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[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 186 (Monday, September 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57695-57705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21580]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7818-5]

Notice of Solicitation: Building State, Territorial, and Tribal 
Capacity To Address Children's Environmental Health: Environmental 
Triggers of Childhood Asthma; Initial Announcement

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 57696]]

ACTION: Notice of solicitation.

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Part I. Overview Information

    (1) Federal Agency: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the 
Administrator, Office of Children's Health Protection.
    (2) Funding Opportunity Title: Building State, Territorial, and 
Tribal Capacity to Address Children's Environmental Health: 
Environmental Triggers of Childhood Asthma; Initial Announcement.
    (3) Funding Opportunity Number: USEPA-AO-OCHP-04-02.
    (4) CFDA Number: 66.609 Protection of Children and the Aging as a 
Fundamental Goal of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Fiscal 
Year 2004, Environmental Protection Agency.
    (5) Deadline for the Letter of Intent: October 15, 2004. All 
applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (up to two pages in length) 
to be considered for an invitation to submit a Full Proposal.
    (6) Solicitation Closing Date and Full Proposal shipping date for 
applicants found to be eligible by EPA based on the Letters of Intent: 
December 29, 2004.
    (7) Table of Contents:

Part I. Overview Information
Part II. Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contact
Section VIII. Other Information
Attachment Sample Letter of Intent

    (8) Executive Summary
    (a) Funding Opportunity Title: ``Building State, Territorial, and 
Tribal Capacity to Address Children's Environmental Health: 
Environmental Triggers of Childhood Asthma.''
    (b) Announcement Type: Initial Offering.
    (c) Funding Opportunity Number: USEPA-AO-OCHP-04-02.
    (d) CFDA Number: 66.609 Protection of Children and the Aging as a 
Fundamental Goal of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Fiscal 
Year 2004, EPA.
    (e) Purpose of Funding Opportunity: Identify projects that will 
build state, territorial, and tribal capacity to address the 
environment triggers of childhood asthma. This solicitation focuses on 
projects that equip environment and health departments/agencies, and 
social service agencies where indicated, of states, territories and 
tribes as partners or state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma 
coalitions with substantive government involvement, to achieve 
measurable environmental and public health results by identifying and 
reducing environmental risks to protect and improve the environmental 
health of children impacted by asthma. Projects must be accomplished 
through collaborative efforts of environment and health departments/
agencies, and social service agencies where indicated, of states, 
territories and tribes as partners or state/territorial/tribal or 
regional asthma coalitions with substantive government involvement 
which focus on one or more Target Investment Areas. Target Project 
Areas define a range of activities from which applicants must choose to 
understand, coordinate, address and manage the environmental triggers 
of childhood asthma.
    (f) Awards: EPA anticipates awarding approximately seven to nine 
grants from these Full Proposals. Approximately $360,000 are expected 
to be awarded. Grants or cooperative agreements may be requested from 
$25,000 to $50,000 for a period of one year. No cost sharing is 
required.
    (g) Eligibility: The environment or health departments/agencies, in 
partnership with social service departments/agencies when indicated, of 
the states of EPA Regions 2-10 (NJ, NY, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV, AL, FL, GE, 
KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI, AR, LA, NM, OK, TX, IA, KS, 
MO, NE, CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY, AZ, CA, HI, NV, AK, ID, OR and WA) and 
the District of Columbia; tribes whose territories fall within the 
aforementioned states and the territories of the United States. 
Applicant agencies must propose to collaborate with their counterparts 
in their government's environment or health department or related 
agencies in this project.
    Applicants may also be state/territorial/tribal or regional (e.g. 
the asthma coalition of the greater metropolitan area of Smallville) 
asthma coalitions in the geographic areas defined above, with 
documented significant sustained involvement of senior representatives 
of the environment and health departments of the states, territories or 
tribes in the geographic area served by the state/territorial/tribal or 
regional asthma coalition.
    (h) Application and Submission Information: A two part application 
process will be followed. Letters of Intent must be submitted by e-mail 
October 15, 2004. Applicants with successful Letters of Intent will be 
invited to participate in an optional Pre-proposal Assistance Call on 
October 26, 2004 and to submit a Full Proposal which must be shipped by 
December 29, 2004. A sample Letter of Intent is included as an 
Attachment to this Solicitation. Other application materials are 
available on the Office of Children's Health Protection Web site: 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm and the EPA 
Grants Administration Web site http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm.

Part II. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

1. Background
    In recent years, EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection has 
encouraged and supported collaboration between state level health and 
environment departments/agencies toward the end of building state 
capacity to combat childhood asthma. Since the summer of 2001, the 
Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) has collaborated with the 
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to design a flexible template for 
state level strategies and actions to minimize environmental factors 
that contribute to asthma in children. This focus on environmental 
factors complements the on-going Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
state asthma program which recognizes the need to address environmental 
factors but does not explicitly provide guidance or support for this 
aspect of disease prevention and control.
    Throughout 2002, ECOS, ASTHO, and EPA hosted a series of four 
workshops to refine the details of a cooperative approach in four 
specific areas: Data, environmental factors in homes, environmental 
factors in schools and child care facilities, and outdoor environmental 
factors.
    The funding priorities of this Request for Proposals are a 
reflection of the draft action agenda, Catching Your Breath http://www.astho.org/pubs/CatchingYourBreathReport.pdf that resulted from this 
intensive collaborative visioning process.
    With this Funding Opportunity, the Office of Children's Health 
Protection is pleased to be able to extend this capacity building 
effort to territories of the United States and tribes.
2. Funding Priorities
    The purpose of this funding opportunity, ``Building State, 
Territorial, and Tribal Capacity to Address Children's Environmental 
Health: Environmental Triggers of Childhood Asthma,'' is to identify

[[Page 57697]]

projects that will build state, territorial, and tribal capacity to 
address the environmental triggers of childhood asthma. This 
solicitation focuses on projects that equip environment and health 
departments/agencies, in partnership with social service agencies, 
where indicated, of states, territories and tribes or state/
territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalitions with substantive 
government involvement, to achieve measurable environmental and public 
health results by identifying and reducing environmental risks to 
protect and improve the environmental health of children impacted by 
asthma. This initiative will help achieve these goals by identifying 
and funding projects that:
     Focus efforts on benefitting communities at greatest risk 
including places with high levels of toxic air pollution and areas with 
disproportionate impact from environmental health hazards related to 
childhood asthma;
     Measure, assess, and reduce environmental triggers of 
health risks associated with childhood asthma;
     Increase collaboration among environment, health and other 
relevant agencies within states, territories and tribes, or within 
state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalitions with their 
government partners. Focus collaboration upon understanding the burden 
of childhood asthma in at-risk communities and minimizing and 
eliminating the sources of environmental triggers; and
     Build institutional capacity to understand and solve 
children's environmental health problems through innovative techniques; 
and achieve measurable children's environmental health benefits.
    Specifically, projects must meet the Statutory Criteria. Further, 
they must focus on one or more Target Investment Areas and build state, 
territorial or tribal capacity to address children's environmental 
health through collaborative efforts of environment, health and other 
appropriate government agencies in partnership with other organizations 
through work to understand, coordinate, address and manage the 
environmental triggers of childhood asthma through one of the Target 
Project Areas.

a. Statutory Criteria

    EPA expects to award these grants under the Clean Air Act Section 
103(b)(3). In addition to the program criteria list below, a proposal 
must meet the following two important Statutory Criteria to be 
considered for funding.
(1) Statutory Criterion 1
    A project must consist of activities authorized under the Clean Air 
Act Section 103(b)(3). This statute authorizes grants for: ``research, 
investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys and studies.'' 
These activities relate generally to the gathering or transferring of 
knowledge. Grant proposals should emphasize a ``learning'' concept, as 
opposed to ``fixing'' a specific environmental problem through a well-
established method. For example, the application of the EPA ``Tools for 
Schools'' protocols in schools to manage environmental triggers and 
thereby reduce childhood asthma is not eligible nor would a project to 
develop a home assessment checklist tool and conduct routine home 
assessments be eligible. The project's activities must advance the 
state of knowledge or transfer information to other practitioners in 
the field. The statutory term ``demonstration'' can encompass the first 
application of an approach or an innovative application of a previously 
used method. The term ``research'' may include the application of 
established practices as they contribute to ``learning'' about the 
effectiveness of an environmental approach.
(2) Statutory Criterion 2
    Section 103 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) authorizes EPA's 
Administrator to conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration 
of research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys and 
studies relating to the causes, effects (including health and welfare 
effects), extent, prevention, and control of air pollution by making 
grants to air pollution control agencies, to other public or nonprofit 
private agencies, institutions, and organizations for purposes stated 
in Section 103(a)(1) http://www.epa.gov/oar/caa/caa103.txt. The 
overarching concern or principle focus must be on the statutory purpose 
of this grant authority. Proposals should describe the relationship of 
their proposed activities to the air (ambient and indoor) pollution 
statute. Products may include, but are not limited to, conference 
presentations with published papers, case studies, workshops, 
educational materials, innovative tools, or on-site demonstrations.

b. Target Investment Areas and Target Project Areas

    In order to qualify as eligible projects under this initiative, 
projects must focus on and benefit one or more Target Investment Areas 
and build state, territorial and tribal capacity to address children's 
environmental health through collaborative efforts of environment, 
health, and other appropriate government departments/agencies in 
partnership with other organizations to coordinate, address and manage 
the environmental triggers of childhood asthma through one of the 
Target Project Areas.
(1) Target Investment Areas
    (a) Benefit communities at greatest risk of childhood asthma 
including places with high risk from toxic air pollution, and/or
    (b) Areas with disproportionate impact from environmental health 
hazards related to childhood asthma.
(2) Target Project Areas
    Building state, territorial and tribal capacity to address 
childhood asthma can be accomplished through projects in one or more of 
these areas:
    (a) Organize or charter state/territorial/tribal or regional (e.g. 
the asthma coalition of the greater metropolitan area of Smallville) 
asthma coalitions with government partners to provide innovative 
solutions to address the environmental triggers of childhood asthma. 
Broad-based membership must feature senior officials from the 
environment and health agencies of the states, territories or tribes 
within the geographic area covered who demonstrate significant 
leadership and pledge sustained participation in the coalition.
    (b) Existing state, territorial or tribal governmental partnerships 
or state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalitions, design and 
implement projects that focus on understanding the burden of childhood 
asthma in Target Investment Areas and identify sources of asthma 
triggers;
    (c) Collaborative efforts of state, territorial and tribal 
environment, health and social service departments/agencies and/or 
state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalitions which include 
these entities, to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of:
    (i) New methods, approaches or protocols for reducing or 
eliminating exposure to environmental asthma triggers in early 
childhood (0-4 years). This may include but is not limited to changes 
in environmental health requirements of child care facility approval, 
education and implementation work in large-scale and home-based child 
care facilities, pre-K and nursery school programs, Head Start and 
Migrant Head Start facilities, homeless shelters serving children of 
this age range, etc.

[[Page 57698]]

    (ii) New approaches for encouraging, rewarding, and measuring the 
elimination of environmental asthma triggers from the environments of 
young children. These may include, but are not limited to training and/
or certification programs for child care providers, training and 
follow-up programs for new parents in high risk communities, training 
and consumer education for parents on environmental asthma triggers 
common in the child care setting and what to look for when choosing a 
child care provider based on these concerns, etc.

    Note:
    For all the above, ``environmental asthma triggers'' is meant to 
include known indoor and outdoor triggers such as dust mites, pet 
dander, cockroach dust, ambient particulate matter, diesel exhaust, 
ground level ozone (smog), second hand tobacco smoke, etc.

Section II. Award Information

    Funds available for these projects are expected to total 
approximately $360,000. Grants and cooperative agreements are expected 
to be awarded to approximately seven to nine state, territorial or 
tribal environment or health agencies or state/territorial or regional 
(e.g. the asthma coalition of the greater metropolitan area of 
Smallville) asthma coalitions. Proposals for less than $25,000 and 
greater than $50,000 will not be considered. Award amounts will vary 
depending upon solicitation priorities, proposal quality and level of 
activity, and resource availability. The Agency reserves the right to 
make no awards under this solicitation.
    Projects may expand upon ongoing work within the focus of this 
solicitation. However, the boundaries of the previous and proposed work 
under this solicitation must be clear in terms of the work to be done 
and the budget to support the new proposal.
    It is expected that grants and cooperative agreements will begin 
around the spring of 2005 and be completed in the spring of 2006.
    If the applicant chooses to submit a proposal for a cooperative 
agreement, the Agency will have substantial involvement in the project. 
The applicant must define the expectations for Agency involvement in 
the project. Such involvement may mean EPA review and approval of 
project scope and phases; EPA participation in and collaboration on, 
various phases of the work; EPA review of draft and final work 
products; regular e-mail, phone and conference calls.
    Projects not selected for award under this solicitation will be 
retained on file and made available for potential funding by OCHP and 
other EPA offices for a period of one year from the date of receipt of 
the Full Proposal by EPA.
    While only environment or health agencies/departments or state/
territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalitions with government 
partners may be the direct recipients and lead administrators of the 
project, other partners are encouraged to participate and are eligible 
for compensation through sub-contracting agreement(s) between the lead 
agency/department and collaborating partners as long as the state/
territorial/tribal department/agency maintains a substantive, hands-on 
role in the management and implementation of the project. Materials to 
support the projects may be secured through procurement contracts.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Applicants

a. Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants under this managed competition include: 
government environment or health departments/agencies, in partnership 
with social service departments/agencies when indicated, of states, 
territories or tribes as listed below, and state/territorial/tribal or 
regional (e.g. the asthma coalition of the greater metropolitan area of 
Smallville) asthma coalitions addressing environmental triggers of 
childhood asthma with substantive involvement of these government 
department/agency partners.
    Eligible governments include: the states of EPA Regions 2-10 (NJ, 
NY, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV, AL, FL, GE, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, IL, IN, MI, MN, 
OH, WI, AR, LA, NM, OK, TX, IA, KS, MO, NE, CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY, AZ, 
CA, HI, NV, AK, ID, OR and WA) and the District of Columbia; tribes 
whose territories fall within the aforementioned states; and the 
territories of the United States.

b. Ineligible Applicants

    (1) The EPA Region 1 states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont and the tribes whose 
territories fall within this Region are expressly excluded from this 
funding Initiative. Funding was available directly from the EPA Region 
1 Office through a different competed solicitation in April of 2004 
known as the ``Healthy Communities Grant Program'' to support New 
England states' efforts in the arena of childhood asthma and related 
community-based endeavors. See http://www.epa.gov/region01/grants/healthycommunities.html or contact Sandra Padula at (617) 918-1797 for 
more information.
    (2) Businesses, federal agencies, and individuals are not eligible 
to be grant recipients. They are encouraged to work in partnership with 
eligible applicants on projects.

c. Non-profit Status

    Applicants are not required to have a formal Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS) non-profit designation, such as 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4); 
however they must present in their Full Proposal their letter of 
incorporation or other documentation demonstrating their non-profit or 
not-for-profit status. This requirement does not apply to public 
agencies or federally-recognized tribes. Failure to enclose a letter of 
incorporation or other documentation demonstrating non-profit or not-
for-profit status will render Full Proposals incomplete and they will 
not be reviewed. Applicants who do have an IRS 501(c)(4) designation 
are not eligible for grants if they engage in lobbying, no matter what 
the source of funding for the lobbying activities. No recipient may use 
grant funds for lobbying. For profit enterprises are not eligible to 
receive sub-grants from eligible recipients, although they may receive 
contracts, subject to EPA regulations on procurement under assistance 
agreements, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 30.40 (for non-
governmental recipients) and 40 CFR 31.36 (for governments).

d. Tribal Status

    Tribal agencies must supply documentation of their authorizing 
tribal resolution.

e. Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (SPOC List)

    Applicants must adhere to the provisions of The Executive Order 
12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs'' (SPOC List) 
applies. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html for further 
information.

f. Responsible Officials and Partnerships

    As stated above, eligible applicants in this managed competition 
include environment, health agencies/departments, in partnership with 
social service agencies where applicable, of states, territories or 
tribes, and state/territorial/tribal or regional (e.g. the asthma 
coalition of the greater metropolitan area of Smallville) asthma 
coalitions with government partners. While only environment or health 
agencies/departments or state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma

[[Page 57699]]

coalitions with government partners may be the direct recipients and 
lead administrators of the project, other partners are encouraged to 
participate and are eligible for compensation through sub-contracting 
agreement(s) between the lead agency/department and collaborating 
partners as long as the state, territorial or tribal agency/department 
maintains a substantive, hands-on role in the management and 
implementation of the project. Please note that substantive involvement 
by the environment and health departments is a key evaluation 
criterion. Projects that are essentially pass-through funding to a 
third party for independent implementation will not meet the evaluation 
criteria. Examples of substantive collaborative involvement include but 
are not limited to:
    (1) Both agencies/departments dedicating personnel;
    (2) Agencies/departments co-sponsoring and presenting at crucial 
workshops and meetings; or
    (3) Both agencies/departments being involved in peer reviews of 
documents and/or products.

g. Statutory Criterion

    Applicants must meet standards for eligibility described in section 
103(b)(3) of the CAA (http://www.epa.gov/oar/caa/caa103.txt).

h. Incurring Costs

    Pre-award costs will not be covered under this solicitation. Grant 
recipients may begin incurring allowable costs on the date identified 
in the EPA award agreement. Activities must be completed and funds 
spent within the time frames specified in the award agreement. EPA 
grant funds may be used only for the purposes set forth in the grant 
agreement and must conform to the Federal cost principles contained in 
OMB Circular A-87; A-122; and A-21, as appropriate. Ineligible costs 
will be reduced from the final grant.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
    Cost sharing or matching funds are not required for this 
solicitation.
3. Other Eligibility Criteria

a. Responsiveness Criteria That Will Make An Application Ineligible

(1) Letters of Intent
    The Letter of Intent must comply with the following responsiveness 
criteria to be eligible to submit a Full Proposal: Applicant 
eligibility, completeness, administrative responsiveness, and 
timeliness of submission.
(2) Full Proposal
    The Full Proposal must comply with the following responsiveness 
criteria for the Full Proposal to be reviewed for possible award: 
Timeliness of shipment, administrative responsiveness, order of 
materials presentation, completeness, original signatures as required, 
required number of copies and the absence of unnecessary materials and 
extraneous information.

b. Multiple Proposals

    State, territorial and tribal departments/agencies and state/
territorial/tribal or regional (e.g. the asthma coalition of the 
greater metropolitan area of Smallville) asthma coalitions addressing 
environmental triggers of childhood asthma with substantive involvement 
of these government department/agency partners (as described above in 
section III) may submit more than one proposal if the proposals are for 
different projects. However, no more than one grant will be awarded 
under this offering to any given state, territory or tribal entity or 
state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalition serving a given 
geographic area. Environment and health departments/agencies of state, 
territorial and tribal organizations are encouraged to collaborate with 
joint proposals under this solicitation that is focused on bringing 
environment and health departments/agencies together to address 
environmental triggers of childhood asthma.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address To Request Application Package
    This is a two-stage application process involving a Letter of 
Intent which is evaluated for basic eligibility, administrative and 
technical responsiveness. Applicants submitting acceptable Letters of 
Intent will be invited to participate in a Pre-proposal assistance 
conference call and to submit a Full Proposal.
    A sample Letter of Intent is provided at the end of this 
solicitation. Paper copies of this announcement, the sample Letter of 
Intent and the requisite forms for the Full Proposal can be obtained by 
contacting EPA personnel listed in Section VII of this solicitation. 
Electronic copies of the requisite forms for the Full Proposal are 
available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm. If your Full Proposal is selected for possible award, your 
EPA Regional Office will supply you with any additional Federal forms 
needed to process your Full Proposal for award.
2. Content and Form of Application (Proposal) Submission

a. Stage 1

(1) Stage 1 Content and Form of Letter of Intent
    (a) Stage 1 of this application process is a Letter of Intent (Up 
to two pages in length) which is due via e-mail to 
epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov on or before October 15, 2004. Letters of 
Intent must have an email subject line starting with Letter of Intent: 
Followed by your Project Title. Email confirmation of receipt will be 
sent within two business days of receipt.
    (b) Email submission of the Letter of Intent is strongly preferred. 
However, if email is not available, the Letter of Intent may be faxed 
to the attention of Bettina B. Fletcher at 202-564-2733. If a 
confirming phone call for fax transmissions is not received within two 
business days, a phone call should be made to Bettina Fletcher at 202-
564-2646 to initiate a trace.
    (c) A sample Letter of Intent is provided at the end of this 
solicitation. A copy also can be found at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
    (d) Your Letter of Intent must provide all of the following 
information in the following order:
    (Section 1) Contact information for your organization:
    (1) Name of your organization.
    (2) Project name.
    (3) Name of authorized representative.
    (4) Address.
    (5) Phone number and fax number.
    (6) E-mail address.
    (7) Web site, if any.
    (Section 2) A brief description of how your organization fits each 
stated eligibility criterion and how your organization proposes to 
collaborate with the other agency(ies)/department(s).
    (Section 3) One page project summary including:
    (1) Dollar value of the project;
    (2) Description of the organizational unit which will lead/oversee 
the project;
    (3) A brief summary statement that articulates the project's 
concept and states its goals and objectives;
    (4) A brief description of how this project will meet the Statutory 
Criteria.
    (5) Identification of the specific Target Investment Area and the 
specific Target Project Area addressed by the project;
    (6) A brief summary of the method that will be used to achieve the 
project goals and how the outcomes will be measured;

[[Page 57700]]

    (7) Summary of the kinds of activities that will be funded by the 
project and;
    (8) A brief description of the role the state, territorial, or 
tribal environment and health agencies or state, territorial or tribal 
members of your state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalition 
will play in this project.
    (Section 4) Indication of Interest in Participating in Optional 
Pre-proposal Assistance Call and Special Needs:
    (1) Indication if you would like to participate in the October 26, 
2004 optional Pre-proposal Assistance Call if your Letter of Intent is 
accepted.

    Note: Letters of Intent submitted to EPA will be evaluated for 
basic eligibility, administrative and technical responsiveness. Only 
those proposals satisfying all the requirements will be invited to 
submit a Full Proposal; and

    (2) Indication of any special needs to permit participation on such 
a call.

b. Stage 2 Full Proposals, If Invited By EPA

    Stage 2 of this application process is a Full Proposal (including 
optional Pre-proposal Assistance Conference Call). Note: IF your Letter 
of Intent is accepted, you will be invited to participate in Stage 2
(1) Optional Pre-proposal Assistance Conference Call
    An optional Pre-proposal Assistance Conference Call will be held on 
October 26, 2004, to answer any questions prospective eligible 
applicants may have. If you indicate in your Letter of Intent a desire 
to participate in the Pre-proposal Assistance Conference Call and your 
Letter of Intent is found to be eligible, you will be emailed 
instructions for participating in the conference call.

    Note: Applicants should periodically check the web page below 
for updated information to applicants (e.g., posting of some Qs & As 
from Letters of Intent). A summary of the questions and answers from 
the October 26, 2004 optional Pre-proposal Assistance Call will be 
posted by November 2, 2004 at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm htm.

(2) Required Content and Form of Full Proposal, if Invited to Submit 
One
    Note: You must complete both the EPA Application Kit for Federal 
Assistance and the Work Plan Proposal Narrative as described below:
    (a) Table of Contents with page numbers for all elements of this 
submission.
    (b) EPA Application Kit for Federal Assistance.
    The EPA Application Kit for Federal Assistance can be obtained on 
the Web at http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm 
or http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm.
    (c) Completed SF-424A Budget Forms. http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm contains information about completing SF-424A Budget 
Forms and Understanding Cost Principles for a Federal grant.
    (d) Work Plan Proposal Narrative:
    In addition to the standard forms contained in the EPA Application 
Kit for Federal Assistance and the SF-424A budget forms, you must 
submit a Work Plan Proposal Narrative of no longer than 12 pages (plus 
appendices) that follows exactly the format outlined below. Pages and 
information submitted out of order will not be reviewed. Text may be 
single or double spaced, no smaller than 12 point font. The pages must 
be letter sized (8\1/2\x11 inches). Margins are not specified. 
Proposals must be legible. Note: All proposals should be well explained 
and easily read. Information should be clear and concise, well 
organized and contain no unnecessary jargon. The Work Plan Proposal 
Narrative Content should include:
    (i) Contact Information Sheet (1 page): For the project lead and 
each collaborating partner, include contact name, organization, title, 
address, phone, fax, and e-mail.
    (ii) Letter of Intent: Include a copy of your previously submitted 
Letter of Intent as a project summary.
    (iii) Project Description (Up to 5 pages): Describe precisely what 
your project will achieve. In your narrative, answer these questions in 
this order:
    Question 1. Who will conduct the project? What are the specific 
roles and responsibilities of the state, territorial and tribal 
representatives in this project? What experience do the partners have 
in addressing environmental triggers of childhood asthma? What is the 
nature of your agencies'/departments' or coalition's on-going programs 
addressing children's environmental health. What will be the roles and 
responsibilities of any other partners? Who will be affected by and/or 
benefit from your project? How will they be targeted, identified, and 
recruited?
    Question 2. Why is it needed?
    Question 3. What is the purpose of your project? Explain your 
strategy-- your goals and objectives, the specific activities you will 
conduct to achieve them, and what your projected outcomes will be. How 
will you evaluate your results and your level of success? Describe any 
mechanisms for tracking outputs (e.g. how many households were 
educated, how many facilities were assessed, in how many facilities 
were actions taken), and evaluating outcomes (e.g. the effectiveness of 
the education and mitigation efforts to (1) decrease their measured 
levels of asthma triggers in children's environments and/or (2) 
decrease the number of times children access acute care services for 
asthma (e.g. frequency and severity of asthma attacks, frequency of 
asthma-related absences and the level of increased awareness); How will 
the project be sustained beyond the life of the EPA grant?
    Question 4. How will project deliverables and/or findings be 
presented/packaged to be shared with and replicated by other states, 
territories, tribes or state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma 
coalitions?
    Question 5. All projects should be completed prior to June 15, 
2006. Outline a detailed time line/responsibility matrix to link your 
project activities to a clear project schedule. Indicate at what point 
over the months of your budget period each action, project outcome or 
milestone occurs and indicate which partner is responsible for each 
action. Note: Tabular or graphic presentation of this information is 
acceptable for this time line; smaller but readable typeface is allowed 
for this information
    (e) Project Budget (1-2 pages):
    (i) Personnel (For Each Positions: % of Time Worked, Annual Salary, 
Salary Proposed for this Project).
    (ii) Fringe Benefits (Full-time Rate).
    (iii) Long Distance Travel (Destination, Cost of Trip,  of 
Travelers,  of Trips, Amt. Proposed).
    (iv) Air Fare (Destination,  Travelers,  Trips).
    (v) Local Travel (Destination, Distance, Mileage,  
Travelers).
    (vi) Direct Cost--Equipment (Quantity, Cost per Unit, Amt. 
Proposed).
    (vii) Direct Cost--Supplies (Quantity, Cost per Unit, Amt. 
Proposed).
    (viii) Direct Cost--Other e.g. Phone, Postage, Conference Calls 
(Quantity, Cost per Unit, Amt. Proposed).
    (ix) Direct Cost--Contracts (Direct Labor, Overhead @----rate, 
Materials and Supplies, G&A Rate).
    (x) Direct Cost--Consultants (Skill, Quantity, Rate).
    (xi) Indirect Cost Charges (Total Direct Costs x ----% (indirect 
cost rate = Estimated).

    Note: Eligible Expenses--salaries/fringe, travel, 
communications, equipment rental, indirect overhead, public outreach 
efforts (workshops, public forums, meeting expenses), office 
expenses, printing and

[[Page 57701]]

copying (conference and promotional materials), and Web site 
dissemination of information related to the project.

    Note: Ineligible Expenses--capital expenditures, construction 
expenses, lobbying, endowments, formal educational expenses, 
entertainment, remediation and removal expenses, medical equipment 
and supplies, air sampling, and equipment purchases as the sole 
focus of the assistance agreement.

    (f) Appendices: Include project specific letters of commitment from 
each state, territorial or tribal environment, health and other 
agencies as well as major partners involved in the success of this 
project. Include resumes for key personnel as well. Letters of 
commitment focus on the partner's role in the proposed project. Do not 
submit letters of general support, they will not be reviewed. Do not 
include any materials other than letters of commitment for this project 
and resumes.
3. Other Instructions

(a) Required Contents of Full Proposal Package

    To support the EPA review process, the proposal must contain one 
complete Full Proposal package with original signatures in contrasting 
ink and nine duplicate hard copy sets of the Full Proposal package 
including the following materials in the order listed below:
    (1) Table of Contents with page numbers for all elements of this 
submission.
    (2) Completed EPA Application Kit for Federal Assistance.
    (3) Completed SF 424A Budget Forms.
    (4) Work Plan Proposal Narrative consisting of:
    (i) Contact Information Sheet.
    (ii) Copy of the Letter of Intent.
    (iii) Project Description.
    (5) Project Budget.
    (6) Appendices exactly as defined in Section IV. Application and 
Submission Information.
    To support the EPA review process, the proposal is required to 
contain one complete Full Proposal package with original signatures in 
contrasting ink and nine duplicate hard copy sets of the Full Proposal 
package including the following materials in the order listed above.
    Do not submit additional items. Unnecessary materials (cover 
letters, un-requested forms or binders) will make your proposal 
ineligible.

(b) DUNS Instructions

    Grant applicants are required to provide a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) 
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number when applying for Federal 
grants or cooperative agreements. The DUNS number will supplement other 
identifiers required by statute or regulation, such as tax 
identification numbers. Organizations can receive a DUNS number in one 
day, at no cost, by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request 
line at 1-866-705-5711. Individuals who would personally receive a 
grant or cooperative agreement award from the Federal government apart 
from any business or non-profit organization they may operate are 
exempt from this requirement. The Web site where an organization can 
obtain a DUNS number is: http://www.dnb.com. This process takes 30 
business days and there is no cost unless the organization requests 
expedited (1-day) processing, which includes a fee of $40.

(c) Other Instructions

    Successful Stage 2 Applicants must submit the following information 
after EPA notifies them of its intent to make an award, but prior to 
the award: quality assurance plan for any project involving 
environmental data; evidence of compliance with human subjects 
requirements where research is found to be involved.
4. Submission Dates and Times
    (a) A required Stage 1 Letter of Intent is due via email to 
epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov on or before October 15, 2004 as indicated on 
the email transmission. If email is unavailable, a fax submission may 
be used. The same due date applies and the date will be determined by 
the date registered on the receiving fax machine log and printed on the 
received documents by said machine. A confirming email will be sent 
within two working days of receipt of e-mailed Letters of Intent. A 
confirming phone call will be made within two working days of receipt 
for faxed Letters of Intent. The applicant should follow up with a 
phone call to Bettina Fletcher at 202-564-2646 if a confirmation is not 
received within the stated time frames. Email and fax transmissions 
received after October 15, 2004 will not be reviewed.
    (b) Applicants submitting a Letter of Intent will be notified via 
email on or before October 22, 2004 if they are deemed eligible to 
participate in the optional Pre-proposal Assistance Call and to submit 
a Full Proposal.
    (c) Applicants with accepted Letters of Intent who expressed an 
interest in participating in the optional Pre-proposal Assistance Call 
will be advised in this email on or before October 22, 2004 of the 
call-in number and the specific time for the call.
    (d) All questions before and after the October 26, 2004 Pre-
proposal Assistance Call, must be sent by email to the following 
address: epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov. The word ``QUESTION'' in capital 
letters and the name of the solicitation should appear in the subject 
line. Answers to allowable questions will be provided in a timely 
manner at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm. 
EPA will not respond to technical questions by phone or fax.
    (e) Optional Pre-proposal Assistance Call will be held on October 
26, 2004.
    (f) A summary of the questions and answers from the October 26 2004 
Pre-proposal Conference Call will be posted on the OCHP Web site http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm on or before 
November 2, 2004.
    (g) To ensure fair and open competition, EPA will respond to 
questions submitted by email up to December 17, 2004. Questions and 
answers will be posted in a timely manner at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
    (h) Full Proposals from invited eligible applicants must be 
delivered to the private shipping company (e.g., Federal Express, UPS, 
DHL, or courier) for shipment or postmarked (see note in Section VIII) 
by the U.S. Post Office (not a private postage meter) postmark on or 
before December 29, 2004. Full Proposals shipped or mailed after this 
date will not be considered for funding under this solicitation. Date 
of shipment will be determined by the shipping company's shipping 
information or the U.S. Post Office (not a private postage meter) 
postmark on the shipping package depending upon the method of shipment.
    (i) Applicants will receive an email notification of receipt of the 
Full Proposal within one month of receipt by the Agency.
    (j) The Selected Projects will be announced as their award 
negotiations are completed around late spring 2005. Those projects not 
selected for award in this funding cycle will also be notified at this 
time.
    (k) Start Date for Projects: June 15, 2005 is the earliest start 
date that applicants should plan on and enter on their proposal forms 
and time lines. Grant recipients may begin incurring allowable costs on 
the start date identified in the EPA grant award agreement. Budget 
periods may run up to 12 months from the date of award.

[[Page 57702]]

5. Intergovernmental Review:
    Applicants may be subject to Executive Order 12372. 
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.'' See http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html for more details.
6. Funding Restrictions

a. Eligible Expenses

    Salaries/fringe, travel, communications, equipment rental, indirect 
overhead, public outreach efforts (workshops, public forums, meeting 
expenses), office expenses, printing and copying (conference and 
promotional materials), and web site dissemination of information 
related to the project.

b. Ineligible Expenses

    Capital expenditures, construction expenses, lobbying, endowments, 
formal educational expenses, entertainment, remediation and removal 
expenses, medical equipment and supplies, air sampling, and equipment 
purchases as the sole focus of the assistance agreement.

c. Incurring Costs

    Pre-award costs will not be covered under this solicitation. Grant 
recipients may begin incurring allowable costs on the date identified 
in the EPA award agreement. Activities must be completed and funds 
spent within the time frames specified in the award agreement. EPA 
grant funds may be used only for the purposes set forth in the grant 
agreement and must conform to the Federal cost principles contained in 
OMB Circular A-87; A-122; and A-21, as appropriate. Ineligible costs 
will be reduced from the final grant.
7. Other Submission Requirements
    a. Do not submit additional items. Unnecessary materials (i.e. un-
requested forms or binders) create extra burden for the reviewers and 
failure to follow instructions may render your project ineligible.
    b. Letters of Intent must be sent via email to epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov. If email is not available, Letters of Intent may be faxed to 
Bettina Fletcher at 202-564-2733.
    c. Because of continuing delays in the delivery of mailed parcels, 
Full Proposals are best delivered by a private shipping company (e.g., 
Federal Express, UPS, DHL, or courier) to the attention of: Bettina 
Fletcher, U.S. EPA, Office of Children's Health Protection, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Mail Code 1107A, Room 2512 Ariel Rios North, 
Washington, DC 20004.
    If the applicant has no ability to send the Full Proposal in by way 
of a private shipping company, the Full Proposal may be mailed to the 
attention of: Bettina Fletcher, U.S. EPA, Office of Children's Health 
Protection, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Mail Code 1107A, Room 2512 
Ariel Rios North, Washington, DC 20460.

    Note: To document the date of shipment, Full Proposal packages 
must be postmarked by the U.S. Post Office, not by a private postage 
meter.

    d. If the applicant experiences technical difficulties in making a 
submission, contact Bettina Fletcher at 202-564-2646 immediately.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

a. Letter of Intent

(1) Administrative Responsiveness Criteria
    The Letter of Intent must comply with the following responsiveness 
criteria to be eligible to submit a Full Proposal: Applicant 
eligibility, completeness, administrative responsiveness, and 
timeliness of submission.
(2) Technical Responsiveness Criteria
    The Letters of Intent will also be compared to Statutory Criteria, 
Target Investment Areas and the Target Project Areas in this 
solicitation. Applicants whose projects are clearly not responsive to 
the published Statutory Criteria, Target Investment Areas and Target 
Project Areas may not be invited to submit a Full Proposal.

b. Full Proposal

(1) Administrative Responsiveness Criteria
    The Full Proposal must comply with the following responsiveness 
criteria for the Full Proposal to be reviewed for possible award: 
timeliness of shipment, administrative responsiveness, order of 
materials presentation, completeness, original signatures as required, 
required number of copies and the absence of unnecessary materials and 
extraneous information.
(2) Multiple Proposals
    State, territorial and tribal departments/agencies and state/
territorial/tribal or regional (e.g. the asthma coalition of the 
greater metropolitan area of Smallville) asthma coalitions asthma 
coalitions addressing environmental triggers of childhood asthma with 
substantive involvement of these government department/agency partners 
(as described above in Section III) may submit more than one proposal 
if the proposals are for different projects. However, no more than one 
grant will be awarded under this offering to any given state, territory 
or tribal entity or state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma 
coalition serving a given geographic area. Environment and health 
departments/agencies of State, territorial and tribal organizations are 
encouraged to collaborate with joint proposals under this solicitation 
that is focused on bringing environment and health departments/agencies 
together to address environmental triggers of childhood asthma.
(3) Technical Review (Maximum Score: 110 Points)
    Each Full Proposal will be scored based on how well it meets the 
specific selection criteria below.
(a) Describes Collaboration Between Environment, Health and Other 
Appropriate Agencies for States, Territories or Tribes in Partnership 
or Through State/Territorial/Tribal or Regional Asthma Coalitions 
(Maximum Points: 30)
    The proposal describes substantive collaborative partnerships to 
address the environmental triggers of childhood asthma. Letters of 
commitment specifically describe activities of the partners for this 
project. Significant, sustained involvement of senior representatives 
of state, territorial or tribal environment, health, and related agency 
officials is documented. The organization is appropriate to do this 
project. The project does not principally pass-through funds to an 
independent third party.
(b) Focuses efforts upon and benefits Target Investment Area (Maximum 
Points: 20)
    The proposal describes how the project will specifically benefit 
one or more the Target Investment Areas. Describes the need for this 
project in this Target Investment Area and how it will reduce risks for 
children's environmental health in this Target Investment Area.
(c) Addresses Needs in Target Project Area (Maximum Points: 30)
    The proposal describes how the project will specifically address 
the significant environmental issues around childhood asthma in the 
context of one or more of the Target Project Areas. The proposal 
includes specific goals and objectives with measurable, achievable 
outputs and outcomes. Proposal uses existing tools with demonstrated 
effectiveness such as facility assessment

[[Page 57703]]

checklists rather than investing resources to recreate already-
available materials. The proposal includes steps and methodology to 
track outputs. The project includes evaluation steps to measure degree 
of success for the project and to make mid-course adjustments, if 
needed. The project has addressed potential sources of resources and 
mechanisms for sustaining the project after this EPA funding cycle has 
been completed.
(d) Cost Effective Budget (Maximum Points: 20)
    The proposal budget reflects: reasonable costs and efficient use of 
resources for the work proposed. Funds are not used as pass-through 
funding to a third party for project implementation. This subsection 
will be scored on: (1) How well the budget information clearly and 
accurately shows how funds will be used, (2) whether there funding 
request is reasonable given the activity proposed, and (3) whether the 
funding can be expected to provide a good return on the investment. 
Proposal leverages funding from other agencies and programs to increase 
the accomplishment of this project without raising concerns of double 
billing for the same work.

(e) Bonus Points (Points: Up to 10)

    Reviewers have the flexibility to provide from zero to 10 bonus 
points for exceptional project qualities in accordance with one or more 
of the following principles of quality and efficacy:
    (1) Applicant's materials are consistent with EPA guidance and 
recommendations. In particular, applicant outlines educational 
materials and mitigation methods for second-hand tobacco smoke, house 
dust mites, cockroaches, molds, and animal dander that are compatible 
with the guidance contained in EPA's asthma brochure, A Clear Your Home 
of Asthma Triggers: Your Children Will Breathe Easier, http://www.epa.gov/asthma/resources.html and the findings and recommendations 
contained in the January, 2000 National Academy of Sciences report on 
asthma, A Clearing the Air: Asthma and Indoor Air Exposures, http://books.nap.edu/catalog/9610.html.
    (2) Projects focused upon ambient air pollutants and asthma are 
consistent with EPA guidance that can be accessed through http://www.epa.gov/air/topics/comap.html.
    (3) Use of education materials reflecting current standards for 
conducting environmental health or public health education and outreach 
activities, particularly with respect to motivating behavioral changes 
in low-literacy, low-income, and disproportionately impacted 
populations.
    (4) Proposals including extraordinarily compelling examples and 
other strengths noted by the reviewers who evaluate and compare 
proposals.
2. Review and Selection Process
    After individual projects are evaluated, scored, and ranked against 
the published criteria by EPA staff and peers external to the Agency, 
EPA may take into account the following factors in making their final 
selections:
    (a) Effectiveness of collaborative activities and partnerships, as 
needed to successfully implement the project;
    (b) Environmental and educational importance of the activity or 
product;
    (c) Effectiveness of the delivery mechanism (i.e. workshop, 
conference, etc.);
    (d) Cost effectiveness of the proposal; and
    (e) Geographic distribution of projects.
3. Cost Analysis
    Projects recommended for possible funding based upon the findings 
of the reviewers and EPA's consideration of the final selection factors 
described above receive a cost analysis to ensure that the project 
costs in the budget are reasonable, allocable, and allowable per OMB 
Cost Circulars A-87, A-122, and A-21 as appropriate.
    In the course of this Cost Analysis, unallowable and unproductive 
activities will be deleted and unreasonable costs will be deflated.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices
    Organizations submitting Letters of Intent will be notified 
regarding their successful or unsuccessful Stage 1 application via 
email on or before October 22, 2004.
    Project Officers of organizations with Full Proposals that were 
selected for possible award (pending successful award negotiations) 
will be contacted around the spring of 2005 by the appropriate Regional 
Project Officer to work through the awards process. Upon completion of 
a successful award negotiation and following a mandatory five day 
Congressional Notification Period, each successful grant applicant will 
receive a written notice signed by the EPA Project Officer/grants 
official. This document will serve as the authorizing document. This 
award notice will be faxed to the Key Contact as specified in the Full 
Proposal. Successful applicants must receive this document before 
drawing any funds.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

a. Responsible Officials

    Projects must be performed by the applicant/recipient or a designee 
within that organization who is satisfactory to the applicant and EPA. 
All proposals must identify any other person(s) and their 
organization(s) who will assist in carrying out the project. Recipients 
are responsible for receiving the grant award agreement from EPA and 
ensuring that all grant conditions are satisfied. Recipients are 
responsible for the successful completion of the project.

b. Incurring Costs

    No pre-award costs should be incurred by the recipient. Grant 
recipients may begin incurring allowable costs on the start date 
identified in the EPA grant award agreement. Activities must be 
completed and funds spent within the time frames specified in the award 
agreement. EPA grant funds may be used only for the purposes set forth 
in the grant agreement and must conform to the Federal cost principles 
contained in OMB Circular A-87, A-122, and A-21, as appropriate. 
Ineligible costs will be reduced from the final grant award.

c. Materials To Be Provided by the Successful Stage 2 Applicants After 
EPA Notifies Them of Its Intent To Make an Award

    The Successful Stage 2 Applicant must submit the following 
information after EPA notifies them of its intent to make an award, but 
prior to the award: Quality assurance plan for any project involving 
environmental data; evidence of compliance with human subjects 
requirements where research is found to be involved.
3. Reporting
    Specific financial and other reporting requirements will be 
identified in the EPA grant award agreement. Grant recipients must 
submit the standard formal quarterly progress reports, unless otherwise 
instructed in the award agreement. A quality assurance plan will be 
required if environmental data are collected. Also, two copies of the 
final report and two copies of all work products must be sent to the 
EPA project officer within 90 days after the expiration of the budget 
period. This submission will be accepted as the final requirement, 
unless the EPA project

[[Page 57704]]

officer notifies the recipient that changes must be made.

Section VII. Agency Contact

1. Contact Information
    Bettina B. Fletcher; Office of Children's Health Protection; 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave, NW.; Mail Code 1107A; Room 2512 Ariel Rios North; 
Washington, DC 20004-2403; epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov; Phone: (202) 564-
2646; FAX (202) 564-2733; Web Site: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
2. Mechanisms for Questions and Answers
    a. Applicants who need more information about this grant or 
clarification about specific requirements of this Solicitation Notice, 
should periodically check the Web page http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm for posted information (e.g. 
administrative clarification and responses to Qs & As from Letters of 
Intent and participate, if eligible, in the Pre-proposal Assistance 
Conference Call).
    b. Specific clarifying questions can be posed via email to 
epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov. The word ``QUESTION'' in Capital Letters and 
the name of the solicitation should appear in the Subject Line. 
Responses to allowable questions will be posted in a timely manner on 
the OCHP Web site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
    c. If email is absolutely not available, requests for materials may 
be made by FAX to 202-564-2733. Requests should be sent to the 
attention of Bettina B. Fletcher.
    d. To Ensure Fair And Open Competition, EPA Will Answer No 
Clarifying Questions In Person Except On The Pre-Proposal Conference 
Call.
    e. Applicants may submit questions via email to 
epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov. Answers will be posted on the Web page: 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
    f. Questions and answers from the October 26, 2004 optional Pre-
proposal Assistance Call will be summarized and posted within a week of 
the Assistance Call on the OCHP Web page at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
    g. To ensure fair and open competition, EPA will respond to 
questions submitted by email up to December 17, 2004. Questions and 
answers will be posted in a timely manner at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
    3. If paper copies of the EPA Application Kit for Federal 
Assistance are required, contact Bettina B. Fletcher at 
epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov.

Section VIII. Other Information

1. Examples of Potential Projects
    The following are examples of types of projects that EPA would 
consider for funding the Building State, Territorial, and Tribal 
Capacity to Address Children's Environmental Health: Environmental 
Triggers of Childhood Asthma. The following are examples of components 
EPA considers to be elements of building state, territorial and tribal 
capacity to address children's environmental health in the context of 
the environmental triggers of childhood asthma. These examples are 
illustrative only and are not intended to limit proposal ideas.
     Design an asthma surveillance tracking system.
     Linked an asthma surveillance tracking system with 
environmental data.
     Design an asthma education program through a collaboration 
of the environment and health agencies.
     Build state, territorial, tribal or regional capacity to 
decrease asthma incidence in areas with disproportionate impact from 
environmental health hazards.
     Sponsor state, territorial, tribal or regional workshops 
to train school officials, day care facility operators, health 
officials, parents of school-aged children on air quality and 
environmental triggers of childhood asthma in schools and day care 
facilities.
     Create a technical resource and training center for state, 
territorial, tribal or regional community air risk screening as well as 
a resource for pollution and exposure prevention related to childhood 
asthma.
     Target reduction of smoke including environmental tobacco 
smoke, smoke from burning of trash, and smoke from field burning 
through education and awareness campaigns.
     Facilitate productive dialogues and strategy development 
among states, territories, tribal and regions as well as across 
disciplines regarding asthma tracking and surveillance and the 
development of healthier day care facilities and schools.
     Conduct multilingual, multi-cultural outreach and 
education activities that result in better health outcomes related to 
childhood asthma.
     Conduct an education and outreach campaign in low-income, 
diverse neighborhoods on vehicle idling, ambient and indoor air quality 
and childhood asthma.
2. Resources
    a. Please visit our Web site for information on children's 
environmental health issues and these grant materials at http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp and http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm respectively.
    b. We strongly suggest that applicants examine the ECOS/ASTHO state 
draft action agenda, Catching Your Breath, http://www.astho.org/pubs/CatchingYourBreathReport.pdf for background on state/asthma activities.
    c. First time recipients of Federal funds are encouraged to 
familiarize themselves with the regulations applicable to assistance 
agreements found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 40, 
part 31 for State and local government entities. See http://www.epa.gov/docs/epacfr40/chapt-I.info/subch-B.html. Applicants may 
also obtain a copy of the CFR Title 40, part 31 at the local U.S. 
Government Bookstore, or through the U.S. Government Printing Office. 
This solicitation notice contains all the information and forms 
necessary to prepare a Letter of Intent. If your project is selected as 
a finalist after the evaluation process is concluded, EPA will provide 
you with additional Federal forms needed to process your Full Proposal.
3. Regulatory References
    EPA's regulations on procurement under assistance agreements can be 
found in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 30.40 (for non-
governmental recipients) and 40 CFR 31.36 (for governments).
4. Dispute Resolution Process
    Dispute Resolution Process: Procedures are in 40 CFR 30.63 and 40 
CFR 31.70.
5. Shipping Information for Full Proposals, If Invited By EPA
    Due to on-going mail delays in the Washington, DC area, applicants 
who are invited to submit a Full Proposal are strongly encouraged to 
send all required materials by way of a private shipping company (e.g., 
Federal Express, UPS, DHL, or courier) to the attention of: Bettina 
Fletcher, U.S. EPA, Office of Children's Health Protection, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Mail Code 1107A, Room 2512 Ariel Rios North, 
Washington, DC 20004.
    If the applicant has no ability to send the Full Proposal in by way 
of a private shipping company, the Full Proposal may be mailed to the 
attention of: Bettina Fletcher, U.S. EPA, Office of Children's Health 
Protection, 1200

[[Page 57705]]

Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Mail Code 1107A, Room 2512 Ariel Rios North, 
Washington, DC 20460.

    Note: To document the date of shipment, Full Proposal packages 
must be postmarked by the U.S. Post Office, not by a private postage 
meter.

6. The Agency Reserves the Right to Make No Awards Under This 
Solicitation
7. Attachment
    Sample Letter of Intent (Up to 2 pages total)
    All state, tribal, territorial agencies/departments and state/
territorial/tribal or regional (e.g. the asthma coalition of the 
greater metropolitan area of Smallville) asthma coalitions who intend 
to apply should complete this Letter of Intent information and return 
it to EPA via email to epa.gov">fletcher.bettina@epa.gov by October 15, 2004.
* * * * *
Section 1
Organization Name:
Project Name:
Applicant Address:
Street:
City:
State, Zip Code:
Applicant Phone Number:
Applicant FAX Number:
Applicant Email Address:
Applicant Web Site (if any):
Authorized Representative of the Organization:
* * * * *
Section 2
    Brief description of how your organization fits each stated 
eligibility criterion and how how your organization proposes to 
collaborate with other agency(ies)/departments in this project.
Section 3--Project Summary (Not To Exceed One Page)
Description of the organizational unit that will lead/oversee the 
project:
Brief summary statement that articulates the project's concept and 
states its goals and objectives:
A brief description of how this project will meet the Statutory 
Criteria:
Identification of the specific Target Investment Area and specific 
Target Project Area addressed by the project:
Brief summary of the method that will be used to achieve the project 
goals and how the outcomes will be measured:
Summary of the kind of activities that will be funded by the project:
Brief description of the role the state, territorial, or tribal 
environment and health agencies or state, territorial or tribal members 
of your state/territorial/tribal or regional asthma coalitions will 
play in this project:
Section 4
    Indicate below whether your organization would like to participate 
in the October 26, 2004 optional Pre-proposal Assistance Call if Your 
Letter of Intent Is Found To Be Eligible. Questions and answers from 
the October 26, 2004 Pre-proposal Assistance Call will be posted by 
November 2, 2004 at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/grants.htm.
[ballot] Yes, I would like to participate in the October 26, 2004 Pre-
proposal Assistance Call IF my Letter of Intent is found by EPA to be 
eligible.
[ballot] No, I decline to participate in the October 26, 2004 Pre-
proposal Assistance Call if my Letter of Intent is found by EPA to be 
acceptable.
[ballot] Please describe any type of support [e.g. Telephone for the 
Deaf (TDD) number and/or Federal Information Relay (FIR)] you require 
to permit participation in the Pre-proposal Assistance Conference Call.
Section 5
    To help us prepare for the best possible Pre-proposal Assistance 
Call, please submit in advance any questions you have at this time 
regarding this application process.
    Additional questions may also be posed on the call.

    Dated: September 21, 2004.
Joanne Rodman,
Acting Director, Office of Children's Health Protection.
[FR Doc. 04-21580 Filed 9-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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