EPA-R4-SFL-2021-01.pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, REGION 4

TITLE: 2021 SOUTH FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC PROGRAM

ACTION: REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER (FON): EPA-R4-SFL-2021-01

ASSISTANCE NUMBER LISITING: #66.484

RFA OPENS: June 11, 2021 RFA CLOSES: July 26, 2021 ANTICIPATED DATE OF SELECTION: September 10, 2021 ANTICIPATED AWARD: 90 days after the selection and notification date

The closing date and time for receipt of applications is July 26, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) in order to be considered for funding. Application packages must be submitted electronically to the EPA through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) no later than July 26, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (ET) in order to be considered for funding.

IMPORTANT: Ensure your organization is registered and received confirmation for SAMs.gov, D&B DUNS number, and Grants.gov systems. If you have not completed the registration and received confirmation for SAMs and DUNS, then you may have difficulties applying through Grants.gov. Reference information is located within this RFA.

Application and Budget: If you are proposing cost share or in-kind contribution as part of your scope, your application (424) and budget (424A) must reflect federal requested amount and cost share or in-kind contribution amount for a total budget for the application.

SOUTH FLORIDA PROGRAM SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) South Florida Program is a program that provides competitive grants to address the immediate and emerging ecological pressures and threats to nearshore waters, bays, estuaries, beaches, and coral reefs central to South Florida’s economic well-being. This RFA solicits applications for the South Florida Program region that includes the Florida Keys; Florida Reef Tract; Caloosahatchee Estuary; St. Lucie Estuary; Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay. This RFA is an open competition for applicants to apply for funding for projects meeting the resource management goals and objectives identified in resource management programs and initiatives within these geographic locations. Award decisions will be evaluated based on RFA priorities; documentation of ecological urgency; connections to resource strategic/management plan; demonstrated partnerships and collaboration; geographic location; quantifiable improvements to water quality/marine ecology; and innovative techniques to restore and improve water quality / marine habitat.

Note to Applicants: If you name subawardees/subgrantees and/or contractors in your application to assist you with the proposed project, pay careful attention to the information in the CONTRACTS and SUBAWARDS provisions.

FUNDING/AWARDS: The EPA Region 4 may award approximately $4,000,000 using fiscal year 2021 funding. To address the Priorities described in Section I of this announcement, we anticipate making awards to approximately twenty applications with funding ranging from $150,000 to a maximum of $350,000 per project. The total amount of funding and number of awards depends on funding availability, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. If additional funding becomes available, the EPA may select and award additional projects under this announcement. Unless pre-award costs are specifically approved by the EPA, recipients should not incur project costs, including nonfederal match, until they receive an award offer from the EPA.

CONTENTS BY SECTION

I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Award Information III. Eligibility Information IV. Application and Application Submission Information V. Application Evaluation and Review Information VI. Award Administration Information VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information (Appendices)

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

The South Florida RFA is consistent with EPA’s Strategic Plan to improve aquatic ecosystems and water quality. Applicants must ensure the goals and objectives of the project are consistent with EPA goals and measures. Applicants must explain in their application how their project will advance current EPA priorities.

The EPA also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see the EPA’s Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements). Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the goals and objectives as described in EPA’s Strategic Plan and EPA Order 5700.7A1. More information on Strategic Plan, Outputs, and Outcomes in Section I.C.1-3 of this announcement.

A. South Florida Program

This RFA supports the Special Studies/Research component for the South Florida Program. Special Studies are projects that provide information specific to management questions and concerns, inform https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf policy and provides understanding of the South Florida aquatic ecosystems which includes the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; Florida Reef Tract; Biscayne Bay; St. Lucie Estuary; Caloosahatchee Estuary; and Florida Bay. Examples of eligible projects include: supporting coral monitoring, research, and restoration efforts; loss of key habitats such as seagrass, coral and benthic communities; addressing reoccurring harmful algal blooms; residential canal demonstration projects; stormwater demonstration projects; water quality and benthic habitat monitoring; reducing contaminants of emerging concern such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products and microplastics; identifying and understanding cause/effect relationships of pollutants; addressing specific management questions and concerns; applying innovative approaches, methods, or techniques for preventing, treating, and removing pollution to coastal waters;

and investigating localized water quality impacts from potential incoming pollution sources.

Projects submitted for RFA funding consideration must be located within the South Florida geographic region that includes the coastal areas south of the Caloosahatchee River (C43) and the St. Lucie Canal (C44). Priority regions include the Florida Keys; Florida Reef Tract; Biscayne Bay; Florida Bay; and Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River watersheds.

The EPA strongly encourages applicants to identify partnerships that will support the priority or priorities addressed in their application. Please see Section V of this announcement for the evaluation criterion that addresses partnerships. As part of the evaluation, EPA will consider the mutual interests of each partner, how their involvement addresses the common goals of South FL Project Priority Action Items (see B, below) or otherwise meets the resource management goals and objectives identified in resource management programs and initiatives within these geographic locations. EPA will also consider how partnering will achieve the goals of the project, and whether partners are contributing monetary and/or in-kind for the project.

The South Florida Program was created through Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and Protection Act of 1990. The FKNMS includes 2,900 square nautical miles of nearshore waters and coral reefs extending from Biscayne Bay to the Dry Tortugas. Recognizing the critical role of water quality in maintaining Sanctuary resources, Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Florida, in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to develop a Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) for the FKNMS. The Act directs the WQPP to develop corrective actions and compliance schedules to address point and nonpoint sources of pollution to maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Sanctuary. This includes restoration and maintenance of a balance, indigenous population of corals, shellfish, fish and wildlife, and recreational activities in and on the water.

In 1998, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) was established to restore and protect coral reef ecosystems. In October 2002, the USCRTF implemented a National Action Plan to conserve coral reefs.

The Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) characterizes the existing condition of the coral reef ecosystem; quantifies and characterizes the land-based sources of pollution, identifies how sources of pollution impact the coral reef; develops strategies to reduce the impact of land-based sources of pollution; and increases public awareness and understanding of the effects of land-based sources of pollution on water quality and coral reefs.

https://southeastfloridareefs.net/

In 2021, Congress recognized that an “an unprecedented coral disease outbreak especially along the Florida Reef Tract, has left America’s Great Barrier Reef on the brink of functional extinction, posing a significant obstacle to coral reef restoration efforts. Coral reef tracts serve as a major economic driver for the State of Florida and the U.S. territories, and are the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the ocean.” The Committee instructed federal agencies to support coral monitoring, research, and restoration efforts in highly impacted and high priority coral reef habitats.

B. Scope of Work to address the Priority Action Items

There are a total of 13 Priority Action Items:

Priorities 1-5 identified below are for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. These priorities are addressed in the following report and website: Priority Action Items identified in Appendix 1: The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) Water Quality Protection Program Report to Congress, September 2013, (Additional priority items identified on pages 36-37). The FKNMS report and web page provide applicants with additional information regarding priority action items, goals and objectives.

Priorities 6-13 are South Florida Program priorities for the geographic areas that include the Caloosahatchee Estuary, St. Lucie Estuary, Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay, and Florida Keys.

Applying the application evaluation criteria located in Section V. Project Evaluation and Review Information in the RFA, competitive applications and applications should address one or more of the Priority Action Itemss identified below and describe importance to resource management in the South Florida ecosystem. Application amounts for Priority Action Items (1 – 13) range from $150,000 - $350,000.

While Priority Action Items will receive highest consideration during application evaluation, this RFA is an open competition for applicants to submit applications meeting the resource management goals and objectives identified in resource management programs and initiatives within these geographic locations. Award decisions will be evaluated based on RFA priorities; documentation of ecological urgency; connections to resource strategic/management plan; demonstrated partnerships and collaboration; geographic location; environmental justice; improving coastal resiliency; technology transfer; quantifiable improvements to water quality/marine ecology; and innovative techniques to restore and improve water quality/marine habitat.

Priority Action Items (1-5) – Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

1. Stormwater Pollutant Reduction Projects

Investigate stormwater impacts from impervious surfaces to nearshore waters and/or residential canal systems that contribute to impaired water quality and ecological impacts. Projects may include identifying and demonstrating cost-effective best management practices, innovative technologies, and/or green infrastructure techniques; analyzing and quantifying the volume and composition (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, silt, marine debris, metals and oils) of stormwater runoff; investigating the cost and effectiveness of stormwater management regulations, treatment, and disposal methodologies for reducing nutrient, trash into nearshore waters, and stormwater pollutant loading; updating stormwater http://ocean.floridamarine.org/FKNMS_WQPP/docs/wqpp/WQPP_Biennial_Report_to_Congress_2013.pdf http://ocean.floridamarine.org/FKNMS_WQPP/docs/wqpp/WQPP_Biennial_Report_to_Congress_2013.pdf http://ocean.floridamarine.org/FKNMS_WQPP/docs/wqpp/WQPP_Biennial_Report_to_Congress_2013.pdf https://ocean.floridamarine.org/fknms_wqpp/about.htm https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice loading estimates for the Florida Keys; and/or evaluating municipal stormwater plans to assess effectiveness (or lack of) in reducing pollutant loading.

2. South Florida Water Quality Connectivity

Develop new or apply currently accepted models to investigate the connectivity between waters and associated pollutants discharged from Florida’s southeast and southwest coasts (e.g., sewage overflows, river inputs) into Florida Bay, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and/or the Florida Reef Tract.

This study may include in-situ water quality monitoring, remote sensing, or some combination of both to determine if patterns of turbidity, chlorophyll a, nutrients, temperature, and salinity can be quantitatively linked to upstream inputs.

3. Non-municipal Wastewater Sources

Develop strategies to evaluate the impacts from non-municipal sources (e.g., marine/RV sanitation devices) on centralized wastewater treatment systems; develop recommendations for modifying central wastewater systems to accept these sources and support expansion of pump-out infrastructure for marinas in Monroe County.

4. Public Education and Outreach

Design and implement new and innovative education and outreach projects that inspire individual action or coordinated efforts among members of the Florida Keys community to protect and restore water quality and natural resources within canals and/or nearshore waters of the Florida Keys. Provide the information and tools necessary to engage the public in promoting meaningful contributions, or larger partnerships to actively improve water quality. Projects should include an evaluation component to assess the ease of implementation, the outcome or impacts produced by the education and outreach program, and how well the program functions within the unique social and economic environment of the Florida Keys.

5. Water Quality in Key West Harbor and the Adjacent Marine Ecosystem

Evaluate existing water quality and sediment monitoring data, and/or collect additional monitoring data, to quantify potential impacts from large vessels entering, exiting, and mooring in Key West Harbor through the Main Ship Channel. Study may extend to adjacent areas potentially impacted beyond the harbor and channel. If collecting additional data, monitoring of turbidity throughout the water column and sedimentation should be included in this study, but other factors that may have impacts on living marine resources may also be evaluated (e.g., dissolved oxygen throughout the water column, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, nitrite, pH, , etc). The study may include in situ monitoring, remote sensing, or some combination of both.

South Florida Program Priorities (6 – 13) – Caloosahatchee Estuary, south St. Lucie Estuary, Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay and Florida Keys.

6. Florida Reef Tract Coral Health

Develop innovative techniques to treat or mitigate the effects of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) impacting half of the reef building coral species on the Florida Reef Tract. Projects may include: identifying and propagating coral species that have demonstrated resistance to SCTLD; on the ground coral restoration demonstration projects; developing techniques to promote resistance to SCTLD in affected coral species; developing management options for resource managers to mitigate coral disease impacts and prevent further spread of the disease; development of strategies for future reef restoration projects; and identifying coral, environmental conditions and areas that have survived the disease for resilient qualities (potentially genetic) essential for incorporation into future reef restoration.

7. Harmful Algal Blooms in South Florida

EPA recognizes the environmental and economic challenges many communities face from harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater and coastal ecosystems. The Agency encourages research and development of tools and technologies that help promote scientific progress towards preventing, mitigating, and reducing HABS such as red tide, microcystis/cyanobacteria and sargassum impacting beaches, canals, and nearshore waters.

8. Water Quality and/or Seagrass Monitoring

Enhance water quality and/or seagrass monitoring networks in targeted areas such as the Caloosahatchee Estuary, St. Lucie Estuary, Biscayne Bay or Florida Bay to quantity environmental impacts from land-based pollution; assess changes of ecological conditions and functions; evaluate effectiveness of management actions; determine causes of seagrass decline and evaluate health, species, and composition; evaluate impacts from Lake Okeechobee management; or develop early detection of pollutants or harmful algal blooms.

9. Aquatic Habitat Restoration in South Florida

Within the South Florida ecosystem, oysters, seagrass, mangroves, and shoreline plants play a vital role supporting healthy and resilient estuaries, bays, and nearshore waters by providing food, habitat, nutrient removal, water filtration, carbon storage and shoreline stabilization. EPA supports the design of habitat projects to reestablish, rehabilitate or enhance oysters, seagrass, or mangroves by building local capacity and engaging community volunteers to protect and restore these living resources.

10. Reducing Trash in South Florida

The EPA Trash Free Waters Program seeks trash removal from rivers, estuaries, wetlands and beaches through clean-up events, trash prevention and education. Land based trash is a threat to wildlife and human health as it travels from land to water and into the ocean. Projects may include trash prevention focusing on management activities to reduce trash from entering waterways; trash removal programs that include regular, organized cleanup events to remove trash from priority areas; and educational/outreach campaigns that modify behavioral practices to reduce trash in Florida’s waterways.

11. Analyses of Water Quality Data

Conduct alternative analyses or “mining” of the existing suite of water quality data and/or satellite imagery to determine if water quality improvements, hotspot areas, or specific sources contributing to water quality degradation can be determined. Consider incorporating other monitoring tools, such as satellite imagery, to provide additional information about regional trends.

12. Sponge Restoration Techniques

Incorporate current knowledge of sponge community filtration and recruitment dynamics in a study for improving water quality. Develop a pilot study to demonstrate and evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, prospects, and potential impact on ecosystem services, including water quality, of reestablishing sponge communities on benthic habitat and coral reefs impacted from disease, harmful algal blooms and storm events within the geographic areas.

13. Impacts of Contaminants of Emerging Concerns on South Florida Aquatic Ecosystems

Investigate the impacts of Contaminants of Emerging Concerns (CEC) including pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), microplastics and legacy pollutants identified within the South Florida marine environment on the function of marine ecosystems including adverse impacts to habitat, species, and ecological communities most vulnerable to the exposure of CECs. Identify, develop, and implement a pilot study targeted towards monitoring identified priorities and programs that will achieve the protection of those resources.

C. The EPA’s Strategic Plan Linkage & Anticipated Outcomes, Outputs & Performance Measures

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

1. Linkage to the EPA Strategic Plan: All applications and applications must support the

EPA’s Strategic Plan.

Goal 1: A Cleaner, Healthier Environment: Deliver real results to provide Americans with clean air, land, and water, and ensure chemical safety; Objective 2 “Provide for Clean and Safe Water;” and Goal 2: More Effective Partnerships: Provide certainty to states, localities, tribal nations, and the regulated community in carrying out shared responsibilities and communicating results to all Americans.; Objective 2: Enhanced Shared Accountability.

The special studies included in this announcement of the federal funding opportunity support the EPA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan Goals.

http://intranet.epa.gov/ogd/policy/order/5700.7.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-09/documents/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan.pdf

2. Outputs: The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal and objective that will be produced over a period or by a specific date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period.

Examples of outputs for projects include:

- Evaluation of the effectiveness of efforts to reduce or eliminate sources of pollution and to evaluate progress toward achieving and maintaining water quality and protecting and restoring coral reef habitat and other living resources;

- Characterization of sources and causes of water quality impairment within a watershed that will allow the development of management/action/restoration plan(s);

Preparation and timely delivery of quarterly and draft/final project reports that document results of the special study project; and/or, Progress reports and a final report will also be a required output, as specified in Section VI(E) 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 may be quantitative. Outcomes may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period. Projects to be funded with this announcement are expected to produce outcomes related to the outputs identified in the application and scope.

Examples of expected outcomes that may occur because of the technical/scientific information generated by the special studies projects associated with this announcement include:

- Increase knowledge of managers and elected officials concerning negative impacts of pollutants on water quality and living biological resources, which should lead to the development and implementation of action plans that will reduce pollutant loading and result in the conservation of natural resources;

- Improve water quality;

- Restore seagrass, sponge, oyster, or mangroves habitats;

- Restore and recover Florida Reef Tract; and/or,

- Reduce pollutant loading to coastal waters.

4. Performance Measures: The applicant should also develop performance measures expected to be achieved through the proposed activities and they should be described in the application.

These performance measures will help gather insights and will be the mechanism to track progress concerning successful process and output and outcome strategies and will provide the basis for developing lessons to inform future recipients.

D. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for this action is the Clean Water Act (Section 104(b)(3)), which authorizes the award of assistance agreements for Water Quality and Watershed Management: Experiments, Studies, Surveys, Demonstrations, and Investigations. A demonstration project must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the project. A project that is accomplished through the performance of routine, traditional, or established practices, or a project that is simply intended to carry out a task rather than transfer information or advance the state of knowledge, however worthwhile the project might be, is not a demonstration. This announcement supports the Water Quality Protection Program for the Florida National Marine Sanctuary and the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative.

Section II. Award Information

A. Funding Amount: The total estimated funding under this competitive announcement is $4,000,000.

The range of funding is $150,000 with a maximum of $350,000 per grant award.

B. Rejection of Applications: The EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement or to make fewer awards than expected.

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

D. Number of Awards: The EPA anticipates awarding approximately 15-20 assistance agreements under this announcement ranging in value from approximately $150,000 to a maximum of $350,000 per grant award, subject to the availability of funds, quality of evaluated applications, and other applicable considerations.

E. Project Period: The EPA anticipates that for awards made under this RFA projects will start in January 2022. Proposed project/budget periods can range from one to three years for this funding announcement.

F. Funding Type: The funding for selected projects will be in the form of grants or cooperative agreements. The appropriate funding type and programmatic grant terms and conditions will be added to the grant award document. For most projects a cooperative agreement is the preferred funding mechanism. The principal purpose of the federal and non-federal relationship established by a cooperative agreement is the transfer of money to the recipient to accomplish a “public purpose” of support or stimulation. For projects selected within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, there will be substantial involvement between the EPA Region 4, the FKNMS Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) and the recipient during performance of the activity with coordination and collaboration to achieve the goals under the WQPP program. The successful applicant will be expected to participate and present project updates at the FKNMS Water Quality Protection Program meetings. If necessary, include and identify travel funds in the budget to attend these meetings.

G. Additional Awards: The EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this RFA, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding becomes available after (or at the time) original selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months after the original selection decisions.

Section III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Entities:

In accordance with CFDA 66.484, applications will be accepted from States, local governments, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S. (including the District of Columbia); public and private universities and colleges; hospitals; laboratories; public or private nonprofit institutions; and intertribal consortia.

Non-profit organizations, as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative or other organization that: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve and/or expand its operations. Note that 2 CFR Part 200 specifically excludes the following types of organizations from the definition of “non-profit organization” because they are separately defined in the regulation: (i) institutions of higher education; and (ii) state, local and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. While not considered to be a “non-profit organization” as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, Institutions of Higher Education, and state, local and federally recognized Indian tribal governments are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA.

Non-profit organizations selected for potential funding greater than $200,000 in federal funding will be required to demonstrate Administrative and Program capabilities in managing federal funds.

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

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=28186a88aecbce2d22e98b6390db2209&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5

B. Leveraging or Cost Sharing or Matching:

No matching funds are required under this competition. Although cost sharing/matching is not required as a condition of eligibility under this competition, under Section V of this announcement the EPA will evaluate applications based on a leveraging criterion.

1. Leveraging is generally when an applicant proposes to provide its own additional funds/resources or those from third party sources to support or complement the project they are awarded under the competition which are above and beyond the EPA grant funds awarded. Any leveraged funds/resources, and their source, must be identified in the applications and application (See Section IV.B.10 of the announcement). Leveraged funds and resources may take various forms as noted below.

2. Voluntary cost share is a form of leveraging. Voluntary cost sharing is when an applicant voluntarily proposes to legally commit to provide costs or contributions to support the project when a cost share is not required. Applicants who propose to use a voluntary cost share must include the costs or contributions for the voluntary cost share in the project budget on the SF-424 and 424A. If an applicant proposes a voluntary cost share, the following apply:

- A voluntary cost share is subject to the match provisions in the grant regulations 2

CFR Part 200 as applicable;

- A voluntary costs share may only be met with eligible and allowable costs;

- The recipient may not use other sources of federal funds to meet a voluntary cost share unless the statute authorizing the other federal funding provides that the federal funds may be used to meet a cost share requirement on a federal grant; and,

- The recipient is legally obligated to meet any proposed voluntary cost share that is included in the approved project budget. If the proposed voluntary cost share does not materialize during grant performance, the EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2 CFR Part 200 as applicable.

2. Other leveraged funding/resources that are not identified as a voluntary cost share.

This form of leveraging may be met by funding from another federal grant, from an applicant's own resources, or resources from other third-party sources. This form of leveraging should not be included in the budget and the costs need not be eligible and allowable project costs under the EPA assistance agreement. While this form of leveraging should not be included in the budget, the grant application should include a statement indicating that the applicant is expected to produce the proposed leveraging consistent with the terms of the announcement and the applicant's application and application. If applicants propose to provide this form of leveraging, the EPA expects them to make the effort to secure the leveraged resources described in their applications. If the proposed leveraging does not materialize during grant performance, then the EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2 CFR 200.

C. Threshold Criteria

These are requirements that if not met by the time of application submission will result in elimination of the application from consideration for funding. Only applications from eligible entities (see Section III.A) which meet all criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V of this announcement. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration based on the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Applications must address one or more of the Priority Action Items listed in Section I.B and describe relevance to resource management in the South Florida ecosystem; however, the total grant amount should not be more than $350,000.

2. Applications must substantially comply with the application/applicant and submission information instructions and requirements set forth in Sections IV of this RFA or else they will be rejected. However, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to the application, pages more than the page limitation will not be reviewed.

3. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV.C of this RFA

(except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV.C) on or before the application submission deadline published in Section IV of this RFA. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their application is timely submitted.

4. Applications received after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with 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 Ms. Jennifer Shadle as soon as possible after the submission deadline; failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.

5. Applicants may submit multiple applications under this announcement but each one must be for a different project. If an applicant submits more than one application for the same project, EPA will review the first one received and any additional applications for the same project will be deemed ineligible.

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

Section IV. Application and Application Submission Information

Applicants must explicitly address the following sections as part of their application package submittal.

A. Application Information

To simplify the review process, obtain the maximum degree of comparison, and provide a fair and equitable evaluation of applications, reviewers will rely on the content of the entire application for evaluation purposes. Therefore, it is important that all applications are complete and substantially comply with the standard format as described in detail in this Section. For completeness of your grant application, please refer to the Application Submission Checklist (Appendix A). In addition to the forms listed in Section IV.D., each application must consist of the following components below:

• Application Cover Page (see Appendix B for a sample);

• A one-page project application summary (single spaced); and,

• Application (16-page maximum double spaced).

B. Format of Application

The application should be readable in PDF or MS Word and consolidated into a single file and include the information below in paragraphs 1-14. Please note that there is a page limit for the application (see below). In addition to addressing the components listed below, applicants should ensure their application also addresses the evaluation criteria listed in Section V of this solicitation.

The application must be no more than sixteen (16) double-spaced 8.5 x 11-inch pages (a page is one side of paper). The page limit does not include documents specifically excluded from the page limit as noted below. Pages should be consecutively numbered for ease of reading. It is recommended that applicants use a standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins and that applicants format their application as described below. Applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in selection of an appropriate font for use in the application. Additional pages beyond the 16-page limit will not be reviewed. If a single-spaced application is submitted, it will only be reviewed up to the equivalent of the 16-page double-spaced page limit for application applications [eight (8) single-spaced pages are the equivalent of the 16-page double-spaced application page limit; any excess pages whether single or double spaced will not be reviewed].

Applications that do not substantially comply with the criteria above may be deemed ineligible.

Applications should also include the following items:

1. Introduction for Addressing the Priority Action Items

a. Situation, Need, and Previous Efforts - Discuss notable gaps in knowledge or capabilities, why the proposed project should be performed, review significant work by yourself or by others in the proposed area of interest (include reference citations). Describe how this project relates to long term management strategy.

b. Objective(s) - State what is to be studied, measured, observed, or developed, and the anticipated results. State hypotheses, as relevant, that the proposed special study is designed to test.

c. Applications, Benefits, and Importance - Describe how the anticipated results, will contribute to expected benefits and their utility to the priority action items and/or resource managers.

2. Methods and Approach

d. Description of Major Tasks – Clearly describe set of tasks that must be performed to accomplish the objective(s) and describe each task. State the tasks in the same order as the hypotheses they are designed to test. Experimental design must be described with statistical tests, if applicable, for hypotheses proposed. All projects collecting data will be required to submit a Quality Assurance (QA) plan to EPA for approval prior to collection of data.

e. Environmental Impact - State and explain any potential short-term impacts that your project will have on the environment, including the type and duration such as water quality and sample collection impacts.

f. Future Efforts – If the proposed project is part of a larger project, it should, if possiblestand alone. The application should also describe any future efforts or next research steps including the type, extent, and timing of those efforts. The application should also indicate howthis research informs future effort or phase.

3. Project Management

g. Administration - Describe the administrative responsibilities and authority of the Principal Investigator.

h. Roles and Responsibilities - Describe the team composition (including names and affiliations of key individuals) and the assignments of team members to major tasks.

Provide specific estimates of the time each member will work on the project.

4. Support Requirements and Conditions

i. Permit or Cooperation Required - Proposed projects must comply with all state and federal regulations applicable to the project area. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure compliance. If a permit(s) or clearances from any government agency or organization is required for execution of the project please provide the name of the agency, the method of obtaining the clearance or permit, and the time required or state "none".

j. Data or Facility Access - If access is required to data or facilities held by another organization, please identify the data or facility, the nature and type of access required, the methods of obtaining such access, and the effect of being denied access or state “none”.

5. Project Schedule

k. Milestone and Deliverable Schedule - Provide a project schedule to include all milestones and deliverables for each task under section 2 above. Describe what items of data are to be delivered. State the format in which data will be presented. Provide a monthly or quarterly schedule for all deliverables.

Project deliverables will vary by project however each project requires two types of reports from the principal investigator, a Semi-annual report and a Final Report.

The principal investigator shall provide semi-annual progress reports to the Project Officer on March 30th and September 30th of each year. These reports will consist of updates on progress toward work objectives, justification, approach, results to date, any problems encountered, actions taken to resolve problems, discussion of remaining tasks, and expenditures to date. Principal investigators shall prepare a draft final report summarizing the objectives, methods, approach, results, and significance of the study.

The draft final report will be reviewed by the Project Officer and may be returned with comments. In the event comments are made, the principal investigator will address the comments and re-submit the report to the Project Officer.

6. Environmental Results – Outputs and Outcomes (see Section I. C)

l. Outputs (project products) and Outcomes (project objectives) - List the outputs expected to be produced through the completion of the proposed project and the outcomes of the project to be accomplished as a result of the project outputs. Outputs and Outcomes should be linked to the EPA Strategic Plan and describe how they support the EPA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.

m. Tracking Outputs and Outcomes - Describe your approach for measuring and tracking your progress toward achieving the expected project output(s) and project outcome(s).

7. Programmatic Capability and Past Performance

Submit a list of federally funded assistance agreements (assistance agreements include Federal grants and cooperative agreements but not Federal contracts) similar in size, application and relevance to the proposed project that your organization performed within the last five years (no more than 5 agreements, and preferably the EPA agreements) in which you https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-09/documents/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan.pdf have been a participant. Please describe (i) whether, and how, you were able to successfully complete and manage those agreements and (ii) your history of meeting the reporting requirements under those agreements including whether you adequately and timely reported on your progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes of those agreements (and if not, explain why not). You should also indicate whether you submitted acceptable final technical reports under the agreements. In evaluating applicants under these factors in Section V, the EPA will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources, including information from the EPA files and from current/prior grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information provided by the applicant). If you do not have any relevant or available past performance or past reporting information, please indicate this in the application and you will receive a neutral score for these factors (a neutral score is half of the total points available in a subset of possible points). If you do not provide any response for these items, you may receive a score of 0 for these factors.

In addition, provide information on your organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project, and your staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them to successfully achieve the goals of the proposed project.

8. Budget Summary

This section of the application is a detailed narrative and itemization by cost categories of the proposed budget, including total federal funds and cost share or in-kind contribution. This section must include a detailed and itemized list and description of how the EPA funds will be used. Applicants must itemize costs related to personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual costs, other direct costs, indirect costs, and total costs within this section of the application. (See Appendix C)

Please provide information regarding how your indirect costs were derived based on your budget total.

If your entity proposes to use undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral students, and they are not deemed “employees” of your entity, please ensure you place the costs and details under the OTHER category as Participant Support Costs.

9. Distinguishing between Subawards v/s Contracts: Per 2 CFR 200.330 and the EPA Subaward Policy for EPA Assistance Agreement Recipients GPI-16-01:

Subawards: Pass-through entities (subrecipients) make subawards to other organizations to carry out a portion of the Federal award under terms that establish a financial assistance relationship to accomplish a public purpose that is authorized under a Federal program. Subrecipients only receive reimbursement for their actual direct or approved indirect costs such that they do not “profit” from the transaction and subrecipients are subject to the same Federal requirements as the pass-through entity. Subrecipients include Institutes of Higher Education and units of https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-11/documents/epa-guidance-on-participant-support-costs.pdf https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients government or nonprofit originations; units of government or intergovernmental agreements; and between nonprofit organizations for collaborative projects.

Subrecipients under Subawards are required to provide the awardee with progress reports, as outlined in the agreement, for the awardee to provide progress report to the awarding agency

(EPA).

Contracts: procurement contractors (including individual consultants) typically provide goods and services on commercial terms, operate in a competitive environment and a reasonable profit is allowable.

Applicants must compete contracts for services and products, including consultant contracts, and conduct cost and price analyses, to the extent required by the procurement provisions of the regulations at 2 CFR Part 200. Applicants are not required to identify subrecipients and/or contractors (including consultants) in their application/application. However, if they do, the fact that an applicant selected for award has named a specific subrecipient, contractor, or consultant in the application/application. If EPA selects your project for funding it does not relieve the applicant of its obligations to comply with subaward and/or competitive procurement requirements as appropriate. Please note that applicants may not award sole source contracts to consulting, engineering or other firms assisting applicants with the application solely based on the firm's role in preparing the application/application.

Successful applicants cannot use subawards to avoid requirements in EPA grant regulations for competitive procurement by using these instruments to acquire commercial services or products from for-profit organizations to carry out its assistance agreement. The nature of the transaction between the recipient and the subrecipient must be consistent with the standards for distinguishing between vendor transactions and subrecipient assistance found at 2 CFR 200.330, the definitions of subaward at 2 CFR 200.92 and subrecipient at 2 CFR 200.93, and Appendix A to EPA’s Subaward Policy. EPA will not be a party to these transactions. Applicants acquiring commercial goods or services must comply with the competitive procurement standards in 2 CFR 200.317-326 and cannot use a subaward as the funding mechanism.

10. Voluntary cost share/match and other leveraged funds (See Section III.B)

Demonstrate how you will leverage additional funds/resources beyond the grant funds awarded to support the proposed project activities and how these funds/resources will be used to contribute to the performance and success of the proposed project. This includes but is not limited to funds and other resources leveraged from businesses, labor organizations, non-profit organizations, education, and training providers, and/or Federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as appropriate. Describe the amount and type of leveraged resources to be provided, how you will obtain the leveraged resources, the likelihood the leveraging will materialize during grant performance, the strength of the leveraging commitment, and the role the leveraged resources will play to support the proposed project activities.