Great Lakes Biology Monitoring Program: Phytoplankton and Chlorophyll-a Components
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- EPA-R5-GL2026-PCA
- Applications due
- Award size
- Up to $3,600,000
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Category
-
- Environment
- Eligible applicants
-
- Other
- Points of contact
-
- Victoria Raymond glri-rfa@epa.gov
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office is soliciting applications for a cooperative agreement to conduct phytoplankton and chlorophyll-a sample collection and analysis across the Great Lakes Basin. The project requires applicants to collect samples from all 72 designated plankton monitoring stations during spring and summer surveys aboard the R/V Lake Guardian, maintain comparability with historical sampling procedures, perform taxonomic analysis with biovolume calculations, conduct chlorophyll-a analysis, and complete supplemental studies including fluoroprobe data analysis and artificial intelligence approaches for phytoplankton identification. Eligible applicants include Indian tribes, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations. Evaluation will be based on 133 total points across eight criteria: project implementation plan (10 points), base monitoring program implementation (42 points), supplemental studies (16 points), data management and quality assurance (6 points), results and outputs (12 points), programmatic capability and past performance (22 points), timely expenditure of grant funds (5 points), and budget narrative (20 points). Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by June 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET, with award notification anticipated in October 2026.
The EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement valued at approximately $3.6 million over a six-year project period, with incremental annual funding of approximately $600,000 per year contingent on performance and appropriations. The project period must begin January 1, 2027 and end no later than March 31, 2033, allowing for completion of field sampling from 2027-2031 and subsequent data analysis and reporting. Applicants must submit chlorophyll-a data within four months of collection and phytoplankton analysis within 18 months, with all work performed within the Great Lakes Basin. Applications are limited to 30 single-spaced pages and must include detailed budget narratives with task-specific funding allocations, along with mandatory Quality Assurance Project Plans and Quality Management Plans. Cost sharing is voluntary and not required for eligibility.
Synopsis
This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) solicits applications from eligible entities for grants to be awarded pursuant to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan IV. The Great Lakes Biology Monitoring Program (GLBMP) fulfills EPA's statutory obligation specified in Clean Water Act Section 118(c)(B) to establish a Great Lakes system-wide surveillance network to monitor the water quality of the Great Lakes. The goals of the GLBMP are to (1) report on Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem condition using assessments of the lower food web (phytoplankton, chlorophyll, zooplankton, Mysis and benthic invertebrates) as indicators; (2) assess the impacts to the lower food web from invasive species including quagga mussels; and (3) inform fisheries and habitat management. The Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) is requesting applications for a project to complete sample collection and analyses in support of the Phytoplankton and Chlorophyll-a components of the GLBMP. The targeted audience for this funding opportunity is eligible entities listed below capable of analyzing phytoplankton community abundance and composition and chlorophyll-a concentrations in water samples. The intended beneficiaries of the GLBMP are all those who live, recreate, or work within the Great Lakes basin.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| EPA-R5-GL2026-PCA Revised 2026 05 13.pdf | ||
| EPA-R5-GL2026-PCA-Final_v5.pdf | ||
| EPA-R5-GL2026-PCA-Final_v6.pdf |
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