PKG00256823-instructions.pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: 2019 Targeted Airshed Grant Program

ACTION: Request for Applications (RFA)

RFA NUMBER: EPA-OAR-OAQPS-20-01

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NO: 66.956

IMPORTANT DATES

November 22, 2019 RFA OPENS

February 14, 2020 RFA CLOSES – APPLICATIONS DUE

May 15, 2020 ANTICIPATED NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION

August 1, 2020 ANTICIPATED AWARD

The closing date and time for receipt of application submissions is February 14, 2020, at 11:59 PM, Eastern Time (ET) to be considered for funding. Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than February 14, 2020, at

11:59 PM ET to be considered for funding.

To allow for efficient management of the competitive process, EPA requests submittal of an informal notice of an Intent to Apply to Tim Roberts at roberts.timothy-p@epa.gov by January 4, 2020.

Submission of Intent to Apply is optional; it is a process management tool that will allow EPA to better anticipate the total staff time required for efficient review, evaluation, and selection of submitted applications.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to compete for financial assistance through the Targeted Airshed Grant Program. This program will assist local, state, and/or tribal air pollution control agencies to develop plans and conduct projects to reduce air pollution in nonattainment areas that EPA determines are the top five most polluted areas relative to ozone (O3), annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5), or 24-hour PM2.5 National Ambient Air

Quality Standards (NAAQS). The overall goal of the Targeted Airshed Grant Program is to reduce air pollution in the nation’s areas with the highest levels of ozone and PM2.5 ambient air concentrations.

FUNDING/AWARDS:

The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $50,306,000. EPA anticipates awarding a total of approximately 8 – 15 assistance agreements from this announcement, subject to availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations

(see Section II. Award Information). Both the maximum number of applications per nonattainment area and requested federal funding per application correlates with how often the nonattainment area is included on the three “Areas Ranked as the Top Five Most Polluted Areas” lists described in Section

I.A. of this solicitation. The total number of applications an eligible applicant may submit is listed in the table “Maximum Number of Applications Eligible Entities Can Submit per Nonattainment Area” in

Section I.A. Applicants can request no more than $10,000,000 per application.

http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:roberts.timothy-p@epa.gov

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE: 2019 Targeted Airshed Grant Program

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background

B. Scope of Work C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage and Anticipated Outcomes, Outputs and Performance Measures 6 D. Statutory Authority

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. What is the amount of funding available?

B. Partial Funding C. How many agreements will EPA award in this competition?

D. What is the project period for awards resulting from this solicitation?

E. Funding Type

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Entities B. Voluntary Cost Sharing or Matching Funds C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Requirements to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures B. Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions (see Appendix A)

C. Content of Application Package Submission D. Submission Dates and Times E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Evaluation Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process C. Other Factors D. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirement C. Reporting Requirement D. Disputes E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

VII. AGENCY CONTACT

Appendix A – Grants.gov Submission Instructions

Appendix B – Project Narrative Instructions, including Budget Detail Sample

Appendix C – Clarification of Subawards and Participant Support Costs

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background

EPA received funding in the 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Appropriations Acts to reduce air pollution in the nation’s areas with the highest levels of ozone or fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure. Exposure to these pollutants are associated with numerous adverse human health effects, including increased respiratory symptoms, hospitalization for heart or lung diseases, and even premature death. For more information about ozone and PM2.5 pollution standards, please visit

NAAQS.

Congress has again directed EPA in the 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act to make funds available for competitive grants to reduce air pollution in nonattainment areas that the Agency determines are ranked as the top five most polluted areas relative to the ozone, annual PM2.5, or 24-hour PM2.5 standards. Using air quality information from EPA’s air quality database, the Office of Air and

Radiation (OAR) has identified the following areas as the top five most polluted areas for 8-hour average ozone, the top five most polluted areas for annual average PM2.5, and the top five most polluted areas for 24-hour PM2.5 as of the end of the 2018 data reporting period. Area information, including maps and lists of the counties within each nonattainment area, is available at EPA’s Green Book.

Nonattainment Areas Ranked as the Top Five Most Polluted Areas for Ozone, Annual PM2.5, and 24-hour PM2.5 Standards based on 2016-2018 Air Quality Measurements

Ozone Nonattainment Areas (2015 8-hour standard of 70 parts per billion):

Area Design Value

Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin, CA 111

Morongo Band of Mission Indians, CA 101

Los Angeles-San Bernardino Counties (W. Mojave), CA 98

Riverside County (Coachella Valley), CA 91

Nevada County (Western part), CA 90 (tie)

San Joaquin Valley, CA 90 (tie)

PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas (2012 annual standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter):

San Joaquin Valley, CA 17.8

Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin, CA 14.7

Plumas County, CA 14.7

Allegheny County, PA 12.6

Imperial County, CA 12.6

PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas (2006 24-hour standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter):

Klamath Falls, OR 75

Fairbanks, AK 65

San Joaquin Valley, CA 65

Sacramento, CA 50

San Francisco Bay Area, CA 48 https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/naaqs-table https://www.epa.gov/green-book

The total estimated federal funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $50,306,000.

EPA anticipates awarding a total of approximately 8 – 15 assistance agreements from this announcement, subject to availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. For each nonattainment area, eligible applicants (see Section III.A.) can submit no more than the total number of applications listed in the table directly below so long as each application is for a different project and separately submitted. The maximum amount of requested federal funding shall not exceed $10,000,000 per application. While each application can request up to the full funding amount of $10,000,000, the total amount of requested funding needs to be commensurate with the applicant’s proposed activities, considering the emission inventory and emission sources in the applicable nonattainment area. Applicants should request less than $10,000,000 if the project(s) necessary to reduce emissions in the applicable nonattainment area does not warrant the full funding amount. As noted in Section II.B., EPA reserves the right to partially fund selected applications.

The maximum number of applications an eligible entity is allowed to submit per nonattainment area correlates with how often the nonattainment area is included on the three “Nonattainment Areas

Ranked as the Top Five Most Polluted Areas” tables above. The maximum number of applications in the table below apply to eligible entities as described in Section III.A. For instance, if a nonattainment area has multiple eligible entities responsible for the prevention or control of emissions in that area, then each eligible entity can submit the maximum number of applications for that area.

If an applicant submits multiple applications under this competition and EPA selects more than one application for award from the same applicant, EPA may award a single assistance agreement that combines the applicant’s selected applications.

Maximum Number of Applications Eligible Entities Can Submit per Nonattainment Area

Nonattainment Areas

Total Times on

Nonattainment

Lists

Maximum

Number of

Applications

Allegheny County, PA 1 2

Fairbanks, AK 1 2

Imperial County, CA 1 2

Klamath Falls, OR 1 2

Los Angeles-San Bernardino Counties (West Mojave Desert), CA 1 2

Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin, CA 2 3

Morongo Band of Mission Indians, CA 1 2

Nevada County (Western part), CA 1 2

Plumas County, CA 1 2

Riverside County (Coachella Valley), CA 1 2

Sacramento, CA 1 2

San Francisco Bay Area, CA 1 2

San Joaquin Valley, CA 3 4

B. Scope of Work

OAR’s Targeted Airshed Grant Program is soliciting applications from eligible entities, as described in

Section III.A. of this announcement, to design projects to meet the goals of the program in the areas that the Agency has determined are the top five most polluted relative to the ozone, annual PM2.5, or

24-hour PM2.5 standards. The goal of the Targeted Airshed Grant Program is to implement programs, projects, and approaches that: demonstrate documentable reductions of ozone and/or PM2.5 concentrations in the designated areas; demonstrate documentable reductions in precursor emissions of ozone, which include nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds

(VOCs), and/or direct or precursor emissions of PM2.5, which include sulfur dioxide (SO2), NOx, VOCs, and ammonia; and are replicable elsewhere. Proposed activities must be for emission reduction activities deemed necessary to assist with compliance with the NAAQS for these pollutants, and that demonstrate the potential for inclusion in the affected jurisdiction’s SIP or TIP submission to EPA intended to meet those standards.

To the extent possible, proposed projects should utilize technologies that meet or exceed the latest emissions standards for the respective pollutant(s), or are the most stringent, least polluting technologies and/or activities. Proposed activities can complement but cannot replicate activities already being funded with an existing Clean Air Act Section 103 or 105 grant or Diesel Emissions

Reduction Act (DERA) grant being carried out by the applicant in the applicant’s nonattainment area.

Proposed activities must be for projects to carry out emission reductions; applications only including planning exercises will not be considered. Additionally, activities that do not directly reduce emissions from a given source or support the reduction of emissions are not eligible for funding.

Proposed activities must be designed to achieve quantifiable reductions in ozone precursor emissions and/or direct PM2.5 or PM2.5 precursor emissions in one or more of the designated nonattainment areas identified above in Section I.A. by addressing one or more of the following priority emissions-generating or emissions-reducing activities:

• Industrial;

• transportation (vehicle, marine, locomotive);

• land use;

• residential, commercial, agricultural, aqua-cultural, and/or natural resource management;

• municipal operations (including municipal energy, water, and solid waste facilities);

use or supply of green power products, on-site renewables, combined heat and power, clean residential heating, and other clean energy supply options; and/or,

• other innovative activities that generate measurable reductions of ozone and/or PM2.5 air pollution.

Proposed projects must address emissions in the nonattainment area and be suitable for SIP or TIP adoption. They should focus on local communities rather than large geographic areas, to promote higher success rates in reducing air pollution and maximizing public health benefits. The proposed project should address the needs and concerns of affected communities, especially any communities or populations that have faced or are facing environmental justice concerns. The term “affected communities” are communities, populations, groups, and other interested parties that are, or have been, affected by the environmental and/or other issues that the proposed project is intended to address. The term “environmental justice concerns,” as used in this solicitation, generally relate to issues that have resulted in some communities and/or populations being more adversely, disproportionately and/or historically impacted by environmental issues and problems than other communities because of race, color, national origin or income, including tribal and indigenous communities. Factors potentially indicating disproportionate impacts to communities with environmental justice concerns include, but are not limited to: differential proximity and exposure to environmental hazards; greater susceptibility to adverse effects from environmental hazards due to genetic predisposition, age, chronic medical conditions, lack of health care access, or poor nutrition; unique environmental exposures because of practices linked to cultural background or socioeconomic status (e.g., subsistence fishing or farming);

cumulative effects from multiple stressors; reduced ability to effectively participate in decision-making processes due to language barriers, inability to access traditional communication channels, or limited capacity to access technical and legal resources; and degraded physical infrastructure, such as poor housing, poorly maintained public buildings (e.g., schools), or lack of access to transportation.

Applicants should consider partnering with impacted communities in planning activities to ensure that communities are meaningfully involved in the proposed project.

In addition to the above, applications submitted under this announcement should:

• establish approaches and practices that will achieve ongoing, significant ozone precursor emissions and/or direct PM2.5 and/or PM2.5 precursor emission reductions, considering the emission sources in that nonattainment area;

• ensure the proposed project will help the designated area make progress towards attainment of the NAAQS and continue to achieve ongoing emission reductions;

• build and leverage partnerships across multiple stakeholder groups, including impacted communities to expand the impact of the project; and,

• create models of success that could be replicable in the airshed or other jurisdictions and/or demonstrate technologies or practices that can achieve greater emission reductions than those currently utilized.

Where relevant, applicants should also describe how the proposed project would help to complement research, planning, or implementation activities supported by other EPA grants, such as DERA grants, PM2.5 Monitoring Network grants, and Clean Air Act Section 105 grants.

C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage and Anticipated Outcomes, Outputs and Performance

Measures

Pursuant to Section 6a of EPA Order 5700.7, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance

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

Assistance Agreements, http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf).

1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan. The activities to be funded under this announcement support EPA’s FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan. Awards made under this announcement will support

Goal 1 “A Cleaner, Healthier Environment”; Objective 1.1: “Improve Air Quality.” Under this objective, EPA will “Work with states and tribes to accurately measure air quality and ensure that more Americans are living and working in areas that meet high air quality standards.”

Applicants must explain in their application how their project will further this objective.

http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf

Please read EPA’s FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan for more information.

EPA also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements, www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-

03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf). Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the priorities described above. Specifically, the proposed activities must reduce emissions, thereby reducing local and regional air pollution of criteria pollutants.

2. Outputs. The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to emissions reduction activities that will be realized or provided over time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period. Examples of outputs from the project(s) to be funded under this announcement may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Wood-burning appliances replaced;

• Number of replaced or retrofitted engines/vehicles/equipment;

• Engaging affected communities about the design and performance of the project;

• A publicly available community engagement plan for meaningful engagement of the affected communities; and/or

• Dissemination of project/technology information via list-serves, websites, journals and outreach events.

Quarterly progress reports and a final technical report will also be a required output, as specified in Section VI.C. “Reporting Requirement” and in accordance with the terms and conditions in the award.

3. Outcomes. The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that will achieve emissions reductions.

Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature, but must be quantitative. They may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period. Projects funded under this announcement are expected to result in emissions reductions of ozone precursors and/or direct PM2.5 or PM2.5 precursors. Ozone precursors include NOx, CO, and VOCs. PM2.5 precursors include NOx, VOCs, SO2, and/or ammonia.

These projects should result in one or more of, but are not limited to, the following environmental outcomes:

• Tons of air pollution reduced annually and over the lifetime of the project (specifying the total years), including the emission reductions for each of the following pollutants, as relevant to the project:

• PM2.5,

• NOx,

• VOCs,

• SO2, and/or

• ammonia

• Annual and lifetime gallons of gasoline or diesel fuel saved;

• Annual and lifetime hours of engine idling reduced;

https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-2022-epa-strategic-plan

• Annual and lifetime kilowatt hours saved;

• Progress toward environmental justice objectives;

• Costs per ton of pollution reduced; and/or

• Benefits to the communities affected by the project, including improvements to human health and the environment, the local economy, social conditions and the welfare of the residents in such communities.

Other potential outcomes may include, but are not limited to:

• Documented improved ambient air quality;

• Contributions towards compliance with SIP or TIP and/or NAAQS;

• Improved community engagement and partnership;

• An increased understanding of the environmental or economic effectiveness of the implemented technology;

• Increased public awareness of project and results;

• Widespread adoption of the implemented technology;

• Demonstration and deployment of zero and near-zero emission vehicles and engines;

and/or

• Health benefits achieved, which may be measured by numbers of illnesses, health care costs, missed work/school days avoided, and/or reduced mortality from air pollution.

4. Performance Measures. The applicant should also develop performance measures they expect to achieve through the proposed activities and describe them in the application. These performance measures will be the mechanism to track progress concerning successful process, outcome, and output strategies and will provide the basis for developing lessons to inform potential future recipients. The description of the performance measures will directly relate to the project’s outcomes and outputs, including but not limited to:

• Overseeing project partners, subrecipients, and/or contractors and vendors;

• Tracking and reporting project progress on expenditures, purchases, and other fiscal activities;

• Tracking and reporting actual accomplishments versus proposed outputs/outcomes and proposed timelines/milestones; and

• Measuring and reporting on outcomes, including tracking, measuring and reporting emission reductions.

The outcomes and performance measures must include an estimate of ozone precursors and/or direct PM2.5 or PM2.5 precursor emissions, including NOx, VOC, direct PM2.5, SO2, and/or ammonia, that will be reduced both annually and over the lifetime of the project, including the assumptions used to make those estimates. Both annual and lifetime emissions estimates reduced from the project must be included, specifying the anticipated total number of years of the life of the project. The annual and lifetime emission reductions estimates must be provided for each of the relevant individual pollutants and not a sum of all pollutants. If the proposed project includes multiple activities or technologies that achieve significantly different emission reductions (i.e., replacing school buses and wood burning appliances), the anticipated emissions reduced must be provided separately for each activity.

If an applicant is unable to calculate ozone precursor and/or PM2.5 reductions, they may include estimates of other quantifiable outputs that have a direct relationship with ozone and/or PM2.5 levels. Examples of such outputs are described above. Applicants may take advantage of existing EPA tools, including the Diesel Emissions Quantifier and EPA’s Woodstove Emissions

Calculator, for estimating emissions reductions for each pollutant being addressed. Additional information on the quantification used to calculate these emission reductions, including the key assumptions that were used for any existing calculator tool or the citations of any studies or reports, must be included in a required attachment (see Section IV.C. Content of Application

Package Submission). All applications must include an Estimated Emissions Reduction

Calculations attachment that provides additional information on the quantification used to calculate these emission reductions, including the key assumptions that were used for any existing calculator tool or the citations of any studies or reports. The Estimated Emissions

Reduction Calculations is required but will not count towards the project narrative 15-page limit. Questions about how to calculate emissions reductions estimates from other types of projects should be directed to the applicable air emissions point of contact or the Agency contact listed in Section VII.

The following are questions to consider when developing output and outcome measures of quantitative and qualitative results:

• What are the measurable short-term and long-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?

D. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for this action is Public Law 116-6 which authorizes the EPA to award targeted airshed grants for emission reduction activities deemed necessary for compliance with national ambient air quality standards and included in a State Implementation Plan submitted to the EPA. Public Law

116-6 limits these awards to nonattainment areas that the Agency determined are ranked as the top five most polluted areas relative to ozone and the annual and 24-hour PM2.5 standards.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. What is the amount of funding available?

The total estimated funding expected to be available for awards under this competitive opportunity is approximately $50,306,000. Funding is dependent upon agency appropriations, funding availability and other applicable considerations. See Section I.A. for the maximum amount of requested federal funding per application.

B. Partial Funding

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. The Other Factors, as listed in Section V.C., may be used to determine whether to award partial funding for a selected application. 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.

https://cfpub.epa.gov/quantifier/index.cfm?action=main.home https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-11/emissioncalculator_2.xlsx https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/air-emissions-points-contact

C. How many agreements will EPA award in this competition?

EPA anticipates awarding a total of approximately 8-15 cooperative agreements from this announcement, subject to availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. If EPA selects multiple applications from an applicant, EPA may combine the selected applications into one grant award for the successful applicant (See Section VI.A. Award

Notices). See Section I.A. on both the total number of applications an eligible applicant may submit per nonattainment area and total federal funding an applicant can request per application.

EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selections. In addition, EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement or to make fewer awards than anticipated.

D. What is the project period for awards resulting from this solicitation?

The estimated project period for awards resulting from this solicitation will begin in August 2020.

Proposed project periods may be up to five years from the project start date.

E. Funding Type

The funding for selected projects will be in the form of a grant or cooperative agreement depending upon the nature of the proposed activity and the extent of EPA involvement. Cooperative agreements permit substantial involvement between the EPA Project Officer and the selected applicants in the performance of the work supported. Although EPA will negotiate precise terms and conditions relating to substantial involvement as part of the award process, the anticipated substantial federal involvement for cooperative agreements will be:

• Close monitoring of the successful applicant’s performance to verify the results proposed by the applicant;

• Collaboration during performance of the scope of work;

• In accordance with 2 CFR 200.317 and 2 CFR 200.318, review of proposed procurement;

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

• Review and comment on reports prepared under the cooperative agreement (the final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient).

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Entities

Entities eligible to submit applications under this announcement are those air pollution control agencies, as defined by Section 302(b) of the Clean Air Act, that: (a) have responsibilities for the prevention and control of air pollution for one or more nonattainment areas identified in Section I.A. of this announcement, and (b) have an active air program grant under Sections 103 or 105 of the Clean Air

Act to carry out those responsibilities.

B. Voluntary Cost Sharing or Matching Funds

No matching funds are required under this competition. Although cost-sharing/matching is not required as a condition of eligibility under this competition, under Section V. of this announcement

EPA will evaluate applications based on a leveraging criterion.

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

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

• A voluntary cost share is subject to the match provisions in the grant regulations (2 CFR Part

200 as applicable).

• A voluntary cost share may only be met with eligible and allowable costs.

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

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

If a proposed voluntary cost share is to be provided not directly by the applicant but instead by a named third-party, a leveraged funds cost share commitment letter(s) must be attached to the application that includes the amount of voluntary funding. This leverage funds commitment letter(s) will not count towards the 15-page project narrative page limit; see Section IV.C.

Other leveraged funding/resources that are not identified as a voluntary cost share. This form of leveraging may be met by funding from another federal grant, from an applicant's own resources, or resources from other third-party sources. This form of leveraging should not be included in the budget and the costs need not be eligible and allowable project costs under the EPA assistance agreement.

While this form of leveraging should not be included in the budget, the project narrative should include a statement indicating that the applicant is expected to produce the proposed leveraging consistent with the terms of the announcement and the applicant's proposal. If applicants propose to provide this form of leveraging, EPA expects them to make the effort to secure the leveraged resources described in their proposals. If the proposed leveraging does not materialize during grant performance, then EPA may reconsider the legitimacy of the award and/or take other appropriate action as authorized by 2 CFR Part

200 as applicable.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

These are requirements that, if not met by the time of application submission, will result in elimination of the application from consideration for funding. Only applications from eligible entities (see Section

III.A.) that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V. If necessary, EPA may contact applicants to clarify threshold eligibility questions prior to making an eligibility determination. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration due to the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Application Content and Submission

a. Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV. and Appendices A and B or else they will be rejected.

b. Where a page limit is expressed in Section IV.C. with respect to the project narrative, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed. The page limit of the project narrative is 15 pages.

c. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV.A. (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. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section

IV. to ensure that their application is timely submitted.

Applications submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with

Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. Applicants’ 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.

2. Applications must further EPA’s current priorities for improving air quality, which focus on improving air quality to ensure more Americans are living and working in areas that meet high air quality standards as described in Section I.C.

3. Proposed activities must take place in at least one of the nonattainment areas identified in

Section I.A.

4. Proposed activities must be for emission reduction activities and/or activities that will lead to emission reductions that will assist in complying with the NAAQS for the applicable pollutants, and that demonstrate the potential for inclusion in the affected jurisdiction’s SIP or TIP submission to EPA intended to meet those standards.

5. Proposed activities must be designed to achieve quantifiable reductions in direct PM2.5, ozone precursors, and/or PM2.5 precursor emissions (NOx, CO, VOC, direct PM2.5, SO2, and ammonia) but may also include activities that reduce emissions through changing behavior (e.g., education/outreach to reduce residential wood burning). See “Outcomes” in Section I.C. and

Appendix B, as well as the required application attachments, including the Emissions Reduction

Calculations, in Section IV.C.

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

6. 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 application, render the entire application ineligible for funding. Primary activities that do not achieve emission reductions in the applicable nonattainment area or lead to no emission reductions in the applicable nonattainment area will not be funded. Applications only including planning exercises will not be considered.

7. Proposed activities can complement, but cannot replicate, activities already being funded by the applicant’s existing Clean Air Act Section 103 or 105 or DERA grants in the applicable nonattainment area.

8. The maximum amount of federal funding that may be requested by an applicant in an application must not exceed the funding amount listed in Section I.A. Applications requesting more federal funding than the specified amount will be considered at the maximum federal amount available as specified in Section I.A.

9. Applicants can submit no more than the total number applications listed in Section I.A. If an applicant submits more applications than what is listed, EPA will contact the applicant to determine which application(s) to withdraw.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

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

Applicants, except as noted below, must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the grants.gov instructions in this announcement and Appendix A. If an applicant does not have the technical capability to apply electronically through grants.gov because of limited or no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials to

Grants.gov, the applicant must contact OMS-ARM-OGDWaivers@epa.gov or the address listed below in writing (e.g., by hard copy, email) at least 15 calendar days prior to the submission deadline under this announcement to request approval to submit their application materials through an alternate method.

Mailing Address:

OGD Waivers c/o Jessica Durand

USEPA Headquarters

William Jefferson Clinton Building

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N. W.

Mail Code: 3903R

Washington, DC 20460

Courier Address:

OGD Waivers c/o Jessica Durand

Ronald Reagan Building

1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:OMS-ARM-OGDWaivers@epa.gov

Rm # 51278

Washington, DC 20004

In the request, the applicant must include the following information:

• Funding Opportunity Number (FON)

• Organization Name and Unique Entity Identifier (e.g., DUNS)

• Organization’s Contact Information (email address and phone number)

• Explanation of how they lack the technical capability to apply electronically through

Grants.gov because of 1) limited internet access or 2) no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials through Grants.gov.

EPA will only consider alternate submission exception requests based on the two reasons stated above and will timely respond to the request. All other requests will be denied. If an alternate submission method is approved, the applicant will receive documentation of this approval and further instructions on how to apply under this announcement. Applicants will be required to submit the documentation of approval with any initial application submitted under the alternative method. In addition, any submittal through an alternative method must comply with all applicable requirements and deadlines in the announcement including the submission deadline and requirements regarding proposal content and page limits (although the documentation of approval of an alternate submission method will not count against any page limits).

If an exception is granted, it is valid for submissions to EPA for the remainder of the entire calendar year in which the exception was approved and can be used to justify alternative submission methods for application submissions made through December 31 of the calendar year in which the exception was approved (e.g., if the exception was approved on March 1, 2019, it is valid for any competitive or non-competitive application submission to EPA through December 31, 2019). Applicants need only request an exception once in a calendar year and all exceptions will expire on December 31 of that calendar year. Applicants must request a new exception from required electronic submission through Grants.gov for submissions for any succeeding calendar year. For example, if there is a competitive opportunity issued on December 1, 2019 with a submission deadline of January 15, 2020, the applicant would need a new exception to submit through alternative methods beginning January 1, 2020.

Please note that the process described in this section is only for requesting alternate submission methods. All other inquiries about this announcement must be directed to the Agency Contact listed in

Section VII. Queries or requests submitted to the email address identified above for any reason other than to request an alternate submission method will not be acknowledged or answered.

B. Grants.gov Application Submission Instructions (see Appendix A)

An applicant’s authorized official representative (AOR) must submit its complete application electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov) no later than February 14, 2020, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

See Appendix A for full Grants.gov submission instructions.

C. Content of Application Package Submission

The application package must include all of the following materials except Number 6, Optional

Attachments. Number 5, Leveraged Funds Cost Share Commitment Letter(s), is only required if applicable. Also see Appendices A and B.

1. Grant Application Forms (All Required). Please complete the forms as appropriate.

a. Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance. Please note that the organizational Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number must be included on the SF-424. Organizations may obtain a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711.

b. Standard Form 424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs

c. Standard Form 424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs

d. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre-Award Compliance Review Report for All Applicants Requesting

Federal Financial Assistance

e. EPA Form 5700-54 Key Contacts Form

2. Project Narrative – see Appendix B (Required, 15-page limit). Use. The Project Narrative

Attachment form in Grants.gov. The project narrative must explicitly describe how the proposed project meets the guidelines established in Sections I-III of this announcement, including the threshold eligibility criteria in Section III.C., and must address each of the evaluation criteria set forth in Section V. The project narrative cannot exceed a maximum of 15 single-spaced typewritten pages, including the summary page. Excess pages will not be reviewed. Supporting materials identified below can be submitted as attachments and are not included in the 15-page limit. The project narrative must substantially comply with the specific instructions, format and content as defined in Appendix B.

3. Emissions Inventories (Required, not part of 15-page limit). Use the Optional Attachments form in Grants.gov. Include quantitative data of the relevant pollutants emissions inventories of the source category(ies) of the proposed project, and any other key relevant source categories, including calculations and methodologies on how this data was derived. This information does not count towards the project narrative 15-page limit. See Appendix B.

4. Emissions Reduction Calculations (Required, not part of the 15-page limit). Use the Optional

Attachments form in Grants.gov. The applicant must thoroughly describe and document emissions reduction calculation methods in an attachment to the project narrative. The applicant should provide additional information on the quantification used to calculate the anticipated emission reductions from the proposed project, including the key assumptions that were used for any existing calculator tool or citations of any studies or reports. This information does not count towards the project narrative 15-page limit. See Appendix B.

5. Leveraged Funds Cost Share Commitment Letter(s) (Required, if applicable. Not part of 15-page limit). Use the Optional Attachments form in Grants.gov. If any voluntary cost share funding is to be provided by a project partner(s), and not directly by the applicant, a letter by the partner(s) demonstrating their specific commitment to meet the proposed leveraged cost share is required. This letter(s) must include the specific amount of voluntary funding the project partner anticipates providing and does not count towards the project narrative 15-page limit. See

Appendix B.

6. Optional Attachments (Not required, not part of 15-page limit). Use the Optional Attachments form in Grants.gov.

• Biographical Sketch(es): Provide resumes or curriculum vitae for key staff, managers, and any other key personnel.

• Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement.

• Quality Assurance Narrative Statement.

• Partnership Letter(s): If applicable, letters that demonstrate strong, long-term involvement throughout the project from a variety of project partners are encouraged.

Letters should specifically indicate how project partners and supporting organizations will participate in or directly assist in the design and performance of the project, including their specific role, or how obtaining support from project partners will allow the applicant to more effectively perform the project.

• Approval Letter: If applicable, to use alternate means to submit initial application.

D. Submission Dates and Times

The closing date and time for submission of applications is February 14, 2020, by 11:59 PM, Eastern

Time (ET). Applications submitted after the closing date and time will not be considered for funding.

E. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, including but not limited to those related to confidential business information, contracts and subawards under grants, and application assistance and communications, can be found at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses. These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the provisions.

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Only eligible entities whose application(s) meet the threshold criteria in Section III. of this announcement will be reviewed according to the evaluation criteria set forth below. Under this competition, EPA reserves the right to fund the top ranked applications for each nonattainment area listed in Section I.A., contingent on the quality of the application and funding availability notwithstanding its ranking overall among all applications. Applicants must explicitly address these criteria as part of their application package submittal. Each application will be rated under a points system, with a total of 125 points possible. Additional guidance on addressing the evaluation criteria and the suggested format in the applicant’s project narrative is included in Appendix B.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses

A. Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria Points

1. Project Summary and Approach: Under this criterion, EPA will evaluate applications based on the extent and quality of its project summary and overall approach to accomplishing the project.

Specifically, EPA will evaluate:

a. (20 pts) The extent and quality to which the application supports an approach, activity, and/or technology that will achieve ongoing, significant reductions of ozone, direct PM2.5 and/or precursor emissions in the designated nonattainment areas, as described in Section

I.A. The applicant should include how they considered other available technologies or activities to reduce emissions from a given source and why they arrived at the chosen emission reduction solution(s).

b. (10 pts) The applicant’s analysis of the emissions inventory for the nonattainment area and key source categories addressed by the project, and a description of how the project will help the designated area make progress toward attainment for the applicable NAAQS.

c. (10 pts) The extent the application includes an innovative, well-conceived strategy for achieving the greatest amount of emission reductions possible from a given source, supporting the lowest emission activities and/or technologies available.

d. (5 pts) The roles and responsibilities of the applicant and any other project partners, contractors or sub-grantees.

2. Community Benefits, Engagement and Partnerships: Under this criterion and as described in

Section I.B., EPA will evaluate applicants on the extent to which the proposed project:

a. (5 pts) Addresses the needs and concerns of affected communities, especially those that have faced or are facing environmental justice concerns.

b. (5 pts) Includes previous, current and/or future efforts and plans for engaging affected communities, which may include: engaging community-based organizations; demonstrating community support for the proposed project; planning for ongoing community engagement;

and/or building and supporting partnerships across multiple stakeholder groups.

3. Project Sustainability (5 pts): Under this criterion, EPA will evaluate applications based on the description of planned actions in the nonattainment area after EPA funding for this project has ended, including the ability of, and how, the applicant and/or key partners will promote and continue efforts to achieve ongoing emission reductions of ozone, direct PM2.5, and/or precursor emissions.

4. Environmental Results—Outcomes, Outputs and Performance Measures:

Under this criterion, EPA will evaluate:

a. (10 pts) The extent and quality to which the applicant identifies and quantifies the expected project outputs and outcomes, as described in Section I.C.

b. (5 pts) The performance measures proposed by the applicant and how they will be used to help track and measure the applicant’s progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes, as described in Section I.C.

c. (5 pts) The effectiveness of the applicant’s performance plan for tracking and measuring its…