Funding

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 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 04/08/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The EPA Exchange Network Grant Program is soliciting project proposals that use the Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) to:

• Facilitate sharing of environmental data, especially through shared and reusable services.
• Streamline data collection and exchanges to improve its timeliness for decision making.
• Increase the quality and access to environmental data through discovery, publishing, outbound, and analytical services so it is more useful to environmental managers.
• Develop foundational EN shared services to reduce burden and avoid costs for co-regulators and the regulated community.
• Expand and improve participation in the EN by strengthening the requisite information management and technology capabilities for interested parties to fully participate in the EN

Grant status unknown. Demonstration Grants range from $5,000 to $30,000 for local environmental projects that improve health and the environment throughout rural Alaska communities

Past Deadline: 5/7/2021. The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working on or planning to work on projects to address local environmental and/or public health issues in their communities. The program assists recipients in building collaborative partnerships with other stakeholders (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical service providers, academia, etc.) to develop solutions that will significantly address environmental and/or public health issue(s) at the local level. Additionally, the EJCPS Program requires selected applicants, or recipients, to use the EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model as part of their projects. The model aims to address local environmental and/or public health issues in a collaborative manner with various stakeholders such as communities, industry, academic institutions, and others. Case Studies highlight some of the successful and effective strategies of previous projects.

EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality is soliciting proposals nationwide for Tribal 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 operating in areas designated by the Administrator as poor air quality areas.

Most Recent Deadline: 7/09/2021. EPA anticipates awarding approximately $5 million in DERA funding under this announcement. A total of $4.5 million will be made available to tribal governments (or intertribal consortia) and Alaska Native villages, and $500,000 will be made available to insular area governments. EPA anticipates awarding five to ten cooperative agreements to tribal governments (or intertribal consortia) and Alaska Native villages and two to four cooperative agreements to insular area governments. This year's Request for Applications (RFA) has no mandatory cost share requirement and sets funding limits to $800,000 for tribal applicants and $250,000 for insular area applicants. Each applicant may submit up to two applications. Although funding for both tribes and insular areas is planned under this single RFA, the applications will be competed separately.  Tribal applications will be reviewed, ranked and selected by one review panel, and insular area applications will be reviewed, ranked and selected by a separate review panel. EPA's ten regional offices will manage awards. The number and size of cooperative agreements made under this announcement are subject to the availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other considerations. 

Tribes are eligible to receive Clean Water Act Section 319 grant funding to implement EPA-approved NPS programs. As required under the Clean Water Act, tribes must be approved for treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) and have an EPA-approved NPS assessment report and NPS management program to receive §319 funds. Each year, a §319-eligible tribe may apply for a base §319 grant that support their NPS management program, and they are eligible to compete nationally for additional §319 funds (competitive §319 grants) to implement on-the-ground projects to restore and protect their waters. 

Under this solicitation, EPA intends to fund further development and ongoing maintenance of a web-based national information clearinghouse focused on smart growth. This clearinghouse will be designed to support communities by providing timely information that supports local decision-making that delivers better environmental and public health outcomes from growth and development

This RFA seeks to understand the health effects from climate change mediated by indoor environments. A specific interest is the evaluation of adaptation guidelines, such as energy-saving building modifications, from a health perspective. Additional optional goals are 1) the understanding of behavioral adaptations, e. g. time spent outdoors, or use of natural ventilation and 2) extension of building ventilation models to newer energy-efficient buildings and evaluation of existing models against independent data sets.

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.

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.

Smart Growth America and Global Green USA are soliciting applications for technical assistance, which is available under grants EPA awarded to these two organizations through the Office of Sustainable Communities' Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant program. (Listen to the November 6 webinar about both offerings.) Global Green USA's technical assistance is based on the LEED for Neighborhood Development standard, which provides a nationally recognized method for creating neighborhoods that are walkable, bikeable, resource-efficient, and equitable. At the conclusion of the assistance, the team will provide recommendations for both physical and policy changes that can enhance neighborhood sustainability.