Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Training, Demonstrations, and Special Purpose Grants for EPA Region 10 Regional Geographic Initiative

 

To support investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, studies, research and special purpose assistance to protect public health and prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and/or Washington. Projects may be single media or multimedia which support the regional environmental priorities. Single media grants support pollution prevention efforts for individual environmental law statutes. Funding awarded for research does not include research within the purview of EPA's Office of Research and Development. Multimedia grants are assistance agreements that are awarded citing two or more environmental law statutes, appropriation legislation, or applicable legislative history as the statutory authority. Awards must support projects that serve the EPA Region 10 geographic area which is Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2006: Funded projects will focus on the regional environmental priorities and include unique, geographically-based projects that support the Agency's ability to protect human health and the environment. These projects may address places, sectors, or innovative projects, and focus on critical ecosystems, sensitive populations, and/or agriculture. These projects may also demonstrate state, local, and/or other stakeholder participation; identify opportunities for leveraging other sources of funding; or support smart growth planning in communities. Smart growth projects are those focused on improving the quality of life in communities by integrating the tenets of ecology, equity and management by citizens.

Deleted 08/20/2009 (Archived.) 66.115 REGION 10, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements). Regional Geographic Initiative (RGI) funding supports EPA Region 10's ability to protect human health and the environment. RGI projects have enabled recipients to identify environmental concerns at the local level that are best addressed using innovative, collaborative approaches that further both local and regional environmental objectives. In FY 04 nine awards were made out of 78 applications received (12%); in FY 05 thirteen awards were made out of 110 applications received (13%); and in FY 06 nine awards were made out of 68 applications received (13%). Clean Water Act, Section 104; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20; Clean Air Act, Section 103; Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001; Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442; Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10. Subject to any restrictions in the authorizing statutes, assistance under this program is generally available to States, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia; public and private universities and colleges; hospitals; laboratories; local governments; and other public or private nonprofit institutions. For certain competitive funding opportunities under this CFDA description, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy. Nonprofit organizations must be able to demonstrate that they are eligible through documentation of nonprofit status provided the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or their state of incorporation. However, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply. State and local governments, U.S. territories and possessions, Indian Tribes, universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public and private nonprofit institutions, and individuals. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments and Indian Tribes, OMB Circular No. A-21 for educational institutions, OMB Circular No. A-122 for nonprofit institutions, and FAR Part 31 for profit makers. Applicants may be requested to demonstrate they have appropriate background, academic training, experience in the field, and necessary equipment to carry out projects. EPA may ask applicants or principal investigators to provide curriculum vitae and relevant publications. Nonprofit organizations must be able to demonstrate that they are eligible through documentation of nonprofit status provided the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or their state of incorporation. EPA awards grants and cooperative agreements supporting investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, studies, research and special purpose projects, considering relevance and likelihood of success of proposed projects and other appropriate critieria. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circulars No. A-102 and No. A-110. If an applicant submits an unsolicited proposal it will be reviewed and evaluated in accordance with Agency policy and procedures. For more information regarding the procedures for submitting unsolicited proposals, applicants may contact the individual(s) listed as "Information Contacts" or see Appendix IV of the Catalog. Regarding pre-application/pre-proposal assistance with respect to competitive funding opportunities under this program description, EPA will generally specify the nature of the pre-application/pre-proposal assistance, if any, that will be available to applicants in the competitive announcement. For additional information contact the individual(s) listed as "Information Contacts" or see Appendix IV of the Catalog. The standard application forms as furnished by the Federal agency and required by OMB Circular No. A-102 and A-110 must be used for this program. EPA requires final applications to be made on Standard Form 424. Application kits should be requested from and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Grants Administration Office, 1200 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. Detailed information and assistance, including an application kit, required forms, and a check list, are available at: http://www.epa.gov/region07/economics/index.htm. For competitive awards, the competitive funding announcement will specify application procedures. Applicants may use http://www.grants.gov to electronically apply for certain grant opportunities under this CFDA. For competitive awards, EPA will review and evaluate applications, proposals and/or submissions in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria as stated in the competitive funding announcement. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in the competetive funding announcement. Approximately 180 days. Assistance agreement competition-related disputes will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures published in 70 FR (Federal Register) 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005). Copies of these procedures may also be requested by contacting the individual(s) listed as Information Contracts. Disputes relating to matters other than competitive selection of recipients will be resolved under 40 CFR 30.63 or 40 CFR 31.70, as applicable. None. A standard grant application should be prepared and submitted as a new grant, which will be reviewed in the same manner as the original application and will compete for available funds. EPA can incrementally fund grants and cooperative agreements for investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, studies, research and special purpose assistance. Approval of subsequent funding increments is dependent on satisfactory project progress, continued relevance of the project to EPA's priorities, and availability of funds. The evaluation and selection criteria for competitive awards under this CFDA description will be described in the announcement of the competitive funding opportunity. EPA selects proposed projects for funding based on factors such as relevancy to EPA's mission, technical merit, and the likelihood of success and other relevant factors. Grants and cooperative agreements are available to support recipients' allowable direct costs incident to approved investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, studies, research and special purpose assistance plus allowable indirect costs, in accordance with established EPA policies and regulations. Funding awarded for research does not include research within the purview of EPA's Office of Research and Development. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. The Regional Office will accept submissions only for projects to be performed in States, Tribal Lands, and Territories within Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and/or Washington. Projects that are national in scope are not eligible for funding under this CFDA. EPA includes reporting requirements for grants and cooperative agreements in the terms and conditions of the agreements. Agreements may require quarterly, interim, and final progress reports, and financial, equipment, and invention reports. Reporting requirements are also identified in the Grant Regulations Part 30 and Part 31. Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, other EPA staff or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialist may occur each year. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," non-federal entities that expend $500,000 or more in a year in Federal awards shall have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-federal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in OMB Circular No. A-133. Recipients must keep financial records, including all documents supporting entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes in grants, available to personnel authorized to examine EPA recipients grants and cooperative agreements records. Recipients must maintain all records until 3 years from the date of submission of final expenditure reports. If questions, such as those raised as a result of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved. Not applicable. Grants and cooperative agreements are normally funded on a 12-month basis (annual) and will be paid electronically utilizing automated funds transfer. The total approved project period may not exceed 5 years for competitive awards. EPA encourages potential applicants to communicate with the EPA Region 10 located at 1200 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, Judith Leckrone Lee, telephone (206) 553-6911, fax (206) 553-6984, e-mail lee.judith@epa.gov. Not applicable. http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/HOMEPAGE.NSF/webpage/Grants 68-0108-0-1-304 Estimated funds available will vary based on regional allocation. Funding for FY 05 and FY 06 were in the $340,000.00 range and are expected to continue at that level. The funding level for FY 07 is expected to be approximately $340,000.00. The average amount of the financial assistance awards has been in the $10,000 to $50,000 range. The average award for FY 05 and FY 06 was $42,000.00. Investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, studies, research, and special purpose grants and cooperative agreements are subject to EPA's General Grant Regulations (40 CFR Part 30 and 40 CFR Part 31). This is a new CFDA entry for FY 2006 and beyond. Prior to 2006, Region 10 Regional Geographic Initiative solicitations were listed under CFDA 66.610, Surveys, Studies, Investigations and Special Purpose Grants under the Office of the Administrator. Examples of previous Region 10 Regional Geographic Initiative awards can be found at http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ECOCOMM.NSF/RGI/RegGeogrInitiatives.