Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 6283

these permits. EPA received no 

comments on the permits for Empire 

Lumber and CIPV. Pursuant to 40 CFR 

71.11(i), EPA provided copies of the 

final permits to the applicant and each 

person who submitted written 

comments on a permit or requested 

notice of the final permit decision. No 

one requested review of any of the final 

permits by the Environmental Appeals 

Board within 30 days of receipt of the 

final permits in accordance with 40 CFR 

71.11(l). Thus, pursuant to 40 CFR 

71.11(i) and (l), the permits became final 

on the dates indicated in the chart 

above. A petition to the Environmental 

Appeals Board under 40 CFR 71.11(l) is, 

under 42 U.S.C. 307(b), a prerequisite to 

seeking judicial review of the final 

agency action. See 40 CFR 71.11(l)(4). 

40 CFR 71.11(l)(7) requires notice of any 

final agency action regarding a Federal 

operating permit to be published in the 

Federal Register. This notice satisfies 

that requirement.

Dated: January 21, 2004. 

L. John Iani, 

Regional Administrator, Region 10.

[FR Doc. 04–2816 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–7620–4] 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation and Liability 

Act (CERCLA), Section 104(k); 

‘‘Announcement of Proposal Deadline 

for a Reopening of the Competition for 

the 2004 National Brownfields 

Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, 

and Cleanup Grants’’

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency.

ACTION: Notice reopening of Fiscal Year 

2004 Brownfields grant competition, of 

the availability of amended Brownfields 

grant application guidelines and 

deadline for submissions of proposals. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is reopening the 

competition for Fiscal Year 2004 

brownfields grants to accept 

applications for funding for certain 

brownfield sites that were not eligible 

under the Proposal Guidelines for 

Brownfields Assessment, Revolving 

Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants (‘‘The 

October 2003 Proposal Guidelines’’), 

published in the Federal Register at 68 

FR 59611, on October 16, 2003, and 

subsequent corrections published in the 

Federal Register at 68 FR 64623, on 

November 14, 2003. The Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2004, Public Law 

108–199, which President Bush signed 

into law on January 23, 2004, 

temporarily expands the number of 

brownfields sites that are eligible for 

funding under EPA’s brownfields 

assessment, revolving loan fund, and 

cleanup grants awarded under section 

104(k) of the Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, 

Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 

(CERCLA), as amended. EPA’s Fiscal 

Year 2004 appropriations may be used 

by recipients of brownfields grants and 

loans for eligible and allowable costs at 

brownfields sites as long as the recipient 

of a brownfield grant or loan satisfies all 

of the elements required to qualify as a 

bona fide prospective purchaser under 

CERCLA section 101(40) 

notwithstanding the fact that the 

property was acquired prior to the 

enactment of the Small Business 

Liability Relief and Brownfields 

Revitalization Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107–

118, on January 11, 2002. EPA is 

reopening the Fiscal Year 2004 

brownfields grant competition to allow 

entities who are affected by the abovereferenced change to submit (or 

resubmit) proposals for brownfields 

funding. 

To qualify for participation in the 

reopened competition, applicants must 

have specific brownfields sites 

identified, and these sites must now be 

eligible for EPA funding in Fiscal Year 

2004 due to the above-referenced 

provision of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2004. There is an 

additional change to the guidelines that 

is posted at www.epa.gov/brownfields.

The change is summarized below. The 

deadline for proposals to be received by 

EPA’s contractor is 6 p.m. EST on 

March 9, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

U.S. EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and 

Emergency Response, Office of 

Brownfields Cleanup and 

Redevelopment, (202) 566–2777.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following correction has been made to 

the guidelines that are posted at 

www.epa.gov/brownfields:

On page 5 of the Proposal Guidelines 

for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving 

Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants, the 

first bullet under Additional Uses/

Restrictions of Grant Funds is revised to 

implement the language in the 

Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2004. 

This language now reads: 

‘‘Funds appropriated to EPA under 

the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 

2004, to carry out CERCLA 104(k) may 

be used by recipients of brownfields 

grants and loans for eligible and 

allowable costs when a recipient 

satisfies all of the elements required to 

qualify as a bona fide prospective 

purchaser under CERCLA section 

101(40) notwithstanding the fact that 

the property was acquired prior to the 

enactment of the Small Business 

Liability Relief and Brownfields 

Revitalization Act of 2001, Public Law 

107–118, on January 11, 2002.’’

The entities that otherwise meet all of 

the requirements to be eligible for 

brownfield funding and that are affected 

by this provision may apply for grants 

(including Revolving Loan Fund 

capitalization grants) to address 

hazardous waste contamination at 

eligible brownfield sites. However, 

applicants who submitted proposals by 

the December 4, 2003, deadline for 

brownfields assessment, revolving loan 

fund, and cleanup grants and who 

otherwise satisfied all of the 

requirements to be eligible to receive 

brownfields funding, as well as satisfied 

all of the elements required to qualify as 

a bona fide prospective purchaser, and 

were determined by EPA to be 

prohibited from using brownfield funds 

at the proposed site(s) because the 

applicant acquired the brownfield site 

prior to the January 11, 2002, enactment 

date, may choose to resubmit their 

proposal(s) to EPA for consideration. 

This change only has the affect of 

allowing EPA to award Brownfield 

grants to certain applicants that were 

previously prohibited from receiving 

grants under section 104(k)(4)(B)(i)(IV) 

and does not result in a change to the 

CERCLA definition of bona fide 

prospective purchaser or to any EPA 

enforcement authorities or policy. 

Please note that applicants with sites 

contaminated solely by petroleum are 

not eligible to participate in the 

reopened competition.

To be considered in this competition, 

every proposal must identify specific 

brownfield sites, meet the threshold 

requirements described in the Proposal 

Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, 

Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup 

Grants (including the requirements for 

community notification and a letter 

from state or tribal environmental 

officials) and address the ranking factors 

in the Proposal Guidelines for 

Brownfields Assessment, Revolving 

Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants. An 

original proposal and/or a request for 

reconsideration of a proposal that was 

submitted by the December 4, 2003, 

deadline must be received by 6 p.m. 

EST on or before March 9, 2004, by 

Environmental Management Support, 

Inc. (EMS), Attention: Don West, 8601 

Georgia Avenue, Suite 500, Silver 

Spring, MD 20910, phone 301–589–

6284 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 

5318. Applicants must also send a copy 

to the EPA Regional Brownfields 

Coordinator at the addresses shown in 

Appendix 1 of the October 2003 

Proposal Guidelines. EPA strongly 

encourages applicants to send their 

proposals by express courier or hand 

delivery to the address above to avoid 

potential delays in regular U.S. Postal 

Service mail delivery. Proposals 

received by EMS at the address above 

after 6 p.m. EST March 9, 2004, will not 

be considered.

Dated: February 4, 2004. 

Linda Garczynski, 

Director, Office of Brownfields Cleanup and 

Redevelopment, Office of Solid Waste and 

Emergency Response.

[FR Doc. 04–2819 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–OW–7620–6] 

Wetland Program Development Grant 

Guidelines

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Solicitation of applications.

SUMMARY: Wetland Program 

Development Grants (WPDGs) provide 

eligible applicants an opportunity to 

conduct projects that promote the 

coordination and acceleration of 

research, investigations, experiments, 

training, demonstrations, surveys, and 

studies relating to the causes, effects, 

extent, prevention, reduction, and 

elimination of water pollution. While 

WPDGs submitted for this competition 

can continue to be used by recipients to 

build and refine any element of a 

comprehensive wetland program, 

emphasis for the competition will be 

given to funding projects that address 

the three areas identified by EPA: (1) 

Developing a comprehensive monitoring 

and assessment program; (2) improving 

the effectiveness of compensatory 

mitigation; and (3) refining the 

protection of vulnerable wetlands and 

aquatic resources. States, Tribes, local 

governments (S/T/LGs), interstate 

associations, intertribal consortia, and 

national non-profit, non-governmental 

organizations are eligible to apply for 

the competition. This document 

describes the grant selection and award 

process for eligible applicants interested 

in applying for WPDGs under the 

competitive process.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of 

proposals is set by EPA Headquarters 

and each EPA Regional Office, 

independently. Please contact the 

appropriate Headquarters or Regional 

Office Wetland Grant Coordinator for 

that offices’ deadline or to confirm a 

deadline. (See Section VII for Agency 

Contact information.) Deadlines will 

also be posted on the EPA Web site at 

http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/

grantguidelines/.

ADDRESSES: Application proposals must 

be submitted to the appropriate EPA 

Headquarters or Regional Office and 

postmarked or emailed by the 

appropriate Headquarters or Regional 

Office deadline. Application proposals 

may be submitted electronically, by 

mail, or by hand delivery/courier. 

Applicants interested in being put on a 

mailing list to obtain more details 

should contact the appropriate 

Headquarters or Regional Office 

Wetland Grant Coordinator (see Section 

VII for Agency Contact information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Connie Cahanap, Office of Wetlands, 

Oceans, and Watersheds, Wetlands 

Division (MC 4502T), U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20460, telephone: (202) 

566–1382, fax: (202) 566–1349, e-mail: 

cahanap.concepcion@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Federal Agency Name: US 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Office of Water, Office of Wetlands, 

Oceans, and Watersheds, Wetlands 

Division. 

Funding Opportunity Title: Wetland 

Program Development Grants. 

Announcement Type: Notice. 

Catalog of Domestic Assistance 

Number: 66.461. 

Overview 

The goals of the Environmental 

Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) wetland 

program include increasing the quantity 

and quality of wetlands in the U.S. by 

conserving and restoring wetland 

acreage and improving wetland health. 

In pursuing these goals, EPA seeks to 

build the capacity of all levels of 

government to develop and implement 

effective, comprehensive programs for 

wetland protection and management. 

The six program areas central to 

achieving these goals are: regulation, 

monitoring and assessment, restoration, 

wetland water quality and watershed 

management, public-private 

partnerships, and coordination among 

agencies with wetland or wetlandrelated programs. 

The Wetland Program Development 

Grants (WPDGs), initiated in FY90, 

provide States, Tribes, local 

governments (S/T/LGs), interstate 

associations, intertribal consortia, and 

national non-profit, non-governmental 

organizations (hereafter referred to as 

applicants or recipients) an opportunity 

to carry out projects to develop and 

refine comprehensive wetland 

programs. WPDGs provide eligible 

applicants an opportunity to conduct 

projects that promote the coordination 

and acceleration of research, 

investigations, experiments, training, 

demonstrations, surveys, and studies 

relating to the causes, effects, extent, 

prevention, reduction, and elimination 

of water pollution. 

While WPDGs can continue to be 

used by recipients to build and refine 

any element of a comprehensive 

wetland program, emphasis through the 

competition process will be given to 

funding projects that address these three 

areas as identified by EPA: (1) 

Developing a comprehensive monitoring 

and assessment program; (2) improving 

the effectiveness of compensatory 

mitigation; and (3) refining the 

protection of vulnerable wetlands and 

aquatic resources. States, Tribes, local 

governments (S/T/LGs), interstate 

associations, intertribal consortia are 

eligible to apply. In order to provide 

greater assistance to S/T/LGs, nonprofit, non-governmental organizations 

which undertake activities that advance 

wetland programs on a national basis 

are eligible to apply for WPDG funding. 

Local/regional chapters/affiliations of a 

nonprofit organization are not eligible 

for WPDGs. 

Interest in the grant program has 

continued to grow over the years and 

Congress has appropriated $15 million 

annually to support the wetland grant 

program. Since the Wetland Grant 

Development Program started in FY90, 

grant funds are awarded on a 

competitive basis to support 

development of State and Tribal 

wetland programs. 

The statutory authority for WPDGs is 

section 104(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act 

(CWA). Section 104(b)(3) of the CWA 

restricts the use of these grants to 

developing and refining wetland 

management programs by conducting or 

promoting the coordination and 

acceleration of research, investigations, 

experiments, training, demonstrations, 

surveys, and studies relating to the 

causes, effects, extent, prevention, 

reduction, and elimination of water 

pollution. These competed grants may 

not be used for the operational support 

of wetland programs unless it is 

included in a Performance Partnership 

Grant (PPG). States and Tribes may not 

use WPDG funds for implementation of 

a wetlands program. However, funds 

available for WPDG grants may be