rfa-epa-opp-2015-001-amended.pdf

US Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Pesticide Programs

Funding Opportunity Announcement:

National Farmworker Training

(EPA-OPP-2015-001)

Published: April 24, 2015

Amended: May 20, 2015

Funding Opportunity No. EPA-OPP-2015-001

Funding Opportunity Announcement: National Farmworker Training

Overview Information

The following list provides key information concerning this funding opportunity:

A. Federal Agency and Office Name: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of

Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Field and External Affairs Division (FEAD), Certification and Worker Protection Branch (CWPB).

B. Funding Opportunity Title: National Farmworker Training.

C. Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-OPP-2015-001.

D. Announcement Type: Request for Applications (RFA) - Initial Announcement.

E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.716-Surveys, Studies, Demonstrations, Educational Outreach, and Special Projects within the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

F. Statutory Authority: Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Section

20.

G. Dates: Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov on or before June

8, 2015, by midnight Eastern Time. Applications received after the closing date and time will not be considered for funding. The estimated project period for the award resulting from this solicitation will begin in October 2015. The proposed project period is up to five (5) years.

H. Brief Description: The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is soliciting applications from eligible parties for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cooperative agreement to provide financial assistance to an eligible organization for a pesticide safety program, including training and education, aimed at reducing exposure to pesticides for agricultural workers, their families and the agricultural community. The grantee will conduct a national program to educate farmworkers about how to reduce risks from pesticides. As part of this program, the grantee will also train pesticide safety educators who will work with farmworker service organizations, growers and other members of the agricultural community in key rural, agricultural areas with high pesticide use and large numbers of farmworkers to conduct interactive pesticide safety programs for agricultural workers and their families. The grantee may utilize existing EPA approved worker and children protection pesticide safety training and education materials or may develop new and/or improved materials to address pesticide safety issues for farmworkers and farmworker children. All training materials should be targeted at the low literacy, predominately non-English speaking agricultural worker population. This announcement provides qualification and application requirements to those interested in submitting applications for fiscal year 2015 through fiscal year 2019. Eligible applicants include: states, U.S. territories or possession, federally recognized Indian tribal governments and Native American Organizations, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, local governments, and individuals and international entities.

The estimated funding available for award in fiscal year 2015 is expected to be approximately

$500,000. Incremental funding estimated at $500,000 may be made available for each additional year, allowing the project to continue for a total of five (5) periods of performance

(approximately 5 years) and a total of up to $2,500,000 for the five-year period, depending on funding availability, satisfactory performance and other applicable considerations that allow the project to continue.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. History

In August of 1992, EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS) (40 CFR Part 170) was published to require actions to reduce the risk of pesticide poisonings and injuries among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The WPS is a regulation aimed at reducing the risk of pesticide poisoning and injury among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The WPS offers occupational protections to over 2 million agricultural workers (people involved in the production of agricultural plants) and pesticide handlers (people who mix, load, or apply agricultural pesticides) that work at over 600,000 agricultural establishments (farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses). The WPS requires that owners and employers on agricultural establishments provide protections to workers and handlers from potential pesticide exposure, train them about pesticide safety, and provide mitigations in case exposures may occur. The

WPS contains requirements for pesticide safety training, notification of pesticide applications, use of personal protective equipment, restricted entry intervals following pesticide application, decontamination supplies, and emergency medical assistance.

Since l995, OPP has provided funding for several research and education programs designed to evaluate and convey pesticide safety information to farmworkers. To date, OPP has funded three, five-year cooperative agreements, titled the National Agricultural Workers Pesticide Safety

Training and Education Program, that have trained full and part-time educators to teach agricultural workers and their families how to reduce the risks from pesticide exposure. Through these programs, over 960,000 farmworkers, farmworker families and community members have received training and education on how to reduce pesticide exposure. These training programs have researched and evaluated methods for delivering pesticide safety information to a predominately non-English speaking, low literacy, and migrant population. Curriculum for pesticide safety training and education has been developed using the specific WPS regulation training points for workers (40 CFR 170.130) as its foundation. Pesticide safety educators have been trained on pesticide safety, education and outreach techniques, which has resulted in approximately 32,000 farmworkers, farmworker families and other members of the farmworker community trained each year. It is EPA’s goal to continue advancing the pesticide safety program for agricultural workers and their families, as well as continue to address other emerging pesticide safety issues.

B. Authority

EPA expects to award assistance agreements under the authority provided in Section 20 of

FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136r which authorizes the Agency to issue assistance agreements for research, public education, training, monitoring, demonstration and studies. Regulations governing agreements are found at 2 CFR Parts 200 and 1500. All costs incurred under this program must be allowable under 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E in accordance with applicable law, regulations, and policy, any recipient of funding must agree to comply with restrictions on using assistance funds for unauthorized lobbying, fund-raising, or political activities (i.e., lobbying members of

Congress or lobbying for other federal grants, cooperative agreements or contracts. See 2 CFR

200.450). Funds generally cannot be used to pay for travel by federal agency staff. Proposed project activities must also comply with all state and federal regulations applicable to the project area. The applicant must also review the solicitation for any other programmatic funding restrictions applicable to this program. If awarded funding, the recipient must refer to the terms and conditions of its award for other funding restrictions applicable to this award. It is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure compliance with these requirements.

C. Program Description

1. Purpose and Scope

The cooperative agreement awarded under this program is intended to provide financial assistance to:

a. Conduct a pesticide safety training and education program for farmworkers, farmworker families and other members of the agricultural community on how to reduce exposures to pesticides and prevent pesticide exposure.

b. Create and develop a national training, education and outreach program for farmworkers and farmworker families in rural agricultural areas, including areas with large farmworker populations and high pesticide use.

c. Work collaboratively with farmworker support organizations; growers; crew leaders;

agricultural extension professionals; health clinics; local, state and federal governments and others in educating farmworkers, farmworker families and other members of the agricultural community about the importance of pesticide safety.

2. Goal and Objectives

EPA expects that the recipient will use funding provided under this solicitation to:

a. Develop and improve pesticide safety training programs and materials for agricultural workers so they can better protect themselves and their children.

b. Enhance safe working conditions for agricultural field workers, pesticide applicators and other members of the agricultural community at the local, state, national and international levels.

c. Promote environmental justice by improving health for low-income, low-literacy, and predominately non-English speaking farmworkers and farmworker children in rural agricultural areas by reducing exposure to pesticides.

d. Improve collaboration among members of the pesticide safety education and agricultural communities to develop improved pesticide safety programs for protecting farmworkers, pesticide applicators and others members of the agricultural community from the health risks associated with pesticide exposure.

e. Use existing national networks to establish collaboration, training, and education.

3. Activities to be Funded

Develop and deliver a pesticide safety training and education program for farmworkers, farmworker families and other members of the agricultural community to reduce pesticide exposure. Key activities to be funded under this cooperative agreement will:

a. Conduct a pesticide safety program for agricultural workers and their families at the local, state and national level, including in areas with high agricultural worker populations.

b. Develop and/or utilize a pesticide safety training program, including trainers and materials, which address the predominately non-English speaking, low literacy level needs of agricultural workers. These programs will be developed working collaboratively with farmworker organizations; agricultural extension professionals;

health care providers; education and training specialists; migrant health, education, training, agricultural, and environmental organizations and agencies at the local, state, national and international level; universities; pesticide safety applicator specialists;

grower associations; and other experts. Materials and training approaches will be reviewed and approved by the EPA Project Officer prior to implementation of the training programs and outreach to insure comprehensive review of existing materials is conducted and the development of any new materials or approaches does not duplicate existing ones. Work might include pilot testing and/or peer reviewing key approaches and materials.

c. Develop and/or utilize Worker Protection Standard-approved pesticide safety curricula and materials for agricultural workers, as outlined in the WPS (40 CFR Part

170), Pesticide Safety Training for Workers. The curriculum and materials would include, but not be limited to, the following information: 1) where and in what form pesticides may be encountered during work activities, 2) hazards of pesticides resulting from toxicity and exposure, including acute and chronic effects, delayed effects, and sensitization, 3) routes through which pesticides can enter the body, 4) signs and symptoms of pesticide poisoning, 5) emergency first aid for pesticide injuries or poisonings, 6) how to obtain emergency medical care, 7) routine and emergency decontamination procedures, including eye flushing techniques, 8) hazards from chemigation and drift, 9) hazards from pesticide residues on clothing,

10) warnings about taking pesticide containers home, and 11) requirements of the

WPS designed to reduce the risks of illness or injury resulting from workers’ occupational exposure to pesticides, including application and entry restrictions, the design of the warning sign, posting of warning signs, oral warnings, the availability of specific information about applications, and the protection against retaliatory acts for reporting WPS violations.

d. Conduct a national and/or several regional train-the-trainer workshops or webinars.

Workshops and webinars would train trainers about the importance of pesticide safety, provide a review of the curriculum and materials to be used, suggest ways to reach farmworkers and work with growers, crew leaders and other members of the agricultural community to utilize the training, how to get certified as an official trainer by their state, organization, etc. Workshops and webinars will also include practice sessions for trainers.

e. Establish on-going pesticide safety training programs in at least 20 domestic sites in rural areas with a minimum of 15 states including key agricultural states with high farmworker populations and high pesticide usage.

f. Conduct outreach and partnership programs with federal, state and local programs and agencies; farmworker service providers; growers and grower organizations;

agricultural extension professionals; migrant health clinics and other members of the agricultural community to help advertise, gain access and set up training workshops for agricultural workers, farmworker families, and other members of the agricultural community to conduct the federally required WPS pesticide safety training and other pesticide safety programs.

g. While this program will be predominately in the United States, these outreach and educational programs may be extended internationally, particularly from which farmworkers migrate to the United States such as Mexico, Central and South

America, or the Caribbean.

h. Develop or utilize pesticide safety training evaluation tools, such as pre- and post-tests or focus groups, to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program and modify the training program to improve teaching methodologies and learning retention as necessary.

D. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage and Anticipated Outputs and Outcomes

1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan /GPRA Architecture

The award to be made under this announcement will support EPA Strategic Plan Goal 4:

Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution, Objective 1: Ensure Chemical

Safety. To see EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan visit: http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-

2014-2018-strategic-plan.

2. Outputs http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-2018-strategic-plan http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-2018-strategic-plan

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

The anticipated outputs of this cooperative agreement include, but are not limited to:

a. Develop effective communication and outreach programs to enhance pesticide risk reduction to human health, communities and ecosystems;

b. Model training and education programs for farmworkers and farmworker families and other members of the agricultural community; and

c. Increase the number of trained farmworkers and other members of the agricultural community in reducing pesticide risk.

3. Outcomes

The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related or programmatic in nature, but must be quantitative and correlate with the objectives of the workplan. They may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period.

Expected outcomes from this cooperative agreement include, but are not limited to:

a. Enhancing capabilities, through an increase of knowledge, to assist farmworkers, farmworker families and other members of the agricultural community in preventing and reducing pesticide risks to humans, communities and ecosystems;

b. Protecting human health from pesticide risk;

c. Restoring community health by reducing the environmental justice impact on minority and low-income populations of farmworkers and farmworker children; and

d. Protecting the environment from pesticide risks.

II. Award Information

A. Amount of Funding Available

The total estimated amount available for award under this announcement is up to $2,500,000, dependent on availability of funds. EPA anticipates awarding an estimated $500,000 for fiscal year 2015. At the conclusion of the first year period of performance, incremental funding of an estimated $500,000 may be made available for each additional year allowing the project to continue for a total of five (5) years depending on Agency priorities, available funding levels, satisfactory performance of the recipient and other applicable considerations. EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards.

B. Total Number of Awards

EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement subject to the availability of funds and quality of evaluated applications, and other applicable considerations. In addition, 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 selection.

C. Partial Funding

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. If EPA decides to partially fund an application, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicant 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.

D. Start Date/Project Duration

The estimated project period for the award resulting from this solicitation will begin in October

2015. The proposed project period is up to five (5) years.

E. Funding Type

Successful applicants will be issued a cooperative agreement as appropriate. A cooperative agreement is an assistance agreement that is used when there is substantial federal involvement with the recipient during the performance of an activity or project. EPA awards cooperative agreements for those projects in which it expects to have substantial involvement with the recipient throughout the performance of the project. EPA will negotiate the precise terms and conditions of “substantial involvement” as part of the award process. Federal involvement may include close monitoring of the recipient’s performance; collaboration during the performance of the scope of work; in accordance with 2 CFR 200.324, review of proposed procurements;

reviewing qualifications of key personnel; and/or review and comment on the content of printed or electronic publications prepared. EPA does not have the authority to select employees or contractors employed by the recipient. The final decision on the content of reports rests with the recipient.

F. Pre-award Costs

In accordance with 2 CFR 1500.8, EPA award recipients may incur allowable project costs 90 calendar days before the federal awarding agency makes the federal award. Expenses more than

90 calendar days pre-award require prior approval of EPA. All costs incurred before EPA makes the award are at the recipient’s risk. EPA is under no obligation to reimburse such costs if for any reason the recipient does not receive a federal award or if the federal award is less than anticipated and inadequate to cover such costs.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Assistance under this program is generally available to states, U.S. territories or possessions, federally-recognized Indian tribal governments and Native American Organizations, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, local governments, individuals and international entities.

Non-profit organization, as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative or other organization that: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve and/or expand its operations. While not considered to be a “non-profit organization(s)” as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, colleges and universities, hospitals, state, local and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under 2 CFR Part 200 and this RFA.

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

B. Cost Sharing/Matching

No matching funds are required under this competition.

C. Threshold Eligibility Requirements

These requirements, if not met by the time of application submission, will result in the elimination of the application from consideration for funding. Only applications that meet all of these criteria will be evaluated against the ranking factors in Section V of the 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.

1. Applicants must be eligible (See Section III. A) to receive funding under this announcement.

2. The proposal must address at a minimum all of the activities to be funded. The activities to be funded are listed under Section I.C.3.

3. Initial proposals must be submitted through Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV) on or before the proposal submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement to ensure that their proposal/application is timely submitted.

http://www.grants.gov/

4. Proposals submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their proposal/application through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. Applicants should confirm receipt of their proposal with the Agency Contact listed in Section VII as soon as possible after the submission deadline—failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

5. Multiple applications from the same project manager within an organization are not allowed. Only the first application from a project manager will be considered eligible.

Multiple applications from the same organization but different project managers are acceptable.

6. Applications must comply with the submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or else they will be rejected. Where page limitations are established, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed.

7. Submissions must demonstrate that all meetings and training courses will be held in the contiguous United States.

8. Submissions must contain specific outputs and outcomes and state how those will be measured and documented.

9. The maximum funding level requested for a project must not exceed $2,500,000.

Applications requesting more than the maximum will be rejected.

10. The proposed project period of performance must not exceed five years.

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

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. How to Obtain Application Information

The required forms are available through EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment website at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm.

B. Requirement to Submit through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures

Applicants, except as noted below, must apply electronically through http://www.grants.gov for this funding opportunity based on the Grants.gov instructions in this announcement. 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 http://www.grants.gov, the applicant must contact http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm

OGDWaivers@epa.gov or the address listed below in writing (e.g., 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:

USEPA Headquarters

William Jefferson Clinton Building

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Mail Code: 3903R

Washington, DC 20460

Courier Address:

Ronald Reagan Building

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Rm # 51267

Washington, DC 20004

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

Funding Opportunity Number (FON);

Organization Name and Data Universal Number System (DUNS);

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

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 http://www.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, 2015, it is valid for any competitive or non-competitive application submission to EPA through December 31, 2015). 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, 2015 with a submission deadline of January 15, mailto:OGDWaivers@epa.gov

2016, the applicant would need a new exception to submit through alternative methods beginning

January 1, 2016.

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 of the announcement. 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.

C. Submission Instructions

The electronic submission of your application must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for federal assistance. For more information on the registration requirements that must be completed in order to submit an application through Grants.gov, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on

“Applicants” on the top of the page and then go to the “Get Registered” section on the page. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a DUNS number and a current registration with the System for

Award Management (SAM) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more. Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through Grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline. Registration on Grants.gov, SAM.gov, and DUNS number assignment is free.

To begin the application process under this grant announcement, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on “Applicants” on the top of the page and then “Apply for Grants” from the dropdown menu and then follow the instructions accordingly. NOTE: To apply through Grants.gov, you must use Adobe Reader software and download the compatible Adobe Reader version. For more information about Adobe Reader, to verify compatibility, or to download the free software, please visit http://www.Grants.gov/web/Grants/support/technical-support/software/adobe-reader-compatibility.html.

You may also be able to access the application package for this announcement by searching for the opportunity on Grants.gov. Go to http://www.grants.gov and then click on “Search Grants” at the top of the page and enter the Funding Opportunity Number, EPA-OPP-2015-001, or the

CFDA number that applies to the announcement (CFDA 66.716), in the appropriate field and click the “Search” button. Alternatively, you may be able to access the application package by clicking on the Application Package button at the top right of the synopsis page for the announcement on http://www.grants.gov. To find the synopsis page, go to http://www.grants.gov and click “Browse Agencies” in the middle of the page and then go to

“Environmental Protection Agency” to find the EPA funding opportunities.

D. Application Submission Deadline http://www.grants.gov/web/Grants/support/technical-support/software/adobe-reader-compatibility.html http://www.grants.gov/web/Grants/support/technical-support/software/adobe-reader-compatibility.html http://www.grants.gov/

Applicants must submit a complete application package electronically to EPA through

Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than June 8, 2015, by midnight Eastern Time. Please allow for enough time to successfully submit your application process and allow for unexpected errors that may require you to resubmit.

Please submit all of the application materials described in Section IV.F below using the

Grants.gov application package that you downloaded using the instructions above. For additional instructions on completing and submitting the electronic application package, click on the “Show

Instructions” tab that is accessible within the application package itself.

Applications submitted through Grants.gov will be time and date stamped electronically.

If you have not received a confirmation of receipt from EPA (not from Grants.gov) within 30 days of the application deadline, please contact Carolyn Schroeder at (703) 308-2961. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.

E. Technical Issues with Submission

1. Once the application package has been completed, the “Submit” button should be enabled. If the “Submit” button is not active, please call Grants.gov for assistance at 1-

800-518-4726. Applicants who are outside the U.S. at the time of submittal and are not able to access the toll-free number may reach a Grants.gov representative by calling 606-

545-5035. Applicants should save the completed application package with two different file names before providing it to the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) to avoid having to re-create the package should submission problems be experienced or a revised application needs to be submitted. NOTE: Revised applications must be submitted before the solicitation closing date and time.

2. Submitting the application. The application package must be transferred to Grants.gov by an AOR. The AOR should close all other software before attempting to submit the application package. Click the “submit” button of the application package. Your internet browser will launch and a sign-in page will appear. NOTE: Minor problems are not uncommon with transfers to Grants.gov. It is essential to allow sufficient time to ensure that your application is submitted to Grants.gov BEFORE the due date identified in

Section IV of the solicitation. The Grants.gov support desk operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except federal holidays.

A successful transfer will end with an on-screen acknowledgement. For documentation purposes, print or screen capture this acknowledgement. If a submission problem occurs, reboot the computer – turning the power off may be necessary – and re-attempt the submission.

NOTE: Grants.gov issues a “case number” upon a request for assistance.

3. Transmission Difficulties. If transmission difficulties that result in a late transmission, no transmission, or rejection of the transmitted application are experienced, and following the above instructions does not resolve the problem so that the application is submitted to http://www.grants.gov by the deadline date and time, follow the guidance below. The

Agency will make a decision concerning acceptance of each late submission on a case-by-case basis. All emails, as described below, are to be sent to Carolyn Schroeder at schroeder.carolyn@epa.gov with the FON in the subject line. If you are unable to email, contact Carolyn Schroeder at 703-308-2961. Be aware that EPA will only consider accepting applications that were unable to transmit due to http://www.grants.gov or relevant http://www.sam.gov system issues or for unforeseen exigent circumstances, such as extreme weather interfering with internet access. EPA will not accept applications that are unable to be submitted using Grants.gov because the applicant failed to register in

SAM.gov or Grants.gov due to their own error.

a. If you are experiencing problems resulting in an inability to upload the application to

Grants.gov, it is essential to call Grants.gov for assistance at 1-800-518-4726 before the application deadline. Applicants who are outside the U.S. at the time of submittal and are not able to access the toll-free number may reach a Grants.gov representative by calling 606-545-5035. Be sure to obtain a case number from Grants.gov. If the problems stem from unforeseen exigent circumstances unrelated to Grants.gov, such as extreme weather interfering with internet access, contact Carolyn Schroeder at 703-

308-2961.

b. Unsuccessful transfer of the application package: If a successful transfer of the application cannot be accomplished even with assistance from Grants.gov due to electronic submission system issues or unforeseen exigent circumstances, send an email message prior to the application deadline. The email message must document the problem and include the Grants.gov case number as well as the entire application in PDF format as an attachment.

c. Grants.gov rejection of the application package: If a notification is received from

Grants.gov stating that the application has been rejected for reasons other than late submittal promptly send an email to Carolyn Schroeder at schroeder.carolyn@epa.gov with the FON in the subject line within one business day of the closing date of this solicitation. The email should include any materials provided by Grants.gov and attach the entire application in PDF format.

F. Content of Application Submission

Regardless of the mode of submission, the application package must include all of the following materials, in sequential order shown. Additional guidance on completing the documents is available through EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/.

1. Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance Complete the form available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm. There are no attachments. Be sure to include organization fax number and e-mail address in Block 5 of the SF-424 form. Clearly state the total funding amount requested for the entire project period in Block 15.

Please note that the organizational Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number mailto:kasai.jeanne@epa.gov http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:nelsen.ashley@epa.gov http://www.epa.gov/ogd/ http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm

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. Alternatively, applicants may also request a DUNS number online by going to http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform and following the instructions for a cooperative agreement.

2. SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs Complete the form available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm. There are no attachments. The total amount of federal funding requested for the project period should be shown on line 5(e) and on line 6(k) of SF-424A. The amount of indirect costs should be entered on line 6(j). The indirect cost rate (i.e. a percentage), the base (e.g., personnel costs and fringe benefits), and the amount should also be indicated on line 22. Clearly state the total funding amount requested for the ENTIRE project period in Block 15.

3. EPA Form 5700-54, Key Contacts attachments. If additional pages are needed, attach these additional pages to your front page in the form of a Microsoft Word document. Include a header on the additional pages with the form number and your name.

4. SF-424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs attachments.

5. EPA Form 6600-06, Lobbying Form – Certification Regarding Lobbying

Complete the form available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/form/Lobbying_sec.pdf.

There are no attachments. Disregard the line in the upper right for inserting an EPA

Project Control Number.

6. EPA Form 4700-4, Pre-Award Compliance Review Report attachments.

7. Project Proposal

NOTE: In developing a work plan, applicants should provide discussion on how activities and resources would be prioritized for a smaller budget allocation.

a. Cover Page (page 1): The cover page (one page) must list the following information with your letterhead:

EPA Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-OPP-2015-001

Project Title:

Project Coordinator:

Organization Name and Address:

Telephone No.: Fax No.: Email Address:

Project Duration (including Starting Date and Ending Date):

First Year Funding Request:

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/form/Lobbying_sec.pdf http://www.epa.gov/ogd/forms/forms.htm

Subsequent Year Funding Requests, if applicable:

Total Funding Request (for the entire project):

Indicate if this application is for new activities connected with a previously funded EPA project. If yes, please provide the following:

EPA Assistance Number:_________________

Budget Period of Project:_________________

b. Table of Contents (page 2): A one-page table listing the different parts of the proposal and the page number on which each part begins.

c. Executive Summary (page 3): Stand-alone, one-page document that concisely explains the objectives, outputs and outcomes of the proposed project. It must also include an assurance that the applicant meets the eligibility factors, as listed in

Section III (Eligibility Information), are addressed in the application.

d. Project Narrative (20 pages or less): The project narrative must contain Parts I – V in sequential order as identified below. The project narrative must not exceed 20 pages typewritten on 8.5 x 11 inch paper, 1.5 line-spacing. Applications should use

Time New Roman font, 12-point size.

Part I. Project Title

Part II. Project Goals and Objectives

Include a numbered list of concisely written project objectives consistent with the purpose of this program and activities to be funded under this announcement (see

Section I.C). These objectives should be concise, specific, realistic and measurable.

Part III. Project Approach and Design

Describe in detail the project activities to be funded (see Section I.C.3 of this announcement for activities to be included at a minimum). Indicate in detail the staff, resources, tools and methodologies that will be utilized. Describe how the project activities build upon or consider lessons learned from existing efforts and resources.

Part IV. Performance Measures and Expected Outputs and Outcomes

Clearly describe the expected project outputs (see Section I.D.2 of this announcement) and how progress towards achieving the expected outputs will be tracked and measured.

Clearly describe expected outcomes (see Section I.D.3 of this announcement) and how progress towards achieving the expected outcomes will be tracked and measured, and how the project will be evaluated.

Part V. Past Performance – Programmatic Capability and Environmental

Results Past Performance

Explain your current state of knowledge and experience related to the purposes and objectives stated in Section I.C of this announcement.

Submit a list of federally and/or non-federally funded assistance agreements

(assistance agreements include federal, state or private grants and cooperative agreements but not contracts) similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed project that your organization performed within the last three years. Submit no more than five agreements, and preferably EPA agreements. Describe (a) whether, and how, you were able to successfully complete and manage those agreements; (b) your history of meeting the reporting requirements under those agreements including whether you adequately and timely reported on your progress towards achieving the expected outputs and outcomes of those agreements (and if not, explain why not) and whether you submitted acceptable final technical reports under the agreement; (c) the organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the proposed project; (d) your history of complying with financial management regulations under the assistance agreements identified; and (e) whether you received adverse material findings made within the last 5 years by a federal auditor or an independent auditor under 2 CFR Part 200 subpart F. Please also provide name, phone number, and email address for the primary liaison for each listed agreement, such as the project officer or similar person, who is familiar with your performance under the agreement.

In evaluating applicants under criteria in Section V, EPA will consider the information provided by the applicant and may also consider relevant information from other sources, including information from EPA files and from current/prior grantors (e.g., to verify and/or supplement the information provided by the applicant).

If you do not have any relevant or available past performance, past reporting information, or financial management experience please indicate this in the application and you will receive a neutral score for selection criteria under Section

V.B.4 (a), (b), (d) or (e) of this project proposal (a neutral score is half of the total points available in a subset of possible points). If you have had no adverse material findings from audits, or have resolved adverse material findings without actions by federal agencies to disallow costs or impose special conditions, you will receive a favorable score for criterion (e). If you do not provide any response for (a), (b), (d) or

(e), you may receive a score of 0 for these criteria.

8. Budget Narrative

In addition to the SF-424A form, prepare an overall budget for allocation of $2,500,000 over five years. Prepare a detailed budget and narrative for the first incremental funding for an estimated $500,000. Explain the need for funding under each of the appropriate budget categories as listed below. Link each task or activity from the project work plan to the associated resources needed to accomplish the activity.

Include sufficient detail for EPA to determine if the costs are eligible, allocable, reasonable, and allowable. For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/tips.htm and for guidelines and a sample budget, see http://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/tips.htm http://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/ogd_budget_detail_guidance.pdf.

Personnel: Include only direct costs for salaries of those individuals who will perform work directly for the project. Identify the personnel type by full time employee. Personnel costs do not include costs for services of consultants, contractors or other partner organizations. Include the requested federal and any non-federal cost share in these estimates.

Travel: Include the travel location(s), estimated number of trips, estimated total mileage, applicable reimbursement rate, and number of nights lodging required throughout the entire project period.

Equipment: Include only equipment proposed to be purchased as a direct cost. This does not include equipment to be leased/rented and service/maintenance contracts. Include costs for each item.

Supplies: Include tangible personal property other than equipment. Include a brief description of the supplies required to perform the work and categorized by major supply category. Example: office supplies, computer supplies, etc.

Contractual/Consultant Services: List services and associated costs that are to be carried out by an individual or organization other than the applicant in the form of a procurement relationship. Include a brief description of the scope of work or services to be provided.

Other Direct Costs: Include only those types of direct costs that do not fit in any of the other budget categories. An example is sub-award costs. (Sub-awards: Any award of financial assistance by any legal agreement made by the recipient to an eligible sub-recipient.)

9. SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, if applicable

Complete the form, available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/form/sflllin_sec.pdf, if your organization is involved in lobbying activities.

10. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement If your proposed budget includes indirect costs, you must submit a copy of your organization’s Indirect Cost Rate Agreement as part of the application package.

11. Appendix A, Resumes (Optional)

You may provide resumes for the major project participants. Resumes are not required.

12. Appendix B, Letters of Support (Optional)

When the work plan describes partnerships, funding, or in-kind services, letters of support may be included in the proposal. Letters of support are not required. If submitted, http://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/ogd_budget_detail_guidance.pdf http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/form/sflllin_sec.pdf letters of support should clearly state the intent of the partner and their contribution, cash or in-kind services to the project. Letters of recommendation will not be considered.

G. Partnerships, Contractors, and Subawards

1. Subawards, Contract Services and Partnerships

EPA awards funds to one eligible applicant as the recipient even if other eligible applicants are named as partners or co-applicants or members of a coalition or consortium. The recipient is accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.

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

Successful applicants cannot use subawards to avoid requirements in EPA grant regulations for competitive procurement by using these instruments to acquire commercial…