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CHAPTER 7-110

APPLIED SCIENCE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

7-110-00 What does this chapter do?

7-110-10 What is the objective of applied science projects?

7-110-20 Who is eligible for an applied science cooperative agreement?

7-110-30 Where can you find out about applied science opportunities?

7-110-40 What requirements must your proposal meet?

7-110-50 What costs are allowable?

7-110-60 How will we review and select proposals

7-110-70 What happens if we select your proposal?

7-110-00 What does this chapter do?

This chapter provides guidance on how you can propose an applied science project. It explains 

how we, the Office of Surface Mining (OSMRE), review and select proposals, and how we 

award applied science cooperative agreements. 

7-110-10 What is the objective of applied science projects?

Our objective is to further the science of reclaiming mined lands and protecting the environment. 

We request proposals for projects that develop and demonstrate improved technologies to 

address environmental issues related to surface coal mining and land reclamation after mining. 

We provide funding for selected projects through cooperative agreements. 

7-110-20 Who is eligible for an applied science cooperative agreement?

Public, private, or non-profit entities are eligible. You may be a Federal, state, local, or tribal 

government entity, a college or university, or other qualified entity. 

7-110-30 Where can you find out about applied science opportunities?

If funding is available, we will announce the opportunity for assistance. You may obtain a copy 

of the announcement using the sources we identified in Chapter 7-100-30. Our announcement 

will include any high priority topics we identify for that year. 

7-110-40 What requirements must your proposal meet?

Your proposal must meet the following requirements.

A. Address coal mining reclamation issues in at least one of our three regions.

B. Include a summary statement addressing the proposal’s value associated with coal mining

reclamation or regulation.
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C. Do not propose quality control or consumer evaluations for commercial products.

D. You may include costs for salaries, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, materials, and 

services. 

E. Do not include fees or profit.

F. Do not include Federal employee salary or compensation.

G. Your proposal must meet the “Instructions for Preparing the Proposal” in our funding 

opportunity announcement.

7-110-50 What costs are allowable?

A. In general, you may spend funds from the cooperative agreement for costs which are 

directly associated with your approved project and are reasonable and necessary to 

conduct it. 

B. Costs must be allowable under the Office of Management and Budget’s cost principles. 

See the applicable section in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 2 Part 200, for 

more information. 

7-110-60 How will we review and select proposals? 

We have a multi-tiered process to review, rank and score proposals. The process was developed 

by the National Technology Transfer Team (NTTT), a partnership organization of 

representatives from our coal mining states and tribes and OSMRE. 

A. Technical experts provide a detailed evaluation and pre-decisional scoring of the 

proposals. Then NTTT uses consensus final scoring to identify the highest ranked 

proposals. 

B. Our technical representatives and grants staff review the proposals with the highest scores 

to identify other technical and financial assistance issues that might affect the award. The 

NTTT provides a summary of the top rated proposals to OSMRE senior management.

C. Senior management will make recommendations to the Director who will select which 

proposals that will receive funding. 

7-110-70 What happens if we select your proposal?

A. If we select your proposal, we will contact you about the following information.

1. We will list any additional information or documents we need in order to award 

your cooperative agreement.
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2. We will identify all of your and our relevant points of contact for this proposal. 

3. We will identify specific conditions that you must meet. 

4. We will define the level of substantial Federal involvement. Substantial Federal 

involvement is a requirement for Federal cooperative agreements. 

5. We will outline specific reporting requirements. 

6. We will address any questions or issues you may have.

B. Once we have gathered all of the required information, we will process your cooperative 

agreement. We will send you a written award document. This document will include all 

special conditions that apply to your cooperative agreement. We will also send you 

information on OSMRE contacts for your agreement, any other conditions of your award, 

reports, and closeout requirements. 

C. Your cooperative agreement will show the start and end dates of your performance 

period. 

1. You cannot incur costs before the start date, or after the end date, of your 

performance period. 

2. You may begin requesting funds from the U. S. Treasury’s electronic payment 

system on or after the start date of the performance period. 

3. You may request an extension of your performance period. However, we must 

receive your request at least 30 days before the date the performance period is 

scheduled to end.