Funding availability for Puget Sound Action Agenda - Strategic Implementation Leads
- About this funding opportunity
- Important dates
- How to apply
- Applicant webinar
- Frequent questions
- Contacts
About this funding opportunity
The goal of this funding opportunity is to support a funding model that allows the EPA Puget Sound Recovery National Program to provide a predictable, transparent, collaborative local/regional funding system with a strategic focus of investments.
We anticipate awarding one cooperative agreement for each of the three Strategic Implementation Lead areas of focus for a total up to $120 million divided among the three awards:
- Habitat/Marine
- Shellfish
- Stormwater
Funding for each award is expected to be provided incrementally over a five-year period.
The successful applicant will manage the EPA cooperative agreement, award and manage sub-awards to support the implementation of the Action Agenda, serve as Implementation Strategy Leads, and participate in Puget Sound Partnership and National Estuary Program Management Conference processes and work groups.
Important dates
- March 24, 2026 - application preparation assistance webinar (recording available, see below).
- May 11, 2026 - application submission deadline (11:59pm Eastern/8:59pm Pacific).
- May 2026 - anticipated notification of selection.
- June 2026 - anticipated award notification.
How to apply
Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov no later than Monday, May 11, 2026, at 11:59pm Eastern (8:59pm Pacific) in order to be considered for funding.
Visit Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-R10-PS-2025-01 to read the full Notice of Funding Opportunity and learn how to apply.
If you need help logging into Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov help desk by phone at 1-800-518-4726 or by email at support@grants.gov.
Applicant webinar
EPA hosted an informational webinar on March 24 for applicants to learn more about the funding opportunity and the grant application process. Copies of the presentation and a recording of the webinar are available upon request by emailing Greg Eide (eide.greg@epa.gov).
Frequent questions
Last updated 4/15/2026 (additions will be marked as “new” or “revised”).
Questions related to project eligibility
Are Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups and coalitions that include the Puget Sound area and other jurisdictions eligible?
Answer: Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups are eligible for this grant if they are located within or their jurisdictions include waters and/or lands within the Puget Sound area. The greater Puget Sound basin is defined as all watersheds draining to the U.S. waters of Puget Sound, southern Georgia Basin, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Applications must include activities taking place within the greater Puget Sound Basin.
Are current recipients/subrecipients of EPA grants eligible?
Answer: Yes.
Can another federal agency be included as a subawardee?
Answer: Yes, an EPA grant recipient can enter into an agreement with a federal agency to perform services that will be paid for with grant funds provided the federal agency has statutory authority to retain and use the funds. Please reference Section 7.0 (b) of EPA Subaward Policy for further clarification.
[New 4/15] Is this a national solicitation for technical assistance providers?
Answer: This Notice of Funding Opportunity is for three Strategic Implementation Leads whose applications must meet the specific eligibility and programmatic requirements regarding implementation activities within the greater Puget Sound basin. This work supports activities, broadened collaborations, and communications for the protection and restoration of Puget Sound, consistent with the EPA approved Action Agenda and the agency’s priorities. Eligible applicants are based on the Assistant Listing and CFR 200 definitions.
Questions related to budget
Is an applicant’s state match restricted by the effective and end dates of the Strategic Implementation Lead 3.0 EPA dates, or is there flexibility to use funds from projects implemented over the past few years? If there is flexibility, how far back would be acceptable?
Answer: Cost sharing expenses must be incurred during the period of performance/project period. An expense for a project that started outside the Strategic Implementation Lead 3.0 period of performance/project period could be used for cost sharing so long as the expense for that portion of the project was incurred during the Strategic Implementation Lead 3.0 period of performance/project period. Selected recipients must comply with 2 CFR 200.306 when meeting a cost share requirement.
[Revised 4/15] If the total project cost for a habitat/marine proposal is $48 million, the true amount awarded would be 50% ($24 million)?
Answer: The total award budget is comprised of the sum of the federal funds awarded, plus the cost share. In the example of the Habitat/Marine Strategic Implementation Leads, applicants should prepare an application for a total award budget of $96 million, with $48 million in federal funding and $48 million in match/cost share. As stated in Section 2 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity, EPA anticipates providing up to the following amounts in federal funding for each Strategic Implementation Lead (subject to future appropriations, agency priorities, grantee performance, etc.): $48 million for the Habitat/Marine, $30 million for Shellfish, and $42 million for Stormwater. EPA is requiring applicants to identify the non-federal cost share of 50% of the total project costs, which is essentially an equal cost share of the total project cost. See 2 CFR 200.306 for more detail on cost share requirements and Sections 2.A.1 and B of the Notice of Funding Opportunity for more information on threshold criteria and cost sharing.
[Revised 4/15] Do applicants need to already have 50% of the total project costs to contribute to the proposed work (i.e., 50% cost sharing)?
Answer: Applicants do not need to have the total non-federal cost share (Habitat/Marine: $48 million, Shellfish: $30 million, and Stormwater: $42 million) upfront. However, applicants must demonstrate in their proposals how they will meet the cost share requirement over the entire project period to be considered eligible. Successful applicants must comply with 2 CFR 200.306 when meeting a cost share requirement.
Questions related to grant management
Are the awardees publicly listed after the determination is made?
Answer: EPA will provide notifications, as appropriate.
How often does EPA reimburse awarded grantees?
Answer: Grantees will have access to a system called Automated Standard Application for Payments, where they will drawdown as needed. As required by 2 CFR 200.305(b), recipients must only draw funds for the minimum amounts needed for actual and immediate cash requirements to pay employees, contractors, subrecipients, or to satisfy other obligations for allowable costs under the assistance agreement. The timing and amounts of the drawdowns must be as close as administratively feasible to actual disbursement of EPA funds. The payment policy states that any funds drawn must be expended within 5 business days.
[New 4/15] Can a Strategic Implementation Lead award funds to itself? For example, if an entity becomes a SIL, can that entity provide funding for in house projects?
Answer: One of the primary roles of the Strategic Implementation Leads is to award and manage subawards to support the implementation of the Action Agenda and maintain Strategic Initiative Advisory Teams to advise in investment-related decision-making. The EPA review panel for this Notice of Funding Opportunity will assess whether the workplan provided by the applicant supports the implementation of the Action Agenda effectively and efficiently. Making and managing subawards is a required component of the workplan, and the application will be scored on the applicant’s ability to develop a subaward management system. The applicant should also note the budget implications associated with awarding project funds to themselves, and whether that cuts into the capacity and capabilities of the other Lead responsibilities. Please refer to Sections 3 and 4 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
General questions
Will the review panel be comprised of specialists within the technical areas (habitat/marine, shellfish, stormwater)?
Answer: The review panel will consist of EPA personnel who are knowledgeable in the field of endeavor for which awards are being competed and who do not have any conflicts of interest with respect to the competing proposals/applications or applicants.
What does “incremental funding” mean?
Answer: Incremental funding is different from full or partial funding. An application, if selected for award, may be either fully or partially funded. This refers to the total federal amount of the final award and may be either the full amount requested by the applicant or some amount less, i.e., partial. How the funds are disbursed to the grantee may be either in one installment or in increments. Incremental funding is a financial mechanism used in government contracting where budgetary resources are allocated to a grant over time rather than providing the full grant amount upfront. Assuming future funding is made available, EPA will provide funding for multi-year projects in increments awarded each year until the recipient receives the total award amount,. See Section 1.F of the Notice of Funding Opportunity for more information. Please note that EPA cannot provide more funding than what the recipient requests in their application.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity’s evaluation review criteria include past performance in successfully completing and managing assistance agreements. Should we provide information about the individual applicant’s federal grants, or a list of the federal grants from the entire entity (ideally EPA grants)?
Answer: The past performance section of the project narrative is used by EPA to evaluate an applicant’s ability to successfully manage their proposed project based on their past grant performance. Prior EPA grants are preferred; however, any federally funded assistance agreements, grants, and/or cooperative agreements will fulfill the requirement. We are looking for both staff and organizational experience. The applicant is the organization submitting the application. To see how EPA will evaluate past performance, please see Section 6 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
[New 4/15] Will the most likely strategy for this funding cycle be for Washington state agencies to manage these awards as they are well positioned to be a bridge between the federal and local levels?
Answer: The purpose and top priority of this Notice of Funding Opportunity is to support Puget Sound ecosystem recovery. All applications that meet the eligibility requirements and review criteria will be evaluated based on the extent and quality to which they demonstrate the capability to successfully perform the project as described in Section 3 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Contacts
For technical questions, please contact Haley Lewis (lewis.haley@epa.gov), 206-553-2987.
For eligibility questions, please contact Greg Eide (eide.greg@epa.gov), 360-753-9475.
For more information about how EPA distributes money from Congress to help protect and restore Puget Sound, visit Funding and Grants for Puget Sound.