Environmental Protection Agency

Funds environmental protection, pollution prevention, climate resilience, and public health projects across United States communities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent federal agency and the country's main environmental regulator. It awards more than $4 billion a year in grants and assistance agreements, and its Office of Research and Development (ORD) carries the research mandate that underpins the agency's science work. Its mission is to protect human health and ecosystems from pollution and other environmental hazards.

EPA's competitive research routes run through STAR, P3, and SBIR. Those programs reach universities, hospitals, state and local governments, tribal organizations, nonprofits, and small businesses working in air quality, water safety, hazardous waste, toxic substances, sustainable materials, and environmental health. Typical awards in the current portfolio include up to $75,000 for P3, $100,000 for SBIR Phase I, and $400,000 for SBIR Phase II.

ORD organizes work through six research programs and periodic Strategic Research Action Plans, so applicants are usually fitting into a defined science agenda rather than a broad open call. In the current cycle the main extramural routes are between rounds, and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was rescinded by statute in 2025. The strongest fit is research teams that can translate environmental science into measurable public-health or resilience outcomes.