FY 2023 – FY 2024 Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products | EPA I OCSPP OPPT FY2023 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA I OCSPP OPPT FY2023 002

The FY 2023 to FY 2024 Pollution Prevention (P2) Grants: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products opportunity is a two-year, competitive EPA funding program designed to advance environmental justice by helping businesses in disadvantaged communities reduce pollution at the source and transition to safer products. The program is authorized under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 and funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). EPA frames these awards as part of the Biden Administration Justice40 Initiative, reflecting an intent for a meaningful share of the benefits from federal investments to flow to communities that are marginalized, underserved, and disproportionately burdened by pollution.

At its core, the grant focuses on delivering practical P2 technical assistance to businesses. That assistance can include training, information sharing, and hands-on expert advice that helps companies change processes and purchasing choices in ways that prevent pollution before it is created. The specific emphasis in this competition is on increasing the supply, demand, and use of safer and more sustainable products in disadvantaged communities. EPA points applicants toward products that meet credible safety and sustainability signals, including products certified under EPA's Safer Choice Program and products that align with EPA Recommendations for Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing. The idea is straightforward: when businesses and institutions in overburdened areas can more easily source and choose products with safer chemical profiles and better environmental attributes, the community can experience reduced chemical exposures and fewer harmful impacts on health and the local environment.

Eligibility is broad and includes state and territorial governments and related entities. Eligible applicants include the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, other U.S. territories or possessions, agencies or instrumentalities of a state or tribe, colleges and universities, and federally recognized tribes as well as intertribal consortia. While partnerships are not required, EPA strongly encourages applicants to form partnerships that strengthen their ability to deliver effective technical assistance to businesses located in disadvantaged communities. In practice, this could mean teaming up with local economic development organizations, small business support centers, procurement networks, community-based organizations, or sector-specific trade groups to improve reach, trust, and implementation support.

The funding mechanism is offered as grants and cooperative agreements, meaning recipients should be prepared for an assistance relationship that may include EPA involvement consistent with cooperative agreement norms. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 66.708. EPA anticipated making around 25 awards, with an award ceiling of $1,200,000 per award. The original posting shows a creation date of March 8, 2023 and an original closing date of June 20, 2023, indicating it was time-bound within that cycle.

A notable requirement is the emphasis on learning and replication. EPA requires each recipient to develop at least one P2 case study during the grant period. These case studies must describe approaches that make safer and more sustainable products more available in disadvantaged communities, especially where the approach is new, not widely known, not widely adopted, or where detailed documentation could help others replicate the work. EPA intends to use these case studies to build a shared body of knowledge so that strategies proven in one place can be adopted by other organizations and communities. Beyond the minimum case study requirement, EPA also encourages recipients to document and spread lessons learned through additional outreach tools such as trainings, videos, and other communications products. The agency provides specific guidance for preparing case studies in Appendix B of the solicitation.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at translating environmental justice goals into on-the-ground changes in how products are selected, supplied, and used in communities facing disproportionate pollution burdens. By funding organizations that can deliver direct P2 technical assistance and then capture the results in replicable case studies, EPA is trying to accelerate practical, scalable shifts toward safer chemical use and more sustainable purchasing, with benefits that can extend beyond the immediate project sites.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment, infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2023 – FY 2024 Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.708.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 08, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 20, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA I OCSPP OPPT FY2023 002

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