FY 26 GAP NOFA Webinar

What’s New in the Uniform Grants Guidance 2024

On November 12, EPA Region 10 provided an overview of GAP funding in FY26. Initial proposals are due to your EPA Project Officer by January 21, 2025. (And would we take them early? You bet!!) 

• Read the NOFA.
• Listen to the recording. The passcode is 45717490. You can start the recording at 2:47 and avoid all the chatter at the beginning. (Note that the recording expires in 30 days.) 

What’s the news this year? 

• EPA Region 10 is strongly encouraging grantees to consider multi-year applications, which will save everyone time. Learn more. 
• Applicants may request up to $134,000. 
• If you would like to revisit an application for a special project that you submitted last year that was not funded, contact your Project Officer. 
• EPA’s de minimus rate has increased from 10% to 15%. Tribes may request this indirect cost rate if they wish. 
• The new minimum threshold for equipment is $10,000.

We will be hosting two additional webinars related to the NOFA and we’ll let you know when registration opens:

• Flexibilities of a PPG: December 17, 2024
• GAP NOFA: Tips and Forms: February 2025 

This paid summer internship is located in Region 10’s Office of Regional Counsel, General Law and FOIA Branch. Interns must be 16 or older. Interns will: 

• Assist senior specialists in conducting program analysis functions.
• Collect data from reference sources in office and incorporate it into typed/computer- generated material.
• Provide information and assistance on procedural requirements and formats for filing various data and material.
• Assemble materials for staff associated with briefings, conferences, and meetings.
• Research legal and regulatory material to obtain factual information and/or interpretation for use by the supervisor or co-workers.
  
  • Apply 

Join EPA and Tribes in the Pacific Northwest to discuss all things air. The standing agenda includes EPA updates, a special presentation/speaker, and Tribal updates from Tribes and from the National Tribal Air Association, Tribal Healthy Homes Network, Western Regional Air Partnership, Clean Air Act Advisory Committee.

• Join the meeting on Teams. Meeting ID: 273 251 454 265. Passcode: 3v5FSH 
  Need help with Teams?
• Dial in by phone: Find a local number. Phone conference ID: 181 886 830#

The Clean Air Act requires EPA to review new science on the public health and environmental impacts of air pollutants every 5 years and revise the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), as necessary. EPA lowered the annual NAAQS for PM2.5 from 12.0 to 9.0 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) on February 7, 2024. Learn a whole lot more about this topic in the National Tribal Air Association’s November newsletter. See pages 2-3.

On November 14, EPA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to gather information on the potential risks associated with N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) and its transformation product, 6PPD-quinone. 

In August 2023, the Yurok Tribe, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians submitted a petition asking EPA to establish regulations prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, use and distribution of 6PPD in tires. EPA granted this petition in November 2023 and committed to publishing an ANPRM by Fall 2024 in order to gather more information that could be used to inform a subsequent regulatory action. 

The chemical 6PPD has been used in motor vehicle tires for more than six decades to make them more durable. It can also be found in other rubber products such as footwear, synthetic turf infill and playgrounds. 6PPD reacts with ozone pollution in the air to form a transformation product called 6PPD-quinone, which may be present in stormwater runoff from parking lots and streets due to the presence of tire wear particles. Runoff may be washed into streams and other bodies of water during rain events. As a result, aquatic organisms can be exposed to 6PPD-quinone. Concentrations of 6PPD-quinone in stormwater in the Pacific Northwest were found to be lethal to coho salmon after only a few hours of exposure.

EPA will accept written comments on the ANPRM for 60 days following publication via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2024-0403 at Regulations.gov. 

• View the pre-publication version of the ANPRM for 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone.
• Read the press release.

https://www.firstnations.org/projects/shared-horizons/?bbeml=tp-pck9Q6QNPEiuBt3JmyTokQ.j2Vbzlqv7Q0CQYQqGScx9gg.r4AaArDwyYUCvy0-kd7-5BQ.l-dRw_OZuw0GyiBpVOEanyA

Tribal and federal employees and representatives are invited to attend a national co-learning event, centered on trainings, sharing of ideas and work, and networking opportunities to grow the field of tribal co-stewardship and co-management, co-hosted by First Nations Development Institute and the Native American Rights Fund.

November 19 and 20, 2024
Gila River Resorts & Casinos – Wild Horse Pass
5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd.
Chandler, Arizona 85226

The ELI Digital Consultation Hub serves as a comprehensive platform to build the capacity of Tribal, state, and local policymakers in implementing best practices in government-to-government consultation. The database includes documents from Tribal, state, and federal governments that guide consultation as it pertains to culture, land use, and natural resources.

https://www.eli.org/tribal-policies

The National Science Foundation’s Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science is an undergraduate-to-graduate bridge program. The program broadens participation of marginalized communities in the atmospheric and related sciences. Students are invited from multiple disciplines, including chemistry, computer science, ecology, engineering, environmental studies, geography, mathematics, meteorology, oceanography, physics, science education, social sciences, and other related fields. 

• Participants work 40 hours a week for 11 weeks and earn a competitive wage.
• The program provides furnished apartments, round-trip airfare, and a bus pass.
• Participants are funded to attend national scientific conferences to present their summer research.

Applicants must be enrolled in a degree-granting institution, must have NOT received a Bachelor’s degree in STEM, and must have at least one more semester left of undergraduate work. 

• Apply

EPA’s National Brownfields Training Conference invites you to submit your ideas for dynamic educational sessions that encourage conversation and participation from your fellow attendees in Chicago, August 5-8, 2025. Submissions should explore the latest and greatest tools, methods, trends, and case studies in brownfields redevelopment and revitalization. If you have a brownfields success story or knowledge and experience in brownfields topics, this is your chance to share it with your colleagues.  

• Learn more

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) is seeking intern host sites for its Air Quality Internship Program. Organizations that are selected as host sites will host a college student for 8 weeks during June, July, and August or for 30 weeks during the academic year for 12 hours a week. Hosts gain dedicated college students, who complete a new or ongoing project directly related to Tribal air quality that benefits the student, your organization, and the environment.

• Apply by December 2.

The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) produced two coloring and activity books for youth this fall: Water and Watersheds (~5th ~8th grade), and Watersheds and Ecology (~8th ~12th grade). Both are focused on the Yukon River.

Brand spanking new and hot off the presses! If you’ve thought of combining your EPA-Tribal Environmental Plan (ETEP) with your GAP work plan – which should make it easier to keep both documents aligned and up to date – EPA has a new, optional template that can help. Find the combined ETEP/Work Plan template on our GAP web page under Administrative Resources.

EPA Region 10 will be conducting a pilot project to put together a few of these combined ETEP/work plans starting in January. If interested, please contact your Project Officer.

EPA has released the GAP Notice of Funding Availability for work beginning on or after October 1, 2025. The NOFA is comprised of the national notice and the Region 10 supplement. Proposals are due by January 21.  

A reminder that you can find all the documents and forms you need on our GAP web page under Administrative Resources. 

November 12
GAP Notice of Funding Availability – Overview: EPA Webinar 

Join EPA Region 10 for an overview of GAP funding in FY26, including a discussion of recent changes to the Uniform Guidance and multi-year applications. The second webinar, which will focus on applications tips and forms, will be announced in early 2025.  

• Register

Visit the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Newsletters page to sign up for ITEP newsletters and listservs on a wide range of environmental topics.

Sign up for the Region 10 Tribal Operations Committee (RTOC) email list to stay up to date with RTOC news.   

A new report from the National Integrated Drought Information Service (NIDIS) identifies outcomes and opportunities to manage drought on Tribal lands. The document captures a range of best practices and opportunities that Tribal Nations, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and their partners identified to strengthen engagement and action around drought resilience. 

Diverting solar panels from landfills to recycling saves space in landfills in addition to capturing the value of the raw materials. So, how do you recycle a solar panel? Visit EPA ‘s Solar Panel Recycling web page for answers.

A reminder that the following term and condition, added 3/5/2024, applies to all new EPA grantees. Even if you are not a new grantee, this training is well worth your time! For a nice deliverable, email the certificate to your EPA Project Officer when you complete a module. The recipient agrees to complete the EPA Grants Management Training for Applicants and Recipients and the How to Develop a Budget training within 90 calendar days of the date of award of this agreement. The recipient must notify the Grant Specialist via email when the required training is complete. For additional information on this training requirement, the recipient should refer to RAIN-2024-G01.

There is no safe level of lead exposure, particularly for children. EPA has released updated sample lead disclosure forms that will give renters and homebuyers clearer and more specific information about lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 housing they are considering buying or renting. The updated forms 1) ask landlords and sellers to describe what is known about the presence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the housing, and 2) allow renters or buyers to indicate whether or not they received all records and reports relating to lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards. 

• Learn about lead.
• View and download the updated sample lead disclosure forms.
• View and download the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule Fact Sheet. 

If you have bought or leased pre-1978 housing and did not receive a disclosure of information on lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards form, report this disclosure violation to epa.gov/lead/violation or leadregulations@hud.gov