EPA-OLEM-OBLR-21-05_RLF.pdf

OVERVIEW

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: FY22 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD REVOLVING LOAN FUND

GRANTS

ACTION: Request for Applications (RFA)

RFA NO.: EPA-OLEM-OBLR-21-05

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO.: 66.818

DATE: The closing date and time for receipt of applications is December 1, 2021, 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time (ET). Applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov. Applications received after 11:59 p.m. ET on December 1, 2021, will not be considered. Please refer to the Due Date and Submission Instructions in Section IV.B. and Appendix 1 for further instructions.

SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act (P.L. 115-141), requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish guidance for grants to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA’s Brownfields Program provides funds to empower states, communities, tribes, and nonprofit organizations to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites. This guidance provides information on applying for Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants.

EPA continues to provide flexibility to applicants experiencing challenges related to COVID-19.

Please see the Flexibilities Available to Organizations Impacted by COVID-19 clause in Section IV of EPA’s Solicitation Clauses at www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses and the instructions outlined in Section IV.B. of this announcement.

Only eligible entities who do not have, or are not a part of (i.e., a coalition member), an open cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF at the time of application may apply for funding under this solicitation. An “open” cooperative agreement is one in which the Period of performance, as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1, has not yet ended. The period of performance is specified in EPA’s initial or amended “Notice of Award.”

Note for grant recipients who do have an open cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF:

Grant recipients with an open cooperative agreement will be given the opportunity to request additional funding to capitalize their RLF program through the Brownfields Program’s annual, non-competitive, supplemental funding process. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22), instead of extending the existing RLF cooperative agreement period of performance when providing supplemental funding, EPA may choose to award a new RLF Grant to especially high-performing grant recipients who meet specific criteria, such as having performed their open RLF cooperative agreement for at least 12 years. Additional information on the timing, requirements, and procedures for supplemental funding requests will be available on EPA’s Brownfields RLF https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses

Program website (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-revolving-loan-fund-rlf-grants).

Note, beginning in FY22, EPA will advertise the annual request for supplemental funding on the Brownfields RLF Program website, rather than in the Federal Register.

Entities applying for an FY22 RLF Grant may not apply for an FY22 Cleanup Grant (EPA- OLEM-OBLR-21-06). The guidelines for FY22 Cleanup Grant applications are posted separately on www.grants.gov.

Entities that were previously awarded a Brownfields Multipurpose Grant that would like to apply for an FY22 RLF Grant must demonstrate that payment has been received from EPA (also known as ‘drawn down’), and drawn down funds have been disbursed, for at least 70.00% of the funding for the Multipurpose cooperative agreement by October 1, 2021.

For the purposes of these guidelines, the term “grant” refers to the cooperative agreement that EPA will award to a successful applicant. Please refer to Section II.C. for a description of EPA’s anticipated substantial involvement in the cooperative agreements awarded under these guidelines.

EPA urges applicants to review the FY22 Brownfields Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which can be found at www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants.

In addition, prior to naming a contractor (including a consultant) or subrecipient in your application, please carefully review Section III.B.7. and Section IV.H. of these guidelines and Section D. in the FY22 FAQs.

FUNDING/AWARDS: EPA anticipates awarding an estimated eight RLF Grants for an estimated $8 million, subject to the quality of applications received, availability of funds, and other applicable considerations.

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-revolving-loan-fund-rlf-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-revolving-loan-fund-rlf-grants http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants

CONTENTS BY SECTION

SECTION I. – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

I.A. Description of Grant I.B. Uses of Grant Funds I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage I.D. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes I.E. Supporting Environmental Justice

SECTION II. – AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. What is the Amount of Available Funding?

II.B. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

II.C. Substantial Involvement

SECTION III. – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION AND THRESHOLD CRITERIA

III.A. Who Can Apply?

III.B. Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants

1. Applicant Eligibility

2. Demonstration of Previous RLF Grant Status

3. Expenditure of Existing Multipurpose Grant Funds

4. Description of RLF Boundaries

5. Oversight Structure and Legal Authority to Manage a Revolving Loan Fund

6. Statutory Cost Share

7. Named Contractors and Subrecipients (other than borrowers and site cleanup subgrantees)

SECTION IV. – APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A. How to Obtain an Application Package IV.B. Due Date and Submission Instructions IV.C. Content and Form of Application Submission IV.D. Narrative Information Sheet IV.E. Narrative/Ranking Criteria

1. PROJECT AREA DESCRIPTION AND PLANS FOR REVITALIZATION

2. COMMUNITY NEED AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

3. TASK DESCRIPTIONS, COST ESTIMATES, AND MEASURING PROGRESS . 28

4. PROGRAMMATIC CAPABILITY AND PAST PERFORMANCE

IV.F. Leveraging IV.G. Confidential Business Information IV.H. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

SECTION V. – NARRATIVE REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A. Evaluation Criteria V.B. Other Factors and Considerations V.C. Review and Selection Process V.D. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

SECTION VI. – AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VI.A. Award Notices VI.B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements VI.C. Reporting Requirements VI.D. Brownfield Programmatic Requirements

VI.E. Disputes VI.F. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

SECTION VII. – EPA REGIONAL BROWNFIELD PROGRAM CONTACTS

Appendix 1 Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions

A. Requirements to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures B. Submission Instructions C. Technical Issues with Submission

SECTION I. – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was amended by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in 2002 to include Section 104(k), which provides federal financial assistance authorities for brownfields revitalization, including grants for assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan funds. The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act enacted in 2018 reauthorized EPA’s Brownfields Program and made additional amendments to CERCLA that affect EPA’s brownfield grant authorities, and ownership and liability provisions. (Note:

References to CERCLA in this solicitation refer to CERCLA as amended by the 2002 Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act and the 2018 BUILD Act.)

A brownfield site is defined in CERCLA § 101(39) as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, controlled substances, petroleum or petroleum products, or is mine-scarred land.

A critical part of EPA’s Brownfields Program is to ensure that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination have an opportunity to benefit from brownfields redevelopment. EPA’s Brownfields Program has a rich history rooted in environmental justice and is committed to helping communities revitalize brownfield properties, mitigate potential health risks, and restore economic vitality.

As described in Section V.A. of this announcement, applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: a vision for the cleanup, reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites and a strategy for leveraging resources to help accomplish the vision; the environmental, social, health and economic needs and benefits of the target area; strong community engagement; reasonable costs and eligible tasks and appropriate use of grant funding;

the capacity for managing and successfully implementing the cooperative agreement; and other factors.

I.A. Description of Grant

Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants provide funding to a grant recipient to capitalize an RLF program. RLF programs provide loans and subgrants to eligible entities to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites contaminated with hazardous substances1 and/or petroleum2. Site eligibility will be determined by EPA after grant award and prior to expending grant funds at any site. Sites where hazardous substances and petroleum contamination are distinguishable must meet eligibility requirements for both contaminants.

1 Hazardous substance sites eligible for funding are those sites with the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, sites that are contaminated with controlled substances or that are mine-scarred lands. For more information, please refer to the FY22 FAQs.

2 Petroleum sites eligible for funding are those sites that meet the definition set forth in CERCLA § 101(39)(D)(ii)(II), as further described in Section 1.3.2. in the Information on Sites Eligible for Brownfields Funding under CERCLA § 104(k).

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-sites-eligible-brownfields-funding-under-cercla-ss-104k https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-sites-eligible-brownfields-funding-under-cercla-ss-104k

Summary of RLF Grant Options

Individual Entity Coalition Maximum amount of funding request

Up to $1,000,000 for hazardous substances and/or petroleum

20% cost share Required for all applicants;

unless EPA provides a hardship waiver

Project Period 5 years

Revolving loan funds are used to provide no-interest or low-interest loans for eligible brownfield cleanups, subgrants for cleanups, and other eligible programmatic costs necessary to manage the RLF. An RLF Grant recipient must use 50% or more of the total award amount (i.e., EPA funds for the RLF Grant plus the recipient’s cost share) to provide loans for the cleanup of eligible brownfield sites and associated eligible programmatic capability. The remaining EPA funding and associated cost share may be used for eligible programmatic costs, including issuing and managing subgrants to clean up eligible brownfield sites.

An RLF Grant recipient may discount loans, also referred to as the practice of forgiving a portion of loan principal. For an individual loan, the amount of principal discounted may be any percentage of the total loan amount up to 30%, provided that the total amount of the principal forgiven for that loan shall not exceed $200,000. Eligible entities and nonprofit organizations described in Section III.A. are eligible for discounted loans. Private, for-profit entities are not eligible for discounted loans. In addition, a discounted loan shall not be used in combination with a subgrant at the same site. The discounted portion of a loan applies towards the subgrant limit described in the previous paragraph.

RLF Grant recipients may not subgrant to themselves (i.e., to cleanup a site the RLF recipient itself owns even if the site is owned by another agency within the same unit of government).

However, the RLF Grant recipient may subgrant to other coalition members if EPA awards an RLF Coalition Grant. Subgrants are limited to $350,000 per site. Entities receiving RLF subgrants must own the subject site throughout the period of performance of the subgrant, but borrowers are not subject to the same requirement. An RLF Grant recipient cannot make a loan or a subgrant to a party who may be found to be potentially liable for the contamination at the brownfield site, per CERCLA § 107. In addition, the RLF Grant recipient may not make a loan or subgrant to clean up a site for which the recipient (or a coalition member in the case of RLF Coalition Grants) is potentially liable under CERCLA § 107.

Some features of the RLF Grants are:

• RLF programs are designed to operate for many years (possibly decades) and as such, they require long-term resource commitments by the RLF Grant recipients and ongoing reporting to the EPA, even after the RLF Grant is closed.

• Recipients need to have a strong understanding of real estate financing principles and approaches, including loan underwriting, loan servicing, and credit analysis.

• Recipients need to have the ability to market the RLF program on an ongoing basis during the performance period of the grant and after the closeout of the RLF Grant.

• Recipients must commit to properly manage funds and program income generated by their RLF program in perpetuity, unless they terminate their Closeout Agreement and return any remaining program income to EPA. Program income for the RLF shall be defined as the gross income received by the recipient, directly generated by the cooperative agreement award, or earned during the period of the award. Program income includes principal repayments, interest earned on outstanding loan principal, interest earned on accounts holding RLF program income not needed for immediate lending, all loan fees and loan-related charges received from borrowers and other income generated from RLF operations including proceeds from the sale, collection, or liquidations of assets acquired through defaults of loans.

o Majority of program income is generated from the repayments of loans issued by the RLF program.

o Advances of cooperative agreement funds and program income must be held in an interest-bearing account. Interest earned is considered additional program income.

o Loan repayment terms can be short- or long-term, i.e., a few years to decades;

hence, the program income can be generated over several years.

o Program income must be used in accordance with the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement including the Closeout Agreement. EPA prefers that the program income be used for future loans.

o Program income may be retained and used after the end of the cooperative agreement in accordance with the recipients’ Closeout Agreement. Termination of the cooperative agreement occurs when all payments from EPA have been received and all cleanup activities funded by the cooperative agreement are complete.

RLF Coalition Grants

A RLF Coalition is comprised of one “lead” eligible entity that partners with one or more non-lead eligible entities. The lead eligible entity is the applicant that submits an application on behalf of the coalition members. The RLF Coalition may request funding up to $1,000,000 to address brownfield sites with hazardous substance and/or petroleum contamination.

The non-lead members 1) must be separate legal entities from the lead entity and each other, and

2) can cover the same geographic area but not have the same jurisdiction as other members. For example, different agencies within the same state government must be separate legal entities (e.g., report to different elected executives) and have different authorities within a shared geographic area to form a coalition. Another example is a city and a county can be members of the same coalition since they are separate legal entities with different jurisdictions within a geographic area.

If selected, the lead entity will be the grant recipient and must administer the grant, be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds, and be EPA’s point of contact for the other coalition members.

Coalition members may not be members of other RLF Coalition applications, nor submit an RLF Grant application as an individual applicant, in the FY22 competition cycle. A coalition member wishing to apply as part of a different RLF Coalition or as an individual applicant must withdraw from the coalition.

Please note that once the lead entity submits the application, it becomes the applicant, and the coalition members may not substitute another eligible entity as the lead entity after the deadline for submitting applications has passed. Additionally, the non-lead coalition members may not be substituted after the deadline for submitting applications has passed. If the application is selected for funding, the lead member must partner with the other coalition members that were named in the application.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) documenting the coalition’s site selection process must be in place prior to the draw down and expenditure of any funds that are awarded. The coalition members should identify and establish relationships necessary to achieve the project’s goal. A process for successful execution of the project’s goal, including a description and role of each coalition member, should be established along with the MOA. The purpose of the MOA is for coalition members to agree internally on the distribution of funds and the mechanisms for implementing the cleanup work.

Cost Share Requirement

CERCLA requires applicants to provide a 20% cost share of the federal funds for RLF Grants.

For example, a $1,000,000 RLF Grant awarded by EPA will require the recipient to provide a $200,000 cost share. The cost share, which may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services, must be for eligible and allowable costs under the grant, as described in the FY22 FAQs. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case basis and intends to approve such requests on a limited basis. Refer to the threshold criterion in Section III.B.6. for additional information on cost share waivers.

I.B. Uses of Grant Funds

In addition to direct costs associated with the cleanup of a brownfield site, RLF Grant funds may be used for:

1. Direct costs associated with programmatic management of the grant, such as required performance reporting, cleanup oversight, environmental oversight of cleanup work, and funds management.

All costs charged to RLF Grants must be consistent with the requirements at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.

2. A local government (as defined in 2 CFR § 200.1, Local Government, and summarized in

Section III.A. of these guidelines and the Health Monitoring Fact Sheet3) may use up to 10% of its grant funds for the following activities:

3 The Health Monitoring Fact Sheet is available at www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-public-health-and-health-monitoring.

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-public-health-and-health-monitoring http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-public-health-and-health-monitoring http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-public-health-and-health-monitoring

a. health monitoring of populations exposed to hazardous substances from a brownfield site; and

b. monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human exposure to any hazardous substance from a brownfield site.

3. A portion of the Brownfields Grant, loan, or subgrant may be used to purchase environmental insurance. (See the FY22 FAQs for additional information on purchasing environmental insurance.)

Grant funds cannot be used for the payment of:

1. Direct costs for proposal preparation;

2. a penalty or fine;

3. a federal cost share requirement (for example, a cost share required by other federal funds);

4. administrative costs, including all indirect costs and direct costs for grant administration, in excess of five (5) percent of the total award amount (EPA funds plus the recipient’s cost share), with the exception of financial and performance reporting costs (which are considered allowable programmatic costs and not subject to the 5% limitation);

5. a response cost at a brownfield site for which the recipient of the grant or loan is potentially liable under CERCLA § 107;

6. a cost of compliance with any federal law, excluding the cost of compliance with laws applicable to the cleanup; or

7. unallowable costs (e.g., lobbying) under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.

See the FY22 FAQs for additional information on ineligible grant activities and unallowable costs.

I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage

The activities to be funded under this announcement support EPA’s FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.4 Awards made under this announcement will support Goal 1 – A Cleaner, Healthier Environment, Objective 3 – Revitalize Land and Prevent Contamination of EPA’s Strategic Plan.

All applications must be for projects that support this goal and objective.

4 EPA’s Strategic Plan is available at www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan.

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan

I.D. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

EPA requires that applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements.5 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 goal and objective described above in Section I.C.

Applicants are required to describe how funding will help EPA achieve environmental outputs and outcomes in their responses to the ranking criteria in Section IV.E. 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:

1. Outputs

The term “outputs” refers to an environmental activity, effort and/or associated work products related to an environmental goal or objective that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during the project period. The expected outputs for the grants awarded under these guidelines may include but are not limited to the number of loans and subgrants executed, the number of community meetings held, the number of Analyses of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) completed, the number of community involvement and cleanup plans completed, the number of underground storage tanks pulled, and/or the number of cleanups completed.

2. Outcomes

The term “outcomes” refers to 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. Expected outcomes of Brownfield Grants include the number of jobs created and funding leveraged through the economic reuse of sites; the number of acres made ready for reuse; acres of greenspace created for communities; and the minimized exposure to hazardous substances and petroleum contamination.

I.E. Supporting Environmental Justice

EPA defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across the nation. Environmental justice will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and

5 EPA Order 5700.7, EPA’s Policy for Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements is available at www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements.

http://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.6

Some communities experience disproportionate and adverse environmental, human health, climate-related and other cumulative impacts, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts. These disproportionate and adverse impacts result from industrial, governmental, commercial and/or other actions, and are likely to affect low-income and minorities.

Environmental justice can be supported through equitable development approaches and intentional strategies to ensure that low-income and minority communities not only participate in but also benefit from decisions that shape their neighborhoods and regions. There are many different approaches that promote equitable development, such as ensuring a mix of housing types across a range of incomes; access to fresh food; access to jobs; and access to local capital.

Programs or policies can be put in place to help ensure creation or integration of affordable housing; local or first-source hiring of contractor, borrower or subgrantee employees provided the recipient does not impose geographic preferences for procurements in violation of 2 CFR 200.319(c); minority contracting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 33; inclusionary zoning (where a percentage of new housing is designated as affordable housing); healthy food retailers in places where they do not exist (e.g., food deserts); co-operative ownership models where local residents come together to run a community-owned, jointly owned business enterprise; rent control or community land trusts (to help keep property affordable for residents); supportive local entrepreneurial activities; and adherence to equal lending opportunities.

Applicants should discuss and provide specific examples of how the proposed Brownfields RLF program will address environmental justice challenges in Section IV.E.

SECTION II. – AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. What is the Amount of Available Funding?

The estimated total funding available for RLF Grants under this solicitation is approximately $8 million and EPA anticipates awarding an estimated eight RLF Grants subject to the availability of funds, quality of applications, and other applicable considerations.

In addition, EPA reserves the right to award additional grants under this competition should additional funding become available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selection decisions. EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement or make fewer awards than anticipated.

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. To maintain the integrity of the competition and

6 For more information, please visit www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice.

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice selection process, EPA, if it decides to partially fund an application, 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.

II.B. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

The project period for RLF Grants is up to five years.

II.C. Substantial Involvement

The Brownfields RLF Grant will be awarded in the form of a cooperative agreement.

Cooperative agreements permit the EPA Project Officer to be substantially involved in overseeing the work performed by the selected recipients. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions related to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial federal involvement for this project may include, but is not limited to:

• Close monitoring of the recipient’s performance to verify the results;

• Collaboration during the performance of the scope of work including participation in project activities, to the extent permissible under EPA policies. Examples of collaboration include:

o Consultation between EPA staff and the recipients on effective methods of carrying out the scope of work provided the recipient makes the final decision on how to perform authorized activities.

o Advice from EPA staff on how to access publicly available information on EPA or other federal agency websites.

o With the consent of the recipient, EPA staff may provide technical advice to recipient contractors or subrecipients provided the recipient approves any expenditures of funds necessary to follow advice from EPA staff. (The recipient remains accountable for performing contract and subaward management as specified in 2 CFR § 200.318 and 2 CFR § 200.332 as well as the terms of the EPA cooperative agreement.)

o EPA staff participation in meetings, webinars, and similar events upon the request of the recipient or in connection with a co-sponsorship agreement.

• Reviewing proposed procurements in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.325, as well as the substantive terms of proposed contracts or subawards as appropriate;

• Reviewing the qualifications of key personnel (EPA does not have the authority to select employees or contractors, including consultants, employed by the award recipient or subrecipients receiving pass-through awards);

• Reviewing and commenting on quarterly and annual reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient);

• Verifying sites meet applicable site eligibility criteria;

• Monitoring the use of program income after the cooperative agreement project period ends; and

• Participation in periodic telephone conference calls to share ideas, project successes and challenges, etc., with EPA.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=34183e930e741a04ff06debe9d858069&mc=true&node=se2.1.200_1318&rgn=div8 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=fad22b17b4bd4c04ee1eafc308099edd&mc=true&node=se2.1.200_1332&rgn=div8

SECTION III. – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION AND THRESHOLD

CRITERIA

III.A. Who Can Apply?

The following information indicates which entities are eligible to apply for an RLF Grant. Note, entities that currently have, or are a part of (i.e., a coalition member), an open cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF at the time of application are not eligible to apply for an RLF Grant in FY22.

• General Purpose Unit of Local Government. [For purposes of the EPA Brownfields Grant

Program, EPA uses the definition of Local government at 2 CFR § 200.1: Local government means a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority (including any public and Indian housing agency under the United States Housing Act of 1937), school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under state law), any other regional or interstate government entity, or any agency or instrumentality of a local government.]

• Land Clearance Authority or another quasi-governmental entity that operates under the supervision and control of, or as an agent of, a General Purpose Unit of Local Government.

• Government Entity Created by State Legislature.

• Regional Council or group of General Purpose Units of Local Government.

• Redevelopment Agency that is chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a state.

• State.

• Indian tribe other than in Alaska. (The exclusion of Tribes from Alaska, with the exception of the Metlakatla Indian Community as noted below, from Brownfields Grant eligibility is statutory at CERCLA § 104(k)(1)). Intertribal Consortia, comprised of eligible Indian tribes, are eligible for funding in accordance with EPA’s policy for funding intertribal consortia published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2002, at 67 Fed. Reg. 67181. This policy also may be obtained from your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section VII.)

• Alaska Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native Village Corporation, and Metlakatla Indian Community. (Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village Corporations are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following). For more information, please refer to the FY22 FAQs.)

• Nonprofit organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

• Limited liability corporation in which all managing members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or limited liability corporations whose sole members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

• Limited partnership in which all general partners are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or limited corporations whose sole members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

• Qualified community development entity as defined in section 45D(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

III.B. Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants

This section contains the threshold eligibility criteria that ensure applicants are eligible to receive an RLF Grant. Threshold criteria are pass/fail and are based on certain requests for information identified below. The information you submit will be used by EPA solely to make eligibility https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants determinations for Brownfield Grants and is not legally binding for other purposes including federal, state, or tribal enforcement actions. Only those applications that pass all the threshold criteria will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria in Section V.A. of this announcement.

Coalition members may not be members of other RLF Coalition applications, nor submit an RLF Grant application as an individual applicant, in the FY22 competition cycle.

Applicants may not submit multiple applications (i.e., submit applications for different projects) under this solicitation. EPA considers departments of the same state, tribal, or city governments to be the same applicant, unless they report to different elected executives (even if they have different unique entity identifiers, e.g., DUNS number). Prior to review, EPA will contact applicants that submit more than one application under this solicitation to determine which application(s) the applicant will withdraw from the competition.

Entities applying for an FY22 RLF Grant may not apply for an FY22 Cleanup Grant (EPA- OLEM-OBLR-21-06). Prior to review, EPA will contact applicants that submit an application for an FY22 Cleanup Grant and an FY22 RLF Grant to determine which application(s) the applicant will withdraw from the competition.

Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks or 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 for funding.

EPA staff will respond to questions regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the application, and requests for clarification about this announcement. For purposes of the threshold eligibility review, EPA, if necessary, may seek clarification of applicant information that is included in the application and/or consider information from other sources, including EPA files. Such communications shall not be used to correct application deficiencies or material omissions, materially alter the application or project proposed, or discuss changes to the applicant’s responses to any evaluation or selection criteria.

In order to maintain the integrity of the competition process, EPA staff cannot meet with individual applicants to discuss draft applications, provide informal comments on draft applications, or provide advice to applicants on how to respond to ranking criteria. EPA’s limitations on staff involvement with grant applicants are described in EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements.7

Applications must substantially comply with the submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV. of this announcement or they will be rejected. Pages exceeding the page limits described in Section IV.C. for the Narrative Information Sheet and the Narrative, and attachments not specifically required, will not be reviewed.

7 EPA Order 5700.5A1, EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements is available at www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements http://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements

In addition, applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov as stated in Section IV. and Appendix 1 of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Appendix 1) on or before the application submission deadline. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV. and Appendix 1 of this announcement to ensure that their application is submitted on time.

Applications received after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with www.grants.gov or relevant www.sam.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through www.grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in www.sam.gov or www.grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission.

EPA will verify that the Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number listed on the application is the correct DUNS number for the applicant’s organization/department. If the correct DUNS number is not included in the application, the application may be deemed ineligible. Applicants need to ensure that the correct Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and DUNS number of the entity that will receive the award and will be held accountable by EPA for the proper expenditure of funds are listed on the application.

Responses to the items below are required and must be included as an attachment to the Narrative that is included in the application submitted to EPA. See Section IV.C. for a complete list of required documents that must be submitted.

1. Applicant Eligibility

From the list of eligible entities in Section III.A., Who Can Apply?, indicate your applicant type (and the applicant type for each non-lead coalition member, if applicable).

Provide information that demonstrates how you (and each non-lead coalition member, if applicable) are an eligible entity for an RLF Grant.

• For entities that are cities, counties, tribes, or states, affirm that the organization is eligible for funding.

• For government entities other than cities, counties, tribes, or states, attach documentation of your eligibility (e.g., resolutions, statutes, etc.).

• For nonprofit organizations, or organizations comprised of nonprofit organizations, provide documentation as an attachment to the Narrative demonstrating tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

• For qualified community development entities, provide documentation as an attachment to the Narrative certifying the organization’s status.

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

RLF Coalitions:

• Each non-lead coalition member must submit a signed letter to the grant applicant

(the lead coalition member) in which they agree to be part of the coalition. An active Memorandum of Agreement that includes a description and role of each coalition member may serve in place of the individual coalition members’ letters. Include the document(s), as an attachment, in your application. Documentation that is not included with the application will render that non-lead member ineligible from participating in the coalition, and potentially render the entire application ineligible if there is less than one non-lead member.

2. Demonstration of Previous RLF Grant Status

Entities with an open cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF are not eligible to apply for funding under this solicitation. If the applicant has previously been either a recipient of a Brownfields RLF cooperative agreement or a non-recipient member of a coalition that obtained RLF funding, provide the grant number and closeout date for the RLF cooperative agreement(s). Alternatively, affirm that the applicant has not had, or been a part of, a cooperative agreement for a Brownfields RLF in the past.

3. Expenditure of Existing Multipurpose Grant Funds

Current EPA Brownfields Multipurpose Grant recipients must demonstrate that the recipient has received payment from EPA (also known as ‘drawn down’), and drawn down funds have been disbursed, for at least 70.00% of the funding for the Multipurpose cooperative agreement by October 1, 2021, in order to apply for funding under this solicitation.

In order to demonstrate this, applicants must attach a copy of a financial record displaying the amount of cooperative agreement funds drawn down (e.g., a report from the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) or general ledger entries). If necessary, applicants may contact the assigned EPA project officer for the cooperative agreement or Jerry Minor-Gordon (minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov) to obtain draw down information from EPA’s grant financial database (Compass Data Warehouse). Disbursements of drawn down funds must comply with requirements in EPA’s General Terms and Conditions for timely disbursement of EPA funds (i.e., recipients other than states must substantially disburse all of the funds within 5 business days of draw down).

Alternatively, the applicant must affirm it does not have an open EPA Brownfields Multipurpose Grant.

4. Description of RLF Boundaries

EPA awards RLF Grants to clean up sites that are located within the geographic boundaries of the RLF’s operation as defined in the application. This does not preclude applicants from targeting specific communities or areas outside the RLF boundaries in their marketing outreach, as long as the loans and subgrants are for cleaning up sites within the boundaries as defined in the application. Applicants must provide a description of the boundaries of their RLF operation (e.g., the city limits of The City of ABC).

mailto:minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov http://www2.epa.gov/grants/grant-terms-and-conditions

Provide a description of the RLF’s geographic boundaries. Note: For RLF Coalitions, the lead applicant must have the governmental authority over coalition members (i.e., encompassing jurisdiction), and/or program capacity to ensure adequate program performance of coalition members, borrowers, and/or subgrantees, if warranted.

5. Oversight Structure and Legal Authority to Manage a Revolving Loan Fund

RLF Grant recipients will be required to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and ensure that the cleanup protects human health and the environment.

a. Describe how you will oversee cleanup at sites. Indicate whether you plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program. If you do not plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program, or an appropriate state or tribal response program is not available, you will be required to consult with EPA to ensure cleanups are protective of human health and the environment.

Therefore, if you do not plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program, provide a description of the technical expertise you have to conduct, manage, and oversee the cleanups and/or whether you plan to acquire additional technical expertise. If you do plan to acquire additional technical expertise, discuss how you will comply with the competitive procurement provisions of 2 CFR §§ 200.317 through 200.327 and ensure that this technical expertise is in place prior to beginning cleanup activities.

b. Provide a legal opinion from your counsel that demonstrates:

(1) you have legal authority to access and secure sites in the event of an emergency or default of a loan agreement or non-performance under a subgrant; and

(2) you have legal authority to perform the actions necessary to manage a revolving loan fund. At a minimum, legal authority must include the ability to hold funds, make loans, enter into loan agreements, and collect repayments.

This opinion must cite the relevant state law(s) or local ordinance(s) that allow you access to sites and the authority to manage an RLF. Attach your counsel’s legal opinion.

6. Statutory Cost Share RLF Grant recipients are required to provide a cost share that is calculated as 20% of the total federal RLF Grant funds awarded. For example, if EPA awards you $1,000,000 of federal RLF Grant funds, you must provide a cost share of an additional $200,000. The cost share may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services from a non-federal source. If the cost share is in the form of a contribution of labor, material, or other services, it must be incurred for an eligible and allowable expense under the grant and not for ineligible expenses and it must otherwise comply with 2 CFR § 200.306. Eligible and allowable expenses may include administrative costs borne by the recipient or a third-party to meet its cost share obligation; including indirect costs, subject to the 5% limit on administrative costs. Costs incurred before EPA notifies the applicant of selection are generally not allowable to meet the cost share. See the FY22 FAQs for more information on the cost share requirement.

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants

RLF Grant applicants may petition EPA to waive the cost share requirement if meeting a cost share will place an undue hardship. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case basis and intends to approve such requests on an extremely limited basis.

a. Demonstrate how you will meet the required cost share, including the sources of the funding or services, as required for this RLF Grant.

b. If you are requesting a hardship waiver of the entire cost share, or a portion of the cost share, provide an explanation for the basis of your request. This explanation must be submitted on a separate page, titled “Hardship Waiver Request.” Your explanation should include whether the proposed project(s) could still proceed if the cost share waiver was not approved and relevant data such as:

• unemployment rate;

• per capita income;

• data demonstrating substantial out-migration or population loss;

• data demonstrating underemployment, that is, employment of workers at less than full-time or at less skilled tasks than their training or abilities permit;

• local natural or other major disasters or emergencies;

• information regarding extraordinary depletion of natural resources;

• closure or restructuring of industrial firms and negative effects of changing trade patterns;

• whether you are located in a President-declared disaster area (declared within 18 months of the submission date for your application); and/or

• whether you have exhausted effective taxing (for governmental entities only) and borrowing capacity.

Where available, applicants must supply data derived from the most recent American Community Survey (“ACS”) published by the U.S. Census Bureau. In cases where such data are not available, applicants may provide data from other sources (including data available from the Census Bureau and the Bureaus of Economic Analysis, Labor Statistics, Indian Affairs, or other federal sources). In cases where no federal data are available, applicants may submit the most recent data available through their state, tribal, or local government. Cite all sources for data provided.

Successful applicants will be notified at the time of the grant announcement if their cost share waiver request was approved. Approval of a cost share waiver does not increase the amount of funding that will be provided by EPA in the grant award.