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COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN

RESTORATION PROGRAM

Columbia River
Basin Restoration
Program Vision
Statement

The EPA Columbia
River Basin Restoration
Program—through
the implementation
of Clean Water Act
Section 123—will be
a catalyst for basin-
wide toxics reduction
work efforts, enabling
communities to
access unimpaired
watersheds
with healthy fish
and wildlife and
quantifiable toxics
reductions in fish,
wildlife, and water.

EPA is soliciting applications from entities that

are interested in acting as a Toxic Reduction

Lead (TRL). The primary roles of a TRL are to:

1.	Develop, implement, and manage a multi-
phase or large-scale program or programs
which leverage partnerships and include a
comprehensive toxics reduction plan;

2.	Lead program and policy development and
provide technical assistance;

3.	Award and manage subawards;

4.	Participate in the Columbia River Basin
Restoration Program Working Group and
provide periodic program updates at the
bi-annual meetings.

An applicant's program implementation plan
should consider how program outcomes
will address EPA's FY2023 priorities, how
collaborative and supportive relationships with
partners will be established and maintained,
and how the entity will support leading projects
that are either geographically or substantively
connected. EPA will not be funding standalone
monitoring projects through this RFA; however,
EPA can fund effectiveness monitoring, a form
of monitoring specifically aimed at determining
if an action is meeting, or has met, the goals
associated with an implementation project.

Programs, activities, and projects must occur
within the Columbia River Basin (Basin). The
Basin is defined as the Columbia River from
the Pacific Ocean, including tidally influenced
portions of tributaries of the Columbia River,
up to the Canadian Border, including tributary
basins of the Columbia River in that region.

The Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act, signed into law by President
Biden in November 2021, provided the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with
a historic investment of $79 million over a
five-year period to implement Clean Water
Act Section 123, the Columbia River Basin
Restoration Program, through multi-year grants
to reduce toxics in Columbia River Basin waters,
fish, and wildlife.

The Toxic Reduction Lead RFA will be open
December 13th, 2022, through March 13th,
2023. EPA anticipates providing up to $40
million under this announcement. Approximately
5 to 10 cooperative agreements in total, ranging
from $3 million to $7 million each, will be
awarded. Project periods may extend up to 4-6
years, and a 25% match is required.

This funding opportunity will be made available
on grants.gov. EPA is soliciting applications
from entities that are interested in acting as
Toxic Reduction Lead. This grant competition
will be for applicants that are interested in
developing a program plan and leading projects
that are either geographically or substantively
connected. For example, a State Agency might
want to apply to develop a program plan,
and manage sub-awards for projects that
could implement toxic TMDLs/water quality
management plans throughout the state portion
of the Basin; or a NGO might apply to develop
a program plan to implement agricultural best
practices projects or pollution prevention
projects throughout the Basin.

DECEMBER 2022


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INFORMATIONAL
WEBINARS

EPA will host the same
informational webinar on
two different dates. Potential
applicants are encouraged
to participate to learn more
about the Columbia River Basin
Restoration Program and the
grant application process.

Webinar links and dial-in

information for the individual

sessions can be found at:

https://www.epa.gov/

columbiariver/columbia-river-

basin-restoration-funding-

assistance-program

FOR MORE
INFORMATION

Please visit EPA's Columbia River
Basin Restoration Funding
Assistance Program webpage

or contact Nicole Taylor at
taylor.nicole@epa.gov or

(206) 553-8322, if you need
further information or have any
questions regarding this RFA.

WHO ARE ELIGIBLE ENTITIES?

Eligible entities include State governments, Tribal
governments, regional water pollution control
agencies and entities, local government entities,
nongovernmental entities, or soil and water
conservation districts.

WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS ARE
ELIGIBLE?

All grant applications should focus on one or
more of EPA's FY2023 program priorities:

1.	Agricultural best practices to reduce toxics

2.	Green infrastructure to reduce stormwater
and improve water quality

3.	Pollution prevention to prevent toxics from
entering the environment

4.	Cleaning up contaminated sites including
targeted small-scale clean-up actions which
do not duplicate with similar work efforts

of other EPA funded programs including
but not limited to CERCLA, RCRA, and
Brownfields.

5.	Community education and outreach to help
the public take actions to reduce toxics in
the Basin

BACKGROUND

The Columbia River Basin covers 260,000
square miles, federally recognized Tribes, areas
of MT, ID, WA, and OR and smaller portions of
WY, NV, and UT. The Basin provides benefits
including commercial fisheries, agriculture,
forestry, recreation, and electric power
generation. Human activities have contributed
toxic contaminants to the environment that
contribute to human health and ecosystem
risks. Throughout the Basin, fish species have
accumulated contaminant levels that are harmful
to people and wildlife. Toxics in fish are a primary

health concern for Columbia River Basin Tribal
people and other high fish consumers.

CLEAN WATER ACT SECTION 123 -
FEDERAL ACTION TO RESTORE
THE BASIN

The Columbia River Basin Restoration Act was
enacted in December 2016, amending the Clean
Water Act (CWA) to include Section 123, which
directs EPA to:

•	Establish a Columbia River Basin Restoration
Program;

•	Provide grants for projects for specific
purposes; and

•	Establish a voluntary Columbia River Basin
Restoration Working Group.

EPA'S COMMITMENT TO
TRIBAL HEALTH PROTECTION,
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE,
AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE

The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program
is focused on engaging Tribal and underserved
communities in efforts to identify and reduce
threats to their environment and community
health. Toxics reduction will support climate
resilience for the Columbia River Basin
ecosystem by reducing aquatic ecosystem
and human health stressors in an environment
stressed by severe climatic events.

COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN
RESTORATION FUNDING
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Columbia River Basin Restoration Act was
enacted in December 2016, which directed EPA
to provide competitive grants for toxics reduction
actions throughout the Basin, In September
2020, using Congressional appropriations,
EPA awarded the first 14 grants to increase
monitoring to evaluate trends, increase
agricultural best practices, increase green
infrastructure, and increase pollution prevention
and public engagement and education. In
October 2022, EPA announced 25 newly
awarded grants funded through CWA Section 123
with ongoing Congressional appropriations and
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

DECEMBER 2022


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