Funding Opportunities

Program Focus: The National Forest Foundation’s new Collaborative Capacity Program financial awards will provide resources, invest in skills and tools, and support activities that make Tribal co-stewardship and collaboration for forest stewardship successful. Eligible collaborative efforts must describe how investments in collaboration will support a long-term strategy for achieving stewardship outcomes into the future and these outcomes must seek to benefit National Forest System lands. There are two funding pathways — one for Tribal Applicants and one for All Applicants.

Purpose:
RUST grants may be used to finance up to 100 percent of the costs necessary to upgrade, remove, or replace UST project tanks to comply with the requirements of Health and Safety Code sections 25284.1, 25292.05, 25292.4, 25292.5, or 41954.

Description:
Replacing, Removing, or Upgrading Underground Storage Tanks (RUST) grants are available to assist small business underground storage tank (UST) owners and operators in financing up to 100 percent of the costs necessary to upgrade, remove, or replace project tanks to comply with the requirements of Health and Safety Code section 25284.1, 25292.05, 25292.4, 25292.5, or 41954. Please note that removal-only projects are now eligible for RUST grants.

Grants are available for between $3,000 and $70,000 to eligible UST owners/operators. An additional $140,000 in RUST grant moneys above the $70,000 maximum is available for remote public fueling stations for the purpose of removing and replacing a single-walled UST. (See Health and Safety Code § 25299.107(e) for more information.)

Eligibility Requirements

Grant applicants must be a UST owner and/or operator and meet all of the following requirements:

• The applicant is a small business that employs fewer than 20 full-time and part-time employees, is independently owned and operated, and is not dominant in its field of operation;

• The grant applicant’s principal office and its officers must be domiciled in California;

• The facility where the project tank is located was legally in business retailing gasoline after January 1, 1999.

• All of the tanks owned and operated by the grant applicant are subject to compliance with

Health and Safety Code chapter 6.7 and implementing regulations;

• The facility where the subject tank is located has sold, at retail, less than 900,000 gallons of gasoline annually for each of the two years preceding the submission of the grant application; (Gallonage is based upon taxable sales figures provided to the State Board of Equalization (BOE) on the grant applicant’s BOE 401 GS including Schedule G.)

• The grant applicant meets either of the following:

The grant applicant is in compliance with Health and Safety Code sections 41954 and 25290.1, 25290.2, 25291, or subdivisions (d) and (e) of section 25292; (The facility must provide a current UST permit, a current Permit to Operate, and proof of EVR compliance as evidence of compliance with the permit compliance requirements.) or

Revised 1/2020

The grant applicant meets the requirements for a waiver from the RUST grant permit compliance requirements. (The project is for removal-only and the grant applicant does not qualify for a RUST loan.)

This is not a reimbursement program. Work cannot begin until you have an agreement executed by the State Water Board.

REAP Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Program. Refer to Application Package AND Application Instruction links to obtain all necessary forms for a complete application. Contact State Energy Coordinators with questions: http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RBS_StateEnergyCoordinators.pdf

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is the first in an anticipated series of Landowner Support for Forest Resilience NOFOs. Landowner Support for Forest Resilience is currently funded by four Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provisions (Public Law No: 117-169. Subtitle D, Sec. 23002(a) (1 ), (2), (3), and (4)), which encompass cost share and payment incentives for forestry practices and support participation of underserved landowners and small-acreage landowners (owning less than 2,500 acres) in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest resilience. Landowner Support for Forest Resilience falls under the USDA Forest Service's existing Landscape Scale Restoration Program, as authorized under Section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109a). This program advances the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 Initiative. Established by Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, the Justice40 Initiative has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, such as climate, clean energy, and other areas, flow to disadvantaged communities. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) solicits proposals for two IRA provisions: Subtitle D, Sec. 23002 (a)(2) and Subtitle D, Sec. 23002 (a)(3). These provisions provide the USDA Forest Service with funding to:

Support the participation of underserved forest landowners in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest resilience.
Support the participation of forest landowners who own less than 2,500 acres of forest land in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest resilience.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is jointly issued by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) as part of their Interconnection Innovation Exchange (i2X) program1 to support innovative work to enable simpler, faster, and fairer interconnection of clean energy resources while enhancing the reliability, resiliency, and security of our electrical grid. The two FOA topic areas are as follows:

Topic Area 1: Improved Efficiency of EMT Simulations for Interconnection Studies of IBRs Projects in this topic area will seek to improve the efficiency of the interconnection study process for new IBRs, such as solar and wind plants and battery energy storage systems, by improving software tools to study plant dynamics to increase long-term plant reliability. Projects will achieve this both by improving the speed of advanced, high-fidelity EMT modeling and simulation tools used in power systems interconnection studies and by developing a better understanding of when such high-fidelity simulations are necessary in the interconnection process.

Topic Area 2: Dynamic Stability-Enhanced Network Assessment Tools Projects in this topic area will develop tools to provide stakeholders with data on transmission system characteristics related to stability, voltage, and grid strength while securing confidential and critical energy infrastructure information. Projects will establish the type of information required by stakeholders, develop a tool or tools, and test and evaluate those tools on at least one real transmission system. Topic Area 1 is primarily focused on the improvement of software tools, methods, or processes used to conduct EMT studies, the results of which will inform the transmission system interconnection stakeholders in Topic Area 2. Projects in Topic Area 2 do not need to be focused solely on transmission system characteristics based on EMT studies.

Support organizations to screen and educate people exposed to radiation related to the mining of uranium and U.S. testing of nuclear weapons.

Fiscal Year 2023 Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Swift Current aims to better align the delivery of FMA flood mitigation funding to the disaster survivor experience. The purpose of FMA Swift Current is to reduce or eliminate the flood risk to NFIP-participating communities and repetitive flood damage to structures and buildings insured by the NFIP following a flood-related disaster event, and to enhance community flood resilience within NFIP-participating communities. It does so by providing funding for mitigation opportunities immediately after a flood disaster event with the aim of delivering mitigation outcomes as quickly as possible.

Swift Current is a grant opportunity under the FMA grant program. The FMA grant program makes federal funds available to states, U.S. territories, federally recognized Tribal governments, and local governments to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings and structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and within NFIP-participating communities. It does so with a recognition of the growing flood hazards associated with climate change, and of the need for flood hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation, equity, and resilience with respect to flooding. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future.

Projects or initiatives that are eligible for funding under this announcement may or may not involve Geospatial (GIS) issues.

Amendment #1 edits the Fiscal Year 2023 Flood Mitigation Assistance Swift Current Notice of Funding Opportunity to reflect change language and additional language based on feedback and questions from FEMA Regions and eligible applicants activated for Swift Current.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (Department) WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Program provides a framework for Federal leadership and assistance to stretch and secure water supplies for future generations in support of the Department’s priorities. Through WaterSMART, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to support stakeholder efforts to stretch scarce water supplies and avoid conflicts over water.Through the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program (Title XVI), authorized by P.L. 102-575 in 1992, Reclamation provides financial and technical assistance to local water agencies for the planning, design, and construction of water reclamation and reuse projects. Water recycling is an important tool used to stretch limited water supplies in the Western United States. Title XVI projects develop and supplement urban and irrigation water supplies through water reuse—thereby improving efficiency, providing flexibility during water shortages, and diversifying the water supply. These projects provide growing communities with new sources of clean water which increases water management flexibility and makes water supplies more reliable. The Title XVI Program also provides support for priorities identified in Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and aligned with other priorities, such as those identified in E.O. 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The WaterSMART Title XVI Program will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. Established by E.O. 14008, the Justice40 Initiative has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, such as climate, clean energy, and other areas, flow to disadvantaged communities.The objective of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to invite sponsors of congressionally authorized water reclamation and reuse projects to request cost-shared funding for the planning, design, and/or construction of those projects. A separate NOFO for projects eligible under section 4009(c) of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, P.L. 114-322, will be releasedThis NOFO will be used to allocate existing program funding and available fiscal year (FY) 2023 enacted appropriations. FY 2023 appropriations include $60 million for the Title XVI Program, a portion of which is being allocated through this NOFO. The amount of funding available under this NOFO will also be based on final appropriations for FY 2024. Funds made available for infrastructure projects are subject to the Buy America Act. Please see Section F.2.6: Application of Buy America Preference and Section F.2.7: Additional BIL Requirements for additional information regarding the Buy America preference as well as Wage Rate Requirements (Davis Bacon Act).Any awards are subject to a determination by Reclamation that appropriations are available. Additional projects may be funded under this NOFO if additional funding becomes available in FY 2024 or subsequently.

The Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Program provides a framework for Federal leadership and assistance to stretch and secure water supplies for future generations in support of DOI priorities. Through WaterSMART, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to work cooperatively with states,tribes, and localentities as they plan for and implement actions to increase water supply reliability through investments in existing infrastructure and attention to local water conflicts. Drought conditions across the Western United States (U.S.) impact a wide range of communities and sectors, including agriculture, cities, tribes, the environment, recreation, hydropower producers, and others. Reclamation established the Water Conservation Field Services Program (WCFSP) in 1996 to encourage beneficiaries of Federal water projects to conserve water, and to assist agricultural and urban water districts in preparing and implementing water conservation plans in accordance with the Reclamation Reform Act (RRA) of 1982. Through the WCFSP, Reclamation makes cost- shared financial assistance available for developing water conservation plans, identifying water management improvements through System Optimization Reviews (SORs), designing water management improvements, and improving the understanding of water conservation techniques through demonstration activities. The WCFSP provides support for priorities identified in Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and aligned with other priorities, such as those identified in E.O. 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. WaterSMART also supports Reclamation’s priorities to increase water reliability and resilience, support racial and economic equity, modernize infrastructure, and enhance water conservation, ecosystem, and climate resilience.Through this NOFO, Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Basin Region (LCB) is requesting proposals to fund activities in support of the WCFSP within the LCB, within the State of Hawaii (map provided below), American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Purpose:
To protect critical agricultural lands, to support infill & compact development, and to avoid increases in the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses. Planning grants support the development of local and regional land use policies and economic development strategies to protect these agricultural lands.

Note: pre-proposals are required, deadline for submittal is January 31, 2025.

Description:
The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program supports the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by making strategic investments to protect agricultural lands. Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Planning Grants support the development and implementation of plans for the protection of agricultural land at risk of conversion to non-agricultural uses, maintaining the economic viability of the region’s agricultural lands, and developing the economic viability of regional food systems and infrastructure to support the production, aggregation, processing and distribution of agricultural products.