Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program

 

The objective of this program is to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to support environmental and climate justice efforts under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 138 which was added to the CAA by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. The awards will support efforts to enhance and strengthen environmental and climate justice activities and actions particularly those that benefit disadvantaged communities.

Active 66.616 Environmental Protection Agency B - Project Grants Not applicable. Clean Air Act, Section 138, 42 U.S.C. 7438
EPA Annual Appropriation Acts
National Environmental Policy Act, Section 102(F), 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(F) Eligible applicants include a partnership between an Indian tribe, a local government or an institution of higher education and a community-based nonprofit organization; a community-based nonprofit organization; a partnership of community-based nonprofit organizations. 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. Disadvantaged communities, underserved communities, and similarly situated communities. Nonprofit private agencies, institutions, and organizations may be required to provide documentation of their organizational status upon application. 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. 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 Grants.gov. For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria stated in the NOFO. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. For non-competitive awards that may be made under this assistance listing, EPA will conduct an administrative evaluation to determine the adequacy of the application in relation to grant regulations and a technical and program evaluation to determine the merit and relevance of the project. The Agency will then advise the applicant if funding is being considered. A final work plan will then be negotiated with the applicant. For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). From 60 to 90 days. 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 - Disputes, as applicable. Not applicable. The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this assistance listing will be described in the NOFO. Grants and cooperative agreements are available to support recipients' allowable direct costs incident to approved cooperative agreements plus allowable indirect costs, in accordance with established EPA policies and regulations. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Geospatial information is information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features or boundaries on the earth, or applications, tools, and hardware associated with the generation, maintenance, or distribution of such information. This information may be derived from, among other things, GPS, remote sensing, mapping, charting, and surveying technologies, or statistical data. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: Geospatial Resources at EPA (https://www.epa.gov/geospatial). Performance Reports: Reporting requirements shall be determined at the time of award. 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 Specialist may occur each year. Recipients must keep financial records, including all documents supporting entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes in grants available to personnel authorized to examine EPA recipients grants and cooperative agreements records. Recipients must maintain all records until 3 years from the date of submission of final expenditure reports as required by 2 CFR 200.334. If questions, such as those raised because of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is . While matching requirements are generally not applicable to the awards to be made under this assistance listing, there may be policy-based matches and if so they will be identified in Notices of Funding Opportunities issued under this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The term of the grant or cooperative agreement shall be determined at the time of grant award but may not exceed three years as provided in the Clean Air Act, Section 138(b)(1). Awards will be fully funded or incrementally funded as appropriate. None/Not specified. Bruce S. Binder
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460 USA
binder.bruce@epa.gov
Phone: 202-510-8318

Alexandra Gallo
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460 USA
gallo.alexandra@epa.gov
Phone: 202-940-6232 https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice 68-0108-0-1-304 (Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 22$0.00; FY 23 est $0.00; FY 24 est $2,000,000,000.00; - This is a new grant program. The total estimated funding expected to be available for awards in FY 24 is up to $2,000,000,000 although that is not expected to be the amount actually obligated in FY 24 since the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is expected to remain open throughout FY24. Award amounts and ranges will vary by project and will be specified in the NOFO. The grants will have durations of up to 3 years. 2 CFR Part 1500 (EPA Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards); 40 CFR Part 33 (Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in United States Environmental Protection Agency Programs). Not applicable.