EPA-R3-CBP-21-08.pdf

OVERVIEW

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

TITLE: Chesapeake Bay Program Office Fiscal Year 2021 Request for Applications for:

CBP 2025 Tidal Water Model for the Assessment of 2035 Climate Change Risk to the Chesapeake TMDL

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Request for Applications (RFA)

RFA NUMBER: EPA-R3-CBP-21-08

ASSISTANCE LISTING NUMBER: 66.466

IMPORTANT DATES

August 05, 2021 Issuance of RFA September 20, 2021 Application Submission Deadline (see Section IV for more information) October 18, 2021 Approximate date for EPA to notify applicants of results October 31, 2021 Approximate date for applicant to submit revised federal cooperative agreement application December 05, 2021 Approximate date of award

EPA will consider all eligible applications that are submitted via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm ET on September 20, 2021 and consider any applications submitted after the due date as ineligible.

EPA will only accept applications submitted via Grants.gov, except in limited circumstances where applicants have no or very limited Internet access (see section IV.).

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.

SUMMARY

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) is announcing a Request for Applications (RFA) for supporting Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) goals related to the CBP requirement of a state-of-the-science model of the Chesapeake Bay tidal waters using an unstructured grid to be completed and fully operational by 2025. The new 2025 tidal Bay Model is required for the assessment of the Chesapeake TMDL water quality standards under 2035 climate change conditions. Specific support requested is for an overall main stem Bay and tributary TMDL simulation framework of model development and application to support the 2025 assessment of 2035 climate change risks and challenges to the Chesapeake TMDL water quality standards. The work includes the development and calibration of a fully-operational model by December 2024 for the tidal waters of the Chesapeake using the CBP ICM https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses water quality code (FORTRAN or equivalent).

CBP Modeling Workgroup The mainstem TMDL Bay Model described above will be under the technical guidance of the CBP Modeling Workgroup. The Modeling Workgroup is charged with the responsibility to provide state-of-the-art decision-support modeling tools to the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership that are developed and applied through community and participatory principles.

Modeling Workgroup members are comprised of scientists, engineers, and technical managers from throughout the Chesapeake Bay Partnership.

The responsible planning and management of resources to provide the best available decision-support modeling tools requires the Modeling Workgroup members and participants to adhere to the core values of:

Integration - Integration of the most recent science and knowledge in air, watershed, and coastal waters to support ecosystem modeling for restoration decision-making.

Innovation - Embracing creativity and encouraging improvement in the development and support of transparent and robust modeling tools.

Independence – Making modeling decisions on the basis of the best available evidence and using the most appropriate methods to produce, run, and interpret models, independent of policy considerations.

Inclusiveness - Commitment to an open and transparent process and the engagement of relevant partners that results in strengthening the Partnership’s decision-making tools.

FUNDING/AWARDS: This RFA will cover the project period up to and including six years from an expected start date of December 05, 2021. CBPO plans to award a cooperative agreement under this RFA. The total estimated funding for six years is approximately $1,650,000 with an estimated $250,000 available for the first year and $250,000 - $300,00 available in subsequent years. Higher-budget years are for the model development period of 2022 – 2024. Total estimated funding will not exceed $1,650,000. There is no guarantee of funding throughout this period or beyond. The final aggregate amount is dependent on the availability of federal funds.

FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

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 Contacts VIII. Other Information (Appendices)

I: FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

https://www.chesapeakebay.net/who/group/modeling_team

A. Background

1. About the Chesapeake Bay Program The Chesapeake Bay is North America's largest and most biologically diverse estuary. A resource of extraordinary productivity, it is worthy of the highest levels of protection and restoration. Authorized by Section 117 of the Clean Water Act, CBP is responsible for supporting the Executive Council through a number of actions, including the coordination of federal, state, and local efforts to restore and protect living resources and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Section 117 also authorizes EPA to provide assistance grants to support the goals of the program.

The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is a unique regional partnership that has led and directed the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay since 1983. Today, the CBP partners include the states of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body; and EPA, representing the federal government.

The CBP partnership is guided at the direction of the Executive Council (EC), which, through its leadership, establishes the policy direction for the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and exerts its leadership to rally public support for the Bay effort and signs directives, agreements, and amendments that set goals and guide policy for Chesapeake Bay restoration.

The Principals’ Staff Committee (PSC) works on behalf of the EC to translate the restoration vision into policy and implementation actions. In addition, the PSC acts as the senior policy advisors to the Executive Council, accepting items for their consideration and approval and setting agendas for Executive Council meetings. The PSC also provides policy and program direction to the Management Board.

The Management Board (MB) provides strategic planning, priority setting, and operational guidance through implementation of a comprehensive, coordinated, accountable implementation strategy for the CBP. It directs and coordinates all of the Goal Implementation Teams (GITs) and workgroups under it.

The GITs include federal and non-federal experts from throughout the watershed. Thus, academic experts, advocacy organizations, and others become active members of the broad restoration partnership.

As described above, the CBP partners include federal agencies, seven watershed jurisdictions, and many non-federal organizations; however, work funded under this RFA will support the seven watershed jurisdictions and other non-federal partners.

Pursuant to Section 117(b)(2) of the Clean Water Act, 33 USC Section 1267(b)(2), CBPO is the office within EPA charged with providing support to the Council in the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. The CBPO and CBP, mentioned above, are two distinct entities.

http://www.state.md.us/ http://www.state.pa.us/ http://www.state.va.us/ http://www.washingtondc.gov/ http://www.washingtondc.gov/ http://www.chesbay.state.va.us/

2. 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and Executive Order 13508 In support of, and in augmentation to, the historic 2010 Chesapeake TMDL, on June 16, 2014, the Chesapeake Executive Council, CBP’s governing body, signed a new voluntary Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement that will guide the CBP partnership’s work into the future. For the first time, Delaware, New York, and West Virginia signed the agreement as full CBP partners in the overall effort. The agreement is one of the most comprehensive restoration plans developed for the Chesapeake region, providing greater transparency and accountability of all CBP partners. With 10 interrelated goals and 31 outcomes, this watershed-wide accord advances the restoration, conservation, and protection of all the lands and waters within the 64,000-square-mile watershed by addressing climate change, promoting sound land use, and enhancing the protection and restoration the Chesapeake Bay's living resources, water quality, and vital habitats.

President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13508, issued in May 2009, called for a new strategy and a “new era of shared federal leadership” for restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay.

When it was issued, the EO strategy built upon existing CBP goals and identified a set of goals and outcome measures. Since that time, federal and CBP jurisdictional partners worked collaboratively to better align the EO and CBP partnership’s goals, the results of which are reflected in the new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

This cooperative agreement will help fulfill the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement commitments of President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13508 by “achieving the most essential priorities for a healthy Chesapeake ecosystem: Restore Clean Water, Recover Habitats” as well as the “supporting strategies to Respond to Climate Change, and Strengthen Science”.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/05/11/2010-11143/executive-order-13508-chesapeake-bay-protection-and-restoration-section-203-final-coordinated

3. Background on Chesapeake Bay Modeling:

Climate change was recognized in the historic 2010 TMDL as a challenge to be addressed by the Chesapeake 2017 Midpoint Assessment (2017 MPA). During the 2017 MPA, a comprehensive airshed, watershed and estuarine modeling system was successfully developed and applied to address climate change conditions over the 30 years between the base year (1995) and 2025. As a consequence, nutrient and sediment target loads were lowered to offset the nonachievement of the Chesapeake’s living-resource-based water quality standards that resulted from the 30 years of climate change.

The CBP leadership of the PSC and the EC have now directed the CBP Partnership to prepare to address 2035 climate change conditions with a suite of updated airshed, watershed, and estuarine models to be completed and fully operational in January 2025.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/05/11/2010-11143/executive-order-13508-chesapeake-bay-protection-and-restoration-section-203-final-coordinated https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/05/11/2010-11143/executive-order-13508-chesapeake-bay-protection-and-restoration-section-203-final-coordinated

The CBP Partnership’s technical experts on the Modeling Workgroup and CBPO supporting staff have recognized limitations in the CBP Partnership’s current CH3D-ICM hydrodynamic-water quality models to simulate physical, chemical, and biological processes in the shallowest, most productive depths of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and embayments at scales and levels of confidence required to support management decision-making under 2035 and future climate change conditions. The current 2017 MPA version of the CH3D hydrodynamic model employed by the CBP Partnership has reached its limit of spatial resolution in the Chesapeake tidal waters at approximately 57,000 cells. A more detailed unstructured grid model is needed to accurately represent dissolved oxygen (DO), particularly Open Water DO, chlorophyll, clarity, and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) water quality standards throughout the Bay.

The DO, chlorophyll, SAV, and water clarity are included as TMDL water quality criteria in Delaware’s, the District of Columbia’s, Maryland’s, and Virginia’s water quality standards regulations. Because these four jurisdictions must achieve each of these water quality criteria to delist their Bay tidal waters, currently listed as impaired, the CBP Partnership’s Modeling Workgroup recommended that a state-of-the-science hydrodynamic model, based on an unstructured model grid, coupled to the ICM water quality code, continually refined and improved by the CBP for three decades, be considered for the 2025 estuarine model that will assess 2035 climate change risk to the Chesapeake TMDL water quality standards.

The CBP Partnership’s principal objective is to improve model simulation of Chesapeake Bay DO, chlorophyll, submerged aquatic vegetation, and water clarity conditions in order to better understand the impacts of alternative management strategies to achieve the living-resource-based water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries, and embayments under future climate change conditions.

Obtaining Additional Information

For additional background information on the CBP achievements and commitments, see the CBP Partnership’s website located at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/

B. Scope of Work This RFA is seeking cost-effective applications from eligible applicants to apply a state-of-the-science unstructured grid model to the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and embayments (hereafter called the Main Bay Model or MBM). The management purpose of the MBM is to assess the Chesapeake Bay TMDL water quality standards of dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, suspended solids, water clarity, and SAV under conditions of climate change in 2035 and beyond. The MBM scenarios, as directed by Chesapeake Bay decision-makers, will provide support for management strategies to achieve living, resource-based water quality standards in the tidal Chesapeake Bay. Over the course of the six-year project, the three years (2022-2024) will be for model development and the final two years (2025-2026) will be for model application, scenario development and analysis as directed by CBP decision-makers, and model documentation. Over the course of the project, the Multiple Tributary Model (MTM) teams (under a separate RFA) will develop and apply fine-scale tributary models using common forcing conditions, model state variables, and decision rules as the MBM in order to better represent Bay tributaries and shallow-water processes under future climate change conditions.

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/

The MBM team will collaborate and coordinate with the MTM teams on a regular basis over the project period.

While the CBP partnership is comprised of federal and non-federal organizations, any activities funded under this RFA will not directly benefit the federal partners. The recipient of the cooperative agreement awarded under this RFA may work directly with federal agencies, but the nature of that work will result only in direct, significant benefits to the non-federal agencies, partners, and the general public. Any indirect and incidental benefits to EPA are not the purpose of the RFA.

EPA is issuing this RFA to support the CBP Partnership’s continuing mission of evaluating the effectiveness of management actions taken to reduce nutrient and sediment pollutant loads and to improve Chesapeake Bay water quality through the seven watershed jurisdictions’ watershed implementation plans (WIPs). The mission includes enhancing and maintaining the accountability of systems dependent on tracking, verifying, reporting, and quantifying the estimated pollutant load reduction potential of practices, treatments, and technologies implemented throughout the watershed and assessing their collective influence on Chesapeake Bay tidal water quality. The resultant data are used by the CBP Partnership’s seven watershed jurisdictions to:

• Assess achievement of their two-year milestones;

• Assess progress towards implementing their WIPs;

• Determine management effectiveness of locally-implemented nutrient and sediment pollutant load reduction and prevention practices, treatments, and technologies;

• Report Bay and watershed restoration actions to the public;

• Project Chesapeake Bay water quality conditions based on implemented and planned pollutant load reduction actions;

• Support meeting the objectives of the 2017 Midpoint Assessment of the 2010 Chesapeake

Bay TMDL;

• Support establishment of target pollutant loads for future WIPs addressing 2035 climate change risk to the Chesapeake TMDL’s living-resource-based water quality standards;

• Support adaptive management by the CBP partnership; and

• Support Executive Council directives, e.g., those related to environmental justice and climate change.

The applications should be oriented towards:

• Development, calibration, validation, and scientific and management applications of complex, linked environmental models;

• Working with multi-institutional and multi-agency teams on collaborative development, calibration, validation, and scientific and management application of complex linked environmental models;

• Active model research and model development programs focused on the productive littoral areas of estuarine and coastal ecosystems;

• Full, detailed, and accurate simulation of the effects of nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, and climate change related factors in the assessment of the dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, clarity, and submerged aquatic vegetation water quality standards in all the Chesapeake Bay TMDL’s designated uses;

• Ensuring complete web-accessibility of the resultant supporting data, model code, and documentation to the partnership-oriented, implementation-focused structure of the CBP Partnership through open source and public domain products and

• As appropriate and to the extent practicable, working with underserved communities and seeking partnership with Tribal communities.

• Note: In addition to the examples of tasks listed above, applicants may propose additional tasks that they believe are important to accomplishing the activities.

EPA plans to award one cooperative agreement under this RFA. The total funding for six years is approximately $1,650,000, with an estimated $250,000 available for the first year.

If your organization has an interest in this project, has the skills to accomplish all RFA’s tasks, and is eligible to receive a federal assistance agreement as described in Section III of this announcement, we encourage you to submit an application. Each eligible application will be evaluated using the criteria described in Section V. The activities are multi-year projects (up to six years), and the application should have a work plan and budget for the first year and a projected work plan and estimated budget detail for each of the subsequent five years.

C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage & Anticipated Outcomes and Outputs

Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” EPA must link proposed assistance agreements to the Agency’s Strategic Plan.

EPA also requires that grant applicants and recipients adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements, accessible at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements).

1. Linkage to EPA’s Strategic Plan The overall objective of this cooperative agreement is to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem through continued technical support to address water-quality restoration goals and maintain public awareness of Chesapeake Bay restoration. The activity to be funded under this announcement supports EPA’s FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan. The award made under this announcement will support Goal 1: A Cleaner, Healthier Environment; Objective 1.2: Provide for Clean and Safe Water of the EPA Strategic Plan. All applications must be for projects that support the goals and objectives identified above.

EPA Order 5700.7A1 also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements. Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the priorities described above.

2. Outputs https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf

The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal and objective that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period. Expected outputs include the following:

• Support the Modeling Workgroup, WQGIT, and other technical and management/policy CBP groups as needed.

• Provide estuarine models, analysis tools, scenarios, and other materials to support Chesapeake protection and restoration efforts and address the needs and requirements of CBP decision makers and managers for responding to climate change in the Chesapeake.

• Improvement of the Bay estuarine model and of management decisions through the successful application of the applicant’s skill, knowledge, and experience in developing quantitative assessments of climate change in Chesapeake tidal waters providing CBP managers with essential information about how to respond to the climate change challenge.

• Demonstration of feasibility and utility of using a state of the science unstructured grid model to better estimate Chesapeake water quality standards in shallow open waters under 2035 and future climate change conditions.

Progress reports and a final report will also be required outputs as specified in Section VI(C) of this announcement, “Reporting Requirement.”

3. Outcomes The term “outcome” means the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be qualitative and environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature but must also be quantitative. They may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period. Examples of potential outcomes under the Scope of Work of this announcement may include but are not limited to the following:

• Reduced nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment delivered to tidal Bay waters appropriate to respond to 2035 and future climate change in order to achieve Bay water quality standards.

• Amount of habitat restored as represented by achievement of the Chesapeake living-resource-based water quality standards.

• Increased knowledge and strategies to improve local economic, human health, and environmental goals through a restored Chesapeake Bay.

• Improved knowledge about the critical load of nutrients that the Chesapeake Bay would have under 2035 and future climate change.

• Improved CBP decision making and leadership in responding to future climate change conditions.

Progress reports and a final report will also be required outputs as specified in Section VI(C) of this announcement, “Reporting Requirement.”

D. Authorizing Statutes and Regulations

This grant is made pursuant to Clean Water Act Section 117(d), 33 U.S.C. Section 1267(d), which authorizes EPA to issue grants and cooperative agreements for the purposes of protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem. This project is subject to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Uniform Grants Guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 200) and EPA-specific provisions of the Uniform Grants Guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 1500).

E. Minority Serving Institutions:

EPA recognizes that it is important to engage all available minds to address the environmental challenges the nation faces. At the same time, EPA seeks to expand the environmental conversation by including members of communities which may have not previously participated in such dialogues to participate in EPA programs. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages all eligible applicants identified in Section III, including minority serving institutions (MSIs), to apply under this opportunity.

For purposes of this solicitation, the following are considered MSIs:

1. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1061). A list of these schools can be found at Historically Black Colleges and Universities at: https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/;

2. Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059c(b)(3) and (d)(1)). A list of these schools can be found at American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities at https://sites.ed.gov/whiaiane/tribes-tcus/tribal-colleges-and-universities/;

3. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1101a(a)(5)). A list of these schools can be found at Hispanic-Serving Institutions at https://sites.ed.gov/hispanic-initiative/hispanic-serving-institutions-hsis/;

4. Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions; (AANAPISIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059g(b)(2)). A list of these schools can be found at Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions and this associated link, and

5. Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act of 2008, 20 U.S.C. 1059e(b)(6). A list of these schools can be found at Predominately Black Institutions and this associated link, https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1wlIi3j7gtlNq_w- 0NKAb2bF2VmY&ie=UTF&msa=0&ll=37.35160769312532%2C-96.17229800000001&z=4.

II: AWARD INFORMATION

A. Funding Amount and Expected Number of Awards https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/whiaiane/tribes-tcus/tribal-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/whiaiane/tribes-tcus/tribal-colleges-and-universities/ https://www2.ed.gov/programs/aanapi/index.html https://www2.ed.gov/programs/pbihea/index.html https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1wlIi3j7gtlNq_w-0NKAb2bF2VmY&ie=UTF&msa=0&ll=37.35160769312532%2C-96.17229800000001&z=4 https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1wlIi3j7gtlNq_w-0NKAb2bF2VmY&ie=UTF&msa=0&ll=37.35160769312532%2C-96.17229800000001&z=4

CBPO plans to award one cooperative agreement under this RFA. Funding for the activity listed in Section I is approximately $250,000 to $350,000 annually for six years, depending on funding availability, satisfactory performance, Agency priorities, and other applicable considerations.

The total estimated funding for the activity for six years is approximately $1,650,000.

EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no award under this announcement or award less than the estimated funding amounts above. Funding for the activity depends on funding availability, satisfactory performance, Agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. EPA makes no commitment of annual funding amounts for any fiscal year(s), as funds may be limited based on these applicable considerations.

EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding becomes available after the original selection is made. Any additional selection for awards will be made no later than six months after the original selection decision.

B. Award Type

EPA has determined that a cooperative agreement is the appropriate funding vehicle for this project. Cooperative agreements are used under circumstances where substantial involvement is anticipated between EPA and the recipient during performance of the activity. EPA awards cooperative agreements for those projects in which it expects to have substantial interaction with the recipient throughout the performance of the project. EPA will negotiate the precise terms and conditions of “substantial involvement” as part of the award process. Federal involvement may include close monitoring of the recipient’s performance; collaboration during the performance of the scope of work; in accordance with 2 C.F.R. 200.317 and 2 C.F.R.

200.318, as appropriate, review of proposed procurements; reviewing qualifications of key personnel; and/or review and comment on the content of printed or electronic publications prepared. EPA does not have the authority to select employees or contractors employed by the recipient. The final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient.

For this project, federal involvement would typically be in the form of participation with other CBP partners and stakeholders in an advisory capacity to the grantee. The participation is expected to include involvement through the Modeling Workgroup, various CBP Goal Implementation Teams, and related committees and workgroups (on which EPA also participates to ensure that all the recommendations for technical work support the CBP partners). All work conducted is to support the Chesapeake TMDL and to restore the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

C. Partial Funding

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

D. Expected Project Period

The expected project period for the cooperative agreement is six years, with funding provided on an annual basis. No commitment of funding can be made beyond the first year. The expected start date for the award resulting from this RFA is December 05, 2021.

E. Pre-Award Costs

Recipients may incur otherwise eligible and allowable pre-award costs up to 90 days prior to award at their own risk without prior approval of EPA’s award official. Pre-award costs must comply with 2 C.F.R. 200.458 and 2 C.F.R. 1500.9. If EPA determines that the requested pre-award costs comply with the relevant authorities, and that the costs are justified as allocable to the project, then these costs may be included as allowable expenditures at the time that the assistance award document is prepared.

However, if for any reason EPA does not fund the application or the amount of the award is less than the applicant anticipated, then EPA is under no obligation to reimburse the applicant for these costs incurred. Thus, applicants incur pre-award costs at their own risk. Costs incurred more than 90 days prior to award require the approval of EPA Region 3’s grant official.

III: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

Nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes, colleges, universities, and interstate agencies are eligible to submit applications in response to this RFA.

For-profit organizations are not eligible to submit applications in response to this RFA.

B. Cost-Share or Matching Requirements

Pursuant to Clean Water Act 117(d)(2)(A), 33 U.S.C. Section 1267(d)(2)(A), the agency shall determine the cost-share requirements for awards. The Assistance Listing Number, 66.466, states that assistance agreement applicants must commit to a cost-share ranging from 5 percent to 50 percent of eligible project costs as determined at the sole discretion of EPA. For this RFA, EPA has determined that an applicant must provide a minimum of 5 percent of the total cost of the project as the non-federal cost-share.

Cost-share may be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. Involvement from foundations, watershed groups, private sector, eligible governmental, as well as non-conventional partners can help with the match. The match must be met by eligible and allowable costs and is subject to the match provisions in grant regulations. Applications that do not demonstrate how the 5 percent match will be met will be rejected.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

Only applications from eligible entities (see Section III.A above) that meet the following threshold eligibility criteria will be evaluated against the criteria in Section V.B. Applicants must meet the following threshold criteria to be considered for funding. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified in writing within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement, or else they will be rejected. Where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to the project narrative, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed.

2. In addition, initial applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV) on or before the application submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement.

Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement to ensure that their application is timely submitted.

Applications submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. Applicants should confirm receipt of their application with James Hargett at hargett.james@epa.gov (see Section VII, Agency Contact) as soon as possible after the submission deadline—failure to do so may result in your application(s) not being reviewed.

3. Applications must be for projects linked to the strategic goal outlined in Section I.C.1.

4. For an application to be considered eligible for funding, project-related work included in the application must take place within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes portions of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and all of the District of Columbia.

5. Applications must show how they will meet the 5 percent cost-share requirement of Section III.B.

6. Applications requesting funding for more than the maximum of the cumulative funding range for the RFA will be rejected.

7. 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 entire application, render the entire application ineligible for funding.

8. Applicants must address this RFA’s activity described in Section I.B. to be considered eligible.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:hargett.james@epa.gov

IV: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. How to Obtain an Application Package

Applicants can download individual grant application forms from the application package associated with this opportunity on Grants.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

Each application will be evaluated using the criteria referenced in Section V.B. of this announcement. You must submit all the documents listed below including single-spaced project narrative of up to 15 pages in length by the date and time specified in Section IV.C below excess pages will not review. The format for the project narrative is contained in Appendix A of this

RFA.

The application package must include all the following materials:

1. Standard Form (SF)-424, Application for Federal Assistance – Complete the form.

There are no attachments. Please be sure to include organization fax number and email address in Block 8 of SF-424. Please note that the organizational Dunn and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number must be included on the SF-

424. Organizations may obtain a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711 or visiting their website at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.

2. SF-424A’s Budget Information – Complete the form. There are no attachments. The total amount of federal funding requested for the project period should be shown on line 5(e) and on line 6(k) of SF-424A, the amount of indirect costs should be entered on line 6(j). The indirect cost rate (i.e., a percentage), the base (e.g., personnel costs and fringe benefits), and the amount should also be indicated on line 22.

3. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre award Compliance Review Report for All Applicants and

Recipients Requesting EPA Financial Assistance

4. EPA Key Contacts Form

5. Project Narrative Attachment Form – The format for the project narrative and the Budget detail are contained in Appendix A of this announcement.

Requirements for Project Narrative — See Appendix A All application review criteria in Section V must be addressed in the project narrative. The project narrative shall not exceed 15 pages in length. Pages refer to one side of a single-spaced, typed page. Font size should be no smaller than 10 and the application must be submitted on 8 ½” x 11" paper. Note that the 15 pages include all supporting materials, including resumes or curriculum vitae and letters of support. The 15 page limit does not include documentation of http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform non-profit status, cost-share letters of commitment, the SF-424, SF-424A, budget detail, Key Contacts Form and 4700-4 form. If you submit more than 15 pages for the project narrative, the additional pages will be discarded and will not be reviewed. See Appendix A for additional instructions.

C. Intergovernmental Review

Please review the Intergovernmental Review clause included as part of the EPA Solicitation Clauses. This program is eligible for coverage under Executive Order (EO) 12372, An Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. See this link for information and instructions:

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-region-3-grants-and-audit-management-branch-intergovernmental-review-process-and-single. Further information regarding this requirement will be provided if your application is selected for funding.

D. Funding Restrictions

Administrative Cost Cap Requirement under Statutory Authority Grantees applying for CBP assistance agreements must adhere to the requirements for “Administrative Costs” under the Section 117 (d)(4) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1267 (d)(4), which states that administrative costs shall not exceed 10 percent of the annual grant award (annual grant award = federal share plus cost-share). Appendix B: Administrative Cost Cap Worksheet is provided as an example of a method to calculate the 10-percent limitation.

You are not required to submit Appendix B with your application.

Allowable Costs EPA assistance agreement funds may only be used for the purposes set forth in the grant and must be consistent with the statutory authority for the award. Federal funds may not be used for cost sharing for other federal grants (except where authorized by statute), lobbying, or intervention in federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings. In addition, federal funds may not be used to sue the federal government or any other government entity. All costs identified in the budget must conform to the provisions of 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Subpart E, Cost Principles.

During the grant negotiation, any ineligible costs outlined in the application (i.e. lobbying activities) will be excluded in the final grant award.

E. Submission Instructions

1. Requirement to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures

Applicants must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the Grants.gov instructions in this announcement. If your organization has no access to the internet or access is very limited, you may request an exception for the remainder of this calendar year by following the procedures outlined here. Please note that your request must be received at least 15 calendar days before the application due date to allow enough time to negotiate alternative submission methods. Issues with submissions with respect to this opportunity only are addressed in section 3. Technical Issues with Submission below.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-region-3-grants-and-audit-management-branch-intergovernmental-review-process-and-single https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-region-3-grants-and-audit-management-branch-intergovernmental-review-process-and-single https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/grants/exceptions-grantsgov-submission-requirement

2. Submission Instructions

The electronic submission of your application must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for Federal assistance. For more information on the registration requirements that must be completed in order to submit an application through Grants.gov, go to Grants.gov and click on "Applicants" on the top of the page and then go to the "Get Registered" link on the page. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a DUNS number and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more. Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline. Registration on Grants.gov, SAM.gov, and DUNS number assignment is FREE. Please see RAIN-2021-G01 for information about EPA's implementation of the upcoming Government-wide transition from DUNS to Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

Applicants need to ensure that the AOR who submits the application through Grants.gov and whose DUNS is listed on the application is an AOR for the applicant listed on the application.

Additionally, the DUNS listed on the application must be registered to the applicant organization's SAM account. If not, the application may be deemed ineligible.

To begin the application process under this grant announcement, go to Grants.gov and click on "Applicants" on the top of the page and then "Apply for Grants" from the dropdown menu and then follow the instructions accordingly. Please note: To apply through Grants.gov, you must use Adobe Reader software and download the compatible Adobe Reader version. For more information about Adobe Reader, to verify compatibility, or to download the free software, please visit Adobe Reader Compatibility Information on Grants.gov.

You may also be able to access the application package for this announcement by searching for the opportunity on Grants.gov. Go to Grants.gov and then click on “Search Grants” at the top of the page and enter the Funding Opportunity Number, EPA-R3-CBP-21-08 or the Assistance Listing number that applies to the announcement, 66.466, in the appropriate field and click the Search button.

Please Note: All applications must now be submitted through Grants.gov using the “Workspace” feature. Information on the Workspace feature can be found at the Grants.gov Workspace Overview Page.

Application Submission Deadline

Your organization’s AOR must submit your complete application package electronically to EPA through Grants.gov no later than September 20, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. Please allow for enough https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.dnb.com/duns-number.html https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1 https://www.dnb.com/duns-number.html https://www.epa.gov/grants/rain-2021-g01 https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html time to successfully submit your application process and allow for unexpected errors that may require you to resubmit.

Please submit all of the application materials described below using the grants.gov application package that you accessed using the instructions above.

Applications submitted through grants.gov will be time and date stamped electronically. If you have not received a confirmation of receipt from EPA (not from grants.gov) within 30 days of the application deadline, please contact James Hargett, at hargett.james@epa.gov. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.

The application package must include all of the following materials:

1. Standard Form (SF)-424, Application for Federal Assistance – Complete the form.

There are no attachments. Please be sure to include organization fax number and email address in Block 8 of SF-424. Please note that the organizational Dunn and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number must be included on the SF-

424. Organizations may obtain a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711 or visiting their website at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.

2. SF-424A, Budget Information – Complete the form. There are no attachments. The total amount of federal funding requested for the project period should be shown on line 5(e) and on line 6(k) of SF-424A, the amount of indirect costs should be entered on line 6(j).

The indirect cost rate (i.e., a percentage), the base (e.g., personnel costs and fringe benefits), and the amount should also be indicated on line 22.

3. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre award Compliance Review Report for All Applicants and

Recipients Requesting EPA Financial Assistance

4. EPA Key Contacts Form

5. Project Narrative Attachment Form – The format for the project narrative including the budget detail are contained in Appendix A to the RFA.

3. Technical Issues with Submission

a. Once the application package has been completed, the "Submit" button should be enabled. If the "Submit" button is not active, please call Grants.gov for assistance at 1-800-518-4726.

Applicants who are outside the U.S. at the time of submittal and are not able to access the toll-free number may reach a Grants.gov representative by calling 606-545-5035. Applicants should save the completed application package with two different file names before providing it to the AOR to avoid having to re-create the package should submission problems be experienced, or a revised application needs to be submitted.

https://www.grants.gov/ http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

b. Submitting the application. The application package must be transferred to Grants.gov by an AOR. The AOR should close all other software before attempting to submit the application package. Click the "submit" button of the application package. Your Internet browser will launch, and a sign-in page will appear. Note: Minor problems are not uncommon with transfers to Grants.gov. It is essential to allow sufficient time to ensure that your application is submitted to Grants.gov BEFORE the due date identified in Section IV of the solicitation. The Grants.gov support desk operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except Federal Holidays.

A successful transfer will end with an on-screen acknowledgement. For documentation purposes, print or screen capture this acknowledgement. If a submission problem occurs, reboot the computer turning the power off may be necessary and re-attempt the submission.

Note: Grants.gov issues a "case number" upon a request for assistance.

c. Transmission Difficulties. If transmission difficulties that result in a late transmission, no transmission, or rejection of the transmitted application are experienced, and following the above instructions do not resolve the problem so that the application is submitted to Grants.gov by the deadline date and time, follow the guidance below. The Agency will make a decision concerning acceptance of each late submission on a case-by-case basis. All emails, as described below, are to be sent to James Hargett with the FON in the subject line. Be aware that EPA will only consider accepting applications that were unable to transmit due to Grants.gov or relevant https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ system issues or for unforeseen exigent circumstances, such as extreme weather interfering with internet access. Failure of an applicant to submit timely because they did not properly or timely register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov is not an acceptable reason to justify acceptance of a late submittal.

If you are experiencing problems resulting in an inability to upload the application to Grants.gov, it is essential to call Grants.gov for assistance at 1-800-518-4726 before the application deadline.

Applicants who are outside the U.S. at the time of submittal and are not able to access the toll-free number may…