Clean Diesel FY23 Funding

New Q&A were added to the below section.

This Request for Applications seeks to select organizations that will join with Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) in an aggregated competitive proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program for FY 2022-2023.

Maximum federal funding for MEC’s proposal is $3.5 million. MEC expects to select five to ten (5-10) projects for inclusion in its proposal to EPA, though we may select fewer or more.

Partnership applications under this RFA are limited to replacement of eligible diesel vehicles with alternative fuel or electric vehicles, the replacement of eligible diesel engines with alternative fuel or electric engines, the conversion of eligible diesel engines to run on alternative fuels, and/or the installation of electric parking spaces.

Follow-on activities including public engagement, workforce readiness training, and climate change mitigation planning are allowed and encouraged. All projects must achieve significant reductions in pollution emitted from diesel engines.

If MEC’s proposal to EPA is successful, selected projects will enter a contract agreement with MEC for their performance, beginning in July of 2024, and will be authorized to begin procurement work upon execution of agreement.

Important Dates

RFA Issue Date9/15/2023
Pre-Application Meeting10/5/2023 10:00am CST
RFA Questions Deadline10/27/2023
RFA Submission Deadline11/2/2023 2:00 PM CST
Expected Date for MEC Selection Notification11/7/2023
Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiation Award with MEC is fully contingent on a successful application to EPA. Estimated July 2024.

Request for Applications

MEC RFA guidance document (click to download PDF)

Application Form (click to download Fillable PDF)

Budget Table and Fleet Data Worksheet (click to download Excel file)

Fleet Data Dictionary, for informational purposes only (click to download Excel file)

Recording: Pre-Application Webinar

A Pre-Application meeting was held on October 5, 2023. During the meeting, MEC staff conducted a walk-through of the RFA document and took questions from attendees. The meeting recording is available at the below link.

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/4556843912254175660

Staff Assistance

For assistance with applications, contact David Albrecht. David will not be involved in evaluating applications.

Questions and Answers

Applicants are also encouraged to submit questions in writing to Jeff Windsor. Questions will be accepted until October 27, 2023. MEC will try to respond to all questions publicly via this web page. Emails should use the subject line: “Query for DERA RFA”.

  • Q1. In column F of the budget worksheet, what info should be put in "group type"? For the application, can you tell us a little more about what grantees should prepare to do for outreach and how often they should do outreach activities?

    A1. Group type refers to “on-road”, “off-road” or “locomotive”, and is a category tracked by EPA. The drop-down menu for the field on the Budget and Fleet Data Sheet constrains responses to one of these three. Additional information for all fleet data sheet fields is available in a new resource: “Fleet Data Dictionary,” linked above.
    Baseline outreach activities that selected grantees should be prepared to participate in include: 1. announce their participation in a release and 2. participate in webinars or in-person presentations to peers and decision-makers on the topic of operational functionality and/or experience participating in an MEC or DERA grant program. Other types of participatory outreach are welcome within the community of the deployment location.

  • Q2. Are there limitations on number of hours in use?

    A2. Yes, EPA imposes minimum annual key-on hours for off-road vehicles. The following language is from the EPA RFP associated with these funds:

    Nonroad Operating Hours: No funds awarded under this RFP shall be used to retrofit,
    replace or upgrade or replace a nonroad engine that operates less than 500 hours per year.
    Engine hours may be combined to reach the 500–hour threshold where two engines will be
    scrapped and replaced with a single engine.

  • Q3. Where do we find out if our population is exposed to diesel PM concentrations at or above the 80th percentile?

    A3: Per RFA Guidance, section III.B.: “Further prioritized consideration will be given for projects that operate within non-Attainment or Maintenance Areas for PM 2.5 and Ozone (see EPA’s Green Book at https://www3.epa.gov/airquality/greenbook/mapnmpoll.html); or within areas where part or all of the population are exposed to diesel PM concentrations at or above the 80th percentile (see EPA’s EJ Screen at https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/).”

  • Q4. Three priority areas listed are: 1) Highest priority are EJ areas of KS and MO; 2) Then projects in non-attainment areas. Then projects that operate where 3) population is exposed to diesel PM concentrations at or above the 80th percentile. Is this correct? If we do not meet any of the three priority areas listed, would you still recommend that we apply?

    A4.  Yes, those are priority deployment considerations. However, please also review RFA Guidance section II. Program Goals and Benefits (page 3), for additional considerations that will contribute to evaluation and selection.

    And, yes, please do apply if you fall within EPA Region 7 (KS, MO, IA, NE).

  • Q5. For School Buses. How do we know much to request percentage wise for each bus? In the past it was a set amount per bus.

    A5.  See RFA Guidance, section III.C. Funding Allocations and Cost Sharing (pages 4-5) for cost sharing table and a table of examples. There is no specific reimbursement amount for each duty cycle, but instead there are specific percentage cost-sharing rules based on technology deployed.

    For further help with specifying appropriate cost-sharing within your application, contact our designated Staff Assistance, David Albrecht.

  • Q6. Will single Battery Electric Class 8 Tractor deployments be considered, or will multiple unit projects have much better chance of awards?

    A6.  Single unit projects are eligible and are not penalized.

    Note that evaluation criteria, such as air emissions impact, may tip the scales in favor of multi-unit applications.

  • Q7. What is the budget for the other RFA MEC currently has open for applications?

    A7. See web page for information about the RFA, Funding Support for EVs and Charging Stations, which is open until Oct 26.

    The available budget question is not answered here to avoid confusion with this DERA RFA.