Puget Sound Action Agenda – Tribal Implementation Lead 2.0

Background
EPA, Washington State, Tribes, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and academia have partnered for over 30 years to protect and restore Puget Sound through the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 320 National Estuary Program (NEP). CWA Section 320 requires each NEP to establish a “Management Conference” to include representatives of each State and foreign nation located in part or whole in the estuarine zone of the estuary for which the conference is convened, Tribes, regional agencies, appropriate federal agencies, local governments, affected industries, academic institutions, and the public.

Grant Details
This RFA solicits proposals from eligible applicants to act as the Tribal Implementation Lead (TIL) for the 2018-2022 Puget Sound Action Agenda and subsequent updates. The TIL will be expected to develop and sustain mechanisms to integrate and represent its program within this context.
The programmatic background includes an overview of the Puget Sound NEP, the Puget Sound Action Agenda, EPA/NEP Puget Sound Funding Model, and Climate Resilience and Environmental Justice.
The program goals include supporting implementation of tribal priorities in the Puget Sound Action Agenda and coordinating with other entities in the Funding Model structure.
The TIL 2.0 program is expected to make and manage subawards, participate in Management Conference and partner engagement, and manage the cooperative agreement.

Eligibility Requirements
Only Federally recognized Tribes in the greater Puget Sound basin, and authorized consortia of these Tribes are eligible for subawards under this program.
The applicant’s program should address factors such as developing solicitations for tribal and tribal consortia subaward proposals; establishing collaborative relationships with subaward population; monitoring subaward performance; developing detailed working knowledge of the Action Agenda; providing technical and administrative support to subawardees; sharing subaward work products for broader recovery community benefit; reflecting climate resilience and environmental justice into the subaward program.

Period of Performance
The project is expected to begin on or after July 1, 2022.
EPA will accept proposals for a five-year funding period.

Grant Value
EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement with an initial amount of approximately $7,000,000 to $10,000,000 for the first year and subsequent incremental funding through year five.
The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is up to approximately $50,000,000 for the five-year period.