Region 8
Wetlands
Regional Information
EPA Region 8 is soliciting proposals for the FY12/FY13 Wetland Program Development Grant (WPDG) competition
The WPDG was initiated in FY90 to provide applicants an opportunity to carry out projects to develop and refine comprehensive wetland programs. The authority for this grant program is Section 104(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), which restricts the use of these grant funds to improving wetland programs by conducting or promoting the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution.
The Region 8 Wetland Program Development Grant RFP (PDF) is open to States, Tribes, local governments, interstate agencies, and tribal consortia. This RFP encourages full and open competition by these applicants and does not give unfair bias to certain eligible applicants over another.
Proposals for the 2012/2013 WPDG are due on March 26, 2012. Proposals must be received by the Region contact by 5:00 PM MDT, March 26, 2012, or if applying via grants.gov, 11:59 PM MDT, March 26, 2012. Proposals received after these times will not be considered. We encourage applicants to pay very close attention to the eligibility criteria in order for their proposals to be considered.
Late proposals will not be considered for funding. Questions about this RFP must be submitted in writing via e-mail to gonzales.cynthia@epa.gov before March 19, 2012. Written responses to frequently asked or general questions will be posted on this page .
Click here to view the FY12/FY13 WPDG RFP (PDF, 47 pp, 228K)
Important Message About A Change to the FY12 WPDG Solicitation Process
There is an important change in the way Region 8 will be soliciting proposals for Wetlands Protection Development Grants (WPDG) so that you have sufficient time to prepare proposals if you are interested in applying for these funds. Beginning in FY12, proposals for funding under WPDG may request two years of funding rather than limiting funding requests to one year of funding. The advantage to those who are successful in the competitive process is that funding will be increased to support a project for more than one year, eliminating the need for proposals to be written and competed in the second year. There is a risk that unforeseen changes to EPA’s budget could reduce or eliminate the second year of funding. Nevertheless, we believe a two-year funding cycle offers successful applicants greater planning and project stability, particularly for States and Tribes to develop or complete their Wetlands Program Plans. Because this is now a two-year funding cycle, we will be requesting proposals every two years rather than each year as we have in the past.
The competitive process itself will not change. The content of the Request for Proposals (RFP) will be the same as it was in FY 11; there will still be two separate tracks for eligible applicants. Eligible States and Tribes are under Track One and must submit proposals for either: 1) carrying out grant-eligible actions from an EPA-approved Wetland Program Plan (WPP), or 2) developing a WPP (and, if they so choose, also carrying out actions in accordance with the Wetlands Core Element Framework (CEF). If a State or Tribe submits any other type of proposals they will be included and evaluated under Track Two. Under Track Two, States, Tribes, local governments, interstate agencies, intertribal consortia, and universities that are agencies of a state must submit proposals to carry out action(s) to develop or refine a State, Tribe or local government’s wetland program from the CEF, or from the grant-eligible actions articulated in an EPA-approved WPP. Applicants under each track will only compete for awards against other applicants in their track. We plan to post the final RFP in late January 2012.
We are posting questions and answers on this page . However, if you have unanswered questions and would like to talk to an EPA staff, please refer to this list of contacts assigned to individual States and Tribes to help you. Cynthia Gonzales, our WPDG Coordinator, is also available for questions at (303) 312-6569 or gonzales.cynthia@epa.gov. Thank you for your interest in developing tools and programs to protect wetlands.
See the video:
Wetlands & Wonder: Reconnecting Children with Nearby Nature
What we do in the Region 8 Wetlands Program:
- Review permits and projects involving discharges of fill material and compensatory mitigation
- Implement guidance on Clean Water Act jurisdictional determinations
- Provide funding and technical assistance to build State and Tribal wetland program capacity
- Provide a variety of education and outreach materials related to EPA's wetlands program
Region 8 Wetlands Program Mailing Address:
Region 8 Wetlands Program
Mail Code: 8-EPR-EP
1595 Wynkoop St
Denver, Colorado 80202-1129