Healthy Communities Grant Program

 

Grants are awarded to support projects that meet two criteria: 1) They must be located in and directly benefit one or more Target Investment Areas and 2) They must achieve measurable environmental and public health results in one or more of the Target Program Areas. Target Investment Areas and Target Program areas are identified in the annual competitive funding announcement. Funds for all projects should support activities to provide education, outreach, or training, in the Target Program Areas. The Regional Office will only accept submissions for projects that affect the States, Tribes, and Territories within the six New England States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Projects that are National in scope are not eligible for funding under this Regional Program. The statutory authorities for this program restrict the use of assistance agreements to support the following activities: conducting or promoting the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention, and elimination of pollution. Demonstrations must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, and it is encouraged that the results of these projects will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained. A project that is accomplished through the performance of routine, traditional, or established practices, or a project that is simply intended to carry out a task rather than transfer information or advance the state of knowledge, however worthwhile the project might be, is not considered a demonstration project. Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2019 - Clean, Green and Healthy Schools: Projects that focus on creating clean, green and healthy school environments by promoting EPA?s State School Environmental Health Guidelines, EPA?s Voluntary Guidelines for Selecting Safe School Location and their design, construction, and renovation, EPA?s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools, and/or implementing replicable programs across New England serving children?s environmental health at K-12 schools. Community and Water Infrastructure Resilience: Projects that provide education, outreach, and training to manage facilities at which hazardous substances are located, advance the emergency preparedness and resilience of communities and water infrastructure through training related to the safe handling and removal of hazardous waste. Healthy Indoor Environments: Projects that focus on reducing and/or preventing childhood lead poisoning through compliance assistance, outreach, and/or education on lead-based paint regulations and/or small drinking water systems, reducing asthma triggers, promoting integrated pest management, promoting recycling, pollution prevention, food recovery and food waste minimization and/or diversion, and/or renewable energy, reducing childhood exposure to one or more toxins (lead, PCBs, dioxin, mercury, asbestos, pesticides, etc.), and promoting comprehensive healthy homes and/or other indoor environments for children or other sensitive populations. Healthy Outdoor Environments: Projects that focus on reducing and/or preventing exposure to toxics and pollutants in the air, soil and/or water by addressing the causes, effects, extent, reduction, prevention and/or elimination of pollution in rivers and/or other natural resources.

Active 66.110 Environmental Protection Agency B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 No content available. Forty-three initial proposals were received, 38 proposals were invited to submit a full proposal and 12 projects, worth $287,440 were competitively selected through the 2016 Healthy Communities Grant Program.
Fiscal Year 2017 Seventy initial proposals were received, 38 proposals were invited to submit a full proposal and 13 projects, worth $299,643 were competitively selected through the 2017 Healthy Communities Grant Program.
Fiscal Year 2018 Forty-six initial proposals were received, 37 were invited to submit a full proposal, and 16 projects, worth $390,861 were competitively selected to receive funding through the 2018 Healthy Communities Grant Program. Clean Air Act, Section 103(b)(3)
Clean Water Act, Section 104(b)(3)
Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442(a) and (c)
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20, as amended by P.L. 106-74
Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001
Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10, as amended by P.L. 106-74
Marine Protection, Research, & Sanctuaries Act, Section 203
Indian Environmental General Assistance Program Act of 1992
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensatiion and Liability Act, Section 311(b) & (c) Assistance under this program is available to State, Local, public nonprofit institutions/organizations, private nonprofit institutions/organizations, quasi-public nonprofit institutions/organizations, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, K-12 schools or school districts; and non-profit organizations (e.g. grassroots and/or community-based organizations). Funding will be considered for a college or university to support a project with substantial community involvement. Private businesses, federal agencies, and individuals are not eligible to be grant recipients; however, they are encouraged to work in partnership with eligible applicants on projects. Applicants need not be located within the boundaries of the EPA regional office to be eligible to apply for funding but must propose projects that affect the States, Tribes, and Territories within their Region. For certain competitive funding opportunities under this CFDA description, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy. State, Local, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, public nonprofit institutions/organizations, private nonprofit institutions/organizations, quasi-public nonprofit institutions/organizations, anyone/general public. Tribes may be asked to demonstrate that they are federally recognized. Interstate organizations may be asked to provide a citation to the statutory authority, which establishes their status. Intertribal consortia may be asked to provide documentation that they meet the requirements of 2 CFR 200 Subpart E. Non-profit applicants are not required to have a formal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) non-profit designation, such as 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4); however they must present their letter of incorporation or other documentation demonstrating their non-profit or not-for-profit status. This requirement does not apply to public agencies or Federally Recognized Indian Tribes. Failure to enclose the letter of incorporation or other documentation demonstrating non-profit or not-for-profit status will render full proposal submissions incomplete and they will not be reviewed. Applicants who have an IRS 501(c)(4) designation are not eligible for grants if they engage in lobbying, no matter what the source of funding for the lobbying activities. For-profit enterprises are not eligible to receive sub-grants from eligible recipients, although they may receive contracts, subject to EPA's regulations on procurement under assistance agreements, 2 CFR 200 Subpart E. Preapplication coordination is required. 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. Regarding pre-application/pre-proposal assistance with respect to competitive funding opportunities under this program description, 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 as "Information Contacts" or see Appendix IV of the Catalog. Interested applicants should review information on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/uep/hcgp.html. 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. The Healthy Communities Grant Program has a two step process for evaluating competitive applications which is described in the annual Request for Initial Proposals. 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 for competitive awards will be specified in the annual competitive funding announcement. From 60 to 90 days. Applicants will generally be notified within 60 days of receipt of submission for funding. 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). Disputes relating to matters other than the competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E, as applicable. Not applicable. The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this CFDA assistance listing description will be described in the competitive announcement. The statutory authorities for this program restrict the use of assistance agreements to support the following activities: conducting or promoting the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention, and elimination of water pollution. Demonstrations must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, and it is encouraged that the results of these projects will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained. A project that is accomplished through the performance of routine, traditional, or established practices, or a project that is simply intended to carry out a task rather than transfer information or advance the state of knowledge, however worthwhile the project might be, is not considered a demonstration project. Not applicable. Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, other EPA staff, or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialis tmay occur each year. Financial records, including all documents to support entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes 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 as a result of audit, related records should be retained until the matter is completely resolved. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is voluntary. 5%. The grant program requires a match of 5% of the total budget as part of their proposal. Any exceptions will be identified in the annual competitive funding announcement. Award recipients can use contributions from entities other than themselves as a match. However, other Federal money cannot be used as the match for this grant program. Matching funds are considered grant funds. They must be used for the reasonable and necessary expenses of carrying out the assistance agreement work plan. Any restrictions on the use of grant funds (e.g., prohibition of land acquisition with grant funds) also apply to the matching funds.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Assistance agreements are normally funded on a 12 (annual) or 24 month basis, at the discretion of the applicant. There is no restriction placed on the time permitted to spend the money awarded as long as the money is spent within the budget and project periods of the award specified in the workplan and the budget worksheet in the SF-424. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Lump. Sandra Brownell, US EPA Region I, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA 02109. Phone: 617-918-1797. Toll Free: 888-372-7341. TTY: 617-918-2028. Fax: 617-918-0797. E-Mail: brownell.sandra@epa.gov Sandra Brownell
US EPA Region I
1 Congress Street, CPT, Suite 100
Boston, MA 02114 US
brownell.sandra@epa.gov
Phone: 617-918-1797
Fax: 617-918-0797 https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/hcgp.html 68-0108-0-1-304 (Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 18$250,000.00; FY 19 est $250,000.00; FY 20 FY 17$299,643.00; FY 16$270,566.00; - $15,000 to $25,000/fiscal year; $22,754/fiscal year. Grants and cooperative agreements awarded under the Healthy Communities Grant Program are subject to EPA and Federal General Grant Regulations (2 CFR Part 200 and 2 CFR Part 1500). Costs will be determined on accordance with 2 CFR Part 225 for State and Local governments and Indian Tribes, 2 CFR Part 220 for educational institutions and 2 CFR Part 230 for nonprofit institutions. Fiscal Year 2016 No content available. • Conduct a “cleaning for health program”, promoting procurement of safer cleaners and disinfectants and developing cleaning policies and procedures for programs that are tenants of public schools and other spaces. • Design training and education to remove potential hazards to human health presented by facilities which handle, store and/or contain hazardous waste. • Conduct an education and outreach campaign to increase food recovery rates in an urban area (i.e., Food Too Good to Waste). • Design and conduct an education and outreach campaign to address stormwater overflows and poor water quality. • Develop and conduct a week-long program that provides an opportunity for tribal high school and/or middle school students in Region 1 to work one on one with western science professionals and Cultural Knowledge Keepers on a specific environmental topic.
Fiscal Year 2017 • Create and deliver educational curricula for 25-50 Tribal high school, middle school, primary school, and/or college students in Region 1 to increase awareness and understanding of pollution prevention/source reduction for ecosystems, land and/or water. • Design and conduct an education and outreach campaign to identify housing at risk for lead and/or other toxins and provide in-home education to families to improve children’s environmental health, such as a reduction of asthma triggers. • Provide outreach opportunity to disseminate educational material on residential energy efficiency and weatherization. • Design and conduct a training for state, local or other personnel to support safe handling of hazardous waste at facilities and/or increase safe handling practices to reduce potential impacts to human health and the environment. • Develop and/or promote site specific environmental health assessments, which can be used by schools to determine their environmental health baselines, identify issues of concern, and help schools prioritize which environmental health problems to address and promote utilizing EPA developed guidelines to address environmental issues in schools.
Fiscal Year 2018 Develop and conduct workshops to educate communities on the health risks of wood smoke exposure and provide outreach materials promoting woodstove changeout programs and best burning practices. Conduct an education and outreach campaign to increase diversion of food and/or solid waste from landfills and recycling rates in a community or defined geographic area. Develop and conduct a multilingual education campaign for urban residents on exposure to toxins in urban rivers or other natural resources and ways to prevent or eliminate those exposures. Design and conduct an education and outreach campaign to promote lead safe indoor environments by minimizing risk of lead in the indoor environment, including risk from lead paint, lead dust, and or lead in drinking water. Conduct a “cleaning for health program,” promoting procurement of safer cleaners and disinfectants and developing cleaning policies and procedures for programs that support the basic tenets of healthy environments at public schools and other spaces.
Fiscal Year 2019 Anticipated Projects Include: Develop, improve upon existing, and/or promote site specific environmental health assessments, which can be used by schools to determine their environmental health baselines, identify issues of concern, and help schools prioritize which environmental health problems to address and promote utilizing EPA developed guidelines to address environmental issues in siting, designing, construction, renovation, and maintaining schools. • Provide training to facilities that handle hazardous waste to minimize potential hazards to human health through the use of alternative and innovative technologies. • Design and conduct an education and outreach campaign to promote lead safe indoor environments by minimizing risk of lead in the indoor environment, including risk from lead paint, lead dust, and or lead in drinking water.• Design and conduct an education and outreach campaign to train businesses, facilities and/or individuals to promote compliance with the federal lead-based paint regulations. • Design and conduct an education and outreach campaign to identify housing at risk for lead and/or other toxins and provide in-home education to families to improve children’s environmental health, such as a reduction of asthma triggers. • Target reduction of combustion by-products, such as environmental tobacco smoke, wood smoke, and smoke from burning of trash and brush through education and awareness campaigns. • Assess and improve business preparedness and/or provide training to businesses (particularly small businesses) that use hazardous substances to raise awareness about preventing release of hazardous substances and hazardous waste during a flood event.