EPA Region 4 is announcing this grant competition and soliciting applications from eligible applicants that will improve community resilience and sustainability through sustainable materials management (SMM). Applicants must select at least one of the following technical assistance methods: research, investigation, experiments, education, training, studies and/or demonstration of innovative techniques. Applicants’ projects must take place within EPA Region 4, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
SMM is a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles. It represents a change in how our society thinks about the use of natural resources and environmental protection. By looking at a product's entire life cycle, we can find new opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources and reduce costs. SMM grants can support research, investigation, experiments, surveys, study, demonstration, education and training. For more information about EPA’s SMM program please visit https://www.epa.gov/smm.
Application Deadline: October 25, 2021
Eligible applicants include States, local, Tribal, interstate, and intrastate government agencies and instrumentalities, and non-profit organizations formed under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (not 501(c)(4) organizations that lobby). This includes the MSIs described in Section I.I. All projects must take place within Region 4.
Applications must meet the following threshold eligibility criteria at the time of submission. Applications that fail to meet any one of the threshold criteria will not be considered further. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination. Applications that successfully meet the threshold criteria will then be evaluated using the criteria described in Section V.A. The threshold eligibility criteria are:
1. Applications must address one of the SMM priorities described in Section I.A.
2. Applications must be for eligible activities under the statutory authority described in Section I.E.
3. Applicants must be an eligible entity - Provide information that demonstrates how you are an eligible entity described in Section III.A.
4. Eligible projects must take place within EPA Region 4, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee
EPA Region 4 anticipates awarding approximately $300,000 under this solicitation. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 3-7 grants, ranging from approximately $40,000 to $100,000, subject to the availability of funds, the quality of applications received, distribution between priorities and other applicable considerations. The anticipated award amounts are approximations that are subject to change based upon a number of considerations including, but not limited to, funding availability, Agency priorities, and other applicable considerations.
