Tips for Submitting Brownfields Grant Applications Through www.grants.gov

September 2022

Tips for Submitting Brownfields Grant Applications
Through www.grants.gov

• Register NOW! There is a 5-step registration process outlined below. The process to register in
www.sam.gov and/or obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) can take a month or more. Further details
and assistance can be found at www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-
registration.html.

1. Register with SAM (the System for Award Management) at www.sam.gov. If you are already
registered with www.sam.gov. make sure your account is active.

2. Obtain a UEI, a 12-digit alphanumeric ID, assigned in www.sam.gov for your organization.

3. Complete an AOR (Authorized Organization Representative) profile, and create a username and
password in www.grants.gov; using the correct UEI.

4. Become an authorized AOR by requesting approval from your organization's E-Business Point
of Contact (E-Biz POC).

5. Track the AOR status by logging into www.grants.gov.

• Registering in www.sam.gov and obtaining a UEI are both free of charge. Please be advised, some
companies may offer to register your organization for a fee. If you choose to use one of these
companies, any fee you incur is not reimbursable with brownfields grant funds.

• Use the same, 12-digit UEI in www.grants.gov and on the application forms.

• The approved Authorized Organization Representative must be the person who submits the
application package in www.grants.gov. (The AOR is the person within the applicant's organization
that will submit the grant application through www.grants.gov. even if other individuals (within or
outside of the applicant's organization) prepared/wrote the grant.)

• EPA recommends combining the Narrative Information Sheet, the Narrative, and associated
attachments into a single file. Attach the single file to the Project Narrative Attachment Form. This
will ensure that EPA receives your entire submission and the submission is in the order that you
intended.

Additionally, applicants will be required to complete the following federal forms in order to submit the
application through www.grants.gov:

1. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

2. Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424 A)

3. EPA Key Contacts (Form 5700-54)

4. Preaward Compliance Review Report (EPA Form 4700-4)

The following forms and documents are optional under this announcement.

1. Grants.gov Lobbying Form - To be submitted by applicants requesting more than $100,000 of
EPA grant funding.

2. Negotiated/Proposed Indirect Cost Rate Agreement - To be submitted using the Project
Narrative Attachment Form by applicants proposing to charge indirect costs to the EPA grant.

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September 2022

Please note that applicants may budget for indirect costs pending approval of their Indirect
Cost Rate Agreement by the cognizant Federal agency or an exception granted by EPA under
section 6.3 or 6.4 of EPA's Indirect Cost Policy for Recipients of EPA Assistance Agreements.
However, recipients may not draw down indirect costs until their rate is approved or EPA
grants an exception.

•	Do not submit password-protected files.

•	Make PDF files searchable by creating the PDF from its source document (e.g., a Microsoft Word file).
Searchable PDF files make it easier for reviewers to review your narrative. The easiest way to do this is
to use the "Create PDF/XPS Document" feature, found under the Export Tab.

•	Submitting an application through www.grants.gov does NOT automatically mean www.grants.gov
accepted the application or that EPA received the application. Submit your application at least two to
three days early. By submitting your information early, you will have time to find out if your
application has been received, is free of errors, and is accepted by the www.grants.gov system before
the deadline.

•	After signing and successfully submitting the application package, within 24 to 48 hours the AOR
should receive a series of notification emails from www.grants.gov with the following subject lines:

1.	GRANT###### Grants.gov Submission Receipt

Indicates www.grants.gov (not EPA) received the application package and assigned a tracking
number.

2.	GRANT###### Grants.gov Submission Validation Receipt for Application

Indicates www.grants.gov either validated and accepted the application package, and the
application is free of errors, OR that www.grants.gov did not accept the application package due to
errors which need be resolved. Your application package has not been accepted until you receive
an email stating that it has been successfully validated.

3.	GRANT##### Grants.gov Grantor Agency Retrieval Receipt for Application

Indicates EPA retrieved the application package from www.grants.gov.

4.	GRANT##### Grants.gov Agency Tracking Number Assignment for Application

Indicates EPA assigned an EPA tracking number to the application package.

If the AOR did not receive any of the notification emails listed above, contact the www.grants.gov
Support Center at 1-800-518-4726.

•	You can check the status of your application package anytime after submission by using the tracking
link provided in the Submission Receipt email, or by logging into www.grants.gov using the
"Applicants" link at the top of any page and clicking on the "Check Application Status" link.

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September 2022

•	Review instructions in Section IV.B. of the Brownfields Grant competition Request for Application
(RFA) on how to submit the application package through www.grants.gov. Additional information can
be found at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html.

•	If you experience transmission difficulties, please refer to Section IV.B. and Appendix 1 in the RFA for
more information and contact the www.grants.gov Support Center (1-800-518-4726).

•	If you are experiencing technical difficulties in applying through www.grants.gov because of
operational or other issues related to COVID-19, please see Section IV.B. of the RFA.

Common Issues to Avoid When Trying to Submit the Application Package through www.grants.gov

•	Ensure that your files are not corrupt or forcing any errors before uploading them to www.grants.gov.

•	Ensure the file name(s) does not exceed 50 characters.

•	Incorrect version of Adobe Reader - www.grants.gov supports Adobe Reader version DC through 11.x.
For additional information on software compatibility, please visit
www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html.

•	Review other common error messages at www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/encountering-error-
messages.html.

Common Reasonsforwww.grants.gov Application Package Rejection

•	Applicant's www.sam.gov account is inactive: You must log into your account at least once per year for
your account to remain active. It's easy to check your account status by going to www.sam.gov and
entering your organization's UEI.

•	Applicant used the wrong UEI: Use the same, 12-digit alphanumeric ID in www.grants.gov and on the
application forms.

•	The submitter is not the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR): Individuals submitting
application packages on behalf of their organization must be the AOR, or use the AOR's username and
password. The organization's E-Biz POC must authorize the individual as the AOR.

•	The application was submitted with another organization's account information: The applicant did not
have an active www.sam.gov account and had another party submit an application package on their
behalf. EPA considers the party submitting the application package as the applicant and will not accept
applications on behalf of other organizations.

•	The applicant is unsure if the application was submitted successfully: When attempting to submit the
application package, some applicants have reported their screen continuing to say "in progress." Make
sure you submit the application early to allow for any issues that may occur along the way. Call the
www.grants.gov Support Center for FREE assistance at 1-800-518-4726.

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