Wildfire PreparednessNOFO.Final3-22-23.pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: EPA-OAR-ORIA-23-04

ASSISTANCE LISTING NUMBER: 66.044

IMPORTANT DATES

Wednesday, March 22 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Opens Monday, April 10 Information Session Friday, April 21 Optional Intent to Apply Thursday, April 27 Final Date to Submit Questions Tuesday, May 9 NOFO Closes – Application Deadline Monday, July 10 Anticipated Notification of Selection Friday, September 8 Anticipated Awards

Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) no later than Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) in order to be considered for funding.

COVID-19 UPDATE

EPA is providing flexibilities to applicants experiencing challenges related to COVID-19. Please see the Flexibilities Available to Organizations Impacted by COVID-19 clause in Section IV of EPA’s Solicitation Clauses.

NOTE: If you intend to name a contractor (including an individual consultant or equipment vendor) or a subrecipient as a project partner or otherwise in your application, EPA recommends that you carefully review, and comply with, the directions contained in the “Contracts and Subawards” clause that can be accessed under the Section IV.E clause for “Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation.” Refer to EPA’s Best Practice Guide for Procuring Services, Supplies, and Equipment Under EPA Assistance Agreements and EPA’s Subaward Policy and supplemental Frequent Questions for additional guidance. Applicants must demonstrate that named contractors (including individual consultants or equipment vendors) were selected in compliance with the competitive requirements of the Procurement Standards in 2 CFR Part 200 as interpreted in EPA guidance and/or that named subrecipients meet the eligibility requirements in EPA’s Subaward Policy for EPA to consider their qualifications and role in the proposed project.

http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://www.epa.gov/grants/best-practice-guide-procuring-services-supplies-and-equipment-under-epa-assistance https://www.epa.gov/grants/best-practice-guide-procuring-services-supplies-and-equipment-under-epa-assistance https://www.epa.gov/grants/best-practice-guide-procuring-services-supplies-and-equipment-under-epa-assistance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE: Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background and Summary B. Program Goals and Objectives C. Environmental Results and Strategic Plan Information D. Statutory Authority E. Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into The Solicitation

II. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

A. Amount of Funding Available B. Number and Amount of Awards C. Partial Funding D. Additional Awards E. Award Funding and Incremental/Full Funding F. Period of Performance G. Funding Type

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Entities B. Required Cost Sharing C. Threshold Criteria D. Partially Ineligible Activities

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Requirement to Submit Through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures B. Project Narrative Instructions, Format, and Content C. Coalition Coverage

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Evaluation Criteria B. Review and Selection Process C. Other Factors

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices B. Reporting Requirement C. Buy America Requirements D. Prevailing Wage Requirements

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

APPENDIX A – Further information Regarding Contracts, Subawards, and Participant Support Costs .. 39

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background and Summary

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to improve public health protection against smoke from wildfires by enhancing preparedness in community buildings. EPA is soliciting applications for projects that support this effort through activities such as:

• smoke readiness planning,

• outreach and training for smoke readiness,

• indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring,

• deployment of portable air cleaners,

• identification and preparation of cleaner air shelters, and

• significant improvements to buildings such as upgrading and repairing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units or systems and weatherization.

Applications must target public buildings or buildings that serve the public. The degree to which projects demonstrate benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations will be considered in the award of grants from this funding opportunity. In addition, applicants are encouraged to describe how the proposed project addresses multiple hazards that may be concurrent with wildfire smoke (e.g., extreme heat, power outages, airborne infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19), and how the project improves overall capacity to comprehensively address indoor air quality issues.

The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $10,670,000.

Funded projects will have up to a 3-year project period. Individual awards are expected to range from $100,000 to $2,000,000 total. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 13-18 cooperative agreements from this announcement, subject to availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. Eligible entities cannot submit more than 1 application.

Wildfire smoke is a significant public health problem, especially as climate change accelerates and intensifies fires. Over the past 20 years, the number of acres burned annually due to wildfires in the U.S. has doubled; in 2021, nearly 60,000 fires burned over 7 million acres. Smoke plumes can have impacts over large populations, and the health impacts of wildfire smoke are significant. Smoke from wildfires can impact communities in the immediate vicinity of the fires as well as areas hundreds or thousands of miles away. Many communities in the U.S. experience smoke from wildfires for days, weeks, or even months in a given year and over multiple fire seasons. The number of individuals adversely impacted by wildfire smoke events is also expected to grow as the wildland urban interface (WUI) expands and the number of at-risk populations (e.g., individuals with pre-existing heart and lung disease, older adults, children) increases.

Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particulate matter (PM). It has been associated with health effects ranging from eye and throat irritation to asthma attacks, cardiovascular events, and even premature death. Certain populations may experience more severe effects due to existing health conditions and other social and demographic characteristics, although most healthy adults and children may recover quickly from wildfire smoke exposure. In addition to overt health effects, wildfire events can also cause psychological stress and mental health concerns arising from threats to life, safety, property, and loss of routines.

In response to the growing public health threat from wildfires, various guidance and tools have been developed or augmented to support the public and the public health community on protective actions. Examples include Wildfire Smoke: A Guide for Public Health Officials and related factsheets, the Smoke-Ready Toolbox for Wildfires, and the AirNow Wildfires website and Fire and Smoke Map. In addition to staying indoors, other commonly recommended measures include limiting smoke infiltration from outdoors, cleaning the indoor air, reducing other sources of indoor air pollution, and using personal protective equipment for those who must go outside during smoke episodes. More information about these measures is available on the EPA Wildfires and Indoor Air Quality website.

Smoke readiness planning is an approach that integrates the various measures to reduce smoke exposure under a comprehensive preparedness plan. Smoke readiness plans can be prepared for whole communities, or at the individual building level. At the community level, they coordinate action around indoor and outdoor air quality using evidence-based strategies to guide responses to wildfire smoke events. At the building level, these plans outline specific actions to be taken in the event of wildfire smoke and assign roles and responsibilities to ensure those actions are completed. For more information about building-specific smoke readiness plans, see the EPA Wildfires and Indoor Air Quality in Schools and Commercial Buildings website.

During smoke episodes, smoke can enter buildings and adversely impact indoor air quality.

Indoor environments are affected by various types of pollutants, and often experience different rates of infiltration of smoke. Consequently, staying indoors does not reduce exposure to smoke or other air pollutants to the same extent in all buildings. For example, buildings with central air conditioning generally recirculate indoor air, resulting in lower concentrations of air pollutants from the outdoors compared to buildings that use open windows for cooling. On average, older buildings also tend to allow more smoke infiltration than newer buildings. It is also important to note that levels of certain indoor air pollutants can sometimes reach two to five times the level of outdoor pollutants. Effective indoor air quality management includes both control of indoor air pollutants and the introduction and distribution of adequate outdoor air.

Central HVAC systems in many types of buildings contain filters that can remove PM with varying degrees of efficiency and can be used to mitigate smoke exposure. Higher-efficiency filters generally result in greater PM reductions, however building- and system-specific factors play an important role in filter effectiveness. Building tightness, HVAC flow rate and runtime, filter fit, and operation and maintenance all affect how well filters remove PM.

Portable air cleaners properly matched to the size of the indoor space can also help reduce indoor PM during wildfire smoke episodes. They can be helpful in indoor spaces that are not served by central HVAC systems if windows and doors remain closed and excessive heat is not a concern.

https://www.airnow.gov/wildfire-guide-information/ https://www.epa.gov/smoke-readytoolbox-wildfires https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/ https://fire.airnow.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-iaq https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-schools-and-commercial-buildings

Air cleaners can also be used in combination with central air system filter upgrades to maximize the reduction of indoor particles. Commercial portable air cleaners are often unavailable during major smoke events (for example, due to limited supply) and can be unaffordable for some populations. In these situations, do-it-yourself (DIY) air cleaners, made by attaching a furnace filter to a box fan, may be a temporary alternative to commercial air cleaners. More information on in-home air filtration is provided on the EPA Air Cleaners and Air Filters in the Home website. Find more information about DIY air cleaners on the EPA Wildfires and Indoor Air Quality website.

Public cleaner air spaces and shelters are examples of exposure mitigation approaches that can be implemented at the community level. These community cleaner air spaces and shelters may be in commercial or community buildings with upgraded air filtration systems where groups of people can gather for temporary relief from high smoke concentrations. Factors affecting the effectiveness of these spaces and shelters include the air tightness of the building, effectiveness of the existing HVAC system (including providing adequate ventilation for the increased occupancy and the ability to adjust settings for smoke events), feasibility of installing higher efficiency filters, and potential ways to limit smoke infiltration. See the EPA website Wildfires and Indoor Air Quality in Schools and Commercial Buildings for more information.

Health risk communication about wildfire smoke is central to a comprehensive risk reduction strategy and is an important aspect of a public health response to smoke in communities, states, and regions that frequently experience significant wildfire smoke intrusion. Critical components of a public health risk communication campaign about smoke are messages that include accurate, actionable information to affected individuals when and where it is most useful, and motivate recipients to take recommended actions, e.g., stay indoors or use filtration devices.

Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings is a new federal grant program to support enhancing community wildland fire smoke preparedness. This program will provide grants to States, federally recognized Tribes, public pre-schools, local educational agencies, and non-profit organizations for the assessment, prevention, control, or abatement of wildfire smoke hazards in community buildings and related activities. These grants are intended to support activities that will reduce indoor exposure to pollutants in wildfire smoke and, in turn, reduce the public health burden of wildfire smoke exposure.

B. Program Goals and Objectives

EPA is requesting applications from eligible entities (as described in Section III.A) to conduct demonstrations, technical assistance, training, education and/or outreach projects that seek to improve public health protection against smoke from wildfires by enhancing preparedness in community buildings. EPA is requesting applications for the assessment, prevention, control, or abatement of wildfire smoke hazards and related activities that target public buildings and/or buildings that serve the public, but privately owned or operated.

Activities will improve the capability and capacity of communities and buildings to effectively reduce indoor concentrations of air pollutants in wildfire smoke, especially PM. This may https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/air-cleaners-and-air-filters-home https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-iaq#_What_Can_I https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-iaq#_What_Can_I https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-schools-and-commercial-buildings https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/wildfires-and-indoor-air-quality-schools-and-commercial-buildings include improvements to building structures, and increasing the capacity of building owners, operators, service providers, occupants, and others to effectively manage buildings during wildfire smoke events. Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Smoke Readiness Planning to develop specific plans, procedures, and decision-making frameworks at the building or community level to be implemented before and during wildfire smoke events.

• Outreach activities such as translation and culturally appropriate adaptation of wildfire smoke preparedness materials, or targeted outreach to members of the public through community organizations and institutions.

• Technical training on the effectiveness and implementation of ventilation and filtration strategies for wildfire smoke mitigation in different types of buildings with various HVAC systems.

• Deployment of portable air cleaners or DIY air cleaners for use in community buildings.

• Indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of wildfire smoke mitigation activities.

• Identification and initial preparation of community cleaner air spaces or cleaner air shelters.

• Significant improvements to buildings such as upgrades and repairs to HVAC units or systems and weatherization. Such activities should include training and planning elements to ensure that improvements are properly maintained and operated.

Applicants are encouraged to integrate project activities under a comprehensive smoke management plan at the building or community level, where appropriate.

All applications should:

• Characterize the population served by the project, such as the estimated number of people served, and the location and type of community (e.g., urban, rural, etc.). Maps, data, analyses, and results characterizing the population served by the project may be included as an optional attachment.

• Describe how much or how often the buildings or communities served by the project are impacted by wildfire smoke (e.g., number of days the community was impacted by smoke; number of school closures due to smoke; number of smoke-related air quality alerts issued; etc. over a recent timeframe, such as each of the past 3 years).

• Describe a detailed approach to measure project effectiveness (e.g., evaluation of knowledge or skills gained from outreach and training activities, collection of air quality monitoring data to demonstrate lower indoor PM concentrations as a result of changes to the operation or maintenance of a building).

Applicants may find the following resources helpful for describing wildfire smoke impacts, and are not limited to these data sources:

• For demonstrating wildfire smoke impacts:

• US Forest Service PM2.5 Monitoring – Historical Data:

https://tools.airfire.org/historical/

• US Forest Service Wildfire Risk to Communities – Explore Risk:

https://wildfirerisk.org/explore

• National Interagency Fire Center National Significant Wildland Fire Potential https://tools.airfire.org/historical/ https://wildfirerisk.org/explore

Outlooks: https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/outlooks/outlooks.htm

• AirNow Fire and Smoke Map: https://fire.airnow.gov/

• AirNow Past Data: https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/index.html?tab=3

• Census OnTheMap for Emergency Management Tool:

https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/em/

• State Smoke Blogs:

• California: http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com/

• Idaho: http://idsmoke.blogspot.com/

• Oregon: https://www.oregonsmoke.org/

• Washington: https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/

Applicants are encouraged to describe how the project addresses multiple hazards that may be concurrent with wildfire smoke (such as extreme heat, power outages, and airborne infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19) and how the project improves overall capacity to comprehensively address indoor air quality issues.

Applicants are also encouraged to discuss how they will promote and continue or replicate efforts after the project has ended.

Note that if selected, applications that propose activities involving the collection of environmental data, such as air quality data, will be required to develop and submit for EPA approval a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) that identifies and documents the activities that will ensure that the data is of adequate quality to be used as planned.

EPA will not consider applications that do not demonstrate how much or how often the buildings or communities served by the project are impacted by wildfire smoke.

EPA will not consider any applications that are exclusively designed to conduct scientific research. Applications may include research components such as building blocks to demonstration, training, education and/or outreach projects. In such cases, proposals should clearly articulate this link, explain why the research is necessary for the project’s success, and ensure that such research does not already exist.

EPA will not consider activities that make permanent improvements, such as the installation of HVAC equipment, in private residences. Note that activities that utilize temporary improvements, such as the distribution of portable air cleaners to private residences, are eligible activities.

EPA will not consider activities that promote the use of air cleaning technologies of unknown or unclear performance against air pollutants in wildfire smoke such as bipolar ionization, ozone generators, ionizing air cleaners, and oxidizing air cleaners. Note that activities related to DIY air cleaners are eligible.

Environmental Justice and Disadvantaged Communities:

https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/outlooks/outlooks.htm https://fire.airnow.gov/ https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/index.html?tab=3 https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/em/ http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com/ http://idsmoke.blogspot.com/ https://www.oregonsmoke.org/ https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/

Environmental justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies. Fair treatment means no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies.

Meaningful involvement means people have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health; the public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision; community concerns will be considered in the decision-making process; and decision makers will seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected. EPA will evaluate environmental justice issues under criterion 4 of Section V.A. of this

NOFO.

For purposes of this competition and the evaluation of applications, a community is defined as “either a group of individuals living in geographic proximity to one another, or a geographically dispersed set of individuals (such as migrant workers or Native Americans), where either type of group experiences common conditions. In addition, for disadvantaged communities that are geographically defined, “disadvantaged communities” means a geographic area meets the following criteria:

• Any census tract that is included as disadvantaged in Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST)

The CEJST displays lands within the boundaries of Federally Recognized Tribes on the map in order to designate those areas as disadvantaged communities. However, regardless of whether a Federally Recognized Tribe has land, all Federally Recognized Tribal entities are considered disadvantaged communities for the purposes of the Justice40 Initiative.

Applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which applicants demonstrate how the project will effectively address the disproportionate and adverse effects or impacts (e.g., human health, environmental, and/or climate-harms and risks) that have affected and/or currently affect disadvantaged communities.

Adverse effects may be the result of industrial, governmental, commercial and/or other actions and include the accompanying economic challenges of such effects.

In addressing these criteria, as applicable, applicants should describe how the project benefits these affected communities and/or populations including those that have experienced a lack of resources or other impediments to addressing the adverse impacts described above. Additionally, applicants should describe the extent to which the project addresses engagement with these affected communities and/or populations, especially local residents, to ensure their meaningful participation with respect to the design, planning, and performance of the project.

Disproportionate and adverse environmental, human health, climate-related and other cumulative impacts, as well the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts, may result when greater pollution burdens or consequences, and the impact of them, are more likely to affect people/communities of color, low income, tribal and indigenous https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/ populations, and vulnerable populations including those identified above. The impacts may result from various factors including but not limited to being a function of historical trends and policy decisions.

Factors that may indicate disproportionate and adverse impacts as referenced above include:

• Differential proximity and exposure to environmental hazards;

• Greater susceptibility to adverse effects from environmental hazards (due to genetic predisposition, age, chronic medical conditions, lack of health care access, or poor nutrition);

• Unique environmental exposures because of practices linked to cultural background or socioeconomic status (e.g., subsistence fishing or farming);

• Cumulative effects from multiple stressors;

• Reduced ability to effectively participate in decision-making processes due to language barriers, inability to access traditional communication channels, or limited capacity to access technical and legal resources; and

• Degraded physical infrastructure, such as poor housing, poorly maintained public buildings (e.g., schools), or lack of access to transportation.

Data, analyses, and results from CEJST may be included as an optional attachment, which will not count towards the project narrative xx-page limit; see Section IV.C. for more information.

Additional details on the contents of applications, including specifics on what should be included in the project narrative, are included in Section IV.B.

C. Environmental Results and Strategic Plan Information

Pursuant to Section 6.a. of EPA Order 5700.7A1, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” EPA must link proposed assistance agreements with 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 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements).

1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan: The activities to be funded under this announcement support EPA’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. Awards made under this announcement will support Goal 4, “Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities;”

Objective 4.2, “Reduce Exposure to Radiation and Improve Indoor Air.” Under this objective, “Limit unnecessary radiation exposure and achieve healthier indoor air quality, especially for vulnerable populations.” All applications must be for projects that support the goal and objective above. For more information see: FY 2022 - FY 2026 EPA Strategic Plan.

EPA also requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements). Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf 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 from the projects to be funded under this announcement include, but are not limited to:

• Number of communities with an established Smoke Readiness Plan;

• Number of wildfire smoke preparedness materials translated or culturally adapted;

• Number of building owners, managers, or technicians trained;

• Number of technical training events conducted;

• Number of buildings that received portable air cleaners and the number they received;

• Number of buildings served by an indoor and outdoor air monitoring network; and/or

• Number of community cleaner air spaces available for wildfire smoke events.

• Number of buildings upgraded or repaired to improve wildfire smoke mitigation.

Progress reports and a final report will also be required outputs, as specified in Section VI.B.

“Reporting Requirement,” of this NOFO.

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

Expected outcomes from the projects to be funded under this announcement include, but are not limited to:

• Expansion in communities and/or community buildings adopting Smoke Readiness

Plans;

• Increase in awareness, capacity, and action to reduce building occupants’ exposure to wildfire smoke within highly impacted communities;

• Increase in community buildings that effectively reduce occupants’ exposure to wildfire smoke;

• Increase in population served by community buildings that effectively reduce occupants’ exposure to wildfire smoke; and/or

• Increase in availability of air monitoring data to inform wildfire smoke management activities.

4. Performance Measures. The applicant should also develop performance measures they expect to achieve through the proposed activities and describe them in their application.

These performance measures will help gather insights and will be the mechanism to track progress concerning successful processes and output and outcome strategies and will provide the basis for developing lessons to inform future recipients. Additional details on reporting requirements are included in Section VI.B. It is expected that the description of performance measures will directly relate to the project outcomes and outputs. The description of the performance measures will directly relate to the project’s outcomes and outputs, including but not limited to:

• Overseeing subrecipients, and/or contractors and vendors;

• Tracking and reporting project progress on expenditures and purchases; and

• Tracking, measuring, and reporting accomplishments and proposed timelines/milestones.

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

• What are the measurable short term and longer term results the project will achieve?

• How does the plan measure progress in achieving the expected results (including outputs and outcomes) and how will the approach use resources effectively and efficiently?

D. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for this action is the Clean Air Act, §103(b)(3), as supplemented by authority provided in the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 117-103, 136 Stat. 49) and the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 117-328), which authorizes the award of grants for research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys, and studies related to the causes, effects, (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention, and control of air pollution. This solicitation is related to EPA’s statutory authority by supporting programs that equip eligible entities to take action to reduce potential risks from indoor pollutants introduced by wildfire smoke. These programs may also inform future programs with similar goals.

EPA will not consider any applications that are exclusively designed to conduct scientific research. Applications may include research components such as building blocks for demonstration, training, education and/or outreach projects. In such cases, proposals should clearly articulate this link, explain why the research is necessary for the project’s success, and ensure that such research does not already exist.

E. Additional Provisions For Applicants Incorporated Into The Solicitation

Additional provisions that apply to sections III, IV, V, and VI of this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses. These provisions are important for applying to this solicitation and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please contact the EPA point of contact listed in this solicitation (usually in Section VII) to obtain the provisions.

II. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

A. Amount of Funding Available

The total estimated funding available for awards under this competitive opportunity is approximately $10,670,000. Funding is dependent upon funding availability, Agency priorities, and other applicable considerations.

The amount of federal funding requested by an applicant must not exceed $2,000,000.

A maximum of $2,667,500 (25%) of total funding available may go to award recipients in any one State.

Based on the broad spectrum of projects that may be proposed, the estimated amount of funding available to address the priority areas described in Section I.B is anticipated to be divided as follows and is subject to change. This information is being provided for informational purposes only.

• 30% of available funds for smaller awards – awards ranging from $100,000 up to $350,000

• 70% of available funds for larger awards – awards ranging from $350,000 up to $2,000,000

B. Number and Amount of Awards

EPA anticipates awarding a total of approximately 13 to 18 cooperative agreements under this announcement, subject to the availability of funds, the quantity and quality of applications received, agency priorities, and other applicable considerations. Awards are expected to be between $100,000 and $2,000,000.

EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy and other applicable considerations, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months from the date of the original selections.

In addition, EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement or to make fewer awards than anticipated.

C. Partial Funding

In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. If EPA decides to partially fund an application, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the application, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award, thereby maintaining the integrity of the competition and selection process.

D. Additional Awards EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this solicitation, consistent with Agency policy and guidance, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than 6 months after the original selection decisions.

E. Award Funding and Incremental/Full Funding Awards may be fully or incrementally funded, as appropriate, based on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations.

F. Period of Performance

The estimated period of performance for awards resulting from this solicitation will be up to 3 years. The estimated project start date for awards will begin by October 1, 2023.

G. Funding Type

Successful applicant(s) will be issued a grant or 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 recipient’s performance of the project. EPA will negotiate the precise terms and conditions of “substantial involvement” as part of the award process. The anticipated substantial federal involvement for cooperative agreements under the Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings grant program 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.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

Note: Additional provisions that apply to this section can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses.

A. Eligible Entities

In accordance with Assistance Listing No. 66.044 and EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements (EPA Order § 5700.5A1), competition under this solicitation is available to states (including the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions); federally recognized Tribes, public pre-schools, local educational agencies (as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 7801(30), and public and private non-profit organizations.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses-10062022 https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses-10062022 https://intranet.epa.gov/ohr/rmpolicy/ads/orders/5700-7-a1.pdf https://intranet.epa.gov/ohr/rmpolicy/ads/orders/5700-5-a1.pdf

Consistent with 20 U.S.C. § 7801(30), the term “local educational agency” means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or of or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

Consistent with the definition of local government at 2 CFR § 200.1, the term public pre-school means any pre-kindergarten program that is funded by any unit of government within a state, including a school district.

Consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization at 2 CFR § 200.1, the term nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest and is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. The term includes tax-exempt nonprofit neighborhood and labor organizations. Non-profit institutions of higher education are eligible to apply.

Hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments or that meet the definition of nonprofit at 2 CFR § 200.1 are eligible to apply as nonprofits or as instrumentalities of the unit of government depending on the applicable law. For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible. Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status;

such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or tribal law. Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible for EPA funding as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. § 1611.

For-profit organizations are not an eligible entity for this funding opportunity.

B. Required Cost Sharing

There is a 10% cost share requirement for awards under this announcement. Cost sharing may be waived for facilities located in economically distressed communities.

For purposes of this competition and the evaluation of applications, an “economically distressed community” means a census tract above the 70th percentile (national percentiles, i.e. compared to US) for low income, unemployment rate, or less than high school education using

EJSCREEN.

In order to waive the cost-sharing requirement, applications that propose projects that target specific facility(s) must provide EJSCREEN data for the census tract in which each facility is located. Applications may also include data for nearby census tract(s) which are served by the target facility(s) and explain how the additional census tracts are served by the facility(s) (e.g., school boundary encompasses multiple census tracts). At least one census tract served by the facility must meet the definition of an economically distressed community above to waive the cost-sharing requirement.

In order to waive the cost-sharing requirement for proposed projects that do not target specific facilities, such as outreach and training projects, applications must demonstrate that the proposed target population belongs to or is expected to serve an economically disadvantaged community.

Applications must provide EJSCREEN data for the census tract(s) expected to be targeted by the project and may include an explanation of how the project will benefit census tract(s) that meet the definition of an economically distressed community above to waive the cost-sharing requirement. If the project serves multiple census tracts, more than half of the census tracts served must meet the definition of an economically distressed community above to waive the cost-sharing requirement.

C. Threshold Criteria

All applications will be reviewed for eligibility and must meet the eligibility requirements described in Sections III.A., B., and C to be considered eligible. If necessary, EPA may contact applicants to clarify threshold eligibility questions prior to making an eligibility determination. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration due to the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

1. Application Content and Submission

a. Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV or else they will be rejected. However, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV.B. with respect to the application, or parts thereof, pages in excess of the 10-page limitation will not be reviewed. Applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in application format, including selecting a legible font type and size for use in the application.

b. In addition, applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV.A. 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 application submission deadline published in Section IV.A. of this solicitation.

Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV.A.

of this solicitation to ensure that their application is timely and properly submitted.

Please note that applicants experiencing technical issues with submitting through Grants.gov should follow the instructions provided in Section IV.A, which include both the requirement to contact Grants.gov and email a full application to EPA prior to the deadline.

c. Applications submitted after the submission deadline or outside of grants.gov 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 SAM.gov. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. See Section IV of this solicitation for instructions to submit through Grants.gov.

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

2. Applications must support Goal 4“Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities”;

Objective 4.2: “Reduce Exposure to Radiation and Improve Indoor Air” of EPA’s Strategic Plan described in Section I.C.

3. Applications which request EPA assistance funds in excess of $2,000,000, as specified in Section II.A of this NOFO, are not eligible and will not be reviewed.

D. Partially Ineligible Activities

Any of the following may lead to a portion or all of the application not being reviewed:

1. Ineligible Costs or Activities. If an application is submitted that has ineligible items, tasks, or activities, that portion of the application will not be reviewed and will be ineligible for funding and may, depending on the extent to which it affects the application, render the entire application ineligible for funding. Activities must meet the following requirements from Section I.B. to be eligible for funding:

a. EPA will not consider any applications that are exclusively designed to conduct scientific research. Applications may include research components such as building blocks for demonstration, training, education and/or outreach projects. In such cases, proposals should clearly articulate this link, explain why the research is necessary for the project’s success, and ensure that such research does not already exist.

b. EPA will not consider activities that make permanent improvements, such as the installation of HVAC equipment, in private residences.

c. EPA will not consider activities that promote the use of air cleaning technologies of unknown or unclear performance against air pollutants in wildfire smoke such as bipolar ionization, ozone generators, ionizing air cleaners, and oxidizing air cleaners.

d. If an application requests a waiver of the required cost share but does not meet the eligibility criteria as described in Section III.B., EPA may contact the applicant to either revise the application to provide the required cost share or withdraw the application.

e. Applications cannot include any costs that are included as a cost of any other federally financed grant, as required under 2 CFR § 200.403(f). If these costs are included in an application, the activities associated with these costs will not be reviewed or selected for funding.

2. Other Considerations:

a. Applicants can submit no more than the total number of applications (1) listed in Section

I.A. If an applicant submits more applications than what is listed, EPA will contact the applicant to determine which application(s) to withdraw.

b. EPA will not consider applications that do not describe how much or how often the buildings or communities served by the project are impacted by wildfire smoke.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Note: Additional provisions that apply to this section can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses.

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

Applicants must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the Grants.gov instructions in this announcement. If your organization has no access to the internet or access is very limited, you may request an exception for the remainder of this calendar year by following the procedures outlined here. Please note that your request must be received at least 15 calendar days before the application due date to allow enough time to negotiate alternative submission methods. Issues with submissions with respect to this opportunity only are addressed in section 2. Technical Issues with Submission below.

1. Submission Instructions

a. SAM.gov (System for Award Management) Registration Instructions

Organizations applying to this funding opportunity must have an active SAM.gov registration. If you have never done business with the Federal Government, you will need to register your organization in SAM.gov. If you do not have a SAM.gov account, then you will create an account using login.gov1 to complete your SAM.gov registration. SAM.gov registration is FREE. The process for entity registrations includes obtaining Unique Entity ID (UEI), a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned an entity by SAM.gov, and requires assertions, representations and certifications, and other information about your organization.

Please review the Entity Registration Checklist for details on this process.

If you have done business with the Federal Government previously, you can check your entity status using your government issued UEI to determine if your registration is active. SAM.gov requires you renew your registration every 365 days to keep it active.

Please note that SAM.gov registration is different than obtaining a UEI only.

Obtaining an UEI only validates your organization’s legal business name and address. Please review the Frequently Asked Question on the difference for additional details.

Organizations should ensure that their SAM.gov registration includes a current e- Business (EBiz) point of contact name and email address. The EBiz point of contact is critical for Grants.gov Registration and system functionality.

1 Login.gov a secure sign in service used by the public to sign into Federal Agency systems including SAM.gov and Grants.gov. For help with login.gov accounts you should visit http://login.gov/help.

https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/grants/exceptions-grantsgov-submission-requirement https://login.gov/ https://www.fsd.gov/sys_attachment.do?sys_id=51a2fa061b0bcd500ca4a97ae54bcb18 https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0051214&sys_kb_id=dd40f4ef1b9641d0937fa64ce54bcb7a&spa=1 http://login.gov/help

Contact the Federal Service Desk for help with your SAM.gov account, to resolve technical issues or chat with a help desk agent: (866) 606-8220. The Federal Service desk hours of operation are Monday – Friday 8am – 8pm ET.

b. Grants.gov Registration Instructions Once your SAM.gov account is active,…