EPA Grants Competition Process Webinar, September 13, 2022 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Ql: Are Unique Entity Identifiers (UEI) provided to individuals or to entities (e.g., if we work with a university, does the university receive the UEI, or does the Principal Investigator (PI) on the application need a UEI)? Al: Individuals and organizations can register in SAM.gov to do business with the federal government. The most common are organizations. In the example you described the PI on the application will not have a separate UEI from the organization applying. The grant application form will use the UEI of the organization that is applying. There are instances (e.g., fellowships) where an individual applies directly and will need to register in SAM.gov and will use a separate UEI on the grant application forms. Q2: Does an entire agency need to register on SAM.gov or would the individual departments register? For example, I work for a county. I know that the county has registered through SAM.gov, but I'm not sure if my department needs to register. A2: There are parent and child relationships with organization registrations in SAM.gov. I would advise checking with your county to see if it is appropriate to use their UEI when applying for grants. While you may be able to use their UEI, you may need to work with the Ebiz point of contact to ensure your department has the applicable roles and responsibilities in Grants.gov to be able to submit applications. Only Authorized Organization Representatives (AOR) can submit applications on behalf of the organization in Grants.gov. Q3: Is there a fee to register on SAM.gov or Grants.gov? A3: No. Registering on SAM.gov and Grants.gov is free. Q4: For EPA competitive grants for private businesses under Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), do companies need to take the steps that are described during this webinar? A4: Anyone looking to do business with the federal government, including applying for IRA grants, will need to have an active SAM.gov and Grants.gov registration. Section III of any competitive grant announcement will highlight if non-profits or any other entity type are eligible. EPA received funding through IRA to establish new grant programs and existing grant programs. Q5: When do you think IRA grant guidance or Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) will come out? A5: EPA does not have a specific timeline for when IRA-funded competitive grant programs will be announced. Q6: I am still confused about the UEI. Would a subrecipient, not a subawardee, need to get a UEI? A6: Most federal agencies, including EPA, use the term subrecipient and subawardee interchangeably. EPA does not have a direct relationship with subrecipients and therefore does not require them to have an active SAM.gov registration or a UEI. You Page 1 of 3 ------- EPA Grants Competition Process Webinar, September 13, 2022 FAQs will need to determine if the prime recipient requires it. If you are planning on doing business directly with EPA or any other federal agency, a SAM.gov registration is required. There is a Federal Service Desk FAQ on the difference between SAM.gov registration and obtaining a UEI that you can view here: https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd sp?id=kb article view&sysparm article=KB0051214&sys kb id=dd40f4eflb9641d0937fa64ce54bcb7a&spa=l Q7: Is EPA required to provide the debrief within a specific timeframe after it's requested? A7: Not specifically; however, we are required to provide a timely debriefing. Applicants then have the opportunity to file a dispute within 15 days of that debriefing. Generally, Program Offices will be mindful of their current selections and funding availability to determine whether they need to pause awards while the dispute is resolved to be responsive to whatever determination is made. Q8: Do subaward recipients typically need a SAM ID for Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) reporting by prime recipients? A8: EPA does not require subrecipients to have a SAM.gov registration or UEI as we do not have a direct relationship with the subrecipient. The prime recipient may require a subrecipient to be registered in SAM.gov or have a UEI. FSRS.gov reporting is completed by the prime recipient in specific situations (described in detail in our EPA General Terms and Conditions). To my knowledge, FSRS.gov does not require the prime recipient to report the subrecipient's UEI or SAM.gov registration status as that is not a federal requirement. Q9: Are funds from a Multipurpose, Assessment, RLF, and Cleanup (MARC) grant eligible to be used towards contracting security for a site? A9: Please reach out directly to the point of contact listed in Section VII of that funding opportunity. They will be able to answer your question. Q10: Can we ask if a project is acceptable for the grant since it would be a yes or no question? A10: Yes, you can ask if your project is eligible under the Funding Opportunity Announcement. If the Program Office cannot answer your question, they will let you know. Qll: I registered for a grant. I was supposed to know the award decision by August 31 but have not heard back. Is it typical to receive an award notice later than the decision date? When should I start worrying that I didn't receive an email? All: If you applied for an EPA competitive grant, please contact the Agency Contacts in the NOFO or the EPA Contact in the synopsis of the NOFO to inquire the status of your application. The program contact will be in the best position to tell you where they are in the grants process. Yes, it is common for the grants process to be delayed. The selection or awarding of grants dates in the NOFO are estimates. Page 2 of 3 ------- EPA Grants Competition Process Webinar, September 13, 2022 FAQs Q12: I am preparing an application for a client (a city). Would the city register for SAM.gov and Grants.gov and make me a user? A12: Yes. If you are working for a client that is looking to apply for grants, the organization will need to register in SAM.gov and assign an Ebiz contact. Then you can register in Grants.gov and the organization can designate you a specific role to submit applications on their behalf. Q13: Will a teaming agreement in some situations allow for the necessary detailed delineations to avoid the snags that may be involved with switching or creating new SAM.gov / UEIs for ops? A13: Questions regarding the SAM.gov registrations or UEIs should be directed to the Federal Service Desk, if the answers are not available on the SAM.gov Knowledge Base. Q14: For coalition assessment grants, what constitutes a "community based" non-profit? A14: You appear to be referring to the EPA-QLEM-QBLR-22-07 FY23 Guidelines for Brownfield Assessment Grants (Assessment Coalition Grants) competition currently underway. Please reach out to the point of contact listed in Section VII to answer this and any other questions about the funding opportunity. Q15: Do you suggest we register on SAM.gov and Grants.gov now, even if we are not currently applying for a grant, or wait until we are interested in a NOFO/Request for Application (RFA)/Request for Proposal (RFP)? A15: Yes! That is a best practice that we recommend. Don't wait to register! The open periods are only 45 days, so being already registered will make the process less stressful and put you in a better position to be successful. Page 3 of 3 ------- |