Geographic Programs - Lake Pontchartrain Basic Restoration Program (PRP)

 

The purpose of the Clean Water Act Section 121 (33 U.S.C. 1273) Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program (PRP) is to restore the ecological health of the Basin by developing and funding restoration projects and related scientific and public education projects to reduce the risk of pollution. Funding Priorities Fiscal Year 2023: EPA will invest PRP funds to maintain, protect and restore the water quality of the Basin through the following types of activities listed in the Comprehensive Management Plan: water quality monitoring to determine the health of the watershed, educate basin residents on water protection and pollution prevention, implement nonpoint source pollution prevention projects, provide information and guidance on habitat protection and green infrastructure techniques, conduct sewer system evaluations and surveys, and develop designs and studies to determine infrastructure upgrades to prevent or reduce pollution. The public is protected from potential water pollution by developing better wastewater and stormwater treatment methods. Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 121, the PRP will receive $2,199,000 for FY 2023 base appropriations. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program will receive approximately $10,200,000 per year for FY 2022 through FY 2026 through Clean Water Act Section 121. The PRP goal for both base and IIJA funding is to significantly improve Lake Pontchartrains environmental health and climate resilience in an equitable manner in communities across the Basins watershed. The focus will continue to follow the CMPs recommendations to improve the ecological health of the basin through stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff, coastal restoration, habitat protection, planning, design, maintenance, education, inflow/infiltration, sewerage, research and monitoring.

Active 66.125 Environmental Protection Agency B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 For 2016, fourteen (14) projects were funded ranging from $25,000 to $327,680. The projects include: Reserve wastewater collection system lift station and force main capacity evaluation; emergency power for lift stations; lift station sub-basin collection area assessment; storm water management plan; Lake Pontchartrain ecosystem restoration & preservation program; upgrade lift station and force main; pollution source tracking for water quality in the Ponchitolawa Creek watershed; redirecting flows project for a municipality; sewer district phase II expansion study; landscape and stormwater management design plan for Bucktown Marina ecology park; lift station rehabilitation; and phase II of a sanitary sewerage improvement program.
Fiscal Year 2017 NA
Fiscal Year 2018 NA
Fiscal Year 2019 The University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, Inc. was awarded a grant in the amount of $947,000. These funds were used for the following individual projects: City of Covington Storm Drain Filtration Project; City of Kenner Gravity Sewer Collection System Investigation; City of Mandeville Fontainebleau State Park Force Main Replacement & Pre-treatment; City of Ponchatoula Sewer System Evaluation Survey; City of Slidell Upgrades to Cardinal Sewer Lift Station; Jefferson Parish Coastal Management Division Bucktown Harbor Marsh Boardwalk & Kayak Launch; Jefferson Parish Dept. of Environmental Affairs Kayak Clean-up & Marine Litter Abatement & Education Project; Jefferson Parish Dept. of Sewerage Metairie Court & Poplar Street Lift Station Rehabilitation; Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation Ecosystem Restoration & Preservation Program; St. Bernard Parish Dept. of Public Works Riverbend Oxidation Pond Transfer Force Main St; John the Baptist Parish Woodland Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Processing Replacement; Town of Abita Springs Sanitary Sewerage Improvement Program Phase 4 Sewer Model; Town of Madisonville Sanitary Sewer Study & Project Design.
Fiscal Year 2020 For accomplishments associated with this assistance listing, please visit: http://www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central
Fiscal Year 2023 Current and ongoing restoration projects include water quality monitoring and education, erosion and sediment control implementation, sewer station lift studies and upgrades in several cities, permeable parking lot installation, wastewater flow monitoring in several municipalities and low impact development practices. Clean Water Act, Sections 121 & 320
Clean Water Act: Section 121 & Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58 Federal, state, interstate, local governments, Tribal governments (must be federally-recognized), regional water pollution control agencies, and other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, and organizations; and public and private institutions of higher education are eligible. Private profit-making entities, and individuals, are not eligible. Eligible subaward grantees may be located outside of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Watershed but projects must be located inside the Basin. Direct beneficiaries of this program include the general population in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Watershed and its surrounding areas, schools, universities and other institutions of learning, environmental managers and policy makers and the participants in the PRP with a focus on disadvantaged communities. Not applicable. 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. This is a non-competitive grant program. Applicants, except in limited circumstances approved by the Agency, must submit all initial applications for funding through Grants.gov. The EPA grantee, acting as a pass-through entity, coordinates review of subaward grantee proposals to ensure consistency with program goals and objectives as outlined in the CMP and other priorities as directed by the executive committee. The EPA grantee releases a Request for Projects (RFP) each fiscal year. The proposals are sent to the PRP executive committee to review, rank and select proposals for subaward grantee funding based on ranking criteria included in the RFP. The executive committee provides the list of proposals to the grantee, who then sends EPA the workplans for final administrative review. Once the workplans have been approved, the grantee applies for EPA funding. Each federal assistance application and final grant and subaward project workplan will be evaluated by EPA to determine the adequacy of the application under PRP priorities and objectives, including technical merit and relevance of the project to the implementation of the CMP. The federal assistance award application will also be subject to an administrative review by the EPA Region 6 grants management office. Funds are awarded by the EPA Region 6 Administrator. Grantees will receive a final assistance award package from the EPA Region 6 grants management office. An assistance agreement recipient demonstrates its commitment to carry out the award by either: 1) drawing down funds within 21 days after the EPA award or amendment mailing date; or, 2) not filing a notice of disagreement with the award terms and conditions within 21 days after the EPA award or amendment mailing date. Recipients are not required to sign and return a copy of the award document. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines Grants are awarded within two months of receipt of a complete application. Disputes will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E, as applicable. Extensions are subject to approval by EPA. The PRP Executive Committee recommends PRP subaward projects for funding through a grantee-led RFP process. Ultimately, EPA Region 6 conducts an administrative review of the grant application as well as a program evaluation to determine the merit and relevance of the subaward project workplans. are selected annually by the PRP Executive committee and ultimately approved by an EPA Region 6 administrative review. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration program goals are to maintain, protect and restore the water quality of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. The Regional Administrator may make grants (1) for restoration projects and studies recommended by a management conference convened for the basin under section 320, and (2) for public education projects recommended by the management conference. 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: Region 6 will conduct an annual program review. 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 mandatory. 25%. Matching requirements for CWA Section 121 base appropriations are mandatory. As authorized by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, EPA may waive or reduce the cost share required by Section 121 of the Clean Water Act for PRP assistance agreements funded with IIJA appropriations.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The performance period for PRP assistance agreements range from four to five years. The performance period for CWA Section 121 base appropriation awards are four years, and the performance period for IIJA awards are five years. Awards may be made for longer periods upon justification and with the approval of EPA. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: The method of fund disbursement will be determined at the time of award. Assistance disbursement will be determined at the time of award. None/Not specified. Melissa Benfer
USEPA Region 6 , 1201 Elm Street, Suite #500
Dallas, TX 75270 US
Benfer.Melissa@epa.gov
Phone: 214-665-8423 https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central 68-0108-0-1-304 (Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)) FY 22$1,899,000.00; FY 23 est $2,199,000.00; FY 24 est $2,199,000.00; FY 21$1,899,000.00; FY 20$1,400,000.00; FY 19$0.00; FY 18$947,000.00; FY 17$947,000.00; FY 16$948,000.00; - (Base Funding)(Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)) FY 22$10,248,000.00; FY 23 est $10,139,000.00; FY 24 est $10,139,000.00; FY 21$0.00; - (IIJA Funding) Base Funding: 18,000 to $334,000/fiscal year; Average: $65,876/fiscal year. IIJA Funding: To be determined. 2 CFR 200 and 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); and the PRP CMP. Applicable EPA Policies and Guidance are available at the following URL: https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-policies-and-guidance-grants. EPA's repository of General Terms and Conditions is available at the following URL: https://www.epa.gov/grants/grant-terms-and-conditions. Fiscal Year 2016 For 2016, fourteen (14) projects have been recommended for funding ranging from $25,000 to $327,680. For 2016, fourteen (14) projects were funded ranging from $25,000 to $327,680. The projects include: Reserve wastewater collection system lift station and force main capacity evaluation; emergency power for lift stations; lift station sub-basin collection area assessment; storm water management plan; Lake Pontchartrain ecosystem restoration & preservation program; upgrade lift station and force main; pollution source tracking for water quality in the Ponchitolawa Creek watershed; redirecting flows project for a municipality; sewer district phase II expansion study; landscape and stormwater management design plan for Bucktown Marina ecology park; lift station rehabilitation; and phase II of a sanitary sewerage improvement program.
Fiscal Year 2017 NA
Fiscal Year 2018 NA
Fiscal Year 2019 Examples of projects funded under this assistance listing include, but not limited to: Storm Drain Filtration; Sewer Collection System Investigation and Evaluation Survey; Upgrades to Sewer Lift Station; Kayak Clean-Up and Marine Litter Abatement & Education; Street Lift Station Rehabilitation; Basin Foundation Ecosystem Restoration & Preservation Program; Riverbend Oxidation Pond Transfer; Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Processing Replacement; and Sanitary Sewer Study & Project Design
Fiscal Year 2023 Examples of the types of projects funded under this assistance listing include, but are not limited to, water quality monitoring, Low Impact Development and green infrastructure Best Management Practices, erosion and sediment control practices, outreach and education topics such as urban gardening, green infrastructure and septic tank management, nonpoint source pollution prevention practices through permeable pavement implementation, design of sewer system upgrades, continued support of the New Canal Lighthouse and Education Center and plans for reduction of stormwater inflow into wastewater collection systems during wet weather events.