Selected Federal Agency Announcements and Related for the Week of December 17, 2018

The following is a selection of recent announcements gleaned from various federal sources and colleagues, and is provided to EDA’s Economic Development Integrators to increase our awareness of complementary resources for economic development. Special thanks to ETA and other federal partners for sharing content included below.

Also visit the following links on our updated EDI webpages at www.eda.gov/edi for additional information about federal resources that are available to support comprehensive regional economic development strategies, including:

Click here to view all weekly federal announcement posts.

Contents

Funding & Resource Announcements

ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY

NOAA Announces FY19 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants. Apply by Jan 29, 2019

NOAA-NOS-OCM-2019-2005879. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program (CRCP), 16 USC §§ 6401-6409, provides matching grants of financial assistance through the Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grant. These awards are intended to support coral reef conservation projects in shallow water coral reef ecosystems, including reefs at mesophotic depths, in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and coral-dominated banks in the U.S. portions of the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA expects that each applicant will request Federal funding at a funding level between $30,000 and $80,000 under this solicitation and that the average award size will be approximately $50,000. See Grants.gov for application requirements and more information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=310476

 

INFRASTRUCTURE

EPA Announces Availability of 2019 Brownfields Grants. Apply by Jan 31.

EPA’s Brownfields Program announces the opening of the request for proposals for Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grants. Grants offered by the Brownfields Program can be used to address sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum) and petroleum. The proposal submission deadline is January 31, 2019.  Please visit the Types of Grant Funding page for an overview of the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grants.

Additional FY 2019 Application Resources

USDA Announces Broadband Pilot:  “ReConnect Program” – New Loan and Grant Application Portal Expected to Open in February 2019.

 

Reference:  USDA’s December 13 Announcement on the Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program)

 

On March 23, 2018, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (the Act), which established a new broadband loan and grant pilot program, now called the Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program). One of the essential goals of the ReConnect Program is to expand broadband service to rural areas without sufficient broadband access. In facilitating the expansion of broadband services and infrastructure, the pilot will fuel long-term rural economic development and opportunities in rural America. One of those opportunities is precision agriculture. The use of this technology requires a robust broadband connection. The awards made under this program will bring high speed broadband to the farms which will allow them to increase productivity.

 

USDA will make available approximately $200 million for grants (applications due to USDA by April 29), as well as $200 million for loan and grant combinations (applications due May 29), and $200 million for low-interest loans (applications due by June 28). An electronic copy of the ReConnect Program FOA is available under Forms & Resources.

How to apply: The first round of applicants have three separate funding categories to choose from: 100 percent (%) loan, 50% loan / 50% grant, or 100% grant. Applicants will be limited to ONE application for this FOA. RUS will finalize the application window by notice in the Federal Register and Grants.gov on February 22, 2019.

 

While the online application portal is not yet open, a fact sheet may be viewed at https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/ReConnect_Program-Factsheet.pdf,. And a dditional information and guidelines for the program can be found at this site: https://reconnect.usda.gov/s/

 

INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION

DOE SBIR/STTR Opportunities: 34 Topics for Small Business Research and Development

Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced 34 topic areas for new Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research and development projects. AMO will fund four subtopics within the EERE-funded topics and will also partner with the Solar Energy Technologies, Geothermal Technologies, and Fuel Cell Technology Offices on four joint topic areas.

SBIR/STTR provides funding for innovations that address multiple research and development programs throughout DOE, all aiming to spur innovation and create jobs in the United States.

Additional information on the DOE SBIR and STTR programs is available here. More information about the AMO projects announced is available here.

 

NOAA Seeks SBIR Phase I Applications for new R&D with Commercial Potential. Proposals Due Jan 8.

NOAA’s SBIR Program is seeking highly innovative products with excellent commercial potential. All SBIR proposals must directly benefit the NOAA mission, but should also be responsive to the greater market demands in order to be successful. All SBIR applications must be made in response to a NOAA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

The FY19 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been posted to Grants.gov. In particular, applicants should review Section 9 for current Research Topics.  To view the full announcement, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=310297.

The deadline for proposals is January 8, 2019.

 

For more information, please view the NOAA SBIR Grants Fact Sheet

 

OPIOD IMPACTED COMMUNITIES
NEW: HHS Announces Multiple Funding Opportunites

 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has identified a number of grant opportunities related to opioid use/disorder under the HEAL initiative announced last week.  Individual grant announcements can be found on www.grants.gov under the “opioid” search term.

 

Federal Funding Opportunities Closing Soon:  

 

Below is a list of previously highlighted funding opportunities that are still open. Enter the Opportunity Number in Grants.gov to see announcement details. You can also search Grants.gov for a full list of current federal opportunities, including programs not listed below.

 

Opportunity Number Opportunity Title Agency Posted Date Close Date
EDAP2018 FY18 Economic Development Assistance Programs: Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance DOC-EDA 07/02/2018
693JJ319NF-NSFLTP Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP) DOT-FHWA 10/04/2018  
TATFY19 Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Grant Program for Water and Wastewater Systems USDA-RUS 10/01/2018 12/31/2018
SWMFY2019 Solid Waste Management Grant Program USDA-RUS 10/01/2018 12/31/2018
NOAA-OAR-OAR-TPO-2019-2005899 FY 2019 SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM DOC 11/08/2018 01/08/2019
HRSA-19-003 Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) HHS-HRSA 10/19/2018 01/08/2019
USDA-NIFA-OP-006669 Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans USDA-NIFA 11/01/2018 01/10/2019
19-506 Partnerships for Innovation NSF 10/19/2018 01/17/2019
USDA-FS-WERC-2019 2019 Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity USDA-FS 10/31/2018 01/23/2019
NOAA-NOS-OCM-2019-2005879 FY19 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants DOC 11/19/2018 01/29/2019
DHS-18-MT-047-000-99 Fy 2018 Pre-Disaster Mitigation DHS-DHS 08/03/2018 01/31/2019
DHS-18-MT-029-000-99 FY 2018 Flood Mitigation Assistance DHS-DHS 08/03/2018 01/31/2019
EPA-OLEM-OBLR-18-07

 

 FY19 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELDS CLEANUP GRANTS EPA 11/29/2018 01/31/2019
EPA-OLEM-OBLR-18-06

 

 FY19 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELDS ASSESSMENT GRANTS EPA 11/29/2018 01/31/2019
EPA-OLEM-OBLR-18-08

 

 FY19 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELDS MULTIPURPOSE (MP) GRANTS EPA 11/29/2018 01/31/2019
19-516 NSF – Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future NSF 11/01/2018 02/04/2019
19-501 Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations NSF 10/06/2018 02/28/2019

 

Recently Announced Federal Awards:

 

EDA Announced 2018 Regional Innovation Strategies Awards; Next Competition Will Open Feb 1, 2019

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that 40 organizations — including nonprofits, institutions of higher education, and entrepreneurship-focused organizations — from 28 states and two territories will receive $21 million to create and expand cluster-focused entrepreneurship and technology transfer programs, and early-stage seed fund support under the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) 2018 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program competition.  The full list of 2018 i6 grantees can be found on the EDA RIS 2018 i6 Challenge webpage. 2018 Seed Fund Support Program grantees are highlighted on the 2018 Seed Fund program page.

 

The Secretary also announced that EDA will open the 2019 RIS competition on February 1st, 2019, when the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is scheduled to be published on grants.gov. Prospective applicants can find more information, including information on eligibility and how they will be able to apply, on EDA’s RIS webpage.

 

DOT Announced $1.5B in BUILD Grants to 91 Projects

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao has announced $1.5 billion in discretionary grant funding to 91 projects in 49 states and the District of Columbia. The grants are made through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Grants program and support road, rail, transit, and port infrastructure projects across the country.

Demand for BUILD grants far exceeded available funds: 851 eligible applications requesting more than $10.9B in funding were sent in response to the BUILD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), nearly double the applications received in 2017. Selection criteria included safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental protection, and state of good repair. Further criteria included innovation, such as projects supporting Autonomous Vehicles infrastructure, broadband service to underserved communities, as well as projects that demonstrate partnerships between the public and private sectors, and non-Federal revenue for transportation infrastructure investments. The Department prioritized rural projects that aligned with the criteria and addressed rural infrastructure needs.

See fact sheet for details on 2018 BUILD Grantees: https://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/build-2018-fact-sheets

 

Public Meetings, Events and Training

NEW Executive Order on Establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council

On December 12, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. The Council will be chaired by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, and comprised of 13 Federal agencies.

The Council will engage with all levels of government on ways to better use taxpayer dollars to revitalize low-income communities. The Council will improve revitalization efforts by streamlining, coordinating, and targeting existing Federal programs to economically distressed areas, including Opportunity Zones. In 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which established Opportunity Zones to incentivize long-term investments in low-income communities across the country.

Lack of coordination and targeting has led to cumbersome applications, program waste, and ineffective benefits. The Council will consider legislative proposals and undertake regulatory reform to remove barriers to revitalization efforts. The Council will present the President with a number of reports identifying and recommending ways to encourage investment in economically distressed communities.

View the complete EO here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-establishing-white-house-opportunity-revitalization-council/

 

ITA’s Free Market Diversification Tool; Webinar Dec 18

 

The new Market Diversification Tool from the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) can help. Just tell the tool about your trade activity (what and where you are exporting) and if there are countries/regions of particular interest for limiting your search. Based on the scoring of 11 indicators (which you can adjust), you’ll learn about additional markets to consider. The indicators range from product-specific trade and tariff data to economy-level macroeconomic and governance data. You can also export the data to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

The 30 minutes expository video is available at https://beta.trade.gov/marketdiversification/About-the-Tool.

Join a free training webinar to get the most out of the new Market Diversification Tool for your business. Click on a link to register for the webinars:

 

Podcast on Emerging Employment Trends

The National Association of Workforce Boards has recently featured “Emerging Trends and the Future of Work” in its podcast series.  See: https://www.nawb.org/WorkforceCentral

 

Also Upcoming:

 

Reports, Tools and Data

NEW: BEA Releases Prototype GDP by County 2012-2015

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released prototype statistics for gross domestic product (GDP) by county for 2012-2015. Combined with BEA’s county estimates of personal income, GDP by county offers a more complete picture of local area economic conditions. In conjunction with their release, BEA is requesting feedback and comments on these prototype statistics to assist in improving their quality, reliability and usefulness.

These prototype GDP statistics, which provide detail for 3,113 counties, include industry breakouts for private goods-producing industries, private services-producing industries, and the government and government enterprises industry group. These statistics represent another step forward in meeting BEA’s long-standing goal of providing a more detailed geographic distribution of the nation’s economic activity. County-level GDP statistics will assist analysts in the assessment of local economic performance and policymakers in the development of strategies to promote economic growth. They will also help answer important questions related to the size and condition of local area economies, industrial composition, and comparative growth trends.

Access highlights and more data here: https://www.bea.gov/news/2018/prototype-gross-domestic-product-county-2012-2015

 

NEW:  WIOA State Workforce Development Plans (2018-2020) Are Approved and Available Online

Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), States and Territories submit a Unified or Combined State Plan to the U.S. Department of Labor that outlines a four-year strategy for the State’s workforce development system. In the spring of 2018, States and Territories submitted the required two-year modification to their four-year WIOA State Plans for Federal review and approval.

 

The Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, whose programs are included in the State Plan, are pleased to announce that the public and stakeholders may view, download, and search the approved WIOA State Plans for the period July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020. As the Departments approve additional WIOA State Plans, these will also be available at this site. In addition, the WIOA State Plans, covering the period July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2020, remain available.

 

The Departments look forward to continuing to partner with States and Territories to implement the workforce development system as envisioned by WIOA.

 

 

Census Releases Latest American Community Survey Data

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the release of the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates, which features more than 40 social, economic, housing and demographic topics, including homeownership rates and costs, health insurance, and educational attainment. The ACS five-year data release produces statistics for all of the nation’s 3,142 counties. It is the only full data set available for the 2,316 counties with populations too small to produce a complete set of single-year ACS estimates.

 

New Data Exploration Platform

 

The 2013-2017 ACS five-year estimates are available on data.census.gov, a site that lets you preview the latest developments in accessing Census Bureau data. The site includes county-level geography profiles, which provide data users a high-level overview of each of the 3,142 counties in a visual format with maps, charts and graphs. These profiles source 2013-2017 ACS five-year estimates on a variety of topics including income, commuting, home ownership and veterans, as well as business and industry data from the 2012 Economic Census, 2016 County Business Patterns and 2012 Survey of Business Owners. Visit data.census.gov and check out the latest release notes and FAQs to learn more about the full set of data and features available on this preview platform. Our development depends on your feedback. Once you have reviewed the site, please send your comments to [email protected]. For official ACS statistics, please access American FactFinder at factfinder.census.gov.

 

 

Disaster Recovery Resources & Info

Primary site for Disaster Recovery Assistance: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/

Where to Find Federal Disaster Declarations

  • Is your home, business or community included in a federally declared emergency or disaster area? You can find the latest federal emergency and disaster declarations, as well as prior declarations for other areas, on FEMA’s disaster declarations webpage.

 

  • Amended Declarations: Existing Declarations may be subsequently amended to expand covered areas, provide notification that an incident has been closed, or make other necessary changes.

 

Find recent amendments for GA, NC and WI and other recently declared areas here: https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/federal-emergency-management-agency#documents

 

Funding and other Assistance Available for Recovery:

FEMA Disaster Mitigation Assistance Grants; Apply by Jan 31, 2019

DHS FEMA FY 2018 Pre-Disaster Mitigation – $235 million

Applications Due: January 31, 2019

Eligible Entities: State governments, U.S. territories, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments

The Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program makes available Federal funds to State, Local and Tribal Governments to implement and sustain cost-effective measures designed to reduce the risk to individuals and property from natural hazards, while also reducing reliance on Federal funding from future disasters.

FEMA will provide allocations of $575,000 as required by the Stafford Act to states and territories; and a tribal set aside of $15 million for allocations up to $575,000 for Native American Indian tribal governments to support overall mitigation planning and projects. The remaining PDM funds will be awarded on a competitive basis with a focus on multi-state/tribal mitigation initiatives. For more information, visit the funding opportunity description.

 

DHS FEMA FY 2018 Flood Mitigation Assistance – $160 million

Applications Due: January 31, 2019

Eligible Entities: State governments, U.S. territories, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments

The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program makes available Federal funds to State, Local and Tribal Governments to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings and structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FEMA will seek to fund two types of community flood mitigation activities: Advance Assistance for flood mitigation design and development of community flood mitigation projects and mitigation projects that address community flood risk for the purpose of reducing NFIP flood claim payments. The remaining funding will be used for FMA technical assistance, mitigation planning, and mitigation projects reducing risk to severe repetitive loss (SRL) and repetitive loss (RL) properties.

For more information, visit the funding opportunity description.

 

EDA Has Supplemental Funding Available for Areas Impacted by 2017 Hurricanes, Wildfires and Other Disasters

These grants will support disaster recovery activities in areas receiving a major disaster designation as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and wildfires and other 2017 natural disasters. EDA plans to accept proposals on a rolling basis until all funds are obligated.  Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. See the following links for details:

 

Florida Launches Rebuild Florida – Register by Dec 23

Eligible Florida residents have until Dec. 23 to register for the Rebuild Florida Housing Repair and Replacement Program.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) launched Rebuild Florida, a long-term recovery effort, which will provide $616 million to help Florida families whose homes were significantly damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma repair or rebuild their homes. Rebuild Florida is a program run by DEO in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For those whose homes were destroyed or are still damaged, please go online to RebuildFlorida.gov or visit a Rebuild Florida center opening near you to register for assistance. Begin registration at RebuildFlorida.gov or by calling the Rebuild Florida representatives at 844-833-1010. Rebuild Florida centers will also be opening in the hardest hit counties

More Resources for Recovery and Resilience

Self-Paced Webinar – A Guide to SBA’s Disaster Assistance Programs

Take this free self-paced training course for an overview of SBA’s disaster assistance programs which provide low-interest disaster loans to help businesses of all sizes and homeowners recover from declared disasters.
Launch the course

 

DOL ETA’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification Issues Guidance on Hurricanes Florence and Hurricane Michael

The Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification has published guidance regarding reasonable case-accommodations in light of the damage done by Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael.  Please see response with full details: https://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdf/Guidance_for_Hurricanes_Florence_and_Michael.pdf

Hurricane Florence: BLS Has Employment, Wages, and Establishment Counts in Flood Zones

USDOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has maps and tables are available for areas in all of the states that may be affected by Hurricane Florence (https://www.bls.gov/cew/hurricane_zones/2018/florence/home.htm). The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program has created a set of maps and data for hurricane flood zones on the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts For more information, see the flood zone FAQ page.

Economic Recovery Support & the National Disaster Response Framework