GMD Farmer to Farmer RFA 2021 Final 2021.12.2 v2.pdf

U.S. EPA GULF OF MEXICO DIVISION

Gulf of Mexico Historically Underserved Farmer to Farmer Grants Program Request for Applications

Federal Agency Name: Environmental Protection Agency Funding Opportunity Title: Gulf of Mexico Historically Underserved Farmer to Farmer Grants Program Announcement Type: Request for Applications Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-GM-Farmer-2021 Assistance Listing: 66.475

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing flexibilities to applicants experiencing challenges related to COVID-19. Please see the Flexibilities Available to Organizations Impacted by COVID-19 clause in Section IV of EPA’s Solicitation Clauses.

IMPORTANT DATES - All dates listed below are tentative.

December 3, 2021 RFA Posted January 6, 2022 3pm Eastern; 2pm Central

Webinar to discuss helpful hints, frequently asked questions and provide an opportunity to ask questions. Please register for the webinar here. If you are unable to attend the webinar, you can find the Q&A and the common errors document at the Gulf of Mexico Historically Underserved Farmer to Farmer Grants Program link at www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico. If you have a question not included in the Q&A or you need a response prior to the webinar, please submit questions to GMP-RFP@epa.gov. Q&A will be updated weekly if new questions are received. EPA will respond to questions through January 28, 2022 but cannot guarantee that it will respond to questions received thereafter.

February 4, 2022 Applications due to the Gulf of Mexico Division at 11:59pm ET March 15, 2022 Anticipated Notification of Selection May 27, 2022 Anticipated Final Award

EPA will consider all applications submitted via grants.gov on or before 11:59 pm EST on February 4, 2022. Any applications submitted after the due date and time will not be considered for funding. No applications will be accepted by facsimile or e-mail. EPA will only accept applications submitted via Grants.gov, except in limited circumstances where applicants have no or very limited Internet access (see Section IV.).

SUMMARY

The EPA Gulf of Mexico Division (GMD) is announcing a Request for Applications (RFA) from eligible applicants for the Gulf of Mexico Historically Underserved Farmer to Farmer Grants Program. This RFA is for an applicant who would receive a direct award from EPA and would provide competitive subawards to eligible entities to directly collaborate with underserved farmers on projects within the Gulf of Mexico watershed to support the Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives identified in I.B. Definition of “farmer” can be found in the RFA Terms. The total estimated amount available under this announcement is approximately $12 million. It is expected that grant awards may be issued for up to a five-year project period beginning May 2022. EPA plans to award four cooperative agreements of up to $3,000,000 of funding per cooperative agreement. EPA plans to fund one cooperative agreement in each of the following geographic categories:

1. Missouri - Arkansas – White - Red Region (HUCs 10 and 11)

2. Ohio-Tennessee Region (HUCs 05 and 06)

3. Non-Mississippi Reiver Drainage (HUCs 12, 13 and a portion of 03) https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://usepa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_p6dVzl8HSbyvJceHiOQQbQ http://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico.

mailto:GMP-RFP@epa.gov.%C2%A0 https://www.grants.gov/

4. Mississippi River Region (HUCs 07 and 08) For more details on location, please see Appendix B.

Table of Contents

SUMMARY

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

I.B. Scope of Work

II: AWARD INFORMATION

III: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A. Eligible Entities

III.D. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

IV: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.D. Content of Application Submission

V: APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A. Evaluation Criteria

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VII: AGENCY CONTACT

VIII: OTHER INFORMATION

Appendix A. Helpful Links

Appendix B. Geographic Location Map and Assigned Two Digit HUCs

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

I.A.1. EPA Gulf of Mexico Division Background and Authority

The GMD is a non-regulatory program of the EPA founded to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the Region. To carry out its mission, GMD continues to maintain and expand partnerships with State and Federal agencies, federally recognized tribes, local governments and authorities, academia, regional business and industry, agricultural and environmental organizations, and individual citizens and communities. For more information, please see https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico. This Request for Applications (RFA) is expected to result in the award of assistance agreements. GMD’s statutory authority to award assistance agreements is the Clean Water Act, §104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of assistance agreements to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution. In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, directs EPA to “coordinate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Gulf States, and other State, local, and private partners to leverage greater resources toward conservation projects on working-lands within the Gulf Region and Mississippi River Basin.”

Funded activities must advance protection and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico watershed in support of EPA’s Draft FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. Awards made under this solicitation will support Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities, Objective 5.2: Protect and Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds of the Draft Plan. All applications must be for projects that support the goals and objectives identified above.

I.A.2. RFA Background

In the Gulf of Mexico watershed, farmers manage millions of acres of privately held working lands. While farmers are working in this watershed to provide the food, fuel, and fiber for the world, they are also managing challenges across the landscape to minimize nonpoint source pollution, specifically the excess nitrogen and phosphorous. These nutrients can enter waterbodies by being dissolved in runoff or attached to sediment via erosion. Excess nutrients delivered to the Gulf of Mexico come from sources across the entire watershed; many of which are delivered as nonpoint sources from the agricultural landscape. When elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus enter waterbodies, the impact can be described as eutrophic (nutrient rich). When eutrophication of waterbodies occurs, it becomes possible for low dissolved oxygen levels (< 2 mg/L = hypoxia) to occur. For example, within the Gulf of Mexico, excess nutrients entering via the Mississippi river watershed has resulted in a large hypoxic zone that is commonly referred to as a dead zone, which can result in fish kills and a decrease in aquatic life.1 In addition to problems associated with low dissolved oxygen, excess nutrients can cause harmful algal blooms (HABs) in marine and freshwater systems, which not only disrupt wildlife but can also produce toxins harmful to humans.

Farmers are often the first line of action in reducing nonpoint source pollution of nutrients across the agricultural landscape and have developed innovative practices and leadership models to share their knowledge with others. For more information on these practices, please see:

1 For more information, see:

https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/C3D2F27094E03F90852573B800601D93/$File/EPA-SAB-08- 003complete.unsigned.pdf https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/C3D2F27094E03F90852573B800601D93/$File/EPA-SAB-08-003complete.unsigned.pdf https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/C3D2F27094E03F90852573B800601D93/$File/EPA-SAB-08-003complete.unsigned.pdf https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture

EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Division has awarded $20 million to support projects to improve water quality, habitat and environmental education through farmer-led or farm focused organizations in the Gulf of Mexico watershed, including the upper and lower Mississippi River Basins. For information on farmer to farmer projects funded in 2017 and 2018, please see the Farmer to Farmer tab on the EPA Gulf of Mexico story map.

I.B. Scope of Work

This RFA is seeking applicants for a direct award from EPA to provide competitive subawards to eligible entities that directly collaborate with underserved farmers on projects within the Gulf of Mexico watershed to achieve EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives. Subawardees MUST directly collaborate with farmers from underserved communities and/or underserved producers. Each of these is defined in the following links. For a definition of underserved communities, please see the Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. For a definition of underserved producers, please see the USDA definition found here. Definition of “farmer” can be found in the RFA Terms.

EPA plans to award four cooperative agreements of up to $3,000,000 per cooperative agreement. EPA plans to fund one cooperative agreement in each of the following geographic categories:

1. Missouri - Arkansas – White - Red Region (HUCs 10 and 11)

2. Ohio-Tennessee Region (HUCs 05 and 06)

3. Non-Mississippi Reiver Drainage (HUCs 12, 13 and a portion of 03)

For more details on location, please see Appendix B.

https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture https://epa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=c87a6e2d16a84f2baa4bf3ea5a3c0cf9 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/people/outreach/slbfr/

Successful applicants for this activity will issue subawards to non-profit organizations, state and local governments, colleges, universities, and/or interstate agencies on a competitive basis to achieve the EPA Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives. The recipient must comply with applicable provisions of 2 CFR Part 200 and the EPA Subaward Policy, which may be found at https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients, including the National Term and Condition for Subawards, which may be found at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-general-terms-and-conditions-effective-october-1-2021-or-later.

The applicant must demonstrate experience running a competitive award program and the organizational infrastructure to manage subawards in alignment with 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart D (200.317 through 200.333). If your organization does not have experience with this, you may want to consider applying to the competitive subaward program funded by this cooperative agreement. When announced, the subaward competition information will be sent to EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Division email list. Please send an email to gmp-rfp@epa.gov to be added to the list.

EPA Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives:

1. Novel or innovative techniques, methods, or approaches to improve adoption of resilient and sustainable practices;

2. Increase collaboration, including within and among farming communities;

3. Data collection and analysis to demonstrate the results of the applied technique(s), method(s) or approach(es); and

4. Effective communication of project results to the farming community to inform future farm management and to better understand the most cost-effective and sustainable farming approaches.

As stated previously, this RFA is seeking applications from eligible applicants to manage a Gulf of Mexico Historically Underserved Farmer to Farmer Grants Program, which entails issuing RFAs, identifying appropriate sub-awardees, and monitoring their progress to ensure timely completion of projects. Subawards should be for amounts ranging from $75,000 to $250,000. Note: applicants can identify a different range for each subaward as part of their application narrative and explain why they have chosen a different range. The subawards funded under the cooperative agreement are anticipated to have project periods ranging from three to four years and must be completed prior to the end of the cooperative agreement project period. The subaward projects must be completed in sufficient time to allow the cooperative agreement recipient to aggregate results, lessons learned and ensure subawardees have been reimbursed for eligible incurred costs. Funds should be directed to subawards except for funds required to carry out the responsibilities below, or for communications, outreach, and administrative and technical assistance activities that directly support subawardees.

Responsibilities of the successful applicant(s) include, but are not limited to:

• Administer a competitive subaward grant program for eligible entities to directly collaborate with underserved farmers on projects within the Gulf of Mexico watershed to support the Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives identified in I.B., including establishing guidelines for the program, issuing an RFA and coordinating the review of the applications. Subawardees MUST directly collaborate with farmers from underserved communities and/or underserved producers. Each of these is defined in the following links. For a definition of underserved communities, please see the Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. For a definition of underserved producers, please see the USDA definition found here.

• Advertise the program and assist potential applicants in a transparent manner that ensures that no applicant or group of applicants has an unfair competitive advantage during the competitions.

• Issue subawards to cost-effectively achieve the program objectives and environmental results.

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 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/

• Disburse monies to subaward recipients in a timely manner to reduce unliquidated obligations and as required by the applicable grant regulations.

• Provide assistance to subawardees, which could include coordinating outreach, training, information resources, and/or technology transfer, but must include at least one annual webinar/meeting for subawardees to learn from each other and share with EPA.

• Establish and follow a system for monitoring subrecipient performance that includes the elements required by 2 CFR 200.332(d) and report the results of the monitoring in performance reports, including meeting EPA Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives and supporting historically underserved farmers.

• Attend a virtual meeting (3 – 6 months post award) to collaborate with the other recipients on development of items required by this grant, including approaches for tracking subawardee outcomes and outputs and reporting of environmental results, with the ultimate goal to improve consistency and efficiency in development of these items.

• Track the environmental results (quantitative and qualitative outputs and outcomes) of the subawards; and ensure the data and results are communicated to EPA GMD and other stakeholders and partners.

Measurement must be a key component of the projects that will ultimately receive sub-award funding and must provide data on quantitative environmental results.

• Document lessons learned from the subaward projects including any new successful methods, approaches, techniques or practices to improve sustainability of farming practices and ensure subaward project results are disseminated to the wider stakeholder community to inform future farm management.

• Avoid duplication of effort with related projects by ensuring redundant subawards are not being issued by related federal (e.g. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation and Innovation Grant (CIG) program) or non-federal partners (e.g. EPA Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer awardees)

In addition to considering the items above, applicants may also describe alternative approaches for managing and issuing competitive subawards as defined by this RFA.

Subawardee Activities

All Subawardee projects must include at least one of the following types of activities:

• Water quality focused. Examples: nutrient reduction with creative runoff treatment solutions; innovative year-round ground cover to limit erosion; planting field buffers; conservation tillage; managing livestock access to streams; address key manure nutrient management issues (e.g., phosphorus saturation in soil, ammonia emissions, alternative uses for manure nutrients); increase the implementation of nitrogen-use efficiency tools to better manage inorganic nitrogen inputs on cropland.

• Habitat focused. Examples: riparian zone improvement; observing environmental windows; restoration or protection of wildlife corridors; partner easements; landowner habitat planting/restoration; other innovative habitat ideas; conservation and restoration of perennially flooded grasslands and forests.

• Sustainable forest management. Examples: utilizing sustainable forestry practices that protect and maintain water quality and habitat; improving utilization of sustainable forestry practices through training, education, and public outreach; and monitoring effectiveness of sustainable practices

All Subawardee projects must include both of the following:

• Collaboration. Examples include: partner organizations replicating existing successes in watersheds to build stakeholder and farmer capacity through technical trainings and outreach, including subawards to local farmer organizations to demonstrate techniques; working with farmer-led organizations or consortiums to reach out to small farms that are having financial, technological or other challenges in adopting nutrient reduction practices and develop creative solutions to overcoming those barriers; working with farming communities to stand up a farmer-led organization that provides technical assistance to farmers.

• Sustainable and resilient agricultural operations. Examples include: identifying vulnerabilities to climate-related risks including understanding potential exposures (e.g., weather variability such as drought, flooding, etc.); exploring the social, economic, cultural, and technical implementation challenges and opportunities for making fundamental changes to the way we farm in the watershed to ensure the long-term sustainability of agriculture; developing adaptive capacity or resilience to respond, recover and transform continued operations after exposure that will result in reduced soil nutrient losses and improved downstream water quality. (For more information on farming resilience, see https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Cultivating-Climate-Resilience-on-Farms-and-Ranches.)

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

1. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1061(2)).

A list of these schools can be found at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

2. Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059c(b)(3) and (d)(1)). A list of these schools can be found at American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities

3. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1101a(a)(5)). A list of these schools can be found at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

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

5. Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act of 2008, 20 U.S.C.

1059e(b)(6). A list of these schools can be found at Predominately Black Institutions

I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage, Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes and Performance Measures Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7A1, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” EPA must link proposed assistance agreements with the Agency’s Strategic Plan. EPA also requires that grant applicants and recipients adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements, https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results- under-epa-assistance-agreements).

1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan The activities to be funded under this solicitation support EPA’s Draft FY 2022- 2026 Strategic Plan. Awards made under this solicitation will support Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities, Objective 5.2: Protect and Restore Waterbodies and Watersheds of the Draft Plan. All applications must be for projects that support the goals and objectives identified above.

2. Environmental Results Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the objectives described above.

a. Outputs Environmental outputs (or deliverables) refer to an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Cultivating-Climate-Resilience-on-Farms-and-Ranches https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/whiaiane/tribes-tcus/tribal-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/whiaiane/tribes-tcus/tribal-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/hispanic-initiative/hispanic-serving-institutions-hsis/ https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1XVkOWKMDORm53pvU0L8EPsrJC94&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&z=3&source=embed&ll=40.58644586187277%2C-148.28228249999984 https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1XVkOWKMDORm53pvU0L8EPsrJC94&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&z=3&source=embed&ll=40.58644586187277%2C-148.28228249999984 https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1wlIi3j7gtlNq_w-0NKAb2bF2VmY&ie=UTF&msa=0&ll=37.35160769312534%2C-96.17229800000001&z=4 https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan product related to an environmental goal or objective that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement project period. Outputs are required and may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Number of subawards to eligible entities to directly collaborate with underserved farmers on projects to support the Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives identified in I.B;

• Development and verification of subawardee tracking (reporting) process to track expenditures and environmental results/data; this must include quarterly progress reports of subrecipient activities such as:

o Number of farmers or farming communities that adopt sustainability and resiliency practices o Number of farmers or farming communities that adopt practices that lead to reduced nutrient losses and improved water quality o Estimation of nutrient reduction, habitat improvement, and/or sustainable forests protected o Numbers of acres and/or miles of conservation practices adopted o Number of restoration, watershed, and/or land use plans designed, developed, or adopted

• Farmer to farmer education events/presentations (report number of events and participants) that share the successful outcomes, lessons learned, technologies developed, approaches gleaned, and best practices employed; and

• Number of new sub-watershed wide and/or regional coalitions, partnerships or efforts resulting from investments under this grant award;

Progress reports and a final report are required outputs, as specified in Section VI.C., Reporting, of this announcement.

b. Outcomes Environmental outcomes are 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 and are used as a way to gauge a project’s performance. Outcomes may be qualitative and environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature, but must also be quantitative. Outcomes may be short term (changes in learning, knowledge, attitude, skills), intermediate (changes in behavior, practice, or decisions), or long-term (changes in condition of the natural resource).

Applicants must demonstrate how their proposed project will achieve the following outcomes/results:

• Change in willingness to adopt practices as a result of project outreach. For example, number of farmers who intend to adopt or are adopting practices as a result of project outreach.

• Improved resiliency of farming operations (climate, financial, etc).

• At least one of the following:

o Acres AND Type of habitat enhanced, protected or restored over the life of the project with quarterly milestones clearly reflected. An initial baseline must be included to provide an accurate view of progress OR based on before and after project measurements o Improvement in at least one water quality (WQ) parameter in a water body and/or segment over the life of the project with quarterly milestones clearly reflected. An initial baseline must be included to provide an accurate view of progress OR based on before and after project measurements (or best practice WQ monitoring periods). Examples of WQ parameters that could be demonstrated in a WQ improvement project include but are not limited to: excess nutrients, turbidity, total suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature.

Additional outcomes may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Pollutant (e.g., nutrients, sediment) load reductions in the Gulf of Mexico watershed.

• The number of pounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment discharge avoided.

• Improvements made to state, county, or local environmental programs, requirements or policies that better protect public health and the environment.

• Improved collective knowledge about more efficient farming practices, resulting in reduction in the pollution in segments of the Gulf of Mexico watershed.

• Cost savings resulting from project implementation.

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

3. Performance Measures The applicant should also develop performance measures they expect to achieve through the proposed activities and describe them in their application. These performance measures will help gather insights and will be the mechanism to track progress concerning successful processes and output and outcome strategies and will provide the basis for developing lessons to inform future recipients. It is expected that the description of performance measures will directly relate to the project outcomes and outputs. The following are questions to consider when developing output and outcome measures of quantitative and qualitative results:

• What are the measurable short term and longer term results the project will achieve?

• How does the plan measure progress in achieving the expected results (including outputs and outcomes) and how will the approach use resources effectively and efficiently?

I.D. RFA Terms

Demonstration: For the purposes of this RFA, EPA is defining “demonstration” as 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 demonstration project. The applicant must clearly explain in the proposal how the technologies, methods, or approaches used are new or experimental and how the project otherwise meets the requirements of a demonstration as described in this RFA. If your project uses technologies, methods or approaches that have been used previously in other geographic areas and/or other situations, then your proposal must include an explanation as to how your demonstration project is different from prior projects. The applicant must also explain what will be learned from the demonstration project.

Farmer: For the purposes of this RFA, EPA is defining “farmer” as those individuals that make management decisions concerning agriculture lands, including cropland, forestland, and grazing lands. Collaboration and/or coalitions between organizations are encouraged, including collaboration that increases knowledge transfer.

II: AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. Award Amounts

The estimated amount available under this announcement is approximately $12 million. The amount of federal funding per award is up to $3,000,000. Applications seeking EPA funding in excess of that amount will be rejected. EPA anticipates awarding 4 cooperative agreements under this solicitation. The number of cooperative agreements EPA will fund as a result of this RFA will be based on the quality of applications received, the https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements availability of funding, and other applicable considerations. The successful applicants should provide EPA with a negotiated workplan covering distinct one-year periods of performance for each year of the project. Subawards awarded under the cooperative agreement are anticipated to have project periods ranging several years but need to be completed in sufficient time for the recipient to aggregate results and ensure the subawardees have been reimbursed for eligible incurred costs prior to the end of the project period for the cooperative agreement.

EPA expects funding for each subaward will range from $75,000 to $250,000. Note: Applicants can identify a slightly different range for each subaward as part of their project narrative and explain why they have chosen a different range.

II.B. Anticipated Project Start and End Dates

This RFA instructs applicants to submit certifications and other documentation required for a full and complete funding package so that their projects could, if selected, proceed expeditiously. The estimated project period for awards resulting from this solicitation will begin in Calendar Year 2022. Proposed project periods may be up to five years.

II.C. Funding Type

Successful applicants will be issued a cooperative agreement as appropriate. A cooperative agreement is an assistance agreement that is used when there is substantial federal involvement with the recipient during the performance of an activity or project. EPA awards cooperative agreements for those projects in which it expects to have substantial interaction with the recipient throughout the performance of the project. The grantee will make the final subaward selections and administer the subawards. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial EPA involvement for the project selected may include:

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

2. Collaboration during the performance of the scope of work and budget;

3. In accordance with the applicable regulations at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart D (200.317 through 200.326), as appropriate, review of proposed procurements;

4. Review of evaluation criteria and in selecting subawardees (the final decision on the evaluation criteria rests with the recipient);

5. Review the subaward competitive solicitation and may provide comments to ensure consistency with the applicant's scope of work (the recipient is responsible for the content of, and all final decisions regarding, the subaward competitive solicitation including the disposition of any EPA comments on the subaward competitive solicitation);

6. Participation in the review process for selection of subawardees (the majority of the selection panel members must be non-federal members);

7. Review and approval of the substantive terms of subawards to verify compliance with federal requirements (the final decision on the selection of subawardees rests with the recipient); and

8. Provide access for the recipient to EPA scientific expertise, sampling protocols, publicly available data, and other forms of technical assistance, should the request be made by the recipient and EPA has available personnel.

II.D. Additional Funding Information

Additional Awards: EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than 6 months after the original selection decisions.

Award Funding: Awards may be fully or incrementally funded, as appropriate, based on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations.

Future Funding: Selection or award of funding under this RFA is not a guarantee of future funding.

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

Pre-Award Costs: Recipients may incur otherwise eligible and allowable pre-award costs up to 90 days prior to award at their own risk without prior approval of EPA’s award official. Pre-award costs must comply with 2 CFR

200.458 and 2 CFR 1500.8. If EPA determines that the requested pre-award costs comply with the relevant authorities, and that the costs are justified as allocable to the project, then these costs may be included as allowable expenditures at the time that the assistance award document is prepared. However, if for any reason EPA does not fund the application or the amount of the award is less than the applicant anticipated, then EPA is under no obligation to reimburse the applicant for these costs incurred. Thus, applicants incur pre-award costs at their own risk. Costs incurred more than 90 days prior to award require the approval of EPA Region 4’s grant official.

III: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A. Eligible Entities

In accordance with Assistance Listing 66.475, applications will be accepted from governmental entities, including state agencies, interstate agencies, Indian tribes, local governments, institutions of higher learning (i.e., colleges and universities), and non-profit organizations (as defined at 2 CFR 200) are eligible to apply for funding under this RFA. Consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization at 2 CFR § 200.1, the term nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest and is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. The term includes tax-exempt nonprofit neighborhood and labor organizations. Note that 2 CFR 200.1 specifically excludes Institutions of Higher Education from the definition of non-profit organization because they are separately defined in the regulation. While not considered to be a nonprofit organization(s) as defined by 2 CFR 200.1, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA. For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible.

Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status; such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or tribal law. Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible for EPA funding as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. 1611.

EPA recognizes that scientific, technical, engineering and mathematical (STEM) competence is essential to the Nation's future well-being in terms of national security and competitive economic advantage. For instance, the health and vitality of the economy is predicated, in part, on the availability of an adequate supply of scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians, to develop innovative technologies and solutions. In other words, this country must engage all available minds to address the challenges it faces. Minorities, women, and persons with disabilities historically have been under-represented in the STEM fields. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages all eligible applicants including, women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to apply.

• Competitive Subawards. Eligible entities for competitive subawards issued by the successful applicant are the same eligible entities listed above. For the purposes of this announcement, EPA has determined that for-profit entities are ineligible for the competitive subaward program. EPA award officials will disapprove the costs of proposed subaward work to 501(c)(4) organizations identified in a subaward application, or workplan changes requiring prior approval, if the work involves lobbying activities or would otherwise violate the principles of EPA’s subaward policy.

III.B. Coalitions

Groups of two or more eligible applicants may choose to form a coalition and submit a single application under this RFA; however, one entity must be responsible for the grant. Coalitions must identify which eligible organization will be the recipient of the grant and which eligible organization(s) will be subawardee(s) of the recipient. Subawards and subgrants must be consistent with the definitions of those terms in 2 C.F.R. 200.92. The recipient must administer the grant, will be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds and reporting, and will be the point of contact for the coalition. As provided in 2 C.F.R. 200.332(d), subrecipients or subgrantees are accountable to the recipient or grantee for proper use of EPA funding.

Coalitions may not include for-profit organizations that will provide services or products to the successful applicant. For-profit organizations are not eligible for subawards. For-profit organizations are eligible to receive contracts. Any contracts for services or products funded with EPA financial assistance must be awarded under the competitive procurement procedures of 2 C.F.R. § 200.319, as applicable. The regulations also contain limitations on consultant compensation. (Please see 2 C.F.R. § 1500.10, formerly at 40 C.F.R. § 30.27(b) or 31.36(j), as applicable.) For additional information, please review the following Federal Register:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-7867.pdf .

III.C. Match or Cost-Share

There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement as a condition of eligibility under this RFA.

III.D. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

These are requirements that if not met by the applicant by the time of application submission will result in elimination of the application from consideration for funding. Only applications from eligible entities listed in Section III.A that meet these criteria by the time of application submission will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V of this RFA. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified by e-mail within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

• Substantial Compliance: Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section I.B of this announcement or else they will be rejected.

Where a page limit is stated for the Project Narrative in Section IV.D, pages in excess of the limitation will not be reviewed.

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-7867.pdf http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-7867.pdf

• Grant.gov submission: In addition, applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV) on or before the application submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement to ensure that their application is timely submitted.

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

• Project Scope: Applications must address how the applicant will establish and manage a competitive subaward program to eligible entities to directly collaborate with underserved farmers on projects within the Gulf of Mexico watershed to support the Gulf of Mexico Farmer to Farmer objectives identified in I.B.

• Environmental Results: Applicants must identify estimated or anticipated environmental results in their application and should identify MAJOR anticipated results on the Summary Information page.

• Project Location: For an application to be considered eligible for funding, planned geographic focus of your subaward competition must be within the Gulf of Mexico watershed in ONE of the four geographic areas:

a) Missouri - Arkansas – White - Red Region (HUCs 10 and 11)

b) Ohio-Tennessee Region (HUCs 05 and 06)

c) Non-Mississippi Reiver Drainage (HUCs 12, 13 and a portion of 03)

d) Mississippi River Region (HUCs 07 and 08)

For more details on location, please see Appendix B.

• Funding Request Limit: Applications seeking funding in excess of the specified maximum amount of EPA funding of $3,000,000 will be rejected.

• Ineligible activities: If an application is submitted that includes any ineligible tasks or activities, that portion of the application will be ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the application, render the entire application ineligible for funding.

III.E. Ineligible Activities

The following are ineligible activities:

• Projects that do not comply with Clean Water Act Section 104(b)(3), which authorizes the award of assistance agreements to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution.

• Actions required to settle a formal enforcement action or included in a court order; or specified as a required mitigation measure under a state, local, or federal permit for a specific project; however, grant funding may be used to enhance or expand such projects beyond minimum requirements for compliance.

• Work involving only routine maintenance of storm water infrastructure and other facilities

• Projects which fall under the existing planning responsibilities of an individual state or local government

(e.g., development of TMDLs or MS4 permits) https://www.grants.gov/ https://sam.gov/content/home

• Solely “gray infrastructure” projects (e.g., installation of sewer lines)

• Construction activities that are not a part of a demonstration project. This includes, but is not limited to, preliminary planning to determine the economic and engineering feasibility of a facility; engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal, and economic investigations and studies; surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other actions necessary to the construction of a facility; the erection, acquisition, alteration, remodeling, improvement, or extension of a facility; and the inspection and supervision of the construction of a facility.

IV: APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A. Requirement to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures Applicants must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the grants.gov instructions in this announcement. If your organization has no access to the internet or access is very limited, you may request an exception for the remainder of this calendar year by following the procedures outlined here.

Please note that your request must be received at least 15 calendar days before the application due date to allow enough time to negotiate alternative submission methods. Issues with submissions with respect to this opportunity only are addressed in section IV.C. Technical Issues with Submission below.

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

Applicants need to ensure that the AOR who submits the application through Grants.gov and whose DUNS is listed on the application is an AOR for the applicant listed on the application. Additionally, the DUNS listed on the application must be registered to the applicant organization's SAM account. If not, the application may be deemed ineligible.

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

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