Grantee Research Project Results
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research
Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program
CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY
Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies in Small Systems
This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.
EPA will host three webinars, June 29, July 6, and July 13, 2011, to discuss this RFA and respond to questions. See Section IV for further information about the webinars.
Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2011-STAR-G1
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.509
Solicitation Opening Date: June 23, 2011
Solicitation Closing Date: August 25, 2011, 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time
Eligibility Contact: James Gentry (gentry.james@epa.gov); phone: 703-347-8093
Electronic Submissions: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 703-308-0442
Technical Contact: Angela Page (page.angelad@epa.gov); phone: 703-347-8046
Access Standard STAR Forms (https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms)
View research awarded under previous solicitations (https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.archive/RFATypeList/G,C)
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Synopsis of Program:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing to conduct research necessary to identify, develop and demonstrate novel and innovative treatment technologies and approaches for small public drinking water systems. Successful technologies should be robust, sustainable and be able to treat or mitigate groups of contaminants or contaminant precursors in drinking water sources and systems. EPA is seeking new, or innovative, modifications of existing treatment technologies that can perform significantly better than current technologies. These technologies may include those which are used to retrofit or augment existing treatment trains; treatment practices or technologies aimed at contaminant or contaminant precursor reduction in source waters; and technologies used within the distribution system including point-of-use (POU) devices. Identifying technologies that have the potential to be “game-changing” may involve considering national and international sources as well as considering input from those who have not traditionally participated in environmental conversations, including Minority Academic Institutions (MAIs) as defined in Section I.A.
Projects that foster partnerships and research and demonstration collaborations with small drinking water systems, state primacy agencies, and water centers/clusters are strongly encouraged under this solicitation. For purposes of this solicitation, water clusters/centers refer to regional technology innovation clusters that are geographic concentrations of interconnected firms (businesses, suppliers, and service providers) and supporting institutions (local government, business chambers, universities, investors, and others) that work together in an organized manner to promote economic growth and technological innovation. Please carefully review section IV. D. of this announcement before naming a for profit firm or individual consultant as a collaborator, partner or any other relationship involving the use of EPA funds to compensate the firm or individual.
Eligible applicants, including Minority Academic Institutions (MAIs) as defined in Section I.A of this solicitation, are strongly encouraged to apply for funding under this competition.
Award Information:
Anticipated Type of Award: Grant or cooperative agreement
Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately six awards. EPA expects to make at least two of these awards to Minority Academic Institutions, as defined below in Section I.A, which pass the peer review process described in Section V and successfully complete the award process.
Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $3 million total for all awards
Potential Funding per Award: Up to a total of $500,000, including direct and indirect costs, with a maximum duration of 4 years. Cost-sharing is not required. Proposals with budgets exceeding the total award limits will not be considered.
Eligibility Information:
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes private institutions of higher education and hospitals) located in the U.S., state and local governments, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, and U.S. territories or possessions are eligible to apply. For profit organizations, including proprietary educational or research institutions, are ineligible. See full announcement for more details.
Diversity:
EPA recognizes that scientific, technical, engineering and mathematical (STEM) competence is essential to the Nation’s future well being in terms of national security and competitive economic advantage. For instance, the health and vitality of the economy is predicated, in part, on the availability of an adequate supply of scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians, to develop innovative technologies and solutions. In other words, this country must engage all available minds to address the challenges it faces. Minorities and women historically have been under-represented in the STEM fields. Therefore, the Federal government, including the EPA, should strive to enhance the research and educational capabilities of Minority Academic Institutions and to increase participation by women and under-represented minorities in the STEM fields. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages eligible applicants serving communities that have not previously participated in the environmental conversation, including Minority Academic Institutions, to apply.
Application Materials:
To apply under this solicitation, use the application package available at Grants.gov (for further submission information see Section IV.E. “Submission Instructions and other Submission Requirements”). The necessary forms for submitting a STAR application will be found on the National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) web site, http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, you need to allow approximately one week to complete the registration process. This registration, and electronic submission of your application, must be performed by an authorized representative of your organization.
If you do not have the technical capability to utilize the Grants.gov application submission process for this solicitation, call 1-800-490-9194 or send a webmail message to https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/forms/contact-us-about-research-grants at least 15 calendar days before the submission deadline to assure timely receipt of alternate submission instructions. In your message provide the funding opportunity number and title of the program, specify that you are requesting alternate submission instructions, and provide a telephone number, fax number, and an email address, if available. Alternate instructions will be emailed whenever possible. Any applications submitted through alternate submission methods must comply with all the provisions of this Request for Applications (RFA), including Section IV, and be received by the solicitation closing date identified above.
Agency Contacts:
Eligibility Contact: James Gentry (gentry.james@epa.gov); phone: 703-347-8093
Electronic Submissions: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 703-308-0442
Technical Contact: Angela Page (page.angelad@epa.gov); phone: 703-347-8046
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
A. Introduction
Improving the sustainability of our nation’s water supplies is a priority for EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) in support of the Agency’s mission to protect public health and safeguard the environment. Under the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the responsibility for ensuring safe drinking water and protecting water quality in the U.S. is shared by EPA, states, tribal nations, local governments, water utilities/companies and the public. To ensure drinking water quality and human health protection, SDWA requires EPA to undertake several actions to assess and manage the risks posed by drinking water contaminants. These actions include the establishment and maintenance of national lists of regulated and unregulated contaminants to be considered in review and development of new regulations. In efforts to streamline this process, EPA has embarked on a new Drinking Water Strategy (http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/dwstrategy/index.cfm) which is aimed at finding ways to strengthen public health protection from contaminants in drinking water. In addition, ORD’s Research programs (https://www.epa.gov/research/) are designed to address critical environmental research needs and the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants program is integral to this effort. Details of current STAR research activities can be found on ORD’s National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) homepage. Research and demonstrations funded through this solicitation will complement current and planned efforts in ORD’s Safe and Sustainable Water Research Program.
Concerns for man-made and naturally-occurring chemicals found in surface water, ground water, finished drinking water, and wastewaters pose a host of treatment and management challenges and potential health risks for communities served by public water systems (PWS). These challenges are exacerbated for small systems, those serving 10,000 persons or less, including the complexities of treatment trains needed to comply with multiple and competing drinking water regulations. To meet drinking water obligations under SDWA and accelerate the advancement of sustainable drinking water protection, innovative technologies and approaches are needed for small systems that can remove or mitigate groups of contaminants or contaminant precursors from drinking water sources or systems. For purposes of this RFA, “drinking water sources” include ground, surface, finished, waste or reused waters.
EPA is interested in supporting research into and demonstrations of innovative and sustainable treatment technologies that will make advances in improving the ability of PWS to protect the health of the communities they serve. EPA is also particularly interested in projects that demonstrate their technologies and approaches in small PWS, as these small systems are the least likely to be able to afford or sustain a system change or different treatment paradigm. To accomplish this, it is strongly encouraged that investigators collaborate with small drinking water systems, state primacy agencies that may accept the proposed technologies, and water centers/clusters that can help bring these and other connections together.
Eligible applicants as defined in Section III, including Minority Academic Institutions (MAIs) described below, are strongly encouraged to apply for funding under this competition. For purposes of this solicitation, the following are considered MAIs:
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1061). A list of these schools can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whhbcu/edlite-list.html;
- Tribal Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1059(c)). A list of these schools can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whtc/edlite-tclist.html;
- Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1101a(a)(5). There is no list of HSIs. HSIs are institutions of higher education that, at the time of application submittal, have an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25% Hispanic students at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application for this grant; and
- Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1059g(a)(2)). There is no list of AANAPISIs. AANAPISIs are institutions of higher education that, at the time of application submittal, have an enrollment of undergraduate students that is not less than 10 % students who are Asian American or Native American Pacific Islander.
NOTE: EPA expects to issue a separate, but complementary, solicitation later this summer for a $5 million Center focused on identifying, developing, and demonstrating innovative technologies that can treat or mitigate groups of contaminants in small drinking water systems. (Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Remarks at the Announcement of the Water Technology Innovation Cluster, As Prepared). Awardees under this solicitation will be encouraged to collaborate, as appropriate, with the National Center that is expected to be awarded in 2012 under the complementary RFA.
B. Background
Nationally, there are 156,000 public drinking water systems regulated by EPA and delegated to states and tribes that provide drinking water to 90 percent of Americans. Drinking water systems have an enormous impact on public health and the quality of life for the customers they serve. The public health benefits of a well-run system cannot be overstated. Customers rely on their water systems to provide safe water for drinking, bathing, cleaning, and cooking. While trying to meet customer demands, PWS must address and manage chemical and microbial contaminants that enter these systems. Over the past 30 years, more than 80,000 chemicals have entered the marketplace in the U.S. that may pose a threat to drinking water systems at some point in their life cycle. Many of these chemicals enter drinking water sources from a variety of inputs: improperly disposed of chemicals, agricultural activities, wastes injected underground, naturally-occurring substances, disinfection byproducts and improperly maintained distribution systems. These chemicals include pesticides; industrial and household chemicals; pharmaceuticals; naturally-occurring chemicals such as inorganic anions, cyanotoxins and nutrients; and other emerging compounds.
Very large drinking water systems (serving over 100,000 customers) benefit from an economy of scale to develop, test, and employ robust drinking water treatment to respond to the growing number of contaminants detected at low levels in their source waters. However, this is not so for small PWS, as defined by EPA, that serve 10,000 or fewer customers. Frequently, these systems are operated by municipalities that must balance resources between the drinking water plant operation and other public services. Small community water systems have even more difficult choices to make in selecting drinking water treatment given the diminishing economies of scale and limited resources. Small systems treatment is often limited to disinfection, which amplifies the need for scalable technologies that reduce the production of disinfection byproducts. Fostering the development of affordable, efficient, and user-friendly technologies for small systems will better equip them to address health risks posed by a broad array of contaminants.
Under the SDWA, the current assessment and regulatory process mostly evaluates contaminants one at a time. Given the backlog of regulated and unregulated contaminants awaiting review or re-review, the current process could take decades to review a small subset of the universe of chemicals. For small PWS trying to address and manage contaminants and provide safe and reliable drinking water this process is daunting. More than 94 percent of the nation’s 156,000 public water systems serve fewer than 3,300 persons. Small systems face unique financial and operational challenges in providing drinking water that meets EPA standards. These water systems may be geographically isolated. Their staffs often lack the time and/or expertise to make needed infrastructure repairs; install, operate, or maintain treatment; or develop comprehensive source water protection plans, financial plans or asset management plans. In addition, given their small customer base, many small water systems cannot develop or access the technical, managerial and financial resources needed to comply with the increasing number of EPA and state regulations and rising customer expectations. In 2010, several thousand small PWS failed to comply with maximum contaminant levels for chemical contamination.
Relying on this traditional framework of chemical assessment and management imposes an administrative burden and high resource requirement for state and local governments, as well as water utilities, especially small systems, as they try to deal effectively with multiple statutory requirements for regulated and unregulated contaminants. Traditional frameworks also limit how communities address and respond to water-related public health threats. As a result, a primary challenge is to find effective and affordable treatment technologies for small systems that are easy to use and do not interfere with the system’s compliance. Looking forward, treatment technologies and approaches must have the capacity to deal with groups of chemical contaminants and precursors in order to help utilities and municipalities deal with the volume of regulated and unregulated contaminants. These technologies must be sustainable in regard to water and material resources, energy requirements, cost, operation and maintenance, staffing and educational requirements, as well as treatment or mitigation effectiveness.
In this regard, this RFA is seeking the submission of projects relating to the research necessary for the identification, development, and demonstration of new and innovative treatment technologies and approaches that can be applied in small PWS to treat groups of chemical contaminants these systems may process. When selecting a treatment technology for demonstration, it is strongly encouraged that the applicant evaluate if the technology can be scaled-up for use at larger drinking water treatment systems. Evaluation is best accomplished by using independent third parties. Please carefully review section IV. D. before naming an independent third party evaluator in your proposal if you intend to use EPA funds to compensate the evaluator.
The specific Strategic Goal and Objective from the EPA’s Strategic Plan that relate to this solicitation are:
Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water, Objective 2.3: Enhance Science and Research
The EPA’s FY 2006-2011 Strategic Plan can be found at: http://nepis.epa.gov/Adobe/PDF/P1001IPK.PDF (184 pp, 9.3 MB)
C. Authority and Regulations
The authority for this RFA and resulting awards is contained in the Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442, 42 U.S.C. 300j-1 and the Clean Water Act, Section 104, 33 U.S.C. 1254.
For research with an international aspect, the above statutes are supplemented, as appropriate, by the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 102(2)(F).
Note that a project’s focus is to consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) listed above. Generally, a project must address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution and the causes, treatment, control and prevention of diseases and other impairments resulting directly or indirectly from contaminants in water and the provision of a dependably safe supply of drinking water. These activities should relate to the gathering or transferring of information or advancing the state of knowledge. Proposals should emphasize this “learning” concept, as opposed to “fixing” an environmental problem via a well-established method. Proposals relating to other topics which are sometimes included within the term “environment” such as recreation, conservation, restoration, protection of wildlife habitats, etc., must describe the relationship of these topics to the statutorily required purpose of pollution prevention and/or control.
Demonstrations must involve new or experimental, technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the demonstration project. A project that is accomplished through the performance of routine; traditional or established practices, or a project that is simply intended to carry out a task rather than transfer information or advance the state of knowledge, however worthwhile the project may be, is not a demonstration.
Applicable regulations include: 40 CFR Part 30 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations), 40 CFR Part 31 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments), 40 CFR Part 33 (Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in United States Environmental Protection Agency Programs) and 40 CFR Part 40 (Research and Demonstration Grants). Applicable OMB Circulars include: OMB Circular A-21 (Cost Principles for Educational Institutions) relocated to 2 CFR Part 220 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_08/2cfr220_08.html), OMB Circular A-87 (Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments) relocated to 2 CFR Part 225 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_10/2cfr225_10.html), OMB Circular A-122 (Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations) relocated to 2 CFR Part 230 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_07/2cfr230_07.html).
D. Specific Research Areas of Interest/Expected Outputs and Outcomes
Note to applicant: The term “output” means an environmental activity or effort, and associated work products, related to a specific environmental goal(s), (e.g., testing a new methodology), that will be produced or developed over a period of time under the agreement. The term “outcome” means the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from the above activit(ies) that is related to an environmental, behavioral, or health-related objective.
Under this competition, the Agency is soliciting research and demonstration projects that will sustainably change how small PWS address and manage chemical contaminants and precursors in drinking water sources and systems. Projects that consider new treatment technologies or propose to optimize existing treatment technology in a new approach to better enable them to control chemical contaminants and precursors and deal with simultaneous compliance concerns under the SDWA are strongly encouraged. Demonstrated technologies should be more sustainable than current technologies in areas such as, but not exclusive to, energy use, residual stream disposal, operation, maintenance, and carbon footprint. The technology or approach should also describe how the innovation developed for the PWS could have applicability for other small systems similarly challenged. Field demonstrations should address performance, affordability, and sustainability. Ultimately, the new technology should lead to better options for protecting human health and ensuring water quality.
Applications should respond to two or more of the research topics listed below:
- How can innovative treatment technologies be demonstrated in small water systems to determine their performance, sustainability, and economic viability?
- What treatment technologies are available and can be further developed and demonstrated to remove or mitigate groups of chemical contaminants, or contaminant precursors from drinking water sources or systems? How will specific drinking water quality improvements or public health benefits be measured?
- How can treatment technologies be enhanced or improved relative to existing technology to deal with changes in capital, operation and maintenance and energy costs?
- How will the results and outputs of the project allow water systems to deliver safe water at reduced costs and how will they provide energy efficient technologies for small communities?
EPA recognizes the benefits of establishing collaborations with public and private sector entities to develop, demonstrate, and facilitate the adoption of innovative technologies in the marketplace. To achieve the objectives of this RFA, applicants are strongly encouraged to create such relationships with small drinking water systems, relevant state agencies, and regional water centers and clusters. These types of partnerships and collaborations will be evaluated as part of the peer review evaluation under Section V. Please carefully review section IV. D. before naming a collaborator in your proposal if you intend to use EPA funds to compensate the collaborator.
Applications should also include a discussion on how the proposed research and demonstration project is innovative (see Section IV.B.5.a). Innovation is the process of making changes; a new method, custom or device. Innovative research and demonstration can take the form of wholly new applications or applications that build on existing knowledge and approaches for new uses. Proposals should clearly demonstrate an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach that leads to advances in design, operations and management as related to the proposed research and demonstration project.
In addition, applications should include a discussion on how the proposed research and demonstration project will seek sustainable solutions that protect the environment, strengthen our communities and foster prosperity (see Section IV.B.5.a). Sustainability is defined by the Brundtland Commission as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The ORD draft document entitled, “Framework for Integrated Research and Systems Thinking (FIRST)” proposes the following definition for use by the EPA and its stakeholders: “Sustainability is the continued assurance of human health and well being, environmental resource protection, and economic prosperity—today and for generations to come.” Adherence to sustainability principles will be considered as part of the programmatic review (see Section V.B). Please refer to the the Sustainability Primer at: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.files/fileID/8166 (PDF) (1 pp, 197 K)) for more information about the principles of sustainability, the definitions of the three pillars of sustainability, and their component topics and example research activities or goals that might address each component.
The outputs of the proposed projects to be awarded under this RFA include reports, presentations and publications, etc., that describe the research and demonstration of the treatment technologies as well as the technologies themselves. The expected outcome of the research and demonstration projects EPA will support is to provide small drinking water treatment systems with an ability to reliably and more cost-effectively manage co-occurring chemicals or groups of chemical contaminants and chemical precursors simultaneously in their water systems resulting in cleaner water and a reduction in waterborne illneses.
E. References
Desai, S and Klanecky, DA. The Sustainability Challenge: Meeting the Needs of the Water-Energy Nexus. Chemical Engineering Progress 4: 22-27 (2011).
Deslauriers, SA, Kanzaki, M, Bulkley JW, and Keoleian, GA. U.S. Wastewater Treatment, Center for Sustainable Systems Fact Sheet, CSS04-14. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2004.
European Commission. – Joint Research Centre – Institute for Environment and Sustainability. International Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook – General guide for Life Cycle Assessment – Detailed guidance, First edition. European Commission. – Joint Research Centre – Institute for Environment and Sustainability. Luxembourg, 2010.
Manley, JB, Anastas, PT, and Cue, BW. Frontiers in Green Chemistry: meeting the grand challenges for sustainability in R&D and manufacturing. Journal of Cleaner Production 16: 743-750 (2008).
National Research Council (NRC). (2009b). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Sustainability Partnerships. National Academies Press, Washington. ISBN-13: 978-0-309-12993-0.
National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. (1997). Safe Water from Every Tap: Improving Water Service to Small Communities, Committee on Small Water Supply Systems. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. ISBN-10:0-309-05527-X.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), (2011). Drinking Water Strategy.
(http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/dwstrategy/index.cfm).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (2010). Treating Contaminants of Emerging Concern – A Literature Review Database, EPA-820-R-10-002.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2009). Factoids: Drinking Water and Ground Water Statistics for 2009.
(http://water.epa.gov/scitech/datait/databases/drink/sdwisfed/upload/data_factoids_2009.pdf (15 pp, 115 K)).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (2008). Emerging Technologies for Wastewater Treatment and In-Plant Wet Weather Management, EPA 832-R-06-006.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (2006). Much Effort and Resources Needed to Help Small Drinking Water Systems Overcome Challenges, Report No. 2006-P-00026.
Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF). Energy Efficiency in Value Engineering: Barriers and Pathways, Report No. OWSO6R07a. Water Environment Research Foundation.(2010).
Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF). Overview of State Energy Reduction Programs and Guidelines for the Wastewater Sector, Report No. OWSO6R07b. Water Environment Research Foundation. (2010).
West Virginia University. Treatment Technologies for Small Drinking Water Systems, Tech Brief. National Drinking Water Clearinghouse, West Virginia University, Available at http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/pdf/dw/publications/ontap/2009_tb/treament_tech_poster_DWFSOM37.pdf (2 pp, 2.2 MB).
William McDonough & Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle – Remaking the Way We Make Things, North Point Press, A division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2002.
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-282080-X. (1987)
F. Special Requirements
Agency policy and ethical considerations prevent EPA technical staff and managers from providing applicants with information that may create an unfair competitive advantage. Consequently, EPA employees will not review, comment, advise, and/or provide technical assistance to applicants preparing applications in response to EPA RFAs. EPA employees cannot endorse any particular application.
Multiple Investigator applications may be submitted as: (1) a single Lead Principal Investigator (PI) application with Co-PI(s) or (2) a Multiple PI application (with a single Contact PI). If you choose to submit a Multiple PI application, you must follow the specific instructions provided in Sections IV. and V. of this RFA. For further information, please see the EPA Implementation Plan for Policy on Multiple Principal Investigators (http://rbm.nih.gov/toolkit.htm).
Groups of two or more eligible applicants may choose to form a consortium and submit a single application under this solicitation. The application must identify which organization will be the recipient of the assistance agreement and which organizations(s) will be subawardees of the recipient. Please carefully review section IV D. when forming a consortium.
The application shall include a plan (see “Data Plan” in section IV.B.5.c.) to make available to the public all data generated from observations, analyses, or model development (primary data) and any secondary (or existing) data used under an agreement awarded from this RFA. The data must be available in a format and with documentation such that they may be used by others in the scientific community.
These awards may involve the collection of “Geospatial Information,” which includes information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features or boundaries on the Earth or applications, tools, and hardware associated with the generation, maintenance, or distribution of such information. This information may be derived from, among other things, a Geographic Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing, mapping, charting, and surveying technologies, or statistical data.
It is anticipated that a total of approximately $3 million will be awarded under this announcement, depending on the availability of funds, quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. The EPA anticipates funding approximately 6 awards under this competition, including at least 2 awards to Minority Academic Institutions (as defined in Section I.A), who pass the peer review process described in Section V and successfully complete the award process. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $500,000, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered. The total project period requested in an application submitted for this RFA may not exceed 4 years.
The EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards, or make fewer awards than anticipated, under this RFA. The EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months after the original selection decisions.
EPA may award both grants and cooperative agreements under this announcement.
Under a grant, EPA scientists and engineers are not permitted to be substantially involved in the execution of the research. However, EPA encourages interaction between its own laboratory scientists and grant Principal Investigators after the award of an EPA grant for the sole purpose of exchanging information in research areas of common interest that may add value to their respective research activities. This interaction must be incidental to achieving the goals of the research under a grant. Interaction that is “incidental” does not involve resource commitments.
Where appropriate, based on consideration of the nature of the proposed project relative to the EPA’s intramural research program and available resources, the EPA may award cooperative agreements under this announcement. When addressing a research question/problem of common interest, collaborations between EPA scientists and the institution’s principal investigators are permitted under a cooperative agreement. These collaborations may include data and information exchange, providing technical input to experimental design and theoretical development, coordinating extramural research with in-house activities, the refinement of valuation endpoints, and joint authorship of journal articles on these activities. Proposals may not identify EPA cooperators or interactions; specific interactions between EPA’s investigators and those of the prospective recipient for cooperative agreements will be negotiated at the time of award.
A. Eligible Applicants
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes private institutions of higher education and hospitals) located in the U.S., state and local governments, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, and U.S. territories or possessions are eligible to apply. EPA particularly encourages Minority Academic Institutions as described in Section I.A to apply.
Eligible nonprofit organizations include any organizations that meet the definition of nonprofit in OMB Circular A-122, located at 2 CFR Part 230. However, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible to apply.
Individuals are not eligible to apply. Profit-making firms, including proprietary educational and research institutions, are not eligible to receive assistance agreements from the EPA under this program. Please carefully review section IV. D. of this announcement before naming a for profit firm or individual consultant as a collaborator, partner or any other relationship involving the use of EPA funds to compensate the firm or individual.
National laboratories funded by Federal Agencies (Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, “FFRDCs”) may not apply. FFRDC employees may cooperate or collaborate with eligible applicants within the limits imposed by applicable legislation and regulations. They may participate in planning, conducting, and analyzing the research directed by the applicant, but may not direct projects on behalf of the applicant organization. The institution, organization, or governance receiving the award may provide funds through its assistance agreement from the EPA to an FFRDC for research personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the research. However, salaries for permanent FFRDC employees may not be provided through this mechanism.
Federal Agencies may not apply. Federal employees are not eligible to serve in a principal leadership role on an assistance agreement, and may not receive salaries or augment their Agency’s appropriations in other ways through awards made under this program.
The applicant institution may enter into an agreement with a Federal Agency to purchase or utilize unique supplies or services unavailable in the private sector to the extent authorized by law. Examples are purchase of satellite data, census data tapes, chemical reference standards, analyses, or use of instrumentation or other facilities not available elsewhere. A written justification for federal involvement must be included in the application. In addition, an appropriate form of assurance that documents the commitment, such as a letter of intent from the Federal Agency involved, should be included.
Potential applicants who are uncertain of their eligibility should contact James Gentry (gentry.james@epa.gov) in NCER, phone 703-347-8093.
B. Cost-Sharing
Institutional cost-sharing is not required.
C. Other
Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or they will be rejected. In addition, where a page limitation is expressed in Section IV with respect to parts of the application, pages in excess of the page limit will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov or by other authorized alternate means (see Section IV.E. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements” for further information) on or before the solicitation closing date and time in Section IV of this announcement or they will be returned to the sender without further consideration. Also, applications exceeding the funding limits or project period term described herein will be returned without review. Further, applications that fail to demonstrate a public purpose of support or stimulation (e.g., by proposing research which primarily benefits a Federal program or provides a service for a Federal agency) will not be funded.
Applications deemed ineligible for funding consideration will be notified within fifteen calendar days of the ineligibility determination.
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
NOTE: EPA will host three webinars to discuss this RFA and respond to questions from potential applicants. The registration website for these webinars will open on Monday, June 27, 2011. You may submit your questions in advance when you register online or by using the chat function during the live webinar. You do not need to attend all three Webinars as the speaker presentations will be the same. The webinars will be broadcast live and will be archived for future playback. Pre-registration will be required for the webinars. Go to: https://www.epa.gov/dwwebinars for registration information and other Webinar details.
Topic: EPA's Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies Development in Small Systems Request for Applications (RFA). Further details, including pre-registration information, a link for the Webinar, and a conference call number, will be available from: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/dwwebinars on Monday June 27, 2011.
Webinar Schedule
Dates: June 29, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM EDT until 3:00PM
Webinar Link: https://scgcorp.webex.com/scgcorp/j.php?ED=175426257&UID=487698002&PW=NMTg3Nzk0ZGQ2&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
Webinar Audio Call-In Number: Call-in toll-free number (US/Canada): 1-866-699-3239
Access code: 576 579 427
Dates: July 6, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM EDT until 3:00PM
Webinar Link: https://scgcorp.webex.com/scgcorp/j.php?ED=175430117&UID=487698002&PW=NMTg2ZDk4YzE2&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
Webinar Audio Call-In Number: Call-in toll-free number (US/Canada): 1-866-699-3239
Access code: 579 829 984
Dates: July 13, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM EDT until 3:00PM
Webinar Link: https://scgcorp.webex.com/scgcorp/j.php?ED=175430512&UID=487698002&PW=NZDA1YzQ4OGEw&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
Webinar Audio Call-In Number: Call-in toll-free number (US/Canada): 1-866-699-3239
Access code: 570 302 469
Formal instructions for application submission through Grants.gov follow in Section E.
A. Internet Address to Request Application Package
Use the application package available at Grants.gov (see Section E. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements”). Note: With the exception of the current and pending support form (available at http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms), all necessary forms are included in the electronic application package.
An email will be sent by NCER to the Lead/Contact PI and the Administrative Contact (see below) to acknowledge receipt of the application and transmit other important information. The email will be sent from receipt.application@epa.gov; emails to this address will not be accepted. If you do not receive an email acknowledgment within 30 days of the submission closing date, immediately inform the Eligibility Contact shown in this solicitation. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed. See Section E. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements” for additional information regarding the application receipt acknowledgment.
B. Content and Form of Application Submission
The application is made by submitting the materials described below. Applications must contain all information requested and be submitted in the formats described.
- Standard Form 424
The applicant must complete Standard Form 424. Instructions for completion of the SF424 are included with the form. (However, note that EPA requires that the entire requested dollar amount appear on the 424, not simply the proposed first year expenses.) The form must contain the signature of an authorized representative of the applying organization.
Applicants are required to provide a “Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System” (DUNS) number when applying for federal grants or cooperative agreements. Organizations may receive a DUNS number by calling 1-866-705-5711 or by visiting the web site at http://www.dnb.com.
Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,” does not apply to the Office of Research and Development's research and training programs unless EPA has determined that the activities that will be carried out under the applicants' proposal (a) require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), or (b) do not require an EIS but will be newly initiated at a particular site and require unusual measures to limit the possibility of adverse exposure or hazard to the general public, or (c) have a unique geographic focus and are directly relevant to the governmental responsibilities of a State or local government within that geographic area.
If EPA determines that Executive Order 12372 applies to an applicant's proposal, the applicant must follow the procedures in 40 CFR Part 29. The applicant must notify their state's single point of contact (SPOC). To determine whether their state participates in this process, and how to comply, applicants should consult http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc/. If an applicant is in a State that does not have a SPOC, or the State has not selected research and development grants for intergovernmental review, the applicant must notify directly affected State, area wide, regional and local entities of its proposal.
EPA will notify the successful applicant(s) if Executive Order 12372 applies to its proposal prior to award.
- Key Contacts
The applicant must complete the “Key Contacts” form found in the Grants.gov application package. An “Additional Key Contacts” form is also available at http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. The Key Contacts form should also be completed for major sub-agreements (i.e., primary investigators). Do not include information for consultants or other contractors. Please make certain that all contact information is accurate.
For Multiple PI applications: The Additional Key Contacts form must be completed (see Section I.F. for further information). Note: The Contact PI must be affiliated with the institution submitting the application. EPA will direct all communications related to scientific, technical, and budgetary aspects of the project to the Contact PI; however, any information regarding an application will be shared with any PI upon request. The Contact PI is to be listed on the Key Contact Form as the Project Manager/Principal Investigator (the term Project Manager is used on the Grants.gov form, the term Principal Investigator is used on the form located on NCER’s web site). For additional PIs, complete the Major Co-Investigator fields and identify PI status next to the name (e.g., “Name: John Smith, Principal Investigator”).
- Table of Contents
Provide a list of the major subdivisions of the application indicating the page number on which each section begins.
- Abstract (1 page)
The abstract is a very important document in the review process. Therefore, it is critical that the abstract accurately describes the research being proposed and conveys all the essential elements of the research. Also, the abstracts of applications that receive funding will be posted on the NCER web site.
The abstract should include the information described below (a-h). Examples of abstracts for current grants may be found on the NCER web site.
- Funding Opportunity Title and Number for this proposal.
- Project Title: Use the exact title of your project as it appears in the application. The title must be brief yet represent the major thrust of the project. Because the title will be used by those not familiar with the project, use more commonly understood terminology. Do not use general phrases such as “research on.”
- Investigators: For applications with multiple investigators, state whether this is a single Lead PI (with co-PIs) or Multiple PI application (see Section I.F.). For Lead PI applications, list the Lead PI, then the name(s) of each co-PI who will significantly contribute to the project. For Multiple PI applications, list the Contact PI, then the name(s) of each additional PI. Provide a web site URL or an email contact address for additional information.
- Institution: In the same order as the list of investigators, list the name, city and state of each participating university or other applicant institution. The institution applying for assistance must be clearly identified.
- Project Period and Location: Show the proposed project beginning and ending dates and the geographical location(s) where the work will be conducted.
- Project Cost: Show the total dollars requested from the EPA (include direct and indirect costs for all years).
- Project Summary: Provide three subsections addressing: (1) the objectives of the study (including any hypotheses that will be tested), (2) the experimental approach to be used (a description of the proposed project), and (3) the expected results (outputs/outcomes) of the project and how it addresses the research needs identified in the solicitation, including the estimated improvement in risk assessment or risk management that will result from successful completion of the proposed work.
- Supplemental Keywords: Without duplicating terms already used in the text of the abstract, list keywords to assist database searchers in finding your research. A list of suggested keywords may be found at: http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms.
- Research and Demonstration Plan, Quality Assurance Statement, Data Plan, and References
- Research Plan (15 pages)
Applications should focus on a limited number of research and demonstration objectives that adequately and clearly demonstrate that they meet the RFA requirements including those identified in Section I. Explicitly state the main hypotheses that you will investigate, the data you will create or use, the analytical tools you will use to investigate these hypotheses or analyze these data, and the results you expect to achieve. Research methods must be clearly stated so that reviewers can evaluate the appropriateness of your approach and the tools you intend to use. A statement such as: “we will evaluate the data using the usual statistical methods” is not specific enough for peer reviewers.
This description must not exceed fifteen (15) consecutively numbered (bottom center), 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins. While these guidelines establish the minimum type size requirements, applicants are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in selection of an appropriate font for use in the proposal.
The description must provide the following information:
- Objectives: List the objectives of the proposed research and demonstration project and the hypotheses being tested during the project, and briefly state why the intended research is important and how it fulfills the requirements of the solicitation. This section should also include any background or introductory information that would help explain the objectives of the research and demonstration project. If this application is to expand upon research supported by an existing or former assistance agreement awarded under the STAR program, indicate the number of the agreement and provide a brief report of progress and results achieved under it.
- Approach/Activities: Outline the research and demonstration design, methods, and techniques that you intend to use in meeting the objectives stated above. Describe, if any, your collaboration(s) in demonstrating treatment technologies with entities such as small drinking water systems, state primacy agencies and water centers/clusters.
- Innovation: Summarize how your research and demonstration project is innovative by describing how your project shifts current research or engineering paradigms, by using innovative theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation or interventions.
- Sustainability: Summarize how your research and demonstration project seeks sustainable solutions to protect the environment, strengthens our communities and foster prosperity. Summarize the potential environmental, societal, and economic benefits of your proposed sustainable solutions. The following sustainability summary (https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.files/fileID/8166 (PDF) (1 pp, 197 K)) provides examples of sustainable research activities.
- Expected Results, Benefits, Outputs, and Outcomes: Describe the results you expect to achieve during the project (outputs) and the potential benefits of the results (outcomes). This section should also discuss how the research and demonstration projects will lead to solutions to environmental problems and improve the public’s ability to protect the environment and human health. A clear, concise description will help NCER and peer reviewers understand the merits of the research and demonstration project.
- General Project Information: Discuss other information relevant to the potential success of the project. This should include facilities, personnel expertise/experience, project schedules with associated milestones and target dates, proposed management, interactions with other institutions, etc. Applications for multi-investigator projects must identify project management and the functions of each investigator in each team and describe plans to communicate and share data. Please carefully review section IV. D before naming co-principal investigators.
- Appendices may be included but must remain within the 15-page limit.
- Quality Assurance Statement (3 pages)
For projects involving environmental data collection or processing, conducting surveys, modeling, method development, or the development of environmental technology (whether hardware-based or via new techniques), provide a Quality Assurance Statement (QAS) regarding the plans for processes that will be used to ensure that the products of the research satisfy the intended project objectives. Follow the guidelines provided below to ensure that the QAS describes a system that complies with ANSI/ASQC E4, Specifications and Guidelines for Quality Systems for Environmental Data Collection and Environmental Technology Programs. Do not exceed three consecutively numbered, 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins.
NOTE: If selected for award, applicants will be expected to provide additional quality assurance documentation.
Address each applicable section below by including the required information, referencing the specific location of the information in the Research Plan, or explaining why the section does not apply to the proposed research. (Not all will apply.)
- Identify the individual who will be responsible for the quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) aspects of the research along with a brief description of this person’s functions, experience, and authority within the research organization. Describe the organization’s general approach for conducting quality research. (QA is a system of management activities to ensure that a process or item is of the type and quality needed for the project. QC is a system of activities that measures the attributes and performance of a process or item against the standards defined in the project documentation to verify that they meet those stated requirements.)
- Discuss project objectives, including quality objectives, any hypotheses to be tested, and the quantitative and/or qualitative procedures that will be used to evaluate the success of the project. Include any plans for peer or other reviews of the study design or analytical methods.
- Address each of the following project elements as applicable:
- Collection of new/primary data:
(Note: In this case the word “sample” is intended to mean any finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information about the whole. If certain attributes listed below do not apply to the type of samples to be used in your research, simply explain why those attributes are not applicable.)- Discuss the plan for sample collection and analysis. As applicable, include sample type(s), frequency, locations, sample sizes, sampling procedures, and the criteria for determining acceptable data quality (e.g., precision, accuracy, representativeness, completeness, comparability, or data quality objectives).
- Describe the procedures for the handling and custody of samples including sample collection, identification, preservation, transportation, and storage, and how the accuracy of test measurements will be verified.
- Describe or reference each analytical method to be used, any QA or QC checks or procedures with the associated acceptance criteria, and any procedures that will be used in the calibration and performance evaluation of the analytical instrumentation.
- Discuss the procedures for overall data reduction, analysis, and reporting. Include a description of all statistical methods to make inferences and conclusions, acceptable error rates and/or power, and any statistical software to be used.
- Use of existing/secondary data (i.e., data previously collected for other purposes or from other sources):
- Identify the types of secondary data needed to satisfy the project objectives. Specify requirements relating to the type of data, the age of data, geographical representation, temporal representation, and technological representation, as applicable.
- Specify the source(s) of the secondary data and discuss the rationale for selection.
- Establish a plan to identify the sources of the secondary data in all deliverables/products.
- Specify quality requirements and discuss the appropriateness for their intended use. Accuracy, precision, representativeness, completeness, and comparability need to be addressed, if applicable.
- Describe the procedures for determining the quality of the secondary data.
- Describe the plan for data management/integrity.
- Method development:
(Note: The data collected for use in method development or evaluation should be described in the QAS as per the guidance in section 3A and/or 3B above.)Describe the scope and application of the method, any tests (and measurements) to be conducted to support the method development, the type of instrumentation that will be used and any required instrument conditions (e.g., calibration frequency), planned QC checks and associated criteria (e.g., spikes, replicates, blanks), and tests to verify the method’s performance.
- Development or refinement of models:
(Note: The data collected for use in the development or refinement of models should be described in the QAS as per the guidance in section 3A and/or 3B above.)- Discuss the scope and purpose of the model, key assumptions to be made during development/refinement, requirements for code development, and how the model will be documented.
- Discuss verification techniques to ensure the source code implements the model correctly.
- Discuss validation techniques to determine that the model (assumptions and algorithms) captures the essential phenomena with adequate fidelity.
- Discuss plans for long-term maintenance of the model and associated data.
- Development or operation of environmental technology:
(Note: The data collected for use in the development or evaluation of the technology should be described in the QAS as per the guidance in section 3A and/or 3B above.)- Describe the overall purpose and anticipated impact of the technology.
- Describe the technical and quality specifications of each technology component or process that is to be designed, fabricated, constructed, and/or operated.
- Discuss the procedure to be used for documenting and controlling design changes.
- Discuss the procedure to be used for documenting the acceptability of processes and components, and discuss how the technology will be benchmarked and its effectiveness determined.
- Discuss the documentation requirements for operating instructions/guides for maintenance and use of the system(s) and/or process(s).
- Conducting surveys:
(Note: The data to be collected in the survey and any supporting data should be described in the QAS as per the guidance in section 3A and/or 3B above.)Discuss the justification for the size of the proposed sample for both the overall project and all subsamples for specific treatments or tests. Identify and explain the rational for the proposed statistical techniques (e.g., evaluation of statistical power).
- Collection of new/primary data:
- Discuss data management activities (e.g., record-keeping procedures, data-handling procedures, and the approach used for data storage and retrieval on electronic media). Include any required computer hardware and software and address any specific performance requirements for the hardware/software configuration used.
- Data Plan (2 pages)
Provide a plan to make all data resulting from an agreement under this RFA available in a format and with documentation/metadata such that they may be used by others in the scientific community. This includes both primary and secondary or existing data, i.e., from observations, analyses, or model development collected or used under the agreement. Applicants who plan to develop or enhance databases containing proprietary or restricted information must provide, within the two pages, a strategy to make the data widely available, while protecting privacy or property rights.
- References: References cited are in addition to other page limits (e.g. research plan, quality assurance statement, data plan).
- Research Plan (15 pages)
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Budget
Prepare a master budget table using “SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs” (aka SF-424A), available in the Grants.gov electronic application package and also at http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. Only complete “Section B-Budget Categories”. Provide the object class budget category (a. - k.) amounts for each budget year under the “Grant Program, Function or Activity” heading. Each column reflects a separate budget year. For example, Column (1) reflects budget year 1. The total budget will be automatically tabulated in column (5).
If a subaward with an educational institution is included in the application, provide a separate SF-424A and budget justification for the subaward. Include the total amount for the subaward under “Other” in the master SF-424A. Applicants may not use subawards to transfer or delegate their responsibility for successful completion of their EPA assistance agreement. Therefore, EPA expects that subawards or subcontracts should not constitute more than 40% of the total direct cost of the total project budget. If a subaward/subcontract constitutes more than 40% of the total direct cost, additional justification may be required before award discussing the need for the subaward/subcontract to accomplish the objectives of the research project. Please carefully review Section IV. D below if your organization intends to identify specific contractors, including consultants, and subawardees in your proposal.
Please note that institutional cost-sharing is not required. However, if voluntary cost-sharing is proposed, a brief statement concerning cost-sharing should be added to the budget justification.
Please note that when formulating budgets for proposals/applications, applicants must not include management fees or similar charges in excess of the direct costs and indirect costs at the rate approved by the applicants cognizant audit agency, or at the rate provided for by the terms of the agreement negotiated with EPA. The term "management fees or similar charges" refers to expenses added to the direct costs in order to accumulate and reserve funds for ongoing business expenses, unforeseen liabilities, or for other similar costs that are not allowable under EPA assistance agreements. Management fees or similar charges may not be used to improve or expand the project funded under this agreement, except to the extent authorized as a direct cost of carrying out the scope of work.
- Budget Justification [2 pages in addition to the Section IV.B.5. page limitations, not including additions under Nos. (6) and (7) below to support contracts and subawards]
Describe the basis for calculating the personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and other costs identified in the itemized budget. The budget justification should not exceed two consecutively numbered (bottom center), 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins.
Budget information should be supported at the level of detail described below:
- Personnel: List all staff positions by title. Give annual salary, percentage of time assigned to the project, and total cost for the budget period.
- Fringe Benefits: Identify the percentage used and the basis for its computation.
- Travel: Specify the estimated number of trips, locations, and other costs for each type of travel. Explain the need for any travel, paying particular attention to travel outside the United States. Include travel funds for annual STAR program progress reviews (estimate for two days in Washington, D.C.) and a final workshop to report on results.
- Equipment: Identify all tangible, non-expendable personal property to be purchased that has an estimated cost of $5,000 or more per unit and a useful life of more than one year. (Personal property items with a unit cost of less than $5,000 are considered supplies.)
- Supplies: “Supplies” means tangible property other than “equipment.” Identify categories of supplies to be procured (e.g., laboratory supplies or office supplies). Specifically identify computers to be purchased or upgraded.
- Contractual: Specify the amount you anticipate expending for services/analyses or consultants and specify the purpose of the contracts and estimated cost. Any procurement of services from individual consultants or commercial firms (including space for workshops) must comply with the competitive procurement requirements of 40 C.F.R. Part 30 or 40 C.F.R. 31.36, as appropriate. Please see Section IV. D below for more details.
- Other: List each item in sufficient detail for the EPA to determine the reasonableness of its cost relative to the research to be undertaken. Note that subawards, such as those with other universities for members of the research team, are included in this category. Subawards must have a separate itemized budget and budget justification, not to exceed one additional page each, included as part of the proposal. Subawards may not be used to acquire services from consultants or commercial firms. Please carefully review Section IV. D below for more details.
- Indirect Costs: If indirect costs are included in the budget identify the cognizant federal audit agency and the approved indirect rate. If your organization does not have a cognizant federal audit agency, please note that in the proposal and provide a brief explanation for how you calculated your indirect cost rate. EPA will negotiate an indirect rate if necessary.
- Budget
- Resumes
Provide resumes for each investigator and important co-worker. You may include resumes from staff of subawardees such as universities. Do not include resumes of consultants or other contractors. The resume for each individual must not exceed two consecutively numbered (bottom center), 8.5x11-inch pages of single-spaced, standard 12-point type with 1-inch margins.
- Current and Pending Support
Complete a current and pending support form (provided at http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms) for each investigator and important co-worker. Do not include current and pending support for consultants or other contractors. Include all current and pending research regardless of source.
Note to all prospective applicants requiring multiple Current and Pending Support Form pages: Due to a limitation in Adobe Acrobat's forms functionality, additional pages cannot be directly inserted into the original PDF form and preserve the form data on the subsequent pages. Multiple page form submissions can be created in Acrobat 8 and later using the "PDF Package" option in the "Create PDF from Multiple Files" function. If you have an earlier version of Adobe Standard or Professional, applicants will need to convert each PDF page of the form to an EPS (Encapsulated Post Script) file before creating the PDF for submission. The following steps will allow applicants with earlier versions of Adobe Standard or Professional to create a PDF package:
- Populate the first page of the PDF, and save it as a EPS (Encapsulated Post Script) file.
- Reopen the form, and populate it with the data for page 2. Save this page as a different EPS file. Repeat for as many pages as necessary.
- Use Acrobat Distiller to convert the EPS files back to PDF.
- Open Acrobat Professional, and combine the individual pages into a combined PDF file.
- Guidelines, Limitations, and Additional Requirements
- Letters of Intent/Letters of Support
Letters of intent to provide resources for the proposed research or to document intended interactions are limited to one brief paragraph committing the availability of a resource (e.g., use of a person's time or equipment) or intended interaction (e.g., sharing of data, as-needed consultation) that is described in the Research Plan. Letters of intent are to be included as an addition to the budget justification documents. EPA employees are not permitted to provide letters of intent for any application.
Letters of support do not commit a resource vital to the success of the proposal. A letter of support is written by businesses, organizations, or community members stating their support of the applicant's proposed project. EPA employees are not permitted to provide letters of support for any application.
Note: Letters of intent or support must be part of the application; letters submitted separately will not be accepted. Any letter of intent or support that exceeds one brief paragraph (excluding letterhead and salutations), is considered part of the Research Plan and is included in the 15-page Research Plan limit. Any transactions between the successful applicant and parties providing letters of intent or support financed with EPA grant funds are subject to the funding restrictions described in Section IV. D. as well.
- Funding Opportunity Number(s) (FON)
At various places in the application, applicants are asked to identify the FON.
The Funding Opportunity Number for this RFA is:
Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies in Small Systems, EPA-G2011-STAR-G1 - Confidentiality
By submitting an application in response to this solicitation, the applicant grants the EPA permission to make limited disclosures of the application to technical reviewers both within and outside the Agency for the express purpose of assisting the Agency with evaluating the application. Information from a pending or unsuccessful application will be kept confidential to the fullest extent allowed under law; information from a successful application may be publicly disclosed to the extent permitted by law.
EPA recommends that you do not include confidential business information (“CBI”) in your proposal/application. However, if confidential business information is included, it will be treated in accordance with 40 CFR 2.203. Applicants must clearly indicate which portion(s) of their proposal/application they are claiming as CBI. EPA will evaluate such claims in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2. If no claim of confidentiality is made, EPA is not required to make the inquiry to the applicant otherwise required by 40 CFR 2.204(c)(2) prior to disclosure. The Agency protects competitive proposals/applications from disclosure under applicable provisions of the Freedom of Information Act prior to the completion of the competitive selection process.
- Letters of Intent/Letters of Support
C. Submission Dates and Times
Applications must be transferred to Grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time on the solicitation closing date. Applications transferred after the closing date and time will be returned to the sender without further consideration.
It should be noted that this schedule may be changed without prior notification because of factors not anticipated at the time of announcement. In the case of a change in the solicitation closing date, a new date will be posted on the NCER web site (http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/research-funding-opportunities) and a modification posted on www.grants.gov.
Solicitation Closing Date: August 25, 2011, 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time (applications must be submitted to Grants.gov by this time, see Section IV.E “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements” for further information).
D. Funding Restrictions
The funding mechanism for all awards issued under STAR solicitations will consist of assistance agreements from the EPA. All award decisions are subject to the availability of funds. In accordance with the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act, 31 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., the primary purpose of an assistance agreement is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by federal statute, rather than acquisition for the direct benefit or use of the Agency. In issuing a grant, the EPA anticipates that there will be no substantial EPA involvement in the design, implementation, or conduct of the research. However, the EPA will monitor research progress through annual reports provided by grantees and other contacts, including site visits, with the Principal Investigator(s).
If you wish to submit applications for more than one STAR funding opportunity you must ensure that the research proposed in each application is significantly different from any other that has been submitted to the EPA or from any other financial assistance you are currently receiving from the EPA or other federal government agency.
Collaborative applications involving more than one institution must be submitted as a single administrative package from one of the institutions involved.
EPA awards funds to one eligible applicant as the recipient even if other eligible applicants are named as partners or co-applicants or members of a coalition or consortium. The recipient is accountable to EPA for the proper expenditure of funds.
Funding may be used to provide subgrants or subawards of financial assistance, which includes using subawards or subgrants to fund partnerships, provided the recipient complies with applicable requirements for subawards or subgrants including those contained in 40 CFR Parts 30 or 31, as appropriate. Applicants must compete contracts for services and products, including consultant contracts, and conduct cost and price analyses to the extent required by the procurement provisions of the regulations at 40 CFR Parts 30 or 31, as appropriate. The regulations also contain limitations on consultant compensation. Applicants are not required to identify subawardees/subgrantees and/or contractors (including consultants) in their proposal/application. However, if they do, the fact that an applicant selected for award has named a specific subawardee/subgrantee, contractor, or consultant in the proposal/application EPA selects for funding does not relieve the applicant of its obligations to comply with subaward/subgrant and/or competitive procurement requirements as appropriate. Please note that applicants may not award sole source contracts to consulting, engineering or other firms assisting applicants with the proposal based solely on the firm's role in preparing the proposal/application.
Successful applicants cannot use subgrants or subawards to avoid requirements in EPA grant regulations for competitive procurement by using these instruments to acquire commercial services or products from for-profit organizations to carry out its assistance agreement. The nature of the transaction between the recipient and the subawardee or subgrantee must be consistent with the standards for distinguishing between vendor transactions and subrecipient assistance under Subpart B Section .210 of OMB Circular A-133, and the definitions of subaward at 40 CFR 30.2(ff) or subgrant at 40 CFR 31.3, as applicable. EPA will not be a party to these transactions. Applicants acquiring commercial goods or services must comply with the competitive procurement standards in 40 CFR Part 30 or 40 CFR Part 31.36 and cannot use a subaward/subgrant as the funding mechanism.
Section V of the announcement describes the evaluation criteria and evaluation process that will be used by EPA to make selections under this announcement. During this evaluation, except for those criteria that relate to the applicant's own qualifications, past performance, and reporting history, the review panel will consider, if appropriate and relevant, the qualifications, expertise, and experience of:
- an applicant's named subawardees/subgrantees identified in the proposal/application if the applicant demonstrates in the proposal/application that if it receives an award that the subaward/subgrant will be properly awarded consistent with the applicable regulations in 40 CFR Parts 30 or 31. For example, applicants must not use subawards/subgrants to obtain commercial services or products from for profit firms or individual consultants.
- an applicant's named contractor(s), including consultants, identified in the proposal/application if the applicant demonstrates in its proposal/application that the contractor(s) was selected in compliance with the competitive procurement standards in 40 CFR Part 30 or 40 CFR 31.36 as appropriate. For example, an applicant must demonstrate that it selected the contractor(s) competitively or that a proper non-competitive sole-source award consistent with the regulations will be made to the contractor(s), that efforts were made to provide small and disadvantaged businesses with opportunities to compete, and that some form of cost or price analysis was conducted. EPA may not accept sole source justifications for contracts for services or products that are otherwise readily available in the commercial marketplace.
EPA will not consider the qualifications, experience, and expertise of named subawardees/subgrantees and/or named contractor(s) during the proposal/application evaluation process unless the applicant complies with these requirements.
Each proposed project must be able to be completed within the project period and with the initial award of funds. Applicants should request the entire amount of money needed to complete the project. Recipients should not anticipate additional funding beyond the initial award of funds for a specific project.
E. Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements
Please read this entire section before attempting an electronic submission through Grants.gov.
If you do not have the technical capability to utilize the Grants.gov application submission process for this solicitation, call 1-800-490-9194 or send a webmail message tohttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/forms/contact-us-about-research-grants at least 15 calendar days before the submission deadline to assure timely receipt of alternate submission instructions. In your message provide the funding opportunity number and title of the program, specify that you are requesting alternate submission instructions, and provide a telephone number, fax number, and an email address, if available. Alternate instructions will be emailed whenever possible. Any applications submitted through alternate submission methods must comply with all the provisions of this RFA, including Section IV, and be received by the solicitation closing date identified above.
Note: Grants.gov submission instructions are updated on an as-needed basis. Please provide your Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) with a copy of the following instructions to avoid submission delays that may occur from the use of outdated instructions.
- Preparing for Submission. The appropriate electronic application package available through the Grants.gov site must be used for electronic submissions. To begin the application process, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on the “Apply for Grants” tab on the left side of the page. Then click on “Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package” to download the compatible Adobe viewer and obtain the application package. For more information on Adobe Reader please go to http://www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp.
Note:Grants.gov is aware of a corruption issue when Adobe Reader application packages are saved in different versions of Adobe Reader. It is recommended that applicants uninstall earlier versions of Adobe Reader and then install the version available and compatible through Grants.gov.
The application package may be quickly accessed from https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms_apps_idx.html using the appropriate FON. Be sure to download the electronic application package for the appropriate FON. Please register for announcement change notification emails. Note: With the exception of the current and pending support form (available at http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms), all necessary forms are included in the electronic application package.
The electronic submission of your application package must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and authorized to sign for Federal assistance. Most submission problems can be avoided by communicating with the AOR well before the solicitation closing date and allowing sufficient time for following the guidance provided below. Note for organizations not currently registered: the registration process may take a week or longer to complete. We recommend you designate an AOR and begin the registration process as soon as possible.
For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on “Get Registered”.
- Acknowledgement of Receipt. The complete application must be transferred to Grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time on the solicitation closing date (see “Submission Dates and Times”). Grants.gov provides an on-screen notification of successful initial transfer as well as an email notification of successful transfer from Grants.gov to EPA. While it is advisable to retain copies of these Grants.gov acknowledgements to document submission, the only official documentation that the application has been received by NCER is the email acknowledgement sent by NCER to the Lead/Contact PI and the Administrative Contact. This email will be sent from receipt.application@epa.gov; emails to this address will not be accepted. If an email acknowledgment from NCER (not support@grants.gov) has not been received within 30 days of the solicitation closing date, immediately inform the Eligibility Contact shown in this solicitation. Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.
- Application Package Preparation. The application package consists of a. through d. below.
- Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424): Complete the form except for the “competition ID” field.
- EPA Key Contacts Form 5700-54: Complete the form. If additional pages are needed, see (d) below.
- SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs: Only complete “Section B-Budget Categories”. Provide the object class budget category (a. - k.) amounts for each budget year under the “Grant Program, Function or Activity” heading. Each column reflects a separate budget year.
- Project Narrative Attachment Form (click on “Add Mandatory Project Narrative”): Attach a single electronic file labeled “Application” that contains the items described in Section IV.B.3. through IV.B.9.a (Table of Contents, Abstract, Research and Demonstration Plan, Quality Assurance Statement, Data Plan, References, Budget Justification, Resumes, Current and Pending Support, and Letters of Intent/Support) of this solicitation. In order to maintain format integrity, this file must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat PDF. Please review the PDF file for conversion errors prior to including it in the electronic application package; requests to rectify conversion errors will not be accepted if made after the solicitation closing date and time. If Key Contacts Continuation pages (see http://epa.govhttps://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms) are needed, place them before the Table of Contents (Section IV.B.3.).
Once the application package has been completed, the “Submit” button should be enabled. If the “Submit” button is not active, please call Grants.gov for assistance at 1-800-518-4726. Investigators should save the completed application package with two different file names before providing it to the AOR to avoid having to re-create the package should submission problems be experienced or a revised application needs to be submitted. Note: Revised applications must be submitted before the solicitation closing date and time.
- Submitting the application. The application package must be transferred to Grants.gov by an AOR. The AOR should close all other software before attempting to submit the application package. Click the “submit” button of the application package. Your Internet browser will launch and a sign-in page will appear. Note: Minor problems are not uncommon with transfers to Grants.gov. It is essential to allow sufficient time to ensure that your application is submitted to Grants.gov BEFORE 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time on the solicitation closing date. The Grants.gov support desk operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except Federal Holidays.
A successful transfer will end with an on-screen acknowledgement. For documentation purposes, print or screen capture this acknowledgement. If a submission problem occurs, reboot the computer – turning the power off may be necessary – and re-attempt the submission.
Note: Grants.gov issues a “case number” upon a request for assistance.
- Transmission Difficulties. If transmission difficulties that result in a late transmission, no transmission, or rejection of the transmitted application are experienced, and following the above instructions do not resolve the problem so that the application is submitted to Grants.Gov by the deadline date and time, follow the guidance below. The Agency will make a decision concerning each late submission on a case-by-case basis as to whether it should be forwarded for peer review. All emails, as described below, are to be sent to josephson.ron@epa.gov with the FON in the subject line.
Please note that if the application you are submitting is greater than 70 MB in size, please call or send an email message to the Electronic Submissions Contact listed for this RFA. The Agency may experience technical difficulty downloading files of this size from Grants.gov. Therefore, it is important that the Agency verify that the file can be downloaded. The Agency will provide alternate submission instructions if the file cannot be downloaded.
- If you are experiencing problems resulting in an inability to upload the application to Grants.gov, it is essential to call Grants.gov for assistance at 1-800-518-4726 before the application deadline. Be sure to obtain a case number from Grants.gov.
- Unsuccessful transfer of the application package: If a successful transfer of the application cannot be accomplished even with assistance from Grants.gov due to electronic submission issues, send an email message by 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time on the solicitation closing date. The email message must document the problem and include the Grants.gov case number as well as the entire application in PDF format as an attachment.
- Grants.gov rejection of the application package: If a notification is received from
Grants.gov stating that the application has been rejected for reasons other than late submittal, promptly send an email that includes any materials provided by Grants.gov and attach the entire application in PDF format.
V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
A. Peer Review
All eligible grant applications are reviewed by an appropriate external technical peer review panel comprised of individual experts using the criteria below. This review is designed to evaluate each application according to its scientific merit. Each peer review panel includes non-EPA scientists, engineers, social scientists, and/or economists who are accomplished in their respective disciplines and proficient in the technical subjects they are reviewing. Reviewers are asked to individually assign a score of excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor to each application. EPA translates the average of these individual scores into the final peer review score.
Individual external peer reviewers consider an application’s merit based on the criteria below. Criteria 1-5 are listed in descending order of importance:
- Research Proposal (criteria “1a” through “1g” are equal):
- The originality and creativity of the proposed research, the appropriateness and adequacy of the proposed research methods, and the Quality Assurance Statement.
- Practical and technically defensible approach that can be performed within the proposed time period.
- Research contributes to scientific knowledge in the topic area.
- Projected benefits of the proposed activity to society, such as improving the environment or human health.
- The results are disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding.
- Theproposal is well prepared with supportive information that is self-explanatory or understandable.
- The extent to which the proposed research challenges and seeks to shift current research or engineering paradigms, by using exceptionally innovative theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation or interventions applicable to one or more fields of research.
- Investigators: The qualifications of the Principal Investigator(s) and other key personnel, including research training, demonstrated knowledge of pertinent literature, experience, and publication records. This includes, as applicable, the extent of collaborations with other entities such as small drinking water systems, state primacy agencies, and water centers/clusters. All key personnel must make a significant time commitment to the project.
- Responsiveness: The responsiveness of the proposal to the research needs identified for the research area. The proposal adequately addresses the research topics, outcomes and special considerations specified by the RFA (Section I.D).
- Facilities and equipment: The availability and/or adequacy of the facilities and equipment proposed for the project. Note any deficiencies that may interfere with the successful completion of the research.
- Budget: Although budget information does not reflect on the application’s scientific merit, the reviewers are asked to provide their view on the appropriateness and/or adequacy of the proposed budget and its implications for the potential success of the proposed research. Input on requested equipment is of particular interest.
B. Programmatic Review
Applications receiving final peer review scores of excellent or very good will then undergo an internal programmatic review, as described below, conducted by technical experts from the EPA, including individuals from the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and program and regional offices involved with the science or engineering proposed. All other applications are automatically declined.
Those applicants who received final scores of excellent or very good as a result of the peer review process will be asked to provide additional information for the programmatic review pertaining to the proposed Lead PI’s (in the case of Multiple-PI applications, the Contact PI’s) "Past Performance and Reporting History." The applicant must provide the EPA Project Officer with information on the proposed Lead/Contact PI's past performance and reporting history under prior Federal agency assistance agreements (assistance agreements include grants and cooperative agreements but not contracts) in terms of: (i) the level of success in managing and completing each agreement, and (ii) history of meeting the reporting requirements under each agreement.
This information is required only for the proposed Lead/Contact PI's performance under Federal assistance agreements initiated within the last three years that were similar in size and scope to the proposed project.
The specific information required for each agreement is shown below, and must be provided within three days of EPA's request. A maximum of three pages will be permitted for the response; excess pages will not be reviewed. Note: If no prior past performance information and/or reporting history exists, you will be asked to so state.
- Name of Granting Agency.
- Grant/Cooperative agreement number.
- Grant/Cooperative agreement title.
- Brief description of the grant/cooperative agreement.
- A description of how the agreement is similar in size and scope to the proposed project and whether or not it was successfully managed and completed; if not successfully managed and completed, provide an explanation.
- Information relating to the proposed Lead/Contact PI's past performance in reporting on progress towards achieving the expected results (outputs/outcomes) under the agreement. Include the history of submitting timely progress/final technical reports, describe how progress towards achieving the expected results was reported/documented, and if such progress was not being made, provide an explanation of whether, and how, this was reported.
- Total (all years) grant/cooperative agreement dollar value.
- Project period.
- Technical contact (project officer), telephone number, and Email address (if available).
The purpose of the programmatic review is to ensure an integrated research portfolio for the Agency and help determine which applications to recommend for award. In conducting the programmatic review, the EPA will consider information provided by the applicant and may consider information from other sources, including prior and current grantors and agency files.
The internal programmatic review panel will assess:
- The relevance of the proposed science to EPA research priorities.
- The proposed Lead/Contact PI's past performance under Federal agency assistance agreements (assistance agreements include grants and cooperative agreements but not contracts) initiated within the last three years that were similar in size and scope to the proposed project in two areas: First, in successfully managing and completing these prior Federal assistance projects, including whether there is a satisfactory explanation for any lack of success. Second, in reporting progress toward achieving results under these agreements, including the proposed Lead/Contact PI's history of submitting timely progress/final technical reports that adequately describe the progress toward achieving the expected results (outputs/outcomes) under the agreements. Any explanation of why progress toward achieving the results was not made will also be considered. Applicants whose proposed Lead PI/Contact PI has no relevant past performance and/or reporting history, or for whom this information is not available, will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably on these elements.
- The extent to which the applicant credibly explains how the research seeks sustainable solutions to protect the environment, strengthen our communities, and foster prosperity and the extent to which the applicant explains the potential environmental, societal, and economic benefits of the proposed sustainable solutions. The following sustainability primer (https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.files/fileID/8166 (PDF) (1 pp, 197 K)) provides examples of sustainable research activities.
C. Funding Decisions
Final funding decisions are made by the NCER Director based on the results of the peer review and internal programmatic review. In addition, in making the final funding decisions, the NCER Director may also consider program balance and available funds, and as noted in Section II EPA expects to make at least two awards to MAIs who pass the peer review process described in Section V and successfully complete the award process.. Applicants selected for funding will be required to provide additional information listed below under “Award Notices.” The application will then be forwarded to EPA’s Grants and Interagency Agreement Management Division for award in accordance with the EPA’s procedures.
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
A. Award Notices
Applicants to be recommended for funding will be required to submit additional certifications and an electronic version of the revised project abstract. They may also be asked to provide responses to comments or suggestions offered by the peer reviewers and/or submit a revised budget. EPA Project Officers will contact the Lead PI/Contact PI to obtain these materials. Before or after an award, applicants may be required to provide additional quality assurance documentation.
Non-profit applicants that are recommended for funding under this announcement are subject to pre-award administrative capability reviews consistent with Sections 8b., 8c. and 9d. of EPA Order 5700.8 - Policy on Assessing Capabilities of Non-Profit Applicants for Managing Assistance Awards (https://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/award/5700_8.pdf (10 pp, 42 K)). In addition, non-profit applicants that qualify for funding may, depending on the size of the award, be required to fill out and submit to the Grants Management Office the Administrative Capabilities Form with supporting documents contained in Appendix A of EPA Order 5700.8.
The official notification of an award will be made by the Agency’s Grants and Interagency Agreement Management Division. Applicants are cautioned that only a grants officer is authorized to bind the Government to the expenditure of funds; preliminary selection by the NCER Director in the Office of Research and Development does not guarantee an award will be made.
B. Disputes
Disputes related to this assistance agreement competition will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures set forth in 70 FR 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005) which can be found at https://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/resolution.htm. Questions regarding disputes may be referred to the Eligibility Contact identified below.
C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
Expectations and responsibilities of NCER grantees and cooperative agreement holders are summarized in this section, although the terms grant and grantee are used. See https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/research-grants-guidance for the full terms and conditions associated with an award, including which activities require prior approval from the EPA.
- Meetings: Principal Investigators will be expected to budget for, and participate in, All-Investigators Meetings (also known as progress reviews) approximately once per year with EPA scientists and other grantees to report on research activities and discuss issues of mutual interest.
- Approval of Changes after Award: Prior written approval of changes may be required from EPA. Examples of these changes are contained in 40 C.F.R. 30.25. Note: prior written approval is also required from the EPA Award Official for incurring costs more than 90 calendar days prior to award.
- Human Subjects: A grant applicant must agree to meet all EPA requirements for studies using human subjects prior to implementing any work with these subjects. These requirements are given in 40 CFR § 26. Studies involving intentional exposure of human subjects who are children or pregnant or nursing women are prohibited by Subpart B of 40 CFR § 26. For observational studies involving children or pregnant women and fetuses please refer to Subparts C & D of 40 CFR § 26. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulations at 45 CFR § 46.101(e) have long required "... compliance with pertinent Federal laws or regulations which provide additional protection for human subjects." EPA’s regulation 40 CFR § 26 is such a pertinent Federal regulation. Therefore, the applicant's Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval must state that the applicant's study meets the EPA's regulations at 40 CFR § 26. No work involving human subjects, including recruiting, may be initiated before the EPA has received a copy of the applicant’s IRB approval of the project and the EPA has also provided approval. Where human subjects are involved in the research, the recipient must provide evidence of subsequent IRB reviews, including amendments or minor changes of protocol, as part of annual reports.
- Animal Welfare: A grant recipient must agree to comply with the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-544), as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2131-2156. The recipient must also agree to abide by the "U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals used in Testing, Research, and Training" (50 Federal Register 20864-20865. May 20, 1985).
- Data Access and Information Release: After award, all data (including primary and secondary or existing data) must be made available to the NCER Project Officer without restriction and be accompanied by comprehensive metadata documentation adequate for specialists and non-specialists alike to be able to understand how and where the data were obtained and to evaluate the quality of the data. If requested, the data products and their metadata must be provided to the NCER Project Officer in a standard exchange format no later than the due date of the grant's final report or the publication of the data product's associated results, whichever comes first.
Congress, through OMB, has instructed each federal agency to implement Information Quality Guidelines designed to "provide policy and procedural guidance...for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information, including statistical information, disseminated by Federal agencies." The EPA's implementation may be found at https://www.epa.gov/quality/informationguidelines/. These procedures may apply to data generated by grant recipients if those data are disseminated as described in the Guidelines.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 located at 2 CFR Part 215 has been revised to provide public access to research data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under some circumstances. Data that are (1) first produced in a project that is supported in whole or in part with federal funds and (2) cited publicly and officially by a federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law (i.e., a regulation) may be accessed through FOIA. If such data are requested by the public, the EPA must ask for it, and the grantee must submit it, in accordance with A-110 and the EPA regulations at 40 C.F.R. 30.36.
- Reporting: A grant recipient is expected to manage assistance agreement funds efficiently and effectively and make sufficient progress towards completing the project activities described in the research plan in a timely manner. The assistance agreement will include terms/conditions implementing this requirement.
A grant recipient must agree to provide annual progress reports, with associated summaries, and a final report with an executive summary. The summaries will be posted on NCER’s website.
A grant recipient must agree to provide copies of any peer reviewed journal article(s) resulting from the research during the project period. In addition, the recipient should notify the EPA Project Officer of any papers published after completion of the grant that were based on research supported by the grant. NCER posts references to all publications resulting from a grant on the NCER web site.
- Acknowledgement of EPA Support: EPA’s full or partial support must be acknowledged in journal articles, oral or poster presentations, news releases, interviews with reporters and other communications. Any documents developed under this agreement that are intended for distribution to the public or inclusion in a scientific, technical, or other journal shall include the following statement or another as specified by EPA’s project officer:
This publication [article] was made possible by EPA grant number _______. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official views of the EPA. Further, the EPA does not endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in the publication.
A graphic that may be converted to a slide or used in other ways, such as on a poster, is located at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/research-grants-guidance. EPA expects recipients to use this graphic in oral and poster presentations.
- Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting: Applicants must ensure that they have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the sub-award and executive total compensation reporting requirements established under OMB guidance at 2 CFR Part 170, unless they qualify for an exception from the requirements, should they be selected for funding.
- Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Requirements: Unless exempt from these requirements under OMB guidance at 2 CFR Part 25 (e.g., individuals), applicants must:
- Be registered in the CCR prior to submitting an application or proposal under this announcement. CCR information can be found at https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/
- Maintain an active CCR registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or proposal under consideration by an agency, and
- Provide its DUNS number in each application or proposal it submits to the agency. Applicants can receive a DUNS number, at no cost, by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1-866-705-5711, or visiting the D&B website at: http://www.dnb.com.
If an applicant fails to comply with these requirements, it will, should it be selected for award, affect their ability to receive the award.
- Exchange Network: EPA, states, territories, and tribes are working together to develop the National Environmental Information Exchange Network, a secure, Internet- and standards-based way to support electronic data reporting, sharing, and integration of both regulatory and non-regulatory environmental data. States, tribes and territories exchanging data with each other or with EPA, should make the Exchange Network and the Agency's connection to it, the Central Data Exchange (CDX), the standard way they exchange data and should phase out any legacy methods they have been using. More information on the Exchange Network is available at www.exchangenetwork.net.
Further information, if needed, may be obtained from the EPA officials indicated below. Information regarding this RFA obtained from sources other than these Agency Contacts may not be accurate. Email inquiries are preferred.
Eligibility Contact: James Gentry (gentry.james@epa.gov); phone: 703-347-8093
Electronic Submissions: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 703-308-0442
Technical Contact: Angela Page (page.angelad@epa.gov); phone: 703-347-8046
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.