Unsewered Communities Planning Grant Program - Round 3

IEPA is making $1 million available for the next round of Planning Grants to assist small and disadvantaged communities in developing a Project Plan that identifies a solution to their wastewater collection and treatment needs. A well-developed Project Plan would allow communities to apply for the Construction Grant to construct wastewater collection and/or treatment solutions for areas where wastewater collection and/or treatment are presently non-existent or inadequate.

Details

• Awarding Agency: Environmental Protection
• Departments: Bureau of Water - IFAS
• CSFA Number: 532-00-2476
• CSFA Popular Name: Unsewered Communities Planning Grant Program
• Funding Opportunity Number: 25-2476-03
• Announcement Type: Initial Announcement
• Award Type: Competitive
• Total Funding Available: $1,000,000.00
• Expected Number of Awards: 50
• Funding Sources: State
• Capital Grant: No
• Indirect Costs Allowed: Yes
• Posted Date: December 10, 2024

Funding Source Description

The UCPGP will utilize a portion of Illinois EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Program (WPCLP) Loan Support funds generated from loan repayments. Illinois EPA expects to award a total of $1,000,000 and anticipates distributing this amount across thirty-three (33) to fifty (50) awards. Funding will be limited to a maximum of $30,000 per applicant.

The Illinois EPA may elect to partially fund an application by funding discrete portions or phases of the project scope of work. This could be due to ineligible project components identified in the application or not enough UCPGP funds being available to fully fund the entire project.

Costs of reporting efforts related to any reporting requirements of the UGA can be included in the third-party contract and are considered an eligible grant cost.

Examples of ineligible activities, tasks, and components that shall not be funded through the UCPGP are provided below. The list is not all-inclusive:

d. Construction Costs
e. Planning activities related to the rehabilitation of existing wastewater collection and/or treatment facilities
f. Planning activities related to future growth or development projects

NOTE: Costs incurred prior to the fully executed agreement date of the signed Uniform Grant Agreement (UGA) or after the grant agreement term ends ARE INELIGIBLE.

Funding Restrictions

See the Funding Source Description for more information.

State Award Notices

If the grantee of a UCPGP grant is at any time offered any State, federal, or local grant or any other funding source, to assist in the payment of expenses for which the UCPGP grant payment has been issued, the recipient shall reimburse the State of Illinois for any UCPGP grant funds used to pay expenses or offered to be paid under another grant or funding source.

Each grantee must agree to comply with all applicable federal and State requirements. This includes Uniform Administrative Requirements, 2 CFR § 200 and GATA. These can have a significant impact on the costs and complexity of a project. UCPGP grantees will be expected to submit a completed and signed Certifications and Assurances Acknowledgement Form confirming that they will comply with all State and federal mandates.

Reporting

All projects require, at minimum, annual reporting of progress and a final project evaluation and report. Specific reporting requirements will be detailed within the UGA and will be determined based on the applicant’s scored risk assessments. Progress reports shall include both a PERIODIC FINANCIAL REPORT, a PERIODIC PERFORMANCE REPORT, and a BRIEF PROJECT NARRATIVE.

Additional Information

https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/grants-loans/unsewered-communities.html

Additional information about the UCPGP can be found on IEPA’s Unsewered Communities webpage. Check out the Unsewered Communities Grant Programs which describes the programs' objectives and requirements.

The IEPA has the right to use (including, but not limited to, citing, circulating, displaying, and reproducing) all products that result from the Grantee receiving financial assistance under the grant agreement whether the product is developed by the Grantee or a sub-grantee.

The IEPA is not obligated to make any grant award as a result of this NOFO.

Eligibility Type: Public

Eligible Applicants:

• Government Organizations

Additional Eligibility Information

Applicants must be in good standing with the Secretary of the State. Eligible proposals will come from a local government unit within the State of Illinois, as defined in Title 35 of the Illinois Administrative Code Part 662 as follows:

Local Government Unit − A county, municipality, township, municipal or county sewerage or utility authority, sanitary district, public water district, improvement authority or any other political subdivision whose primary purpose is to construct, own, operate and maintain wastewater treatment facilities, including storm water treatment systems, or public water supply facilities or both. [415 ILCS 5/19.2(g)]

An entity shall not apply for a grant until the entity has registered and pre-qualified through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal, https://grants.illinois.gov/portal/. Registration and pre-qualification are required annually. During GATA pre-qualification, verifications are performed including a check of the federal Debarred and Suspended list and status on the Illinois Stop Payment List. An automated email notification from the GATA Portal to the entity alerts them of ‘qualified’ status or informs how to remediate a negative verification (e.g., inactive Unique Entity ID (UEI), not in good standing with the Secretary of State). A federal Debarred and Suspended status cannot be remediated.

APPLICANTS THAT ARE INELIGIBLE UNDER THIS NOFO:

a. Private homeowners and/or business owners
b. Applicants with an MHI equal to or greater than the 150% of the State average MHI
c. Entities that have NOT satisfied the following GATA pre-qualification requirements:
i. Registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) (www.SAM.gov)
ii. Have a valid Unique Entity Identification (UEI) number
iii. Completed an Internal Controls Questionnaire (ICQ) as the fiscal and administrative risk assessment for the current fiscal year – FY 2025
iv. In good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State
v. Not currently debarred by the State of Illinois and/or federal government
vi. Not on the Federal Excluded Parties List
vii. Not on the Illinois Stop Payment List
viii. Not on the sanctioned party list of the Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services
ix. Not on the SAM.gov Exclusion List

Submission Timeline

• Submission Opens: December 10, 2024
• Submission Timeline: Rolling
• Allow Multiple Applications: Yes

Question Submission

• Questions Email: EPA.IFASGrants@Illinois.gov

Apply on AmpliFund: https://il.amplifund.com/Public/Opportunities/Details/c98f8c15-3e68-4075-8202-616b4b2e6cfd