rfp_18_01_cbp_insr_swg_rfp_announcement_11_16_2017.pdf

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

TITLE: Chesapeake Bay Program Office Fiscal Year 2018 Request for Proposals for Support for both the Small Watershed and the Innovative and Nutrient Sediment Reduction Grant

Programs

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Request for Proposals (RFP)

RFP NUMBER: EPA-R3-CBP-18-01

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 66.466

IMPORTANT DATES

IMPORTANT DATES

11/22/2017 Issuance of RFP

01/15/2018 Proposal Submission Deadline (see Section IV for more information)

03/01/2018 Approximate date for EPA to notify applicants of results

04/02/2018 Approximate date for applicant to submit federal cooperative agreement application

06/01/2018 Approximate date of award

EPA will consider all proposals that are submitted via grants.gov on or before 11:59 pm EST on January

15, 2018. Any proposals submitted after the due date and time will not be considered for funding. No proposals will be accepted by facsimile or e-mail. 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 supporting both the:

1. Small Watershed Grants (SWG) program; and

2. Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) grants program.

The SWG program promotes community-based efforts to develop conservation strategies to protect and restore the diverse natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

The INSR grants program supports efforts within the Chesapeake Bay watershed that will vastly accelerate sub-watershed and/or regional scale implementation of nutrient and sediment reductions with innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches.

Applicants may apply for either or both activities. Applicants must submit a separate application for each activity if they apply for both. Applicants cannot submit more than one application per activity.

FUNDING/AWARDS: it is expected that grant awards may be issued for up to a six-year project period beginning June 1, 2018.

https://www.grants.gov/

EPA plans to award one cooperative agreement for each activity under this RFP.

The total estimated funding for six years for supporting the SWG program is approximately $30,000,000 to $60,000,000, with an estimated $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 available for the first year and each additional year though there is no guarantee of funding throughout this period or beyond.

The total estimated funding for six years for supporting the INSR grants program is also approximately

$30,000,000 to $60,000,000, with an estimated $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 available for the first year and each additional year though 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. Application and Submission Information

V. Application 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, the Chesapeake Bay Program 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.

The Chesapeake Bay Program 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 tristate legislative body; EPA, representing the federal government; and participating citizen, local government, and scientific and technical advisory groups.

The Chesapeake Bay Program partnership (the 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 its watershed and exerts its leadership to rally public support for Chesapeake Bay and watershed restoration and protection and signs directives, agreements, and amendments that set goals and guide policy for Chesapeake Bay and watershed restoration and protection.

The Principals' Staff Committee 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

Principals' Staff Committee also provides policy and program direction to the Management Board.

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/partnerorganizations.aspx http://www.state.md.us/ http://www.state.pa.us/ http://www.state.va.us/ http://www.washingtondc.gov/ http://www.chesbay.state.va.us/

The Management Board provides strategic planning, priority setting, and operational guidance through implementation of a comprehensive, coordinated, accountable implementation strategy for the

Chesapeake Bay Program. It directs and coordinates the Goal Implementation Teams (GITs) and their respective workgroups.

The membership of the GITs and the Scientific, Technical Assessment and Reporting Team include federal and non-federal experts from throughout the watershed. Thus, academic experts, advocacy organizations, and others become active members of the broad Chesapeake Bay and watershed restoration and protection partnership.

Pursuant to Section 117(b)(2) of the Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1267 (b)(2), the Chesapeake Bay Program

Office is the office within EPA charged with providing support to the Executive Council in the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program Office and Chesapeake Bay

Program, both mentioned above, are two distinct entities.

2. 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement

On June 16, 2014, the Chesapeake Executive Council, the Chesapeake Bay Program’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 Bay 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 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement also recognizes the unique and vital role local governments play and how they are essential to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

The cooperative agreement(s) to be awarded under this solicitation will help support all of the goals in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and further the following principles as stated in the

Agreement: Operate with transparency in program decisions, policies, actions and reporting to strengthen public confidence in our efforts, adaptively manage at all levels of the partnership to foster continuous improvement, and engage citizens to increase the number and diversity of people who support and carry out the conservation, protection and restoration activities necessary to achieve the goals and outcomes of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

3. The Chesapeake Bay TMDL, WIPs, and the Midpoint Assessment

Pursuant to Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1313(d), the EPA has established the

Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), a historic and comprehensive “pollution diet” with rigorous accountability measures to initiate sweeping actions to restore clean water to the

Chesapeake Bay and the watershed’s streams, creeks and rivers.

The Chesapeake Bay TMDL – the largest ever developed by EPA – identifies the necessary pollution reductions of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment across Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia and sets pollution limits necessary to meet applicable state water quality standards in Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries and embayments. These pollution limits were further divided by jurisdiction and major river basin based on state-of-the-art modeling tools, extensive monitoring data, peer-reviewed science and close interaction with jurisdictional partners.

Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) are plans for how each of the seven Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions (jurisdictions), in partnership with federal and local governments, will achieve their respective Chesapeake Bay TMDL allocations and planning targets. The Phase I WIPs were developed in

2010 by the jurisdictions to inform the 2010 Chesapeake Bay TMDL waste load and load allocations.

The Phase II WIPs were developed in 2012 by the jurisdictions to meet nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment planning targets based on updated information generated through CBP Partnership’s Phase 5.3.2

Chesapeake Bay watershed model. The goal of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL and supporting jurisdictional

WIP process is to implement by 2025 all nutrient and sediment pollutant load reduction and prevention measures needed to fully restore water quality in Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers.

The cooperative agreement(s) will help support the goals of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, WIPs, Midpoint assessment.

4. Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership’s Environmental Models and Decision-Support Tools

Models of the Chesapeake Bay’s air shed, watershed, estuary, and living resources have been developed by the partners and linked together over the past 30 years. The CBP partnership’s suite of models assists in understanding the important processes affecting the health of the watershed and the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. These modeling tools provide the Chesapeake Bay watershed state and local jurisdictions with an understanding of the effect of various control strategies on pollutant levels and the level of nutrient and sediment load reductions needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay and achieve the states’ water quality standards for dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, underwater bay grasses and water clarity. By quantifying the management actions necessary to restore Chesapeake Bay habitats and the living resources dependent on those habitats, these integrated CBP partnership models decision-support tools provide guidance to environmental managers and citizens on where the most cost-effective reductions can be made so that controls are equitable and broadly supported.

The cooperative agreement(s) will result in sub-award project level BMP monitoring data, particularly in the INSR program which requires nutrient and sediment reduction, that will be reported to the CBP partnership’s suite of model through the appropriate jurisdiction.

B. Scope of Work

This RFP is seeking cost-effective proposals from eligible applicants for supporting both the:

1. Small Watershed Grants (SWG) program; and

2. Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) grants program.

The successful applicant(s) for SWG and INSR are strongly encouraged to coordinate their tasks with each other.

The purpose of the SWG program is to promote community-based efforts to develop conservation strategies to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The funding thresholds for the subawards under the SWG program are much lower than those of the INSR grants program because the intention of the SWG is to fund smaller and less costly projects at the community level to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.

The purpose of the INSR program is to support efforts within the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed that will vastly accelerate sub-watershed and/or regional-scale implementation of nutrient and sediment reductions with innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches. INSR subawards that are not made at the sub-watershed and/or regional-scale are discouraged and may only be made by exception.

Additionally, since the INSR program’s purpose is to reduce nutrients and sediment, measurement must be a key component of the projects that will ultimately receive sub-award funding. BMP projects funded under INSR must provide data on the nutrients and sediment reduced.

Please note that a community outreach program or project to design a small demonstration bio-retention area in a highly visible community could be funded under SWG, but not INSR. The construction of a sub-watershed-wide or regionally designed and permitted BMP demonstrating a large-scale innovation, including a nutrient and sediment monitoring component, would be funded under INSR but not SWG.

The size of land mass to be addressed, the complexity of the regional effort, the larger funding level, the innovative nature, and the required proof of nutrient and sediment reduction means that the projects funded under INSR are generally more involved and complicated. Additional details about the two programs are described under Activities 1 and 2 below.

EPA plans to award one cooperative agreement for each activity under this RFP. The total estimated funding for six years for supporting the SWG program (Activity 1) is approximately $30,000,000 to

$60,000,000, with an estimated $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 available for the first year and each additional year. The total estimated funding for six years for supporting the INSR grants program (Activity 2) is also approximately $30,000,000 to $60,000,000, with an estimated $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 available for the first year and each additional year. There is no guarantee of funding for either activity throughout the six-year period or beyond.

If your organization has an interest in this project, has the skills to accomplish one or both 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. Both activities are for multi-year projects (up to six years), so the proposal(s) must have a work plan for the six-year period, and a budget and detail for the first and outlying years. It is understood that the budgets for the outlying years will be estimates. Applicants may apply for either or both activities. Applicants must submit a separate application for each activity if they apply for both.

Applicants cannot submit more than one application per activity.

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, and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Activity 1: Support for Small Watershed Grants Program

Estimated Funding: $5,000,000 – $10,000,000 annually for six years ($30,000,000 – $60,000,000 total)

The Chesapeake Bay SWG program promotes community-based efforts to develop conservation strategies to protect and restore the diverse natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

The successful applicant for this activity will issue subawards to local governments and/or non-profit organizations working to improve the conditions of their local watersheds while building citizen-based resource stewardship. The successful applicant must comply with applicable provisions of 2 CFR Part

200 and the EPA Subaward Policy, which may be found at http://intranet.epa.gov/OGD/policy/grants_policy_issuance_16_01.pdf , including the National Term and

Condition for Subawards, which may be found at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-general-terms-and-conditions-effective-october-2-2017-or-later.

http://intranet.epa.gov/OGD/policy/grants_policy_issuance_16_01.pdf https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-general-terms-and-conditions-effective-october-2-2017-or-later

This RFP is seeking cost-effective proposals from eligible applicants to manage the SWG program, which entails issuing RFPs, identifying appropriate sub-awardees, and monitoring their progress to ensure timely completion of projects. Sub-awardees would be those organizations that implement locally-based protection and restoration programs or projects within a watershed that complement EPA-established total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), including the creation, restoration, protection, or enhancement of living resources and habitats associated with the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Subawards should be for amounts ranging from $20,000 to $200,000. The successful applicant for this activity will coordinate these tasks with the successful applicant of Activity 2 to maximize the impact and efficacy of these two programs.

Funds should be directed to subawards except for funds required to carry out the responsibilities below, or for communications, outreach, and administrative and technical assistance activities that directly support subawardees.

Responsibilities of the successful applicant under Activity 1 include but are not limited to the following:

• Administer the SWG program, including establishing guidelines for the program, advertising the program to all Bay stakeholders, issuing a RFP, coordinating the review of applications, selection of the subawardees, and assisting potential applicants with the subaward process.

o The RFP will reflect the priorities of the CBP management strategies and outcome workplans.

• Actively search for ways to leverage EPA funding with other funding sources.

• Issue subawards to achieve the program objectives (as directed above) and environmental results through a competitive process that treats all applicants fairly.

• Ensure subaward activities meet the programmatic objectives of CBP.

• Present workshop(s) in appropriate locations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to advertise the program and assist potential subaward applicants in a transparent manner that ensures that no applicant or group of applicants has an unfair competitive advantage during the competitions.

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

• Create a hands-on technical assistance program as a resource for sub-awardees.

• Provide project monitoring to support the successful implementation of all the subaward projects.

• Track the environmental results (successes and failures) of sub-awardees’ various approaches to watershed management and ensure that the data and information are communicated and/or reported to the CBP and its jurisdictional partners.

• Organize and execute outreach programs for the SWG program, including a yearly event(s) to announce the selected sub-awardees as well as other events to promote and share the successes, lessons learned, and best practices from SWG projects.

• Ensure the transfer of information between, and networking among, the SWG and INSR grantee communities and other CBP restoration and conservation practitioners.

• Design and implement a communications program that ensures that each subawardee does outreach within their local community and to their stakeholders about the project, its benefits, and sources of funding.

• Completion of a third-party evaluation of this program is expected in 2018. The successful applicant will review that evaluation and implement recommendations as well coordinate the next-scheduled, third-party review.

Applicants should consider these activities as well as describe alternative approaches for managing an effective and successful SWG program.

Examples of activities to be performed by sub-awardees may include:

• Projects that support communities in developing and executing watershed implementation plans

(WIPs), among other things, improving urban stormwater management.

• Projects that encourage the implementation and sharing of innovative, locally-based programs and projects that improve water quality and restore important habitats within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

• Projects that develop the capacity of local governments, citizen groups, and other organizations to promote community-based stewardship and enhance local watershed management, including underrepresented communities.

• Projects that promote a greater understanding of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the interrelationship between the health of the Bay and the condition of local watersheds.

• Projects that restore and protect vital habitats and encourage conservation on private lands through projects that engage local land owners.

Activity 2: Support for Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants Program

Estimated Funding: $5,000,000 – $10,000,000 annually for six years ($30,000,000 – $60,000,000 total)

This RFP is seeking cost-effective proposals from eligible applicants to support the INSR program to supports efforts within the Chesapeake Bay watershed that will vastly accelerate sub-watershed and/or regional-scale implementation of nutrient and sediment reductions with innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches. All subawards issued under the INSR program will be required to develop, support and vastly accelerate implementation on a sub-watershed and/or regional-scale while also co-addressing other program aspects. Subawards that are not at the sub-watershed and/or regional-scale may be made by exception only and on a very limited basis.

The successful applicant for this activity will issue subawards to non-profit organizations, state and local governments, colleges, universities, and/or interstate agencies on a competitive basis to achieve the objectives of the INSR program, as described below. The recipient must comply with applicable provisions of 2 CFR Part 200 and the EPA Subaward Policy, which may be found at http://intranet.epa.gov/OGD/policy/grants_policy_issuance_16_01.pdf , including the National Term and

Condition for Subawards, which may be found at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-general-terms-and-conditions-effective-october-2-2017-or-later.

The subawards will support demonstration, technology transfer, and effective dissemination and institutionalization of innovative approaches to expand the collective knowledge of the most cost-effective and sustainable approaches to dramatically reducing or eliminating nutrient and sediment pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Therefore, the successful applicant must ensure that subawardees include measurable nutrient and sediment reduction. The successful applicant for this activity must coordinate these tasks with the successful applicant of Activity 1 to maximize the impact of these two programs.

The objective of the INSR grants program is to support efforts within the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed to: 1) accelerate sub-watershed and/or regional-scale implementation of nutrient and sediment reductions with innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches; 2) actively transfer and disseminate the lessons learned from the subaward projects to the wider Bay region stakeholder community; and 3) work to institutionalize the continued and expanded implementation of innovative nutrient and sediment reduction practices and approaches within the existing and emerging pollutant sectors.

Subawards should be for amounts ranging from $200,000 to $1,000,000. Recognizing a need to foster a balance of cost-effectiveness with innovation to achieve better and accelerated methods for pollution http://intranet.epa.gov/OGD/policy/grants_policy_issuance_16_01.pdf reduction, for purposes of this RFP, EPA is defining "innovative" to include: (a) new technologies or techniques for reducing nonpoint nutrient/sediment loads to the Bay, (b) sustainable improvements in removal efficiencies and/or cost-effectiveness of current approaches, and (c) implementable projects at the sub-watershed and/or regional-scale (Subawards that are not at the sub-watershed and/or regional-scale may be made by exception only and on a very limited basis.). Funds should be directed to subawards except for funds required to carry out the responsibilities below, or for communications, outreach, and administrative and technical assistance activities that directly support subawardees.

Consistent with achieving the objectives described above, and the environmental results identified below and in Appendix A, activities to be performed by the grant recipient include

• Administer the INSR program, including establishing guidelines for the program, advertising to all Bay stakeholders, issuing a RFP, coordinating the review of applications and selection of subawardees, and assisting potential applicants with the subaward process.

o The RFP will reflect the priorities of the CBP management strategies and outcome workplans.

• Issue subawards to achieve the program objectives (as described above) and environmental results through a competitive process that treats all applicants fairly.

• Ensure all subaward activities meet the programmatic objectives of the CBP.

• Present workshop(s) in appropriate locations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including underrepresented communities to advertise the program and assist potential applicants in a transparent manner that ensures that no applicant or group of applicants has an unfair competitive advantage during the competitions.

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

• Create and execute a hands-on technical assistance program.

• Conduct project monitoring to support and ensure the successful implementation of all subaward projects.

• Track, qualitatively and quantitatively measured nutrient and sediment reductions, environmental results (successes and failures) of the subaward projects; and ensure that the data and results are communicated and reported to CBP and its jurisdictional partners.

• Ensure subaward project results are disseminated and transferred for broad application in sectors and well positioned to influence and inform infrastructure changes.

• Design and implement a communications program that ensures that each subawardee does outreach within their local community and to their stakeholders about the project, its benefits, and sources of funding.

• Implement the recommendations and/or options from the 2017 third-party evaluation of the INSR program.

• Completion of a third-party evaluation of this program was done in 2017. The successful applicant will review that evaluation and implement recommendations as well coordinate the next-scheduled, third-party review.

The applicant’s INSR program will be designed to cultivate projects whose goal is to develop, support and vastly accelerate implementation and on a sub-watershed and/or regional-scale while also addressing nutrient and sediment reductions with innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches. Focus should be placed on advancing efforts that help implement the states’ WIPs and two-year milestones of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. In addition, these projects should lead to new knowledge in the development and transfer of leading-edge, inventive ways of approaching nonpoint and point source load reductions while also contributing knowledge of cost-effective, sustainable new ways of doing business.

Eligible activities that could be performed by the sub-awardees for the INSR program are described below. Applicants may also propose other types of activities for accelerating nutrient and sediment reductions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective approaches.

It is critical that each of the following be carried out through projects focused on the sub-watershed and/or regional-scale.

Stormwater (New and Existing Development):

• Provide technical assistance and capacity building for the adoption and implementation of local standards, ordinances, regulations, innovative restoration practices, and programs that promote and achieve the reduction of nutrient and sediment loads associated with stormwater runoff to restore or maintain predevelopment hydrology;

• Demonstrate how levels of stormwater control can be attained that achieve functional lift;

• Provide assistance to local governments for the development and implementation of stormwater utilities or other financing measures to support efforts in stormwater management; establish systems and/or institutions that support accountability and results reliably in stormwater management implementation;

• Establish other mechanisms or procedures that improve cost-effectiveness of implementing stormwater practices;

• Establish policies and/or programs that achieve significant and measurable reductions in nutrient loads from urban/suburban turf grass;

• Illustrate how targeting specific types of geographic locations of stormwater runoff and/or nutrient and sediment prevention or local government code/ordinances improvements in stormwater management or reduction controls could result in more effective ways to protect local waterways and clean up the Bay ecosystem.

Agriculture:

• Support the verification, technology transfer, dissemination, institutionalization, and expanded implementation of the next generation of tools and actions that will address the greatest agricultural challenges facing restoration of water quality in the Bay (as described in the

Chesapeake Bay Executive Order Action Plan, the Bay Agreement Management Strategies and

Outcome workplans, Bay TMDL and its associate WIPs and milestones, and EPA’s Strategic

Plan);

• Address key manure nutrient management issues (e.g., phosphorus saturation in soil, ammonia emissions, alternative uses for manure nutrients);

• Increase the implementation of nitrogen-use efficiency tools to better manage inorganic nitrogen inputs on cropland;

• Explore the social, economic, cultural, and technical implementation hurdles to, and opportunities for, making fundamental changes to the way we farm in the watershed to ensure the long-term sustainability of agriculture within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and a restored Bay ecosystem.

• Ensure coordination with the Department of Agriculture’s Conservation and Innovation Grant

(CIG) program to avoid duplication of effort and redundant subawards being issued by the INSR and CIG programs.

Emerging Source Sectors and New Technologies:

• Support the reduction of nutrients and sediments from other sectors that may represent emerging negative impacts to the Chesapeake Watershed (e.g., septic systems, resource extraction, legacy sediments, transportation-related activities).

• Support technology advancements and/or different applications of existing technologies that have been shown to yield proven or cost-effective reductions of nutrients or sediments, with opportunities for widespread implementation across the Chesapeake Watershed.

Annual CBP Funding Priorities and Targeted Watersheds/Geographies:

• Annually the CBP will have a focus on the priorities driven by the Bay Agreement Management

Strategies and outcome workplans, the TMDL WIPs and mid-year assessments, the Chesapeake

Bay Executive Order Action Plan, and the CBP environmental models and data. EPA participates as a CBP partner to ensure that the efforts are coordinated and consistent; the applicant will coordinate with EPA and CBPO to insure the current annual priorities are emphasized.

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

1. Linkage to EPA’s Strategic Plan

The overall objective of this competition 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 through the Small Watershed Grant Program (Activity 1) and the

Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant Program (Activity 2) under Section 117(g)(2) and

Section 117(d) of the Clean Water Act.

The FY 2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan is currently in draft form and can be found at https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan.

The activities to be funded under this announcement are intended to further EPA’s current priorities under

Objective 1.2 of the draft plan to provide for clean and safe water by ensuring that waters are clean through improved water infrastructure and, in partnership with states and tribes, sustainably managed to support drinking water, aquatic ecosystems, and recreational, economic and subsistence activities.

Applicants must explain in their proposal how their project will further these current priorities.

EPA Order 5700.7A1 also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements. Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the priorities described above.

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 for each activity to be funded under this announcement may include the following:

• Establish and execute competitive annual grant programs: draft and final RFP and award criteria;

schedule for grant subaward programs (INSR and SWG will be coordinated and synced to the maximum extent possible); lists of technical review and decision advisory committees; and slate of subawardees recipients (lists will be in easy to use/read formatted spreadsheets with grant numbers and program name and dates on all tabs and headers). Use of online tools (i.e., tools for sub-award applicants to apply; for review teams to read and rank sub-award applicants);

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/ https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf

• Administer annual competitive and fair application process: Issue RFP(s); advertise RFP availability; provide support to applicants through availability, webinars, and other tools; conduct proposal review and make grant selections. The INSR and SWG programs will be coordinated and synced to the maximum extent possible).

• Administer subawards: execute grant agreements and disperse funding.

• Monitor Progress and Assess Performance: measure and track grantee performance through a combination of routine and periodic efforts of on-site visits, remote interaction, and electronic reminders so that each subaward recipient is in contact multiple times over the life of the grant.

Communicate results to environmental results to EPA, and the appropriate jurisdiction: numbers of acres and/or miles of restoration and conservation practices implemented; and number of restoration, watershed, and/or land use plans designed, developed, or implemented. Implement recommendations/options of the most recent third-party program review reports.

• Technical assistance: provide technical assistance to potential applicants and successful grantees in the form of one-on-one assistance in the field (can be done through third party); through a technical assistance pool of contractor support to eligible recipients; and through development of sub-watershed and/or regional capacity and mobilized partnerships.

• Communications: build public knowledge and support for the grants programs by actively promoting prior successes and future goals through targeted outreach in both traditional media and paid social media promotion in the communities that will have the greatest impact; provide documentation to support efforts. Develop and publish an annual report. The communications efforts must have an ongoing and full-time presence with both the subawardees, and at the program level to continually strategically message to targeted audiences about the programs.

• Networking and information sharing: conduct roundtables for stormwater, agricultural and other crosscutting subjects; conduct webinars to highlight projects and emphasize peer-to-peer connections; support social networking through management of the established Chesapeake

Network; support watershed-wide and regional conferences; and support grantee development and distribution of project fact sheets. All the items suggested here are toward the end output for how to share the successful outcomes, lessons learned, technologies developed, approaches gleaned, and best practices employed from the activities’ projects.

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.

Examples of potential outcomes under activities 1 and 2 of this announcement may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and/or sediment (in pounds) reduced or prevented;

• Reduction in volume and pollutant load of runoff;

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

• Improved collective knowledge about how the Bay is cleaned up, resulting in reduction in the amount of nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay and an improvement in the living resources of the

Bay.

In addition to the list of outcomes above, examples of potential outcomes under Activity 2 of this announcement may include the following:

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

• Stormwater runoff reduction of peak flows, total volume, and flow duration, based on before- and after-project measurements;

• Recovery of healthy aquatic life in nearby surface waters based on before- and after-project measurements; and

• Cost savings resulting from project implementation.

D. Authorizing Statutes and Regulations

The cooperative agreement issued for Activity 1 of this announcement is authorized under the Clean

Water Act, sections 117(g)(2) and 117(d). Section 117(g)(2) authorizes the establishment of the SWG program to implement cooperative tributary basin strategies that address water quality and living resource needs and to implement locally based protection and restoration programs and projects.

The cooperative agreement issued for Activity 2 of this announcement is authorized under the Clean

Water Act, Section 117(d). Under Section 117(d) (1) of the Clean Water Act, EPA has the authority to issue grants and cooperative agreements for the purposes of protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Both activities are subject to the Office of Management and Budget’ (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

The U.S. EPA plans to award one cooperative agreement for each activity under this RFP. Funding for each activity is approximately $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 annually for FY2018 through FY2023, depending on funding availability, satisfactory performance, Agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. EPA makes no commitment of annual funding amounts for any fiscal year(s), as funds may be limited based on these applicable considerations. The total estimated funding for each activity for six years is approximately $30,000,000 to $60,000,000.

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 and its surrounding watershed.

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 June 1, 2018.

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.

B. Cost-Share or Matching Requirements

Activity 1:

Pursuant to Clean Water Act 117(g)(2), Small Watershed Grants are subject to a minimum 25 percent cost-share. Therefore, for Activity 1, an applicant must provide a minimum of 25 percent of the total cost of the project as the non-federal cost-share.

Activity 2:

Pursuant to Clean Water Act 117(d)(1), 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 Activity 2, EPA has determined that an applicant must provide a minimum of 50 percent of the total cost of the project as the non-federal cost-share.

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 25-percent match for Activity 1 or the 50-percent match for Activity 2 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 Grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed 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 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. 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, and West Virginia, and all of the

District of Columbia.

5. Proposals must show how they will meet the 25-percent and 50-percent cost-share requirements of Section III.B.

6. Proposals requesting more than the maximum funding amount listed in the range for the applicable (or relevant) activity will be rejected.

https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:Hargett.james@epa.gov

7. Applicants may apply for either or both activities. Applicants must submit a separate application for each activity if they apply for both. Applicants cannot submit more than one application per activity.

8. 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 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.

Applicants must submit a single-spaced narrative proposal of up to 10 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…