Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Program (SDWA 1459E)

 

To inform the public about the role of water and wastewater systems in their communities, increase awareness of career opportunities in the water utility sector, and provide exposure to water utility careers through various work-based opportunities. Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2022: Funding priorities include, but are not limited to: (1) increasing awareness of career opportunities, and providing exposure to water utilities to address the workforce needs of water utilities; and (2) providing hands-on contextualized learning opportunities to assist the development and utilization of innovative activities relating to workforce development and career opportunities in the water utility sector. Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2023: Funding priorities include, but are not limited to: (1) increasing awareness of career opportunities, and providing exposure to water utilities to address the workforce needs of water utilities; and (2) providing hands-on contextualized learning opportunities to assist the development and utilization of innovative activities relating to workforce development and career opportunities in the water utility sector.

Active 66.445 Environmental Protection Agency B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2022 In FY 2022 EPA supported projects to help build the water workforce and connect individuals to career opportunities in the drinking water and wastewater utility sector, as well as expand public awareness about the opportunities in the drinking water and wastewater utilities.
Fiscal Year 2023 In FY 2023 EPA continued to support projects to help build the water workforce and connect individuals to career opportunities in the drinking water and wastewater utility sector, as well as expand public awareness about the opportunities in the drinking water and wastewater utilities. Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1459E, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 300j-19e Eligible applicants are nonprofit professional or service organizations, nonprofit labor organizations, nonprofit community colleges, institutions of higher education, other nonprofit training and educational institutions, or public works departments and agencies. Nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply. For-profit organizations and individuals are not eligible to apply. The EPA may ask applicants to demonstrate that they are eligible for funding. 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. Not applicable. Documentation of nonprofit status may be required. 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 principal investigators to provide curriculum vitae and relevant publications. Preapplication coordination is required. EPA awards grants and cooperative agreements based on competitive applications submitted in response to EPA solicitations, considering relevance and likelihood of success of proposed projects. Regarding pre-application assistance with respect to competitive funding opportunities under this program description, EPA will generally specify the nature of the pre-application 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. 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. The standard application forms, as furnished by the Federal agency and required by 2 CFR 200 and 1500 as applicable, must be used for this program. For competitive awards the Requests for Applications will specify application procedures. For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications 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. For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in the competitive announcement. From 120 to 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 found at: https://www.epa.gov/grants/grant-competition-dispute-resolution-procedures. 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 assistance listing will be described in the competitive announcement. Competitive applications will be selected in accordance with announced criteria. Grants and cooperative agreements are available to support recipients' allowable direct costs in approved scopes of work plus allowable indirect costs, in accordance with established EPA policies and regulations. The funds will support increased awareness of career opportunities and exposure to water utility careers through various work-based learning opportunities, connect individuals to career pathways related to water utilities, and provide direct connection to industry employers. Specific uses and restrictions on funds will be described in detail in the competitive announcements. 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 grant 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 . For certain competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, the Agency may include matching requirements consistent with the Agency's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy. Match may be cash or in-kind consistent with the regulations governing match requirements at 2 CFR 200 and 1500 as applicable. Specific matching requirements will be described in detail in the competitive announcements.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The term of the grant shall be determined at the time of grant award. The method of fund disbursement will be determined at the time of award. None/Not specified. Hana Abate
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460 USA
abate.hana@epa.gov
Phone: 202-564-2844
Fax: 202-501-2238 https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-water-infrastructure 68-0103-0-1-304 (Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)) FY 22$4,000,000.00; FY 23 est $6,000,000.00; FY 24 est $17,711,000.00; FY 21$0.00; FY 20$0.00; FY 19$0.00; - $200,000 to $1,000,000/fiscal year: Average: $500,000/fiscal year. Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the general grant regulations 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). Fiscal Year 2022 Develop a regional water and wastewater workforce collaborative to address regional workforce needs. Provide training and a clear career path for future water and wastewater operators in secondary education/career tech, through community college, and on to possible apprenticeships, internships, or bachelor’s degree programs. Recruit future operators through targeted and innovative approaches (both in-person and virtual, such as job fairs, billboards, live streaming, social media, and push notifications). Place qualified program participants into internships and operator in training positions with local utilities. Creating a network of career and guidance counselors will be supported by a toolkit of resources to employ when encouraging students to explore careers in water and wastewater treatment. The toolkit will inform career and guidance counselors of the needs and requirements for water utility positions, assist them in sharing information with students, and connect them with local utilities that may be seeking interns or be willing to engage in additional education opportunities for students such as treatment facility tours, job shadowing, or focused service-learning projects. Develop instructional content that addresses foundational topics and emerging areas of focus for water and wastewater professionals to better prepare them for the challenges of utility management. Engaging 120 participants in a 9-month intensive training before transitioning the program to a self-paced, e-learning program available on multiple highly visible training marketplaces. Long term outcomes are expected to include a stronger, more robust professional learning community, increased water utility capacity and human resources management, and a better trained workforce for 21st century challenges. Pathways to Watershed Stewardship Careers will provide more than 80 high-school students with immersive work experience and extensive mentoring by professionals in water and natural resource management roles. Student interns will receive more than 15,000 hours of training and career development in preparation for future jobs in the field. These programs will widen the door to such careers in deeply urban areas, addressing a crucial need for greater diversity in the workforce pipeline for this field.
Fiscal Year 2023 Develop a regional water and wastewater workforce collaborative to address regional workforce needs. Provide training and a clear career path for future water and wastewater operators in secondary education/career tech, through community college, and on to possible apprenticeships, internships, or bachelor’s degree programs. Recruit future operators through targeted and innovative approaches (both in-person and virtual, such as job fairs, billboards, live streaming, social media, and push notifications). Place qualified program participants into internships and operator in training positions with local utilities. Creating a network of career and guidance counselors will be supported by a toolkit of resources to employ when encouraging students to explore careers in water and wastewater treatment. The toolkit will inform career and guidance counselors of the needs and requirements for water utility positions, assist them in sharing information with students, and connect them with local utilities that may be seeking interns or be willing to engage in additional education opportunities for students such as treatment facility tours, job shadowing, or focused service-learning projects. Develop instructional content that addresses foundational topics and emerging areas of focus for water and wastewater professionals to better prepare them for the challenges of utility management. Engaging 120 participants in a 9-month intensive training before transitioning the program to a self-paced, e-learning program available on multiple highly visible training marketplaces. Long term outcomes are expected to include a stronger, more robust professional learning community, increased water utility capacity and human resources management, and a better trained workforce for 21st century challenges. Pathways to Watershed Stewardship Careers will provide more than 80 high-school students with immersive work experience and extensive mentoring by professionals in water and natural resource management roles. Student interns will receive more than 15,000 hours of training and career development in preparation for future jobs in the field. These programs will widen the door to such careers in deeply urban areas, addressing a crucial need for greater diversity in the workforce pipeline for this field.