NEPPS: Implementing Performance Partnerships
Elements & Benefits
Performance Partnership Agreements (PPAs)
Through PPAs, NEPPS instills EPA’s partnerships with states and Tribes by formally recognizing that all partners have unique capacities, interests, and priorities. PPAs are agreements that are signed by the EPA Regional Administrator and a state or Tribal Official to formally recognize each partner’s unique capacities, interests, and priorities. PPAs can vary in length and scope, ranging from a general statement about how the state or Tribe and EPA will work together as partners to a comprehensive, multi-program document. PPAs typically cover a three-year timeframe.
A PPA communicates:
• a commitment to shared accountability between EPA and the state or Tribe;
• jointly developed goals, objectives, and priorities;
• mutual roles and responsibilities;
• measures to assess progress and joint success.
Performance Partnership Grants (PPGs)
PPAs can be used by a state or Tribe as the strategic and collaborative underpinning for a PPG under NEPPS. A PPG is a single grant that combines funds from two or more eligible environmental program grants. Additionally, a PPG requires only one application, work plan, and budget, regardless of the number of eligible programs included in the PPG.
PPGs are intended to:
• Increase the federal-state and Tribal partnerships by setting shared environmental priorities, goals, and strategies;
• Provide greater funding flexibility by directing resources to the most pressing environmental concerns and funds efforts across programs;
• Reduce administrative burden by streamlining paperwork and accounting procedures: PPGs have 1 budget (applicants are not required to submit separate budgets for each individual program when funds are included in a PPG) and 1 work plan.
As provided in Public Law (PL) 104-134 and PL 105-65, only programs funded through the Categorical State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) Appropriation can be considered for a PPG. These Categorical grant programs must be approved by the EPA Administrator in order to be eligible for inclusion in PPGs.
There are currently 18 grant programs that have been determined as eligible for inclusion in a PPG. Those programs, which provide competitive and/or non-competitive grants, are:
| EPA Office | CFDA Number | Environmental Program Grant |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Air and Radiation | 66.001 | Air Pollution Control Program Support1 |
| 66.032 | State and Tribal Indoor Radon Grants | |
| Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention | 66.707 | TSCA Title IV State Lead Grants Certification of Lead-Based Paint Professionals |
| 66.708 | Pollution Prevention Grant Program* | |
| Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention & Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance | 66.700 | Consolidated Pesticide Enforcement Cooperative Agreements2 |
| Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance | 66.701 | Toxic Substances Compliance Monitoring Cooperative Agreements |
| Office of International and Tribal Affairs | 66.926 | Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) |
| Office of Land and Emergency Management | 66.801 | Hazardous Waste Management State Program Support |
| 66.804 | Underground Storage Tank Prevention, Detection, and Compliance Program3 | |
| 66.812 | Hazardous Waste Management Grant Program for Tribes* | |
| 66.817 | State and Tribal Response Program Grants | |
| Office of Finance and Administration | 66.608 | Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program and Related Assistance* |
| Office of Water | 66.419 | Water Pollution Control State, Interstate, and Tribal Program Support |
| 66.432 | State Public Water System Supervision | |
| 66.433 | State Underground Water Source Protection | |
| 66.460 | Nonpoint Source Implementation Grants4 | |
| 66.461 | Regional Wetland Program Development Grants* | |
| 66.472 | Beach Monitoring and Notification Program Implementation Grants | |
| *Denotes programs that are awarded competitively. 1 This program covers funding for state, local, and Tribal air pollution control programs. 2 Under this assistance listing, the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention manages the pesticide program implementation (section 23(a)(1) of FIFRA) and pesticide applicator certification and training (section 23(a)(2) of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide (FIFRA)), and the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance manages the pesticide cooperative enforcement (section 23(a)(1) of the FIFRA). 3 While STAG funding for the UST prevention, detection, and compliance program is PPG-eligible for states and Tribes, EPA awards available Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund money to states and Tribes to support the UST Program. LUST prevention and LUST cleanup money are appropriated outside of the STAG appropriation. A STAG UST Prevention, Detection, and Compliance Program grant cannot be incorporated into a PPG if the funding is combined with funding from the LUST Trust Fund. 4 While states and Tribes are eligible for noncompetitive grants under the Nonpoint Source (319) program, Tribes have an additional option to apply for a competitive 319 grant targeting specific proposed on-the-ground projects. | ||
In the past, there have been other EPA grant programs that were listed as eligible for inclusion in a PPG. Due to those programs being discontinued, inactive, or lacking appropriations, they are excluded from the table above. Examples include:
• Multipurpose Grants to States and Tribes
• Multimedia Sector Program Grants
• Water Quality Cooperative Agreements (CWA §104(b)(3))
How to Apply for a PPG
As a best practice, applicants should consult their EPA Regional office or EPA Project Officer (PO) to discuss submitting an application through www.grants.gov.
1. Under the “Applicants” tab, click “How to Apply for Grants.”
2. Near the bottom-right of the page, click the red button, “Search for Opportunity Package.”
3. In the field “Funding Opportunity Number,” type EPA-CEP-01 (leave the “Opportunity Package ID” field blank) and click “Search.”
4. CFDA 66.605 can be found at the bottom of the list; users can click “Preview” to download the required forms or “Apply” to begin the application process.