Federal Environment Grants

MICC-FSH announces a potential partnering opportunity for the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program. The successful applicant(s) will, after coordinating with JBLM encroachment planners and natural resource managers:(a) Negotiate the purchase of easements or fee simple property (perpetual real property interests) from willing landowners to allow for natural resource management, or prevent incompatible development that could adversely impact JBLM and/or,(b) Conduct, assist in, or facilitate natural resource management that will result in off-post conservation credits for species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that occur on JBLM. Additional species may be listed under the ESA during the period of performance of any agreement awarded under this announcement. Inclusion of any such species will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, and with the mutual agreement of JBLM and award recipient.

Authorized by Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 117, 33 USC Section 1267, the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is a unique regional, state, federal, and local partnership that has been directing and conducting the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay. CBP is responsible for supporting the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council (Executive Council) through a number of actions, including the coordination of federal, state, and local efforts to restore and protect living resources and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The Notice of Funding Opportunity is seeking insightful, expert, and cost-effective applications from eligible applicants to provide the CBPs non-federal partners with updated land use/land cover data, enhanced river corridor data, and landscape metrics and communication products associated with these data to facilitate their application to CBP's outcomes and the CBPs Phase 7 suite of modeling tools. For more information, please see the funding opportunity.

The Mission intends to design an Activity, called Renda Verde, that seeks to boost communities in leveraging the benefits of living in nature across key biodiversity conservation areas ‐ and benefit local people through sharing of nature‐based revenue. In addition to ongoing enforcement to dissuade and punish destruction of natural resources and habitats, this Activity will focus on the tangible incentives of living with nature, seeking to catalyze the market and community benefits of human coexistence with wildlife in harmony across conservation areas, buffer zones and key biodiversity corridors. USAID’s biodiversity conservation programming creates positive outcomes for biologically significant areas and human well‐being.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) announces an open competition for an organization interested in submitting an application to implement a project aimed advancing implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury by building capacity for continuous monitoring of mercury emissions in salt water and air near coal power plants that utilize seawater flue gas desulfurization in Indonesia and/or Thailand.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting an application to implement a project aimed the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury by improving operational controls and management systems at small-scale gold processing centers to prevent the dual use of mercury and cyanide in Tanzania.

The objectives of this project fall under INRMP Goal 2: Manage JBER natural resources under the guidelines and principles of adaptive ecosystem management, which aim to maintain functional ecosystems and natural diversity including sustainable populations, native species, and ecological communities and Objective 2.1: Inventory and monitor JBERs natural resources, including soil, water, wetlands, flora, and fauna, to provide baseline information on ecosystem integrity and health, status of renewable resources, and status of threatened or sensitive species or communities. See full Funding Opportunity Description in Section I.

The San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program (Recovery Program) was established in 1991 to allow water development to continue within the Basin while still complying with the Endangered Species Act and protecting the endangered Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. The Recovery Program consists of partners who are committed to the recovery of the listed fishes under the Endangered Species Act and includes water users, conservation groups, state, federal and tribal agencies. For further information on the Recovery Program, see https://coloradoriverrecovery.org/sj/. The San Juan River is partially regulated by Navajo Dam. There are several tributaries that flow into the San Juan River between the dam and Lake Powell, but substantial diversions occur from these tributaries limiting the contribution to the flow regime. Operation of Navajo Dam began in 1962 and has resulted in altered flow into the San Juan River with a tendency towards reduced spring flows in some years and supplemented flows in other seasons. Because frequency and magnitudes of flows are important triggers for various life cycle stages of endangered species, the Recovery Program developed flow recommendations to guide releases from Navajo Dam. The flow recommendations are designed to meet the conditions required to develop and maintain habitat for Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker and provide the necessary hydrologic conditions for the various life stages of endangered and other native fishes. The habitat monitoring that is part of this project will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of flow recommendations and management actions on habitat. Since 1992, aerial imagery has been collected along the San Juan River between the confluence of the Animas River (River Mile (RM) 180) and the inflow of Lake Powell (the interface between the San Juan River and Lake Powell) to as far downriver as Neskahi Canyon (RM -30). A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) flight was conducted in 2013. The imagery is used within the Recovery Program to track changes in channel morphology and habitat. Specifically, the number and area of low velocity habitat (backwaters, Notice of Funding Opportunity No. R24AS00327 2 embayments), total wetted area (wetted habitat and wetted channels of the river), and island complexes (used as a surrogate for habitat complexity) are quantified (Table 1). This extensive data set allows for tracking changes in habitat and assessing the effectiveness of management actions, implemented flows, and intra- and inter-annual variability in flows. The last analysis was conducted in 2022.

This grant provides funding to organizations working in Ecuador to promote sustainable land use practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support local livelihoods in areas affected by deforestation and land degradation.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to federally recognized Tribal governments, Alaska Native Villages, and government agencies in U.S. territories to upgrade or replace old diesel engines and equipment, improving air quality and reducing emissions.

BOEM is seeking concept design, prototype construction, and deployment testing of satellite-borne TOA receive systems. These receivers will work in tandem with terrestrial and marine transmitters (tags) and auxiliary terrestrial TOA receivers to form a global ultra-low energy positioning system. BOEM is seeking teams with prior demonstrated expertise in both low-power time-of-arrival positioning systems and CubeSat design and mission operations. Information gained from movement studies enabled by this technology will feed directly into BOEMs environmental assessments and decision documents.

The State of Hawai`i has established aggressive renewable energy goals, including potential offshore wind development, to reduce fossil fuel dependence. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) oversees the development of offshore renewable energy on the nations outer continental shelf (OCS) and is mandated to preserve historic and cultural resources that may be impacted by its approved actions. BOEM is required under multiple statutes (as referenced in the below Background section) to take into consideration the impacts of OCS activities on cultural resources and Traditional Cultural Places.The purpose of this study is to provide critical information to BOEM in support of its offshore historic preservation responsibilities. The project will have three primary components: 1) compile data from archival and secondary sources of known, reported, and potential traditional cultural landscapes and cultural resources near the islands of O`ahu and Moloka`i, specifically focusing on the Ka`iwi Channel; 2) compile and summarize appropriate ethnographic information from Native Hawaiian communities regarding types of traditional use areas and traditional cultural places that could be impacted by offshore development; and 3) refine or develop guidance documents that identify Best Practices and protocols for engaging with Native Hawaiian communities, respecting traditional Indigenous Knowledge and including appropriate selected elements of traditional knowledge within the NHPA and NEPA review processes.This information will support recent Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Indigenous Knowledge and other Federal efforts related to Indigenous Knowledge; is necessary under Section 106 of the NHPA, which requires that federal agencies must apply the National Register Criteria to places that may be affected by a federal undertaking; and will also be used to support reviews under NEPA and other federal laws.See related documents for questions and responses submitted after publishing.

The EPA, together with states, Tribes, and its many partners, protects public health by protecting current and future drinking water sources and ensuring the availability of high-quality drinking water. Two programs within the EPA that protect drinking water sources are the Underground Injection Control (UIC) and Source Water Protection (SWP) programs. The EPA is soliciting applications from eligible applicants to provide training to develop and expand the capability of state and Tribal UIC and SWP programs. Applicants should describe their proposed approach to providing training that will achieve these objectives. Applicants are encouraged to identify additional project elements in their applications that may not be included in this funding opportunity that may contribute to overall project success.

Accelerate national adaptation planning and action in developing countries

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) announces an open competition for organizations (see eligibility information in C.1) interested in submitting an application to manage the National Adaptation Plan Global Network (NAP GN). NAP GN was created in 2014 to accelerate national adaptation planning and action in developing countries. This is done by: i) facilitating peer learning and exchange; ii) supporting national-level action; and iii) generating, synthesizing, and sharing knowledge. NAP GN will expand its offerings to developing countries for planning, implementing, and financing NAP processes. NAP GN support from planning to implementation contributes to the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE). PREPARE is a whole-of-government effort to help more than half a billion people in developing countries adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change by 2030. PREPARE includes overarching goals to build capacity to mainstream adaptation into policies, programs, and budgets as well as to unlock finance to support adaptation action, both of which will be advanced by this project. In addition, NAP GN supports the OES Bureau goal and objectives: • Bureau Goal 2: Mitigate threats to the global environment, ocean, health, and space that jeopardize security and the prosperity of the United States. • Bureau Objective 2.1: Strengthen U.S. and international partners’ capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to health, climate, environment, space, and ocean security threats. • Bureau Objective 2.2: Support global action to effectively implement the Paris Agreement by reducing net greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing resilience to climate change. A.2. Problem Statement As countries grapple with increasing climate change impacts, national adaptation plans (NAPs) are critical to enhance coordination, set policy priorities, mobilize resources, and allocate support to achieve countries’ adaptation goals. Formally established in 2010 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the NAP process enables least developed and developing countries to identify and address their medium- and long-term priorities for adapting to climate change. The objectives of the NAP process are to reduce vulnerability, increase resilience and integrate climate change adaptation into development planning and budgeting processes. While countries have made significant progress in developing NAP, many struggle to translate those plans into implementation and attract finance. OES seeks to address challenges least developed and developing countries face in translating NAPs into implementation and attracting finance for NAP processes. Relatedly, financing institutions struggle to identify bankable projects ready for investment. Preparing investment plans utilizing priorities from existing NAPs and adaptation strategies could help bridge this gap. A.3. Project Goal Least developed and developing country governments will accelerate implementation of their NAPs, with a particular emphasis on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to address their unique climate vulnerabilities. A.4. Objectives Objective 1: Support 4-6 countries to prepare country investment plans that support NAP implementation. Activities must include, but are not limited to: • Launch a call for support for countries to express interest in preparing investment plans. • Provide 4-6 short-term technical assistance activities (of which at least 2 must target SIDS) focused on preparing investment plans and other critical proficiencies for implementation of NAPs. Objective 2: Further accelerate NAP implementation efforts in at least 6 additional countries. Activities must include, but are not limited to: • Facilitate at least 2 peer learning activities and exchange events (of which at least 1 must target SIDS). Objective 3: Create knowledge products and tools to improve understanding of NAP planning to implementation processes. Activities must include, but are not limited to: • Prepare at least 2 knowledge products such as briefing notes, guidance, reports, or webinars to share lessons and concrete experiences on translating plans to implementation including preparing investment plans and attracting finance. The above list of activities is indicative and not intended to be exhaustive, and the State Department, Office of Global Change (EGC) encourages the applicant to generate and submit in this proposal additional, innovative approaches to achieve the goals and objectives of this grant. A.5. Expected Outcomes Expected outcomes of this project include: 1. Accelerated development of adaptation investment plans and finance of national adaptation processes in 4-6 developing countries. 2. Enhanced capacity of at least 2 SIDS on national adaptation planning processes to address their unique vulnerabilities. A.6. Performance Indicators The project will monitor and report on performance indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable, and time bound. Reporting on outcome results will be required under each programmatic report due under this grant. The project should include all relevant standard climate indicators with reporting targets and cumulative targets for the end of project from this list: • EG.11-1 NUMBER OF PEOPLE TRAINED IN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION SUPPORTED BY USG ASSISTANCE • EG.11-2 NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONS WITH IMPROVED CAPACITY TO ASSESS OR ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS SUPPORTED BY USG ASSISTANCE • EG.11-3 NUMBER OF LAWS, POLICIES, REGULATIONS, OR STANDARDS ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION FORMALLY PROPOSED, ADOPTED, OR IMPLEMENTED AS SUPPORTED BY USG ASSISTANCE • EG.11-4 AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT MOBILIZED (IN USD) FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AS SUPPORTED BY USG ASSISTANCE • EG.11-5 NUMBER OF PEOPLE SUPPORTED BY THE USG TO ADAPT TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE • EG.11-6 NUMBER OF PEOPLE USING CLIMATE INFORMATION OR IMPLEMENTING RISK-REDUCING ACTIONS TO IMPROVE RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE AS SUPPORTED BY USG ASSISTANCE • GNDR-8: NUMBER OF PERSONS TRAINED WITH USG ASSISTANCE TO ADVANCE OUTCOMES CONSISTENT WITH GENDER EQUALITY OR FEMALE EMPOWERMENT THROUGH THEIR ROLES IN PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SECTOR INSTITUTIONS OR ORGANIZATIONS See the proposal instruction section for more information and the Annex for indicator definitions to aid in the selection of appropriate indicators. Additionally, EGC welcomes NAP GN to develop, as applicable, a limited number of custom indicators as necessary to the capturing of the range of accomplishments and outcomes of this project. Please submit any, proposed custom indicators and corresponding disaggregates in the submission of this proposal. A.7. Key Considerations At least $500,000 of this award must benefit Small Island Developing States. Countries of implementation for this award may include: Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; The Bahamas; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Bhutan; Botswana; Brazil; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Chad; Chile; Colombia; Comoros; Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Cote d’Ivoire; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; Equatorial Guinea; El Salvador; Ethiopia; Federated States of Micronesia; Fiji; Gabon; The Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Honduras; India; Indonesia; Iraq; Jamaica; Jordan; Kenya; Kiribati; Kyrgyzstan; Laos; Lebanon*; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Marshall Islands; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mexico; Mongolia; Morocco; Mozambique; Nauru; Namibia; Nepal; Niger; Nigeria; Niue; Pakistan; Palau; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Rwanda; Samoa; Sao Tome and Principe; Saint Lucia; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Africa; Suriname; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tuvalu; Uganda; Ukraine; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Vietnam; Yemen; and Zambia. Any additional countries will require prior approval by the Department of State. *The implementer must obtain written approval from OES prior to providing any funding that may benefit Lebanon. A.8. Substantial Involvement OES anticipates awarding a cooperative agreement. The distinction between grants and cooperative agreements revolves around the existence of “substantial involvement.” Cooperative agreements require greater Federal government participation in the project. OES will undertake reasonable and programmatically necessary substantial involvement. Substantial involvement areas can include, but are not limited to: • Active participation or collaboration with the recipient on preparing call for support. • Collaboration on selection and/or review of project beneficiaries. Specific areas of substantial involvement will be dependent upon the objectives of the proposal and outlined in the final Agreement. The final determination on award mechanism will be made by the Grants Officer.

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to incentivize and accelerate the replacement of existing non-ZE Class 6 and 7 heavy-duty vehicles with ZE vehicles. The EPA anticipates awarding up to $932 million in funds under this Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles (CHDV) Grants NOFO, subject to the availability of funds, the quantity and quality of applications received, support for communities overburdened by air pollution, applicability of different business models, and other applicable considerations described in this document. This funding to support ZE vehicles will benefit communities across the United States (U.S.), especially communities that are disproportionately burdened by air pollution and marginalized by underinvestment. These replacement vehicles will ensure cleaner air for the communities in which they operate. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from these vehicle replacements will also help address the outsized role of the transportation sector in fueling the climate crisis.

Although the pelagic ocean is the largest ecosystem on earth, it remains poorly characterized and understood due to its vast size and three-dimensional, highly dynamic nature (e.g., Perelman et al. 2021). Most oceanographic programs concentrate upon the surface ocean because plankton and larval fish are concentrated there. Very little of the water column below the epipelagic (0200 m) has been described in any detail (Netburn 2018). However, we know that important processes occur throughout that water column, such as the biological pump (Passow and Carlson 2012), diel vertical migration (Sutton 2013, Kelly et al. 2019), other mechanisms for connectivity (Sutton 2013), and food web dynamics (Choy et al. 2017). As industries move to deeper waters of the OCS, it is imperative to learn more about potential impacts to these habitats, specifically sites of commercial interest. Water column information can be collected by traditional oceanographic equipment, especially when supplemented by new techniques and technology. In addition to physical and chemical profiles of the water column, Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) rosette casts can collect water samples to evaluate the biological community through eDNA sampling. Cameras can also be integrated onto CTD rosettes to help image these pelagic environments for which the deeper habitats are rarely visualized. This study is intended to fund the integration of a complementary water column component into planned marine mineral and offshore wind-related research cruises in locations of potential commercial interest. There are two cost-effective near-term opportunities for at-sea data collection to support the proposed study objectives in the fall of 2024. One is a planned August 26 September 16 NOAA-led benthic habitats AUV survey on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada out of Newport, Oregon that is focused on areas of interest for offshore wind in northern California and southern Oregon. The second is a September 10 October 07 USGS-led multibeam and box core cruise on the R/V Kilo Moana out of Honolulu, Hawaii that will assess the abundance and composition of abyssal manganese nodules at the southern extreme of the OCS south of Hawaii. There appear to be several substantive outyear opportunities in 2025 and beyond to add a mid-water component to anticipated NOAA cruises in areas of interest for both offshore wind and critical minerals. BOEM will work with the award recipient to secure sample collection opportunities on select outyear opportunities. The scope of water column operations on each cruise will be designed in consultation with cruise Chief Scientists to address the highest priority mid-water environmental information needs while taking into account any pre-existing science plans and available planning horizon. For example, optical sensors (e.g., high-definition cameras, shadowgraphs) could be deployed when primary science operations are done for the day, or a smaller system could be integrated onto a CTD rosette to simultaneously collect imagery without needing dedicated wire-time. Data from the at-sea efforts will contribute significantly to baseline knowledge of pelagic systems that are highly dynamic and difficult to study. With industries moving into deeper waters further offshore, these water column data are necessary to understand environmental conditions and associated natural variation. For example, baseline environmental data can improve our understanding of environmental risks and potential impacts of floating offshore wind, such as changes in organism behavior and displacement (Maxwell et al. 2022). Additionally, current seabed mining technologies are expected to produce sediment plumes with unknown environmental impacts (Gollner et al. 2017, Gillard et al. 2019). Baseline data for these water column habitats are thus critical for identifying the resources that may be impacted and assessing what those impacts are likely to be.The proposed study will address the following objectives.Develop species inventories throughout the water column in areas of potential commercial interest for floating offshore wind and critical minerals, particularly abyssal manganese nodulesAssess other recent/ongoing scientific programs that can provide relevant data and meaningfully support the study objectives [e.g., California Current Ecosystem (CCE) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)] Explain the regional distribution of organisms relative to the physical and chemical oceanographic conditions Provide recommendations for a cost-effective and high-value sampling and sensor package or module(s) that can be easily integrated as a mid-water add-on to future research cruises. Some of the key questions to be addressed are:What is the pelagic community structure in current and potential regions of interest for offshore wind development and abyssal nodules in the Pacific OCS?What are the physical and chemical drivers in each region, and how do they relate to the pelagic community structure?What is a relatively simple and cost-effective standard midwater science component add-on that could provide high value to future deepwater Pacific research efforts?

EPA Region 2 is issuing this funding opportunity to fund Source Reduction Assistance in Communities (SRAC) grants that support research, investigation, experiments, multi-media service-learning approaches, studies, demonstrations, outreach, education, and training using source reduction approaches. EPA is particularly interested in receiving applications that offer hands-on practical pollution prevention referred to as "P2" tools, information and/or innovative P2 multi-media service-learning approaches to measurably improve public health and the surrounding environment, by reducing the use of hazardous substances, reducing toxic pollutants, supporting efficiencies in reducing resource use (e.g., water and energy), and reducing business expenditures and liability costs.EPA Region 2 is interested in receiving applications for results-oriented and multi-media community based projects that are performed in and benefit States or communities within EPA Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight federally recognized Indian Nations). These applications should create, promote, and use new and/or existing P2 tools and information, green technology solutions, innovative financing partnerships or approaches, and multi-media and multistakeholder leadership approaches to measurably improve public health and the environment, by reducing the use of hazardous substances, reducing toxic pollutants, or supporting efficiencies in the reduction of pre-consumer resources (such as greenhouse gas emissions, plastics, water, and energy), and reducing beneficiary organization costs.

Quagga and Zebra Mussels are aquatic invasive species that are rapidly expanding their range in the Western United States. Popular recreational reservoirs on or connected to the lower Colorado River are one major source of invasive mussels, which are easily transported via trailered watercraft to areas that have not yet been invaded. This Request For Proposals (RFP) will fund proposals in the listed principal areas towards the fulfillment of the top priorities in the Quagga/Zebra Mussel Action Plan for Western U.S. Waters (QZAP 2.0) and will be limited to states within the boundaries of the Western Regional Panel within the United States, not including Canada and Mexico (see map): Limiting the spread of invasive mussels through containment, especially by inspection and decontamination of watercraft moving from invaded water bodies to jurisdictions currently free of dreissenid mussels, and the coordination between states or other jurisdictions to this end;1. Protecting western ecosystems through support and/or establishment of prevention programs for invasive mussels at identified high risk control points. 2. Limiting the spread of invasive mussels through containment by increasing compliance with federal, state, local and tribal laws; 3. Increasing the effectiveness of outreach and education efforts to help advance prevention efforts; 4. Building capacity to detect and respond to new invasive mussel infestations;5. Conducting Research that benefits the priorities listed above, including (but not limited to) social science research to evaluate the effectiveness of invasive species prevention messaging, and research on non- target species impacts of invasive mussel control treatments (See Research Priorities: https://www.reabic.net/journals/mbi/2023/Accepted/MBI_2023_Counihan_et al_correctedproof.pdf) Efforts to address the risks and impacts of these invasive species are on-going. They include development of QZAP, and funding by the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (Service) to address waters at highest risk for spreading invasive mussels. In fiscal year 2024 the Service plans to allocate approximately $2,200,000 to projects that will reduce or minimize the threat of quagga and zebra mussels to Western U.S. waters. Funding is available for a limited number of projects that target the priories listed above.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD), as part of the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program and in collaboration with the Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE) research program, is seeking applications proposing community-engaged research in underserved communities to advance the use of air pollution data and communication of air quality information for empowering local decisions and actions that address community-identified air pollution concerns. Specifically, this funding opportunity is soliciting research projects that involve substantial engagement with communities, community-based organizations, and/or Tribes to address both of the following priorities: methods and tools for data integration and analysis to characterize community exposures to air pollution in underserved communities effective communication of air quality information to communities and decision makers to support actions to address air pollution concerns in underserved communities This research solicitation supports the Administrations priorities to address environmental justice (EJ), such as described in the following Executive Orders: Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad Executive Order 14091: Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government Executive Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All

The EPA Exchange Network Grant Program is soliciting project applications to support the Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) to:Facilitate sharing of environmental data, especially through shared and reusable services.Reduce burden and avoid costs for co-regulators and the regulated community.Streamline data collection and exchanges to improve its timeliness for decision making.Increase the quality and access to environmental data through discovery, publishing, outbound and analytical services so it is more useful to environmental managers.Increase data and IT management capabilities needed to fully participate in the EN.