Application Process for EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Tribes and Territories Only Implementation Grants

You must be registered with SAM.gov (and have your Unique Entity Identification (UEID)) and Grants.gov. Registering can take weeks (if not months).

To register on SAM.gov,* go here. For help, access the registration checklist and EPN’s SAM.gov registration webinar. In addition, EPN holds SAM.gov registration office hours every two weeks on Wednesdays from 2-3 p.m. ET. We’ll help you begin, continue, or finish up your registration process. To sign up and get the Zoom link, go to tinyurl.com/EPNSAM. Please email davina.resto@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org with any questions. 

Also, please review the Intro to Grants.gov – Understanding User Roles and Learning Workspace – User Roles and Workspace Actions to assist with application submission.

To register at Grants.gov,* go here. For help, use the registration checklist and watch this Youtube video.

If you need additional help, send us an email.

*To check your registration status, go here for SAM.gov, and here for Grants.gov.

A: Carefully read the CPRG summary and the entire Tribes and Territories Notice of Funding Opportunity to ensure that your project is a good fit. You can also access an overview of both the Tribal and Territories and General competitions here, created by the University of Minnesota-led Region 5 Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center.

B: Double check the CPRG Eligibility on page 16.

C: Read the CPRG Tribes and Territories Qs and As.

D: Watch the Tribes and Territories webinars: Sept. 27th Webinar and Oct. 5th Webinar.

E: Read the Sept. 27th and Oct. 5th webinar slides.

F: Check out the CPRG Training, Tools, and Technical Assistance.

G. Email questions to CPRG@epa.gov about the NOFO.

H. Sign up for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program newsletter to receive announcements about future implementation grant application webinars.

A: Solidify your partners and collectively envision your proposal.

B: Schedule a time to speak with your partners and brainstorm about your proposal.

D: Read through the CPRG Project Narrative Template and Sample Project Narrative (provided by Anese & Associates). Create a copy of the Template, in Google Docs, that all partners can access. 

E: Divvy up sections of the project using the Project Narrative Template (see instructions below, Step 5) and Mandatory and Optional Documents (see instructions below, Step 7) among partners.

A. Submit the optional Notice of Intent (NOI) (Page 1 of the NOFO) to apply by the deadline of March 1, 2024, via email to CPRG@epa.gov.

A. Complete the Summary Project Cover Sheet. If preferred, use the Sample Project Cover Sheet provided by EPA.

B: Access the optional Tribes and Territories Only Competition Workplan Outline to organize the Workplan and ensure that all sections (corresponding with the evaluation criteria) outlined in the NOFO are addressed.

C: Write the full Project Narrative using the Project Narrative Template, and refer to the Sample Project Narrative as needed.

D: Write the budget narrative, which can be completed in the same document as the Cover Sheet and Workplan or submitted as a separate file. Remember, this does not count toward the 15-page Workplan limit.

E: Create the Technical Appendix. Again, this can be included in the same document as the Cover Sheet and Workplan or submitted as a separate file, and it doesn’t count toward the 15-page Workplan limit.

F: Review your Project Narrative using the CPRG Evaluation Criteria to ensure that all requirements have been met in each section and that all possible points should be awarded.

If you are a lead organization for tribes and territories, we recommend that you submit a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) (PCAP template created for states, but can be adjusted as needed) as the first deliverable under the CPRG Planning Grant as soon as possible (ASAP!) to allow time for you to focus on the Implementation Grants application, which includes GHG reduction measures identified in the PCAP. In addition, even though the deadline for tribes is technically April 1, 2014, tribes and territories that want the option to participate in the general CPRG Implementation Grants competition will need to meet the General March 1, 2024, deadline.

If you did not directly receive a planning grant but are eligible to seek funding to implement one or more GHG reduction measures that are included in an applicable PCAP, EPA will publicly post all PCAPs received on the CPRG website, and you can access the list of CPRG Planning grant contact information for states, municipalities, and Tribes here (the list will continue to be udpated on the CPRG Planning Grant Information page).

A: Create the following Mandatory Documents, all of which should be completed directly in Grants.gov:

– Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)
– Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)
– EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54
– EPA Form 4700-4 Preaward Compliance Review Report
– Grants.gov Lobbying Form
– Program Narrative: Use the “Project Narrative Attachment Form” to submit the file. This is a PDF of your Project Narrative document (15 page max), which includes the Project Cover Sheet, Workplan, and optionally the Budget Narrative and Technical Appendix (Budget Narrative and Technical Appendix can also be submitted as PDFs via the Other Attachments Form).
– PDF copy of the applicable PCAP(s) serving as the basis for the application via the Other Attachments Form.
– Memorandum of Agreement (for coalition applications only) via the Other Attachments Form.

B: Create the Optional Documents and submit directly to Grants.gov. 

– Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

Note: The following documents should all be submitted to Grants.gov via the Other Attachments Form:

– Optional GHG emission reduction calculations spreadsheet 
– Optional budget spreadsheet for budget narrative
– Team biographies: Resumes or curriculum vitae for key staff, managers, and any other key personnel.
– Letters of Commitment from potential partnerships (Encouraged)

C: Review your application using the CPRG All Evaluation Criteria to again ensure that all requirements have been met in each section and that all possible points should be awarded.

Although the deadline is Wednesday, May 1, plan to submit to Grants.gov, ideally by Friday, April 26, to give yourself time to troubleshoot if you have any difficulty submitting. These step-by-step instructions and video can help. Please plan to set aside at least three hours to submit your application to Grants.gov.

A: To begin the submission process, go to Grants.gov and click the red “Apply” button at the top of the “view grant opportunity” page associated with this opportunity.

B: Upload your application, including:

• All Project Narrative elements from Step 5 via the Project Narrative Attachment Form.
• Mandatory Documents listed in Step 7, uploaded directly into Grants.gov via their individual submission forms.
• Optional Documents listed in Step 7 via the individual Form LLL and “Other Attachments Form.”

C: Submit and confirm that all verifications & confirmations from Grants.gov are received & saved.

D: Take …a nap!