PKG00255781-instructions.pdf

OVERVIEW

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: FY20 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD REVOLVING LOAN FUND

GRANTS

ACTION: Request for Applications (RFA)

RFP NO.: EPA-OLEM-OBLR-19-06

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO.: 66.818

DATE: The closing date and time for receipt of applications is December 3, 2019, 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time (ET). Applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov. Applications received after 11:59 p.m. ET on December 3, 2019 will not be considered. Please refer to the

Due Date and Submission Instructions in Section IV.B. and Appendix 1 for further instructions.

SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

(CERCLA), as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development

(BUILD) Act (P.L. 115-141), requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish guidance for grants to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA’s Brownfields Program provides funds to empower states, communities, tribes, and nonprofit organizations to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites. This guidance provides information on applying for Revolving Loan Fund Grants.

For the purposes of these guidelines, the term “grant” refers to the cooperative agreement that

EPA will award to a successful applicant. Please refer to Section II.C. for a description of EPA’s anticipated substantial involvement in the cooperative agreements awarded under these guidelines.

EPA urges applicants to review the FY20 Brownfields Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which can be found at https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants.

In addition, prior to naming a contractor (including a consultant) or subrecipient in your application, please carefully review Section IV.G. of these guidelines.

FUNDING/AWARDS: EPA anticipates awarding an estimated eight Revolving Loan Fund

Grants for an estimated $8 million, subject to the quality of applications received, availability of funds and other applicable considerations. EPA may expend up to 25% of the amount appropriated for Brownfield Grants on sites contaminated with petroleum.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants

CONTENTS BY SECTION

SECTION I. – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

I.A. Description of Grant I.B. Uses of Grant Funds

I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage I.D. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes I.E. Supporting Environmental Justice

SECTION II. – AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. What is the Amount of Available Funding?

II.B. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

II.C. Substantial Involvement

SECTION III. – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION AND THRESHOLD CRITERIA

III.A. Who Can Apply?

III.B. Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants

SECTION IV. – APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A. How to Obtain an Application Package IV.B. Due Date and Submission Instructions

IV.C. Content and Form of Application Submission IV.D. Narrative Information Sheet IV.E. Narrative/Ranking Criteria

1. PROJECT AREA DESCRIPTION AND PLANS FOR REVITALIZATION

2. COMMUNITY NEED AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

3. TASK DESCRIPTIONS, COST ESTIMATES, AND MEASURING PROGRESS . 21

4. PROGRAMMATIC CAPABILITY AND PAST PERFORMANCE

IV.F. Leveraging

IV.G. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

SECTION V. – NARRATIVE REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A. Evaluation Criteria V.B. Other Factors and Considerations

V.C. Review and Selection Process V.D. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

SECTION VI. – AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VI.A. Award Notices VI.B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements VI.C. Reporting Requirements VI.D. Brownfield Programmatic Requirements VI.E. Disputes

VI.F. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

SECTION VII. – EPA REGIONAL BROWNFIELD PROGRAM CONTACTS

Appendix 1 Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions

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

B. Submission Instructions C. Technical Issues with Submission

SECTION I. – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was amended by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in 2002 to include Section 104(k), which provides federal financial assistance authorities for brownfields revitalization, including grants for assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan funds. The

Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act enacted in 2018 reauthorized EPA’s Brownfields Program and made additional amendments to CERCLA that affect EPA’s brownfield grant authorities, and ownership and liability provisions. (Note:

References to CERCLA in this solicitation refer to CERCLA as amended by the 2002 Small

Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act and the 2018 BUILD Act.)

A brownfield site is defined in CERCLA § 101(39) as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, controlled substances, petroleum or petroleum products, or is mine-scarred land.

A critical part of EPA’s Brownfields Program is to ensure that residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination have an opportunity to reap the benefits from brownfields redevelopment. EPA’s

Brownfields Program has a rich history rooted in environmental justice and is committed to helping communities revitalize brownfield properties, mitigate potential health risks, and restore economic vitality.

As described in Section V.A. of this announcement, applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates: a vision for the cleanup, reuse and redevelopment of brownfield sites and a strategy for leveraging resources to help accomplish the vision; the environmental, social, health and economic needs and benefits of the target area; strong community engagement; reasonable and eligible tasks and appropriate use of grant funding; the capacity for managing and successfully implementing the cooperative agreement; and other factors.

I.A. Description of Grant

Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants provide funding to a grant recipient to capitalize an RLF program. RLF programs provide loans and subgrants to eligible entities to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites contaminated with hazardous substances and/or petroleum.

Summary of RLF Grant Options

Individual Entity Coalition

Maximum amount of funding request

Up to $1,000,000 for hazardous substances and/or petroleum

20% cost share Required for all applicants; unless EPA provides a hardship waiver.

Project Period 5 years

Revolving loan funds are used to provide no-interest or low-interest loans for eligible brownfield cleanups, subgrants for cleanups, and other eligible programmatic costs necessary to manage the

RLF. An RLF Grant recipient must use 50% or more of the awarded funds and the associated cost share to provide loans for the cleanup of eligible brownfield sites and associated eligible programmatic capability. The remaining EPA funding and associated cost share may be used for eligible programmatic costs, including issuing and managing subgrants to clean up eligible brownfield sites.

RLF Grant recipients may not subgrant to themselves. However, the RLF Grant recipient may subgrant to other coalition members if EPA awards an RLF Coalition Grant. Subgrants are limited to $350,000 per site. Entities receiving RLF subgrants must own the site that is the subject of the subgrant, but borrowers are not subject to the same requirement. An RLF Grant recipient cannot make a loan or a subgrant to a party who may be found to be potentially liable for the contamination at the brownfield site, per CERCLA § 107. In addition, the RLF Grant recipient may not make a loan or subgrant to clean up a site for which the recipient is potentially liable under CERCLA § 107.

Some features of the RLF Grants are:

• RLF programs are designed to operate for many years (possibly decades) and as such, they require long-term resource commitments by the RLF Grant recipients and on-going reporting to the EPA, even after the RLF Grant is closed.

• Recipients need to have a strong understanding of real estate financing principles and approaches, including loan underwriting, loan servicing, and credit analysis.

• Recipients need to have the ability to market the RLF program on an on-going basis during the performance period of the grant and after the closeout of the RLF Grant.

• Recipients commit to properly manage funds and program income generated by their

RLF program in perpetuity, unless they terminate their Closeout Agreement and return any remaining program income to EPA.

o Majority of program income is generated from the repayments of loans issued by the RLF program.

o Advances of cooperative agreement funds and program income must be held in an interest-bearing account. Interest earned is considered additional program income.

o Loan repayment terms can be short- or long-term, i.e., a few years to decades;

hence, the program income can be generated over several years.

o Program income must be used in accordance with the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement including the Closeout Agreement. EPA prefers that the program income be used for future loans.

o Program income may be retained and used after the end of the cooperative agreement and used in accordance with the recipients’ Closeout Agreement.

Termination of the cooperative agreement occurs when all payments from EPA have been received and all cleanup activities funded by the cooperative agreement are complete.

Sites where hazardous substances and petroleum contamination are distinguishable must meet eligibility requirements for both types of funding. If the hazardous substances and petroleum are not easily distinguishable, the site must meet eligibility requirements for the predominant contaminant. Sites eligible for hazardous substance funding are those properties with the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants; sites that are contaminated with controlled substances; or sites that are mine-scarred lands. The application must indicate the dollar amount of funding requested for both hazardous substances and petroleum.

RLF Coalition Grants

An RLF Coalition is comprised of one “lead” eligible entity that partners with one or more eligible entities. The lead eligible entity is the applicant that submits a proposal on behalf of the coalition members. The RLF Coalition may request funding up to $1,000,000 in hazardous substances1 funding (for sites with potential contamination of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants) and/or petroleum2 funding (for sites with potential petroleum contamination).

Coalition members may not have the same jurisdiction (for example, different departments in the same county) unless they are separate legal entities (for example, a city and an affiliated nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

Code).

If selected, the lead entity will be the grant recipient and must administer the grant, be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds and be the point of contact for the other coalition members.

Coalition members may not be members of other RLF Coalitions, nor submit an RLF

Grant application as an individual applicant, in the FY20 competition cycle. A coalition member wishing to apply as part of a different coalition or as an individual applicant must withdraw from the coalition.

Please note that once the lead entity submits the application, it becomes the applicant, and the coalition members may not substitute another eligible entity as the lead entity after the deadline for submitting applications has passed.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) documenting the coalition’s site selection process must be in place prior to the expenditure of any funds that are awarded. The coalition members should identify and establish relationships necessary to achieve the project’s goal. A process for successful execution of the project’s goal, including a description and role of each coalition member, should be established along with the MOA. The purpose of the MOA is for coalition members to agree internally on the distribution of funds and the mechanisms for implementing the cleanup work.

1 Sites eligible for hazardous substances funding are those sites with the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, sites that are contaminated with controlled substances or that are mine-scarred lands. For more information on sites eligible for hazardous substances funding, please refer to the FY20 FAQs.

2 Sites eligible for petroleum funding are those sites that meet the definition set forth in CERCLA §

101(39)(D)(ii)(II), as further described in Section 1.3.2.in the Information on Sites Eligible for

Brownfields Funding under CERCLA § 104(k).

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants file:///C:/Users/MMINORGO/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Word/•%09https:/www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-sites-eligible-brownfields-funding-under-cercla-ss-104k file:///C:/Users/MMINORGO/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Word/•%09https:/www.epa.gov/brownfields/information-sites-eligible-brownfields-funding-under-cercla-ss-104k

Cost Share Requirement

CERCLA requires applicants to provide a 20% cost share for RLF Grants. For example, a

$1,000,000 RLF Grant will require a $200,000 cost share. The cost share, which may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services, must be for eligible and allowable costs under the grant, as described in the FY20 FAQs. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case basis and will approve such requests on a limited basis. Refer to the threshold criterion in Section III.B.4. for additional information on cost share waivers.

I.B. Uses of Grant Funds

In addition to direct costs associated with the cleanup of a brownfield site, grant funds may be used for:

1. Direct costs associated with programmatic management of the grant, such as required performance reporting, cleanup oversight, environmental oversight of cleanup work, and funds management.

All costs charged to RLF Grants must be consistent with the requirements at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.

2. A local government (as defined in 2 CFR § 200.64, Local Government, and summarized in

Section III.A. of these guidelines and in the Health Monitoring Fact Sheet3) may use up to

10% of its grant funds for the following activities:

a. health monitoring of populations exposed to hazardous substances from a brownfield site; and

b. monitoring and enforcement of any institutional control used to prevent human exposure to any hazardous substance from a brownfield site.

3. A portion of the Brownfields Grant, loan, or subgrant may be used to purchase environmental insurance. (See the FY20 FAQs for additional information on purchasing environmental insurance.)

Grant funds cannot be used for the payment of:

1. Direct costs for proposal preparation;

2. a penalty or fine;

3. a federal cost share requirement (for example, a cost share required by other federal funds);

4. administrative costs, including all indirect costs and direct costs for grant administration in excess of five (5) percent of the total amount of EPA grant funding, with the exception of

3 The Health Monitoring Fact Sheet is available at https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-public-health-and-health-monitoring.

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-public-health-and-health-monitoring https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants financial and performance reporting costs (which are considered allowable programmatic costs and not subject to the 5% limitation);

5. a response cost at a brownfield site for which the recipient of the grant or loan is potentially liable under CERCLA § 107;

6. a cost of compliance with any federal law, excluding the cost of compliance with laws applicable to the cleanup; or

7. unallowable costs (e.g., lobbying) under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.

See the FY20 FAQs for additional information on ineligible grant activities and unallowable costs.

I.C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage

The activities to be funded under this announcement support EPA’s FY 2018-2022 Strategic

Plan.4 Awards made under this announcement will support Goal 1 – A Cleaner, Healthier

Environment, Objective 3 – Revitalize Land and Prevent Contamination of EPA’s Strategic Plan.

All applications must be for projects that support the goal and objective.

I.D. Measuring Environmental Results: Anticipated Outputs/Outcomes

EPA requires that applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements.5 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 goal and objective described above in Section I.C.

Applicants are required to describe how funding will help EPA achieve environmental outputs and outcomes in their responses to the ranking criteria in Section IV.E. Outputs and outcomes specific to each project will be identified as deliverables in the negotiated workplan if the application is selected for award. Recipients will be expected to report progress toward the attainment of expected project outputs and outcomes during the project performance period.

Outputs and outcomes are defined as follows:

1. Outputs

The term “outputs” refers to an environmental activity, effort and/or associated work products 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 the project period. The expected outputs for the grants awarded under these guidelines may include but are not limited to the number of loans and subgrants

4 EPA’s Strategic Plan is available at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan.

5 EPA Order 5700.7, EPA’s Policy for Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements is available at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements.

https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57007a1-epas-policy-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements executed, the number of community meetings held, the number of Analyses of Brownfield

Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) completed, the number of community involvement and cleanup plans completed, the number of tanks pulled, and/or the number of cleanups completed.

2. Outcomes

The term “outcomes” refers to the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out the activities under the grant. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic; must be qualitative or quantitative, and may not necessarily be achievable during the project period. Expected outcomes of Brownfield Grants include the number of jobs created and funding leveraged through the economic reuse of sites; the number of acres made ready for reuse; acres of greenspace created for communities; and the minimized exposure to hazardous substances and petroleum contamination.

I.E. Supporting Environmental Justice

EPA defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across the nation. Environmental justice will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.6

Environmental justice can be supported through equitable development approaches and intentional strategies to ensure that low-income and minority communities not only participate in but also benefit from decisions that shape their neighborhoods and regions. There are many different approaches that promote equitable development, such as ensuring a mix of housing types across a range of incomes; access to fresh food; access to jobs; and access to local capital.

Programs or policies can be put in place to help ensure creation or integration of affordable housing; local or first-source hiring of contractor, borrower or subgrantee employees provided the recipient does not impose geographic preferences for procurements in violation of 2 CFR

200.319(b); minority contracting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 33; inclusionary zoning (where a percentage of new housing is designated as affordable housing); healthy food retailers in places where they do not exist (e.g. food deserts); co-operative ownership models where local residents come together to run a community-owned, jointly owned business enterprise; rent control or community land trusts (to help keep property affordable for residents); supportive local entrepreneurial activities; and adherence to equal lending opportunities.

Applicants should discuss and provide specific examples of how the proposed Brownfields RLF program will address environmental justice challenges in Section IV.E.

6 For more information please visit www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice.

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

SECTION II. – AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. What is the Amount of Available Funding?

The estimated total funding available for RLF Grants under this solicitation is approximately $8 million and EPA anticipates awarding an estimated eight RLF Grants subject to the availability of funds, quality of applications, and other applicable considerations. EPA may expend up to

25% of the amount appropriated for Brownfield Grants on sites contaminated with petroleum.

In addition, EPA reserves the right to award additional grants under this competition should additional funding become available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selection decisions. EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement or make fewer awards than anticipated.

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. To maintain the integrity of the competition and selection process, EPA, if it decides to partially fund an application, 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.

II.B. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

The project period for RLF Grants is up to five years.

II.C. Substantial Involvement

The Brownfields RLF Grant will be awarded in the form of a cooperative agreement.

Cooperative agreements permit the EPA Project Officer to be substantially involved in overseeing the work performed by the selected recipients. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial federal involvement for this project include:

• close monitoring of the recipient’s performance to verify the results;

• collaborating during the performance of the scope of work;

• in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.317 and 2 CFR § 200.318, as appropriate, review of proposed procurements;

• reviewing qualifications of key personnel (EPA will not select employees, or contractors, including consultants, employed by the award recipient);

• reviewing and commenting on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient);

• reviewing sites to verify they meet applicable site eligibility criteria; and

• monitoring the use of program income after the cooperative agreement project period ends.

SECTION III. – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION AND THRESHOLD

CRITERIA

III.A. Who Can Apply?

The following information indicates which entities are eligible to apply for an RLF Grant.

• General Purpose Unit of Local Government. [For purposes of the EPA Brownfields Grant

Program, a “local government” is defined as stated under 2 CFR § 200.64.: Local government means a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority

(including any public and Indian housing agency under the United States Housing Act of

1937), school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under state law), any other regional or interstate government entity, or any agency or instrumentality of a local government.]

• Land Clearance Authority or another quasi-governmental entity that operates under the supervision and control of, or as an agent of, a General Purpose Unit of Local Government.

• Government Entity Created by State Legislature.

• Regional Council or group of General Purpose Units of Local Government.

• Redevelopment Agency that is chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a state.

• State.

• Indian tribe other than in Alaska. (The exclusion of Alaskan Tribes from Brownfields Grant eligibility is statutory at CERCLA § 104(k)(1)). Intertribal Consortia, comprised of eligible

Indian tribes, are eligible for funding in accordance with EPA’s policy for funding intertribal consortia published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2002, at 67 Fed. Reg. 67181.

This policy also may be obtained from your Regional Brownfields Contact listed in Section

VII.)

• Alaska Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native Village Corporation, and Metlakatla

Indian Community. (Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Alaska Native Village

Corporations are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following. For more information, please refer to the FY20 FAQs.)

• Nonprofit organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

• Limited liability corporation in which all managing members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or limited liability corporations whose sole members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

• Limited liability partnership in which all general partners are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or limited liability corporations whose sole members are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

• Qualified community development entity as defined in section 45D(c)(1) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986.

III.B. Threshold Criteria for RLF Grants

This section contains the threshold eligibility criteria that ensure applicants are eligible to receive an RLF Grant. Threshold criteria are pass/fail and include certain requests for information identified below. The information you submit will be used by EPA solely to make eligibility determinations for Brownfield Grants and is not legally binding for other purposes including https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/frequently-asked-questions-about-multipurpose-assessment-rlf-and-cleanup-grants federal, state, or tribal enforcement actions. Only those applications that pass all the threshold criteria will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria in Section V.A. of this announcement.

Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

Coalition members may not be members of other RLF Coalitions, nor submit an RLF

Grant application as an individual applicant, in the FY20 competition cycle. A coalition member wishing to apply as part of a different coalition or as an individual applicant must withdraw from the coalition.

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.

EPA staff will respond to questions regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the application, and requests for clarification about this announcement. For purposes of the threshold eligibility review, EPA, if necessary, may seek clarification of applicant information that is included in the application and/or consider information from other sources, including EPA files. Such communications shall not be used to correct application deficiencies or material omissions, materially alter the application or project proposed, or discuss changes to the applicant’s responses to any evaluation or selection criteria.

In order to maintain the integrity of the competition process, EPA staff cannot meet with individual applicants to discuss draft applications, provide informal comments on draft applications, or provide advice to applicants on how to respond to ranking criteria. EPA’s limitations on staff involvement with grant applicants are described in EPA’s Policy for

Competition of Assistance Agreements.7

Applicants may not submit multiple applications under this solicitation. Applicants who submit more than one application (i.e., submit applications for different projects) will be contacted by

EPA prior to application review to determine which application(s) will be withdrawn.

Applications must substantially comply with the submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV. of this announcement or they will be rejected. Pages exceeding the page limits described in Section IV.C. for the Narrative Information Sheet and the Narrative, and attachments not specifically required, will not be reviewed.

In addition, applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov as stated in Section IV. and

Appendix 1 of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Appendix 1) on or before the application submission deadline. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in

Section IV. and Appendix 1 of this announcement to ensure that their application is submitted on time.

7 EPA Order 5700.5A1, EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements is available at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-57005a1-epas-policy-competition-assistance-agreements

Applications received after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with www.grants.gov or relevant www.sam.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through www.grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in www.sam.gov or www.grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission.

EPA will verify that the Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number listed on the application is the correct DUNS number for the applicant’s organization/department. If the correct DUNS number is not included on the application, the application may be deemed ineligible. Applicants need to ensure that the correct Authorized Organization Representative

(AOR) and DUNS number of the entity that will receive the award and will be held accountable by EPA for the proper expenditure of funds are listed on the application.

Responses to the items below are required and must be included as an attachment to the

Narrative that is included in the application submitted to EPA. See Section IV.C. for a complete list of required documents that must be submitted.

1. Applicant Eligibility

Provide information that demonstrates how you are an eligible entity for an RLF Grant as specified in Section III.A., Who Can Apply?

• For entities that are cities, counties, tribes, or states, affirm that the organization is eligible for funding.

• For government entities other than cities, counties, tribes, or states, attach documentation of your eligibility (e.g., resolutions, statutes, etc.).

• RLF Coalitions must document how all coalition members are eligible entities. All coalition members must submit a signed letter to the grant applicant (the lead coalition member) in which they agree to be part of the coalition. An active

Memorandum of Agreement that includes a description and role of each coalition member may serve in place of the individual coalition members’ letters. Include the document(s), as an attachment, in your application.

• For nonprofit organizations, or organizations comprised of nonprofit organizations, provide documentation as an attachment to the Narrative demonstrating tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

• For qualified community development entities, provide documentation as an attachment to the Narrative certifying the organization’s status.

2. Description of Jurisdiction

EPA awards RLF Grants to clean up sites that are located within the jurisdiction of the applicant, as defined in the application. This does not preclude applicants from targeting specific communities or areas within the jurisdiction in their marketing, outreach, and https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ cleanup activities. Applicants must provide a description of the boundaries of their jurisdiction (e.g., the city limits of The City of ABC).

Provide a description of the jurisdiction’s boundaries. Note: For RLF Coalitions, the lead applicant must have the broader jurisdiction, authority, and/or program capacity to ensure adequate program performance of coalition members, borrowers, and/or subgrantees, if warranted.

3. Oversight Structure and Legal Authority to Manage a Revolving Loan Fund

RLF Grant recipients will be required to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and ensure that the cleanup protects human health and the environment.

a. Describe how you will oversee cleanup at sites. Indicate whether you plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program. If you do not plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program, or an appropriate state or tribal response program is not available, you will be required to consult with EPA to ensure cleanups are protective of human health and the environment.

Therefore, if you do not plan to require loan or subgrant recipients to enroll in a state or tribal response program, provide a description of the technical expertise you have to conduct, manage, and oversee the cleanups and/or whether you plan to acquire additional technical expertise. If you do plan to acquire additional technical expertise, discuss how you will comply with the competitive procurement provisions of 2 CFR §§ 200.317 through 200.326 and ensure that this technical expertise is in place prior to beginning cleanup activities.

b. Provide a legal opinion from your counsel that demonstrates:

(1) you have legal authority to access and secure sites in the event of an emergency or default of a loan agreement or non-performance under a subgrant; and

(2) you have legal authority to perform the actions necessary to manage a revolving loan fund. At a minimum, legal authority must include the ability to hold funds, make loans, enter into loan agreements, and collect repayments.

This opinion must cite the relevant state law(s) or local ordinance(s) that allow you access to sites and the authority to manage an RLF. Attach your counsel’s legal opinion.

4. Statutory Cost Share

RLF Grant recipients are required to provide a cost share that is calculated as 20% of the total federal RLF Grant funds awarded. For example, if EPA awards you $800,000 of federal

RLF Grant funds, you must provide a cost share of an additional $160,000. The cost share may be in the form of a contribution of money, labor, material, or services from a non-federal source. If the cost share is in the form of a contribution of labor, material, or other services, it must be incurred for an eligible and allowable expense under the grant and not for ineligible expenses and it must otherwise comply with 2 CFR § 200.306. Eligible and allowable expenses may include administrative costs borne by the recipient or a third-party to meet its cost share obligation; including indirect costs, subject to the 5% limit on administrative costs.

RLF Grant applicants may petition EPA to waive the cost share requirement if meeting a cost share will place an undue hardship. EPA will consider hardship waiver requests on a case-by-case basis and will approve such requests on an extremely limited basis.

a. Demonstrate how you will meet the required cost share, including the sources of the funding or services, as required for this RLF Grant.

b. If you are requesting a hardship waiver of the cost share, provide an explanation for the basis of your request. This explanation must be submitted on a separate page, titled

“Hardship Waiver Request.” Your explanation should include whether the proposed project(s) could still proceed if the cost share waiver was not approved and relevant data such as:

• unemployment rate;

• per capita income;

• data demonstrating substantial out-migration or population loss;

• data demonstrating underemployment, that is, employment of workers at less than full-time or at less skilled tasks than their training or abilities permit;

• local natural or other major disasters or emergencies;

• information regarding extraordinary depletion of natural resources;

• closure or restructuring of industrial firms and negative effects of changing trade patterns;

• whether you are located in a President-declared disaster area (declared within 18 months of the submission date for your application); and/or

• whether you have exhausted effective taxing (for governmental entities only) and borrowing capacity.

Where available, applicants must supply data derived from the most recent American

Community Survey (“ACS”) published by the U.S. Census Bureau. In cases where such data are not available, applicants may provide data from other sources (including data available from the Census Bureau and the Bureaus of Economic Analysis, Labor

Statistics, Indian Affairs, or other federal sources). In cases where no federal data are available, applicants may submit the most recent data available through their state, tribal, or local government. Cite all sources for data provided.

Successful applicants will be notified at the time of the grant announcement if their cost share waiver request was approved. Approval of a cost share waiver does not increase the amount of funding that will be provided by EPA in the grant award. Rather, approval of the cost share waiver will relieve the selected applicant of the responsibility for providing the cost share amount for the grant award.

SECTION IV. – APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A. How to Obtain an Application Package

A copy of these guidelines can be obtained from the EPA Brownfields Program website8 or through www.grants.gov.

IV.B. Due Date and Submission Instructions

Your organization’s Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must submit your complete application package9 electronically to EPA through www.grants.gov. Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on December 3, 2019. Please allow enough time to successfully submit your application package and allow for unexpected errors that may require you to resubmit. Occasionally, technical and other issues arise when using www.grants.gov.

Applications received after 11:59 p.m. ET on December 3, 2019, will not be considered for funding.

In order to submit an application through www.grants.gov, you must:

• Have an active DUNS number;

• Have an active System for Award Management (SAM) account in www.sam.gov;

• Be registered in www.grants.gov; and

• Be designated as your organization’s AOR.

The registration process for all the above items may take a month or more to complete.

The electronic submission of your application must be made by the AOR of your institution who is registered with www.grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for federal assistance.

Refer to Appendix 1 for specific instructions on how to apply through www.grants.gov.

If you do not have the technical capability to apply electronically through www.grants.gov because of limited or no Internet access which prevents you from being able to upload the required application materials to www.grants.gov, please refer to the procedures in Appendix 1.

If you submit more than one application for the same, identical project (either in error or to replace a previously submitted application), EPA will only review the most recently received application for that project unless you notify Jerry Minor-Gordon (minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov) and specify which application you want EPA to review.

IV.C. Content and Form of Application Submission

The application must stand on its own merits based on the responses to the relevant ranking criteria in Section IV.E.

8 EPA Brownfields Program website is available at www.epa.gov/brownfields.

9 Note, for the purposes of this competition, the “application package” includes the required federal forms available at www.grants.gov, as well as the Narrative Information Sheet, the Narrative and associated attachments.

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:minor-gordon.jerry@epa.gov http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

All application materials must be in English. The Narrative Information Sheet and the Narrative must be typed, single-spaced, on letter-sized (8.5 x 11-inch) paper, and should use standard

Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri fonts with a 12-point font size. The Application

Submission Checklist below outlines the documents to include in the application. Extraneous materials, including photos, graphics, and attachments not listed, will not be considered.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

Federal application materials required by www.grants.gov (see Appendix 1)

Narrative Information Sheet (2-page limit, single-spaced) (see Section IV.D.)

Narrative Information Sheet Attachment:

o Letter from the state or tribal environmental authority (see Section IV.D.8.)

The Narrative, which includes the responses to ranking criteria (12-page limit, single-spaced)

(see Section IV.E.)

Threshold Criteria Response (as an attachment(s)):

o A statement of applicant eligibility if a city, county, state, or tribe (see Section III.B.1.)

o Documentation of applicant eligibility if other than city, county, state, or tribe; e.g., resolutions, statutes, documentation of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or qualified community development entity (see Section III.B.1.)

o Description of Jurisdiction (see Section III.B.2.)

o Description of cleanup oversight (see Section III.B.3.a.)

o Legal opinion establishing that the applicant has authority to

(1) access and secure sites in the event of an emergency or default of a loan agreement or non-performance under a subgrant; and

(2) to make loans and accept payments of fees, interest, and principal (see Section

III.B.3.b.)

o Discussion on how the cost share will be met; or a cost share waiver request, if applicable (see Section III.B.4.)

Additional Requirements for RLF Coalitions:

o A signed letter of commitment from each coalition member or an active Memorandum of

Agreement, if applicable (see Section III.B.1.)

IV.D. Narrative Information Sheet

The Narrative Information Sheet shall only address the information below and shall not exceed two, single-spaced pages. Any pages submitted over the page limit will not be considered. EPA does not consider information in the Narrative Information Sheet to be responses to the ranking criteria. Each Narrative Information Sheet must be on the applicant’s official letterhead.

1. Applicant Identification Provide the name and full address of the entity applying for funds.

This is the agency or organization that will receive the grant and be accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.

file:///C:/Users/KBilal/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/92XZ1B5P/www.grants.gov

2. Funding Requested

a. Grant Type Indicate “Individual RLF” or “RLF Coalition.”

b. Federal Funds Requested

i. $_________ (Include requested amount; must not exceed $1,000,000.)

ii. Indicate if you are requesting a cost share waiver.

c. Contamination Indicate “Hazardous Substances,” “Petroleum,” or “Hazardous

Substances and Petroleum.” Note: If both, provide a breakdown of the amount of funding you are requesting by contaminant type (e.g., $800,000 hazardous substances and

$200,000 petroleum).

3. Location Provide the a) city, b) county, and c) state or reservation, tribally owned lands, tribal fee lands, etc., of the community(ies) that you propose to serve. For RLF Coalition

Grants, list all jurisdictions to be covered by all coalition members under the application.

4. Contacts

a. Project Director Provide the name, phone number, email address, and mailing address of the Project Director assigned to this proposed project. This person should be the main point of contact for the project and should be the person responsible for the project’s day-to-day operations. The Project Director may be contacted if other information is needed.

b. Chief Executive/Highest Ranking Elected Official Provide the name, phone number, email address, and mailing address of the applicant’s Chief Executive or highest ranking elected official. For example, if your organization is a municipal form of government, provide this information for the Mayor or County Commissioner. Otherwise, provide this information for your organization’s Executive Director or President. These individuals may be contacted if other information is needed.

5. Population

• If you are a city/town, provide the population of your jurisdiction.

• If you are a county/parish/borough, state, or regional organization that covers a geographic area with more than one city/town, provide the population of the city/town in which each priority site/proposed site/target area is located.

• If you are a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) or qualified community development entity, provide the population of the city/town in which the project is located.

• If you are a tribe, provide the number of tribal/non-tribal members affected.

Population data can be found at www.census.gov.

http://www.census.gov/

6. Other Factors Checklist Please identify which of the below items apply to your community/proposed project. If none of the Other Factors are applicable to your community/proposed project, please provide a statement to that effect.

Other Factors Page #

Community population is 10,000 or less.

The applicant is, or will assist, a federally recognized Indian tribe or United

States territory.

The priority brownfield site(s) is impacted by mine-scarred land.

The priority site(s) is adjacent to a body of water (i.e., the border of the priority site(s) is contiguous or partially contiguous to the body of water, or would be contiguous or partially contiguous with a body of water but for a street, road, or other public thoroughfare separating them).

The priority site(s) is in a federally designated flood plain.

The reuse of the priority site(s) will facilitate renewable energy from wind, solar, or geothermal energy; or will incorporate energy efficiency measures.

7. Letter from the State or Tribal Environmental Authority

For an applicant other than a state or tribal environmental authority, attach a current letter from the appropriate state or tribal environmental authority acknowledging that the applicant plans to conduct RLF activities and is planning to apply for FY20 federal brownfields grant funds. Letters regarding applications from prior years are not acceptable.

If you are applying for multiple types of grants, you need to receive only one letter from your state or tribal authority acknowledging the relevant grant activities. However, you must provide a copy of this letter, as an attachment, with each of your applications. Please note that general correspondence and documents evidencing state involvement with the project

(i.e., state enforcement orders or state notice letters) are not acceptable. Coordinate early with your state or tribal environmental authority in order to allow adequate time for you to obtain the acknowledgment letter and include it in your application.

The letter from the state or tribal authority does not count towards the two-page limit for this section.

IV.E.…