Environmental Justice Training and Fellowship Assistance

 

The program's mission/objective is to provide funding in support of training and fellowship programs for occupational and professional development as they relate to environmental and/or public health issues, with a particular emphasis on environmental justice. Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2006: (1) Assistance agreements are awarded to entities that can support student trainees/interns for occupational and professional training in the environmental field which can include a particular focus on environmental justice; (2) to develop career-oriented personnel qualified to work in occupations involving environmental protection and pollution abatement and control with stress on developing and enhancing environmental justice awareness. Fellowships are awarded (1) to enhance the capability of State or local agencies responsible for environmental pollution control or other agencies with similar pollution control responsibilities; (2) to provide educational renewal opportunities for their career oriented personnel to achieve additional knowledge through academic professional training; and (3) to bring new people into the environmental control field; all activities should place stress on enhancing or developing environmental justice awareness. EPA defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no one group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal environmental programs and policies. Meaningful involvement means that: (1) potentially affected community residents have an appropriate opportunity to participate in decisions about a proposed activity that will affect their environment and/or health; (2) the public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision; (3) the concerns of all participants involved will be considered in the decision-making process; and (4) the decision-makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected. Grants and cooperative agreements are assistance agreements that are awarded citing two or more environmental law statutes.

Deleted 02/14/2008 (CFDA is no longer being funded.) 66.307 OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements). For FY06, the Agency received approximately 10 applications as a result of this CFDA, and one award was made. An additional two awards will be made. For FY 07, OEJ anticipates that 100 to 150 applications will be submitted as a result of this CFDA, and approximately ten awards will be made. Clean Water Act, Section 104(b)(3); Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442(c)(3); Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001(a); Clean Air Act, Section 103(b)(3); Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10(a); Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20(a); Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, Section 203; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), Section 311(c). Assistance under this program is generally available to States, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, and other public or private nonprofit institutions which submit applications proposing projects concerning environmental justice issues with significant technical merit and relevance to EPA's mission. Some of EPA's statutes may limit assistance to specific types of interested applications. See "Authorization" listed above. 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. States, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, and other public or private nonprofit institutions. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments and Indian Tribes, OMB Circular No. A-21 for educational institutions, OMB Circular No. A-122 for nonprofit institutions, and FAR Part 31 for profit makers. Applicants may be requested to demonstrate they have appropriate background, academic training, experience in the field, and necessary equipment to carry out projects. EPA may ask applicants or principle investigators to provide curriculum vitae and relevant publications. If an applicant submits an unsolicited proposal it will be reviewed and evaluated in accordance with Agency policy and procedures. For more information regarding the procedures for submitting unsolicited proposals, applicants may contact the individual(s) listed as "Information Contacts" or see Appendix IV of the Catalog. 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. 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. Applicants may use http://www.grants.gov to electronically apply for certain grant opportunities under this CFDA. For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications, proposals and/or submissions in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria stated in the announcement of the competitive funding opportunity. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in Request for Applications or Request for Initial Proposals. Approximately 180 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). Copies of these procedures may also be requested by contacting the individual(s) listed as "Information Contacts". Disputes relating to matters other than competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 40 CFR 30.63 or 40 CFR 31.70, as applicable. None. A standard grant application should be prepared and submitted as a new grant, which will be reviewed in the same manner as the original application and will compete for available funds. Generally, EPA incrementally funds grants and cooperative agreements for training, research, surveys, studies, and investigations. Approval of subsequent funding increments is dependent on satisfactory project progress, continued relevance of the project to EPA's priorities, and availability of funds. EPA projects for funding based on factors such as relevancy to EPA's mission, technical merit, and the likelihood of success. If EPA issues a solicitation for applications for a particular project or group of projects, the solicitation will identify specific criteria. The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this CFDA description will be described in the announcement of the competitive funding opportunity. Grants and cooperative agreements are available to support recipients' allowable direct costs incident to approved surveys, studies, and investigations plus allowable direct costs in accordance with established EPA policies and procedures. Grant funds cannot be used for the following activities: (1) litigation against the federal government or any other government entity; (2) construction; (3) lobbying; (4) matching funds for other federal grants; (5) travel for federal employees; or (6) human health studies (taking blood or other information from humans). Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: www.epageoprogram.us. EPA includes reporting requirements for grants and cooperative agreements in the terms and conditions of the agreements. Agreements may require quarterly, interim, and final progress reports, and financial, equipment, and invention reports. Reporting requirements are also identified in the Grant Regulations Part 30 and Part 31. 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. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," non-federal entities that expend $500,000 or more in a year in Federal awards shall have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-federal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in OMB Circular No. A-133. 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. If questions, such as those raised as a result of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved. Not applicable. Grants and cooperative agreements are normally funded on a 12-month basis (annual). Most of OEJ awarded grants and cooperative agreements have project periods ranging from one year to five years, and generally, grants and cooperative are fully funded at the time of award. Not applicable. Environmental Protection Agency, Grants Administration Division, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Mail Code 3903R, Washington, DC 20460. For program information contact: Office of Environmental Justice, Ayako Sato, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Mail Code 2201A, Washington DC 20460. Phone: (202)564-2602. Fax: 202-501-0740. Email: sato.ayako@epa.gov. http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/index.html 68-0108-0-1-304; 68-8145-0-7-304; 68-0107-0-1-304; 68-0103-0-1-304. FY 05 $0; FY 06 est $1,000,000; and FY 07 est $1,000,000. For FY06, the average amount of financial assistance was $10,000. No awards were made in FY05. 40 CFR Part 31 and Part 30; 40 CFR Part 45. In FY 06, OEJ funded one project under this CFDA. The purpose of the project was to support a conference that brought together approximately 220 leaders of government environmental agencies, environmental grantmaking organizations, leaders of mainstream and environmental justice organizations, academics, and students to encourage students and young people into entering the environmental field.