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
Long-term Exposure to Air Pollution and Development of Cardiovascular Disease
CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY
This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2016-STAR-B1
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.509
Solicitation Opening Date: May 18, 2016
Solicitation Closing Date: August 2, 2016, 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time
Technical Contact: Vito Ilacqua (ilacqua.vito@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-4512
Eligibility Contact: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7823
Electronic Submissions: Debra M. Jones (jones.debram@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7839
Access Standard STAR Forms (How to Apply and Required Forms)
View research awarded under previous solicitations Past Research Funding Opportunities
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 expand and inform the understanding of the mechanism(s) by which air pollution contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease. Specifically, research is needed to estimate the total cardiovascular risk associated with exposure to air pollution, including indicators of early subclinical damage and novel endpoints, in addition to established morbidity and mortality outcomes. Research is also needed to understand related endpoints such as markers of cardio-metabolic responses and cerebrovascular disease. In consideration of the implications of this research and of regulations promoting open access to federally funded data, the Agency is seeking applications that develop innovative methods for broad access to data generated in response to this solicitation.
This solicitation provides the opportunity for the submission of applications for projects that may involve human subjects research. Human subjects research supported by the EPA is governed by EPA Regulation 40 CFR Part 26 (Protection of Human Subjects). This includes the Common Rule at subpart A and prohibitions and additional protections for pregnant women and fetuses, nursing women, and children at subparts B, C, and D. Research meeting the regulatory definition of intentional exposure research found in subpart B is prohibited by that subpart in pregnant women, nursing women, and children. Research meeting the regulatory definition of observational research found in subparts C and D is subject to the additional protections found in those subparts for pregnant women and fetuses (subpart C) and children (subpart D). All applications must include a Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS, as described in Section IV.C.5.c of this solicitation), and if the project involves human subjects research, it will be subject to an additional level of review prior to funding decisions being made as described in Sections V.C and V.D of this solicitation. Additional information can be found in Section I.A of the full announcement.
Guidance and training for investigators conducting EPA-funded research involving human subjects may be obtained here:
Basic Information about Human Subjects Research
Basic EPA Policy for Protection of Subjects in Human Research Conducted or Supported by EPA
Award Information:
Anticipated Type of Award: Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: One (1) award
Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $3 million total for all awards
Potential Funding per Award: Up to a total of $3,000,000, including direct and indirect costs, with a maximum duration of 5 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. See full announcement for more details.
Application Materials:
To apply under this solicitation, use the application package available at Grants.gov (for further submission information see Section IV.F. “Submission Instructions and other Submission Requirements”). Note: With the exception of the current and pending support form (available at Research Funding Opportunities: How to Apply and Required Forms), all necessary forms are included in the electronic application package. Make sure to include the current and pending support form in your Grants.gov submission.
If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, you need to allow approximately one month to complete the registration process. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a unique entity identifier (formerly ‘DUNS number’) and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more. Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through Grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline. 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, see Section IV.A below for additional guidance and instructions.
Agency Contacts:
Technical Contact: Vito Ilacqua (ilacqua.vito@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-4512
Eligibility Contact: Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7823
Electronic Submissions: Debra M. Jones (jones.debram@epa.gov); phone: 202-564-7839
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
A. Introduction
The effects of air pollution on the cardiovascular system account for the largest portion of the public health and economic benefits of the Clean Air Act. The evidence for these effects is based on associations observed in a number of epidemiological studies ( Mustafić et al. 2012; Hoek et al. 2013; Shah et al., 2013; Newby et al., 2014), with biological plausibility supported by numerous mechanistic investigations (Mills et al., 2009; Sun et al., 2010; Zanobetti et al., 2011). While several mechanisms are involved, chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a slowly progressing condition, whose natural history develops through most of the human life span (Grundy et al., 1999; Jardim et al., 2015). The relationship between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and cardiovascular health effects has been determined as causal (U.S. EPA, 2009; Brook et al., 2010). However, long-term prospective studies that can inform and reduce uncertainties about the shape of the concentration-response relationship, especially at low ambient concentrations of PM2.5, or that will aid in the identification and/or further characterization of potentially at-risk groups and adult lifestages will be especially useful for public health protection strategies. Much uncertainty remains about the effects of ozone and nitrogen oxides on cardiovascular health. Prospective studies of long-term exposure that can support or challenge an inference of causality between these gaseous air pollutants and the development of cardiovascular disease are necessary to establish a causal association. Furthermore, information of the associations with these air pollutants and other health endpoints, especially cardiometabolic, cerebrovascular, and neurological endpoints, would be informative for clinical and public health interventions. Epidemiological analysis examining a range of effects across these health endpoints, from biomarkers of subclinical changes to fully-developed disease, in the same population can help address these research areas.
This solicitation provides the opportunity for the submission of applications for projects that may involve human subjects research. Human subjects research supported by the EPA is governed by EPA Regulation 40 CFR Part 26 (Protection of Human Subjects). This includes the Common Rule at subpart A and prohibitions and additional protections for pregnant women and fetuses, nursing women, and children at subparts B, C, and D. Research meeting the regulatory definition of intentional exposure research found in subpart B is prohibited by that subpart in pregnant women, nursing women, and children. Research meeting the regulatory definition of observational research found in subparts C and D is subject to the additional protections found in those subparts for pregnant women and fetuses (subpart C) and children (subpart D). All applications must include a Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS, as described in Section IV.C.5.c of this solicitation), and if the project involves human subjects research, it will be subject to an additional level of review prior to funding decisions being made as described in Sections V.C and V.D of this solicitation.
Please note that surveys, interviews, and focus groups with individuals may constitute human subjects research.
The additional level of review is conducted by the EPA Human Subjects Research Review Official (HSRRO). In making a determination about conditional and later final approval, the HSRRO will apply both EPA Regulation 40 CFR 26 and EPA Policy Order 1000.17 Change A1, where human exposure research is interpreted as any intervention that manipulates subjects’ environment (i.e., modifies subjects’ exposure).
For more specific information including guidance and training, see:
Basic Information about Human Subjects Research
Basic EPA Policy for Protection of Subjects in Human Research Conducted or Supported by EPA
EPA recognizes that it is important to engage all available minds to address the environmental challenges the nation faces. At the same time, EPA seeks to expand the environmental conversation by including members of communities which may have not previously participated in such dialogues to participate in EPA programs. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages all eligible applicants identified in Section III, including minority serving institutions, to apply under this opportunity.
For purposes of this solicitation, the following are considered MSIs:
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1061). A list of these schools can be found at White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities;
- Tribal Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059(c)). A list of these schools can be found at American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities;
- Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 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. § 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.
B. Background
The mechanism by which air pollution contributes to the pathophysiology of CVD is complex and not yet completely understood. Evidence is accumulating for PM2.5 (Mills et al. 2009; Forastiere and Agabiti, 2013) regarding a cascade of events triggered by inhalation of fine particles that results in oxidative stress and inflammation, and continues in altered endothelial, thrombotic, and autonomic function, as well as promotion of atheroma. In addition to oxidative stress, direct central nervous system activation may be implicated as well, with further consequences for rhythm control. Several of these mechanisms are important for acute CVD morbidity and mortality in people with chronic CVD, but a critical public health question is whether exposure to air pollution is a contributing risk factor for the development of CVD in a healthy population, as the resulting burden of disease of air pollution could be substantially larger than is currently estimated. Less is known about the mechanism by which long-term exposure to gaseous pollutants may contribute to CVD and other health endpoints, especially cardiometabolic, cerebrovascular, and neurological endpoints, or the mechanisms by which co-exposures to gaseous pollutants may modify the effects of PM2.5 on CVD.
The concept of premature vascular aging has been proposed as a framework to estimate burden for the transition between healthy and subclinical status (Adar et al. 2010; Kuenzli et al. 2011; Krishnan et al. 2012). A few toxicological (Sun et al., 2005; Araujo et al., 2008) and epidemiological studies (Kuenzli et al. 2005; Bauer et al. 2010; Gill et. al, 2011) have examined the association between air pollution and atherosclerosis in particular, as this progressive insidious disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide (Barquera et al., 2015), a trend that is anticipated to continue (Fonarow, 2007). New research that can be readily integrated and synthesized into this existing, multi-disciplinary body of literature will be especially informative.
To fully characterize the relationship between exposure to air pollution and subclinical development of CVD (and other health endpoints), knowledge of the concentration-response relationship at low ambient concentrations is critical to formulate public health strategies (state and local regulation and implementation, behavioral, clinical) that manage risk appropriately (Pope et al., 2015). As the link between air pollution and incidence of subclinical CVD (rather than its clinical endpoints) remains poorly understood, so is the form of its concentration-response relationship. A few estimates of concentration-response relationships have been formulated to assess the burden of CVD morbidity and mortality attributable to air pollution (Schwartz & Zanobetti, 2000; Aunan & Pan, 2004; Pope et al., 2009; Burnett et al., 2014). These estimates of concentration-response relationships have greater precision where there is the most information on population exposures. In most cases, this has been at higher levels of exposure, although studies in locations with generally lower PM2.5 concentrations are becoming more prevalent in developed countries (Crouse et al, 2015). While some studies at low concentrations are now being conducted, substantial uncertainty remains at concentrations near or below current air quality standards that are experienced by a majority of the population in developed countries (Shin et al., 2015). More information is needed at these ambient concentrations particularly in light of the apparent supralinear relationships at low concentrations of PM2.5 suggested in some of these estimates (Pope et al., 2015, Nasari et al, 2016). Exploration of nonlinear relationships is also especially needed to evaluate risk in realistic exposure scenarios that involve multipollutant interactions (Oakes et al., 2014; Zanobetti et al., 2014).
Historically, the effects of short- and long-term exposures to air pollution have been considered separately, with different risk estimates associated with acute and chronic morbidity and short- and long-term mortality effects (Schwartz, 2000; Zanobetti et al, 2003; Pope & Dockery, 2006). This paradigm, shared with analyses of risk for other environmental pollutants, has been driven both by physiological understanding of the mechanisms of action and by limited availability of reliable data for exposure assessment. With the accumulation of air quality monitoring data that allows better retrospective exposure assessment for longer time-series analyses, it may be possible now to explore how health effects are associated with different aspects of exposure, including cumulative of exposures, latency between exposure and health response, and a continuum of exposure durations. For cardiovascular disease with variable progression rates during a lifetime, such as atherosclerosis (Kiechl et al., 1999), analyses of association at different long-term time scales could provide valuable information to estimate the fraction of attributable burden from subclinical disease development (perhaps over several decades) and the fraction of burden from clinical manifestations of the disease (perhaps over several years). New research that evaluates health effects due to past and recent long-term exposures and that improves the understanding of the relevant latency period will be informative. Aside from the public health value of understanding burden of disease, the analysis could provide insights for prevention and clinical management for people at different stages of disease. The evaluation of effect modification can contribute to the identification and characterization of potentially at-risk populations and adult lifestages. New research that evaluates effect modifiers (e.g., pre-existing disease, race/ethnicity, sociodemographic and behavioral factors) will be informative.
Regardless of exposure duration and concentration, exposure misclassification has long been recognized as an inherent limitation of air pollution epidemiology (Zeger et al., 2000). Spatial misalignment of exposure measurements can occur when fixed monitoring data are used for spatially heterogeneous pollutants, while attempts to model personal exposures from limited microenvironmental information can introduce additional error. A variety of methods and approaches for air pollution exposure has been evaluated (Jerrett et al., 2005; Szpiro et al., 2010; Sheppard et al., 2012; Ozkaynak et al., 2013), especially to correct biases towards null results. Yet, it is important to advance the exposure science and understanding to clearly separate the effects that exposure modeling assumptions and choices have on estimated health effects from those they have on error estimates themselves. Such analyses would allow consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of model complexity independently of assumptions about health effects of exposures (Baxter et al., 2013; Dionisio et al., 2015).
Studies that make critical contributions to the body of evidence supporting public health policy and clinical practice deserve a correspondingly high level of scrutiny, which can be best ensured by independent verification of their conclusions. To that end, ensuring verification and reproducibility requires accessibility of data to other qualified researchers, over a period of time that extends well beyond the publication of results. While regulatory requirements exist for sharing data from publicly funded research, these are focused on awardee responsibilities that are necessarily limited in time and scope, rather than on solutions that actively facilitate access by independent investigators. Additionally, data that contain geospatial information, as much air pollution exposure data do, are simultaneously subject to regulations intended to protect the privacy of participants in a research project. The debate around the perceived conflict between these requirements (Wartenberg and Thompson, 2010; Rothenstein, 2010; Vayena et al., 2015, etc.) is made more acute by growing demand for direct citizen access to the science underpinning public and environmental health protection. Some methods may exist to anonymize geospatial data without loss of exposure-relevant information (Rodgers et al. , 2012; Kounadi and Leitner, 2016), but they have not been widely applied to environmental data sets, and the question of how to maximize accessibility of environmental health data while preserving researchers’ rights and participants confidentiality does not yet have satisfactory answers.
The specific Strategic Goal and Objective from the EPA’s Strategic Plan that relate to this solicitation are:
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality, Objective 1.2: Improve Air Quality
The EPA’s FY 2014-18 Strategic Plan can be found at: EPA Strategic Plan
C. Authority and Regulations
The authority for this RFA and resulting awards is contained in the Clean Air Act, Section 103, 42 U.S.C. 7403.
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 air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control depending on which statute(s) is listed 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. Note: Applications dealing with any aspect of or related to hydraulic fracking will not be funded by EPA through this program.
Applicable regulations include: 2 CFR Part 200, 2 CFR Part 1500, and 40 CFR Part 40 (Research and Demonstration Grants).
D. Specific Areas of Interest/Expected Outputs and Outcomes
Note to applicant: The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work products related to an environmental goal or objective, that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective.
The Agency is soliciting research to expand and increase the understanding of the evidence for the associations between air pollution and cardiovascular disease and other related health endpoints. Specifically, research is needed to estimate the total cardiovascular risk associated with exposure to air pollution, including indicators of early subclinical damage and novel endpoints, in addition to established and emerging morbidity and mortality outcomes (e.g., cardiometabolic disease, cerebrovascular disease, and neurological disease).
This research may take the form of epidemiological analyses of standardized CVD morbidity and mortality measures, or of subclinical physiological changes, associated with exposure to air pollution; or characterizations of the concentration-response relationship between air pollution and health endpoints across a range of exposure levels, including those in areas in attainment of current air pollution standards; or of alternative analyses that would produce similar outputs and outcomes.
Outputs expected from this solicitation may include publications of research results in peer-reviewed journals, among others, as well as state monitoring and implementation plans that reflect the effects of exposure measurement uncertainty and pollutant interactions. These outputs can be used to achieve public health protection outcomes (e.g. increase in public and physician awareness of lifestyle risks and prevention choices) that take into account the full benefit of improved air quality.
This RFA solicits proposals that should address at least three of the following research areas:
- What are the associations between health endpoints and exposure to air pollution in a well-characterized study population, including consideration of subclinical cardiovascular damage, such as atherosclerotic lesions, as well as other novel cardiovascular, cardio-metabolic, cerebrovascular, or neurological endpoints?
- What is the shape of the concentration-response relationship for PM2.5 and gaseous air pollutants, including NO2 and O3, and the development of health endpoints, particularly at concentrations below the levels of the current air pollution standards? How are these relationships affected by regional, socioeconomic, and comorbidity differences, and exposure to other air pollutants?
- What is the relative burden, along a continuum of durations, of more recent (years) long-term exposures vs. historical (decades) exposure on the association between health endpoints and air pollution? Specifically, what are the health effects associated with cumulative exposures during adult life stages, recognizing that early exposures may have greater or lesser impacts compared with later exposures (reflecting latency of disease), and that age range during exposures may also modify the impact of exposures?
- What is the impact of exposure measurement error on the health effect estimation, and what is the sensitivity of both effect and error to exposure assumptions?
Proposals which do not address at least three of the research areas above may not be rated as highly under the evaluation process described in Section V. Also, proposals that address all four of the research areas above will not necessarily be rated more highly than those that address at least three of the areas.
This RFA encourages innovative methods for access to data. Desirable data management characteristics, that would enhance a proposal, may include, for example:
- Innovative data sharing approaches used to increase the accessibility of geospatial exposure data to remain responsive to inquiries, while maintaining participant confidentiality, even when a collaborative approach is not feasible.
- Ensuring the availability of the entire data set to other qualified researchers, to promote independent re-analysis and extension of results. (e.g., see HEI re-analyses and extension of ACS data, Krewski et al., 2009). Options extending availability for an indefinite period are especially encouraged.
- Developing a plan to leverage use of this data with other datasets, specifically promoting linking exposure estimates with other health endpoints, and comparison with other epidemiological data sets.
- Developing provisions to respond to requests for data sets without Personally Identifiable Information, and unprocessed data as collected.
To the extent practicable, research proposals must embody innovation. Innovation for the purposes of this RFA is defined as the process of making changes; a new method, custom or device. Innovative research can take the form of wholly new applications or applications that build on existing knowledge and approaches for new uses. Research proposals must include a discussion on how the proposed research is innovative (see Section IV.C.5.a). ORD will draw from the above-mentioned innovation definition in the review/evaluation process of recommending research proposals (see Section V.A).
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Schwartz, J. (2000). Harvesting and long term exposure effects in the relation between air pollution and mortality. American journal of epidemiology, 151(5), 440-448.
Schwartz, Joel, and Antonella Zanobetti. "Using meta-smoothing to estimate dose-response trends across multiple studies, with application to air pollution and daily death." Epidemiology 11.6 (2000): 666-672.
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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 (RBM Toolkit).
This solicitation provides the opportunity for the submission of applications for projects that may involve human subjects research. There are many scientific and ethical considerations that must be addressed in such studies by the study sponsor and research team, including, but not limited to, those related to recruitment, retention, participant compensation, third-party issues, researcher-participant interactions, researcher-community interactions, communications, interventions, and education. All such research must comply with the requirements of 40 CFR Part 26, and any human observational exposure studies must also adhere to the principles set forth in the Scientific and Ethical Approaches for Observational Exposure Studies (SEAOES) (PDF) (132 pp, 1.79 MB) (EPA/600/R-08/062) document. SEAOES, which was published by researchers in EPA and which discusses the principles for the ethical conduct of human research studies, serves as a resource for applicants interested in applying under this solicitation. References to “SEAOES Principles” in this solicitation refers, in general, to the issues of interest in conducting human subjects research studies that maintain the highest scientific and ethical standards and safety during the conduct of these studies. All applications must include a Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS; described in Section IV.C.5.c of this solicitation) and if the project involves human subjects research, it will be subject to an additional level of review prior to funding decisions being made as described in Sections V.C and V.D of this solicitation.
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 should include a plan (see “Data Plan” in section IV.C.5.d) to make available to the NCER project officer all data generated (produced under the award) from observations, analyses, or model development 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 one (1) award under this RFA. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $3,000,000, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered. The total project period requested in an application submitted for this RFA may not exceed 5 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.
In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund proposals/applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects. If EPA decides to partially fund a proposal/application, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal/application, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award, and therefore maintains the integrity of the competition and selection process.
EPA intends to award only grants 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.
A. Eligible Applicants
Public nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes public nonprofit institutions of higher education and hospitals) and private nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes private nonprofit 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:
1) Are operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; 2) Are not organized primarily for profit; and 3) Use its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations. However, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible to apply.
Foreign governments, international organizations, and non-governmental international organizations/institutions 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 to the extent authorized by law. Examples are purchase of satellite data, 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 Ron Josephson (josephson.ron@epa.gov) in NCER, phone: 202-564-7823.
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. In addition, applications must be submitted through Grants.gov as stated in Section IV of this announcement (except in the limited circumstances where another mode of submission is specifically allowed for as explained in Section IV) on or before the application submission deadline published in Section IV of this announcement. Applicants are responsible for following the submission instructions in Section IV of this announcement (see Section IV.F. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements” for further information) to ensure that their application is timely submitted. Applications submitted after the submission deadline will be considered late and deemed ineligible without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to EPA mishandling or because of technical problems associated with Grants.gov or relevant SAM.gov system issues. An applicant’s failure to timely submit their application through Grants.gov because they did not timely or properly register in SAM.gov or Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission. Applicants should confirm receipt of their application with the Electronic Submissions Contact shown in this solicitation as soon as possible after the submission deadline—failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed.
Also, applications exceeding the funding limits or project period term described herein will be rejected 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
Additional provisions that apply to this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, including but not limited to those related to confidential business information, contracts and subawards under grants, and proposal assistance and communications, can be found at EPA Solicitation Clauses.
These, and the other provisions that can be found at the website link, are important, and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please communicate with the EPA contact listed in this solicitation to obtain the provisions.
Formal instructions for submission through Grants.gov are in Section F.
A. Grants.gov Submittal Requirements and Limited Exception Procedures
Applicants, except as noted below, must apply electronically through Grants.gov under this funding opportunity based on the Grants.gov instructions in this announcement. If an applicant does not have the technical capability to apply electronically through Grants.gov because of limited or no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials to Grants.gov, the applicant must contact OGDWaivers@epa.gov or the address listed below in writing (e.g., by hard copy, email) at least 15 calendar days prior to the submission deadline under this announcement to request approval to submit their application materials through an alternate method.
Mailing Address:
OGD Waivers
c/o Barbara Perkins
USEPA Headquarters
William Jefferson Clinton Building
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N. W.
Mail Code: 3903R
Washington, DC 20460
Courier Address:
OGD Waivers
c/o Barbara Perkins
Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Rm # 51267
Washington, DC 20004
In the request, the applicant must include the following information:
Funding Opportunity Number (FON)
Organization Name and DUNS
Organization’s Contact Information (email address and phone number)
Explanation of how they lack the technical capability to apply electronically through Grants.gov because of: 1) limited internet access or 2) no internet access which prevents them from being able to upload the required application materials through Grants.gov.
EPA will only consider alternate submission exception requests based on the two reasons stated above and will timely respond to the request -- all other requests will be denied. If an alternate submission method is approved, the applicant will receive documentation of this approval and further instructions on how to apply under this announcement. Applicants will be required to submit the documentation of approval with any initial application submitted under the alternative method. In addition, any submittal through an alternative method must comply with all applicable requirements and deadlines in the announcement including the submission deadline and requirements regarding proposal content and page limits (although the documentation of approval of an alternate submission method will not count against any page limits).
If an exception is granted, it is valid for submissions to EPA for the remainder of the entire calendar year in which the exception was approved and can be used to justify alternative submission methods for application submissions made through December 31 of the calendar year in which the exception was approved (e.g., if the exception was approved on March 1, 2015, it is valid for any competitive or non-competitive application submission to EPA through December 31, 2015). Applicants need only request an exception once in a calendar year and all exceptions will expire on December 31 of that calendar year. Applicants must request a new exception from required electronic submission through Grants.gov for submissions for any succeeding calendar year. For example, if there is a competitive opportunity issued on December 1, 2015 with a submission deadline of January 15, 2016, the applicant would need a new exception to submit through alternative methods beginning January 1, 2016.
Please note that the process described in this section is only for requesting alternate submission methods. All other inquiries about this announcement must be directed to the Agency Contact listed in Section VII of the announcement. Queries or requests submitted to the email address identified above for any reason other than to request an alternate submission method will not be acknowledged or answered.
B. Application Package Information
Use the application package available at Grants.gov (see Section IV.F. “Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements”). Note: With the exception of the current and p
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.