HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-24 Correspondence - EPA - Water Division Program UpdatesFrom:Mullins, Matthew (he/him/his)To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Water Division Program Updates
Date:Wednesday, July 10, 2024 7:46:57 PM
Attachments:Program updates July 2024.pdf
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July 10, 2024Program updates
Upcoming Opportunities
New Grant Opportunity for TA Providers: EPA has launched PREPARED(Promoting Readiness and Enhancing Proficiency to Advance Reporting and
Data) to provide technical assistance to EPA grant recipients representing
small, underserved, and/or tribal communities to enhance their capacity tomeet data and reporting requirements and improve their ability to generatethe information necessary to evaluate and improve grant outcomes. EPAintends to award up to $4 million over 3 years to as many as 8 recipients.With this Cooperative Agreement, EPA seeks to fund technical assistanceproviders with program evaluation expertise to equip communities withstrategies, tools, and training that enhance their capacity for data, reporting,and evidence-building. Nonprofits including institutes of Higher Education areeligible applicants. PREPARED has a narrow focus on skills development and
maintenance, and as a result, community beneficiaries will be well equipped
to respond to federal grant reporting and evaluation requirements. Office
hours for interested applicants will be hosted on July 18 and July 24; seeprogram website to join the zoom call.
Deadline to Apply is July 29, 2024;
Email evidenceandevaluation@epa.gov with questions
Water and Energy Efficiency Grants: Bureau of Reclamation is currently
accepting applications for their WaterSmart program. This Water and EnergyEfficiency Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) provides funding forprojects that result in quantifiable water savings, implement renewableenergy components, and support broader sustainability benefits. Theseprojects conserve and use water more efficiently; increase the production of
renewable energy; mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water
conflict; and accomplish other benefits that contribute to sustainability in theWestern United States.
Deadline to Apply is Nov 13, 2024;
Email bor-sha-fafoa@usbr.gov with questions
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program: The EnergyEfficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program is designed toassist states, local governments, and Tribes in implementing strategies toreduce energy use, to reduce fossil fuel emissions, and to improve energyefficiency. DOE provides technical assistance offerings for eligible entities,including the EECBG Program Blueprints and the opportunity to host aCommunity Energy Fellow in your local government or Tribe. To learn moreabout the Technical Assistance available click here.
Click here for more information
Deadline to apply for local governments is October 31, 2024
Community Change Grant: EPA’s new Environmental and Climate
Justice Community Change Grants program (Community Change Grants) willinvest approximately $2 billion of Inflation Reduction Act funds inenvironmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantagedcommunities through projects that reduce pollution, increase communityclimate resilience, and build community capacity to respond to environmentaland climate justice challenges. These place-based investments will befocused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community andstakeholder input. EPA expects most awards will be between $10-20 millionfor multi-faceted projects addressing a range of pollution, climate change,and other priority issues. For more information and a list of eligible activities,
please click here. This grant is now open and the deadline to apply is
November 2024. To learn more about the grant, view a recording of the
December 2023 informational webinar here. Free Technical Assistance to helpin preparing a grant application is available and can be accessed here.
Click here for more information
Deadline to apply is November 21, 2024
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities: FEMA’s BuildingResilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program supports states,local governments, tribes and territories as they work to reduce theirvulnerability to natural hazards through both grant funding and technicalassistance programming. The program aims to support communities as they
build capability and capacity in hazard mitigation and climate adaptation.
BRIC also encourages and aids innovation. It helps partnerships grow;
supports infrastructure projects; and fosters flexibility and consistency. Underthis program there is both Direct Technical Assistance available as well as aFunding Opportunity. For more information on BRIC Direct TechnicalAssistance communities, please click here. The FY24 Notice of FundingOpportunity (NOFO) has not been released yet but is expected later thisyear. Stay tuned!
Click here for more information
Are you prepared for Wildfires? Drought? Flooding? ExtremeWeather? These events pose significant challenges to drinking water andwastewater operations within our region. Climate change will make theseevents even more challenging. EPA's Creating Resilient Water Utilities is
offering free Technical Assistance (TA) to interested stakeholders. EPA’s
Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative provides the water sector
and its stakeholders with practical tools, training, and technical assistanceneeded to increase their infrastructure’s resilience to these hazards. Requestfree help today and take steps to protect your community’s multi-milliondollar infrastructure investments. The deadline to sign up for this TA isAugust 15 and will be available on a first come first served basis. If selected,CRWU would begin working with your community between October 2024 andJuly 2025. If you are interested in this FREE assessment, please click the linkbelow.
Click Here to Request a Free Risk Assessment;
Mullins.Matthew@epa.gov
Colorado Climate Resilience Challenge Funding Opportunity: The
Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Local Government (DOLA)supports local governments which engage in Climate Resilience projectsthrough the Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund (EIAF) Program.While current EIAF program guidelines are scored on how they incorporateresilience, renewables, and hazard risk reduction, the Climate ResilienceChallenge will take this work to the next level with a $10M set aside for boldprojects that move forward cutting edge climate work. The Climate ResilienceChallenge promotes and integrates climate resilience projects that capturemultiple objectives across: (1) climate adaptation and (2) climate mitigation
solutions, and (3) social equity by addressing the most high-risk
vulnerabilities for their community or region. Applications that incorporate allthree of these criteria will be most competitive for the Climate ResilienceChallenge. Applicants are required to contact their Regional Manager priorto submitting any application and must be “ready to go” in order to beaccepted into an EIAF grant cycle. The Regional Manager will assist you inidentifying additional funding sources and will provide technical assistance byengaging other state and local agencies to support your project. The nextround of applications will open July 1, 2024 on the EIAF website.
Click here for more information
Deadline to apply is August 1, 2024
Cybersecurity Refresher Webinar: EPA's Water Infrastructure and CyberResilience Division will provide training on cybersecurity basics to water and
wastewater utilities to reinforce their foundational understanding of
cybersecurity and how it applies to the water sector.
Register here for the Webinar
Wednesday, July 17, 2024: 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM MT
EJScreen 2.3: EPA will be holding virtual public trainings on EJScreen 2.3,
following the upcoming release of the 2024 version. The update is planned tobe released in late June 2024. These trainings will include information on theupdates made to EJScreen, a demonstration of the available features, andtips on how to use the tool. EPA hopes that you will join these trainingsessions to learn about EJScreen 2.3. Registration is not required.
Click here to join the Webinar on
Wednesday, July 24, 2024: 10:00 AM MT
Equitable Green Infrastructure in a Changing Climate: EnvironmentalFinance Center Network is hosting a webinar that will address the role ofGreen Infrastructure in the context of Climate Change. Climate Changeaffects certain groups more than others, particularly vulnerable communities,due to health, social, and economic factors. Building community resilience inan equitable manner can assist communities in preparing for and adapting tothe effects of climate change. Green Infrastructure can offer strategies toreduce and better cope with the impacts of climate change.
Register here for the Webinar
Thursday, July 25, 2024: 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM MT
Microgrids and DERs for Water and Wastewater Utilities: A microgrid isa group of interconnected loads and distributed energy sources (DERs) thatacts as a single controllable entity with respect to the power grid. During agrid power outage, water and wastewater utilities could switch to an electricmicrogrid powered by both on-property and off-property sources (e.g., solarphotovoltaics, wind turbines, biogas, battery banks) to sustain criticaloperations. Join WICRD for a free webinar that will include a NationalRenewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) presentation on the basics of
microgrids and DERs and case studies for how they have been implemented
at utilities.
Register here for the Webinar
Thursday, July 25, 2024: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM MT
Small Drinking Water Systems Webinar Series (Drinking WaterSystem Resilience): Part 1 of this presentation will provide an overview ofAmerica's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) section 2013, which requirescommunity drinking water systems (CWS) serving more than 3,300 people toconduct or review and revise risk and resilience assessments (RRAs) andemergency response plans (ERPs) and certify to EPA that they have done soby specified deadlines every five years, next occurring throughout 2025 and
2026. This presentation will also highlight EPA’s Very Small Drinking Water
and Wastewater System Resilience Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Program,which encourages utilities not covered by the Safe Drinking Water Act(SDWA) 1433 to develop a RRA and ERP with a participating technicalassistance provider and, if allowed by their state or tribal operatorcertification program, get CEU credit for their work.
Part 2 of this webinar will cover how EPA’s Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA)brings together environmental laboratories into a nationwide network toserve the water sector. WLA provides mutual aid, support, and increasedanalytical capabilities to improve the water sector’s resilience and ability torespond to all-hazards contamination incidents. WLA also offers free toolsand resources to educate water sector stakeholders on best practices toprepare for successful and timely incident responses. This presentation willhighlight the role of the WLA in contamination response as well as describe
some key resources that will help small systems to update and improve their
RRAs and ERPs
Register here for the Webinar
Tuesday, July 30, 2024: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM MT
We look forward to continuing to serve you by providing information on
Grant Opportunities, Webinars, Trainings, and other exciting information.
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For questions on webinars and workshops, contact EPA via the email addresslisted on the registration page.
For questions on Technical Assistance (TA) and funding opportunities forclean water and drinking water infrastructure, contact Tamara Barbakova at
Barbakova.Tamara@epa.gov.
https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/water-topicsAdditional Information: