Funding

Pollution Prevention (P2) Grants provide technical assistance to businesses in order to help them develop and adopt source reduction practices (also known as “pollution prevention” or “P2”). P2 means reducing or eliminating pollutants from entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. In keeping with the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, EPA is encouraging P2 because implementing these approaches can result in reductions in toxic pollutants, the use of water, energy and other raw materials, while also lowering business costs. P2 grants are awarded to States, colleges and universities (recognized as instrumentalities of the state), and federally-recognized tribes and intertribal consortia.

Source Reduction Assistance (SRA) grants fund innovative source reduction approaches (also known as “pollution prevention” or “P2”). P2 means reducing or eliminating pollutants from entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. In keeping with the statutory authorities under this program, SRA grant projects must use one or more of the following technical assistance methods to carry out source reduction/P2 activities: a) research, b) investigation, c) experiments, d) education, e) training, f) studies and/or g) demonstration of innovative techniques.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR), and Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS) research programs is funding grants with the goal of applying systems-based approaches for identifying, addressing, and reducing uncertainties from limited exposure data and stressor-response relationships.EPA is seeking applications focusing on integrated, transdisciplinary research that would advance scientific understanding of potential for impacts to ecosystem wellbeing associated with the use of manufactured chemicals.Specifically, the RFA solicits proposals for systems-based research to develop and apply innovative metrics and modeling approaches to improve evaluation of ecological resilience and impact analyses, and to support environmental sustainability. Successful proposals will translate emerging and advanced methods, data, and computational tools to address complexity of these systems and distill drivers of adverse outcomes to ecological organisms and populations.

The US Environmental Protection Agency, as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking initial applications proposing the creation of a National Center for Sustainable Water Infrastructure Modeling Research that facilitates technology transfer of open source water infrastructure models and shares green infrastructure tools and research advancements with local communities and stakeholders.

The EPA is funding SRA grants and/or cooperative agreements to fund projects supporting pollution prevention/source reduction and resource conservation. The five goals of the grant program are: 1. Reduce the generation of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions to mitigate climate change; 2. Reduce the manufacture and use of hazardous substances to improve human and ecological health; 3. Reduce the use of water and conserve other natural resources to protect ecosystems; 4. Create business efficiencies that derive economic benefits and improve environmental performance while addressing goals 1, 2, or 3; and 5. Institutionalize and integrate pollution prevention practices by way of technical services, policies, and initiatives while addressing goals 1, 2 or 3.

Most Recent Deadline: September 26, 2023. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a historic $27 billion investment to combat the climate crisis by mobilizing financing and private capital for greenhouse gas- and air pollution-reducing projects in communities across the country. As part of this program, EPA is launching a $7 billion Solar for All competition — designed to spur the deployment of residential distributed solar energy to lower energy bills for millions of Americans and catalyze transformation in markets serving low-income and disadvantaged communities. Solar for All will tackle the financial and non-financial barriers that limit the ability of low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country to benefit from the rapid growth in distributed solar capacity, thus advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s climate and environmental justice goals. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is for the $7 billion Solar for All competition. This competition will award up to 60 grants to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofit recipients to expand the number of low-income and disadvantaged communities primed for distributed solar investment—enabling millions of low-income households to access affordable, resilient, and clean solar energy. Grantees will use funds to expand existing low-income solar programs or design and deploy new Solar for All programs nationwide. EPA will not fund individual projects under this competition. EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All competition will help deliver on the climate and environmental justice goals of the United States. To achieve these goals, Solar for All grantees will provide subsidies and other financial assistance to residential rooftop and residential-serving community solar projects in and benefiting low-income and disadvantaged communities in addition to project-deployment technical assistance such as workforce development, community outreach, and other project-deployment support (e.g., interconnection technical assistance, siting and permitting support) to help overcome barriers to solar deployment.

Deadline passed as of August 1, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals to develop and stand-up a place-based estuary program encompassing one or more of the following bays in Florida’s northwest panhandle region: Perdido Bay, Pensacola Bay, Escambia Bay, Choctawhatchee Bay, St. Andrews Bay and Apalachicola Bay.

The US Environmental Protection Agency, as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications to conduct research on and demonstration of human and ecological impacts of treated wastewater applications (reclaimed water and wastewater reuse), and water conservation practices including the use of non-traditional water sources as well as more comprehensive long-term management and availability of water resources.

Deadline unknown for 2017. Wetland Program Development Grants (WPDGs) provide eligible applicants an opportunity to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution. All proposals submitted under this RFP must be for projects that build or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs. Implementation of wetland protection programs is not an eligible project under this announcement

The Tribal Solid Waste Interagency Workgroup was created to coordinate federal assistance to tribes to help them comply with the municipal solid waste landfill regulations. Successful proposals should characterize/assess open dumps, develop integrated waste management (IWM) plans, develop and implement alternative solid waste management activities/facilities; or develop and implement cleanup, closure, and post-closure programs for open dumps in Indian Country. Each proposal must address only one of the four proposal categories described above.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research on science for sustainable and healthy tribes. This solicitation is focused on research to develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems that affect tribes. The objectives of the awards to be made under this solicitation are to improve understanding of: 1) the health impacts of climate change on tribal populations; and 2) the health impacts of indoor air pollution exposures that derive from or are directly affecting traditional tribal life-ways and cultural practices. In both cases, projects should focus on impacts to vulnerable sub-populations of the Tribal communities. Proposals should also consider sustainable, culturally appropriate and acceptable pollution prevention, and adaptation/mitigation strategies.

Deadline Passed March 26, 2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality is soliciting applications nationwide for projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions, particularly from fleets operating at or servicing goods movement facilities located in areas designated as having poor air quality. Further, priority for funding will be given to projects which result in outcomes that benefit affected communities, those that engage affected communities with respect to the design and performance of the project, and those which can demonstrate the ability to promote and continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended.

Deadline Passed 04/03/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) is soliciting proposals nationwide for projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions in terms of tons of pollution produced by diesel engines and diesel emissions exposure, particularly from fleets located in areas designated as having poor air quality. Further, priority for funding will be given to projects which result in outcomes that benefit affected communities, those that engage affected communities with respect to the design and performance of the project, and those which can demonstrate the ability to promote and continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended. 

Grant deadline unknown for 2016. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to provide tribal training, technical and outreach support for the American Indian Air Quality Training Program. The American Indian Air Quality Training Program (AIAQTP) provides workshop training, internships and technical support to tribal governments seeking to investigate, develop and establish air quality management programs for lands under their jurisdiction and provides opportunity for American Indian students to pursue environmental careers in the field of air quality management. The Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center is a component of the AIAQTP, and is a partnership effort between the selected grant recipient and EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, hosted by the Radiation and Indoor Environments National (R&IEL) laboratory in Las Vegas, to provide a full spectrum of technical support to tribes undertaking air quality monitoring and related activities.