Assistance Listings

Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program

Objectives

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program provides funding to support community-based organizations in their efforts to collaborate and partner with local stakeholder groups (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical service providers, and academia) as they develop and implement solutions that address environmental and/or public health issues for underserved communities. For purposes of this listing, the term “underserved community” refers to a community with environmental justice concerns and/or vulnerable populations, including people of color, low income, rural, tribal, indigenous, and homeless populations. Eligible projects must demonstrate use of the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model to support their collaborative efforts during the project period. Applying organizations should have a direct connection to the underserved community impacted by the environmental harms and risks detailed in the workplan. The long-term goals of the EJCPS Program are to help build the capacity of communities with environmental justice concerns and to create self-sustaining, community-based partnerships that will continue to improve local environments in the future. Funding Priorities - EPA may give special consideration to high-ranking applications that focus on the following program priorities: 1) Rural Areas – EPA may give special consideration to high-ranking proposals to be performed in rural areas as defined by the program. Rural areas, for the purposes of this competition, are defined as local areas with populations of 50,000 or less that have limited access to public or private resources commonly found in metropolitan areas. Applicants claiming rural status must provide sufficient detail (census data, population figures, descriptions of local resources, etc.) for EPA to validate the rural status of the underserved community. The goal of this special consideration is to encourage and increase project performance in rural areas in the EPA EJ Grants program. 2) Health Impact Assessments (HIA) – HIA is a tool designed to investigate how a proposed program, project, policy, or plan may impact health and well-being and inform decision-makers of these potential outcomes before the decision is made. EPA may give special consideration to HIA projects that seek to determine the potential effects of a proposed decision on the health of underserved and vulnerable communities and the distribution of those effects within the communities. 3) Projects addressing Climate, Disaster Resiliency, and/or Emergency Preparedness – The effects of climate change and extreme weather events tend to adversely impact the most vulnerable communities and populations disproportionately. Therefore, EPA may give special consideration to projects that address the needs of underserved and vulnerable communities that have been adversely impacted or are likely to be adversely impacted by natural disasters, including, but not limited to, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and future pandemics.

Examples of Funded Projects

Assistance Listing Description

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

For Fiscal Year 2024 and FY25, the total funding to be awarded nationwide from the 2023 EJCPS selectees is estimated to be approximately $50,710,000, for projects ranging from $150,000 to $500,000. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 117 cooperative agreements nationwide, for a three-year performance period and are expected to be fully funded at time of award.

Accomplishments

Account Identification

68-0108-0-1-304-Environmental Programs and Management (EPM)

Types of Assistance

B - Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)

Credentials and Documentation

Applicants may be requested to demonstrate they have appropriate background, academic training, experience in the field, and necessary equipment to carry out projects. EPA may ask applicants or principal investigators to provide curriculum vitae and relevant publications. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program.

Applicant Eligibility

An eligible applicant must be one of the following: • incorporated non-profit organizations —including, but not limited to, community-based organizations, grassroots organizations, environmental justice networks, faith based organizations and those affiliated with religious institutions;* U.S. Territories • Freely Associated States (FAS) – including local governmental entities and local non-profit organizations in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Palau. Applicant organizations claiming non-profit status must include documentation that shows the organization is either a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization as designated by the Internal Revenue Service; OR a non-profit organization recognized by the state, territory, or commonwealth in which it is located. For the latter, documentation must be on official state government letterhead. The following entities are INELIGIBLE to receive an award, but we encourage applicants to partner with these organizations, as appropriate: • Tribes and tribal governments • colleges and universities; • hospitals; • for-profit businesses; • state and local governments and their entities; • quasi-governmental entities (e.g., water districts, utilities)*; • national organizations and chapters of the aforementioned organizations**; •International organizations and chapters of the aforementioned organizations • Individuals • non-profit organizations supporting lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995; and*** * Generally, a quasi-governmental entity is one that: (1) has a close association with the government agency, but is not considered a part of the government agency; (2) was created by the government agency, but is exempt from certain legal and administrative requirements imposed on government agencies; or (3) was not created by the government agency but performs a public purpose and is significantly supported financially by the government agency. ** National organizations are defined as comprising of one centralized headquarters or principal place of business that creates and controls the mission, structure and work carried out by its chapters or affiliates. *** Funds awarded under this announcement may not be used to support lobbying activities or any activities related to lobbying or the appearance thereof. Subawards made to nonprofit organizations that lobby are not allowed. 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.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Eligible beneficiaries are the Non-Profit Community Groups, US Territories, and Freely Associated States (FAS) as described under "Eligibility" and the residents of the communities they serve. List selected is not all inclusive.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Cooperative agreements will be awarded for a 3 year project period. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Cooperative agreement award is fully funded at time of award and the recipient will draw down funds on an as needed basis.

Use of Assistance

Projects can include activities related to the environment and issues impacting underserved communities. Types of projects eligible for funding include but are not limited to the following: Air Quality and Asthma Water Quality, Sampling, and Stormwater Issues Lead, Pesticide, and Toxic Substances Agriculture and Fishing Green Infrastructure Environmental Job Training Youth Development. 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).The recipient cannot use these funds for the following activities under this program: litigation against the Federal government or any other government entity; lobbying; matching funds for other Federal grants; and travel for Federal employees.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.

Deadlines

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is required. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. Executive Order 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs," applies to this assistance listing when a proposed financial assistance Federal financial assistance involves land use planning. EPA financial assistance programs and activities subject to intergovernmental review that have been selected for review under State single point of contact procedures are identified at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-financial-assistance-programs-subject-executive-order-12372-and-section-204. Applicants for programs or activities subject to Intergovernmental Review that have not been selected for State single point of contact review must provide directly affected State, areawide, regional, and local entities at least 60 days to review their application following notification by EPA that the application has been selected for funding as provided by 40 CFR 29.8(a) and (c). 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 the "Agency Contact(s)" in the competitive announcement.

Application Procedures

2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program.

Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for this listing will be posted on Grants.gov (opens in new window) (opens in new window).

Applicants, except in limited circumstances approved by the Agency, must submit all initial applications for funding through Grants.gov.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this assistance listing will be described in the competitive announcement.

Award Procedure

For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria stated in the competitive announcement. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements.

Date Range for Approval/Disapproval

Approximately 150 days after the deadline for application submission.

Renewals

No cost extensions are not permitted for projects awarded in FY24 and FY25.

Appeals

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.

Policy Requirements

Reports

Audits

Records

Recipients must keep financial records, including all documents supporting entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes in grants available to personnel authorized to examine EPA recipients grants and cooperative agreements records. Recipients must maintain all records until 3 years from the date of submission of final expenditure reports as required by 2 CFR 200.334. If questions, such as those raised because of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature

Collaborative Problem-Solving cooperative agreements are subject to 2 CFR 200 and 1500 (EPA Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards); 40 CFR Part 33 (Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in United States Environmental Protection Agency Programs).

Formula and Matching Requirements

Regional or Local Locations:

Headquarters Office: