EPA-OW-OGWDW-21-02.pdf

Federal Agency Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water

Funding Opportunity Title: Reduction in Lead Exposure Via Drinking Water

Announcement Type: Request for Applications (RFA)

Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-OW-OGWDW-21-02

Assistance Listing Number: 66.443

Dates: The closing date and time for receipt of application submissions is April 19, 2022 by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, in order to be considered for funding. Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, April 19, 2022 in order to be considered for funding. Questions about this RFA must be submitted in writing via e-mail and must be received by the Agency contact identified in Section VII by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, April 4, 2022. Written responses will be posted on EPA’s website at:

https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/water-infrastructure-improvements-nation-act-wiin-act-grant-programs. Please note that answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) are available at https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/water-infrastructure-improvements-nation-act-wiin-act-grant-programs. EPA strongly recommends interested applicants refer to the FAQs webpage prior to submitting a question.

COVID-19 Update: EPA is providing flexibilities 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.

Note to Applicants: Following EPA’s evaluation of applications, all applicants will be notified regarding their status. If you name subawardees/subgrantees and/or contractor(s) including individual consultants in your application as partners to assist you with the proposed project, pay careful attention to the information in the CONTRACTS AND SUBAWARDS provision found at http://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses.

Summary:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications from eligible applicants as described in Section III.A to reduce lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities through full lead service line replacements and/or treatment improvements or facility remediation in schools and child care facilities. The goal of these projects is to address conditions that contribute to increased concentrations of lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities. The lead reduction projects should proceed to implementation upon award. The proposed projects support the Agency’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 – 2026, Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities., Objective 5.1: Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure. The EPA’s Strategic Plan is available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-10/fy-2022-2026-epa-draft-strategic-plan.pdf. All applications must be for projects that support the goals and objectives identified above.

National Priority Areas identified in this announcement are for: (1) Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Full Lead Service Line Replacements and Treatment Improvements and (2) Reduction of Children’s Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water at Schools and

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Child Care Facilities. Assisting drinking water systems, schools, child care facilities, and communities nationwide to remediate sources of lead in their drinking water to minimize lead exposure is a key priority for the Agency.

The total estimated amount of federal funding potentially available under this announcement is approximately $20,000,000 depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. It is anticipated that a total of three to seven assistance agreements, each with a project period of up to four years, will be awarded under this announcement. For this funding cycle, EPA is applying a waiver to all grant applicants of the statutory 20 percent cost-share due to the financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across the country. (See Section III.B of this announcement for information on the waiver of the minimum non-federal 20 percent cost-share/match requirement.)

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CONTENTS BY SECTION

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

SECTION I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Program Objectives EPA is soliciting applications from eligible applicants for projects in two National Priority Areas as discussed below. While EPA expects to make at least one award in each area, there is no guarantee that this will be done, and EPA may redistribute the number of awards, and amount of funding, per area.

These projects must include at least one or more disadvantaged communities based on the affordability criteria each state establishes under section 1452(d)(3) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). For the purposes of this announcement, a disadvantaged community is defined as “the service area of a public water system that meets affordability criteria.” The affordability criteria must be met for the disadvantaged community(ies) in which the project will be performed. More information about a state’s affordability criteria can be found in a state’s most current final Intended Use Plan or by contacting the state Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program.

Applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which the proposed project is in and/or benefits a disadvantaged community(ies) as defined by section 1452(d)(3) of the SDWA as “the service area of a public water system that meets affordability criteria”, (ii) benefits drinking water systems with at least one lead action level exceedance within the last three years, or in schools/child care programs with at least 50% of the children receiving free and reduced lunch, in Head Start facilities, and/or in areas with additional environmental health burdens (e.g., areas with older buildings likely to have lead-based paint), and/or (iii) to the extent to which the proposed project benefits a disadvantaged community and supports the Justice40 Initiative. With respect to this RFA, the benefits as described under Justice40 include actions that support or aid improvements to communities experiencing disproportionate drinking water access and affordability environmental stressors (e.g., removing sources of lead in drinking water by funding projects that replace thousands of lead service lines and remove potential sources of lead in hundreds of schools and child care facilities across the United States.) More information on the Justice40 initiative is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/20/the-path-to-achieving-justice40/.

The goal of National Priority Area One is to reduce lead in drinking water through full lead service line replacements and/or optimization of drinking water treatment in a drinking water system. The goal of National Priority Area Two is to reduce children’s exposure to lead in schools and child care facilities by reducing lead in drinking water.

EPA expects that successful applications will demonstrate that projects are ready to proceed expeditiously upon award. All applications must be for lead reduction projects that support the goals and objectives identified below. Projects solely comprised of planning, training, and technical assistance projects are not eligible for funding under this announcement. The two National Priority Areas support the EPA’s Strategic Plan for FY 2022 - FY2026. The activities to be funded under this announcement

3 | P a g e https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/20/the-path-to-achieving-justice40/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/20/the-path-to-achieving-justice40/ support the Agency’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 – 2026, Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities., Objective 5.1: Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure. As discussed in Section I.E, the statutory authority for the awards expected to be made under this announcement is Section 1459B of the SDWA.

B. National Priority Areas Each application submitted under this announcement must address one, and only one, of the National Priority Areas described below. Applicants may submit more than one application package under this announcement so long as each application is separately submitted and addresses only one National Priority Area. The cover page of the application package must clearly indicate the National Priority Area being addressed in the application. If an applicant submits an application addressing more than one National Priority Area, it will be rejected.

National Priority Area One: Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Full Lead Service Line Replacements and Treatment Improvements

Under this National Priority Area, EPA is soliciting applications to reduce lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities, as defined based on the affordability criteria each state establishes under section 1452(d)(3) of the SDWA, through full lead service line replacements and/or treatment projects, such as lead service line replacement and corrosion control practices. For the purposes of this announcement “drinking water system” means a community water system, a non-transient noncommunity water system, and a water system located in an area governed by an Indian Tribe.

Many drinking water systems in disadvantaged communities face challenges in lead source removal, providing safe drinking water to their customers, and in consistently meeting the requirements of the SDWA and the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs). These challenges include, but are not limited to, lead entering drinking water through corrosion of lead service lines connecting the home to the drinking water system; and changes in source water or treatment processes that could impact water chemistry in the distribution system.

For this National Priority Area, applicants should describe in the application their proposed approach for reducing lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities and enabling drinking water systems to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to the system. If the proposed project is part of a broader lead exposure reduction effort, include a brief description of how the proposed project complements the broader effort. The lead reduction project may include full lead service line replacements and/or treatment improvements. Applicants should describe the known lead issue in the disadvantaged community by describing for example: any lead action level exceedances the system has had, factors consistent with lead service line presence such as historical use in the area and age of housing, service line inventories, historical challenges in meeting the requirements of the Lead and Copper Rule, as defined in 40 CFR Part 141, Subpart I, and any other information relevant to demonstrate the need for the proposed lead reduction project.

Public education and outreach about the health effects of lead exposure via drinking water are critical to obtaining public support for the anticipated lead reduction projects. It is also important that community members are informed about lead reduction projects prior to the start of the project and are updated as the project proceeds. Applications should describe the proposed approach to provide public education and conduct outreach related to the project.

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Remediation follow-up monitoring is critical to ensure treatment changes are working as anticipated.

Applicants should conduct remediation follow-up water sampling after completing full lead service line replacements or implementing treatment changes in order to verify that lead levels are reduced as anticipated. Applications should describe the proposed approach to conduct post-implementation drinking water quality monitoring during the project period.

Long-term maintenance of the lead reduction treatment or infrastructure is important to ensure that public health protection is maintained. Applications should also describe proposed plans to maintain lead level reductions after project completion, through, for example, maintenance plans for corrosion control treatment.

Applicants must demonstrate the ability and readiness to proceed expeditiously upon receiving an award. Applicants must describe their plan and proposed approach to proceed expeditiously to implement the projects to reduce lead as described further under Section I.C, Expeditious Project Readiness to Proceed Upon Award. EPA also encourages applications that support environmental justice by prioritizing lead reduction projects in and/or benefits a disadvantaged community(ies) as defined by section 1452(d)(3) of the SDWA as “the service area of a public water system that meets affordability criteria”, (ii) benefits drinking water systems with at least one lead action level exceedance within the last three years, or in schools/child care programs with at least 50% of the children receiving free and reduced lunch, in Head Start facilities, and/or in areas with additional environmental health burdens (e.g., areas with older buildings likely to have lead-based paint), and/or (iii) to the extent to which the proposed project benefits a disadvantaged community and supports the Justice40 Initiative.

With respect to this RFA, the benefits as described under Justice40 include actions that support or aid improvements to communities experiencing disproportionate drinking water access and affordability environmental stressors (e.g., removing sources of lead in drinking water by funding projects that replace thousands of lead service lines and remove potential sources of lead in hundreds of schools and child care facilities across the United States.) Information regarding the Justice40 Initiative is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/20/the-path-to-achieving-justice40/.

The goal of the full lead service line replacements and/or treatment improvements projects under this National Priority Area is to reduce lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities and to improve and maintain the drinking water supply and public health protection. Applicants should describe how they will document and report progress toward meeting this goal as described in Section I.D, EPA’s FY2022-2026 Strategic Plan .

The projects under this National Priority Area are expected to result in reduction of lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities. Examples of eligible drinking water lead reduction activities to support this National Priority Area may include, but are not limited to, the following.

• Replacing lead service lines (including goosenecks, pigtails and/or other lead components) and/or replacement of partial lead service lines that are remnants of previous partial replacement efforts. Publicly-owned, privately-owned, and jointly-owned service lines are eligible for replacement under this grant program. Note that partial lead service line replacements are not an eligible activity unless replacing remnants of previous partial replacement efforts.

• Replacing galvanized pipes downstream of a lead service line.

• Improving corrosion control to reduce lead in drinking water through installation or re-optimization of corrosion control treatment.

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• As a part of the project funded under this grant, developing and maintaining the drinking water system’s service line inventory to accurately track existing lead service lines and replacements of full or partial lead service lines, if the project includes lead service line replacement.

Inventories may also include lead pigtails and/or lead goosenecks.

• As a part of the project funded under this grant, conducting remediation follow-up monitoring, public education, and related outreach.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECTS:

Applications including lead service line replacement projects must include a description of the proposed approach for the following required project elements.

1. Plan to ensure that both the publicly-owned and privately-owned portions of a lead service line will be replaced, or, if replacing partial lead service lines that are remnants of previous partial replacement efforts, plan to ensure that no section of lead service line remains in place. Note that partial lead service line replacements are not an eligible activity unless replacing remnants of previous partial replacement efforts.

2. Plan for notifying customers of the replacement of any publicly-owned portion of the lead service line.

3. Plan for notifying each customer that a replacement of any publicly-owned portion of a lead service line that is funded by this grant program will not be carried out unless the customer agrees to the simultaneous replacement of the privately-owned portion of the lead service line.

4. Plan for ensuring customers are provided filters certified to remove lead, in accordance with applicable standards established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or National Sanitation Foundation International (NSF), along with no less than three months of replacement cartridges, notifying each customer of premise plumbing flushing instructions within 24 hours of the conclusion of each lead service line replacement, and post replacement lead testing(s).

5. Demonstration that the applicant has considered other options for reducing the concentration of lead in its drinking water, including an evaluation of options for corrosion control.

For additional information regarding the ANSI/NSF standards, visit www.nsf.org or www.ansi.org.

Regarding Point of Use (POU) filters, visit EPA’s factsheet.

EPA also encourages applicants to propose other types of activities that may achieve the objectives of this National Priority Area.

All eligible applications will be evaluated based on the criteria in Section V, including how well and thoroughly the National Priority Area is addressed (see Section V.A). EPA anticipates awarding approximately one to two assistance agreements under this National Priority Area, ranging from approximately $5,000,000 to no more than $10,000,000 in federal funds. It is anticipated that the total amount of federal funding awarded under this priority area will be approximately $10,000,000, with project periods of up to four years, depending on the amount requested and the overall size and scope of the project(s).

National Priority Area Two: Reducing Children’s Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities

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Under this National Priority Area, EPA is soliciting applications for projects in disadvantaged communities, as defined based on the affordability criteria each state establishes under section 1452(d)(3) of the SDWA, that will reduce children’s exposure to lead in schools and child care facilities through removal and/or replacement of lead-containing drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, and plumbing materials.

For the purposes of this RFA, a child care facility is a Head Start program or an Early Head Start program, a state-licensed or regulated child care program, a state pre-kindergarten program, or a program operated by a local educational agency serving children from birth through age six.

For the purposes of this RFA, a school is a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public charter school, that provides elementary or secondary education, as determined under state law, up through grade twelve. Additionally, for the purposes of this RFA, the definition of a school includes a school or community college that is controlled by an Indian tribe, band, or nation, including any Alaska Native village, which is recognized as eligible for special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians. Facilities administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are not included in this definition for the purposes of this announcement.

Even when water entering a facility meets all federal and state standards for lead, older plumbing materials in schools and/or child care facilities may contribute to elevated lead levels in their drinking water. The potential for lead to leach into water increases the longer the water remains in contact with leaded plumbing materials. As a result, facilities with intermittent water use patterns, such as schools, may be more likely to have elevated lead concentrations in drinking water. The EPA’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities: A Training, Testing, and Taking Action Approach (3Ts) provides tools for schools, child care facilities, states, and water systems to implement voluntary drinking water lead reduction programs.

For this National Priority Area, applicants should describe their proposed approach for projects serving disadvantaged communities that will reduce children’s exposure to lead through the removal and/or replacement of drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, and plumbing materials in schools and child care facilities, including full replacement of lead service lines serving such facilities. If the proposed project is part of a larger, ongoing lead reduction project, include a brief description of how the proposed project complements the broader effort. EPA will consider applications for projects in individual disadvantaged communities, as well as applications with projects designed to serve multiple disadvantaged communities regionally, state-wide, or nation-wide. Applicants should describe the known lead issue in the disadvantaged communities’ schools and/or child care facilities by describing, for example: drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, and/or plumbing including lead service lines that need to be removed or replaced. The description may include prior use of the 3Ts, or applicable state regulations or guidance that are not less stringent, for identification and prioritization of drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, and/or plumbing including lead service lines that need to be removed or replaced.

Public education and outreach about the health effects of lead exposure via drinking water are critical to obtaining public support for the anticipated lead reduction projects. It is also important that community members are informed about lead reduction projects prior to the start of the project and are updated as the project proceeds. Applications should describe the proposed approach to provide public education and conduct outreach.

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Remediation follow-up monitoring is critical to ensure treatment changes are working as anticipated.

Applicants should conduct follow-up water sampling after installing the drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, and/or plumbing materials in order to verify that lead levels are reduced as anticipated. Applications should describe the proposed approach to conduct post-implementation drinking water quality monitoring during the project period.

Long-term maintenance of the drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, and/or plumbing materials is important to ensure that public health protection is maintained. Applications should also describe proposed plans to maintain lead level reductions after project completion, for example with a drinking water management plan for a school or child care facility.

Applicants must demonstrate the ability and readiness to proceed expeditiously upon receiving an award. Applicants must describe their plan and proposed approach to proceed expeditiously to implement the projects to reduce lead as described under Section I.C, Expeditious Readiness to Proceed Upon Award. Applicants should also describe additional project components, such as outreach, public education, follow-up monitoring, and additional remediation if needed. EPA also encourages applications that support environmental justice by prioritizing lead reduction projects in and/or benefits a disadvantaged community(ies) as defined by section 1452(d)(3) of the SDWA as “the service area of a public water system that meets affordability criteria”, (ii) benefits drinking water systems with at least one lead action level exceedance within the last three years, or in schools/child care programs with at least 50% of the children receiving free and reduced lunch, in Head Start facilities, and/or in areas with additional environmental health burdens (e.g., areas with older buildings likely to have lead-based paint), and/or (iii) to the extent to which the proposed project benefits a disadvantaged community and supports the Justice40 Initiative.

With respect to this RFA, the benefits as described under Justice40 include actions that support or aid improvements to communities experiencing disproportionate drinking water access and affordability environmental stressors (e.g., removing sources of lead in drinking water by funding projects that replace thousands of lead service lines and remove potential sources of lead in hundreds of schools and child care facilities across the United States.)Information regarding the Justice40 Initiative is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/20/the-path-to-achieving-justice40/.

The goal of the lead reduction projects under this National Priority Area is to reduce lead in drinking water at schools and/or child care facilities in disadvantaged communities. Applicants must describe how they will document and report progress toward meeting this goal as described in Section I.D, EPA’s FY 2022 – 2026 Strategic Plan.

The projects are expected to result in reduction of lead in drinking water in schools and/or child care facilities in disadvantaged communities. Examples of eligible drinking water lead reduction activities to support this National Priority Area may include, but are not limited to, the following.

• Removing or replacing drinking water fixtures, fountains, or outlets demonstrated to be sources of lead in schools and/or child care facilities' drinking water.

• Replacing plumbing materials determined to be sources of lead in schools and/or child care facilities drinking water, including full replacement of lead service lines serving such facilities.

• Conducting follow-up monitoring, public education, and outreach to ensure the long-term performance of the remediation.

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• Providing filters certified to remove lead, in accordance with applicable standards established by ANSI or NSF post full lead service line remediations, along with no less than three months of replacement cartridges, notifying the schools and/or child care facilities of premise flushing instructions within 24 hours of the conclusion, and post-remediation lead testing(s).

EPA also encourages applicants to propose other types of activities the objectives of this National Priority Area.

All eligible applications will be evaluated based on the criteria in Section V, including how well and thoroughly the National Priority Area is addressed. EPA anticipates awarding approximately two to five assistance agreements under this National Priority Area, ranging from approximately $2,000,000 to no more than $5,000,000 in federal funds. It is anticipated that the total amount of all awards under this priority area will be approximately $10,000,000, with project periods of up to four years, depending on the amount requested and the overall size and scope of the project(s).

C. Expeditious Project Readiness to Proceed Applications for projects under both of the National Priority Areas described above should demonstrate the applicant’s ability and readiness to proceed expeditiously upon receiving an award and applications will be evaluated based on this under the applicable Section V evaluation criteria. Applicants should describe the plan and approach to proceed expeditiously to implement the project upon award of funding. Applicants should describe past and current practices being implemented to reduce exposure of lead in drinking water (such as public education and outreach, existing corrosion control treatment, or the use of control measures to reduce exposure from fountains or fixtures where elevated lead levels have been detected in schools or child care facilities). Applicants should also include a description of the completed project planning and design phases. Applications must demonstrate that all required permits and approvals from the appropriate regulatory authority (such as the primacy agency, municipality, or school board) have been obtained.

Supporting documentation demonstrating readiness to proceed, such as bid documents, construction schedules, easements, any legal agreements to access private property to complete the project, and, if applicable, agreements or planned agreements between an applicant that is a qualified nonprofit organization servicing a public water system, such as a nonprofit community organization, and the water system or water systems the organization is servicing, may be submitted as optional attachments to applications, as referenced in Section IV of the solicitation. These additional documents are not subject to the 25-page limitation under the Project Narrative. Please note the “Expeditious Project Readiness to Proceed” evaluation criteria in Section V.

It is important to note that under the Lead and Copper Rule, as defined in 40 CFR Part 141, Subpart I, prior to any long-term change in water treatment, water systems are required to notify the primacy agency in writing of the change or addition. The primacy agency must review and approve the long-term change in treatment before it is implemented by the water system. Applications that include corrosion control treatment projects must demonstrate the treatment change has been approved by the primacy agency.

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D. EPA’s Strategic Plan and Anticipated Environmental Results Applicants must demonstrate in their application how their project and proposed activities link to the Strategic Plan Goal and Objective identified below. This announcement is consistent with the EPA’s priority to address conditions that contribute to increased concentrations of lead in drinking water.

The lead reduction projects to be funded under this announcement support the FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. Awards made under this announcement will support Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities., Objective 5.1: Ensure Safe Drinking Water and Reliable Water Infrastructure.

EPA also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements, https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements ). All proposed projects must demonstrate a linkage to the FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan Goal 5, Objective 5.1, and 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 overall protection of human health and the environment by ensuring safe drinking water. Outputs and outcomes should directly address the goal of achieving a reduction of lead and lead exposure and providing safe drinking water in the long term for disadvantaged communities.

Outputs Environmental outputs (or deliverables) refer to an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal or objective, that will be produced or provided over a period or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period.

Examples of anticipated environmental outputs from the assistance agreements expected to be awarded under this announcement for National Priority Area 1, Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Full Lead Service Line Replacements and Treatment Improvements, may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A reduction in lead in drinking water provided by the drinking water system due to full lead service line replacements and/or treatment improvements.

• A decrease in the number of lead service lines, and galvanized pipes downstream of lead service lines, in the drinking water system, resulting in a decrease in exposure to lead via drinking water.

• Improved corrosion control in the drinking water system, as measured by maintaining optimal water quality parameters and achieving lower 90th percentiles level for lead.

• An increased number of customers with information about lead in drinking water, achieved through outreach and public education.

Examples of anticipated environmental outputs from the assistance agreements expected to be awarded under this announcement for National Priority Area 2, Reduction of Children’s Exposure to Lead in Schools and Child Care Facilities, may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A decreased number of drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, plumbing, and/or lead service lines in schools and/or child care facilities associated with high levels of lead in drinking water due to removal or replacement of those components.

10 | P a g e https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-10/fy-2022-2026-epa-draft-strategic-plan.pdf.

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• An increased number of schools and/or child care facilities administrations, faculty, staff, and community members with information about lead in drinking water, achieved through outreach and public education.

• A decreased number of children drinking water from outlets that are known to have high levels of lead in drinking water.

Outcomes Environmental outcomes are the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to the environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature.

Outcomes should be quantitative and may not necessarily be achieved within the assistance agreement funding period. Outcomes may be short-term (changes in behavior, practice, or decisions), intermediate (changes in behavior, practice or decisions), or long-term (changes in the condition of the natural resource).

Examples of anticipated environmental outcomes from the assistance agreements expected to be awarded under this announcement for National Priority Area 1, Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Full Lead Service Line Replacements and Treatment Improvements may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• An overall reduction in lead exposure and associated harms through reduction of sources of lead in drinking water systems.

• An overall improvement in health outcomes in disadvantaged communities through increased efforts to remove sources of lead.

• An overall increase in public understanding of the health effects of lead and efforts towards the reduction of sources of lead in the drinking water system.

Examples of anticipated environmental outcomes from the assistance agreements expected to be awarded under this announcement for National Priority Area 2, Reduction of Children’s Exposure to Lead in Schools and Child Care Facilities, may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• An overall reduction in lead exposure and associated harms through reduction of sources of lead in drinking water in schools and child care facilities.

• An overall improvement in health outcomes in disadvantaged communities through increased efforts to remove sources of lead.

• An overall increase in public understanding of the health effects of lead and efforts towards the reduction of children’s exposure to lead in drinking water in schools and child care facilities.

As part of the Project Narrative, an applicant will be required to describe how the project results will link the outcomes to the Agency’s Strategic Plan and to the goal of reducing lead in drinking water through full lead service line replacements and/or treatment improvements or facility remediation in schools and/or child care facilities. In addition, applicants will have to describe their plan and approach for tracking and measuring their progress towards achieving expected outputs and outcomes.

Additional information regarding the EPA’s discussion of environmental results in terms of “outputs” and “outcomes” can be found at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-

11 | P a g e https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements).

E. Statutory Authority The statutory authority for the awards expected to be made under this announcement is section 1459B of the SDWA, which authorizes EPA to provide grants for projects to reduce the concentration of lead in water for human consumption.

F. Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into The Solicitation Additional provisions that apply to sections III, IV, V, and VI of this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses. These provisions are important for applying to this solicitation and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please contact the EPA point of contact listed in this solicitation (usually in Section VII) to obtain the provisions.

SECTION II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Amount of Funding The total estimated amount of federal funding available under this announcement is approximately $20,000,000, depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. It is anticipated that approximately one to two assistance agreements will be awarded for National Priority Area 1, Reduction of Lead Exposure in the Nation’s Drinking Water Systems through Full Lead Service Line Replacements and Treatment Improvements and two to five assistance agreements will be awarded for National Priority Area 2, Reduction of Children’s Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water, as described in Section I.B of this announcement. It is anticipated that awards made under National Priority Area 1 will total approximately $10,000,000 and that awards made under National Priority Area 2 will also total approximately $10,000,000 of federal funds. Assistance agreements funded under this announcement will have up to four-year project periods. See Section I for more information on award ranges for each of the National Priority Area.

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

EPA reserves the right to make no awards under this announcement or to make fewer awards than anticipated. While EPA expects to make at least one award in each area, there is no guarantee that this will be done, and EPA may redistribute the number of awards, and amount of funding, per area. In addition, EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding becomes available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months after the original selection decisions.

B. Type of Funding

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It is anticipated that grants and/or cooperative agreements may be funded under this announcement.

Successful applicant(s) will be issued a grant or cooperative agreement as appropriate. A cooperative agreement is an assistance agreement that is used when there is substantial federal involvement with the https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses recipient during the performance of an activity or project. EPA awards cooperative agreements for those projects in which it expects to have substantial interaction with the recipient throughout the recipient’s performance of the project. EPA will negotiate the precise terms and conditions of “substantial involvement” as part of the award process. Federal involvement may include:

1. Close monitoring of the recipient’s performance to verify the results proposed by the applicant.

2. Collaboration during the performance of the scope of work, including site visits to observe lead reduction projects.

3. In accordance with the applicable regulations at 2 CFR 200 Subpart D (200.317 through 200.327) as appropriate, review of proposed procurements.

4. Review of qualifications of key personnel.

5. Review and comment on tasks/deliverables and reports prepared under the cooperative agreement(s).

EPA does not have the authority to select employees or contractors employed by the recipient. The final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient.

SECTION III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

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

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants under this competition include the following. Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply.

• Community water systems, for example, a town’s drinking water system.

• Water systems located in an area governed by an Indian Tribe.

• Non-transient non-community water systems, for example, schools, factories, office buildings, and hospitals that have their own water systems.

• Qualified nonprofit organizations1 servicing a public water system, such as a nonprofit community organization.

• Municipalities.

1 Consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization at 2 CFR § 200.1, the term nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest and is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. The term includes tax-exempt nonprofit neighborhood and labor organizations. Note that 2 CFR 200.1 specifically excludes Institutions of Higher Education from the definition of non-profit organization because they are separately defined in the regulation. While not considered to be a non-profit organization(s) as defined by 2 CFR 200.1, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA. Hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments or that meet the definition of nonprofit at 2 CFR 200.1 are also eligible to apply as nonprofits or as instrumentalities of the unit of government depending on the applicable law. For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible. Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status; such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or tribal law. Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible for EPA funding as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. 1611.

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• State, interstate, or intermunicipal agencies, such as a department of environmental protection, an interstate environmental commission, or a joint municipal pollution control board.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Section 1459(b)(4)(A) of the SDWA requires a minimum non-federal cost-share/match of 20 percent of the total project cost. Section 1459B(b)(4)(B) of the SDWA states that EPA may reduce the cost-share/match requirement for reasons of affordability, as the Administrator determines to be appropriate.

For this funding only, EPA is applying a waiver to all grant applicants of the statutory 20 percent cost-share due to the financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across the country. Waiver of the 20 percent cost-share is at the discretion of the agency.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria These are requirements that if not met by the time of application submission will result in the elimination of the application from consideration from funding. Only applications that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V of this announcement. Applicants deemed ineligible as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. An applicant must meet the eligibility requirements in Section III.A of this announcement at the time of application submission.

2. Applications must address one, and only one, of the two National Priority Areas listed in Section I.B. Eligible organizations may submit more than one application under this competition as long as each one is separately submitted and addresses only one National Priority Area. Applications that address more than one National Priority Area in a single application will not be reviewed.

3. Applications must demonstrate that the proposed project is in at least one disadvantaged community based on the affordability criteria established by each state under section 1452(d)(3) of the SDWA, and a disadvantaged community is defined as “the service area of a public water system that meets affordability criteria.” The affordability criteria must be met for the community for which the project will be performed. Applicants must include their state’s affordability criteria and how the proposed project meets the affordability criteria.

Applicants can obtain more information about their state’s affordability criteria in their state’s most current final Intended Use Plan or contact their state Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program for more information.

4. Applications that include lead service line replacement activities under National Priority Area 1 must address the following elements. Applications that do not address all four of the elements described below will be rejected.

a) Demonstration that the applicant has considered corrosion control as an option for reducing the concentration of lead in its drinking water.

b) Plan to ensure that, at the conclusion of the service line replacement, both the publicly-owned and privately-owned portions of a lead service line will be replaced. Eligible activities can include the replacement of publicly-owned, privately-owned, or jointly-owned service lines, as well as pigtails, goosenecks, and other lead components. Projects can also include the replacement of remnants of previous partial lead service line

14 | P a g e replacement provided that at the conclusion of the service line replacement, all lead lines and components must be removed.

c) Plan to ensure that customers will be notified of the replacement of any publicly-owned portion of the lead service line and that a planned replacement of any publicly-owned portion of a lead service line will not be carried out unless the customer agrees to the simultaneous replacement of the privately-owned portion of the lead service line.

d)…