FY 2018 CVA NOFO (F17AS00290).pdf

OMB Control Number: 1018-0109 Expiration Date: 11/30/2018

FY 2018 Clean Vessel Act NOFO (Opportunity Number: F17AS00290) Deadline for receipt is December 4, 2017, 11:59 p.m. PST

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Federal Agency Name:

U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR)

Funding Opportunity Title:

Clean Vessel Act (CVA)

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 15.616

Announcement Type:

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2018

Funding Opportunity Number: F17AS00290

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. We are collecting this information in accordance with Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act, Title VII, Subtitle D, Section 7404, Public Law 105178, 16 U.S.C. 777g-1, Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, Public Law 109059, and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Public Law 114-94). Your response is required to obtain or retain a benefit. We will use the information you provide to conduct a competitive review and select projects for funding. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. We estimate that it will take applicants under this program about 40 hours to complete an application. We estimate it will take recipients under this program about 6 hours to complete required reporting and required recordkeeping. All burden estimates include the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather data needed and complete and review the submission. You may send comments on the burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

Dates: State applicants must submit applications through Grants.gov by the deadline. The deadline for receipt is December 4, 2017, 11:59 p.m. PST. The Service recommends that you submit your application early enough to address any unforeseen technical complications. We recommend that you verify that all documents have been received through Grants.gov with your Regional WSFR Office before the deadline. The Service will not consider applications received after the deadline.

Applicants requesting comments or assistance with their applications are encouraged to submit applications to the Service Regional WSFR Office (see Section VII., Agency Contacts) http://www.grants.gov/ approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the due date. Although there is no guarantee that the Regional WSFR Office will provide comments, feedback may include recommendations to improve the application.

If you would like to be a subgrantee, check with your State agency for their application deadlines and requirements. If you are not sure which state agency to contact your state’s Regional WSFR contact in Section VII will be able to assist you.

I. Description of Funding Opportunity Recreational boating is a popular activity in the United States. There are approximately 11 million registered boats in the United States, and each year over 141 million people enjoy a host of water-based recreational opportunities, such as fishing, cruising, waterskiing, and spending time with family and friends. Many recreational boats are equipped with on-board toilets and wastewater holding tanks, known as Marine Sanitation Devices (MSDs). Proper disposal of sewage from recreational boats is important in preserving and improving water quality in the country’s vital aquatic ecosystems. The CVA program provides the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (hereafter States) with Federal funding to support their ongoing efforts to improve recreational boating opportunities and provide boaters with clean, efficient facilities to prevent waste disposal into public waterways and other ecosystems.

CVA is one of the Service’s “user pay, public benefit” grant programs. Excise taxes paid through motorboat and small engine fuel and sport fishing equipment purchases go into the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. Four percent of the trust fund, after sequestration, is divided between CVA and Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG) each fiscal year. This year, we expect to fund approximately $12 million in CVA grants.

Each year pumpouts and dump stations funded through CVA and matched with State, local, and/or private funds have a large impact on reducing the amount of waste discharged to our nation’s waters. This has resulted in tremendous benefits such as improved water quality for public drinking water supplies, river ecosystems, shellfish beds and other aquatic life;

convenient service for boaters on U.S. navigable waters; and boaters who are informed of how best to dispose of vessel sewage. Since the inception of CVA, the program has funded over 6,000 pumpout and dump stations and has provided funds to help operate and maintain over 3,700 systems. Through dedication of the States, private marinas, the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, States Organization for Boating Access, environmental groups, and the boating public, millions of gallons of sewage have been diverted from polluting U.S. waters each year. These groups have also been instrumental in keeping the facilities in working order and providing information for the boating public regarding the importance of keeping waters clean by using pumpout and dump stations.

The CVA program slogan is: Keep Our Water Clean - Use Pumpouts.

References to “you” in this announcement refer to the eligible State agency completing the application and any potential subgrantee, if applicable. References to “we” or “us” in this announcement refer to the Service. Note that only the Governor-designated governmental agency (Mayor in the case of the District of Columbia) in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands can apply directly to the Service for these funds. These governmental agencies may then choose to subgrant or contract these funds to other entities to accomplish their CVA goals. When subgranting these funds they may have their own application processes with different timelines and additional requirements than are listed here.

As noted elsewhere in this document, if you would like to be a subgrantee, please check with your State agency for their application deadlines and requirements. If you are not sure which state agency to contact your Regional WSFR contact in Section VII will be able to assist you.

II. Award Information:

The Service expects that approximately $12 million will be available for CVA awards in FY 2018.

Awards typically range from $30,000 up to $1,500,000. There is no specific minimum, and in FY 2018 the maximum award amount is $1,500,000. Coastal States may apply for up to $3,000,000 maximum, $1,500,000 for coastal activities and $1,500,000 for inland activities.

Inland States may apply for up to $1,500,000. See State definitions in Section III.

The CVA program is a competitive program that addresses national needs through funding construction, renovation, operation, and maintenance of pumpout stations and waste reception facilities for recreational boaters and to inform boaters about the use, benefits, and availability of pumpout stations and waste reception facilities. As described in this NOFO, eligible States submit suitable projects to compete in the national CVA ranking process. Once the projects have been reviewed for eligibility and ranked by the criteria for priority, the Service determines if available funds are sufficient to meet the funding requests of all eligible applications. If funding requests for eligible projects exceed available funds, we will apply a discretionary formula to distribute CVA awards to all eligible applicants and support as many eligible projects as possible across the country. Priority will be given to the highest scoring applications and we will partially award applications based on a proportional ratio. An attempt will be made to provide funding to each State that applies for at least a minimal level of support to address the critical need of preventing pollution from recreational boat sewage.

Please pay close attention to the following information as it may assist you in your planning and application efforts and it will be used to determine the distribution of funds in an equitable manner, with priority for the highest scoring applications. We will fully fund each eligible application requesting $50,000 or less. No application will receive more than 10% of the total available funds, unless funds allow for all applications to be awarded. We will also:

1. Rank all eligible applications in descending point-score order.

2. Determine the percentage of each application’s total score compared to the total possible score. We will use a total possible score of 50 points for all applications in determining the percentage (Note that all Coastal States now have a plan. Hence the total possible score is 50 rather than 100 points. See Section V).

3. Determine funding based on the percentage in Step 2 for those applications with Federal CVA funding requests greater than $50,000.

For example, applications receiving a perfect score (100%) will receive the full Federal funding request (if they clear the 10% of total available funds threshold), applications with a percentage of 80% (score of 40 points out of 50 possible) will receive 80% of the Federal funding request, and applications with a percentage of 60% (score of 30 points out of 50 possible) will receive 60% of the Federal funding request, and so on, funds permitting.

4. Make additional adjustments as needed to ensure we award the full amount of available funding.

5. Adjust the 25% matching share, if applicable.

If excess funds are available after all eligible applications are awarded, we reserve the right to publish a supplementary FY 2018 request for applications for national competition.

We expect to announce awards during May 2018.

III. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants are the Governor-designated agencies in the 50 States, the District of Columbia (Mayor-designated), the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. The designated agency is often a State natural resource or fish and wildlife agency though other agencies may be designated in some jurisdictions (e.g., public health).

Coastal State – A State of the United States in, or bordering on, the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, or one or more of the Great Lakes.

The term also includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Alaska is eligible as a coastal State for the purposes of

CVA.

Inland State - A State which is not a coastal State as defined above. The District of Columbia and American Samoa are included as inland States. American Samoa is defined as an inland State because the ratio of number of recreational vessels to number of shoreline miles is less than one.

If you would like to be a subgrantee, check with the eligible agency in your State for their deadlines and requirements to apply.

Federal law mandates that all entities applying for Federal financial assistance must have a valid Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and have a current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). See Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 25 for more information.

A. DUNS Registration: Request a DUNS number online at Dun & Bradstreet Registration.

Obtaining a DUNS number is absolutely free for all entities doing business with the Federal government. For technical difficulties, contact Dun & Bradstreet by email at:

govt@dnb.com, or by calling the Government Customer Resource Center at voice phone:

866-705-5711 or TTY line: 877-807-1679 (hearing impaired customers only). Once assigned a DUNS number, entities are responsible for maintaining up-to-date information with Dun & Bradstreet.

B. Entity Registration in the System for Award Management (SAM): Register in SAM online at the SAM website. Once registered in SAM, entities must renew and revalidate their SAM registration at least every 12 months from the date previously registered. Entities are strongly urged to revalidate their registration as often as needed to ensure that their information is up to date and in synch with changes that may have been made to DUNS and IRS information.

Note: The official U.S. government website address for SAM is www.sam.gov. There is NO COST to register in or access SAM. There are third-party vendors who charge a fee in exchange for registering entities in SAM; please be aware that you can register to do business with the U.S. government FOR FREE directly in SAM at www.sam.gov.

C. Excluded Entities: Applicant entities or their key project personnel identified in the SAM Exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted or excluded from receiving Federal contracts, certain subcontracts, and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program. The Service conducts a review of the SAM Exclusions database for all applicant entities and their key project personnel prior to award.

D. Cost Sharing or Matching: The maximum Federal award under CVA is 75 percent of the total allowable project cost up to $1.5 million. Recipients are required to provide the remaining 25% of total allowable project costs using matching non-Federal funds. American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are exempt from match requirements up to $200,000 per application.

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/?portal:componentId=16bb71aa-8903-43f5-99de-b6b2cd6234d6&interactionstate=JBPNS_rO0ABXc0ABBfanNmQnJpZGdlVmlld0lkAAAAAQATL2pzZi9mdW5jdGlvbmFsLmpzcAAHX19FT0ZfXw**&portal:type=action#1 https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/?portal:componentId=16bb71aa-8903-43f5-99de-b6b2cd6234d6&interactionstate=JBPNS_rO0ABXc0ABBfanNmQnJpZGdlVmlld0lkAAAAAQATL2pzZi9mdW5jdGlvbmFsLmpzcAAHX19FT0ZfXw**&portal:type=action#1

You may meet your minimum required cost share or match through contributions from a third party. A third party is any individual or organization other than the State applicant, such as a partner or subgrantee. Match must be necessary and reasonable for accomplishing the proposed project objective(s). As the primary State grantee, you are responsible for the full amount of the non-Federal match proposed, if your application is selected, including any amount provided by one or more third parties as listed on the Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance.

You may attribute some or all of your allowable indirect costs as voluntary committed cost-share/match, however you may not charge to the CVA award any indirect costs calculated against the portion of total direct project costs paid by any other Federal funding source or non-Federal partner.

E. Other: Although only the designated State agencies can apply for and receive grants through this program, the program encourages partnering with Tribes, Federal agencies, other State agencies, local governments, non-governmental organizations, private marinas, and others as subgrantees and cooperators. Please note that any contributions from Federal sources cannot be used or counted as non-Federal match unless authorized by Federal statute.

IV. Application and Submission Instructions A. Address to Obtain Application Package You can download the application package for CVA on Grants.gov, searching by CFDA 15.616 or the Funding Opportunity Number (F17AS00290). If you have trouble accessing the online forms, you can contact one of the Service WSFR Offices (see Section VII, Agency Contacts).

States must submit applications online at Grants.gov through the CVA Funding Opportunity. It can be located by doing an advanced search by CFDA 15.616 or the Funding Opportunity Number (F17AS00290). We recommended that you verify that all documents have been received through Grants.gov with your Regional WSFR Office before the deadline.

B. Content and Form of Application

Applications submitted for CVA funding must include items 1 through 3:

1. Required Federal Forms and Other Information (no page limit):

a. Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424).

b. Budget Information (i.e., estimated costs to attain the project objectives). We recommend that you present the information in a table with cost categories broken down by the funding source, e.g., CVA Federal request, non-Federal match provided by State agency, non-Federal match provided by the subgrantee, etc. You should provide sufficient detail for reviewers to understand proposed costs. See “d” for additional requirements for an indirect cost statement. You may also use the SF 424C or SF 424A Budget Forms (whichever is most appropriate) to submit your budget information.

c. Statement of Assurances of compliance with applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies, Standard Form 424D (unless your State agency has an approved Statement of Assurances on file with the Regional Office).

d. Required Indirect Cost Statement: All applicants must include one of the following statements and attach to their application any required documentation identified in the applicable statement:

“We are:

1. A U.S. state or local government entity receiving more than $35 million in direct Federal funding each year with an indirect cost rate of [insert rate]. We submit our indirect cost rate proposals to our cognizant agency. A copy of our most recently approved rate agreement/certification is attached.

2. A U.S. state or local government entity receiving less than $35 million in direct Federal funding with an indirect cost rate of [insert rate]. We are required to prepare and retain for audit an indirect cost rate proposal and related documentation to support those costs.

3. A [insert your organization type] that has never submitted an indirect cost rate proposal to our cognizant agency. Our indirect cost rate is [insert rate]. In the event an award is made, we will submit an indirect cost rate proposal to our cognizant agency within 90 calendar days after the award is made.

4. A U.S. state agency that has never submitted an indirect cost rate proposal to our cognizant agency. Our indirect cost rate is [insert rate]. However, in the event an award is made, we will not be able to meet the requirement to submit an indirect cost rate proposal to our cognizant agency within 90 calendar days after award. We request as a condition of award to charge a flat de minimis indirect cost rate of 10% of modified total direct costs as defined in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, section 200.68. We understand that the 10% de minimis rate will apply for the life of the award, including any future extensions for time, and that the rate cannot be changed even if we do establish an approved rate with our cognizant agency at any point during the award period.

5. A U.S. state agency that will charge all costs directly.

All applicants are hereby notified of the following:

• Recipients without an approved indirect cost rate are prohibited from charging indirect costs to a Federal award. Accepting the 10% de minimis rate as a condition of award is an approved rate.

• Failure to establish an approved rate during the award period renders all costs otherwise allocable as indirect costs unallowable under the award.

• Recipients may not charge to the CVA award any indirect costs calculated against the portion of total direct project costs paid by any other Federal funding source or non- Federal partner.

• Recipients must have prior written approval from the Service to transfer unallowable indirect costs to amounts budgeted for direct costs or to satisfy cost-sharing or matching requirements under the award.

• Recipients are prohibited from shifting unallowable indirect costs to another Federal award unless specifically authorized to do so by legislation.

For more information on indirect cost rates, see the Service’s Indirect Costs and Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreements guidance document on the Internet at the Service's Financial Assistance webpage.

Negotiating an Indirect Cost Rate with the Department of the Interior: Entities that do not have a Negotiated Cost Rate Agreement must first have an open, active Federal award before they can submit an indirect cost rate proposal to their cognizant agency. The Federal awarding agency that provides the largest amount of direct funding to your organization is your cognizant agency, unless otherwise assigned by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). If the Department of the Interior is your cognizant agency, your indirect cost rate will be negotiated by the Interior Business Center (IBC). For more information, contact the IBC at:

Indirect Cost Services Acquisition Services Directorate, Interior Business Center U.S. Department of the Interior 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 7-400 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-930-3803 Email: Through this email web form.

Internet address: Link to Indirect Cost Services Webpage.

e. Single Audit Reporting Statements: As required in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Subpart F, all U.S. states, local governments, federally-recognized Indian tribal governments, and non-profit organizations expending $750,000 USD or more in Federal award funds in a fiscal year must submit a Single Audit report for that year through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s Internet Data Entry System. All U.S.

state, local government, federally-recognized Indian tribal government and non-profit applicants must provide a statement regarding if your organization was/was not required to submit a Single Audit report for the organization’s most recently closed fiscal year and, if so, state if that report is available on the Federal Audit Clearinghouse Single Audit Database website (Federal Audit Clearinghouse Single Audit Database website ) and provide the EIN under which that report was submitted. Include these http://www.fws.gov/grants/ http://www.fws.gov/grants/ https://www.doi.gov/ibc/contactus/ibcfeedback https://www.doi.gov/ibc/services/finance/indirect-cost-services https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=f393c2c0982c193ff0541a8d6285f206&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=f393c2c0982c193ff0541a8d6285f206&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/fac/about.html https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/fac/about.html statements at the end of the Required Federal Forms and Other Information section on a new page titled “Single Audit Reporting Statements.”

2. Required Project Statement (10 page limit):

A concise project statement that does not address the ranking criteria, but rather identifies and describes:

a. The need for the proposed project;

b. Discrete, quantifiable, and verifiable objectives to be accomplished during a specific time period;

c. Expected results or benefits from accomplishing the objectives;

d. The approach to be used in meeting the objectives, including specific procedures, schedules, key personnel, and cooperators;

e. Description of the activity so Service staff can make a preliminary determination of compliance needs for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 7 of Endangered Species Act (ESA), and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA); and

f. The anticipated project location(s), including the GPS coordinates in minutes, degrees, seconds. If exact locations are not available at the time of application, please be as specific as possible.

3. Required Ranking Criteria (10 page limit):

A description with appropriate documentation of how the proposed project(s) addresses each of the ranking criteria found in 50 CFR 85.30 and in Section V. Note that the CFR is being updated and you should use the NOFO as guidance where they differ as it has been updated to comply with subsequent legislation. We suggest you address each ranking criterion with a brief statement or table in addition to the project statement described in item 2.

4. Drawings/Maps/Photographs (no page limit):

a. If feasible, we suggest that you include two maps: a map of the State showing the general location of the project(s) and a map of the project site(s).

b. Other geographic aids may be attached, including aerial photographs.

Note – Coastal States submitting applications for both the coastal zone and the inland portion of their State must submit two separate applications for ranking purposes.

Application Format We request that applicants number pages consecutively, label all sections (see above for details on what should be included in each section), and arrange the application in this order:

• Required Federal Forms

• Project Statement

• Ranking Criteria

• Drawings/Maps/Photographs https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=de8e4a66872be0f692d1d8f33298afc8&mc=true&node=se50.9.85_130&rgn=div8

Applications should be formatted to print on 8.5” X 11” paper, with 1” margins at the top, bottom, and both sides, and page numbers at the bottom of the page. Fonts should be legible, i.e., preferably 12 point Arial, Times New Roman, or other commonly used font.

In accepting Federal funds, applicants must comply with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies. Applicants must supply evidence of compliance with NEPA, ESA, NHPA, and other Federal laws if we select the application for award.

C. Submission Dates and Times:

State applicants must submit applications through Grants.gov by the deadline. The deadline for receipt is December 4, 2017, 11:59 p.m. PST. The Service recommends that you submit your application early enough to address any unforeseen technical complications. We recommended that you verify that all documents have been received through Grants.gov with your Regional WSFR Office before the deadline. We will not consider applications received after the deadline.

D. Intergovernmental Review CVA is subject to EO 12372 “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” States that participate in the Executive Order process should establish Single Points of Contact (SPOCs).

Applicants from jurisdictions that have not chosen to participate do not need to take any action regarding E.O. 12372. All other applicants should alert their SPOCs early in the application process. If you, as an applicant, are required to submit materials to a SPOC, indicate the date of this submittal (or the date of contact if no submittal is required) on the Standard Form 424.

E. Funding Restrictions

1. Eligible activities

Eligible activities for funding from the CVA Program depends upon whether the applicant is considered coastal or inland (see information about coastal and inland designations above in Section III. Eligibility).

Eligible activities for all grantees/States include:

(a) Programs or projects to educate/inform recreational boaters about the environmental pollution problems resulting from sewage discharges from vessels and to inform them of the location of pumpout and dump stations.

(b) Programs or projects to construct, renovate, operate, and/or maintain pumpout and dump stations, including floating restrooms in the water, not connected to land or structures connected to the land, used solely by boaters. Eligible grant activities also include any activity necessary to hold and transport boaters’ sewage to treatment plants, such as holding tanks, piping, hauling costs, and any activity necessary to get sewage treatment plants to accept sewage, such as installing bleed-in facilities.

Eligible activities for coastal grantees/States include:

(a) Programs or projects that identify all operational pumpout and dump stations, and surveys of recreational vessels in coastal waters with holding tanks or portable toilets and the areas where those vessels congregate in the coastal zone. Also eligible are costs of developing a list, including chart coordinates, of all operational pumpout and dump stations in the coastal zone of the State, for submission to the Service.

(b) Plans for construction and renovation of pumpout and dump stations in the coastal zone of the State necessary to ensure that these stations are adequate and reasonably available to meet the needs of recreational vessels using the coastal waters of the State.

(c) Those eligible activities listed above for all grantees/States.

Additional requirements for all grantees/States:

(a) To be eligible for funding, both public and private facilities must:

• Be open to the public, where the public has full and reasonable access to the pumpout or dump station;

• Provide signage visible from the water to direct boaters to pumpout or dump stations;

• Locate pumpouts so they are easy to access and use by all boats typical to that particular marina;

• Charge equitable fees ($0-$5 per pumpout, unless a higher fee is justified by the applicant and approved by the Service); and

• Be open reasonable hours (see definition of “Reasonable open periods” in 50

CFR 85.11).

(b) Facilities shall be operated, maintained, and continue to be reasonably accessible to all recreational vessels for their useful life (see additional information on “useful life” in the Service Manual Chapter 522 FW 18).

2. Ineligible activities

Activities and projects that are ineligible for funding from the Clean Vessel Act Grant program include:

(1) Activities that do not provide public benefits.

(2) Law enforcement activities.

(3) Construction/renovation of land-based restroom facilities.

(4) Construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of on-site sewage treatment plants, such as package treatment plants and septic systems, and of municipal sewage treatment plants for primary and secondary treatment.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=de8e4a66872be0f692d1d8f33298afc8&mc=true&n=pt50.9.85&r=PART&ty=HTML%20-%20se50.9.85_111#se50.9.85_111 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=de8e4a66872be0f692d1d8f33298afc8&mc=true&n=pt50.9.85&r=PART&ty=HTML%20-%20se50.9.85_111#se50.9.85_111 http://www.fws.gov/policy/522fw18.html

Ranking decisions are made based on criteria in the Clean Vessel Act Program rules (50 CFR Part 85). See Section V. Application Review Information, A. Criteria and Available Point Values.

F. Other Submission Requirements

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. We suggest that applicants verify that their version of Adobe Reader is compatible with Grants.gov to avoid problems in submitting and/or downloading application forms. The Grants.gov homepage has a link under the Applicants menu that allows users to verify compatibility of Adobe Reader.

V. Application Review Information

A. Criteria and Available Point Values

Possible scores for coastal and inland State applications are equal, with the exception of the “Survey/Plan” ranking criterion. This is due to legislative changes to the Clean Vessel Act of 1992, Public Law 102-587, title V, subtitle F (106 Stat 5039). The Act was amended by Public Law 109-59, title X, § 10131, August 10, 2005 (119 Stat 1931) stating that priority consideration shall be given to applications that: (A) provide for public/private partnership efforts to develop and operate pumpout stations and waste reception facilities, and (B) propose innovative ways to increase the availability and use of pumpout stations and waste reception facilities. Priority for a coastal State that proposes constructing and renovating pumpout stations and waste reception facilities in accordance with a coastal State’s plan was removed. We plan to revise 50 CFR 85 to reflect this change.

Criteria for reviewing and ranking CVA applications are in the Final Rule for CVA (50 CFR 85.30).

Please see Appendix A to this document for frequently asked questions about the CVA ranking criteria. The following criteria must be addressed to receive points. Applications will be ranked and recommended for funding based on individual scores obtained by adding ranking criteria points. Please list each ranking criterion individually and provide a concise explanation for each one. Partial points may be awarded for some ranking criteria, so we highly recommend that applicants provide detailed information to inform reviewers how the proposed project addresses each ranking criterion. If you do not address a ranking criterion, you may receive 0 points for that criterion.

Scoring for coastal grantees/States:

• Survey/Plan (0 points)

• If your State doesn’t have a survey or a plan, are you proposing to complete one? If yes, 50 points (Note that all Coastal States now have a plan. Hence there should be no points given for this criterion. As a result, the total possible score now is 50 rather than 100 points).

• Construction/Renovation of Pumpouts or Dump Stations (10 or 20 points) https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=de8e4a66872be0f692d1d8f33298afc8&mc=true&n=pt50.9.85&r=PART&ty=HTML https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=de8e4a66872be0f692d1d8f33298afc8&mc=true&n=pt50.9.85&r=PART&ty=HTML https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=de8e4a66872be0f692d1d8f33298afc8&mc=true&node=se50.9.85_130&rgn=div8

• Are you proposing to construct or renovate pumpout or dump stations in accordance with your State’s plan approved under section 5603(c) of the Clean Vessel Act? If yes, 20 points.

• Are you proposing to construct or renovate pumpout or dump stations and your State doesn’t have a plan or your proposed projects are not in accordance with your State’s plan approved under section 5603(c) of the Clean Vessel Act? If yes, 10 points.

• Partnership (10 points)

• Will you have a public/private partnership in developing and/or operating the proposed pumpout or dump stations? If yes, 10 points.

• Innovative Approach (5 points)

• Will you use innovative ways to increase the availability and use of pumpout and dump stations? If yes, up to 5 points. Note that “innovative” is an evolving criterion.

What was innovative five years ago may not still be considered innovative today if it has become a standard practice. Please thoroughly describe your innovative approach as partial points may be awarded.

• Education (5 points)

• Are you proposing to include an education/information component? Or, does your

State have an active, ongoing CVA education program? If yes, up to 5 points. Please thoroughly describe your education/information component as partial points may be awarded.

• Sensitive Area (5 points)

• Will your project benefit waters that are most likely to be affected by the discharge of sewage from vessels? If yes, up to 5 points. Please thoroughly describe how your project will benefit sensitive waters as partial points may be awarded.

• Low Pumpout Ratio (5 points)

• Will the project be completed in areas with many vessels and few pumpouts or dump stations? If yes, up to 5 points. Please describe your pumpout ratios and how they were determined as partial points may be awarded.

Scoring for inland grantees/States:

• Construction/Renovation of Pumpouts or Dump Stations (10 or 20 points)

• Are you proposing to construct or renovate pumpout or dump stations in accordance with your State’s plan? If yes, 20 points.

• Are you proposing to construct or renovate pumpout or dump station and your State doesn’t have a plan or your proposals are not in accordance with your State’s plan?

If yes, 10 points.

• Partnership (10 points)

• Will you have a public/private partnership in developing and/or operating the proposed pumpout or dump stations? If yes, 10 points.

• Innovative Approach (5 points)

• Will you use innovative ways to increase the availability and use of pumpout and dump stations? If yes, up to 5 points. Note that “innovative” is an evolving criterion.

What was innovative five years ago may not still be considered innovative today if it has become a standard practice. Please thoroughly describe your innovative approach as partial points may be awarded.

• Education (5 points)

• Are you proposing to include an education/information component? Or, does your

State have an active, ongoing education program? If yes, up to 5 points. Please thoroughly describe your education/information component as partial points may be awarded.

• Sensitive Area (5 points)

• Will your project benefit waters that are most likely to be affected by the discharge of sewage from vessels? If yes, up to 5 points. Please thoroughly describe how your project will benefit sensitive waters as partial points may be awarded.

• Low Pumpout Ratio (5 points)

• Will the project be completed in areas with many vessels and few pumpouts or dump stations? If yes, up to 5 points. Please describe your pumpout ratios and how they were determined as partial points may be awarded.

Summary Scoring Table for CVA Applications:

Criteria Maximum Coastal State Maximum Inland State

(1) Survey/Plan 50 0

(2) Construct/renovate with plan or 20 20

(3) Construct/renovate without plan 10 10

(4) Partnership 10 10

(5) Innovative approach 5 5

(5) Education 5 5 (6)Sensitive area 5 5

(7) Low pumpout ratio 5 5 Total possible points 100* 50

*As noted earlier, the maximum score is now 50 points as all Coastal States have a plan.

B. Review and Selection Process

Project selection is a three-step process: application receipt, application ranking, and application selection.

• Application receipt – Applications are submitted via Grants.Gov. The Regional WSFR Offices determine agency (applicant) eligibility and whether applications are complete, substantial, and contain only activities that are eligible. Applications that are ineligible are returned to the State agency. Revision and resubmission of returned applications is allowable up until the identified deadline for application submittals. Note that your Regional WSFR Contact may, upon request, review a draft application prior to submission via Grants.Gov. Check with your Regional Contact in Section VII to if you would like to explore this option.

• Application ranking - Once an application is received and determined to be eligible by the Regional WSFR Office, they forward the application to the Service WSFR Headquarters Office, which coordinates the review and ranking of the applications.

Representatives from the Service WSFR Headquarters Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Coast Guard are invited to review the applications and make funding recommendations to the Service Director.

• Application selection - The selections are approved by the Service Director. Successful applicants will be contacted by their WSFR regional grant office informing them that their application was selected for funding and the recommended grant amount.

C. Anticipated Announcement Date

We expect to announce the selections during May 2018.

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

Successful applicants will be notified that their application was selected for funding, the grant amount, and the remaining process needed to complete the grant award. The Service will also publish on its website a national press release announcing the selections.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

When an application is selected for funding, compliance with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies, including environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, and applicable executive orders must be satisfied before the Service can approve an award and make funding available. Upon satisfactory compliance with the aforementioned laws, regulations, and policies, the Service will issue an award letter to the grantee, obligating the funds awarded.

In accordance with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006, eligible State agencies, as prime recipients, must register at System for Award Management (SAM) at the SAM website. Eligible State agencies and sub-award recipients must also obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number through Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number site.

All financial assistance awards are subject to Federal financial administration requirements found in 2 CFR 200. The Regional WSFR Offices will work with applicants to ensure that all financial arrangements comply with these requirements.

http://www.sam.gov/ http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

To find out more about the rules, including administrative requirements and cost principles, you can review them on the WSFR Toolkit.

3. Reporting

See reporting requirements, including record retention and access requirements, in 2 CFR 200.

Additional details regarding new requirements, guidance, consequences, etc. are available in the document “Interim Guidance for Financial and Performance Reporting.” Electronic submission of performance information may be required, as will be detailed in the terms and conditions of the award.

VII. Agency Contacts

The Service administers the CVA Grant Program. National level program information can be obtained by contacting:

Brad Gunn U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program

MS: WSFR

5275 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 703-358-2009 Brad_Gunn@fws.gov

For project specific information and details to apply, contact your Regional WSFR Office:

Region 1 - American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii Chris Swenson, Chris_Swenson@fws.gov, 503 231-6758

Region 1 - Idaho, Oregon, and Washington: Karla Drewsen, Karla_Drewsen@fws.gov, 503-231-2389

Region 2 - Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas: Bud Fazio, Buddy_Fazio@fws.gov, 505-248-7468

Region 3 - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin:

Tony Hewitt, anthony_hewitt@fws.gov, 612-713-5156

Region 4 - Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the U.S. Virgin Islands: Scott White, Scott_White@fws.gov, 404-679-7113 http://fawiki.fws.gov/x/CYAx http://fawiki.fws.gov/x/ioBa mailto:Brad_Gunn@fws.gov mailto:Chris_Swenson@fws.gov mailto:Karla_Drewsen@fws.gov mailto:Buddy_Fazio@fws.gov mailto:anthony_hewitt@fws.gov mailto:Scott_White@fws.gov

Region 5 - Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia: Bill Perry, Bill_Perry@fws.gov, 413-253-8302

Region 6 - Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming: Michael Cotter, Michael_Cotter@fws.gov, 303-236-8179

Region 7 - Alaska: Mary Price, Mary_Price@fws.gov, 907-786-3982

Region 8 - California and Nevada: Bart Prose, Bart_Prose@fws.gov, 916-978-6152

VIII. Other Information

The Federal government is not bound to fund any project until the Service Regional WSFR representative has approved and issued the award.

Applicants requesting comments or assistance with their applications are encouraged to submit applications to the Service Regional WSFR Office (see Section VII., Agency Contacts) approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the due date. Although there is no guarantee that the Regional WSFR Office will provide comments, feedback may include recommendations to improve the application.

The Clean Vessel Act of 1992 was signed November 4, 1992 (106 Stat. 5039) and codified in 33 U.S.C. 1322. The Act amended the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (Wallop-Breaux Act; 16 U.S.C. 777) and established the CVA Program to provide funding to the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Commonwealths, and territories of the United States of America (States).

Funding allows States to construct, renovate, operate, and maintain pumpout stations and waste reception facilities for recreational boaters and to inform boaters about the use, benefits, and availability of pumpout stations and waste reception facilities. Subsequent reauthorizations of the Acts have allowed for the continuation of CVA.

Additional information about the CVA is available at: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service WSFR CVA web page.

mailto:Bill_Perry@fws.gov mailto:Michael_Cotter@fws.gov mailto:Mary_Price@fws.gov mailto:Bart_Prose@fws.gov http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title33/html/USCODE-2011-title33-chap26-subchapIII-sec1322.htm http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title33/html/USCODE-2011-title33-chap26-subchapIII-sec1322.htm http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2012-title16/html/USCODE-2012-title16-chap10B.htm http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/CVA/CVA.htm http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/CVA/CVA.htm

Frequently Asked Questions about CVA Applications:

Q1: Is an inspection or a monitoring program to ensure pumpouts installed with CVA funds are in working order an eligible activity?

A: Yes. An inspection or a monitoring program to ensure pumpouts installed with CVA funds are in working order is an eligible activity as long as it doesn’t include law enforcement.

Q2: Is creating and/or revising a coastal State’s plan an eligible activity?

A: Yes. A coastal State may apply for and receive funding to create and/or revise their State plan in accordance with the Technical Guidance. However, points for the first ranking criterion are only awarded to a coastal State applicant that has no existing plan. Currently all coastal States have an existing plan so zero points will be awarded for coastal State plan development.

Please note, that inland States may not receive funding to create and/or revise their State plan (as dictated by the Clean Vessel Act of 1992).

Q3: Which cost categories should I include in my application budget?

A: You should include the following categories, by cooperator and project location/facility:

1. Personnel services including compensation for salaries and fringe benefits;

2. Contracts for services;

2. Travel;

3. Equipment, supplies, and construction costs;

4. Education program costs;

5. Operation and/or maintenance costs; and

6. Indirect costs, if applicable.

You may include other categories of eligible costs that you feel support your activities. Ineligible costs may disqualify your application.

Q4: How long must I maintain a pumpout or dump station that I build with CVA funds?

You are responsible for maintaining the pumpout or dump station for its useful life, assuring that it is serving the intended purpose of the project. You should propose and identify a useful life of the pumpout or dump station in your application. For information about useful life and methodologies to determine the useful life, see Service Manual Chapter 522 FW 18 and contact your Service Regional WSFR Office.

Q5: Are operation and maintenance funds eligible costs?

Yes. You may include operation and maintenance activities in your application. They can be either for a specific location or for an overall CVA operation and maintenance program for the State.

Q6: May I charge more that $5 as a usage fee for each pumpout or dump station?

While we encourage applicants to consider providing these services at no cost, the regulations, found in 50 CFR 85, limit the fee that you may charge for use of a CVA funded facility to $5 or less. However, if you provide a written request to increase your per-use charges above the $5 limit, and the Service approves your request for an increase, you may charge a higher fee. The regulations also require that the facility operator must retain, account for, and use CVA usage fees to defray operation and maintenance costs for the useful life of the facility. Note that this program-specific regulation is viewed to have precedence over general program income regulations as it expressly directs how the fees are to be used during, and sometimes beyond, the period of performance.

Q7: Where can I get more information about CVA and applying for funds?

You can contact your Service Regional WSFR Office. Contact information is listed above in Section VII.

Q8: Are boats used for the primary purpose as a residence eligible as recreational vessels through CVA?

No, to qualify as a recreational vessel for CVA, the vessel must be (a) manufactured for operation, or operated, primarily for pleasure; or (b) leased, rented, or chartered to another for the latter’s pleasure.

Q9: Are commercial vessels eligible as recreational vessels through CVA?

It depends on whether it meets the criteria to be considered as a recreational vessel under CVA.

To qualify as a recreational vessel for CVA, the vessel must meet at least one of the following criteria: (a) manufactured for operation, or operated, primarily for pleasure; or (b) leased, rented, or chartered to another for the latter’s pleasure.

Q10: Why must I submit a statement regarding my indirect cost rate in my application?

The uniform guidance in 2 CFR 200.210(a)(15) indicates that applications must now include indirect cost rate information in applications for Federal grants. Service-wide policy also has stepped down this requirement to all Service offices.

Q11: Why do I need to include a single audit statement in my application?

Service-wide policy has made this a requirement for all Service offices as a result of requirements published in 2 CFR 200, Subpart F.

Q12: How long can the period of performance be on a CVA grant? At present there is no limit set in rule or statute though the Regional WSFR Office may impose limits based on a number of factors including current and past performance by the grantee. We recommend a period of performance of no more than 3 years with an extension of up to 2 years in unusual circumstances.