rfp 16-01a sav aerial survey--rfp announcement--12 09 2015--v6.pdf

OVERVIEW

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

TITLE: Chesapeake Bay Program Office Fiscal Year 2016 Request for Proposals for Chesapeake Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Aerial Survey

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Request for Proposals (RFP)

RFP NUMBER: EPA-R3-CBP-16-01

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 66.466

IMPORTANT DATES

12/28/2015 Issuance of RFP 02/11/2016 Proposal Submission Deadline (see Section IV for more information) 02/16/2016 Approximate date for EPA to notify applicants of results 03/17/2016 Approximate date for applicant to submit federal cooperative agreement application 05/17/2016 Approximate date of award

EPA will consider all proposals that are submitted via Grants.gov on or before 11:59 EST on 02/11/2016. Any proposals submitted after the due date EPA will only accept proposals submitted via Grants.gov, except in limited circumstances where applicants have no or very limited Internet access (see section IV.).

SUMMARY

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) is announcing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for applicants to provide the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partners with a proposal addressing an annual aerial survey, image-interpretation, mapping and web-based access to maps denoting the distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.

CBP partners include federal agencies, seven watershed jurisdictions, and many non-federal organizations; however, work funded under this RFP will support the seven watershed jurisdictions and other non-federal partners.

CBP partners include federal agencies, seven watershed jurisdictions, and many non-federal organizations; however, work funded under this RFP will support the seven watershed jurisdictions and other non-federal partners. The seven watershed jurisdictions are Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

FUNDING/AWARDS: This RFP will cover the project period up to and including six years from an expected start date of 05/17/2016. CBPO plans to award one cooperative agreement under this RFP. The total estimated funding for six years is approximately $1,200,000 to $2,400,000, with an estimated $200,000 to $400,000 available for the first year and each additional year. There is no guarantee of funding throughout this period or beyond.

FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

II. Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

IV. Proposal and Submission Information

V. Proposal Review Information

VI. Award Administration Information

VII. Agency Contacts

VIII. Other Information (Appendices)

I: FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background

1. About the Chesapeake Bay Program The Chesapeake Bay is North America's largest and most biologically diverse estuary. A resource of extraordinary productivity, it is worthy of the highest levels of protection and restoration. Authorized by Section 117 of the Clean Water Act, CBP is responsible for supporting the Chesapeake Executive Council through a number of actions, including the coordination of federal, state, and local efforts to restore and protect living resources and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Section 117 also authorizes EPA to provide assistance grants to support the goals of the program.

CBP is a unique regional partnership that has led and directed the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay since 1983. The CBP partners include the states of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body; EPA, representing the federal government; and participating citizen, local government, and scientific and technical advisory groups.

The CBP partnership is guided at the direction of the Chesapeake Executive Council (Executive Council), which, through its leadership, establishes the policy direction for the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and exerts its leadership to rally public support for the Bay effort and signs directives, agreements, and amendments that set goals and guide policy for Chesapeake Bay restoration.

The Principals' Staff Committee (PSC) acts as the senior policy advisors to the Executive Council, accepting items for their consideration and approval and setting agendas for Executive Council meetings. The PSC also provides policy and program direction to the Management Board.

The Management Board provides strategic planning, priority setting, and operational guidance through implementation of a comprehensive, coordinated, accountable implementation strategy for the CBP. It directs and coordinates all of the goal teams and workgroups under it.

The Goal Implementation Teams (GITs) includes federal and non-federal experts from throughout the watershed. Thus, academic experts, advocacy organizations, and others become active members of the broad restoration partnership.

Pursuant to Section 117(b)(2) of the Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1267 (b)(2), CBPO is the office within EPA charged with providing support to the Council in the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. CBPO and CBP mentioned above are two distinct entities.

2. 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and Executive Order 13508

On June 16, 2014, the Chesapeake Executive Council, CBP’s governing body signed a new voluntary Chesapeake Bay agreement (referred to as Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement throughout this RFP) that will guide the CBP partnership’s work into the future. For the first time, Delaware, New York, and West Virginia signed the agreement as full CBP partners in the overall effort. This agreement is one of the most comprehensive restoration plans developed for the Chesapeake region, providing greater transparency and accountability of all CBP partners.

With 10 interrelated goals and 31 outcomes, this watershed-wide accord advances the restoration, conservation, and protection of all the lands and waters within the 64,000-square-mile watershed by promoting sound land use, environmental literacy, stewardship, and a diversity of engaged citizens. Additionally, the goals and outcomes aim to better protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay's living resources, water quality, and vital habitats. The new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement also recognizes the unique and vital role local governments play and how they are essential to the restoration effort.

President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13508, issued in May 2009, called for a new strategy and a “new era of shared federal leadership” for restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay.

When it was issued, the EO strategy built upon existing CBP goals and identified a set of goals and outcome measures. Since that time, federal and CBP jurisdictional partners worked collaboratively to better align the EO and CBP partnership’s goals, the results of which are reflected in the new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

This cooperative agreement will help fulfill the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement’s Vital Habitats Goal and its SAV outcome and Water Quality goal and its water quality standards and monitoring outcome.

B. Scope of Work

This RFP is seeking cost-effective proposals from eligible applicants for conducting an annual aerial survey, image-interpretation, mapping, and providing web-based access to maps denoting the distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. Proposals should specifically address the need to evolve the aerial survey into a more streamlined, less cost-intensive design that still provides the data, information, and maps supporting assessment of the health of SAV communities across the tidal waters and applications in local and regional management decision-making. The first-year work plan of each proposal should also address the development of a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of long-term trends in SAV distribution and abundance along with an explanation of the observed trends.

While the CBP partnership is comprised of federal and non-federal organizations, any activities funded under this RFP will not directly benefit the federal partners. The recipient of the cooperative agreement awarded under this RFP may work directly with federal agencies, but the nature of that work will result only in benefits to the non-federal agencies, partners, and the general public. The non-federal partners of the CBP will provide programmatic direction to the cooperative agreement recipient through the CBP Partnership’s Vital Habitats Goal Implementation Team and its SAV Workgroup.

CBPO plans to award one cooperative agreement to carry out all activities under this RFP. The estimated funding is for $1,200,000 to $2,400,000, with an estimated $200,000 to $400,000 available for the first year and each additional year.

If your organization has an interest in this project, has the skills to accomplish the activities, and is eligible to receive a federal assistance agreement as described in Section III of this announcement, we encourage you to submit a proposal. Each eligible proposal will be evaluated using the criteria described in Section V. The activities are multi-year projects (up to six years), and the proposal should have a work plan and budget for the first year and an estimated budget detail for each of the subsequent five years.

Applicants must address both activities listed below in their proposal:

Activity 1: Chesapeake Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Aerial Survey

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a critical living resource in the Chesapeake Bay that has undergone rapid and dramatic bay-wide fluctuations in distribution and abundance over the last three decades. Declines have been related to water quality changes, principally nutrient enrichment and sediment inputs to the bay (primarily from non-point sources). SAV is being subjected to ever-increasing pressure from recreational, commercial, and industrial demands.

Because SAV is dependent on good water quality, which it responds to over short time scales, it can be an important indicator of water quality.

The Chesapeake Bay SAV aerial survey, conducted annually since 1984 (except for 1988), has been crucial in developing a database to help analyze water quality changes in the Chesapeake Bay. Recent data suggest that SAV can and will respond to even small changes in water quality.

Rapid and relatively large, inter-annual changes in many regions of the Chesapeake Bay have been recorded since the survey began in 1984. The annual survey must continue if we are to fully understand processes, both anthropogenically and naturally induced, that affect SAV distribution and abundance. It is critical to survey the shallow water habitats of the entire Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and embayments because both increases and decreases in SAV can occur even within one region.

This activity provides for the annual aerial survey, image-interpretation, mapping and web-based access to maps denoting the distribution and abundance of SAV throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. The SAV annual survey directly tracks progress toward SAV restoration and protection goals and continues a long-term dataset that tracks habitat responses to management initiatives. Survey results are the CBP partnership’s long-term validation of progress on water clarity and habitat improvements and are a significant public communication product on the status of a critical habitat resource.

EPA intends to award a cooperative agreement to an organization to support the CBP partnership’s continuing mission of evaluating the effectiveness of management actions taken to reduce nutrient and sediment loads and improve Chesapeake Bay water quality. This mission includes enhancing and maintaining multi-partner environmental monitoring networks across the Bay tidal waters and throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The resultant data are used by the CBP partnership’s jurisdictions to assess achievement of jurisdictions’ tidal water quality standards, determine long-term trends in response to reduced nutrient and sediment loads, report Bay and ecosystem health to the public, and support adaptive management by the jurisdictional partner agencies.

The resultant data are also used by the CBP partnership’s jurisdictions and local partners to support habitat restoration and protection decision-making, including but not limited to permitting and aquaculture-siting decisions.

The proposing organization should be oriented towards further promotion and continued enhancement of estuarine monitoring, the production of management-oriented products, and ensuring full web-accessibility of the resultant data within the partnership-oriented, implementation-focused structure of the CBP. The above areas of emphasis need not be the sole missions of the proposing organization.

SAV aerial survey methods, image-interpretation methods, and data management are well-established over the past 30 years and subject to rigorous quality assurance planning and review.

For more information on aerial image methods, SAV species, mapping and other information related to these methodologies, please refer to: http://www.vims.edu/bio/sav/sav11.

The following are examples of the types of activities required to carry out Activity 1. Applicants may consider these tasks as well as describe alternative approaches to providing the requested support. Applicants are encouraged to describe how they would support efforts to progressively modernize the aerial survey techniques and procedures over the course of the next six years through carefully studied methodological changes that take advantage of the best available cost-effective technology while maintaining the continuity and accuracy of the long-term dataset.

Acquisition of Aerial Imagery

• Aerial imagery will be the principal method used to assess the distribution of SAV in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.

• Flight lines will be designed to provide full coverage of water areas that are less than two meters in depth at mean low water to ensure complete coverage of SAV beds.

• The flight lines need to also include sufficient land features to serve as ground control points.

• Recipients are asked to follow the CBP partnership SAV Workgroup’s agreed-upon general guidelines for mission planning and execution, which address tidal stage, plant growth, sun angle, turbidity, wind, atmospheric transparency, and sensor operation to allow for capturing of images under near-optimal conditions to ensure consistency with the 30-year database of SAV distribution and abundance data. These guidelines can be accessed at http://www.vims.edu/bio/sav/sav13/aerial_photography.html.

• The guidelines are critical because significant distortion of any one item could significantly decrease the ability to detect the SAV or to interpret the imagery.

• Acquisition of the imagery needs to be timed to coincide with periods of peak biomass of the dominant SAV species in each particular area.

Image-interpretation and Mapping SAV Bed Distribution and Abundance

• The aerial images will be evaluated for SAV signatures using all available information, including knowledge of aquatic grass signatures on the images, areas of grass coverage from previous flights, ground information, and aerial visual surveys.

• Images containing SAV signatures should be orthographically corrected.

• The boundaries of all SAV beds visible on the aerial imagery need to be stored on a delineated basis in GIS datasets.

• An estimate of percent cover within each delineated SAV bed is needed.

• The accuracy of the position of SAV beds, bed area, and density classification must be sufficient to support the regional evaluation of SAV in the current year.

• The data must also be of comparable accuracy and precision to permit comparison with data from previous years.

Coordination with and Integration of Ground Surveys

• Data on SAV species distribution is collected annually by a variety of sources, including surveys by citizens, academic institutions, watershed organizations, and agencies, to cover as many of the CBP segments as possible.

• Field validation of image-interpretation has been an important component of the CBP partnership’s SAV survey methodology, so the recipient will be responsible for coordinating the reporting, synthesis, and mapping of these various ground surveys.

• Data collected from these surveys will be incorporated into the GIS dataset of SAV bed distribution and abundance.

Web Accessibility of Data and Products

• A web-based comprehensive final report that presents the results of the annual SAV distribution and abundance survey program will be made publicly available.

• The SAV distribution, abundance, and species identification GIS dataset will be made publicly available on the Internet.

• Metadata, including identification, data quality, spatial data organization, spatial reference, entity and attribute, and distribution information, will be included as part of the datasets made available on-line.

Modernization and Streamlining of Survey Methodologies

• While assuring continuity in the utility of the existing dataset, the recipient will work toward improving the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the methodology of the aerial SAV survey.

• Recipients will make commitments to incorporate innovative methods that improve efficiency, accuracy and cost effectiveness over time.

• Working through the CBP partnership’s SAV Workgroup and with the CBP partnership’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, the recipient will explore an array of approaches and methodological changes that would result in a more streamlined, less cost-intensive design that still provides the data, information, and maps supporting assessment of the health of SAV communities across the tidal waters and applications in local and regional management decision-making.

Activity 2: Analysis and Explanation of Long Term SAV Distribution, Abundance and

Species Diversity Trends

The Chesapeake Bay SAV aerial survey, conducted annually since 1984 (except for 1988), has created a database of SAV distribution, abundance and species diversity that has been used to help analyze and communicate water quality changes in the Chesapeake Bay. Combined with partial and baywide aerial surveys conducted in 1971, 1974, 1978, and 1979 and ground surveys conducted starting in 1971, there exists over a four-decade record of SAV for the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and embayments. This activity provides for a comprehensive analysis of the long-term trends in SAV bed spatial distribution, density, and species diversity and the interpretation and explanation of the factors leading to the observed short- and long-term trends.

The following are examples of the types of activities required to carry out Activity 2. Applicants may consider these tasks as well as describe alternative approaches to providing the requested support.

Analysis of SAV Trends

• Long-term trends in SAV bed spatial distribution, density, and species diversity will be analyzed based on the available data record of partial and baywide SAV aerial surveys and ground surveys since 1971.

• Other available data and literature prior to 1971 will be used to narratively and qualitatively supplement the quantitative trend findings.

• The appropriate statistical analysis techniques will be applied to the data to determine the relative significance of the observed short-term and long-term trends.

• The trend analyses will be conducted at the scale of each individual CBP segment and then combined into a logical series of tidal tributaries, embayments, and regions of the entire Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and embayments.

Interpretation and Explanation of the Observed SAV Trends

• A systematic quantitative evaluation of the full range of water quality, physical processes, and habitat related parameters and factors that could be influencing SAV bed spatial distribution, density, and species diversity patterns over time will be undertaken.

• The relative contribution(s) of each individual and set of water quality, physical processes, and habitat-related parameters and factors that could be influencing SAV bed spatial distribution, density, and species diversity patterns over time will be quantified when and where possible; otherwise, qualitative contributions will be documented.

• The interpretation and explanation of the observed SAV trends will be conducted at the scale of each individual CBP segment and then combined into a logical series of tidal tributaries, embayments, and then regions of the entire Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and embayments.

Web Accessibility of Resultant Trends Data, Interpretations and Products

• A web-based comprehensive final report that presents the results of the comprehensive interpretation and explanation of the observed trends in SAV bed spatial distribution, density, and species diversity will be made publicly available on the Internet. (?) (See yellow highlight in next bullet.)

• The underlying SAV bed spatial distribution, density, and species diversity data, detailed trend analysis data, and quantitative and qualitative interpretation and explanations will be made publicly available on the Internet.

• Metadata, including identification, data quality, spatial data organization, spatial reference, entity and attribute, and distribution information, will be included as part of the datasets made available on-line.

Obtaining Additional Information

For additional background information on the CBP achievements and commitments, see the CBP partnership’s website located at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/ or call 1-800-YOUR-BAY to receive information by mail.

C. EPA Strategic Plan Linkage & Anticipated Outcomes and Outputs

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://www2.epa.gov/grants/epa-order-environmental-results-under-epa-assistance-agreements.

1. Linkage to EPA’s Strategic Plan

The overall objective of this grant is to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem through increased public awareness and public engagement in addressing water-quality restoration goals and Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. Under EPA’s FY2014–2018 Strategic Plan (see: http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan), this objective supports Strategic Goal #2: Protecting America’s Waters; Objective 2.2: Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic Ecosystems; specifically, Improve the Health of the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem. The project funded under this announcement must be linkable to these strategic goals.

2. Outputs

The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product 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. Expected outputs from the project(s) to be funded under this announcement may include the following:

• Web-based publication of maps of SAV distribution and abundance.

• Web-based access to SAV bed-scale distribution and abundance data, including species information where ground survey data is available.

• Enhancement to the procedures and methods for conducting the annual aerial survey that result in methodological changes that take advantage of the best available, cost-effective technology while maintaining the continuity and accuracy of the long-term dataset.

• Web-based access to interpretation and explanation of the observed trends in SAV bed spatial distribution, density, and species diversity.

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

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 qualitative and environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic in nature but must also be quantitative. They may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period. An example of an outcome under this proposal is an evaluation of the effectiveness of management actions taken to reduce nutrient and sediment loads to the Bay’s tidal waters. Another example is an evaluation of the effectiveness of resource management decisions to further protect SAV beds – e.g., changes to dredging restrictions and guidelines, fisheries management actions, habitat restoration actions – based on assessment of trends in SAV distribution and abundance within individual Chesapeake Bay segments.

D. Authorizing Statutes and Regulations

The grant made as a result of this announcement is authorized under the Clean Water Act, Section 117(d). Under Section 117(d) (1) of the Act, EPA has the authority to issue grants and cooperative agreements for the purposes of protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem. This project is subject to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Uniform Grants Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) and EPA-specific provisions of the Uniform Grants Guidance (2 CFR Part 1500).

II: AWARD INFORMATION

A. Funding Amount and Expected Number of Awards

CBPO plans to award one cooperative agreement under this RFP. Funding for the activity listed above is approximately $200,000 to $400,000 annually for FY 2016 through FY 2021, depending on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations.

The total estimated funding for six years is approximately $1,200,000 to $2,400,000.

EPA reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no award under this announcement.

EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding becomes available after the original selection is made. Any additional selection for awards will be made no later than six months after the original selection decision.

B. Award Type

Successful applicants will be issued a cooperative agreement as appropriate. A cooperative agreement is an assistance agreement that is used when there is substantial federal involvement with the recipient during the performance of an activity or project. EPA awards cooperative agreements for those projects in which it expects to have substantial interaction with the recipient throughout the performance of the project. 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 200.317 and 2 CFR 200.318, as appropriate, 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.

For this project, federal involvement would typically be in the form of participation with other CBP partners and stakeholders in an advisory capacity to the grantee. This participation is expected to include involvement through the various CBP Goal Implementation Teams and related committees and workgroups (on which EPA also participates to ensure that all the recommendations for technical work support the CBP partners). All work conducted is to support the efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

C. Partial Funding

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

D. Expected Project Period

The expected project period for the cooperative agreement is six years, with funding provided on an annual basis. No commitment of funding can be made beyond the first year. The expected start date for the award resulting from this RFP is 05/17/2016.

E. Pre-Award Costs

Recipients may incur otherwise eligible and allowable pre-award costs up to 90 days prior to award at their own risk without prior approval of EPA’s award official. Pre-award costs must comply with 2 CFR 200.458 and 2 CFR 1500.8. If EPA determines that the requested pre-award costs comply with the relevant authorities, and that the costs are justified as allocable to the project, then these costs may be included as allowable expenditures at the time that the assistance award document is prepared.

However, if for any reason EPA does not fund the proposal or the amount of the award is less than the applicant anticipated, then EPA is under no obligation to reimburse the applicant for these costs incurred. Thus, applicants incur pre-award costs at their own risk. Costs incurred more than 90 days prior to award require the approval of EPA Region 3’s grant official.

III: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

Nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, colleges, universities, and interstate agencies are eligible to submit proposals in response to this RFP. For-profit organizations are not eligible to submit proposals in response to this RFP.

B. Cost-Share or Matching Requirements

Pursuant to Clean Water Act 117(d)(2)(A), the agency shall determine the cost-share requirements for awards. The CFDA Number 66.466 states that assistance agreement applicants must commit to a cost-share ranging from five to 50 percent of eligible project costs as determined at the sole discretion of EPA. For this RFP, EPA has determined that an applicant must provide a minimum of five percent of the total cost of the project as the non-federal cost-share. See Appendix A for assistance in calculating the cost share for your project.

Cost-share may be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. Involvement from foundations, watershed groups, private sector, eligible governmental, as well as non-conventional partners can help with the match. This match must be met by eligible and allowable costs and is subject to the match provisions in grant regulations. Proposals that do not demonstrate how the five percent match will be met will be rejected.

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

Only proposals from eligible entities (see Section III.A above) that meet the following threshold eligibility criteria will be evaluated against the criteria in Section V.B. Applicants must meet the following threshold criteria to be considered for funding. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified in writing within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or else they will be rejected.

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

2. In addition, initial proposals must be submitted through 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.

3. 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 James Hargett at hargett.james@epa.gov (see Section VII, Agency Contact) as soon as possible after the submission deadline—failure to do so may result in your proposal not being reviewed.

4. The project funded under this announcement must be linked to the strategic goal outlined in Section I.C.1.

5. For a proposal to be considered eligible for funding, substantive project-related work included in the proposal must take place within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes portions of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and all of the District of Columbia.

6. Proposals must show how they will meet the five percent cost-share requirement of Section III.B.

7. Proposals requesting funding for more than $400,000 for the first year and/or more than $2,400,000 for the full six years will be rejected.

8. Proposals must address both activities listed in Section I.B. in the RFP to be considered.

9. 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 a Proposal Package

Applicants can download individual grant application forms from http://www.grants.gov/.

B. Content and Form of Proposal Submission

Each proposal will be evaluated using the criteria referenced in Section V.B. of this announcement. You must submit a single-spaced proposal of up to 15 pages in length by the date and time specified in Section IV.C below. The format for this proposal is contained in Appendix A of this announcement. Review the directions for the preparation of the proposal. Proposals that are not prepared in substantial compliance with the requirements in Appendix A will not be considered for funding and will be returned to the applicant.

The proposal package must include all of the following materials:

1. Standard Form (SF)-424, Application for Federal Assistance – Complete the form.

There are no attachments. Please be sure to include organization fax number and email address in Block 8 of SF-424. Please note that the organizational Dunn 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 or visiting their website at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.

2. SF-424A, Budget Information – Complete the form. 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.

3. Narrative Proposal – The format for this proposal is contained in Appendix A of this announcement. Review the directions for the preparation of the proposal.

Requirements for Narrative Proposal — See Appendix A

All proposal review criteria in Section V must be addressed in the proposal. The proposal shall not exceed 15 pages in length. Pages refer to one side of a single-spaced, typed page. Font size should be no smaller than 10 and the proposal must be submitted on 8 ½” x 11" paper. Note that the 15 pages include all supporting materials, including budget, budget detail, resumes or curriculum vitae and letters of support. With the exception of documentation of non-profit status, cost-share letters of commitment, and the SF-424, if you submit more than 15 pages, the additional pages will be discarded and will not be reviewed. See Appendix A for additional instructions.

C. Intergovernmental Review

Applicants must comply with the Intergovernmental Review Process and/or consultation provisions of Section 204, Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act, if applicable, which are contained in 40 CFR Part 29. This program is eligible for coverage under Executive Order (EO) 12372, An Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her state for more information on that state's required process for applying for assistance if the state has selected the program for review. Single Points of Contact can be found in Appendix D of the grant application kit at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc. Further information regarding this requirement will be provided if your proposal is selected for funding.

D. Funding Restrictions

Administrative Cost Cap Requirement under Statutory Authority

Grantees applying for CBP assistance agreements must adhere to the requirements for “Administrative Costs” under the Clean Water Act, Section 117 (d)(4), which states that administrative costs shall not exceed 10 percent of the annual grant award (annual grant award = federal share plus cost-share). Appendix B: Administrative Cost Cap Worksheet is provided as an example of a method to calculate the 10-percent limitation. You are not required to submit Appendix B with your proposal.

Allowable Costs EPA assistance agreement funds may only be used for the purposes set forth in the grant and must be consistent with the statutory authority for the award. Federal funds may not be used for cost-sharing for other federal grants (except where authorized by statute), lobbying, or intervention in federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings. In addition, federal funds may not be used to sue the federal government or any other government entity. All costs identified in the budget must conform to the provisions of 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E, Cost Principles. During the grant negotiation, any ineligible costs outlined in the proposal (i.e. lobbying activities) will be excluded in the final grant award.

E. Requirement 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. 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 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 Barbara Perkins USEPA Headquarters William Jefferson Clinton Building 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N. W.

Mail Code: 3903R Washington, DC 20460

Courier Address:

OGD Waivers c/o Barbara Perkins Ronald Reagan Building 1300 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 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 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, 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.

F. 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” link on the page. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a DUNS number and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more.

Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline. Registration on grants.gov, SAM.gov, and DUNS number assignment is FREE.

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

To begin the application process under this grant announcement, go to 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. Please note: To apply through Grants.gov, you must use Adobe Reader software and download the compatible Adobe Reader version. For more information about Adobe Reader, to verify compatibility, or to download the free software, please visit 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 http://www.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-R3- CBP-16-01, or the CFDA number that applies to the announcement (CFDA 66.466), 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.

Proposal Submission Deadline Your organization’s AOR must submit your complete proposal electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) on or before 12:59 p.m. EST on 02/11/2016. 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 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.

If you have not received a confirmation of receipt from EPA (not from Grants.gov) within 30 days of the proposal/application deadline, please contact the person listed in Section VII of this announcement. Failure to do so may result in your proposal/application not being reviewed.

Application Materials

The following forms and documents are required under this announcement:

1. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

2. Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)

3. Narrative Proposal (Project Narrative Attachment Form)-prepared as described in Section

IV.B. of the announcement

G. 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 AOR to avoid having to re-create the package should submission problems be experienced or a revised application needs to be submitted.

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 do not resolve the problem so that the application is submitted to 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 James Hargett (hargett.james@epa.gov) with the FON in the subject line. If you are unable to email, contact James Hargett at 410-267-

5743. Be aware that EPA will only consider accepting applications that were unable to transmit due to www.Grants.gov or relevant www.Sam.gov system issues or for unforeseen exigent circumstances, such as extreme weather interfering with internet access. Failure of an applicant to submit timely because they did not properly or timely register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov is not an acceptable reason to justify acceptance of a late submittal.

a. If you are experiencing problems resulting in an inability to upload the application to Grants.gov, it is essential to call www.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.