The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program is an outreach, education and goaling program designed to increase and encourage the utilization and participation of DBEs in procurements funded by EPA assistance agreements. The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Procurement Opportunities Support Team (POST) establishes policy and provides procedural guidance for the DBE Program. The DBE Program requirements apply to all procurements for equipment, supplies, construction and services under all EPA grants, cooperative agreements, and Interagency Agreements (IAs).

Specific DBE Program functions include:

• Developing and monitoring DBE Program policy and procedures.
• Providing outreach and training to internal and external DBE Program stakeholders.
• Providing technical and programmatic assistance to minority and women-owned businesses.
• Collecting, compiling, and analyzing data on Minority Business Enterprise/Women’s Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE) utilization under EPA financial assistance agreements, including Interagency Agreements (IAs).

Recipients of EPA financial assistance agreements are required to seek, and encouraged to utilize small, minority, and women-owned businesses for their procurement needs under the financial assistance agreement. This is done through the inclusion of terms and conditions in the financial assistance agreement.