Geographic Programs - Puget Sound Protection and Restoration: Tribal Implementation Assistance Program

Puget Sound has been designated as one of 28 estuaries of National Significance under §320 of the Clean Water Act. The goal of the National Estuary Program is to attain and maintain water quality in designated estuaries that would assure protection o

The Puget Sound Protection and Restoration: Tribal Implementation Assistance Program is aimed at assisting the Indian Tribes of the greater Puget Sound basin in their efforts to carry out work critically needed for Puget Sound protection and restoration.

All federally recognized Indian Tribes located within the greater Puget Sound basin, and any consortium of these eligible Tribes, may apply for funding under the program. The greater Puget Sound basin is defined as all watersheds draining to the U.S. waters of Puget Sound, southern Georgia Basin, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. An eligible Intertribal consortium is one that demonstrates that: 1) a majority of its members meet the eligibility requirements for this program; 2) all members that meet the eligibility requirements authorize the consortium to apply for and receive the grant; and 3) only members that meet the eligibility requirements will benefit directly from the grant project and the consortium agrees to a grant condition to that effect. Federal and state agencies, institutions of higher learning, units of local government, special purpose districts, conservation districts, watershed planning units organized pursuant to RCW 90.82.040 and 060, local management boards organized pursuant to RCW 90.88.030, salmon recovery lead entities organized pursuant to RCW 77.85.050, regional fisheries enhancement group organized pursuant to RCW 77.95.060 and nongovernmental entities are not eligible to directly receive financial assistance awards under this assistance listing. Business enterprises and individuals or families will also not be eligible applicants. For certain competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy.

The beneficiary of assistance under this program would be the Federally recognized Indian Tribes or the consortia of these Tribes that receive the assistance. Ultimate beneficiaries would include the tribal members and the general public (due to the general public's interest in restoring and protecting the resources of Puget Sound).

The Puget Sound funds were appropriated by Congress in conjunction with the Clean Water Act for development and implementation of programs that will improve water quality, air quality and for development and minimize the adverse impacts of rapid development in the Puget Sound basin, including activities liked to habitat restoration projects or controlling sources of nonpoint pollution The assistance may be used by Tribes to plan for and implement work that is critically needed for Puget Sound restoration and protection. Such work includes priority actions or strategies in or consistent with the approved Section 320 CCMP for Puget Sound including, but not limited to, projects called for by established salmon recovery plans, except where the proposed work is inconsistent with applicable Federal law, regulation, or published EPA policy. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: Geospatial Resources at EPA (https://www.epa.gov/geospatial).Additional information on use restrictions, if any, for the Puget Sound Protection and Restoration: Tribal Implementation Assistance Program, will be provided in each Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) published on the EPA Region 10 website and on Grants.gov. This program makes Federal awards on a discretionary basis. A discretionary award means an award in which the Federal awarding agency, in keeping with specific statutory authority that enables the agency to exercise judgement ("discretion"), selects the recipient and/or the amount of Federal funding awarded through a competitive process or based on merit of proposals. A discretionary award may be selected on a non-competitive basis, as appropriate. For further information, please contact the Headquarters or regional office.

In FY2020, tribal capacity grants were awarded for FY2021-2025. In FY2025, new grants will be awarded for FY2025-2029. Funds will be disbursed to assist recipients in accordance with the terms specified in their respective assistance agreements, and the availability of new appropriations. A Tribal lead organization cooperative agreement was awarded in FY2022 using Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding. Incremental funds will be awarded each year depending on the availability of new appropriations. Also, approval of subsequent funding increments is dependent on satisfactory project progress, continued relevance of the project to EPA's priorities and availability of funds.

Regarding pre-application assistance with respect to competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, EPA will generally specify the nature of the pre-application assistance, if any, that will be available to applicants in the competitive announcement. For additional information, contact the individual(s) listed as "Agency Contacts" in the competitive announcement.

The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this assistance listing will be described in the NOFO. For non-competitive awards, the program will assess the applications consistent with the merit review regulations in 2 CFR 200.205.

For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications submissions in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria stated in the NOFO. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. For noncompetitive awards made under this FAL, EPA will conduct an administrative evaluation to determine the adequacy of the application in relation to grant regulations and to technical and program evaluation to determine the merit and relevance of the project. The Agency will then advise the applicant if funding is being considered. A final work plan will then be negotiated with the applicant

For each competitive (Tribal Implementation Lead) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) deadlines will be specified. For non-competitive awards (Tribal capacity grants), contact the regional contact for application deadlines.

The Region expects that its review of the applications received in response to competitive announcements will be completed within 120 to 150 days following the deadline for the submission of applications for each Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) issued under this program.

Assistance agreement competition-related disputes will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures published in 70 FR (Federal Register) 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005). Copies of these procedures may also be found at: https://www.epa.gov/grants/grant-competition-dispute-resolution-procedures. Disputes relating to matters other than the competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E, as applicable.