OIA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Funding | OIA BIL 2024

Opportunity Information: Apply for OIA BIL 2024

The OIA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Funding opportunity (FY 2024) is a discretionary grant program administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs (OIA). It seeks project proposals that address environmental priorities in the U.S. insular areas, with a focus on practical, on-the-ground work that improves ecosystem health, supports restoration, and strengthens protection of natural and community assets. The eligible project themes are limited to four specific activities: (A) Invasive Species (Activity 6), (B) Revegetate Mined Lands (Activity 8), (C) Native Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration (Activity 9), and (D) Advancing the National Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) Framework through early detection surveillance for asset protection. In other words, applicants should be proposing work that either prevents and manages harmful invasive species, restores disturbed or mined landscapes through revegetation, builds or expands native seed capacity and strategies that support long-term restoration, or improves surveillance systems so new invasive threats can be detected early and responded to quickly.

Eligibility is restricted to non-federal entities operating in, or directly benefiting, the U.S. territories named in the announcement: Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Examples of eligible applicants include local government agencies (and the notice explicitly notes that this can include local hospitals/health centers and utilities), institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations whose mission directly benefits the listed insular areas. Applicants must be prepared to comply with the applicable federal grant administration rules and standards under 2 CFR 200 (the Uniform Guidance), which governs areas such as financial management, procurement, subawards, and audit requirements.

A key application requirement is that all applicants must provide specific information related to disadvantaged community status when applicable. If the project targets or meaningfully involves communities or areas that may be considered disadvantaged, the application should include documentation showing that status and describing the burdens experienced locally. The opportunity provides examples of burden categories that may be relevant, including climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water, and workforce development. The application should not only identify which burdens apply, but also cite the data source used to support those claims, and explain whether and how the proposed project is expected to deliver benefits to disadvantaged communities in the U.S. territories. For purposes of this funding, any census tract identified as disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) will be accepted as disadvantaged, which gives applicants a clear and standardized way to document eligibility under this aspect of the program.

The notice also clarifies that CEJST is not the only acceptable basis for documentation. Applicants may use other credible datasets and indicators, such as the U.S. Census Bureau Island Area Census, the FEMA National Risk Index, and relevant indicators or underlying variables from EPA EJScreen, especially where those sources help quantify environmental, climate, health, and economic burdens. The program also recognizes that territory-specific conditions are not always captured well in national datasets, so it allows locally sourced information as supporting evidence. Examples include data from territorial governments, federal regional offices such as the USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center, or other state, territorial, local governmental, or research organizations (for instance, public health and environmental organizations that maintain local burden or risk metrics). Practically, this means an application can be strengthened by combining a recognized national screening tool with local data that better reflects on-the-ground conditions and demonstrates who benefits from the work.

From the listing details, the opportunity number is OIA BIL 2024, it is categorized as an environment funding activity under CFDA 15.875, and the original closing date shown is October 30, 2024. The public listing shows an award ceiling of 0 and does not specify the number of expected awards, which typically means applicants need to rely on the full announcement for funding levels, or that awards may vary by activity and available appropriations. Overall, the program is best suited for territorial and local entities that can clearly align a project with one of the four named activities, show readiness to manage a federal grant under 2 CFR 200, and, where relevant, document disadvantaged status and articulate concrete, measurable benefits to disadvantaged communities in the insular areas.

• The Department of the Interior in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OIA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Funding" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.875.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for OIA BIL 2024

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