Funding

Deadline passed as of October 20, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission is to protect human health and the environment. EPA’s SBIR Program supports small businesses (500 or fewer employees) to develop and commercialize novel environmental technologies that support this mission.

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.

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. 

Deadline passed as of November 6, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. Healthy Places for Healthy People will provide selected communities with expert planning assistance that centers around a two-day community workshop. A team of experts will help community members develop an implementable action plan that will focus on health as an economic driver and catalyst for downtown and neighborhood revitalization.

Deadline passed as of November 6, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. Through Cool & Connected, a team of experts will help community members develop strategies and an action plan for using broadband service to promote smart, sustainable community development. Broadband access can provide new opportunities for people and businesses. A growing number of communities have combined broadband service with other local assets such as cultural and recreational amenities to attract and retain investment and people, including young people. This can help diversify local economies. Such efforts typically require planning among community leaders, businesses, and internet service providers. The Cool & Connected program will provide assistance to this end, helping communities take advantage of broadband service to create walkable, connected, economically successful main streets and small-town neighborhoods.

Deadline Passed 12/20/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (EPA), is issuing a Request for Applications (RFA) from eligible entities to improve water quality in the Middle and Upper Columbia River Basin, through specific actions to reduce toxics, increase monitoring, and/or increase public education and outreach. The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program (CRBRP) will assist tribal, state and local governments; nongovernmental entities, and others as they implement the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Action Plan and the Lower Columbia River Estuary Plan - Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and conduct activities to support EPA national goals for the Columbia River Basin.

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: January 31, 2023. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (EPA), is issuing a Request for Applications (RFA) from eligible Columbia River Basin tribal governments to improve water quality in the Columbia River Basin, through specific actions to reduce toxics, and/or increase public education and outreach. The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program (CRBRP) will assist tribes as they implement the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Action Plan and the Lower Columbia River Estuary Plan - Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and conduct activities to support EPA national goals for the Columbia River Basin. Learn more here.

Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: May 19, 2022. EPA has announced the availability of up to $1.6 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to support Tribal government efforts to establish or modify programs on environmental justice, water and air quality issues. Congress made up to $1.6 million in ARP funding available to Tribes, recognizing the importance of supporting Tribal public engagement programs and related priorities that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA anticipates awarding 16 to 20 grants nationwide in amounts of up to $100,000 per award. Applicants should plan for projects to begin on 1 October 2022. Learn more and apply here.

Communities receive direct technical assistance from team of national experts in one of two areas: policy analysis (e.g., reviewing state and local codes, school siting guidelines,transportation policies, etc.) or public participatory processes (e.g., visioning, design workshops, alternative analysis, build-out analysis, etc.). The assistance is tailored to the community's unique situation and priorities. EPA provides the assistance through a contractor team –not a grant. Through a multiple-day site visit and a detailed final report, the multi-disciplinary teams provide information to help the community achieve its goal of encouraging growth that fosters economic progress and environmental protection.

Application Due: April 10, 2023. The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) program provides funding at the state, local, territorial, and Tribal level to support  government activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms. Model EJG2G programs should leverage existing resources to develop processes or tools that integrate environmental justice considerations into governmental decision-making at all levels. Applications submitted in response to this funding opportunity that will receive must address one of the following five broad categories:   

• community-led air and other pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation, and investments in low- and zero-emission and resilient technologies and related infrastructure and workforce development that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants;  
• mitigating climate and health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, wood heater emissions, and wildfire events;  climate resiliency and adaptation;   
• reducing indoor toxics and indoor air pollution; or   
• facilitating engagement of marginalized communities in Local, State and Federal public processes, such as advisory groups, workshops, and rulemakings. 

Apply here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=345311 

Deadline: June 15, 2023. EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program will provide noncompetitive planning grant opportunities for Federally recognized Tribes, tribal consortia, and U.S. Territories interested in participating in the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program will provide grants to states, territories, tribes, air pollution control agencies, and local governments to develop and implement plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act provides an investment of $5 billion to support these efforts to develop and implement strong, local greenhouse gas reduction strategies. This two-staged grant program provides funding of $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants. An informational webinar intended specifically for tribes, tribal consortia and U.S. Territories will be held March 9, 2023 at 11am Pacific and will be recorded and posted to https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/climate-pollution-reduction-.... Register for the webinar here.

2017 deadline: June 15, 2017. Unknown for 2018. This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities that will provide training, peer-to-peer technical assistance and travel scholarships to federally-recognized tribes in support of waste management capacity building on tribal lands. The recipient will conduct three training courses that will assist tribes in the development and implementation of sustainable waste management programs. The training will focus on implementing an Integrated Waste Management Plan (IWMP) through waste diversion programs such as recycling, composting, et al. The training courses should include tribal speakers that have developed and implemented successful waste diversion programs. In addition, the recipient will offer travel scholarships to support the trainings as well as provide travel scholarships to financially assist tribes that voluntarily participate in the EPA’s National Tribal Waste Management Peer Matching Program.

Past Deadline: November 13, 2020. The Local Foods, Local Places program will provide selected communities planning assistance that centers around a two-day community workshop. At the workshop, a team of experts will help community members develop an implementable action plan that promotes local food and neighborhood revitalization. Eligible applicants include local governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit institutions and organizations proposing to work in a neighborhood, town, or city of any size anywhere in the United States. We expect that many of the communities we select will be economically challenged and in the early phases of their efforts to promote local foods and community revitalization.

Applications Accecpted Year-Round. The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program helps communities, states, tribes and others understand risks associated with contaminated or potentially contaminated properties, called brownfields, and learn how to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse them. EPA funds three organizations—Kansas State University (KSU), the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR)—to serve as independent sources of technical assistance. Each of these TABs has an extensive network of partners, contractors and other contacts that provides services across the country. They help communities tackle a variety of challenges related to identifying, assessing, cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields. The technical assistance comes at no cost to communities. This makes the TAB program a great resource for small, underserved, rural and other communities that might otherwise struggle to address their brownfields.