EPA is announcing a grant competition to fund two-year Source Reduction Assistance (SRA) agreements that support source reduction approaches (also known as "pollution prevention" and herein referred to as "P2").

P2 means reducing or eliminating pollutants from entering any

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waste stream or otherwise released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal.

EPA is interested in receiving proposals that:
1. Offer practical pollution prevention (P2) tools or approaches to measurably improve the environmental footprints of state agencies, federally-recognized tribes, intertribal consortia, businesses, municipal/local governments and/or local communities while also supporting efficiency to reduce resource use, expenditures, waste and liability costs.

2. Adhere to the statutory authorities for this program by using one or more of these technical assistance methods:
a) research, b) investigation, c) experiments, d) education, e) training, f) studies and/or g) demonstration of innovative techniques – to carry out source reduction/P2 activities.

3. Place additional emphasis on documenting and sharing P2 best practices and innovations identified and developed through these grants so that others can replicate these approaches and outcomes.

Therefore, in general, grant recipients must document and report on the P2 recommendations where they are provided to a technical assistance beneficiary (e.g., state agencies, federally-recognized tribes, intertribal consortia, business, facility, municipal/local governments, and/or local communities that received the technical assistance) and, at a later date, report on P2 actions adopted by the technical assistance beneficiary (alternative reporting provisions are available, if technical assistance is broadly provided – see Section VI.C.

3. b.).

4. Focus project activities on one or more of the P2 Program’s National Emphasis Areas:
Business-Based Pollution Prevention Solutions Supporting Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Priorities and Chemical Safety; Food and Beverage Manufacturing and Processing; and, Hazardous Materials Source Reduction Approaches in States or Communities The EPA plans to award a total of approximately $2 million in federal SRA grant funding issued over a two-year funding cycle (approximately $1 million in FY 2018 funds and approximately $1 million in FY 2019 funds).

SRA awards are expected to be performed in EPA regions and will be funded in the form of grants or cooperative agreements.

Please note that notwithstanding the potential amounts stated above, these amounts are estimates only and the amount of grant funding awarded will be dependent on Congressional appropriations, funding availability, the quality of proposals received, satisfactory performance and other applicable considerations.

Eligible applicants include:
the fifty states, the District of Columbia, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, local governments, city or township governments, independent school district governments, state controlled institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations (other than institutions of higher education), nonprofit private institutions of higher education, community-based grassroots organizations, and federally-recognized tribes and intertribal consortia.

Individuals, private business/entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible for funding under this announcement.