If your grant proposal is selected for funding, it must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related applicable agency regulations and instructions; Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA); the Endangered Species Act (ESA); other federal environmental laws and regulations; and any applicable state, local, or tribal laws.
A review for NEPA compliance is required prior to the award of grant funds. If selected for an award, applicants must provide all requested information to support compliance with NEPA, NHPA, ESA, and all other federal environmental laws and regulations. USDA has released information about the type of information and documents that will be requested from RFSI grantees during this review on their NEPA Resources website. Projects involving construction of new structures, the expansion of existing structures, wastewater structures, ground disturbance, or other resource impacts are most likely to require additional site-specific environmental review and consultation. Please be advised that while we expect the environmental review process to go quickly for many grantees, some projects could be delayed by several months or more depending on the level of review required.
Resource: A Citizen's Guide to NEPA (PDF) provides an overview of NEPA requirements.
The Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act, enacted in 2021, established a domestic content procurement preference for all federal financial assistance obligated for infrastructure projects after May 14, 2022. The domestic content procurement preference requires that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in covered infrastructure projects are produced in the United States. Any public infrastructure project funded under the RFSI program must coordinate with us and USDA AMS to ensure it adheres to BABA guidance. We will help you determine if your project must comply with BABA. For such projects, you must comply with the Buy America Sourcing requirements outlined in the BABA provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and further described in 2 CFR Part 184 – Buy America Preferences For Infrastructure Projects.
For-Profit Entities: BABA does not apply to for-profit entities (either primary grantee or subrecipient) for infrastructure projects. AMS will review facilities owned by public entities to determine whether BABA requirements apply, following USDA guidance to exempt de minimis grant awards and other inapplicable activities. All other Infrastructure Grant recipients that surpass the $250,000 threshold of applicable procurement costs must adhere to BABA.
Small Grants Waiver: The small grants waiver will apply to awards with total federal funding below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which is currently set at $250,000.
Resource: See BABA requirements for USDA sub-awards (PDF) for additional guidance.
The Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act, enacted in 2021, established a domestic content procurement preference for all federal financial assistance obligated for infrastructure projects after May 14, 2022. The domestic content procurement preference requires that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in covered infrastructure projects are produced in the United States. Any public infrastructure project funded under the RFSI program must coordinate with us and USDA AMS to ensure it adheres to BABA guidance. We will help you determine if your project must comply with BABA. For such projects, you must comply with the Buy America Sourcing requirements outlined in the BABA provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and further described in 2 CFR Part 184 – Buy America Preferences For Infrastructure Projects.
For-Profit Entities: BABA does not apply to for-profit entities (either primary grantee or subrecipient) for infrastructure projects. AMS will review facilities owned by public entities to determine whether BABA requirements apply, following USDA guidance to exempt de minimis grant awards and other inapplicable activities. All other Infrastructure Grant recipients that surpass the $250,000 threshold of applicable procurement costs must adhere to BABA.
Small Grants Waiver: The small grants waiver will apply to awards with total federal funding below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which is currently set at $250,000.
Resource: See BABA requirements for USDA sub-awards (PDF) for additional guidance.
Yes, you will need to pay taxes on the grant funds in the year that you receive them. All grantees will receive a 1099 from the State of Minnesota for income tax purposes.
No, please do not include the documents such as tax returns or Form 990 that are required for the pre-award risk assessment with your application. If you are a selected as a finalist and your application is moved forward to the USDA round of the review process, we will request these documents from you at that time, likely in May or June.
If your grant proposal is selected for funding, it must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related applicable agency regulations and instructions; Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA); the Endangered Species Act (ESA); other federal environmental laws and regulations; and any applicable state, local, or tribal laws.
A review for NEPA compliance is required prior to the award of grant funds. If selected for an award, applicants must provide all requested information to support compliance with NEPA, NHPA, ESA, and all other federal environmental laws and regulations. USDA has released information about the type of information and documents that will be requested from RFSI grantees during this review on their NEPA Resources website. Projects involving construction of new structures, the expansion of existing structures, wastewater structures, ground disturbance, or other resource impacts are most likely to require additional site-specific environmental review and consultation. Please be advised that while we expect the environmental review process to go quickly for many grantees, some projects could be delayed by several months or more depending on the level of review required.
Resource: A Citizen's Guide to NEPA (PDF) provides an overview of NEPA requirements.
The Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act, enacted in 2021, established a domestic content procurement preference for all federal financial assistance obligated for infrastructure projects after May 14, 2022. The domestic content procurement preference requires that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in covered infrastructure projects are produced in the United States. Any public infrastructure project funded under the RFSI program must coordinate with us and USDA AMS to ensure it adheres to BABA guidance. We will help you determine if your project must comply with BABA. For such projects, you must comply with the Buy America Sourcing requirements outlined in the BABA provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and further described in 2 CFR Part 184 – Buy America Preferences For Infrastructure Projects.
For-Profit Entities: BABA does not apply to for-profit entities (either primary grantee or subrecipient) for infrastructure projects. AMS will review facilities owned by public entities to determine whether BABA requirements apply, following USDA guidance to exempt de minimis grant awards and other inapplicable activities. All other Infrastructure Grant recipients that surpass the $250,000 threshold of applicable procurement costs must adhere to BABA.
Small Grants Waiver: The small grants waiver will apply to awards with total federal funding below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which is currently set at $250,000.
Resource: See BABA requirements for USDA sub-awards (PDF) for additional guidance.
Because RFSI is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the program is exempt from federal prevailing wage requirements (commonly known as Davis-Bacon rules). Most RFSI projects are also exempt from state prevailing wage requirements (the Minnesota Prevailing Wage Act), as long as you don’t use state funds to meet your project’s matching requirement.
If you do plan to use more than $200,000 in state funds (i.e., state financial assistance such as a state grant or loan) to meet all or a part of your project’s matching requirement — and if your project involves construction — the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry will need to evaluate your project to determine if state prevailing wage requirements will apply. These rules require that the wages of laborers and workers should be comparable to wages paid for similar work in the community as a whole.
While you should do your best to accurately estimate your costs in your grant application, we understand that your actual costs may differ from what you originally proposed. If your costs change significantly, you can request approval from us to amend your budget. If your amendment is approved, you would be able to move funds between categories within your budget, but the overall amount of funds you are awarded will not be increased.
For example, if your costs for constructing your facility came in higher than expected, you could request to purchase less equipment in order to cover the full construction costs. Your total award amount would not be increased to accommodate your increased construction costs.
There is no date that your new processing facility needs to be operational by, but you will be asked to describe your project work plan and timeline in the application. Your project will be scored based on whether you have provided a thorough and realistic work plan and timeline that can be achieved during the project period.
The definition of equipment for this grant is “tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or more.” RFSI grantees will not be subject to federal management and disposition requirements for equipment purchased using grant funds, and instead will only be subject to the state’s policies and procedures regarding management and disposition of equipment. In Minnesota, grantees must use equipment purchased with grant funds to carry out their grant project during the grant period. At the time of your grant’s closeout, you must account for and report on the status of any equipment purchased in your final report. Following the completion of your project and the closeout of your grant, the use and disposition of the purchased equipment is at the discretion of the grantee without further obligation to the state.
The RFSI program is funded by one-time federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). If funds remain after the 2024 Infrastructure Grants round, it’s possible that we may run a separate Equipment-Only Grant round in early 2025 (see above). Aside from that, this is one-time grant program that will not be offered again.
The RFSI program is funded by one-time federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). If funds remain after the 2024 Infrastructure Grants round, it’s possible that we may run a separate Equipment-Only Grant round in early 2025 (see above). Aside from that, this is one-time grant program that will not be offered again.
Yes, joint applications are allowed. If you are submitting a joint application, one organization must be selected as the main applicant. This organization will have the grant contract agreement with the MDA and be responsible for completing and reporting on the project. This organization will receive a 1099 form from the State of Minnesota for income tax purposes. The main applicant, not a partner/collaborator on the project, must also qualify for reduced match in order to claim reduced match.
Your project could fund equipment/infrastructure at more than one location. However, each grant may only fund one “project,” so there must be a clear connection between the equipment/infrastructure requested for the various locations. A project is a set of interrelated tasks with a cohesive, distinct, specified, and defined goal. The overarching goal that the primary applicant wants to accomplish must involve all the organizations involved in the application.
Further guidance on collaborative projects is provided on page five of the RFP.
Yes, joint applications are allowed. If you are submitting a joint application, one organization must be selected as the main applicant. This organization will have the grant contract agreement with the MDA and be responsible for completing and reporting on the project. This organization will receive a 1099 form from the State of Minnesota for income tax purposes. The main applicant, not a partner/collaborator on the project, must also qualify for reduced match in order to claim reduced match.
Your project could fund equipment/infrastructure at more than one location. However, each grant may only fund one “project,” so there must be a clear connection between the equipment/infrastructure requested for the various locations. A project is a set of interrelated tasks with a cohesive, distinct, specified, and defined goal. The overarching goal that the primary applicant wants to accomplish must involve all the organizations involved in the application.
Further guidance on collaborative projects is provided on page five of the RFP.
In most cases, food banks, pantries, or shelves are not eligible applicants because their activities and services typically focus on providing food directly to consumers and occur at the end of the food supply chain rather than the middle. A food bank could only be eligible if the proposed scope for the project was different from their typical services (e.g., providing food directly to consumers), and the project solely focused on middle-of-the-food-supply-chain activities. An example of an eligible project from a food bank would be operating an aggregation site that brings together producers to aggregate their crops that would then be packaged and distributed to a network of food pantries.
In most cases, food banks, pantries, or shelves are not eligible applicants because their activities and services typically focus on providing food directly to consumers and occur at the end of the food supply chain rather than the middle. A food bank could only be eligible if the proposed scope for the project was different from their typical services (e.g., providing food directly to consumers), and the project solely focused on middle-of-the-food-supply-chain activities. An example of an eligible project from a food bank would be operating an aggregation site that brings together producers to aggregate their crops that would then be packaged and distributed to a network of food pantries.
