OARS funding Environmental Sustainability

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting applications from eligible applicants to develop or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs as described in Section I, FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION, of this announcement. States, tribes, local government agencies, interstate agencies, and intertribal consortia are eligible to apply under this announcement, as further described herein. Universities that are agencies of a state government are eligible but must include documentation demonstrating that they are chartered as part of a state government in the application submission. Non-profit organizations are not eligible to compete under this RFA.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting applications from eligible applicants to develop or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs as described in Section I, FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION, of this announcement. States, tribes, local government agencies, interstate agencies, and intertribal consortia are eligible to apply under this announcement, as further described herein. Universities that are agencies of a state government are eligible but must include documentation demonstrating that they are chartered as part of a state government in the application submission. Non-profit organizations are not eligible to compete under this RFA.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting applications from eligible applicants to develop or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs as described in Section I, FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION, of this announcement. States, tribes, local government agencies, interstate agencies, and intertribal consortia are eligible to apply under this announcement, as further described herein. Universities that are agencies of a state government are eligible but must include documentation demonstrating that they are chartered as part of a state government in the application submission. Non-profit organizations are not eligible to compete under this RFA.

The Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is offering a cooperative agreement for the study BOEM-MARINe (Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network) to provide continued long-term monitoring of rocky intertidal habitats and species adjacent to OCS oil and gas operations in the Pacific Region. The purpose of this study is to provide the basis for evaluating cumulative impacts to the shoreline from OCS activities, especially accidental oil spills, and will be used to provide a base-line to assess dampening of waves from potential offshore wave facilities. Detecting impacts to a resource requires monitoring and the rocky intertidal areas established by the MARINe represent over 20 years of continuous monitoring adjacent to OCS facilities off southern California. This announcement is specifically to announce intent to undertake the project: BOEM-MARINe, that is open to the University of California, Santa Cruz, via the Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The award will be a cooperative agreement. This involves substantial involvement by BOEM scientists in various aspects of study development and/or study conduct. The award is premised on receipt of an acceptable proposal. This is not an open solicitation for proposals.

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to solicit and competitively seek cost shared research applications for the development of tools, methods and/or technologies to cost effectively enhance the safety and efficiency of the nations natural gas production, gathering, storage and transmission infrastructure.

The objective of the FOA is to further advance promising proof-of-concept TRL 3 subsea systems technologies to enable offshore EOR. In order to maximize offshore resource value while preventing oil spills, this FOA seeks to develop technologies for reducing subsea facility complexity, increasing control and monitoring, and enabling greater tieback to the surface production facility. Advancement of these capabilities will be required to reach the primary objective of enabling EOR for offshore application.

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to deliver Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training programs that recruit, train, and place local, unemployed and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field. While Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants require training in brownfield assessment and/or cleanup activities, these grants also require that Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) training be provided to all individuals being trained. EPA encourages applicants to develop their curricula based on local labor market assessments and employers' hiring needs, while also delivering comprehensive training that results in graduates securing multiple certifications.

In 2018, the NextGen Committee at the Atlanta-based Ray C. Anderson Foundation, a private family foundation committed to advancing the legacy of its namesake by supporting environmental sustainability initiatives, issued a Request for Proposals focused on measurably reducing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, ultimately awarding one $90,000 grant. Building on the success of that process, and with the desire to increase the breadth of quality proposals, the committee is issuing a new call for proposals for projects that can help reverse global warming, whether through direct carbon avoidance, climate communication, climate education, industry engagement, or other means. Under this call, the foundation will award a single grant of $100,000.

BTO seeks input on its recently developed R&D opportunities document for the integration and optimization of systems at the whole-building level through connected and controllable loads for increased energy affordability, improved occupant comfort, and enhanced provision of grid services that will strengthen the integration between buildings, other distributed energy resources, and the electric grid. This document will inform BTO's strategic planning moving forward in identifying early-stage and innovative technology solutions to meet these goals. Successful solutions will strengthen the affordability, reliability, and resiliency of the energy consumed by the buildings sector, contributing to DOE's priorities for the energy sector as a whole. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to sensor and control technologies for optimizing building energy management. This information will be used by BTO to update its Sensors and Controls R&D strategy and supporting energy savings and cost reduction goals, as well as to inform future strategic planning and adjustments to its R&D portfolio. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications. Request for Information Categories: Category 1: Multi-Functional Wireless Sensor Networks Category 2: Advanced Monitoring and Data Analytics Category 3: Adaptive and Autonomous Controls Category 4: Occupant-Centric Controls Category 5: Overarching Areas of Interest and Cross-cut Strategies Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BTO_SensorsControls_RDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on June 3, 2019.

Description: The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) is seeking input from the public about its Research and Development Opportunities for Building Energy Modeling (BEM). In particular, BTO is interested in feedback on planned initiatives and their prioritization, on program scope, and on data-sets, metrics and targets for assessing program effectiveness and impact. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on BTO's BEM program and its future directions and priorities. To clarify these, BTO has developed a report that is structured around six focus areas (the BEM value proposition, predictive accuracy of BEM, core modeling capabilities, workflow integration and automation, the BEM data ecosystem, and BEM professionals). The report identifies barriers to the increased adoption of BEM and proposing a set of initiatives to address them. BTO is requesting feedback on each of these barriers, the associated initiatives, as well as barriers and initiatives that have not been identified. BTO is also requesting feedback on datasets, metrics, and targets for assessing the impact and progress of the BEM industry and its own BEM program. Request for Information Categories: Category 1: Metrics, benchmarks, targets, and data sets for tracking the use of BEM in various building energy building energy efficiency projects. Methods of attributing energy-efficiency to BEM in various applications. Category 2: Focus areas Category 3: Barriers Category 4: Initiatives Category 5: Stakeholder engagement and feedback mechanisms Category 6: Other Feedback Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BTO_BEM_RDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on June 3, 2019.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting applications from eligible applicants to develop or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs as described in Section I, FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION, of this announcement. States, tribes, local government agencies, interstate agencies, and intertribal consortia are eligible to apply under this announcement, as further described herein. Universities that are agencies of a state government are eligible but must include documentation demonstrating that they are chartered as part of a state government in the application submission. Non-profit organizations are not eligible to compete under this RFA.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in collaboration with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has maintained a long-standing relationship in the development and advancement of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) Program, through ongoing cooperative agreements initiated by ATSDR. The PEHSU serves health professionals, community organizations, governmental officials, federal staff, child-care providers, parents, and others having interest in environmental conditions that influence reproductive and pediatric health. Primary focuses of the PEHSU are to: (1) Build the capacity of primary care clinicians to recognize environmental exposure risks, provide risk reduction counseling, and deliver patient care to those at risk of or harm from acute or chronic exposures to hazardous substances in the environment. (2) Integrate environmental health content, placing emphasis on hazardous substances in the environment and related health effects, into pre-service clinical (i.e., medical, nursing, and allied health) course work; and primary care residency programs (i.e., clinicians in pediatrics, family medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology). (3) Increase patient and population awareness of environmental exposure risks and ways to reduce those risks. (4) Provide education and consultative services to community members, clinicians, state and local health departments, appropriate federal programs, and others involved in protecting children and couples of reproductive age from environmental threats. (5) Provide educational and consultative assistance in communities where ATSDR and/or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are addressing environmental contamination.

Predictive Science is potentially applicable to a variety of fields, including nuclear weapons, efficient manufacturing, biological systems, nanoscale material science, organic chemical processes, climate modeling, etc. Success in these simulations requires both software and algorithmic frameworks for integrating multiple disciplines into a single application and adding significant disciplinary strength and depth to make that integration effective. Applications should conduct computer science research in areas that will contribute to the advancement of Exascale computing technologies and demonstrate the results in the context of the chosen application. The FOA contains topics that are of particular interest to the NNSA National Laboratories as they move towards Exascale computing. Other topics that will enable the advancements in Exascale computing are encouraged as well. More details are contained in the FOA.

The REPS Office of the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Section seeks proposals for a program entitled "World Affairs in Theory and Practice." Implemented at the New Delhi American Center (NDAC), this competitive program will draw from a target audience of high-achieving undergraduate-level students connected to academic programs in the fields of international affairs, sustainable development, human rights, health policy business, and related disciplines. Participants will complete one of three MOOCs (Massive, Open, Online Courses) on themes of global health, environmental security, and international trade offered by American universities and expertly facilitated at the NDAC. Courses will meet weekly and will last 4-6 weeks, depending on the format of each MOOC selected for the series. Following the completion of each MOOC course, participants will participate in a live simulation of diplomatic negotiations around a similar theme as their course, helping them understand complex issues in theory and practice. Finally, participants will be introduced to EducationUSA advisors from the U.S. India Educational Foundation (USIEF) for counseling on options for pursuing higher education in the United States.

Wetland Program Development Grants (WPDGs) assist state, tribal, local government (S/T/LG) agencies and interstate/intertribal entities in developing or refining state/tribal/local programs which protect, manage, and restore wetlands. The primary focus of these grants is to develop/refine state and tribal wetland programs. A secondary focus is to develop/refine local (e.g. county or municipal) programs.

One of the BLM's highest priorities is to promote ecosystem health and one of the greatest obstacles to achieving this goal is the rapid expansion of weeds across public lands. These invasive plants can dominate and often cause permanent damage to natural plant communities. If not eradicated or controlled, noxious weeds will continue to jeopardize the health of the public lands and to constrain the myriad activities that occur on public lands. BLM Invasive and Noxious Plant Management Programs work to prevent, detect, inventory, control and monitor weed populations on public lands. 1. Invasive species cost the public millions of dollars in control and management each year and many invasive plants and noxious weeds are highly competitive and have the ability to permanently degrade our public lands. 2. Noxious weeds and invasive species expansion are recognized as the single greatest threat to our native plant communities and the values they provide us. 3. These native plant communities are essential for supporting wildlife habitat, watershed function, recreation opportunities, rural economies and working landscapes. 4. Invasive plants and noxious weeds affect plant and animal communities on farms and ranches, and in parks, waters, forests, natural areas, and backyards in negative ways. 5. Human activity such as trade, travel, and tourism have all increased substantially, escalating the speed and volume of species movement to unprecedented levels.

Building on the success of that process, and with the desire to increase the breadth of quality proposals, the committee is issuing a new call for proposals for projects that can help reverse global warming, whether through direct carbon avoidance, climate communication, climate education, industry engagement, or other means. Under this call, the foundation will award a single grant of $100,000.

This Program Announcement provides the vehicle for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) to submit a proposal to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for consideration for funding in Fiscal Year 2019. This announcement provides general information on suitable topics for research.BOEM is offering a single source cooperative agreement opportunity to conduct ecosystem research in topics that serve the public interest in the safe and environmentally sound energy development on the nations outer continental shelf.The OCSLA Section 1345 authorizes the use of cooperative agreements with affected States to meet the requirements of OCSLA, including sharing of information, joint utilization of available expertise, and formation of joint monitoring arrangements to carry out applicable Federal and State laws, regulations, and stipulations relevant to outer continental shelf operations both onshore and offshore.BOEM seeks a study from UAF that will: provide public benefit, stimulate the application of science to problem solving and protection of natural resources, promote educational opportunities in the ocean sciences, and lead to protection of natural resources of value to subsistence lifestyles.The total anticipated amount of funding is $125,000. The project is intended as a two year study with approximately $75,000 allocated towards fiscal year 2019 and $50,000 towards fiscal year 2020.

This Program Announcement provides the vehicle for Louisiana State University (LSU) to submit proposals with matching funds to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for consideration for funding in Fiscal Year 2019. This announcement identifies specific proposals that are invited based on a recently completed review of letters of intent submitted by LSU. The Environmental Studies Program (ESP) of the BOEM is offering a cooperative agreement opportunity through Louisiana Coastal Marine Institute (CMI) to LSU and other units within the LSU system that have the ability to conduct research in topics that serve the public interest of safe and environmentally sound energy production and meet the goals of the BOEM. This announcement is specifically to request proposals for the following selected research topics: 1) Investigation of an Ancient Bald Cypress Forest in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Phase 2, 2) Developing and Applying a Novel Morphodynamic Model to Predict Multi-Decadal Effects of Barrier Island Restoration, 3) Investigation of Fluid Mud's Impact on Benthic Ecosystem and Dredge Pits on Louisiana Shelf, 4) Geological and Geophysical Investigation of Mass Wasting on the Mississippi River Delta Front: Characterization of Spatial and Temporal Patterns, 5) Investigation of Increasing Seawater Barite from Oil Production on Gulf of Mexico Corals, 6) Impact of Hurricane Harvey on Sediment Dynamics and Water Quality Along Texas Louisiana Shelf, 7) Thermal, Evaporative, and Momentum Flux Impacts of the Lower Mississippi River on Near-Shore Environmental Processes, 8) Human Impacts of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industries in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Awards will be cooperative agreements. These involve substantial involvement by BOEM scientists in various aspects of study development and/or study conduct. All awards are premised on receipt of an acceptable proposal.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is offering a cooperative agreement opportunity to conduct ecosystem research in topics that serve the public interest in the safe and environmentally sound energy development on the nation's outer continental shelf. BOEM is proposing to pursue an ecosystem based cooperative agreement opportunity to conduct scientific monitoring to examine long-term drivers of the Boulder Patch community during the Liberty Development Project located in the Beaufort Sea Planning Area. This research will also test possible mitigation measures to replace habitat lost due to island construction activities. This is not an open solicitation for proposals. The OCSLA (43 USC 1345)authorizes the use of cooperative agreements with affected States to meet the requirements of OCSLA, including sharing of information and joint utilization of available expertise. This announcement is specifically to announce to undertake the following project: Impacts of Sedimentation and Drivers of Variability in the Boulder Patch Community, Beaufort Sea. Open to: University of Texas, Austin (via the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit [CESU]) and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (via the North and Western Alaska CESU). No other proposals are requested at this time.