Columbia River Basin Restoration (CRBR) Program

 

To support the protection and restoration of the Columbia River Basin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program (CRBRP). CRBRP promotes ecosystem protection and restoration activities and strategies by working with federal agencies, states, tribes, regional water pollution control agencies and entities, local governments, non-governmental entities and soil and water conservation districts to improve water quality and support environmental protection and restoration. Funding Priorities-Fiscal Year 2019/2020: Focus on toxics and their impact on human health and fish and wildlife. 1. Increased monitoring and access to data from monitoring in the Columbia River Basin with a focus on toxics with an impact on human health and fish and wildlife. 2. Reducing storm water and agricultural runoff by using strategies such as green infrastructure to reduce the toxicity and/or quantity of runoff and/or implementing agricultural best management practices (BMPs) such as Pesticide Stewardship partnerships. 3. Promoting citizen engagement or education to promote pollution prevention, for example, increasing knowledge on pollution prevention strategies and actions that can be taken by communities, businesses and government to reduce toxics in the Basin. 4. Reducing toxic pollutants from mining activities by using strategies such as monitoring and assessment of mining-impacted streams, stabilization of mining wastes to prevent runoff, and clean-up or remediation of mining-contaminated sediments and other mine-related waste.

General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Active
Program Number
66.962
Federal Agency/Office
Environmental Protection Agency
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
B - Project Grants
Program Accomplishments
Not applicable.
Authorization
Clean Water Act, Section 123, 33 U.S.C. 1275
Public Law 114-322
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
Eligible entities include state governments, tribal governments, regional water pollution control agencies and entities, local government entities, nongovernmental entities, or soil and water conservation districts. o 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
Not applicable.
Credentials/Documentation
Not applicable.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Pre-Application Procedure
Preapplication coordination is required. Regarding pre-application/pre-proposal assistance with respect to competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, EPA will generally specify the nature of the pre-application/pre-proposal assistance, if any, that will be available to applicants in the competitive announcement. For additional information, contact the individual(s) listed in the competitive announcement.
Application Procedure
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants, except in limited circumstances approved by the Agency, must submit all initial applications for funding through https://www.grants.gov.
Award Procedure
For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications, proposals, and/or submissions 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.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Approval/Disapproval Decision Time
From 60 to 90 days.
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 requested by contacting the individual(s) listed in Section VII of the competitive funding announcement. Disputes relating to matters other than the competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E, as applicable.
Renewals
Not applicable.
How are proposals selected?
The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this assistance listing will be described in the competitive announcement.
How may assistance be used?
The work must be for the purpose of environmental protection and restoration activities within the Columbia River Basin and may include programs, projects and studies. A single application must include activities in one or more of the following categories: 1. Eliminating or reducing pollution including strategies or projects to reduce toxics into streams of the Columbia River Basin, including agricultural best management practices such as Pesticide Stewardship Partnerships, stormwater and sediment management, and pesticide collection and take back programs. 2. Cleaning up contaminated sites include cleanup actions at small non-CERCLA sites where hazardous chemicals, oil, pollutants, and/or mining impacts have been released into the Columbia River Basin. 3. Improving water quality to reduce toxics in the Columbia River Basin. 4. Monitoring to evaluate trends includes monitoring current conditions such as the sampling and analysis of Columbia River Basin water, fish and sediment focused on toxics. 5. Reducing runoff through agricultural best management practices and/or sediment and stormwater runoff controls, including green infrastructure. 6. Protecting habitat to reduce the impact of toxics on Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife. 7. Promoting citizen engagement or knowledge by increasing engagement and communication with individual community members (such as local, state and tribal environmental managers, and/or NGOs), creating bi-lingual outreach and education materials on the topic of toxics reduction, green chemistry pilot projects, and/or sharing examples of successful toxics reduction efforts.
What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity?
Reporting
Performance Reports: Grantees are required to perform performance monitoring in accordance with Agency policy and requirements stated in the Uniform Grants Guidance 2 CFR 200
Auditing
Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, and other EPA staff, or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialist may occur each year.
Records
Financial records, including all documents to support entries on accounting records and to substantiate charges to each grant must be kept available to personnel authorized to examine EPA grant accounts. All records must be maintained until expiration of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report. If questions still remain, such as those raised by an audit, related records shall be maintained until the matter is completely resolved.
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is mandatory. 25%. Projects under this assistance listing are subject to the following funding limitations and mandatory cost share requirements: a) For non-tribal applicants EPA will fund up to 75% of the cost of the overall project (i.e. applicants are responsible for cost-sharing at least 25% of the cost with non-federal funds); b) For tribal applicants EPA will fund up to 75% of the cost of the overall projects (i.e. tribal applicants are responsible for cost-sharing at least 25% of the cost with either non-federal and/or federal funds); and c) The Administrator may increase the Federal share under such circumstances as the Administrator determines to be appropriate. Reference 33 U.S.C ยง1275(d)(2)(B).

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
The estimated project period for awards resulting from this solicitation is 24 months. The projects are expected to begin on April 1, 2020, with an expected project completion date of March 30, 2022. Assistance will be disbursed in accordance with the terms specified in the assistance agreement. Typically, assistance recipients draw funds at either monthly or quarterly intervals based on their incurred costs.
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Regional or Local Office
None/Not specified.
Headquarters Office
Viccy Salazar
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101 USA
salazar.viccy@epa.gov
Phone: 206-553-1060
Financial Information
Account Identification
68-0108-0-1-304
Obligations
(Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 18$0.00; FY 19 est $700,000.00; FY 20 est $700,000.00; -
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
$60,000 to $200,000 per project period, average of $125,000
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
Not applicable.
Examples of Funded Projects
Not applicable.

 



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