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########  

> ***Program Solicitation No. PR-NC-03-10275***

#########  ­-- Nanomaterials and Clean Technology

#########  

#########  -- Treatment and Monitoring of Drinking Water

#########  

#########  -- Wastewater Management

#########  

#########  -- Hazardous Waste Management and Remediation

#########  

######### -- Recycling of Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste

######### 

######### 

#########  ISSUE DATE: March 27, 2003

> **CLOSING DATE: May 23, 2003 \***
>
> Your proposal with an **original and nine (9) copies** (including\
> all appendices) shall be received at one of the following addresses\
> by **12:00 p.m. (noon) local time on May 23, 2003.**
>
> **U.S. MAIL:**
>
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
>
> Attention: Marsha Johnson, Regular SBIR Phase I
>
> RTP Procurement Operations Division (D143-01)
>
> Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
>
> **HAND-CARRIED/COURIER ADDRESS:**
>
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
>
> Attention: Marsha Johnson, Regular SBIR Phase I
>
> RTP Procurement Operations Division (D143-01)
>
> 4930 Old Page Road

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

**Table of Contents**

**Page**

**I. Program Description**

**II. Definitions**

**III. Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements**

**IV. Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria**

**V. Considerations**

**VI. Submission of Proposals**

**VII. Scientific and Technical Information Sources**

**VIII. SBIR Phase I Research Topics**

A1. Nanomaterials and Clean Technology

B1. Treatment and Monitoring of Drinking Water

C1. Wastewater Management

D1. Hazardous Waste Management and Remediation

E1. Recycling of Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste

**IX. Submission Forms and Certifications**

**APPENDICES**

**APPENDIX A - Proposal Cover Sheet**

**APPENDIX B - Project Summary**

**APPENDIX C - SBIR Proposal Summary Budget**

**APPENDIX D - Scientific and Technical Information Sources**

**APPENDIX E - Commercialization Factsheet/Patent Search**

EPA SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PHASE I

Solicitation No. PR-NC-03-10275

ISSUE DATE: March 27, 2003

CLOSING DATE: May 23, 2003 \*

\* CAUTION - See Section V, Paragraph J.9(c), Instruc­tions to Offerors,
Concerning Late Proposals and Modi­fications

I.  PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in­vites small business
firms to submit research proposals un­der this regular Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) Solicitation. The SBIR program is a phased
process uni­form throughout the Federal Government of soliciting
pro­posals and awarding funding agreements for research (R) or research
and development (R&D) to meet stated agency needs or missions.

EPA is interested in advanced technologies in nano­materials and clean
technology, drinking water and waste­water management, and solid and
hazardous waste manage­ment. EPA is also issuing Special SBIR
solicitations cover­ing Air Pollution Monitoring, Western USA
Environ­mental Problems, and Safe Buildings and Water Security. The
pro­po­sed research must directly pertain to EPA's en­viron­men­tal mission
and must be responsive to EPA pro­gram in­ter­ests included in the topic
descriptions in this solicitation.

In order to facilitate proposal reviews by external peer reviewers with
specialized expertise and by EPA technical personnel with focused
program needs and priorities, of­ferors must designate a research topic
for their proposal. The same proposal may not be submitted under more
than one topic and the same proposal cannot be submitted under more than
one EPA SBIR solicitation issued in 2003. An organ­i­zation may submit
separate proposals on different topics or different proposals on the
same topic as long as the propo­sals are not duplicates of the same
research principle modi­fied to fit the topic. If such duplicates are
submitted, only one will be reviewed. Refer to Sections IV, V, and VII
for additional requirements. Where similar research is dis­cussed under
more than one topic, the offeror should choose the topic most relevant
to the proposed research. It is the complete responsibility of offerors
to select and identify the best topic for their proposals.

B. Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals, and any
modifications or revisions, so as to reach the Gov­ernment office
designated in this solicitation by the time specified in this
solicitation. See Section V, Paragraph J.9(c), Instructions to Offerors,
Concerning Late Proposals and Modifications.

**THIS SOLICITATION IS FOR SBIR PHASE I ONLY.**

To stimulate and foster technological innovation, in­cluding increasing
private-sector applications of Federal research or R&D, EPA's program
follows the SBIR pro­gram's uniform process:

\(1\) **PHASE I.** Phase I involves a solicitation of propo­sals to
conduct feasibility related experimental research or R&D related to
described Agency requirements. The objec­t­ive of this phase is to
determine the technical feasibility and preliminary commercialization
potential of the propo­sed ef­fort and the quality of performance of the
small bus­iness concern with a relatively small Agency investment before
con­sider­ation of further Federal support in Phase II. The Gov­ern­ment is
not obligated to fund any specific Phase I proposal. The maximum dollar
amount of this regular Phase I solici­tation is \$70,000 and the term of
performance should not exceed 6 months.

\(2\) **PHASE II.** Phase II proposals may only be sub­mitted by Phase I
award winners invited to submit propo­sals. Phase II is the principal
research or R&D effort and Phase II projects should normally be
completed in 15 months. The objective is to continue the research or R&D
initiated under Phase I and work toward commercialization of the
technology. Phase II awards are expected to include full-scale testing
of the technology, but may not necessarily complete the total research
and development that may be required to satisfy commercial or Federal
needs beyond the SBIR program. Completion of the research and
develop­ment may be through Phase III. The Agency is under no obligation
to fund any proposal or any specific number of proposals in a given
topic. It also may elect to fund several or none of the proposed
approaches to the same topic.

It is anticipated that approximately 10 Phase II awards will be made,
each with a dollar amount of \$225,000 and 15-month term of performance.
For Phase II, the Agen­cy is planning to offer two Phase II Options: (1)
Phase II Commercialization Option under which Phase II offerors may
submit a proposal for \$70,000 additional funding to expand R&D efforts
to accelerate the project from full-scale testing and demonstration to
full commercialization; and (2) Phase II Environmental Technology
Verification (ETV) Op­tion under which Phase II offerors may submit a
proposal for up to \$25,000 additional funding to expand R&D efforts to
include ETV verification testing. EPA Federal funds must be designated
strictly for advancing the research related el­ements of the project. No
automatic preference shall be giv­en to offers which address the options;
however, in the case where an offeror addresses the option(s) in its
proposal, the entire proposal including the option(s) shall be
eval­uated. The Agency would have a unilateral right to exercise the
op­tion after EPA's acceptance of the company's option docu­mentation.
Documentation for the Phase II Commerciali­zation Option are receipts
showing that at least \$100,000 was transferred to the contractor from
one or more third-par­ty investors, such as a venture capital firm; an
"angel" in­vestor; local, state or Federal non-SBIR funding source;
another company under a partnership, licensing, or joint ven­ture
arrangement; or any combination of third parties. Doc­umentation for the
ETV Option is the signed ETV Tech­nol­ogy Verification Testing Commitment
Letter. (For more information on ETV, visit http://www.epa.gov/etv.) The
Government is not obligated to fund any specific Phase II proposal.

For technologies awarded Phase I contracts under this solicitation, the
follow-on Phase II Solicitation will be is­sued on/about July 29, 2004,
and proposals will be due on/ about September 16, 2004. It is expected
that each Phase II proposal will be evaluated on the results of Phase I,
the Phase II program plan, and the commercial potential of the Phase II
proposal. The evaluation criteria will be as fol­lows:

### PHASE II CRITERIA

> 1\. Results of Phase I and degree to which research objectives and
> identified customer needs were met. Dem­onstration of performance/cost
> effectiveness and envi­ronmental benefits associated with the proposed
> re­search, including risk reduction potential.
>
> 2\. Quality and soundness of the Phase II research plan to establish
> the technical and commercial viability of the proposed concept as
> evidenced through technology prototypes or initial commercial
> demonstrations.
>
> 3\. Qualifications of the principal/key investigator, sup­porting
> staff, and consultants. Time commitment of principal/key investigator,
> adequacy of equipment and facilities, and proposed budget to
> accomplish the pro­po­sed research. Adequacy of Phase II Quality
> As­sur­ance Summary.
>
> 4\. Potential of the proposed concept for significant
> commercialization applications. The quality and ad­equacy of the
> commercialization plan to produce an innovative product, process, or
> device and to put tech­nology prototypes or initial Phase II
> applications into commercial production and sales.
>
> 5\. The offeror's SBIR or other research commerciali­zation record.
> Existence of second phase funding com­mitments from private-sector or
> non-SBIR funding sources. Existence of third phase follow-on
> commit­ments and presence of other indicators of commercial potential
> of the idea.

\(3\) **PHASE III.** Where appropriate and needed in or­der to complete
the research and development, there may be a third phase which is funded
by:

> 1\. Non-Federal sources of capital for commercial ap­plications of SBIR
> funded research or research and de­velopment.
>
> 2\. Federal Government with non-SBIR Federal funds for SBIR-derived
> products and processes that will be used by the Federal Government.
>
> 3\. Non-SBIR Federal funds for the continuation of re­search or
> research and development that has been com­petitively selected using
> peer review or scientific re­view criteria.

C. Each offeror submitting a proposal must qualify as a small business
for research or R&D purposes at the time of award. In addition, the
primary employment of the prin­cipal investigator must be with the small
business firm at the time of award and during the conduct of the
proposed research. Principal investigators who appear to be em­ployed by
a university must submit a letter from the uni­versity stat­ing that the
principal investigator, if awarded an SBIR con­tract, will become a
less-than-half-time employee of the university. Also, a principal
investigator who ap­pears to be a staff member of both the applicant and
another employer must submit a letter from the second employer stating
that, if awarded an SBIR contract, he/she will be­come a less than
half-time employee of such organization. Letters demon­strating that
these requirements have been fulfilled must be submitted prior to
contract award to the addressee stated in Section VI of this
solicitation. Failure to do so may jeop­ardize award. Also, for both
Phase I and Phase II, the re­search or R&D work must be performed in the
United States. (For definition of the United States, see Section II.J.)

D. **[For Phase I the Government anticipates the award of approximately
\$1.05 M in firm-fixed-price con­tracts at approximately \$70,000 each
including profit]{.underline},** but reserves the right to change either
the number of awards or the amount of the individual awards depending on
the outcome of the selection process. The contractor's peri­od of
performance is expected to be 6 months. Award of any con­tract(s)
resulting from this solicitation shall be to the respon­sible offeror(s)
with the highest rankings after eval­uation in accordance with Section
IV. Source selection will not be based on a comparison of cost or price.
How­ever, cost or price will be evaluated to determine whether the price,
in­cluding any proposed profit, is fair and reason­able and whether the
offeror understands the work and is capable of performing the contract.

E. All inquiries concerning this solicitation shall be submitted to the
following E-mail address:

johnson.marsha@epa.gov

If E-mail is not available to you, written or telephone inquiries may be
directed to:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Attention: Marsha Johnson, Regular SBIR Phase I

RTP Procurement Operations Division (D143-01)

Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

\(919\) 541-0952

Potential offerors are encouraged to communicate via E-mail.

#### II. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this solicitation, the following defi­ni­tions apply:

A. [Research or Research and Development (R/R&D):]{.underline} Any
activity that is:

> \(1\) A systematic, intensive study directed toward great­er knowledge
> or understanding of the subject studied;
>
> \(2\) A systematic study directed specifically toward ap­plying new
> knowledge to meet a recognized need; or
>
> \(3\) A systematic application of knowledge toward the production of
> useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design,
> development, and improve­ment of prototypes and new processes to meet
> specific requirements.

B. [Funding Agreement]{.underline}: Any contract, grant, or coop­erative
agreement entered into between any Federal agency and any small business
concern for the performance of ex­perimental, developmental, or research
work, including products and services, funded in whole or in part by the
Federal Government.

C. [Subcontract]{.underline}: Any agreement, other than one in­volving an
employer-employee relationship, entered into by an awardee of a funding
agreement calling for supplies or services for the performance of the
original funding agree­ment.

D. [Small Business Concern]{.underline}: A concern that, on the date of
award for both Phase I and Phase II funding agree­ments meets the
following criteria:

\(1\) Is organized for profit, with a place of business lo­cated in the
United States, which operates primarily within the United States or
which makes a significant contribution to the United States economy
through pay­ment of taxes or use of American products, materials, or
labor;

> \(2\) Is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship,
> partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture,
> association, trust, or cooperative, except that where the form is a
> joint venture, there can be no more than 49 percent participation by
> foreign business entities in the joint venture;
>
> \(3\) Is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more
> individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in the
> United States, except in the case of a joint venture, where each
> entity to the venture must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one
> or more in­dividuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident al­iens
> in the United States; and
>
> \(4\) Has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 em­ployees.

E. [Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business
Concern]{.underline}: A socially and economically dis­ad­van­taged small
business concern is one that is:

\(1\) At least 51 percent owned by (i) an Indian tribe or a Native
Hawaiian organization, or (ii) one or more so­cially and economically
disadvantaged individuals, and

> \(2\) Whose management and daily business operations are controlled by
> one or more socially and economical­ly disadvantaged individuals.

F. [Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Indi­vidual]{.underline}: A
member of any of the following groups:

(1) Black Americans;

> \(2\) Hispanic Americans;
>
> \(3\) Native Americans (American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, or Native
> Hawaiians);
>
> \(4\) Asian-Pacific Americans (persons with origins from Burma,
> Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, China
> (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam,
> Korea, The Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
> (Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated
> States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
> Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru);
>
> \(5\) Subcontinent Asian Americans (persons with ori­gins from India,
> Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, or
> Nepal); and
>
> \(6\) Other groups designated from time to time by SBA pursuant to
> Section 124.103 (d) of 13 CFR Ch.1 (1-1-02 Edition).

G. [Women-Owned Small Business Concern]{.underline}: A small business
concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women, or in
the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock
is owned by women, and wom­en control the management and daily business
operations.

H. [Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUB­Zone)]{.underline}: A
small business concern meeting the following requirements:

\(1\) Located in a HUBZone area located in one or more of the following:

> a\) A qualified census tract (as defined in Section 429(d)(5)(C)(i)(1)
> of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986);
>
> b\) A qualified "non-metropolitan county" (as de­fined in Section 143
> (k)(2)(B) of the Internal Rev­enue Code of 1986) with a median
> household in­come of less than 80 percent of the State median household
> income or with an unemployment rate of not less than 140 percent of
> the Statewide average, based on U.S. Department of Labor recent data;
> or,
>
> c\) Lands within the boundaries of federally recog­nized Indian
> reservations.
>
> \(2\) Owned and controlled by one or more U.S. Citizens; and,
>
> \(3\) At least 35% of its employees must reside in a HUBZone.

I. [Primary Employment]{.underline}: More than one-half of the principal
investigator's time is spent in the employ of the small business
concern.

J. [United States]{.underline}: The 50 States, the Territories and
possessions of the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
the District of Columbia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the
Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

K. [Commercialization]{.underline}: The process of developing marketable
products or services and producing and deliver­ing products or services
for sale (whether by the originating party or by others) to Government
or commercial markets.

L. [SBIR Technical Data]{.underline}: All data generated during the
performance of an SBIR award.

M. [SBIR Technical Data Rights]{.underline}: The rights a small business
concern obtains in data generated during the per­formance of any SBIR
Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III award that an awardee delivers to the
Government during or upon completion of a Federally-funded project, and
to which the Government receives a license.

**III. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS**

##### PROPOSAL PAGE LIMIT

Proposals submitted in response to this Phase I of the SBIR program
shall not exceed a total of **[25 pages]{.underline}**, one side only.
The only exception would be regarding the require­ments set forth in
Section III.D.12, "Prior SBIR Awards." The **[25 pages]{.underline}**
should include the cover page, budget, and all enclosures or
attachments. Pages (including enclosures or attachments such as letters
of recommendation) should be of standard size (8 ½\" x 11\"; 21.6 cm x
27.9 cm) with 2.5 cm margins and type no smaller than 10 point font
size. All pages must be consecutively numbered. **Proposals in ex­cess of
the 25-page limitation shall not be considered for review or award.**
Any additional attachments, appendices or references beyond the 25-page
limitation shall result in the proposal not being considered for review
or award. A letter of transmittal is not necessary. If one is furnished,
it must not be attached to every copy of the proposal. If a let­ter of
transmittal is attached to every copy of the propo­sal, it will be
counted as page 1 of the proposal. No binders are necessary. If binders
are provided, they will be counted as pages even if no printing or
writing is thereon.

**B. PROPOSAL COVER SHEET**

The offeror shall photocopy (or download from the In­ternet) and complete
Appendix A of this solicitation which has the relevant solicitation
number as page 1 of each copy of each proposal. **No other cover shall
be permitted.** When downloading the solicitation from the Internet,
Ap­pendix A may print on 2 pages, but will only count as 1 page per
Appendix. Offerors may reformat the forms to correct spacing and
pagination errors; however, identical information must be provided.

The original of the cover sheet must contain the pen-and-ink signatures
of the authorized negotiator and the per­son authorized to sign the
proposal.

**C. ABSTRACT OR SUMMARY**

The offeror shall complete Appendix B as page 2 of each proposal.
Appendix B is limited to 1 page. The tech­nical abstract should include a
brief description of the prob­lem or opportunity, the innovation, project
objectives, and description of the effort. In summarizing anticipated
results, the implications of the approach (for both Phases I and II) and
the potential commercial applications of the research shall be stated.
**THE ABSTRACT IS USED EXTEN­SIVELY DURING THE EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW AND
EPA INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW.** The project summary of successful
proposals will be pub­lished by EPA and, therefore, must not contain
proprietary information.

######  D. TECHNICAL CONTENT

Begin the main body of the proposal on page 3. As a mini­mum, the
following shall be included:

> **1.** **IDENTIFICATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM OR
> OPPORTUNITY.** A clear statement of the specific technical problem or
> oppor­tunity addressed and the environmental benefits. **IN­FOR­MATION ON
> THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TECH­NOL­OGY IS A VERY
> IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW AND EPA IN­TERNAL
> PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW.** Where appropriate, proposals should describe
> the positive and negative environmental benefits based on an
> assessment of the full life cycle of the new product or technology.
> Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) refers to the analysis of impacts
> throughout all stages of a product or process from production to use
> to disposal. Integration of a life cycle perspective into the
> environmental analysis typical­ly considers impacts from raw materials
> extraction, manufacture, packaging, distribution and disposal.
>
> **2.** **PHASE I OBJECTIVES.** State the specific ob­ject­ives of Phase
> I research and development effort, in­cluding the technical questions
> it will try to answer to determine the feasibility of the proposed
> approach.
>
> **3.** **PHASE I WORK PLAN.** This section provides a detailed
> description of the work plan. The work plan should describe what will
> be done, where it will be done, and how the R/R&D will be carried out.
> The work planned to achieve each task should be discussed in detail,
> to enable a complete scientific and technical evaluation of the work
> plan. A work schedule should also be provided.
>
> **4.** **RELATED RESEARCH OR R&D.** Describe sig­nificant research or
> R&D that is directly related to the proposal including any conducted
> by the project man­ager/principal investigator or by the proposing
> firm. Describe how it relates to the proposed effort, and any planned
> coordination with outside sources. Offerors must demonstrate their
> awareness of key recent re­search or R&D conducted by others in the
> specific topic area by providing appropriate references from the
> literature and other published documents.
>
> **5.** **KEY PERSONNEL AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DIRECTLY RELATED WORK.**
> Identify key per­sonnel involved in Phase I including their directly
> re­lated education, experience and bibliographic informa­tion. Where
> vitae are extensive, summaries that focus on the most relevant
> experience or publications are de­sired and may be necessary to meet
> proposal size limi­tations.
>
> **6.** **RELATIONSHIP WITH FUTURE RESEARCH OR RESEARCH AND
> DEVELOPMENT.** State the anticipated results of the proposed approach
> if the pro­ject is successful (Phase I and II). A discussion of
> cost-effectiveness is paramount, especially comparing the
> state-of-the-art approaches with the proposed approach. Discuss the
> significance of the Phase I effort in pro­vid­ing a foundation for Phase
> II R/R&D effort.
>
> **7.** **FACILITIES.** A detailed description of the avail­ability and
> location of instrumentation and physical facilities proposed for Phase
> I should be provided.
>
> **8.** **CONSULTANTS.** Involvement of consultants in the planning and
> research stages of the project is per­mitted. If such involvement is
> intended, it should be described in detail and vitae should be
> provided.
>
> **9.** **COMMERCIALIZATION PLAN.** Provide an ab­breviated 2-3 page
> plan related directly to producing an innovative product, process, or
> device and getting it into commercial production and sales.
> Comprehensive bus­iness plans (that are company rather than project
> ori­ented) are not desired. The Phase I plan is a roadmap toward
> producing a detailed Phase II Commercializa­tion Plan which will be
> required as part of the Phase II Application.

NOTE: The Small Business Research and Develop­ment Enhancement Act of
1992 allows discretionary tech­nical assistance to SBIR awardees. The
Agency may pro­vide up to \$4,000 of SBIR funds for technical assistance
per award. EPA intends to provide Phase I awardees with tech­nical
assistance through a separate EPA arrangement. For Phase I, this
assistance will be in addition to the award amount. For Phase II, the
law allows each awardee to ex­pend up to \$4,000 per year of the award
amount for tech­nical assistance services.

The Phase I plan should provide limited information on the subjects
described below. Explain what will be done during Phase I to decide on
applications, markets, produc­tion, and financing. The Commercialization
Plan should address:

> a\. SBIR Project: Brief description of the company, its principal
> field(s) of interest, size, and current products and sales. A concise
> description of the SBIR project and its key technical objectives.
>
> b\. Commercial Applications: Potential commercial ap­plications of the
> research results specifying customers and specific needs that will be
> satisfied. Have you or do you intend to file for one or more patents
> as a result of the SBIR project?
>
> c\. Competitive Advantages: What is particularly in­novative about the
> anticipated technology or products? (Innovation may be expressed in
> terms of applications, performance, efficiencies, or reduced cost. To
> deter­mine if your innovation is likely to result in intellectual
> property that may be legally protected, it helps to con­duct a patent
> search and look for related work being funded by EPA or another
> Federal agency. A factsheet on how to search for patents and related
> federally-funded work is provided in Appendix E.) What signifi­cant
> advantages in application, performance, technique, efficiency, or
> costs do you anticipate your new tech­nology will have over existing
> technology? (In order to assess such advantages, it is useful to
> compare the an­tici­pated performance of your technology against
> sub­stitutable products currently being sold or emerging out of R&D. If
> regulations, industry standards or certifying requirements apply to
> your technology or product, these provide useful criteria for
> comparing your anticipated performance with potentially competing
> technology and products. However, other expressions of end-user needs
> may also contain important criteria.)
>
> d\. Markets: What are the anticipated specific markets for the
> resulting technology, their estimated size, clas­ses of customers, and
> your estimated market share 5 years after the project is completed
> and/or first sales? Who are the major competitors in the markets,
> present and/or anticipated?
>
> e\. Commercialization: Briefly describe how you plan to produce your
> product. Do you intend to manufac­ture it yourself, subcontract the
> manufacturing, enter into a joint venture or manufacturing agreement,
> li­cense the product, etc.? Briefly describe the approach and steps you
> plan to take to commercialize the re­search results to significant
> sales. Do you plan to mar­ket the product yourself, through dealers,
> contract sales, marketing agreements, joint venture, sales
> representatives, foreign companies, etc.? How do you plan to raise
> money to support your commercialization plan?
>
> **10. SIMILAR OR CLOSELY RELATED SBIR AWARDS.** If the small business
> concern has received ANY prior Phase I or Phase II award(s) from EPA
> or any Federal agency for similar or closely related re­search, submit
> the name of awarding agency, date of award, funding agreement number,
> amount, and topic or subtopic title. **DESCRIBE THE TECHNICAL
> DIF­FERENCES AND REASONS WHY THE PRO­POSED NEW PHASE I RESEARCH IS
> DIFFER­ENT FROM RESEARCH CONDUCTED UNDER PRIOR SBIR AWARDS.** (This
> required proposal information **[shall]{.underline}** be counted
> toward proposal pages count limitation.)
>
> **11. DUPLICATE OR EQUIVALENT SBIR PRO­PO­SALS.** A firm may elect to
> submit essentially equiva­lent work under other Federal program
> solici­tations. In these cases, a statement must be included in each
> such proposal indicating: the name and address of the agencies to
> which proposals were submitted or from which awards were received;
> date of proposal submis­sion or date of award; title, number, and date
> of solici­tations under which proposals were submitted or awards
> received; specific applicable research topics for each proposal
> submitted or award received; titles of research projects; and name and
> title of project man­ager or principal investigator for each proposal
> sub­mitted or award received. (This information **[shall]{.underline}**
> count toward proposal pages count limitation.)
>
> **12. PRIOR SBIR AWARDS.** If the small business con­­cern has received
> ANY prior Phase II award from any Federal agency in the prior 5 fiscal
> years, submit name of awarding agency, date of award, funding
> agree­ment number, amount, topic or subtopic title, follow-on agreement
> amount, source and date of com­mitment, and current commercialization
> status for each Phase II. (This required proposal information shall be
> included as an attachment to the proposals and **[shall
> not]{.underline}** be counted toward proposal pages count limitation.)

**E. COST BREAKDOWN/ PROPOSED BUDGET**

Complete the budget form in Appendix C and include the form immediately
after proposal Section D.11. Photo­copy the form for the required copies
for submission. In­corporate the copy of the budget form bearing the
original signature into the copy of the proposal bearing the original
signature on the cover page. The budget form will count as 1 page in the
25-page limit. If budget explanation pages are included, they will count
toward the 25-page limit.

F.  **PHASE I QUALITY ASSURANCE NARRATIVE STATEMENT**

Offerors must state whether or not their proposal in­volves data
collection or processing, environmental meas­urements, modeling, or the
development of environmental technology (whether hardware-based or via
new tech­niques). The Quality Assurance Narrative provides a state­ment on
processes that will be used to assure that results of the research
satisfy the intended project objectives. EPA is particularly interested
in the quality controls for data gener­ation and acquisition, and how
data validation and usability will be verified. This Quality Assurance
Narrative state­ment should not exceed 2 pages and will be included in
the 25-page limitation for the proposal. For each item below, ei­ther
present the required information, reference the spe­cific lo­cation of the
information in the proposal, or provide a justi­fication of why the item
does not apply to the proposed research.

> 1\. Identify the individual who will be responsible for the quality
> assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) aspects of the research. (QA
> is an integrated sys­tem of management activities involving planning,
> im­plementa­tion, documentation, assessment, and improve­ment to ensure
> that a process or item is of the type and quality needed for the
> project. QC is the system of technical activities that measures the
> at­tributes and performance of a process or item against de­fined
> standards, to verify that they meet the stated requirements.)
>
> 2\. Discuss the activities to be performed or the hypoth­esis to be
> tested and criteria for determining acceptable data quality. (Note:
> Such criteria may be expressed in terms of precision, accuracy,
> representativeness, com­plete­ness, and comparability or in terms of
> data quality objectives or acceptance and evaluation criteria.) Also,
> these criteria must be applied to determine the accept­ability of
> existing or secondary data to be used in the project. (In this
> context, secondary data may be de­fined as data previously collected
> for other purposes or from other sources.)
>
> 3\. Describe the study design. Include sample type(s) and location
> requirements, all statistical analyses that were or will be used to
> estimate the types and numbers of physical samples required, *or*
> equivalent information for studies using survey and interview
> techniques, *or* describe how new technology will be benchmarked to
> improve existing processes, such as those used by in­dustry.
>
> 4\. Describe the procedures that will be used in the cali­bra­tion and
> performance evaluation of all analytical instrumentation and all
> methods of analysis to be used during the project. Explain how the
> effectiveness of any new technology will be measured.
>
> 5\. Describe the procedures for the handling and cus­tody of samples,
> including sample collection, identifi­cation, preservation,
> transportation, and storage, or how the accuracy of test measurements
> will be verified.
>
> 6\. Discuss the procedures for data reduction and re­porting, including
> a description of all statistical meth­ods to make inferences and
> conclusions, with identifi­cation of any statistical software to be
> used; discuss any computer models to be designed or utilized and
> de­scribe the associated verification and validation tech­niques.
>
> 7\. Describe the quantitative and/or qualitative proce­dures that will
> be used to evaluate the success of the pro­ject, including any plans
> for peer or other reviews of the study design or analytical methods
> prior to data col­lection.

A more detailed Proposal Quality Assurance Plan will be required in
Phase II. The plan will be required as part of the first Monthly Report
under the Phase II contract.

**IV. METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA**

All Phase I proposals will be evaluated and judged on a competitive
basis by peer reviewers from outside EPA. Proposals will be initially
screened to determine responsive­ness. As noted in Section III, proposals
exceeding the 25-page limitation will not be considered for review or
award. Also, as noted in Section I, any proposal addressing more than
one research topic, failing to identify the research topic by letter
symbol on the cover page, and submitting the same proposal under more
than one solicitation issued in 2003 will not be considered for review
or award. Proposals pas­sing this initial screening will be reviewed for
technical merit by external peer review panels of technical experts,
using the technical evaluation criteria described in A.1 be­low. Each of
the criteria are equal in value. These panels will assign each proposal
an adjectival rating of "Excellent", "Very Good", "Good", "Fair" or
"Poor", using the specified criteria. The proposals assigned "Excellent"
and "Very Good" ratings will then be subjected to the programmatic
review within EPA, to further evaluate these applications in relation to
program priorities and balance using the criteria specified in A.2
below. Each proposal will be judged on its own merit. The Agency is
under no obligation to fund any proposal or any specific number of
proposals in a given top­ic. It also may elect to fund several or none of
the propo­sed approach­es to the same topic or subtopic.

A.  **TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA**

> **1. EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW.** The external peer review panels will
> utilize the following evaluation cri­teria to rate each proposal. The
> criteria are of equal im­portance.

####### CRITERIA

> a\. The scientific and technical significance of the pro­posed
> technology and its appropriateness to the re­search topic. Quality and
> soundness of the re­search plan to establish the technical and
> commer­cial feasibil­ity of the concept.
>
> b\. The uniqueness/ingenuity of the proposed con­cept or application as
> technological innovation. Originality and innovativeness of the
> proposed re­search toward meeting customer needs and achiev­ing
> commercializa­tion of the technology.
>
> c\. Potential demonstration of performance/cost ef­fec­tive­ness and
> environmental benefits associated with the proposed research,
> including risk reduc­tion potential.
>
> d\. Qualifications of the principal/key investigator, sup­porting staff
> and consultants. Time commit­ment of principal/key investigator,
> adequacy of equipment and facilities, and proposed budget to
> accomplish the pro­posed research. Adequacy and quality of the Quality
> Assurance Narrative State­ment.
>
> e\. Potential of the proposed concept for significant com­mercial
> applications. Potential for the com­mer­ciali­zation plan to produce an
> innovative prod­uct, process, or device and to put it into commer­cial
> produc­tion and sales. Potential market and compe­tition and other
> financial/business indicators of commercializa­tion po­ten­tial and the
> offeror's SBIR or other research com­mercialization record.

All peer reviewers will be required to sign an agree­ment to protect the
confidentiality of all proposal material, and to certify that no
conflict of interest exists between the reviewer and the offeror. A copy
of both forms is available upon request; however, the identity of the
reviewer will not be released.

> **2. EPA PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW.** The pro­posals that received ratings of
> "Excellent" or "Very Good" by the External Peer Review Panel will be
> sub­ject to the programmatic review by EPA program man­agers using the
> criteria set forth below to select which of the "Excellent" and "Very
> Good" proposals will be funded. Projects will not be funded where EPA
> deter­mines the proposed research is already being supported by EPA or
> another known source. The evaluation cri­teria "a" through "c" are of
> equal value and will be used to evaluate the applications in relation
> to program priorities, balance and programmatic relevancy.

####### CRITERIA

> a\. The potential of the technology to meet Agency pro­gram priorities
> and to strengthen the overall balance of the SBIR program. How well
> the tech­nology fits into EPA's overall research strategy or program
> within the Phase I research topic.
>
> b\. The potential of the technology for significant envi­ron­mental
> benefits and for strengthening the scientific basis for risk
> assessment/risk manage­ment in the Agen­cy research topic area.
>
> c\. The potential of the technology to have broad appli­cation or to
> impact large segments of the pop­ulation.

**B. RELEASE OF PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION**

After final award decisions have been announced, the technical
evaluations of the offeror's proposal will be pro­vided to the offeror.
The identity of the reviewer shall not be disclosed.

#### V. CONSIDERATIONS

######  A. AWARDS

The Government anticipates award of approximately 15 firm-fixed-price
contracts of up to \$70,000 each including profit. It is expected that
these contracts will be awarded with a contract start date of March 1,
2004. The period of performance for the contracts should not exceed six
(6) months. The primary consideration in selecting proposals for award
will be the technical merit of the proposal. Pro­posals shall be
evaluated in accordance with the Technical Evaluation Criteria stated in
IV.A. above. Source selection will not be based on a comparison of cost
or price. How­ever, cost or price will be evaluated to determine whether
the price, including any proposed profit, is fair and reason­able and
whether the offeror understands the work and is capable of performing
the contract.

This current solicitation is for Phase I only, and the Gov­ernment is not
obligated to fund any specific Phase I proposal.

Funds are not presently available for this contract. The Government's
obligation under this contract is contingent upon the availability of
appropriated funds from which pay­ment for contract purposes can be made.
No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may
arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this
contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability,
to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

######  B. REPORTS

> 1\. The Contractor shall furnish two (2) copies of a month­ly letter
> report stating progress made. One (1) copy of the report shall be
> submitted to the Project Of­ficer with one (1) copy to the Contract
> Specialist. The reports shall be submitted within 7 calendar days
> after the end of the reporting period. Specific areas of interest
> shall include progress made and difficulties encoun­tered during the
> reporting period, and a state­ment of activities anticipated during the
> subsequent reporting period. The report shall include any changes in
> personnel associated with the project. Also, the first month's report
> shall contain a work plan and schedule of accomplishments for the
> subsequent months of the project. The Monthly Report shall include, as
> an at­tach­ment, a copy of the monthly voucher for the same period.
>
> 2\. Two (2) copies of a comprehensive Final Report on the Phase I
> project must be submitted to the Project Officer by the completion
> date of the contract. The Contract Specialist shall receive one copy.
> This Final Report shall include a single-page project summary as the
> first page, identifying the purpose of the research, a brief
> description of the research carried out, the re­search findings or
> results, and potential applications of the research in a final
> paragraph. The balance of the report should indicate in detail the
> research objectives, research work carried out, results obtained, and
> esti­mates of technical feasibility. The report should in­clude a
> discussion of any commercialization activity carried out during Phase
> I as well as future commer­cial­ization plans.
>
> 3\. Two (2) hard copies (and one copy on a disk in WordPerfect or
> ASCII format) of a publishable (cleared for the general public) 2-3
> page Executive Sum­mary of the Final Report for Phase I must be
> sub­mitted to the Project Officer by the completion date of the
> contract. This special report should be a true sum­mary of the report,
> including the purpose of the project, work carried out, and results.
> The summary should stress innovativeness and potential
> commercialization. The Executive Summary will be placed on the EPA
> SBIR Web Site, and therefore, it should include the spe­cific results
> the company is willing to release to the public.

######  C. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Phase I payments will be made as follows:

Eighteen percent (18%) of the total contract price upon receipt and
acceptance of a proper invoice with each of the first five Monthly
Reports. The remainder shall be paid upon receipt and acceptance of the
Final Report. Pursuant to the provisions of FAR 52.232-25, "Prompt
Payment," pay­­ment will be rendered within thirty (30) days after re­ceipt
of a proper invoice.

**D. INNOVATIONS, INVENTIONS, AND PATENTS**

1\. LIMITED RIGHTS INFORMATION AND DATA

a\. Proprietary Information

Information contained in unsuccessful proposals will re­­main the property
of the offeror. The Government may, however, retain copies of all
proposals. Public release of information in any proposal submitted will
be subject to existing statutory and regulatory requirements.

If proprietary information is provided by an offeror in a proposal which
constitutes a trade secret, proprietary com­mercial or financial
information, confidential personal infor­mation, or data affecting the
national security, it will be treated in confidence to the extent
permitted by law, pro­vided this information is clearly marked by the
offeror with the term "confidential proprietary information" and
pro­vided the following legend, which appears on the cover page of the
proposal is completed:

"For any purpose other than to evaluate the proposal, this data shall
not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated,
used, or disclosed in whole or in part, provided that if a funding
agreement is awarded to this offeror as a result of or in connection
with the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to
duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the
fund­ing agreement and pursuant to applicable law. This restric­tion does
not limit the Government's right to use infor­mation contained in the
data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data
subject to this restric­tion are contained in pages \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of
this proposal."

Any other legend may be unacceptable to the Govern­ment and may
constitute grounds for removing the proposal from further consideration
and without assuming any liabil­ity for inadvertent disclosure.

b\. Alternative To Minimize Proprietary Information

Offerors shall limit proprietary information to only that absolutely
essential to their proposal.

c\. Rights in Data Developed Under SBIR Funding Agree­­ments

The Contract will contain a data clause which will pro­vide the
following:

SBIR RIGHTS NOTICE (MAR 1994)

These SBIR data are furnished with SBIR rights under Contract
No.\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (and subcontract \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ if
appropriate). For a period of four (4) years after acceptance of all
items to be delivered under this contract, the Govern­ment agrees to use
these data for Government purposes only, and they shall not be disclosed
outside the Govern­ment (including disclosure for procurement purposes)
during such period without permission of the Contractor, except that,
subject to the foregoing use and disclosure pro­hibitions, such data may
be disclosed for use by support Contractors. After the aforesaid 4-year
period the Govern­ment has a royalty-free license to use, and to
authorize others to use on its behalf, these data for Government
pur­poses, but is relieved of all disclosure prohibitions and as­sumes no
liability for unauthorized use of these data by third parties. This
Notice shall be affixed to any reproduc­tions of these data, in whole or
in part.

d\. Copyrights

With prior written permission of the Contracting Offi­cer, the Awardee
normally may copyright and publish (con­sistent with appropriate national
security considerations, if any) material developed with EPA support.
EPA receives a royalty-free license for the Federal Government and
re­quires that each publication contain an appropriate ac­knowl­­edg­ment and
disclaimer statement.

e\. Patents

Small business concerns normally may retain the prin­cipal worldwide
patent rights to any invention developed with Governmental support. The
Government receives a royalty-free license for Federal Government use,
reserves the right to require the patent holder to license others in
certain circumstances, and requires that anyone exclusively licensed to
sell the invention in the United States must nor­mally manufacture it
domestically. To the extent author­ized by 35 U.S.C. 205, the Government
will not make pub­lic any information disclosing a Government-supported
invention for a 4-year period to allow the Awardee a rea­sonable time to
pursue a patent.

**E. COST SHARING**

Cost sharing is permitted for proposals under this Pro­gram Solicitation;
however, cost sharing is not required nor will it be an evaluation
factor in consideration of your pro­posal.

**F. FEE OR PROFIT**

Reasonable fee (estimated profit) will be considered under this
solicitation. For guidance purposes, the amount of profit normally
should not exceed 10% of total project costs.

**G. JOINT VENTURES OR LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS**

Joint ventures and limited partnerships are eligible pro­vided the entity
created qualifies as a small business as de­fined in this Program
Solicitation.

**H. RESEARCH AND ANALYTICAL WORK**

1\. For Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds of the research and/or
analytical effort must be performed by the proposing small business
concern unless otherwise approved in writing by the Contracting Officer.

2\. For Phase II, a minimum of one-half of the research and/or
analytical effort must be performed by the proposing small business
concern unless otherwise approved in writing by the Contracting Officer.

**I. CONTRACTOR COMMITMENTS**

Upon award of a funding agreement, the Awardee will be required to make
certain legal commitments through acceptance of numerous clauses in
Phase I funding agree­ments. The outline that follows is illustrative of
the types of clauses to which the Contractor would be committed. This
list should not be understood to represent a complete list of clauses to
be included in Phase I funding agreements, nor to be specific wording of
such clauses. Copies of complete terms and conditions are available upon
request.

**1. INSPECTION.** Work performed under the contract is subject to
Government inspection and evaluation at all times.

**2. EXAMINATION OF RECORDS.** The Comptrol­ler General (or a duly
authorized representative) shall have the right to examine any directly
pertinent records of the awardee involving transactions related to this
contract.

**3. DEFAULT.** The Government may terminate the contract if the
Contractor fails to perform the work con­tracted.

**4. TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE.** The contract may be terminated at
any time by the Government if it deems termination to be in its best
interest, in which case the Contractor will be compensated for work
per­formed and for reasonable termination costs.

**5. DISPUTES.** Any dispute concerning the funding agreement that
cannot be resolved by agreement shall be decided by the Contracting
Officer with right of appeal.

**6. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.** The awardee will not discriminate against any
employee or applicant for employ­ment because of race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin.

**7. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR VETERANS.** The awardee will not
discriminate against any employee or application for employment because
he or she is a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era.

**8. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR HANDICAP­PED.** The awardee will not
discriminate against any em­ployee or applicant for employment because he
or she is physically or mentally handicapped.

**9. OFFICIALS NOT TO BENEFIT.** No Govern­ment official shall benefit
personally from the contract.

**10. COVENANT AGAINST CONTINGENT FEES.** No person or agency has been
employed to solicit or secure the contract upon an understanding for
compensation except bonafide employees or commercial agencies maintained
by the Contractor for the purpose of securing business.

**11. GRATUITIES.** The contract may be terminated by the Government if
any gratuities have been offered to any representative of the Government
to secure the contract.

**12. PATENT AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGE­MENT.** The Contractor shall report
each no­tice or claim of patent or copyright infringement based on the
performance of the contract.

**13. AMERICAN MADE EQUIPMENT AND PRODUCTS.** When purchasing equipment
or a product under the SBIR funding agreement, purchase only
Ameri­can-made items whenever possible.

**J. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION**

1\. The Program Solicitation is intended for infor­ma­tional purposes and
reflects current planning. If there is any inconsistency between the
information contained herein and the terms of any resulting SBIR funding
agreement, the terms of the funding agreement are controlling.

2\. Before award of an SBIR funding agreement, the Government may
request the offeror to submit certain organizational, management,
personnel, and financial infor­mation to assure responsibility of the
offeror.

3\. The Government is not responsible for any monies expended by the
offeror before award of any funding agree­ment.

4\. This Program Solicitation is not an offer by the Gov­ernment and does
not obligate the Government to make any specific number of awards. Also,
awards under the SBIR program are contingent upon the availability of
funds.

5\. The SBIR program is not a substitute for existing un­solicited
proposal mechanisms. Unsolicited proposals shall not be accepted under
the SBIR program in either Phase I or Phase II.

6\. If an award is made pursuant to a proposal submitted under this
Program Solicitation, the Contractor will be re­quired to certify that he
or she has not previously been, nor is currently being, paid for
essentially equivalent work by any agency of the Federal Government.

7\. Notwithstanding the relatively broad definition of R/R&D in Section
II, Definitions, hereof, awards under this solicitation are limited to
APPLIED forms of research. Pro­posals that are surveys, including market,
state-of the-art and/or literature surveys, which should have been
performed by the offeror prior to the preparation of the proposal, or
the preparation of allied questionnaires and instruction manuals, shall
not be accepted. If such proposals are submitted, they shall be
considered as not in compliance with the solicita­tion intent, and
therefore, technically unacceptable.

8\. The requirement that the offeror designate a topic, and only one
topic, (see page 1, Section I above) is also necessary. EPA receives
hundreds of proposals each year and has special teams of reviewers for
review of each re­search topic. In order to assure that proposals are
evaluated by the correct team, it is the complete responsibility of the
offeror to select and identify the best topic.

9\. Instructions to Offerors - Competitive Acquisition (May 2001) FAR
52.215-1

\(a\) *Definitions (as used in this provision).*

> "Discussions" are negotiations that occur after es­tablishment of the
> competitive range that may, at the Contracting Officer's discretion,
> result in the offeror being allowed to revise its proposal.
>
> "In writing," "writing," or "written" means any worded or numbered
> expression that can be read, repro­duced, and later communicated, and
> includes electron­ically transmitted and stored information.
>
> "Proposal modification" is a change made to a pro­posal before the
> solicitation's closing date and time, or made in response to an
> amendment, or made to correct a mistake at any time before award.
>
> "Proposal revision" is a change to a proposal made after the
> solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by a
> Contracting Officer as the result of nego­tiations.
>
> "Time," if stated as a number of days, is calculated using calendar
> days, unless otherwise specified, and will include Saturdays, Sundays,
> and legal holidays. How­ever, if the last day falls on a Saturday,
> Sunday, or legal holiday, then the period shall include the next
> working day.
>
> \(b\) *Amendments to solicitations.*
>
> If this solicitation is amended, all terms and con­ditions that are not
> amended remain unchanged. Of­ferors shall acknowledge receipt of any
> amendment to this solicitation by the date and time specified in the
> amendment(s).
>
> \(c\) *Submission, modification, revision, and with­drawal of
> proposals.*
>
> \(1\) Unless other methods (e.g., electronic com­merce or facsimile)
> are permitted in the solicitation, pro­posals and modifications to
> proposals shall be sub­mitted in paper media in sealed envelopes or
> packages (i) addressed to the office specified in the solicitation,
> and (ii) showing the time and date specified for receipt, the
> solicitation number, and the name and address of the offeror. Offerors
> using commercial carriers should ensure that the proposal is marked on
> the outermost wrapper with the information in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and
> (c)(1)(ii) of this provision.
>
> \(2\) The first page of the proposal must show---
>
> \(i\) The solicitation number;
>
> \(ii\) The name, address, and telephone and fac­simile numbers of the
> offeror (and electronic address if available);
>
> \(iii\) A statement specifying the extent of agree­ment with all terms,
> conditions, and pro­visions included in the solicitation and agree­ment
> to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price
> set opposite each item;
>
> \(iv\) Names, titles, and telephone and facsimile numbers (and
> electronic addresses if avail­able) of persons authorized to negotiate
> on the offeror's behalf with the Government in con­nection with this
> solicitation; and
>
> \(v\) Name, title, and signature of person author­ized to sign the
> proposal. Proposals signed by an agent shall be accompanied by
> evidence of that agent's authority, unless that evidence has been
> previously furnished to the issuing office.
>
> \(3\) Submission, modification, revision, and with­drawal of proposals.
>
> \(i\) Offerors are responsible for submitting pro­posals, and any
> modifications or revisions, so as to reach the Government office
> designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the
> solicitation. If no time is specified in the soli­citation, the time
> for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government
> office on the date that proposal or revision is due.
>
> \(ii\) (A) Any proposal, modification, or re­vision received at the
> Government office des­ig­nated in the solicitation after the exact time
> specified for receipt of offers is "late" and will not be considered
> unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer
> deter­mines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the
> acquisition; and---
>
> \(1\) If it was transmitted through an electron­ic commerce method
> authorized by the soli­cita­tion, it was received at the initial point
> of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. 1
> working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals; or
>
> \(2\) There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received
> at the Government in­stal­lation designated for receipt of offers and
> was under the Government's control prior to the time set for receipt
> of offers; or
>
> \(3\) It is the only proposal received.
>
> \(ii\) (B) However, a late modification of an other­wise successful
> proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will
> be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.
>
> \(iii\) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the
> Government installation in­cludes the time/date stamp of that
> installation on the proposal wrapper, other documentary evidence of
> receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or
> statements of Gov­ern­ment personnel.
>
> \(iv\) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal
> Government processes so that proposals cannot be received at the
> office designated for receipt of proposals by the exact time specified
> in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude
> amendment of the solicitation, the time spe­cified for receipt of
> proposals will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day
> speci­fied in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal
> Government processes resume.
>
> \(v\) Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice received at any
> time before award. Oral proposals in response to oral solicitations
> may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation author­izes facsimile
> proposals, proposals may be with­drawn via facsimile received at any
> time before award, subject to the conditions speci­fied in the
> provision at 52.215-5, Fac­simile Proposals. Proposals may be with­drawn
> in person by an offeror or an authorized repre­senta­tive, if the
> identity of the person request­ing withdrawal is established and the
> person signs a receipt for the proposal before award.
>
> \(4\) Unless otherwise specified in the solicitation, the offeror may
> propose to provide any item or combi­nation of items.
>
> \(5\) Offerors shall submit proposals in response to this solicitation
> in English, unless otherwise permitted by the solicitation, and in
> U.S. dollars, unless the provi­sion at FAR 52.225-17, Evaluation of
> Foreign Cur­ren­cy Offers, is included in the solicitation.
>
> \(6\) Offerors may submit modifications to their pro­posals at any time
> before the solicitation closing date and time, and may submit
> modifications in response to an amendment, or to correct a mistake at
> any time be­fore award.
>
> \(7\) Offerors may submit revised proposals only if requested or
> allowed by the Contracting Officer.
>
> \(8\) Proposals may be withdrawn at any time before award. Withdrawals
> are effective upon receipt of no­tice by the Contracting Officer.
>
> \(d\) *Offer expiration date.*
>
> Proposals in response to this solicitation will be valid for the
> number of days specified on the solicita­tion cover sheet (unless a
> different period is proposed by the offeror).
>
> \(e\) *Restriction on disclosure and use of data.*
>
> Offerors that include in their proposals data that they do not want
> disclosed to the public for any pur­pose, or used by the Government
> except for evaluation purposes, shall---
>
> \(1\) Mark the title page with the following legend: This proposal
> includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and
> shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed---in whole or in
> part---for any pur­pose other than to evaluate this proposal. If,
> however, a con­tract is awarded to this offeror as a result of---or in
> con­nection with---the submission of this data, the Gov­ern­ment shall
> have the right to duplicate, use, or dis­close the data to the extent
> provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit
> the Govern­ment's right to use information contained in this data if it
> is obtained from another source without restriction. The data sub­ject
> to this restriction are contained in sheets \[insert numbers or other
> identification of sheets\]; and
>
> \(2\) Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following
> legend: Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject
> to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.
>
> \(f\) *Contract award.*
>
> \(1\) The Government intends to award a contract or contracts
> resulting from this solicitation to the respon­sible offeror(s) whose
> proposal(s) represents the best value after evaluation in accordance
> with the factors and subfactors in the solicitation.
>
> \(2\) The Government may reject any or all propo­sals if such action is
> in the Government's interest.
>
> \(3\) The Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities
> in proposals received.
>
> \(4\) The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a
> contract without discussions with offerors (except clarifications as
> described in FAR 15.306(a)). Therefore, the offeror's initial proposal
> should contain the offeror's best terms from a cost or price and
> tech­nical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct
> discussions if the Contracting Officer later deter­mines them to be
> necessary. If the Contracting Officer determines that the number of
> proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the
> number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the
> Contracting Officer may limit the num­ber of proposals in the
> competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient
> competition among the most highly rated proposals.
>
> \(5\) The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item
> for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit cost or
> prices offered, unless the of­feror specifies otherwise in the
> proposal.
>
> \(6\) The Government reserves the right to make mul­tiple awards if,
> after considering the additional ad­ministrative costs, it is in the
> Government's best in­terest to do so.
>
> \(7\) Exchanges with offerors after receipt of a pro­posal do not
> constitute a rejection or counteroffer by the Government.
>
> \(8\) The Government may determine that a propo­sal is unacceptable if
> the prices proposed are materially unbalanced between line items or
> subline items. Un­balanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable
> total evaluated price, the price of one or more contract line items is
> significantly overstated or understated as indicated by the
> application of cost or price analysis techniques. A proposal may be
> rejected if the Contrac­ting Officer determines that the lack of
> balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.
>
> \(9\) If a cost realism analysis is performed, cost realism may be
> considered by the source selection authority in evaluating performance
> or schedule risk.
>
> \(10\) A written award or acceptance of proposal mailed or otherwise
> furnished to the successful offeror within the time specified in the
> proposal shall result in a binding contract without further action by
> either par­ty.
>
> \(11\) The Government may disclose the following information in
> postaward debriefings to other offerors:
>
> \(i\) The overall evaluated cost or price and tech­ni­cal rating of the
> successful offeror;
>
> \(ii\) The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was
> developed by the agency during source selection;
>
> \(iii\) A summary of the rationale for award; and
>
> \(iv\) For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the
> item to be delivered by the successful offeror.
>
> \(12\) ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF IN­TEREST (EPAAR 1552.209-71) (MAY
> 1994) AL­TER­NATE I (MAY 1994)
>
> \(a\) The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor's
> knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances
> which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as
> de­fined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or that the Contractor has disclosed all
> such relevant information.
>
> \(b\) Prior to commencement of any work, the Con­tractor agrees to
> notify the Contracting Officer im­mediately that, to the best of its
> knowledge and belief, no actual or potential conflict of interest
> exists or to identify to the Contracting Officer any actual or
> potential conflict of interest the firm may have. In emergency
> situations, however, work may begin but notification shall be made
> within five (5) working days.
>
> \(c\) The Contractor agrees that if an actual or poten­tial
> organizational conflict of interest is identified during performance,
> the Contractor will immedi­ate­ly make a full disclosure in writing to
> the Con­tracting Officer. This disclosure shall include a description
> of actions which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after
> consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or
> neu­tral­ize the actual or potential conflict of interest. The
> Contractor shall continue performance until notified by the
> Contracting Officer of any contrary action to be taken.
>
> \(d\) Remedies - The EPA may terminate this con­tract for convenience,
> in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid
> an or­gan­izational conflict of interest. If the Contractor was aware of
> a potential organizational conflict of interest prior to award or
> discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not
> disclose it or misrepresented relevant information to the Con­tracting
> Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar
> the Contractor from Gov­ernment contracting, or pursue such other
> rem­edies as may be permitted by law or this contract.
>
> \(e\) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcon­tract or
> consultant agreement placed hereunder pro­visions which shall conform
> substantially to the language of this clause, including this
> paragraph, unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer.

**VI. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS**

A. Your proposal with an original and nine (9) copies shall be received
at one of the following addresses by 12:00 p.m. (noon), local time, on
May 23, 2003.

**[U.S. MAIL ADDRESS:]{.underline}**

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

> Solicitation No. PR-NC-03-10275 - Regular SBIR
>
> Phase I
>
> Closing Date: May 23, 2003 at 12:00 p.m. (noon)
>
> Attention: Marsha Johnson
>
> RTP Procurement Operations Division (D143-01)
>
> Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
>
> **[HAND CARRIED/COURIER ADDRESS:]{.underline}**
>
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
>
> Solicitation No. PR-NC-03-10275 - Regular SBIR
>
> Phase I
>
> Closing Date: May 23, 2003 at 12:00 p.m. (noon)
>
> RTP Procurement Operations Division (D143-01)
>
> 4930 Old Page Road
>
> Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

**IMPORTANT!!! Please note Section V, Paragraph J.9(c) concerning Late
Proposals, Modifications of Pro­posals and Withdrawal of Proposals.**

**Telegraphic, telecopied or facsimile proposals will NOT be considered
for award.**

B. Please do not use special bindings or covers. Staple the pages in the
upper left corner of the cover sheet of each proposal.

C. All copies of a proposal shall be sent in the same package.

D. The proposal should be self-contained and written with the care and
thoughtfulness accorded papers for pub­lication.

**VII. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION SOURCES**

(See Appendix D)

**VIII. SBIR PHASE I RESEARCH TOPICS**

*Program Scope:* The objective of this solicitation is to increase the
incentive and opportunity for small firms to undertake cutting-edge,
high-risk, or long-term research that has a high potential payoff if the
research is successful. Federal support of the front-end research on new
ideas, often the highest risk part of the innovation process, may
provide small businesses sufficient incentive to pursue such research.

EPA's SBIR program does not fund basic research or literature searches.
It is recognized that any research and development project starts out as
a concept of the inventor. Basic theoretic research studies and
preliminary laboratory testing of the concept are often needed to
develop an idea. Literature and other surveys and questionnaires are
also needed to rule out duplication and inappropriate research study and
process detail, finally leading to the process de­sign of a prototype
apparatus or process that could be tested to show the feasibility of the
innovation. These basic re­search activities and preliminary studies
should be com­pleted before preparing an SBIR proposal.

Proposals only offering computer expert systems, com­puter models, and
computer-aided design activities are unacceptable. Computer activities
may be helpful tools in the early identification of pollution problems
and possible solutions, but they do not directly reduce pollution. They
cannot be used in lieu of applied laboratory research to determine the
feasibility of a pollution control process. Also, propo­sals which only
offer the performance of a design activity cannot be judged as it is
impossible to guess what sort of ap­paratus or process will result.
Without a straightforward description of the process and/or apparatus to
be tested, there can be no determination of the scientific and technical
quality of the work plan. Proposals only offering such de­sign activities
are unacceptable.

*Program Topics:* The proposed research must directly pertain to EPA's
environmental mission and must be re­spon­sive to EPA program interests
included in the topic descriptions of this solicitation. The research
should be the basis for technological innovation resulting in new
com­mercial products, processes, or services which benefit the public and
promote the growth of the small business. This regular SBIR solicitation
is focused on nanomaterials and clean technology, drinking water and
wastewater manage­ment, and solid and hazardous waste management.

Please note that EPA is issuing this solicitation and three others with
the same opening and closing dates. All solicitations are available from
March 27 to May 23, 2003, on the EPA SBIR Web Site
(http://www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir) or by calling the EPA SBIR help line
(800-490-9194). EPA's Special SBIR Solicitations also include Solutions
for West­ern USA Environmental Problems (e.g., coal bed meth­ane, chronic
wasting disease, mining and nonroad engines), Air Pollution Monitoring,
and Safe Buildings and Water Secu­rity. The opening and closing dates for
this soli­citation and the Special SBIR Solicitations are the same.

Processes involving anthropogenic radioactive mate­rials or the
application of fertilizers are addressed by other agencies and are not
included in this solicitation. Tech­nologies that only involve fuel
savings without direct en­viron­mental benefits are also addressed by
other agen­cies and are not included in this solicitation. Specific
topics in this Regular SBIR Solicitation include: (A1) Nanomaterials and
Clean Technology; (B1) Treatment and Monitoring of Drinking Water; (C1)
Wastewater Management; (D1) Haz­ard­ous Waste Management and Remediation;
and (E1) Re­cy­cling of Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste.

> **A1. NANOMATERIALS AND CLEAN TECHNOLOGY**

This topic includes subtopics on: (1) Nanotechnology (in environmental
applications), (2) Clean Technology and Green Chemistry, and (3)
Industry Initiatives including the Automobile Suppliers Partnership for
the Environment.

NANOTECHNOLOGY

Research is needed to apply the principles of nanotech­nology to the
areas of environmental monitoring and pol­lution prevention and control.
Nanotechnology is defined as the creation of functional materials,
devices, and systems through control of matter at the scale of 1 to 100
nano­meters, and the exploitation of novel properties and phen­om­ena at
the same scale. EPA is particularly interested in nanotechnologies that
reduce the use and release of toxic pollutants, especially persistent,
bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and
volatile or­gan­ic compounds (VOCs). Nanotechnology is emerging as a
technology platform with potential for great environ­mental breakthroughs
and significant commercial applica­tions. This nanomaterials topic area
is closely related to other topics in the solicitation. Specific areas
of interest include, but are not limited to:

-   Environmentally benign manufacturing processes. Green nanotechnology
    that eliminates or minimizes harmful emissions and material waste
    from indus­trial processes or that improves reuse or our ability to
    re­cycle.

-   New nanoporous filters for removal of gaseous pol­lu­tants and
    particulates from contaminated air streams.

-   Nanofiltration membranes for organic solvent recov­ery and similar
    applications.

-   Nanoparticulate catalysts for utilization in VOC treat­ment devices
    and related applications.

-   Development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and
    nanotechnology-based devices for use in environmental analytical and
    monitoring instru­ment devices including sensors and nano plumbing
    com­ponents.

-   Metal-free nano laminated coatings and nano­mate­rials with smart
    characteristics including reactive coatings that destroy or
    immobilize toxic compounds.

-   Development of technology for solvent-free produc­tion of nano-size
    high-performance ceramic powders and similar materials.

-   High surface area nano materials for new coatings and environmental
    applications.

-   Nanomaterial sensors for rapid and precise process control and
    environmental monitoring. EPA is par­tic­ularly interested in remote,
    *in-situ*, real-time, and contin­uous measurement of species at trace
    (ppt) concentra­tions. Sensors that utilize lab-on-a-chip technology
    are also of interest.

> CLEAN TECHNOLOGY AND GREEN CHEMISTRY

Clean Technology, the second part of this topic, in­cludes pollution
prevention, waste minimization, green chem­istry, and several
industry-specific engineering inter­ests. Pollution prevention includes
source reduction prac­tices which reduce the release of any hazardous or
non-hazardous substance, including fugitive emissions. This topic
includes equipment or technology modifications, pro­cess or procedure
modifications, reformulation or redesign of products, and substitution
of raw materials. While im­prove­ments in housekeeping, maintenance,
training, or inventory control may result in pollution prevention, these
activities are outside the scope of EPA's SBIR program.

Green chemistry involves reducing or eliminating the use or generation
of hazardous substances, including feed­stocks, reagents, solvents,
products, and by-products. Green chemistry involves the design,
manufacture, and use of chem­ical products and processes and includes
chemical syn­thesis, catalysis, detection, analysis, monitoring,
separa­tion processes, and reaction conditions. Of particular inter­est
are green chemistry projects that reduce the generation of pol­lutants
that contain PBTs. Examples of pollution prevention and green chemistry
areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

-   Novel, cost-effective separation methods and long-life coatings.

-   Development of new cost-competitive, low-temperature sterilization
    processes to replace the use of ethylene oxide (EO). (For background
    informa­tion, see: http://www.h2e-online.org/.)

-   Changes in the composition of end products that would allow
    fundamental changes in the production process, in the use of raw
    materials, or that reduce the relative environmental impact
    resulting from their use and disposal. Of particular interest are
    mercury-free products such as lighting, switches and thermostats,
    and products used in a hospital setting. (For infor­mation on
    hospital products, see: http://www.sustainablehospitals.org.)

> INDUSTRY INITIATIVES

Another part of this topic includes engineering propo­sals that focus on
industry-specific process technology and production equipment, including
modernization, modifi­cation, or better control of process equipment.
Process inputs, including changes in raw materials, either to dif­ferent
materials (e.g., water instead of organic solvents) or materials with
different specifications (e.g., lower contam­inant levels) are also of
special interest. Priorities include industries under EPA's
Sector-Based, Sustainable Industries Partnership Program (See the Web
site: http://www.sectorstar.org) and the Design for the
Environment/Small Business Partnership, including metal finishing,
printing, electronics, garment and fabric care, shipbuilding and ship
repair, foundries, die casting, meat processing, specialty batch
chemicals, adhesives manufacturing, and safer chemi­cals and processes
for automotive repair facilities and auto­mobile and appliance assembly
plants. Another priority is the Suppliers Partnership for the
Environment which en­courages pollution prevention, energy efficiency,
and process change within the automobile industry supply chain. Examples
of EPA needs are provided below:

-   Shipbuilding and Repair Industry: EPA is interested in cleaner
    technologies and product substitutions that result in low or
    zero-leaching of toxic metals from water-borne vessels into water
    coming into contact with these vessels. Contact water includes
    process and wash water, runoff, and the water bodies where ships
    operate. Examples of product substitutions include metal-free marine
    coatings and new ship construction materials.

-   Automobile Suppliers Partnership for the Environ­ment: EPA is
    interested in working with automobile sup­pliers and sub-tier
    suppliers to develop new tech­nologies that drive environmental
    improvements while meeting pricing demands. Examples of tech­nol­ogy
    needs include, but are not limited to: (1) Pre­vention or reuse of
    paint sludges from captured over­spray in auto­mobile painting; (2)
    Low VOC products for pur­g­ing paint lines and painting guns; (3)
    Alterna­tive filter tech­nologies, reusable filters or new tech­niques
    for col­lec­tion of paint overspray in dry paint booths; (4) Machin­ing
    metals without toxic cutting fluids; and (5) Replacement of mercury
    in mercury switches used in automobiles.

**B1. TREATMENT AND MONITORING OF DRINKING WATER**

EPA needs new technologies, especially for small sys­tems, for removal of
organic and inorganic contaminants, control of disinfection by-products,
and protection from disease-causing organisms. Innovation is needed to
upgrade existing techniques as well as to develop new approaches to
address these problems. Areas of interest include, but are not limited
to:

-   Development of innovative unit processes, particular­ly for small
    systems, for removal of contaminants such as arsenic, perchlorate,
    aluminum and pesti­cides, and pathogens such as *Cryptosporidium* and
    cyst-like or­ganisms and emerging pathogens like caliciviruses,
    micro­sporidia, echoviruses, coxsackie­viruses, adeno­viruses, and
    others on the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List.

-   Alternatives to chlorine disinfection for removing pathogenic
    microorganisms, including innovative ap­pli­­cations of ultraviolet
    radiation and processes that im­prove overall effectiveness while
    using reduced amounts of disinfectant.

-   Development of efficient, cost-effective treatment processes for
    removing disinfection by-product precursors and innovative methods
    that minimize their formation.

New approaches are also needed to solve drinking water monitoring and
measurement problems. EPA is inter­ested in the adaptation or extension
of existing techniques from other, non-environmental fields that can
provide sig­nificant improvements in current environmental measure­ments.
Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

-   Portable measurement technologies that can be used in the field to
    eliminate packaging and shipping sam­ples to distant laboratories,
    and yield real-time infor­ma­tion at a lower cost. Such technologies
    need to be rug­ged, sensitive, and suitable for the wide variety of
    drinking water samples that are commonly analyzed. Rapid field tests
    are also needed to respond to spills and accidents.

-   Improved measurement of microbial pathogens in drinking water
    systems is of special interest. Im­proved methods for
    *Cryptosporidium* are a priority. Better methods are also needed for
    measuring other cyst-like organisms and emerging pathogens like
    caliciviruses, microsporidia, echoviruses, coxsackie­viruses,
    adeno­viruses, and others on the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate
    List.

-   Research is needed to develop sensitive, accurate, and specific
    rapid screening technologies and meth­ods to detect algal neurotoxins
    and cytotoxins in source wa­ter and drinking water. The analytical
    techniques should be appropriate for use in measur­ing algal tox­in
    occurrence at or shortly after the time of sample col­lection.

**C1. WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT**

This topic includes: (1) Municipal and Industrial Waste­­water Treatment,
(2) Stormwater and Combined Sewers, (3) Contaminated Sediments in Urban
Rivers, and (4) Urban Infra­structure Rehabilitation.

> MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Research is needed to improve existing municipal waste­­water treatment
processes and treatment and manage­ment of septage and sewage sludge
(biosolids). Existing treatment and management systems often fail to
perform as intended due to unforeseen factors not considered in the
plant design, usually related to upsets in the process itself or
inefficiencies in ancillary treatment and control processes. Specific
areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

-   New, cost-effective technologies that improve treat­ment efficiency
    at municipal wastewater treatment fa­cil­ities with design flows less
    than 50,000 gallons per day.

-   Cost-effective alternatives to the chlorination of out­falls from
    municipal wastewater treatment plants, em­phasizing the identity and
    characteristics of by-products associated with the alternative
    treatments.

> STORMWATER AND COMBINED SEWERS

Many urban surface waters are impacted by stormwater runoff and
inappropriate discharges into stormwater drain­age systems. Runoff from
urban areas can mobilize and carry trash, sediment, nutrients, metals,
pathogens, petrol­eum hydrocarbons, and synthetic organics to surface
waters. Research is needed to advance the practice of stormwater
management, including catchment inlet traps or inserts, oil/ grease and
debris separators, sedimentation chambers, filtra­tion chambers, and
detention/ex-filtration systems. Recom­mended areas of research and
interest include, but are not limited to:

-   Development of affordable stormwater control tech­nologies that are
    simple, compact, and will provide con­sistent pollutant abatement,
    particularly for waters con­taining fine sediment particles or
    pathogens, nu­tri­­ents, and salts in the dissolved phase. Ideally,
    tech­nologies must be rugged to persist in the urban en­vironment and
    under harsh weather conditions, and must possess low maintenance
    requirements and good accessibility.

-   Development of improved porous paving material with better
    permeability, easier cleaning, and cheaper cost.

-   Development of stormwater technologies that collect and reuse
    stormwater as a non-potable water supply.

-   Development of monitoring technologies, along with standard
    operating procedures and protocols, to mea­s­ure the characteristics
    and impacts of stormwater events, including discharge amounts and
    concentra­tion, and loadings over time of nutrients, pathogens,
    metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, oil, and grease.

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are a problem in many urban areas. The
cost of controlling CSO discharges can be staggering---CSO controls must
be cost effective and within the financial limits of communities. The
main concern with CSOs is controlling bacteria, floatables, and
nutri­ents. Areas of needed research and interest include, but are not
limited to:

-   Development of inexpensive and real-time water mon­­itoring
    technologies to measure viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens or
    pathogen indicators for man­aging beach closures.

-   Development of high-efficiency technologies to re­move solids and
    floatables.

-   Development of high-rate disinfection technologies which could be
    used in conjunction with high-effi­ciency solids removal
    technologies.

> CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS IN URBAN RIVERS

Many urban rivers are much cleaner now, but the sedi­ments often remain
contaminated. Dredging is fre­quently proposed as a solution, but it is
expensive and may have adverse impacts on the ecosystem. It also
presents disposal challenges, particularly when the sediments are
extremely contaminated. Areas of needed research include, but are not
limited to:

-   Development of *in-situ* technology, such as biore­mediation,
    *in-situ* elution, or desorption, and more effective ways to manage
    or remove contaminants.

-   Development of cost-effective and minimally in­va­sive monitoring
    technology to measure concentra­tions of contaminants in river
    sediments and the bio-availability of specific contaminants in river
    sediments.

-   Development of dredging technologies which would be appropriate for
    river segments designated for swim­ming.

> URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE REHABILITATION

Rehabilitation of urban infrastructure systems is also a priority. The
aging condition of our cities and deterioration of infrastructure
includes water distribution and sewerage systems. It has been estimated
that as much as [an additional]{.underline} \$23 billion/year for the
next 20 years are required to keep the U.S. water and wastewater
infrastructure functional and in compliance with applicable water
quality regulations. This infrastructure funding gap provides an
important re­search area addressing economic and efficient repair and
maintenance of the water and wastewater infrastructure. Less expensive
technologies are needed to detect leaks, forecast structural failures,
and repair/rehabilitate sewers and water distribution systems. Areas of
needed research and interest include, but are not limited to:

-   New technologies to more effectively construct, main­tain, and repair
    new and existing urban waste­water collection and water distribution
    infrastructure at an acceptable cost.

-   New non-leachable/inert pipe materials, relining tech­­niques and
    innovative materials for water distri­bu­tion systems that improve
    performance and life-cycle cost.

-   Improved construction, cleaning, repair, rehabilita­tion, and
    replacement techniques and technologies to substantially reduce
    life-cycle cost and failure rates of distribution and collection
    system pipes and other com­­ponents (e.g., manholes).

-   Physical condition assessment technology improve­ments for gravity
    and pressure systems to enable ef­fec­tive and economical detection,
    location, reporting, and analysis of defects/failures in wastewater
    collec­tion sys­tems that are not adequately addressed by cur­rent
    ap­proaches (e.g., closed-circuit TV and visual observa­tion) or
    prototypes.

> **D1. HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION**

This topic includes subtopics on: (1) Hazardous Waste Management, and
(2) Remediation.

HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

Research is needed to improve existing methods of treat­ment and disposal
of hazardous wastes. Over 40 mil­lion tons of hazardous waste is produced
in the United States each year. Hazardous wastes are produced by
indus­trial facilities such as chemical manufacturers, petroleum
refineries, and electroplaters, as well as by businesses such as dry
cleaners and auto repair shops. Innovative approach­es are needed for
incineration processes especially related to control of mercury
emissions, detoxification technologies, and treatment prior to
landfilling especially for wastes con­taining PBTs. Areas of interest
include, but are not limited to:

-   Innovative methods for the operation and control of high temperature
    waste combustion incinerators that lead to reduced contaminant
    release through air, wa­ter, or residual ash streams. Of special
    interest is mercury, one of the worst emission problems for waste
    inciner­ators. The current technology for cap­turing mercury is
    injection of sorbents/reactants into the flue which re­sults in the
    capture of mercury along with fly ash in electrostatic precipitators
    or bag­houses. This creates a problem with disposal of the
    mercury-contaminated fly ash or scrubber solution. Improved
    technologies are needed to retrofit inciner­ators for optimum capture
    of the mercury and mini­mization of mercury-contaminated waste
    by-products.

-   Advanced hazardous constituent destruction tech­nol­ogies using
    cost-effective thermal, chemical, and bio­logi­cal detoxification
    methods.

-   Innovative ways of preventing or treating/detoxify­ing wastes prior
    to land disposal, particularly those contain­ing highly persistent,
    bioaccumulative and toxic con­stituents (e.g., improved means of
    leaching toxic constituents from wastes in a landfill environ­ment to
    render the wastes innocuous within the pe­riod of opera­tion and
    post-closure care). Of partic­ular interest are immobilization
    technologies suitable for mercury-bearing wastes. More information
    on the Agency's strategy for "PBT Chemicals" is avail­able at the
    fol­lowing Web site: http://www.epa.gov/pbt.

> REMEDIATION

This topic also includes remediation of organically con­taminated soil,
sediments, and groundwater and treat­ment or removal of heavy metals at
contaminated sites. Certain locations within the United States have
become contam­in­ated with heavy metals and hazardous and toxic organic
substances. Contaminants have permeated and adsorbed onto soils,
diffused to interstitial saturated zones, dissolved into groundwaters,
and migrated to subsurface aquifers. In many instances, contaminants
have exhibited physical and chemical properties that make them difficult
to remove from the environment. Contaminants may exist in sub­sur­face
deposits as immobile gums or sludges difficult to ac­cess. They may be
resistant to normal subsurface chemi­cal and biological degradation
processes. They may strongly adsorb on soil structures and be only
slightly soluble in aqueous concentrations.

Proposals are solicited that will result in the develop­ment of
innovative, cost-effective methods for the *in-situ* or *ex-situ*
treatment or control of heavy metals and hazardous organic wastes. Also
needed are *in-situ* technologies that mobilize contaminants to make
them more amenable to subsequent *ex-situ* or *in-situ* treatment or
extraction. In­novative and cost-effective technologies are needed in
areas including, but not limited to:

-   Innovative *ex-situ* and *in-situ* treatment technologies for
    mercury-contaminated soil, sediments, and ground­­water are of special
    interest. Mercury exists as organo-mercury complexes, phenyl
    mercury, meth­yl mercury, and mixed mercury wastes. Cost- effective,
    innovative technologies are needed to treat, remove, or immobilize
    these forms of mercury.

-   Improved treatment and disposal of solid and/or liq­uid wastes or
    sediments, including detoxification, so­lid­ification, chemical
    treatment, neutralization, or other­wise fixing organic waste prior
    to disposal in land­fills. Physical methods for subsurface mixing to
    enhance mobilization and mass transfer. Biotreat­ment methods in the
    saturated and unsaturated zone.

-   Approaches for detecting, degrading and removing dense non-aqueous
    phase liquids (DNAPL) from groundwater. DNAPLs are usually highly
    concen­trated, small pockets or strands of semi-pure VOCs. Special
    needs include better methods for locating DNAPL pockets and
    cost-effective *in-situ* destruction technologies.

-   Improvement in recovery and separation systems that enhance the
    commercial value of heavy metal reac­tion products.

> **E1. RECYCLING OF MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL SOLID WASTE**

This topic includes management, treatment, and recy­cling of municipal
and industrial solid waste. The nation's municipal solid waste (MSW)
recycling infrastructure in­cludes more than 12,000 drop-off sites and
some 9,000 curb­side programs that collect recyclable materials. MSW
recycling is a complex and growing industry ripe for inno­va­tion both in
the collection of recyclable materials and in the processing of those
materials into usable goods. Areas of interest for innovation include,
but are not limited to:

-   Processes to separate recyclables (e.g., various plas­tic resins) and
    to remove contaminants (e.g., adhesives not soluble in water) from
    recyclable materials.

-   Technologies for improving quality control for recy­cled materials or
    to identify the extent to which con­tam­inants are present.

-   Re-designing products to enhance their recyclabil­ity (e.g.,
    recycling-friendly adhesives and better bottle coat­ings).

-   Separation, recovery, and recycling of components from computers,
    printers, monitors, and consumer elec­tronics.

-   Multiple recovery and recycling of different plastic materials in
    automobile salvage operations.

**IX. SUBMISSION FORMS AND CERTIFICATIONS**

The attached forms, Appendix A - Proposal Cover Sheet, Appendix B -
Project Summary, and Appendix\
C - SBIR Proposal Summary Budget, should be down­loaded and printed from
the Internet or photocopied, and completed as indicated under Section
III, Proposal Prepara­tion Instruc­tions and Requirements. The purpose of
these forms is to meet the mandate of law or regulation and sim­pli­fy the
submission of proposals.

**Appendix A**

**U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY**

# SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROGRAM

**SOLICITATION NUMBER PR-NC-03-10275**

**REGULAR SBIR PHASE I**

**PROPOSAL COVER SHEET**

PROPOSAL
TITLE:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

FIRM NAME:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

MAILING
ADDRESS:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

CITY:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_STATE:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
ZIP:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

AMOUNT REQUESTED: \$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ PROPOSED DURATION
(PHASE I): 6 MOS

(Not to Exceed \$70,000)

\*\*\*\*\*\*\*Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will
be valid for 300 days\*\*\*\*\*\*\*

TOPIC (check one)

\_\_\_\_ A1. Nanomaterials and Clean Technology

\_\_\_\_ B1. Treatment and Monitoring of Drinking Water

\_\_\_\_ C1. Wastewater Management

\_\_\_\_ D1. Hazardous Waste Management and Remediation

\_\_\_\_ E1. Recycling of Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste

CERTIFICATIONS AND AUTHORIZATIONS: Answer Y(Yes) or N(No)

\_\_\_\_1. The above concern certifies that it is a small business
concern and meets the definition as stated in the pro­gram solicitation.
Please note: Firms that are a wholly owned subsidiary of another entity
do not meet the eli­gibility require­ments of an SBIR award.

\_\_\_\_2. The above concern certifies that a minimum of 2/3 of the
research and/or analytical effort will be performed by the proposing
firm.

\_\_\_\_3. If the proposal does not result in an award, is the
Government permitted to disclose the title and technical abstract page
of your proposed project, and the name, address, and telephone number of
the official of the proposing firm to any inquiring parties?

\_\_\_\_4. The above concern certifies that it is a woman-owned small
business concern and meets the definition as stated in the program
solicitation.\*

\_\_\_\_5. The above concern certifies that it is a socially and
economically disadvantaged small business concern and meets the
definition as stated in the program solicitation.\*

\_\_\_\_6. The above concern certifies it is a HUBZone small business
concern and meets the definition as stated in the program
solicitation.\*

\_\_\_\_7. Do you plan to send, or have you sent, this proposal or a
similar one to any other Federal agency? If yes, which? Use acronym(s)
for each agency, (e.g., DOD, NIH, DOE, NASA,
etc.)\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\* For information purposes only.

8\. Choose one of the following to describe your Organization Type:

\_\_\_\_\_Individual \_\_\_\_\_Partnership
\_\_\_\_\_Corporation\_\_\_\_\_LLC

9\. Provide the following information: Tax Identification
No:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Dun & Bradstreet
Number:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Common Parent
Name:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

> ENDORSEMENTS

Authorized Negotiator: Person Authorized to Sign Proposal:

Print Name: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Print Name: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Title:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Title:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Telephone:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Telephone:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Fax:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Fax:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

E-mail:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
E-mail:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Signature:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Signature:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Date:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Date:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

PROPRIETARY NOTICE: For any other purpose than to evaluate the proposal,
this data shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be
duplicated, used or disclosed in whole or in part, provided that if a
funding agreement is awarded to this offeror as a result of or in
connection with the submission of this data, the Government shall have
the right to dupli­cate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided
in the funding agreement and pur­suant to applicable law. This
restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information
contained in the data if it is obtained from another source without
re­striction. The data in this proposal subject to this restriction is
contained on pages \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of this proposal.

**Appendix B**

**U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY**

**SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROGRAM**

**SOLICITATION NUMBER PR-NC-03-10275**

**REGULAR SBIR PHASE I**

**PROJECT SUMMARY (Limit to One Page)**

FIRM NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS:

Firm Name:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Telephone: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Address:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Fax:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
E-mail:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

TITLE OF PROPOSAL:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

TOPIC LETTER AND DESCRIPTION:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

NAME, TITLE, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT
MANAGER:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT, RESULTS, AND POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATION

**(Limit to 400 Words; Must be Publishable):**

**Appendix C**

**SBIR PROPOSAL SUMMARY BUDGET**

(See Instructions on the Next Page)

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Organization and Address

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

A. DIRECT LABOR (PI and other staff, list separately) Hours/Est. Rate:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

B. OVERHEAD:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

C. OTHER DIRECT COSTS: (list separately)

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

D. TRAVEL: List purpose and individuals and/or title

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

E. CONSULTANTS: (List Est. Rate and Hours)

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

F. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**TOTAL COSTS (Total of A through F above)**
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

G. PROFIT (\_\_\_\_%) Not to exceed 10% of total project costs
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**TOTAL PROJECT PRICE (Total costs + Profit)
\$\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**

PRINT NAME: TITLE:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

SIGNATURE:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ DATE
SUBMITTED: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

This proposal is submitted in response to EPA SBIR Program Solicitation
No. PR-NC-03-10275 and reflects our best estimate as of this date.

**INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPENDIX C**

The purpose of this form is to provide a vehicle whereby the offeror
submits to the Government a pricing pro­posal of estimated costs with
detailed information for each cost element, consistent with the
offeror's cost account­ing system.

If the completed summary is not self-explanatory and/or does not fully
document and justify the amounts re­quested in each category, such
documentation should be contained, as appropriate, on a budget
explanation page im­mediately following the budget in the proposal. The
form Appendix C will count as one page in the 25-page limit, and any
budget explanation pages included will count separately toward the
25-page limit. (See below for discus­sion on various categories.)

A. Direct Labor - List individually all personnel included, the
estimated hours to be expended and the rates of pay (salary, wages, and
fringe benefits).

B. Overhead - Specify current rate(s) and base(s). Use current rate(s)
negotiated with the cognizant Federal ne­gotiating agency, if available.
If no rate(s) has (have) been negotiated, a reasonable rate(s) may be
requested for Phase I which will be subject to approval by EPA. Offerors
may use whatever number and types of overhead rates that are in
accordance with their accounting systems and approved by the cognizant
Federal negotiating agency, if available.

C. Other Direct Costs - List all other direct costs which are not
otherwise included in the categories described above, i.e., computer
services, publication costs, subcontracts, etc. List each item of
permanent equipment to be purchased, its price, and explain its relation
to the project.

D. Travel - Address the type and extent of travel and its relation to
the project.

E. Consultants - Indicate name, daily compensation, and estimated days
of service.

F. General and Administrative (G&A) - Same as B above.

G. Profit - Reasonable fee (estimated profit) will be considered under
this solicitation. For guidance purposes, the amount of profit normally
should not exceed 10% of total project costs.

**Appendix D**

**SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION SOURCES**

State-of-the-art information, including service and cost details, useful
in preparing SBIR proposals or in guiding research efforts may be
obtained from the following sources:

National Technical Information Service (NTIS)

5288 Port Royal Road

Springfield, VA 22161

\(513\) 569-7562

EPA Headquarters Library (3404)

US Environmental Protection Agency

401 M Street, SW

Washington, DC 20460

\(202\) 260-5922

The Hazardous Waste Collection and Database are available for use in the
EPA Headquarters Library, the 10 EPA Regional libraries, EPA
laboratories in ADA, OK; Edison, NJ; Las Vegas, NV; Research Triangle
Park, NC; and the National Enforcement Investigations Center in Denver,
CO. The Database runs on an IBM AT/XT or compatible equipment and may be
pur­chased from NTIS using the NTIS order number PB87-945000.

The Environmental Quality Instructional Resources Center

1200 Chambers Road, R.310

Columbus, OH 43212

\(614\) 292-6717

\[Especially related to Drinking Water and Waste Water Treatment\]

National Small Flows Clearinghouse (SWICH)

P.O. Box 7219

Silver Spring, MD 20910

1-800-677-9424

\[Topic themes include source reduction, recycling, composting, waste
combustion, collection, transfer, disposal, landfill gas, and special
wastes\]

ACCESS EPA (#055-000-00509-5) 1995 Edition

A consolidated guide to EPA information resources, services, and
products. It provides access to:

Public information tools

Major EPA dockets

Clearing houses and hot lines

Records management programs

Major EPA environmental databases

Library and information services

State environmental libraries

"ACCESS EPA" may be ordered at a cost of \$16.00 each from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, New Orders, Superintendent of Documents,
P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954, or telephone (202)512-1800,
or from NTIS using order number PB-147438.

Vendor Information System for Innovative Treatment Technologies (VISITT)
profiles 325 innovative technologies available from 204 vendors to treat
ground water *in-situ*, soil, sludges, and sediments. It includes
technologies in all stages of development-bench, pilot, or full. VISITT
is available at no charge on diskettes compatible with personal
computers using DOS operating systems. To order VISITT diskettes and
user manual, and to become a registered user, call the VISITT Hotline at
1-800-245-4505.

ENVIROSENSE

Internet: http://www.epa.gov/envirosense

ES includes numerous databases and addresses industry and small business
needs by establishing specific compli­ance assistance, P2, regulatory,
and specific industry sector (SIC) data sets.

**Appendix E**

**COMMERCIALIZATION FACTSHEET/PATENT SEARCH**

(Finding Commercial Products; Conducting a Patent Search; Searching for
Federal Research;\
Standards/Certifying Bodies)

***FINDING COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS***

The technology you are proposing may already be being sold in the
market. There are five Web searches recom­­mended as the minimum for
determining if the technology is commercially available. In each case,
when having trouble look for the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) or
other advice on searching.

*Web Search Using General Search Engines*

There are around 320 million indexed Web pages and the Web continues to
grow exponentially. One problem with this rate of growth is that no
single Web search engine is capable of indexing the whole of cyberspace.
We rec­ommend using at least one meta-engine and two search engines.

A meta-engine is a search engine which searches other engines that
actually catalog or index sites. Examples are Metacrawler,
http://www.metacrawler.com/, and Dogpile, http://www.dogpile.com. We use
that search to iden­tify which search engines seem to be producing the
best results and then use those engines for more complicated queries
which cannot be sup­ported by Metacrawler and other meta-engines.

Two engines for more detailed searches at present are Hotbot's More
Options page
(http://www.hotbot.com/default.asp?MT=&SM=MC&DV=7&RG=com&act.super=+More+Options+&DC=10&DE=2&\_v=2&OPs=
MDRTP) and Alta Vista's Advanced Query Page
(http://www.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=aq). Both engines
allow you to search new groups (Usenet) as well as the Web. Hotbot has
the largest number of pages in­dexed by any Web browser as this is
written. Alta Vista has the next most extensive coverage. Unfortunately,
queries are constrained to the options presented. Alta Vista supports
any Boolean query you can design. Both sites have a search by subject
feature that provides another path to sites of interest. Because Digital
Equipment Corpor­ation, who maintains Alta Vista, is a high-tech company,
this engine has traditionally been strong on indexing sci­ence and
technology sites.

When searching, expand or narrow your keywords over time. For example,
when searching for "sapphire liquid crystal displays," you may want to
broaden to liquid crystal displays or just displays. Also remember to
use abbrevi­ations such as LCD.

*Thomas Register of American Manufacturers:* Long a staple of corporate
buyers and market researchers, you can access Thomas Register on-line
for free at http://www.thomasregister.com/. Once you obtain your free
mem­bership, you can search the 155,000 companies by product. You may
have to try a few different keywords to get hits.

*Hoovers*: Hoovers on-line at http://www.hoovers.com provides access to
profiles on over 12,000 companies. These are the major firms in America,
including subsidiaries of foreign operations. By using the keyword
search, you can look for companies making products in areas related to
your technology. Hoovers provides hypertext links to go to the company's
Web page. Phone, fax, and street address are also provided. If you
cannot find the informa­tion on the Web, ask for relevant product
literature from their marketing departments.

*Press Releases:* PR Newswire (http://www.prnewswire.com/) redistributes
corporate press releases. It provides coverage of newly released
products that might not otherwise be found on the Web.

*Patents:* We discuss patent searches in the next section of this
factsheet. Look for patents related to your tech­nology, then examine the
assignee field. Companies licensing or patenting technology in areas
related to your tech­nology are competitors that may be introducing
products similar to the one you are considering proposing. Search for
their Web pages using one of the resources above.

***CONDUCTING A PATENT SEARCH***

*What is a patent?* A patent is a right to an invention that is granted
by the U.S. Government or a foreign gov­ernment. It gives the holder an
exclusive right to use an invention during a period of time. In the
United States, before a patent can be issued, the inventor must
demonstrate his or her invention is new and non-obvious. To be new, an
invention must not have been known nor made by others in the U.S. The
invention also can not have been previously patented or presented in a
publication prior to the claimed date on which the invention was made.
Patents are handled by the U.S. Patent Office.

Non-obvious is established with reference to what would be obvious to a
person of ordinary skill in the relevant technology (or technologies) at
the time of the invention. A general rule is that the more complicated
the technology and the greater the rate at which it is developing, the
higher the skill-level of that hypothetical ordinary person. Non-obvious
is determined by examining prior patents, technical publications, and
non-secret work being conduct­ed. Usually some aspect of an inven­tion
will be non-obvious and thus capable of being patented.

It is important to recognize that different rules apply in different
countries. In the U.S., you have 1 year from the time of first
disclosure, use, publication, or sale of an invention to patent the
invention. Where more than one person or group makes a claim to be the
inventor, the patent goes to the person or group that can demonstrate
prior­ity in time. Overseas, the rules are different. Usually the
invention must be patented before any public disclosure, use,
publication, or sale. In case of a dispute, priority goes to the first
person or group to apply for a patent, regard­less of who may actually be
the inventor. You can, however, get the same overseas priority rights
you would get from simultaneously filing overseas and in the U.S. if you
file in each relevant country within 12 months of a U.S. patent
application.

*How to search for U.S. patents*: To search the Patent Office go to
http://patents.uspto.gov/index.html.

The Boolean search capability of the Patent Office enables constructing
complicated searches to narrow in on patents of interest. It allows two
terms Booleans in the first search, with more complicated queries when
refining a search. You can search specific sets of years or the entire
database. The advanced search gives you the ability to look in any or
all of the fields in the patent---a very nice feature. Coverage includes
all patents issued no later than one week earlier. It includes all
utility, design, and plant patents since 1976. Claims and pictures are
not included. (See below, Reading Patents.)

The IBM Patent server contains over 2 million patents. Where drawings
are part of the patent, they have been scanned in and can be viewed. Off
the home page, you have the option of searching from 1995 to present or
1971 to present. Hypertext links on the home page let you search by
patent number, use Boolean Logic, or do a text search in various
sections of the patent. Try to be as targeted as possible in your search
terms. For example, "environ­mental monitor" will return 42 patents
issued in 1995 or later on IBM's server. "Mercury monitor," by
comparison, returns only three.

*Reading Patents*: Once you have found a patent that looks relevant for
your interests, examine the abstract and the claims. The abstract
provides an overview of what is covered. The claims give you the
specific scope of the patent.

There are three paths for finding other patents of interest, once you
have found the first one. The first method is to look at the class (or
classes) of the patent. You can find patents addressing similar problems
by looking in those classes. To fine tune the classes to use, look at a
number of relevant patents. Examine the classes that are listed on the
patent. Select those classes that most frequently appear across your
sample of patents for further examination.

The second method is to look at the patents cited as references. The
final method is to look at patents that refer­ence the one you are
examining. By searching text, relevant classes, and patents referred to
or referencing relevant patents you can quickly determine if a U.S.
patent has issued on a technology of interest. CAUTION: Examining U.S.
patents does not assure you the technology has not been patented
elsewhere. Further, if the patent is only ap­plied for and has not yet
been issued, you will not find it.

***SEARCHING FOR FEDERAL RESEARCH***

There are two sets of publicly available data on Federal Research.
FEDRIP, or Federal Research in Progress, provides access to current
civilian agency research. FEDRIP includes:

-   Department of Agriculture

-   Department of Energy

-   Department of Veterans Affairs

-   Environmental Protection Agency

-   Federal Highway Administration

-   National Institutes of Health

-   NASA

-   National Science Foundation

-   US Geological Survey

-   National Institute of Standards and Technology

-   Nuclear Regulatory Commission

-   Small Business Innovation Research

Parts of FEDRIP may be searched for free at The Community of Science,
http://fundedresearch.cos.com/. Separate databases exist for the
National Institutes of Health, NSF, USDA, and the SBIR program---which
means you must do multiple searches. You can also search projects of the
Medical Research Council of the United King­dom. To search all of FEDRIP,
go to http://grc.ntis.gov/fedrip.htm. There is a \$350 fee.

In addition, by going to an agency's Web site, you can find information
on their current and/or past awards. The National Technical Information
Service (NTIS) is the designated repository of research reports. It
contains technical reports and other government-produced information
products. The free access parts may be searched at http://www.ntis.gov/.

Perhaps the best comprehensive resource for searching is the RAND's
RaDiUS at http://www.rand.org/radius/. RaDiUS stands for "Research and
Development in the United States." It is the first comprehensive
database that tracks in real-time the research and development
activities and resources of the U.S. Government. Among its sources are
the following: the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA); USDA's
Current Research Infor­mation System (CRIS); HHS's Computer Retrieval of
Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP) and Information for
Management, Planning, Analysis, and Coordination (IMPAC) system; DoD's
R-1 and R-2 Budget Exhibits and Work Unit Information Summaries (WUIS);
DOE's la­boratory information system; the Federal Assistance Awards Data
System (FAADS); the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS); OMB's MAX
system; DVA's R&D Infor­mation System (RDIS); NSF's Science and
Technology System (STIS); and NASA's 507 System.

You must be a Government Contractor to subscribe to RaDiUS. The small
business fee is \$1,000 per year per password.

***STANDARDS AND CERTIFYING BODIES***

If you are going to introduce a commercial product, it most likely will
have to meet certain standards and be cer­tified as meeting those
standards. For example, we all are familiar with the Underwriter
Laboratories seal found on household elec­trical products---a
certification of safety under normal use.

A wide range of bodies creates standards or certifies products. To find
relevant standards, we recommend be­ginning at the American National
Standards Institute's "Internet Resources for Standards Developers,"
located at:
http://www.ansi.org/standards_activities/overview/overview.aspx?menuid=3.
The site provides links to U.S. bodies developing ­standards.

In the U.S., private-sector laboratories, like UL commonly do
certification. These organizations rely on stand­ards developed by
consensus bodies such as the American Society for Testing and Materials
(http://www.astm.org/) or Federal agencies such as EPA. ASTM maintains
an International Directory of Testing Laboratories at:
http://astm.365media.com/astm/labs/. The Directory can be searched by
geographic location, lab name, subject area, or keywords.

**IMPORTANT!!**

**IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT CARD TO CONFIRM RECEIPT OF
YOUR PROPO­SAL, PLEASE COMPLETE A STANDARD SELF-ADDRESSED POSTCARD
CONTAINING THE FOLLOW­ING INFORMATION AND ATTACH TO THE
[ORIGINAL]{.underline} OF EACH PROPOSAL:**

Please type the following and fill in the blanks as appropriate:

**This will acknowledge the receipt of your proposal titled:**

**\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**

**\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**

**Topic Letter \_\_\_\_\_. The evaluation of proposals and the award of
SBIR Contracts will require approx­imately 10 months, and no information
on proposal status will be available until final selection(s) is made.
Your proposal has been assigned EPA No.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**(to be filled in by EPA).

**Date:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**

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REVERSE SIDE: Please type the following in the upper left-hand corner
(return address) and self-address the card to your corporate official:
(Post cards that do not meet not postal service standards will not be
returned).

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U.S. EPA

RTP/POD (D143-01)

RTP, NC 27711

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use \$300

Your Firm Name

Address

City, State Zipcode

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