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2009 Questions & Answers Regarding Wetland Program Development Grants
Related Information
2008 Grant Award Winners
2007 Grant Award Winners
2006 Grant Award Winners
Question
I’m working for a local government agency that would like to submit a funding proposal. Their project is the development of a Wetlands Wastewater Reuse Habitat. Effluent from a nearby wastewater plan would be cooled through the wetlands. The project would include a wetlands habitat, a wildlife and water re-use education center, trails and parks areas.
We would seek funding from this grant opportunity for the conceptual plan. Is this something that would be eligible under the aforementioned grant opportunity? If not, are there potential funding sources you would recommend?
Answer
The focus of the Wetland Program Development Grants is to develop and improve programs that have the primary goal of protecting wetlands. Priorities for funding, and detailed descriptions are included in the RFP. To summarize the RFP:
National priorities
- Wetland program planning based on the four Core Elements
- Comprehensive wetland protection plan,
- Wetland monitoring plan,
- Comprehensive wetland regulatory strategy and implementation plan, and
- Wetland restoration and protection plan.
- Wetland regulation (enhancing wetland protection), including:
- Improving compensatory mitigation effectiveness, and
- Refining vulnerable wetland and aquatic resource protection.
- Wetland monitoring and assessment, including:
- National wetland condition assessment intensification studies,
- Wetland monitoring surveys, and
- Wetland mapping.
Region 9 priorities
- Development of improved policies, programs and technical tools to protect and restore wetland and other aquatic resources of regional importance.
- Development and adoption of wetland assessment methods and tracking systems as components of monitoring programs.
- Adoption of policies and procedures that clarify wetland protection, restoration, and compensatory mitigation expectations.
- Evaluation of compensatory mitigation effectiveness.
- Development of tools to assist evaluation of jurisdiction;
- Protection of estuarine, desert, and seasonal wetlands, as well as intermittent and ephemeral water courses.
- Specific geographic priorities (see RFP for specifics).
Specifics for each of these priorities can be found in the RFP. One can also find information in the RFP on EPA’s evaluation of proposals based on how well the proposal addresses one or more of the priorities (see the RFP’s subsection V. A. Selection Criteria). Note that up to 10 points are given for national priority areas and up to 10 points for regional priority areas out of a total of 115 points.
Projects that have the primary purpose of treating wastewater are not a priority project type for this grant program.
We do not know of a funding source that is focused specifically on supporting projects that have the primary purpose of treating wastewater using a wetland, nor do I know of a grant fund source for the development of a plan for such a water treatment project.
Question
Would a grantee have to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for funds that it gives to another organization?
Answer
There are specific EPA regulations that refer to subawards (sometimes called subgrants) and procurements (sometimes called subcontracts). The US EPA regulations that refer to these activities can be found at 40 CFR Part 30 and 40 CFR Part 31. If the applicant is planning to issue a subaward or procurement, the applicant should determine what their responsibilities, under the EPA grant, would be for that action. The applicant should describe their plans for subawards and procurements in their proposal and in the proposal budget.
One way to access the CFRs and other government documents related to EPA grants is to go to the EPA Region 9 Grants Management web page “Grant Requirements” and follow the links.
If the applicant is proposing a procurement, they need to provide information to the EPA about the nature of the procurement, including the planned method of procurement. See the EPA Region 9 Grants Management webpage “Applying for a Grant” and view the Budget Detail Completed Sample to see what types of information would be required.
Question
I think I have a good concept going but not very much time to do it, as I just found out I should do it just before March. Could you please send me an example of a successful proposal, preferably a wildlife monitoring project?
Answer
As you’ll note from reading the response to question #1, above, stand-alone wildlife monitoring projects are not a specifically named priority for this grant program. However, wetland monitoring and assessment projects are a priority. To find out more about the specifics of the monitoring and assessment priority, and the Core Element Priority (which includes monitoring and assessment), please review the RFP’s list of priorities. You can also follow the links provided in the RFP for more information on wetland monitoring and assessment projects.
Bioassessments of wetlands (including wildlife monitoring), can be an aspect of a comprehensive wetland monitoring and assessment program that a state or tribe is developing. The Core Elements Framework lays out some of the steps that EPA recommends to states and tribes as they develop their wetland monitoring and assessment program.
The EPA materials present many steps in the development of an effective comprehensive wetland monitoring and assessment program that occur prior to actually going in the field to collect any data. For example, some of the initial steps can include determining the monitoring objectives, finding what data has already been collected, developing a monitoring design and receiving approval from the EPA for a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).
An approved QAPP is a required before any data can be collected or an EPA funded project. The applicant is responsible for writing the QAPP. EPA is responsible for the review and approval. The development of the QAPP can be included in a proposal schedule and budget.
For information on successful proposals, to find out more about the progress of funded projects and to learn about the grantees’ experiences, the most useful course may be to contact the states and tribes that have received past grants. You can see the list of recipients and their project descriptions on the Web site. The links are provided in the box entitled “Related Information” on the right hand side of the page. You will be able to see which successful projects focused on wetland monitoring and assessment. If you have trouble contacting these past grantees, please contact Suzanne Marr at (415) 972-3468 to request contact information for specific projects.
Additional information on developing wetlands monitoring and assessment programs, can be found in the links provided below.
- Examples of case studies illustrating wetland monitoring and assessment methods.
Many of the case studies listed were funded by WPDGs. - Elements of a State/Tribe Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program.
- National Wetland Condition Survey planned for 2011.
- Fact Sheet for wetland monitoring and assessment.
- Wetlands bioassessments
- Examples of how Ohio and California have developed and tested wetland assessment methods:
Ohio EPA Wetlands Ecology Group Report | California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM)