 https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients

• Indirect Costs- If indirect costs are budgeted, indicate the approved rate and base. Indirect costs are those incurred by the grantee for a common or joint purpose that benefit more than one cost objective or project and are not readily assignable to specific cost objectives or projects as a direct cost. Examples of Indirect Cost Rate calculations which may appear in Indirect Cost Rate Agreements are shown below:

o Personnel (Indirect Rate x Personnel = Indirect Costs) o Personnel and Fringe (Indirect Rate x Personnel & Fringe = Indirect Costs) o Total Direct Costs (Indirect Rate x Total direct costs = Indirect Costs) o Direct Costs, less distorting or other factors such as contracts and equipment o (Indirect Rate x (total direct cost – distorting factors) = Indirect Costs)

Additional indirect cost guidance is available in RAIN-2018-G02, “Indirect Cost Guidance for Recipients of EPA Assistance Agreements.”

https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2018-g02 https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2018-g02

Example Budget Table (part of the 10-page limit)

Line Item & Itemized Cost EPA Funding1

Required Cost Share

PERSONNEL:

Project Supervisor ($150,000 annual salary @ 25% FTE, 3 years) $112,500 Facilities Manager ($90,000 annual salary @ 30% FTE, 3 years) $51,000 $30,000 Project Manager ($70,000 annual salary @ 100% FTE, 3 years) $210,000

2 Outreach coordinators ($60,000 annual salary @ 50% FTE, 3 years) $180,000

2 Facilities staff ($30/hr, 25 hours/week, 3 years) $234,000

Administrative Support ($20/hr, 20 hours/week, 3 years) $62,400

TOTAL PERSONNEL $737,400 $142,500

FRINGE BENEFITS:

30% of Personnel. Includes leave, insurance, taxes, retirement $221,220 $42,750

TOTAL FRINGE BENEFITS $221,220 $42,750

TRAVEL:

Mileage for 30 site assessments/year (3500 miles @ $0.655, 3 yrs) $6,878

2 travelers attending 2 non-local meetings/year ($750/person/mtg, 3 yrs) $9,000

2 travelers attending 1 conference/year ($2000/person/conference, 3 yrs) $12,000

TOTAL TRAVEL $27,878 $0

EQUIPMENT:

1 HVAC replacement @ $250,000 $250,000

2 exterior doors @ $12,500/ea $25,000

TOTAL EQUIPMENT $275,000 $0

SUPPLIES:

25 Air Cleaners and replacement filters @$300.00 each $7,500

25 Air Quality Sensors @ $350.00 each $8,750

Sensor replacement and calibration supplies $6,000

Computer software @ $2000.00/yr, 3 years $6,000

Office supplies $3,000

TOTAL SUPPLIES $31,250 $0

CONTRACTUAL:

Energy audits + weatherization, 3 bldgs @ $40,000 each, Yr 1, competitive $120,000

Technical training for building staff, 3 @ $5000/session, Yr 3, competitive $15,000

TOTAL CONTRACTUAL $135,000 $0

OTHER:

Subaward to Regional Clean Air Association for outreach campaign $85,000

Subaward to City of Anytown, USA to establish 3 cleaner air centers $200,000

Participant support for training participation $10,000

Professional printing, 3500 color brochures/year, $0.50/copy, 3 years $5,250

1 EPA Funding amount must be included on the SF-424 in Section 18.a and SF-424A in: cell 5(e) under Section A –

Budget Summary; and Column (1) under Section B – Budget Categories.

Publications (training manuals and journal publications), $2000/year, 3 yrs $6,000

TOTAL OTHER $306,250 $0

INDIRECT COSTS:

Federal Indirect Cost Rate (20%) x Personnel = Indirect Costs $147,480 $28,500

TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS $147,480 $28,500

TOTAL EPA FUNDING $1,881,478

TOTAL REQUIRED COST SHARE (at least 10% unless waived) $213,750

TOTAL PROJECT COST2 $2,095,228

Note on Management Fees: When formulating budgets for applications, applicants must not include management fees or similar charges in excess of the direct costs and indirect costs at the rate approved by the applicant’s cognizant federal audit agency, or at the rate provided for by the terms of the agreement negotiated with the EPA. The term "management fees or similar charges" refers to expenses added to the direct costs in order to accumulate and reserve funds for ongoing business expenses, unforeseen liabilities, or for other similar costs that are not allowable under EPA assistance agreements.

Management fees or similar charges cannot be used to improve or expand the project funded under this agreement, except to the extent authorized as a direct cost of carrying out the work plan.

b. Reasonableness of Costs (5 points)

Describe all itemized costs, including how they relate to the project narrative and specific activities.

c. Timely Expenditure of Grant Funds (5 points)

Describe the applicant’s approach, procedures, and controls for ensuring that awarded grant funds will be expended in a timely and efficient manner.

Section V - Attachments (As listed in Section 4.A; this information does not count towards the project narrative 10-page limit):

Cost Share Waiver Rationale: Only needed if requesting cost share waiver and not included in the Project Narrative Attachment.