•Community Need-20/15 points
•Project Description and Feasibility of Success-35/40 points
•Community Engagement and Partnerships-20/15 points
•Project Benefits-25/30 points
We'll break down each of these criteria in the coming weeks, but central to each of these criteria is YOUR STORY. What?... my story, what are you talking about? It's very simple. Remember that EPA will likely receive over 700 proposals from throughout the United States. Each of those will be reviewed by at least 3 individuals with further review from others (We'll talk about that later). Needless to say, that is a lot of reviews. All Assessment proposals will say something about Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs). All proposals will say something about partnerships, and community engagement, and cite demographics, and jobs (or lack thereof), and blah, and blah, and blah.
What makes your proposal stand out? What makes your proposal memorable? The bottom line is that people will be reviewing your proposal. The numbers and percentages won't be plugged into an equation, resulting in a ranking. There will be scoring, but the real winners have a story behind them. It may center around water quality and recreation. It may center around history and sense of place like this one from Kentucky:
- Letcher County is located in the “Heart of The Hills” in Southeastern Kentucky. Three of the Eastern United States’ major rivers -The Kentucky, The Cumberland, and The Big Sandy –have their headwaters in Letcher County. Even after Daniel Boone and other settlers made their way into this area in the 18thCentury, Letcher County remained largely isolated until the 20th Century when railroads reached into the hollows to extract the coal buried in the hills. Large corporations like US Steel and Consolidated Coal quickly built mining camps along the rail line and the first half of the 20th Century brought ten of thousands of immigrants to work the mines along with local farming families. This era is reflected in the film about country music singer Loretta Lynn, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, which was filmed in Letcher County in the late 70s.
- The county’s communities developed in the bottoms alongside the headwaters streams due to steep topography that leaves limited flat land. 90% of Letcher County citizens live within 100 feet of a creek or stream and all of the county’s cities have been developed along waterways. The quality of the local environment has direct effects on nearly every citizen in Letcher County and over a million Kentuckians downstream. Some of Kentucky’s most pristine, Wild & Scenic streams are located in Letcher County. Unfortunately, some of state’s most degraded streams are also here and often closer to people’s daily lives than the pristine streams." - Special thanks to Letcher Co. and KYDEP's Amanda LeFevre
So, what's your story? Haveyou involved the local Chamber of Commerce with developing your story. Have you talked with citizens, community groups, church members, and local businesses to find out what makes your community so special? Maybe it's time you did. Good Luck!