Get Grants: Restore Great Lakes & Boost Your Business!

This Request For Proposals (RFP) solicits proposals from eligible entities for grantsand cooperative agreements to be awarded pursuant to a portion of the $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative included in Public Law 111-88, the Department of the Interior,Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 which is in furtherance ofPresident Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (the “Initiative”) announced in February 2009. The President and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with 15 other federal agencies, have made restoring the Great Lakes a national priority. The Initiative builds on the prior efforts of agency, business, public interest, and other leaders which resulted inthe Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy (GLRC Strategy) and the Great LakesRestoration Initiative Action Plan now being developed.

This RFP represents EPA’s majorcompetitive grant funding opportunity under the Initiative and is one of several fundingopportunities described in the Initiative’s Interagency Funding Guide. This RFP, in conjunction with other funding opportunities under the Initiative, will be used to competitively provide funding to eligible entities to address the most significant Great Lakes ecosystem problems and efforts in five major focus areas:• Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern, including pollution prevention and cleanup ofthe most polluted areas in the Great Lakes.• Invasive Species, including efforts to institute a “zero tolerance policy” toward newinvasions.• Nearshore Health and Nonpoint Source Pollution, including a targeted geographic focuson high priority watersheds and reducing polluted runoff from urban, suburban and,agricultural sources.• Habitat and Wildlife Protection and Restoration, including bringing wetlands and otherhabitat back to life, and the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the entire 530,000acres of Great Lakes coastal wetlands for the purpose of strategically targeting restorationand protection efforts in a science-based manner.• Accountability, Education, Monitoring, Evaluation, Communication and Partnerships,including the implementation of goal- and results-based accountability measures, learninginitiatives, outreach and strategic partnerships.