Puget Sound Tribal Implementation Assistance
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Summary:
New Due Date for Proposals: January 26, 2010, 4:00 pm (see revised Proposed Schedule below)
Request for Proposals: Tribal Implementation Assistance Program (PDF) (30pp., 144KB)
Purpose: To assist Indian Tribes in the implementation of priority work for the protection and restoration of Puget Sound
Eligible Applicants: Federally-recognized Indian Tribes in the greater Puget Sound basin and consortia of these eligible Tribes
Estimated Funds: $3,500,000
Grant Amount: $200,000 - $600,000 federal funds
Match Required: None; required match to be provided by the Puget Sound Partnership
Project Length: 2-4 years
EPA Contact: Dan Steinborn (steinborn.daniel@epa.gov)
Printable Fact Sheet: Puget Sound Tribal Implementation Assistance (PDF) (2pp, 71K)
Proposed Schedule
| November 23, 2009 | Public Workshop: EPA staff provided information and answered questions about the solicitation.
When: This meeting occurred on Monday, November 23.
Handouts:
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| January 26, 2010 | Proposals Due: Proposals must be received in hard copy to the EPA Region 10 office or by e-mail at pugetsound_proposals@epa.gov by 4:00pm Pacific Standard Time (PST). |
| March 19, 2010 | Finalists notified and requested to negotiate and submit a formal application package. |
| April 23, 2010 | Grant applications and work plans received via hard copy. |
| May 28, 2010 | Awards made. |
Request for Proposals
This competitive grant announcement solicits proposals under the Puget Sound Protection and Restoration: Tribal Implementation Assistance program. This program assists Tribal implementation of priority work for the protection and restoration of Puget Sound. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong, well-documented need for the work in the broad scope of Puget Sound protection and restoration efforts.
Eligible Applicants
All Federally-recognized Indian Tribes located within the greater Puget Sound basin and any consortium of these eligible Tribes may apply under this RFP. The greater Puget Sound basin is defined as all watersheds draining to the U.S. waters of Puget Sound, southern Georgia Basin, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
State and federal agencies, institutions of higher learning, units of local government, special purpose districts, conservation districts, watershed planning units, local management boards, salmon recovery lead entities, regional fisheries enhancement groups, business enterprises, individuals, families and non-governmental entities (other than consortia of eligible Tribes) will not be eligible to directly receive awards. However, we strongly encourage eligible applicants to solicit participation from these types of entities as local collaborators. All of these types of entities are eligible to apply for subawards or subcontracts from a successful award recipient. Proposals will be evaluated based, among other criteria to be announced in the RFP, on demonstration of strong partnerships.
Please note that eligible applicants will not be required to provide the required non-Federal match of project costs. The Puget Sound Partnership has agreed to provide all of the required non-Federal match for successful project proposals for the 2010-2011 biennium.
Tribal Role in Puget Sound Restoration and Protection
Puget Sound is part of a larger transboundary ecosystem which includes Puget Sound, southern Georgia Basin, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. These waterbodies have also been referred to together as the Salish Sea, the ancestral home of numerous Indian Tribes and First Nations, most of whom share the Coast Salish culture extant in this region for thousands of years. U.S. federal courts have also established Tribes as co-managers of fish and shellfish resources in Washington waters. EPA recognizes the critical role held by Tribes in efforts to protect and restore the water quality and associated beneficial uses of the Salish Searegion.
Implementation of the Puget Sound Action Agenda
In 2009, EPA approved the Puget Sound Action Agenda, Washington State’s renewed commitment to clean up, restore, and protect Puget Sound by 2020, as the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the Puget Sound National Estuary under §320 of the Clean Water Act. The CCMP states five priorities:
- Protect ecosystems.
- Restore ecosystems.
- Reduce water pollution.
- Work together.
- Build an accountability management system
This solicitation seeks to support Tribal implementation of priority strategies and actions in or consistent with the approved CCMP for Puget Sound including, but not limited to, projects called for by established salmon recovery plans. These strategies and actions should be of high priority for Tribes within the greater Puget Sound basin.
Eligible Activities
The solicitation encourages integrated, multifaceted proposals that lead to measurable outcomes (e.g., acres of shellfish growing areas improved, acres of contaminated sediments cleaned up, and acres of estuarine wetlands restored and protected), or that fill critical program needs leading to significant environmental results in the greater Puget Sound basin. Therefore, a wide range of activities will be eligible including, but not limited to, those that relate to:
- Implementation of priority ecosystem restoration or protection projects directed at Puget Sound recovery, including removing fish passage barriers; restoring habitat (instream, streamside, upland) acres; reducing road impacts; restoring/creating estuarine habitat acres; treating estuarine habitat acres for invasive species; protecting acres and stream miles through land acquisition, easement, or lease.
- Integration of traditional resource management data, information, knowledge, and methods into Puget Sound recovery and protection in a way that will strengthen, accelerate, and promote its measurable outcomes; data and information may include ecosystem service values, impacts of climate change, etc. to inform local decision-makers who write, approve, and implement laws, ordinances, and permits.
- Use of innovative programs including social marketing tools, incentive programs, mitigation banking approaches, land trust conservation activities, and innovative stormwater controls to foster greater environmental stewardship that leads to measureable improvements in ecosystem health (e.g., upgrade of shellfish harvest status).
- Work that addresses priority topics such as toxic contamination in aquatic food webs; protecting the safe consumption of fish and shellfish; cleanup and restoration of local bays and watersheds; maintaining natural hydrological patterns and processes; flood hazard management plans that include processes for evaluating restoration opportunities; deposition of air pollutants and their impacts on Puget Sound ecosystem endpoints and services.
- Development, monitoring and measurement of watershed indicators to evaluate Puget Sound restoration and protection activities; implementation of watershed-based, interagency monitoring and public involvement and education efforts.
Successful proposals will measurably advance progress on Puget Sound protection and restoration priorities that are of high priority to Salish Sea Tribes.
For more information on eligible entities, developing and submitting proposals, eligible activities, and selection criteria, please see Request for Proposals.