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
Advancing Public Health Protection through Water Infrastructure Sustainability
This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number:
- Advancing Public Health Protection through Water Infrastructure Sustainability: EPA-G2009-STAR-F1
Early Career Projects: Advancing Public Health Protection through Water Infrastructure Sustainability: EPA-G2009-STAR-F2
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.509
Solicitation Opening Date: May 18, 2009
Solicitation Closing Date: August 17, 2009, 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time
Eligibility Contact: William Stelz (stelz.william@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9802
Electronic Submissions: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9643
Technical Contacts: Angela Page, MPH (page.angelad@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-0294
Barbara Klieforth (klieforth.barbara@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9266
Access Standard STAR Forms
Research awarded under previous solicitations
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 new and innovative research applications that link opportunities to advance public health protection with improvements in the condition and function of the water infrastructure. For purposes of this RFA, the water infrastructure includes centralized and decentralized systems that convey, store, and distribute potable and non-potable water and collect and manage municipal and industrial wastewater, stormwater, and on-site rainwater. Innovation can take the form of wholly new applications or applications that build on existing knowledge and approaches for new uses. The focus of the solicitation is on improving the effectiveness of the water infrastructure for protecting public health. Projects should clearly demonstrate an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach that leads to advances in design, operation, and management of the water infrastructure and should directly tie those advances to public health protection in conjunction with improving water efficiency and reducing energy requirements.
Award Information:
Anticipated Type of Award: Grant or cooperative agreement
Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately 8 regular awards, 4 early career awards (See Section III for more information)
Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $6 million total for all awards
Potential Funding per Award: For a regular award, up to a total of $600,000, including direct and indirect costs, with a maximum duration of 4 years. Early career awards are limited to a total of $300,000, including direct and indirect costs, with a 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. Special eligibility criteria apply to the early career portion of this RFA. See full announcement for more details.
Application Materials:
The necessary forms for submitting a STAR application will be found on the National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) web site, https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. Electronic submission of your application must be performed by an authorized representative of your organization.
Applicants must submit the full application in PDF format via electronic mail to 2009-WATER-INFRA-APPS@epa.gov with the funding opportunity number (FON) in the subject line.
If you do not have the technical capability to utilize the electronic mail 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 e-mailed whenever possible. Any applications submitted through alternate submission methods must comply with all the provisions of this RFA, including Section IV, and be submitted by the solicitation closing date and time identified above.
Agency Contacts:
Eligibility Contact: William Stelz (stelz.william@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9802
Electronic Submissions: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9643
Technical Contacts: Angela Page, MPH (page.angelad@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-0294
Barbara Klieforth (klieforth.barbara@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9266
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
A. Introduction
The responsibility for providing safe drinking water and protecting water quality in the United States (US) is shared by EPA, states, tribal nations, local governments, and utilities/companies that supply drinking water and/or collect and treat wastewater. To meet this obligation, the integrity of the water infrastructure is paramount. Concerns about the age, condition, reliability, and sustainability of the existing water infrastructure have spawned a host of research questions associated with potential associated health risks and approaches for managing them. In addition to age and/or attrition-related infrastructure deterioration, shifts in population and in the urban/suburban/rural landscape have led to changes in water use and wastewater generation patterns that impact the capacity and reliability of water conveyance systems. Concerns about water availability and the carbon-footprint of the water infrastructure have led to increased recognition of the need for more sustainable approaches for managing water. Research is needed that can lead to improved reliability, integrity, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of our Nation’s currently installed, and future water infrastructure. Innovative and integrative approaches are needed to decrease the likelihood of water infrastructure failures and service disruptions that can result from over-extension of the design lifespan and/or capacity, and deterioration of pipelines and appurtenances.
The sustainability of our Nation’s water infrastructure is a priority research area for EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) in support of the Agency’s mission to protect public health and safeguard the environment. 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. Research funded through this solicitation will complement on-going infrastructure research in ORD’s Drinking Water (DWRP) and Water Quality (WQRP) Research Programs. Details of current STAR research activities can be found on ORD’s National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) homepage. Details on EPA’s broader Sustainable Infrastructure Initiative can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/. Details on ORD’s aging water infrastructure research program can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/awi.
In addition to regular awards, this solicitation includes the opportunity for early career projects. Please see Section III of this Request for Applications (RFA) for details on the early career eligibility criteria.
B. Background
Our water infrastructure is dominated by centralized systems that consist of pipes, pumps, storage facilities, lift stations, and other appurtenances that are integral to delivering drinking water and to collecting and treating wastewater and stormwater. Over the past decade there has been increasing use of decentralized systems, particularly for water reuse and for managing on-site rainwater and stormwater. From a national perspective, over 250 million Americans rely on the several million miles of water infrastructure pipelines that traverse the US. As a nation, we have underinvested in the renewal and replacement of that essential infrastructure. The result is an aging system that poses significant health and safety risks, is prone to leaks and failures, consumes excessive energy, results in wasteful losses of water due to leaks and flushing of pipelines, and is increasingly more difficult to maintain. Also, there is a critical need to better predict infrastructure failures, understand their consequences, and enable more effective prevention and response strategies. Although water infrastructure is developed, owned, and managed at the local or regional level, the widespread and unprecedented technical challenges and financial constraints that impact infrastructure sustainability have elevated infrastructure sustainability into a national issue.
Water infrastructure failures or breaches can have serious and immediate impacts on public safety and impose public health, environmental, and economic hardships that include service interruptions in the delivery of water supplies and fire protection, uncontrolled releases of water (potable and nonpotable water, sewage, stormwater), sewer backups, loss of the positive-pressure barrier to contaminant entry into drinking water systems, backflow events, damage to surrounding pipes, localized flooding, and road-closures that impact traffic. Coping with the increasingly frequent repairs, rehabilitation, and upgrades can impose significant financial pressures on utilities, depending on the scale of the problem. In addition, communities are frequently confronted with secondary economic burdens associated with illnesses, business closures, boil-water advisories, and managing environmental impacts. It is also important to recognize that emergency repairs are much more expensive than planned rehabilitation or replacement and can also impact other infrastructure such as roads, cables, fiber optics, and gas pipelines.
The characteristics and condition of the US water infrastructure inventory vary depending on the age of the system, climatic and land-use patterns (urban, suburban, rural, etc.), proximity of treatment and discharge facilities (centralized or decentralized systems), topography, and other local and regional variations. Historically, the earliest water distribution systems in the US date back to the seventeenth century and were constructed to supply drinking water for domestic and municipal uses and provide adequate water pressure and capacity for fire protection (National Academy, 2006). In contrast, the wastewater collection systems were developed about a century later in response to the need to protect public health and prevent the spread of disease by flushing sewage and stormwater, particularly in densely populated urban areas. Over the intervening centuries, water distribution systems have evolved to provide an uninterrupted pressurized source of water that is linked to wastewater collection systems that convey the water that has been used for municipal, commercial and industrial purposes to treatment or discharge locations. In areas where stormwater management is necessary, it is either conveyed through separate collection systems or combined sewers. In many rural and suburban areas, decentralized on-site systems are used for collection and treatment of wastewater and stormwater.
Today’s water distribution systems are designed to meet multiple supply needs: 1) potable requirements (e.g., drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc.); 2) fire fighting; 3) municipal, commercial, and industrial needs; and 4) non-potable applications (e.g., toilet flushing, landscape irrigation, cooling, etc.). In some parts of the US, dual distribution systems have been implemented that provide a primary system for delivering high quality drinking water and a secondary system for non-potable water applications. By using alternative water sources to augment water supplies either to meet non-potable needs or to replenish existing water sources, higher quality sources of drinking water can be preserved. In cases where separate systems are provided for potable and nonpotable applications, such as water reuse and recovering gray water, rain water, or stormwater, it is important that the impacts of alternative infrastructure systems on the capacity and functionality are considered. In addition, there has been increasing interest in adopting “green” infrastructure practices and coupling historic centralized systems with decentralized approaches to alleviate the pressures on the existing infrastructure, reduce the energy costs of transporting water, and improve environmental replenishment. The design capacity of the water infrastructure is based on predictions of water use, wastewater generation, hydrology, geology, and climatic factors. Frequently, as areas develop, the existing infrastructure is expanded or modified to meet new capacity requirements. Current estimates are that the water infrastructure is responsible for about 3% of the national energy consumption and in some cases up to 20% depending on the distance that water is transported and the characteristics of the terrain of the distribution and collection systems.
A properly functioning and reliable water infrastructure is critical for public health protection, sanitation, and prevention of environmental degradation. The overall condition, vulnerability, and sustainability of the water infrastructure is influenced by a host of factors including age, design, construction materials, operating and maintenance, management practices, ownership (public or private), and geographic constraints. Small or large-scale failures of the water infrastructure can provide a direct conduit for waterborne contaminants to enter potable water supplies. In addition, microbial and physico-chemical reactions that occur through water conveyance systems are influenced by infrastructure condition. Infiltration, inflow, and changes in municipal loading rates coupled with infrastructure aging and deterioration can cause sanitary or combined sewer overflows resulting in uncontrolled discharges that have the potential to pose significant health and environmental risks. Corrosion reactions and deterioration of pipelines due to compression and compaction of soils and bedding material can also lead to catastrophic infrastructure failures. It is critical that adequate safeguards are in place to prevent, predict, and mitigate infrastructure failures and to prevent potential cross-connections and backflows that can result due to physical proximity of water distribution systems to wastewater collection systems and appurtenances.
Regulatory Considerations
The >Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) include explicit and implicit rules that relate to the water infrastructure. The quality of drinking water that the public receives must meet the standards established under the SDWA and simultaneously satisfy operational requirements (pressure, disinfection residuals, cross-connection controls, etc.).
The SDWA regulations that target water distribution systems include the: Total Coliform Rule (TCR), Microbial and Disinfectant Byproducts Rules (M/DBP), and the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). Compliance can be impacted by distribution system characteristics, integrity, operating practices, hydrodynamics, water quality variables (source water, treatment approaches, disinfection practices), intrusion, pressure transients, and microbial, chemical, or biochemical reactions that occur through distribution and storage. However, there is a lack of understanding about the role of the infrastructure condition on regulatory compliance and the potential for regulatory tools that can prevent infrastructure induced public health risks. A 2006 report by the National Academies of Science highlighted the need for improved understanding of the degree to which water distribution and storage systems may impact exposure to waterborne pathogens through intrusions, back-flow, cross connections, main breaks and repairs, system expansion, or other vulnerabilities. Similarly, the effectiveness of existing drinking water regulations in providing adequate public health protection from distribution system vulnerabilities is not well understood. The 2006 NAS report stated that the distribution system is the remaining component of public water supplies yet to be adequately addressed in national efforts to eradicate waterborne disease.
The Clean Water Act is designed to protect the designated uses of surface waters across the nation. These uses are focused on the goal of the Act to return our nation’s waters to both fishable and swimmable. Deteriorating and failing wastewater collection systems and poorly performing wastewater treatment plants can contribute to non-attainment of these goals. When failures or overflows occur, untreated or minimally treated sewage or pollutant-laden stormwater can be released to surface waters or contaminate ground water sources. These inadvertent releases can lead to public exposure to pathogenic organisms and other contaminants, resulting in increased risks to people using the receiving water for recreation, drinking water, damage or destruction of wetlands, aquatic habitats, or other ecosystem services.
Economic considerations
While it is evident that the reliability of water supplies and effective sanitation practices play an important role in the quality of life, the economic and energy factors associated with ensuring society has access to a reliable and sustainable water infrastructure are less well documented. There is a need to better understand the economic and energy impacts of planned versus emergency repairs, water losses from leaking pipe systems, disruptions to the community from infrastructure failures, damages and other costs from high consequence failures, and the costs of health impacts where failures result in illnesses from exposure to contaminated drinking water or recreational waters. Also the costs of providing emergency water supplies and water advisories need to be better understood. In addition there is a need to evaluate the energy costs associated with pumping water, flushing water mains in response to water quality concerns, and the use of alternative water resource management approaches such as decentralized systems, water reuse, and green infrastructure. Methodologies to quantify the tangible benefits of sustainable infrastructure approaches are needed to develop metrics for consistent and systematic life-cycle analyses. Integrating economic and energy factors with public health protection will lead to more cost-effective approaches for improving water infrastructure sustainability
Research needs
To ensure that public health protection is sustained throughout a water infrastructure system, comprehensive approaches are needed to pro-actively, effectively, and economically identify, characterize, and manage pipeline and sewer leaks, deterioration, and failures; rehabilitate pipelines, and sewers, manage pressure transients, and prevent cross-connections and sewer overflows. Innovative approaches are needed that incorporate scientific advances to manage risks associated with the potential introduction, formation, or mobilization of chemical and microbial contaminants through conveyance and storage of drinking water and collection of wastewater. Research is needed to understand the role of water infrastructure characteristics in potential health outcomes associated with exposure to waterborne contaminants including pathogens, inorganic and organic contaminants that are introduced, released or mobilized through microbial and physical-chemical reactions. Key concerns include intrusion, cross-connections, backflows, and pressure perturbations in conjunction with physical-chemical reactions that occur in distribution systems such nitrification, solids accumulation, and contaminant mobilization and pathogen release from biofilms. These reactions can be continuous, intermittent, or episodic. In addition, tools are needed that can help prevent and predict infrastructure failures, better integrate new, green, and hybrid infrastructure systems with existing infrastructure and optimize the effectiveness of preventive and remedial strategies. In addition, integrated approaches are needed to improve the sustainability, reliability, and energy and water efficiency of water infrastructure systems.
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 Strategic Plan can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2006/entire_report.pdf (PDF) (184 pp, 11.56 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).
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) 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, OMB Circular A-87 (Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments) relocated to 2 CFR Part 225, OMB Circular A-102 (Grants and Cooperative Agreements With State and Local Governments), OMB Circular A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit Organizations) relocated to 2 CFR Part 215, and OMB Circular A-122, (Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations) relocated to 2 CFR Part 230.
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.
The purpose of this solicitation is to support applied research that can lead to better understanding of the links between water infrastructure and public health protection, as well as tangible innovative solutions that spring from that understanding.
All applications must address the following items in order to be considered for funding:
- The approach that will be used to evaluate the success of the project.
- Identification of specific drinking water quality or health benefits to the public that is likely to be realized from successful completion of the project.
- A description of how the results and outputs of the project could be adopted to improve water infrastructure sustainability.
- A description of how water infrastructure sustainability and economic viability are addressed by the project.
Projects must focus on at least two of the priority areas listed below in order to be considered for funding:
- System designs incorporating energy-efficient and water-efficient, and green water resource management practices that maximize benefits including infrastructure reliability and sustainability, public health protection, reduced energy consumption, and economic viability.
- Designs, technologies, tools, approaches, and supporting data for preventing, predicting, assessing, responding, and managing public health and economic risks associated with breaches or failures of water infrastructure systems.
- Innovative and practicable approaches to manage water infrastructure that serve to prevent introduction, retention, accumulation, and mobilization of waterborne pathogens and chemical contaminants under various system conditions and metrics to evaluate the overall effectiveness of these approaches.
EPA is particularly interested in applications that address one or more of the following areas:
- Develop and test new water infrastructure system design and operating concepts that protect public health and maximize sustainability, reliability, and energy and water efficiency;
- inform public health risk assessments associated with distribution vulnerability factors (e.g., low or absent disinfection residual conditions and infrastructure disruptions leading to contaminated water entering the distribution system);
- inform quantitative relationships between infrastructure conditions and public health risks associated with continuous, intermittent, or episodic water quality deterioration or contamination; and
- quantify the economic and energy aspects of strategies, tools, or concepts that prevent, mitigate and respond to infrastructure decay or disruption (which have a potential health risk consequence).
Expected outputs from the projects to be awarded include:
- Integrated strategies for the design and operation of water distribution and storage systems that can prevent water quality deterioration, reduce potential health risks, and improve energy and water efficiency and economic viability.
- Research products that lead to increased public health protection including:
- Reduced incidence or potential for health impacts from water infrastructure breaches or failures.
- Improved diagnostics and strategies for preventing, predicting, identifying, and mitigating main breaks, cross-connections, intrusions, back-flows and overflows.
Expected outcomes from the projects to be awarded include:
- Advances in approaches for benefit-cost and life-cycle analysis that inform evaluation of economic implications of water and wastewater infrastructure decisions related to public health.
E. References
National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. (2006). Drinking Water Distribution Systems: Assessing and Reducing Risks. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11728)
National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. (2005). Public Water Supply Distribution Systems: Assessing and Reducing Risks – First Report. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11262)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2007). Innovation and Research for Water Infrastructure for the 21st Century Research Plan. (https://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/awi/index.html)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2002). The Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis, EPA-816-R-02-020. (https://www.epa.gov/safewater/gapreport.pdf)
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2004). Water Infrastructure – Comprehensive Asset Management Has Potential to Help Utilities Better Identify Needs and Plan Future Investments, GAO-04-461. (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04461.pdf)
F. Special Requirements
Agency policy prevents EPA technical staff and managers from providing individual 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, nor will they endorse an application or discuss in any manner how the Agency will apply the published evaluation criteria for this competition.
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).
Please note: Early career projects will not accommodate a Multiple PI application. Early career projects shall be submitted as a single Lead PI application.
Groups of two or more eligible applicants may choose to form a consortium and submit a single application for this assistance agreement. The application must identify which organization will be the recipient of the assistance agreement and which organizations(s) will be subawardees of the recipient.
The application must 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.
Special eligibility criteria apply to the early career portion of this RFA. Please see Section III of this RFA for details on the early career eligibility criteria.
It is anticipated that a total of approximately $6 million will be awarded under this announcement, depending on the availability of funds and quality of applications received. The EPA anticipates funding approximately 8 regular awards under this RFA for $600,000 or less. The EPA also anticipates funding approximately 4 early career projects for $300,000 or less (see section III for special eligibility requirements). Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $600,000, (or $300,000 for early career projects) 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 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. Profit-making firms are not eligible to receive assistance agreements from the EPA under this program.
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.
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. 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.
The early career projects will support new, creative investigators with outstanding promise at the Assistant Professor or equivalent level. Principal investigators from applicant institutions applying for the early career portion of the RFA must meet the following additional eligibility requirements:
- Hold a doctoral degree in a field of science or engineering by the closing date of the RFA;
- Be untenured at the closing date of the RFA;
- By the award date, be employed in a tenure-track position (or tenure-track-equivalent position) as an assistant professor (or equivalent title) at an institution in the U.S., its territories, or possessions. Note: For a position to be considered a tenure-track-equivalent position, it must meet all of the following requirements: (1) the employing department or organization does not offer tenure; (2) the appointment is a continuing appointment; (3) the appointment has substantial educational responsibilities; and (4) the proposed project relates to the employee's career goals and job responsibilities as well as to the goals of the department/organization.
The purpose of the early career project is to fund research by the early career PI. Senior researchers may collaborate in a supporting role for early career projects. Early career applications should not propose significant resources for senior researchers and may not list senior researchers as co-PIs.
Potential applicants who are uncertain of their eligibility should contact William Stelz (stelz.william@epa.gov) in NCER, phone (202) 343-9802.
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 to EPA (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.
All applications must address the following items:
- The approach that will be used to evaluate the success of the project.
- Identification of specific drinking water quality or health benefits to the public that is likely to be realized from successful completion of the project.
- A description of how the results and outputs of the project could be adopted to improve water infrastructure sustainability.
- A description of how water infrastructure sustainability and economic viability are addressed by the project.
All applications must focus on at least two of the priority areas listed below:
- System designs incorporating energy-efficient and water-efficient, and green water resource management practices that maximize benefits including infrastructure reliability and sustainability, public health protection, reduced energy consumption, and economic viability.
- Designs, technologies, tools, approaches, and supporting data for preventing, predicting, assessing, responding, and managing public health and economic risks associated with breaches or failures of water infrastructure systems.
- Innovative and practicable approaches to manage water infrastructure that serve to prevent introduction, retention, accumulation, and mobilization of waterborne pathogens and chemical contaminants under various system conditions and metrics to evaluate the overall effectiveness of these approaches.
In addition, to be eligible for funding consideration, a project’s focus must consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) listed in I.C. above. Generally, a project must address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control depending on which statute(s) is listed in I.C. above. 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.
Applications deemed ineligible for funding consideration will be notified within fifteen calendar days of the ineligibility determination.
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
A. Internet Address to Request Application Package
The full application must be submitted electronically via e-mail to 2009-WATER-INFRA-APPS@epa.gov (or through any authorized alternate submission methods described below). All necessary forms are available at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms.
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.html. 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 available at https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms. The form includes an �Additional Key Contacts� page to be completed for additional investigators. The Key Contacts form should also be completed for major sub-agreements (i.e., primary investigators). 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 Principal Investigator. 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, strike a balance between highly technical words and phrases and 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 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: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/funding-opportunities-how-apply-and-required-forms.
- Research Plan, Quality Assurance Statement, Data Plan and References
- Research Plan (15 pages)
Applications should focus on a limited number of research objectives that adequately and clearly demonstrate that they meet the RFA requirements. 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 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 study. 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 design, methods, and techniques that you intend to use in meeting the objectives stated above.
- 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 results 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.
- General Project Information: Discuss other information relevant to the potential success of the project. This should include facilities, personnel expertise/experience, project schedules, 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.
- 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.)
- Collection of new/primary data:
- Research Plan (15 pages)
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.