Learn the Issues
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Mutual Aid and Assistance for Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities
Web page for learning about and connecting to a local WARN for drinking water and wastewater utilities.
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Federal Facilities/Base Closure in Texas
This page contains information about Base Closure cleanups on Federal Facilities in Texas
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Turn 14 Clean Air Act Settlement Summary
Turn 14 Clean Air Act Settlement Summary
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Can you please speak to funding eligibility regarding Workshops and Conferences not initiated, advertised, and conducted for the benefit of the recipient and other state, Tribal, territorial, or local representatives or public participants or are conducted primarily for EPA’s benefit.
That is not an allowable cost. EN assistance agreements can fund the hosting of workshops and trainings, but only for those that are for the benefit of the public, partners, grant recipients, or for which the majority of participants are not EPA. Grantees can also request funds to pay for…
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Can two tribes in the same state apply as a partnership?
Yes. We do have the restriction that two agencies from the same government cannot form a partnership. But because tribal governments are independent governments, even if they're located geographically within the same state, they are still two separate government entities and they can partner. Two departments within the same tribe…
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Can a partnership application also apply for mentorship funds?
No; the mentorship opportunity is only available for individual, first-time applicants who are conducting work for their own organization’s benefit under the guidance of a mentor, whereas the partnership application inherently involves two or more organizations participating actively in the grant and benefitting from the accomplished work. So, you would…
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If we apply this year and are denied, can we apply again for the same project next year with an improved application?
Yes – as long as the application meets one or more of the funding opportunities and meets our threshold criteria. If you do apply this year and are not successful, you have the option of requesting a debriefing of your unsuccessful application (which must be within 15 days of being…
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Can you use funds to pay for laboratory analysis of water samples?
We cannot give specific project advice; however, we can stay that we have funded prior projects which include water sample analysis. Applicants should review the water related project opportunities that we have listed in Appendix B to see if any of those is a good fit for the project you…
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As a non-profit are we eligible to be a subawardee on a partnership grant?
Yes. As a non-profit, you can partner with an eligible entity and submit an application, provided they (the eligible entity) are the lead applicant. Please note that for-profit entities are not eligible to apply as either a lead or partnering organization.
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Can an organization be a partner on two different applications?
This is not allowable, as the EN Grant Program has an express restriction on submitting only one application per competition cycle. If more than one application is submitted for the same entity, one application will be marked ineligible prior to application scoring. Here is an example: Washington and Oregon partner…
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For tribal consortia, you're mentioning required letters of support. Wouldn't we need tribal resolutions?
Letters of support are not needed for intertribal consortia. We do need documentation that shows that a formal partnership exists among the Tribal government members and that the majority of those members are federally recognized Tribes. We also need documentation that demonstrates the consortium has been authorization to apply for…
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If we propose AI solutions (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for retrieving data from archival documentations and use it to complement current environmental data collection, which funding area would be the best to apply for? The data is mainly on water and sediment quality.
We cannot give specific project advice; however, we would encourage applicants interested in AI to review the open data write-up in SN Appendix A. If the applicant is a Tribal entity, the capacity building area should also be considered. Please note that an applicant can apply under multiple EN project…
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Can an interstate organization apply as part of a partnership and receive a subaward?
Interstate organizations are not eligible entity on their own, but the EN Grant Program had it confirmed from EPA competition lawyers that an interstate organization can partner with one of the member states, as long as that member state agency is the lead applicant (as that is the eligible entity…
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Can entities with a within a partnership application have varying defined goals, i.e., separate projects that fall under different funding opportunities?
We do have an FAQ on this – please see FAQ titled Our agency is considering applying for two projects within one grant application; is it better to submit them as two separate applications? . Applicants can compile multiple projects or multiple goals and outputs within the same project. When…
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Can current project qualify? Or does project work need to begin after award?
The EN Grant Program does not fund pre-award projects (this is an explicit cost restriction of the program, as outlined within Section 2A(i) of the Solicitation Notice). Work cannot begin with EPA funding until after award. The projects that applicants are submitting would have to begin at or after a…
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Will you fund a project starting 01/01/2026? What if the period of performance ends on 12/31/2028?
There is a standard three-year period of performance for Exchange Network grants and an applicant’s project work plan must reflect these dates (10/1 of the competition’s calendar year through 9/30, three years later). An applicant can always have their first project goals and outputs as scheduled in accordance with a…
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If we apply for Funding area 1, but need a new server for increased computational capacity - is it eligible for funding?
Expensive equipment such as a server may be funded under the Exchange Network Grant Program, with a couple of caveats: It must be clear that the server is necessary to carry out the overall accomplishments of project goals/outputs and/or meet organizational business and administrative needs. When EPA reads your application…
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If we are applying for a specific EN opportunity (CAERS) that's under Funding area 2, can we still list the Open Data opportunity in EN area 1, since it would be a data modernization effort too? Or should we just list the one area that is most directly applicable?
Yes, applicants are encouraged to include as many EN project opportunities as is applicable to the proposed project. Remember, however, that Funding Area 3: Capacity Building is restricted to only Tribal and territorial applicant types.
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If the proposed project will require working with a contracting firm, should contract be procured during the three-year grant performance period or can an existing contract (competitively procured prior to the awarded grant) be used for the work?
This scenario would still be considered a noncompetitive procurement from EPA’s perspective, because you'd be using an existing contractor at the time of award. EPA’s recommendation would be to hold off on the actual procurement, using a competitive procurement approach like a Request for Proposals (RFP) or sealed bid, until…
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My organization is a state agency, and we’ve applied for and received EN grant funding twice in the past 5 years. Do we still need to provide an attorney general letter proving my agency is an instrumentality of the state?
If your organization is a state agency, no further information or attachments are needed – you just need an active registration in sam.gov. The instrumentality status is only for organizations that act on behalf of a state or Tribe but are not technically a state/Tribal agency/department. An example would be…