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 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 6285

combined in a PPG which may, in 

certain circumstances, provide the 

authorization to undertake 

implementation activities. For further 

information, see the final rules on 

Environmental Program Grants for State, 

Interstate, and local government 

agencies at 40 CFR part 35, subpart A 

and Tribes at 40 CFR part 35, subpart B. 

All projects funded through this 

program must contribute to the overall 

development and improvement of S/T/

LG wetland programs. Grant applicants 

must demonstrate that their proposed 

project integrates with S/T/LG wetland 

programs. 

This document describes the grant 

selection and award process for eligible 

applicants interested in applying for 

WPDGs under the competitive process. 

EPA Regions and Headquarters may 

supplement this notice with additional 

information pertaining specifically to 

each Regional/Headquarters 

competition. These guidelines stay in 

effect until new ones are published for 

the competitive process.

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

The types of projects that award 

recipients can undertake to develop and 

refine their comprehensive wetland 

programs are diverse. In the past, award 

recipients have pursued a wide range of 

activities, such as developing 

management tools for wetland 

resources, advancing scientific and 

technical tools for protecting wetland 

health, improving availability of data 

and information about wetlands, 

developing and disseminating local 

wetland ordinances that complement 

Federal and State management, and 

training wetland managers and the 

public about wetland and watershed 

values. 

For the WPDG competitive process, 

the wetland program has identified 

three areas for improving S/T/LGs 

ability to protect and restore their 

wetlands: (1) Developing a 

comprehensive wetland monitoring and 

assessment program; (2) improving the 

effectiveness of compensatory 

mitigation; and (3) refining the 

protection of vulnerable wetlands and 

aquatic resources. Regions are 

encouraged to target at least two-thirds 

of their competitive WPDG funds to 

projects that focus on one or more of the 

program priorities. In this competitive 

grant program, EPA will emphasize 

funding diverse levels of government 

and various entities involved in 

innovative wetland and watershed 

issues. Applicants are encouraged to 

develop WPDG applications that 

address these program areas. 

A. Developing a Comprehensive 

Monitoring and Assessment Program 

This solicitation seeks proposals that 

support the development of a 

comprehensive S/T/LG wetland 

monitoring and assessment program. 

State and Tribal adoption of an ambient 

wetland monitoring and assessment 

program is the primary goal of this 

solicitation (i.e., projects that build S/T/

LG capacity to determine the causes, 

effects, and extent of pollution to 

wetland resources and develop 

pollution prevention, reduction, and 

elimination strategies). More 

information related to wetland 

monitoring and assessment can be 

found at http://www.epa.gov/owow/

wetlands/facts/monitor.pdf and http://

www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/facts/

devgrants.pdf.

Project proposals may address 

development, testing, and 

demonstration of methods and programs 

to monitor and assess wetlands. For 

example, proposed work may include 

the use of biological and 

hydrogeomorphic (HGM) assessment 

procedures and surveys to test the 

accuracy of (a) rapid wetland 

assessment methods or (b) other types of 

assessment methods that use 

geographical information systems (GIS) 

to describe wetland condition or trends 

in wetland extent. Also, EPA encourages 

the submission of proposals for work 

that will demonstrate the use of wetland 

assessment methods for: 

1. Assessing the ecological 

consequences of a given regulatory 

action or group of actions; 

2. Improving the evaluation and 

ranking of potential wetland sites for 

restoration or acquisition at various 

levels; 

3. Evaluating the ecological 

effectiveness of wetland restoration 

projects, including compensatory 

mitigation; 

4. Developing design or performance 

standards for wetland restoration, 

including compensatory mitigation;

5. Evaluating the cumulative effect of 

wetland loss and restoration in terms of 

change in the ambient condition of 

wetlands and other waterbodies within 

a watershed; 

6. Gathering information to refine 

water quality standards or related 

administrative code to bring added 

protection to wetlands, including 

isolated wetlands; and/or 

7. Gathering information to develop 

management strategies to control the 

spread and adverse effects of nonindigenous, invasive wetland species. 

Proposals should address how work 

to accomplish the particular objective(s) 

will assist S/T/LGs in developing 

comprehensive wetland monitoring and 

assessment programs. Proposals also 

should describe how methods under 

development will improve decisionmaking across various surface water 

management programs. For example, 

EPA encourages the submissions of 

proposals for work that will 

demonstrate how information about 

ambient wetland condition can be used 

by local authorities when making 

decisions affecting land and water use, 

including their adoption of stormwater 

and smart growth management 

strategies. Provisional reporting of 

ambient wetland condition, relative to 

reference conditions, in Clean Water Act 

section 305(b) reports is a logical first 

step toward meeting that particular 

objective. When preparing proposals, 

care should be given to ensure that any 

data collected under the grant is of a 

known and documented quality. 

Accordingly, applicants may host 

technical training workshops, establish 

regional or State interagency wetland 

monitoring and assessment workgroups, 

develop volunteer monitoring programs, 

and improve wetland inventories (e.g., 

use of hydrogeomorphic (HGM) wetland 

classification system). Examples of case 

studies illustrating wetland monitoring 

and assessment methods can be found at 

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

bawwg/case.html and http://

www.epa.gov/region01/eco/wetland/

index.html. Many of the case studies 

listed on those Web sites were funded 

by WPDGs. 

Additionally, recipients of grants for 

wetland monitoring projects will be 

required to submit all data from 

monitoring activities to STORET (short 

for STOrage and RETrieval). STORET 

provides an accessible, nationwide 

central repository of water information 

of known quality. Grantee submission of 

monitoring data into STORET or 

monitoring data made available in the 

Advisory Council for Water Information 

(ACWI) Core Monitoring Data Element 

Standard (or Data Exchange Template) 

will facilitate exchange of monitoring 

data between EPA and its partners. 

Information on STORET is at http://

www.epa.gov/storet and information on 

the standard is at http://www.epa.gov/

edr.

B. Improving the Effectiveness of 

Compensatory Mitigation 

S/T/LGs should consider projects that 

improve the capacity to ensure 

ecologically effective compensatory 

mitigation for unavoidable impacts. For 

example, WPDGs can be used to 

develop mitigation performance 

standards. They also can be used to 

6286 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 

develop and verify assessment methods 

and/or tracking (reporting) systems that 

document: 

1. The technical adequacy of 

compensatory mitigation project plans 

(e.g., plan review standards); 

2. The ecological suitability of 

proposed compensatory mitigation 

project sites (e.g., develop site review 

standards that have a watershed 

context); 

3. The compliance of mitigation 

projects at various stages of 

implementation; and 

4. The adequacy of compensatory 

mitigation for managing cumulative 

wetland impacts under the Federal 

CWA section 404/401 program.

The National Wetlands Mitigation 

Action Plan, released in December 2002 

by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps, 

describes seventeen action items that 

the Federal agencies will complete by 

2005 in order to improve the ecological 

performance and results of 

compensatory mitigation. The tasks 

identified in the Plan convey the major 

areas of interest regarding mitigation 

that are being supported by the Federal 

agencies. Proposed projects that support 

such endeavors at the S/T/LG level are 

encouraged. A copy of the Plan and 

related documents can be found at http:/

/www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/

guidance/index.html#mitigation. 

Background information describing 

concepts and methods for improving the 

effectiveness of compensatory 

mitigation can be found in a National 

Academy of Science publication 

entitled ‘‘Compensating for Wetland 

Losses Under the Clean Water Act.’’ The 

document can be found at http://

www.nap.edu/books/0309074320/html/. 

Wetland program grant funds can 

only be used for research, 

investigations, experiments, training, 

demonstrations, surveys, and studies to 

support (or to improve or develop) 

mitigation programs; they cannot be 

used for specific mitigation activities 

(e.g., implementation of individual 

mitigation projects, mitigation banks, or 

in-lieu-fee mitigation programs). 

C. Refining the Protection of Vulernable 

Wetlands and Aquatic Resources 

While wetlands provide important 

ecological functions on a watershed 

scale, some are better protected than 

others. For example, isolated wetlands 

and waters may be particularly at risk as 

may wetlands subject to damage from 

activities other than the discharge of 

dredged or fill material. S/T/LGs 

wishing to develop comprehensive 

wetland protection programs to protect 

such vulnerable waters from a variety of 

potential impacts are encouraged to do 

so and encouraged to incorporate 

wetland issues into ongoing watershed 

plans. Efforts can include, but are not 

limited to, information dissemination, 

data exchange, studying S/T/LG 

regulatory improvement opportunities, 

and surveying opportunities for land 

acquisition, conservation easements, 

and tax incentive provisions. Funds 

received through the WPDG competition 

cannot be used to fund activities to 

implement a wetlands program, or fund 

the purchase of land or conservation 

easements. 

D. Other Program Areas 

WPDGs that are awarded may be used 

by recipients to also develop and refine 

all elements of a comprehensive 

wetland program. The Regions may also 

supplement the above program areas 

with Regional efforts that they want to 

emphasize, while still targeting twothirds of the WPDG funds toward the 

three program priority areas described 

previously in this notice. 

II. Award Information 

EPA’s Wetlands Division intends to 

continue to award $15 million of WPDG 

funds through a competitive process to 

eligible applicants through assistance 

agreements. Most of the WPDG funds for 

the competition are allocated to EPA 

Regional Offices, based on the number 

of States and Territories within the 

Region, to fund S/T/LGs, interstate 

agencies, and intertribal consortia. 

Headquarters reserves a portion of the 

WPDG funds for national non-profit, 

non-governmental organizations, 

interstate agencies, and intertribal 

consortia under the competitive process. 

Funding decisions for the competition 

are made by EPA Regional and 

Headquarters Offices and are based on 

the quality of the proposals received 

and adherence to the selection criteria. 

EPA typically receives requests for 

funding far in excess of available funds. 

Therefore EPA cannot provide grant 

funds to all applicants. 

The number of applicants that will be 

requested to submit a complete 

application and the number of 

applications recommended for award 

depend on the quality of the proposals 

received and the relative amount of 

funding requests. The quality of the 

proposals will be evaluated according to 

the criteria and selection process noted 

below. Total funding available for award 

by EPA depends each year on the 

Wetlands Program’s yearly fiscal 

appropriation. (Previous grant awards 

ranged from $11,000 to $496,000.) The 

terms of the period of performance will 

be determined at time of award. EPA 

reserves the right to reject all proposals 

and make no awards. 

III. Eligibility Information 

A. Eligible Applicants for Competitive 

Process 

States, Tribes, local government 

agencies, interstate agencies, intertribal 

consortia, and national, nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations are eligible. 

Typical wetland or wetland related 

agencies include, but are not limited to, 

wetland regulatory agencies, water 

quality agencies (section 401 water 

quality certification), planning offices, 

wild and scenic rivers agencies, 

departments of transportation, fish and 

wildlife or natural resources agencies, 

agriculture departments, forestry 

agencies, coastal zone management 

agencies, park and recreation agencies, 

non-point source or storm water 

agencies, city or county and other S/T/

LG agencies that conduct wetlandrelated activities. 

In order to be eligible for WPDG 

funds, Tribes must be Federally 

recognized, although ‘‘Treatment as a 

State’’ status is not a requirement. 

Intertribal consortia that meet the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 35.504 are 

eligible for direct funding.

Interstate agency and intertribal 

consortia projects must be broad in 

scope and encompass more than one 

State, Tribe, or local government. 

In order to provide greater assistance 

to S/T/LGs, non-profit, nongovernmental organizations which 

undertake activities that advance 

wetland programs on a national basis 

are eligible for WPDG funding. 

Activities must help S/T/LGs develop 

and refine wetland programs. For 

example, projects can involve advancing 

wetland science, providing training on 

how various S/T/LG wetland programs 

across the nation protect, manage and 

restore their wetland resources, and 

about initiatives to improve S/T/LG 

wetland programs. Local/regional 

chapters/affiliations of nonprofit 

organizations are not eligible for WPDGs 

and applications will only be accepted 

from the national headquarters level of 

nonprofit, non-governmental 

organizations. National nonprofit 

organizations are only eligible to submit 

their proposals to the Headquarters 

Wetland Grant Coordinator for this 

competition. (See Section VII for 

Agency Contact information.) 

B. Cost Sharing/Match Requirements 

S/T/LGs, interstate agencies, and 

intertribal consortia must provide a 

minimum of 25% of each award’s total 

project costs in accordance with 40 CFR 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 6287

31.24, 35.385, and 35.615. We 

encourage States, Tribes and local 

governments to provide a larger share of 

the project’s cost whenever possible 

(i.e., in excess of the required 25% of 

total project costs). Non-profit, nongovernmental organizations must also 

provide a minimum of 25% of each 

award’s total project costs. 

Forty CFR 35.536(c) (the 

Environmental Program Grants for 

Tribes Regulation), states that ‘‘the 

required cost share shall be five percent 

of the allowable cost of the work plan 

budget for that program’’ if the Tribal 

applicant puts the funds into a PPG. 

Tribal applicants can submit budgets 

with a 5% match if the Tribe is going 

to put the funds into a PPG. The 

following term and condition will be 

included in the assistance agreement 

awarded to the Tribe: If the Wetland 

Program Grant Funds are not or could 

not be included in a PPG, then the Tribe 

must provide a 25% match. 

The match requirement can be met 

with contributions from entities other 

than the award recipient. Other Federal 

money cannot be used as the match for 

this grant program unless authorized by 

the statute governing the award of the 

other Federal funds. However, Indian 

Tribes can use funds provided under the 

Indian Self-Determination and 

Education Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) to 

provide the required matching funds to 

the extent authorized by that Act and 

implementing regulations. 

Matching funds are considered grant 

funds. They may be used for the 

reasonable and necessary expenses of 

carrying out the work plan. Any 

restrictions on the use of grant funds 

(i.e., prohibition of land acquisition 

with grant funds) also apply to the use 

of matching funds. 

C. Local and Tribal Funding Targets 

Each Regional Office will support the 

local government initiative and Tribal 

efforts by targeting at least 15% of their 

Regional allocation to local government 

and Tribal applications. 

D. Performance Partnership Grants 

A Performance Partnership Grant 

(PPG) is a multi-program grant made to 

a State, Tribe, interstate agency, or 

intertribal consortium from funds 

appropriated for many of EPA’s 

environmental program grants. Local 

governments are not eligible for PPGs. 

PPGs are voluntary and provide 

recipients the option to combine funds 

from two or more environmental 

program grants into one or more PPGs. 

PPGs can provide administrative and/or 

programmatic flexibility. 

Funds for a WPDG may be included 

in a PPG. Under this competition, State 

proposals must first be selected under 

the competitive grant process and, in 

accordance with 40 CFR 35.138, the 

work plan commitments that would 

have been included in the WPDG work 

plan must be included in the PPG work 

plan. Similarly, Tribal proposals must 

first be selected under this competitive 

grant process, and in accordance with 

40 CFR 35.535. States and Tribes may 

not use WPDG funds for 

implementation of a wetlands program. 

However, funds available for WPDG 

grants may be combined in a PPG which 

may, in certain circumstances, provide 

the authorization to undertake 

implementation activities. For further 

information, see the final rules on 

Environmental Program Grants for State, 

Interstate, and local government 

Agencies at 40 CFR part 35, subpart A 

and Tribes at 40 CFR part 35, subpart B. 

The rules are also available on EPA’s 

Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/

fedrgstr/EPA-TOX/2001/Day-09/

t218.htm (State) and at http://

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-GENERAL/

2001January/Day-16/g219.htm (Tribal). 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

A. Request for Application Packages 

Grant application forms are available 

at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/

index.htm/ and by mail upon request by 

calling the Grants Administration 

Division at (202) 564–5305. If you have 

questions, contact your Headquarters or 

Regional Office Wetland Grant 

Coordinator (see Section VII for Agency 

Contact information) or visit our website 

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

grantguidelines/. 

B. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

Headquarters and Regional Offices 

may ask applicants to submit preapplication proposals. For specific 

Regional/Headquarters information, 

contact your Headquarters or Regional 

Office Wetland Grant Coordinator (see 

Section VII for Agency Contact 

information). As provided in 40 CFR 

35.107 and 35.507, for States, Tribes, 

local governments, interstate agencies, 

and national non-profit organizations, 

work plans must include: (1) A 

summary of key objectives, work plan 

commitments and final products; (2) a 

detailed description of project tasks and 

an explanation of how the project will 

contribute to developing or improving a 

S/T/LG’s wetland program; (3) a timeline and reporting schedule; (4) a budget 

and estimated funding amounts for each 

work plan component; (5) outcomes and 

expected environmental results; (6) 

performance measures and evaluation 

process; (7) roles and responsibilities of 

the recipient in carrying out the work 

plan commitments; and (8) contact 

information for the Program Manager, 

Grant Project Lead Manager, and 

Account Manager. Grant applicants will 

be required to provide a Dun and 

Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal 

Numbering System (DUNS) number 

when applying for Federal grants or 

cooperative agreements. Organizations 

can receive a DUNS number in one day, 

at no cost, by calling the dedicated tollfree DUNS Number request line at 1–

866–705–5711 or by visiting 

www.dnb.com. 

C. Submission Dates and Times 

Submission deadlines are set by EPA 

Headquarters and Regional Offices. 

Please contact the appropriate 

Headquarters or Regional Office 

Wetland Grant Coordinator for 

information and/or to confirm 

competition deadlines (see Section VII 

for Agency Contact information). 

Deadlines will also be posted at http:/

/www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/

grantguidelines/. Application proposals 

must be submitted to the appropriate 

EPA office and postmarked or emailed 

by the appropriate Regional or 

Headquarters deadline. Applicants 

interested in being put on a mailing list 

to obtain more details should contact 

the appropriate Headquarters or 

Regional Wetland Grant Coordinator 

(see Section VII for Agency Contact 

information). 

D. Intergovernmental Review 

Applicants requested to submit a full 

application may be required to comply 

with Intergovernmental Review 

Requirements (40 CFR part 29). 

E. Funding Restrictions 

Based on policy, regulation, and on 

experience gained from previous years 

we offer the following comments/

restrictions on funding eligibility. 

• Universities that are agencies of 

State government are eligible to receive 

grant funds from the Regional Offices 

through this competition. Universities 

must provide documentation acceptable 

to the EPA Regional Office to 

demonstrate that they function as a 

State agency. Universities that are not 

chartered as a part of State government 

are not eligible for direct funding from 

EPA Regional Offices. Also, any award 

recipients may award such entities 

contracts in accordance with 40 CFR 

31.36, and subgrants in accordance with 

40 CFR 31.37. The State, Tribe, local 

6288 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 

agency, or national non-profit 

organization should not simply pass 

through funding to an organization that 

is not eligible to receive funding 

directly. Land grant schools do not 

automatically qualify for direct funding 

as an agency of a State because of their 

status as a land grant school.

• Under the WPDG competitive 

process, funds cannot be used for land 

acquisition or purchase of easements. 

However, it may support the 

coordination or acceleration of research, 

investigations, experiments, training, 

demonstrations, surveys, and study 

efforts directed at identifying areas for 

acquisition, which would help address 

water pollution problems including 

wetlands protection and restoration. 

• This competitive grant program 

cannot fund payment of taxes for 

landowners who have a wetland on 

their property. 

• While contractual efforts can be a 

part of these grants, each WPDG 

recipient must be significantly involved 

in the administration of the grant. EPA 

recommends that recipients use no more 

than 50% of the grant funds to contract 

with non-governmental entities. 

However, if the applicant wants to 

exceed this limit, the applicant may 

submit a written justification for greater 

involvement by non-governmental 

contractors as part of the grant 

application package. EPA will evaluate 

the need for greater contractual 

participation and may approve the 

request if there is adequate justification 

to exceed the 50% limit. If the 

contractual work is being done by 

another S/T/LG agency, interstate 

agency, or intertribal consortia, these 

entities should be clearly indicated in 

the grant application. 

• Inventory or mapping for the sole 

purpose of locating wetlands is not 

eligible for funding under this 

competition. A description of how 

mapping or inventory projects will 

directly develop or improve the eligible 

applicant’s wetland protection programs 

must be included in the grant 

application for these types of projects to 

be considered for funding under this 

grant program. 

• Under the competition, each grant 

must be completed with the initial 

award of funds. Recipients should not 

anticipate additional funding beyond 

the initial award of funds for a specific 

project. Eligible applicants should 

request the entire amount of money 

needed to complete the project in the 

original grant application. Each grant 

should produce a final, discrete 

product. Funding and project periods 

can be for more than one year. 

• Grant funds cannot be used to fund 

an honorarium under this competition. 

• Any field work or research-type 

activities are limited to activities that 

have a direct, demonstrated link to 

program development or refinement 

included in the application. 

• Purchase/lease of vehicles 

(including boats, motor homes) and 

office furniture is not eligible for 

funding under this program. 

• Grant funds cannot be used to pay 

for travel by Federal agency staff. 

V. Application Review Information 

A. Selection Criteria 

For the traditional competitive WPDG 

funding, proposals will be evaluated 

using the following general categories of 

criteria: 

• Program Area Emphasis—priority 

in the selection process will be given to 

projects which support the development 

of a S/T/LG’s monitoring and 

assessment program, improvement of 

the effectiveness of compensatory 

mitigation, or protection of vulnerable 

wetlands and aquatic resources. 

• Clarity of Work Plan—clearly 

written and detailed proposals. 

• Potential Environmental Results—

likelihood of positive environmental 

results in the short- and long-term. 

• Transferability of Results and/or 

Methods to other S/T/LGs. 

• Involvement/Commitment of the 

applicant—significant financial and 

personnel contribution and involvement 

of partners. 

• Incorporation of project into broad 

agency wetland goals (e.g., Government 

Performance Results Act (GPRA) Goals, 

EPA Strategic Plan, or Core Elements of 

a Comprehensive Wetland Program.) 

Please contact the Wetlands Helpline at 

(800) 832–7828) for more information. 

• Data Management—capability to 

report monitoring data to STORET. 

• Success of Previous Projects—for 

applicants who have received prior EPA 

funding. 

Proposals are evaluated by the quality 

of the submission related to the above 

criteria. The last criterion is applied 

only to prior grant recipients. The last 

criterion does not add value in the 

rating process for prior wetland grant 

recipients to give an automatic 

advantage over new applicants. The last 

criterion, does, in cases of inadequate 

and inappropriate prior grant 

performance, lower an applicant’s 

ranking; it allows consideration of poor 

past performance in the evaluation of 

current grant proposals. 

B. Review and Selection Process 

For the competitive process, WPDG 

applications from States, Tribes, and 

local governments are handled through 

EPA Regional Offices, while 

applications from national non-profit, 

non-governmental organizations are 

handled through EPA Headquarters. 

Applications from interstate agencies 

and intertribal consortia can be 

submitted to either a Regional Office or 

Headquarters, however, the same 

proposals from interstate and intertribal 

agencies cannot be submitted to more 

than one office. Headquarters and 

Regional Office staff will review the 

applications received in their respective 

offices and select the most competitive 

projects for funding on the basis of the 

selection criteria. Both the quality and 

quantity of the applications will play a 

significant role in the selection of grants 

for funding. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

for Competitive Process 

A. Award Notices 

All applicants will be notified by the 

appropriate EPA Office (Region/

Headquarters) on whether or not the 

applicant has been selected for funding. 

The notification is not an authorization 

to begin performance. A notice signed 

by the Grants Administration Division is 

the authorizing document to the 

applicant to begin performance. 

B. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

The general award and administration 

process for all WPDGs is governed by 

regulations at 40 CFR part 30 (‘‘Grants 

and Agreements with Institutions of 

Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other 

Non-Profit Organizations’’), 40 CFR part 

31 (‘‘Uniform Administrative 

Requirements for Grants and 

Cooperative Agreements to State and 

Local Governments’’) and 40 CFR part 

35, subpart A (‘‘Environmental Program 

Grants for State, Interstate, and Local 

Government Agencies’’) and subpart B 

(‘‘Environmental Program Grants for 

Tribes’’). 

C. Reporting

WPDGs are currently covered under 

the following EPA grant regulations: 40 

CFR part 30 (non-profit organizations); 

40 CFR part 31 (States, Tribes, interstate 

agencies, intertribal consortia and local 

governments) and 40 CFR part 35, 

subpart A (States, interstate agencies 

and local governments) and subpart B 

(Tribes and intertribal consortia). These 

regulations specify basic grant reporting 

requirements, including performance 

and financial reports (see 40 CFR 30.51, 

30.52, 31.40, 31.41, 35.115, and 35.515.) 

In negotiating these grants, EPA will 

work closely with recipients to 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 6289

incorporate appropriate performance 

measures and reporting requirements 

into each grant agreement consistent 

with 40 CFR 30.51, 31.40, 35.115, and 

35.515. These regulations provide some 

flexibility in determining the 

appropriate content and frequency of 

performance reports. At a minimum, 

however, the reporting schedule must 

require the recipient to report at least 

annually. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

Headquarters and Regional Wetland 

Grant Coordinators 

Headquarters 

Connie Cahanap, U.S. EPA Wetlands 

Division, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., MC 4502T, Washington, DC 

20460. Phone: 202–566–1382. 

cahanap.concepcion@epa.gov. 

Region 1—CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT 

Jeanne Cosgrove. U.S. EPA Region 1, 

1 Congress Street, MC CSP, Suite 100, 

Boston, MA 02114. Phone: 617–918–

1669. cosgrove.jeanne@epa.gov. 

Region 2—NJ, NY, PR, VI 

Kathleen Drake, U.S. EPA Region 2, 

290 Broadway, NY, NY 10007. Phone: 

212–637–3817. drake.kathleen@epa.gov. 

Region 3—DE, MD, PA, VA, WV, DC 

Alva Brunner, U.S. EPA Region 3, 

1650 Arch Street, MC 3EA30, 

Philadelphia, PA 19103. Phone: 215–

814–2715. brunner.alva@epa.gov. 

Region 4—AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, 

TN 

Sharon Ward, U.S. EPA Region 4, 61 

Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, GA 30303. 

Phone: 404–562–9269. 

ward.sharon@epa.gov. 

Region 5—IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI 

Cathy Garra, U.S. EPA Region 5, 77 

West Jackson Blvd., MC WW16J, 

Chicago, IL 60604. Phone: 312–886–

0241. garra.catherine@epa.gov. 

Region 6—AR, LA, NM, OK, TX 

Tyrone Hoskins, U.S. EPA Region 6, 

1445 Ross Avenue, MC 6WQ–AT, 

Dallas, TX 75202. Phone: 214–665–

7375. hoskins.tyrone@epa.gov. 

Region 7—IA, KS, MO, NE 

Jason Daniels, U.S. EPA Region 7, 901 

North Fifth Street, Kansas City, KS 

66101. Phone: 913–551–7443. 

daniels.jason@epa.gov. 

Region 8—CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY 

Brent Truskowski, U.S. EPA Region 8, 

999 18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 

80202. Phone: 303–312–6235. 

truskowski.brent@epa.gov. 

Region 9—AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU 

Cheryl McGovern, U.S. EPA Region 9, 

75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 

94105. Phone: 415–972–3415. 

mcgovern.cheryl@epa.gov. 

Region 10—AK, ID, OR, WA 

David Kulman, U.S. EPA Region 10, 

1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. 

Phone: 206–553–6219. 

kulman.david@epa.gov. 

VIII. Other Information 

A. Quality Assurance/Quality Control 

(QA/QC) 

QA/QC and peer review are 

sometimes applicable to these grants 

(see 40 CFR 30.54 and 40 CFR 31.45.) 

QA/QC requirements apply to the 

collection of environmental data. 

Environmental data are any 

measurements or information that 

describe environmental processes, 

location, or conditions; ecological or 

health effects and consequences; or the 

performance of environmental 

technology. Environmental data include 

information collected directly from 

measurements, produced from models, 

and compiled from other sources such 

as databases or literature. Applicants 

should allow sufficient time and 

resources for this process. EPA can 

assist applicants determine whether 

QA/QC is required for the proposed 

project. If QA/QC is required for the 

project, the applicant is encouraged to 

work with the appropriate EPA quality 

staff to determine the appropriate QA/

QC practices for the project. If the 

applicant has an EPA-approved quality 

assurance project plan and it covers the 

project in the application, then they 

need only reference the plan in their 

application. Contact the appropriate 

Headquarters or Regional Office 

Wetland Grant Coordinator (See Section 

VII for Agency Contact information) for 

referral to an EPA quality staff. 

B. Public Participation 

EPA regulations require public 

participation in various Clean Water Act 

programs including grants (40 CFR part 

25). Each applicant for EPA financial 

assistance shall include tasks for public 

participation in their project’s work 

plan submitted in the grant application 

(40 CFR 25.11.) The project work plan 

should reflect how public participation 

will be provided for, assisted, and 

accomplished. 

C. Annual Wetlands Meeting/Training 

EPA encourages S/T/LGs to include 

travel plans for wetland personnel to 

attend at least one national wetland 

meeting in support of the project or for 

training each year (e.g., National EPA, 

State, Tribal, Local wetland meeting or 

wetland monitoring workshops.) 

Applicants should account for travel 

plans and costs in the work plans and 

the project budget. EPA’s Wetlands 

Program does not anticipate providing 

travel for State, Tribal or local 

government staff to attend meetings 

other than through this grant program.

Dated: January 22, 2004. 

Diane Regas, 

Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and 

Watersheds.

[FR Doc. 04–2818 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–7620–5] 

Region III Water Protection Division; 

Revision to Delaware’s NPDES 

Program; State of Delaware’s 

Submittal of a Substantial Program 

Revision to Its Authorized National 

Pollutant Discharge Elimination 

System (NPDES) Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of revision, public 

comment period, and opportunity to 

request a public hearing. 

SUMMARY: The State of Delaware has 

submitted to EPA for review and 

approval revisions to the regulations 

implementing the State’s National 

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 

(NPDES) program, which was approved 

by EPA pursuant to section 402 of the 

Clean Water Act (CWA). The State has 

made significant revisions to sections 1 

through 8 and sections 10 through 14 of 

its Department of Natural Resources and 

Environmental Control’s (DNREC) 

March 15, 1974 Regulations Governing 

the Control of Water Pollution, and EPA 

has determined that the DNREC’s 

Revision constitutes a substantial 

revision to Delaware’s authorized 

NPDES program. Accordingly, EPA 

requests public comment and is 

providing notice of an opportunity to 

request a public hearing on the 

submitted regulations. EPA seeks public 

comments on whether to approve or 

disapprove the revisions to Delaware’s 

authorized NPDES program, and a 

public hearing will be held if there is 

significant public interest based on the 

requests received. Copies of the 

Delaware Regulation Revisions are 

available for public inspection as 

indicated in the ADDRESSES section.