NEPPS: Implementing Performance Partnerships
State and Tribal participation in performance partnerships is voluntary and involves the development of Performance Partnership Agreements (PPAs) and/or Performance Partnership Grants (PPGs).
PPAs are agreements that formally recognize that all partners have unique capacities, interests, and priorities. PPAs can range from a general statement about how the state or Tribe and EPA will work together as partners (perhaps identifying joint priorities that will be addressed) to comprehensive, multi-program documents that detail each party's roles and responsibilities.
PPAs can also serve as the work plans for PPGs. PPGs are a type of assistance agreement where recipients may combine funds from two or more eligible environmental grant programs into a single grant.
Elements of Effective PPAs
Successful PPAs typically include the following key elements:
• A description of environmental conditions, priorities, and strategies;
• Performance measures for evaluating environmental progress;
• A process for jointly evaluating how well the PPA is working and an agreement to implement any needed improvements;
• A description of the process for mutual accountability, including a clear definition of the roles of each party in carrying out the PPA and an overview of how resources will be deployed to accomplish the work; and
• A description of how the priorities in the PPA align with those in EPA’s Strategic Plan and the state or Tribe’s own strategic (or other related) plan.
Benefits of a PPG
Under traditional environmental program grants, states and Tribes receive funds to implement various water, air, waste, pesticides, and toxic substances programs. Environmental program grant funds can only be spent on activities that fall within the statutory and regulatory boundaries of that program. By combining two or more of their environmental program grants into a PPG, states and Tribes can perform and report on the grant activities under one work plan.
The regulations governing all state and Tribal environmental grant programs including PPGs are published in 40 CFR Part 35. By entering into a PPG, recipients can take advantage of a range of flexibility in administering their grant, such as:
• Reducing administrative burden by allowing states to meet match requirements as a whole rather than by individual program, streamlining paperwork and accounting requirements, and allowing funding of cross-cutting projects;
• Eliminating cost share requirements for Tribes;
• Fostering joint planning and priority setting by requiring consideration of EPA and state or Tribe priorities in developing grant work plans;
• Allowing grant work plans to be organized by environmental program area or by function (permitting, monitoring, inspections, etc.); and
• Promoting results-oriented environmental programs by recognizing that both outcome and output measures are needed for management purposes.
There are currently 18 environmental programs that are eligible for inclusion in a PPG. Those programs, which provide competitive and/or non-competitive grants, are:
|
EPA Office |
CFDA Number |
Environmental Program Grant |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Air and Radiation | 66.001 | Air Pollution Control Program Support |
| 66.032 | State Indoor Radon Grants | |
| Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention | 66.707 | TSCA Title IV State Lead Grants Certification of Lead-Based Paint Professionals |
| 66.708 | Pollution Prevention Grant Program* | |
| Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance | 66.700 | Consolidated Pesticide Enforcement Cooperative Agreements1 |
| 66.701 | Toxic Substances Compliance Monitoring Cooperative Agreements | |
| Office of International and Tribal Affairs | 66.926 | Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) |
| Office of Land and Emergency Management | 66.801 | Hazardous Waste Management State Program Support |
| 66.804 | Underground Storage Tank Prevention, Detection, and Compliance Program2 | |
| 66.812 | Hazardous Waste Management Grant Program for Tribes* | |
| 66.817 | State and Tribal Response Program Grants | |
| Office of Mission Support | 66.608 | Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program and Related Assistance* |
| Office of Water | 66.419 | Water Pollution Control State, Interstate, and Tribal Program Support |
| 66.432 | State Public Water System Supervision | |
| 66.433 | State Underground Water Source Protection | |
| 66.460 | Nonpoint Source Implementation Grants3 | |
| 66.461 | Wetland Program Development Grants* | |
| 66.472 | Beach Monitoring and Notification Program Implementation Grants | |
| *Denotes programs that are awarded competitively. 1Pesticide cooperative enforcement (section 23(a)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)), pesticide applicator certification and training (section 23(a)(2) of FIFRA), and pesticide program implementation (section 23(a)(1) of FIFRA) fall under this assistance listing. 2For this program, a Categorical underground storage tank (UST) prevention, detection, and compliance program grant cannot be incorporated into a PPG if it has already been combined with a leaking underground storage tank (LUST) prevention grant. 3While states and Tribes are eligible for noncompetitive grants under the Nonpoint Source (319) program, Tribes have an additional option to apply for a competitive 319 grant targeting specific proposed on-the-ground projects. |
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In the past, there have been other EPA grant programs that were listed as eligible for inclusion in a PPG. Due to those programs being discontinued, inactive, or lacking appropriations, they are excluded from the table above. Examples include:
• Multipurpose Grants to States and Tribes
• Multimedia Sector Program Grants
• Water Quality Cooperative Agreements (CWA §104(b)(3))