104528 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Notices 

is contained in this system of records 

should follow the instructions for 

Record Access Procedures above. 

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

None. 

HISTORY: 

October 20, 2010, 75 FR 64713; 

February 11, 2016, 81 FR 7325. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30615 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Common Instructions for Applicants to 

Department of Education Discretionary 

Grant Programs 

AGENCY: Office for Planning, Evaluation 

and Policy Development, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice; revised common 

instructions. 

SUMMARY: On December 7, 2022, the 

Department of Education (Department) 

published a revised set of common 

instructions for applicants seeking 

funds under a Department discretionary 

grant competition. In this notice, the 

Department is publishing a revised 

version of the common instructions that 

supersedes the version published on 

December 7, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelly Terpak, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 

room 4C212, Washington, DC 20202. 

Telephone: (202) 280–8472. Email: 

Kelly.Terpak@ed.gov. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability and wish to 

access telecommunications relay 

services, please dial 7–1–1. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: This document is a 

centralized and up-to-date set of 

instructions for applying to the 

Department’s discretionary grant 

programs. Notices inviting applications 

(NIAs) will reference this document 

instead of providing this series of 

instructions within each NIA. If in the 

rare circumstance exceptions to these 

instructions are necessary, they will be 

noted in an individual competition NIA. 

Revised Common Instructions: 

The Department is making changes to 

the revised common instructions for 

applicants that were published in the 

Federal Register on December 7, 2022 

(87 FR 75045), to make them clearer and 

more direct. The Department has also 

added guidance on the usage of 

Artificial Intelligence when applying to 

grant competitions. 

The revised common instructions are: 

Common Set of Instructions for 

Applicants: 

Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Where to Find the Application 

Package: You can obtain an application 

package from the Department’s website 

or Grants.gov. 

2. Content and Formatting 

Requirements: Requirements concerning 

the content and formatting of an 

application, together with the forms you 

must submit, are in the application 

package for the program located on 

Grants.gov. 

3. Unique Entity Identifier, Taxpayer 

Identification Number, and System for 

Award Management: To do business 

with the Department, and to submit 

your application electronically using 

Grants.gov, you must— 

a. Have a Unique Entity Identifier 

(UEI) and a Taxpayer Identification 

Number (TIN); 

b. Be registered in the System for 

Award Management (SAM.gov), the 

Government’s primary registrant 

database. Information about SAM is 

available at www.SAM.gov. To further 

assist you with registering in SAM.gov 

and getting a UEI or updating your 

existing SAM registration, see the Quick 

Start Guide for Grant Registrations and 

the Entity Registration Video at https:// 

sam.gov/content/entity-registration; 

c. Provide your UEI number and TIN 

on your application; and 

d. Maintain an active SAM 

registration with current information 

while your application is under review 

by the Department and, if you are 

awarded a grant, during the project 

period. 

If you are a corporate entity, agency, 

institution, or organization, you can 

obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue 

Service (IRS). If you are an individual, 

you can obtain a TIN from the IRS or the 

Social Security Administration. If you 

need a new TIN, please allow two to 

five weeks for your TIN to become 

active. 

The SAM registration process usually 

takes approximately 7 to 10 business 

days, but may take longer, depending on 

the completeness and accuracy of the 

data you enter into the SAM.gov 

database. The Department recommends 

that you register early, at least 10 to 14 

business days before the application 

deadline. If you are unable to submit an 

application on Grants.gov by the 

application deadline because you do not 

have an active SAM registration, you 

will not be considered for funding. 

Note: Once your SAM.gov registration 

is active, it may be 24 to 48 hours before 

you can access the information in, and 

submit an application through, 

Grants.gov. 

If you are currently registered with 

SAM.gov, you may not need to make 

any changes. However, please make 

certain that the TIN associated with 

your UEI is correct. 

Note: You must update your SAM 

registration annually. This may take 

three or more business days. 

e. (1) Register as an applicant using 

your UEI number and (2) be designated 

by your organization’s E-Biz Point of 

Contact as an Authorized Organization 

Representative (AOR). Details on these 

steps are outlined at the following 

Grants.gov web page: https://grants.gov/ 

register. 

4. Submission Instructions: 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

The Department is participating as a 

partner in the Government-wide 

Grants.gov site. Submit applications 

electronically using Grants.gov. Do not 

email them unless explicitly allowed in 

a competition NIA. 

You may access the electronic grant 

applications at www.grants.gov. You 

may search for the downloadable 

application package for the competition 

that you are interested in applying to by 

the Assistance Listing Number (ALN). 

Do not include the ALN’s alpha suffix 

in your search (e.g., search for 84.184, 

not 84.184D). 

A Grants.gov applicant must apply 

online using Workspace, a shared 

environment in Grants.gov where 

members of a grant team may 

simultaneously access and edit different 

web forms within an application. An 

applicant can create an individual 

Workspace for each application and 

establish, for that application, a 

collaborative application package that 

allows more than one person in the 

applicant’s organization to work 

concurrently on an application. The 

Grants.gov system also enables the 

applicant to reuse forms from previous 

submissions, check forms in and out to 

complete them, and submit the 

application package. For further 

instructions on how to apply using 

Grants.gov, refer to: https://grants.gov/ 

applicants/grant-applications/how-toapply-for-grants. 

Please note the following: 

• Assistance: Applicants needing 

assistance with Grants.gov may contact 

the Grants.gov Support Center either by 

calling 1–800–518–4726 or by sending 

an email to support@grants.gov. The 

Grants.gov Support Center is available 

24 hours a day, seven days a week, 

except for Federal holidays. Applicants 

needing assistance from Principal Office 

staff with their applications should 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Notices 104529 

contact the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 

in the competition NIA prior to the 

application deadline date during normal 

business hours, and no later than 5:00 

p.m., Eastern Time, on the application 

deadline date. 

Further information about applying 

for discretionary grants can also be 

found on the ED.gov website: https://

www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/ 

apply-grant/getting-starteddiscretionary-grant-applications. 

• Time to Submit an Application: The 

amount of time it can take to upload an 

application will vary depending on a 

variety of factors, including the size of 

the application and the speed of your 

internet connection. Therefore, the 

Department recommends that you leave 

yourself plenty of time to complete your 

submission. 

• Application Deadline, Date- and 

Time-Stamps: Applications received by 

Grants.gov are date- and time-stamped 

upon submission. Your application 

must be fully uploaded and submitted, 

received, and date- and time-stamped by 

the Grants.gov system no later than 

11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the 

application deadline date. Except as 

otherwise noted in this section, the 

Department will not accept your 

application if it is submitted, received, 

and date- and time-stamped by the 

Grants.gov system after 11:59:59 p.m., 

Eastern Time, on the application 

deadline date. The Department will not 

consider an application that does not 

comply with the deadline requirements. 

When the Department retrieves your 

application from Grants.gov, the 

Department will notify you if the 

Department is rejecting your application 

because it was late. Receipt of a dateand time-stamp from Grants.gov does 

not mean that your application meets 

program eligibility requirements 

described in the NIA. 

• Submission Procedures: You should 

review and follow the Education 

Submission Procedures for submitting 

an application through Grants.gov that 

are included in the application package 

for the program to ensure that you 

submit your application on time. In 

addition, for specific guidance and 

procedures for submitting an 

application through Grants.gov, please 

refer to the Grants.gov website at: 

https://grants.gov/applicants/grantapplications/how-to-apply-for-grants. 

• Artificial Intelligence: The 

Department recognizes the potential of 

artificial intelligence (AI) systems and 

generated content to support the 

mission of promoting student 

achievement and ensuring equal access. 

The use of AI in the development of 

grant application materials is allowable. 

However, it should be noted that the use 

of AI may introduce significant risks 

(such as, but not limited to, bias, 

inaccuracy, falsification, and 

plagiarism), and applicants and grantees 

are responsible for ensuring the integrity 

of application materials. Applicants are 

fully responsible for the content of grant 

applications and will be held 

accountable if their project design, even 

if it was developed with the assistance 

of AI, has discriminatory or other 

adverse outcomes when implemented. 

We encourage applicants and grantees 

to become familiar and align with the 

principles of responsible use discussed 

in Executive Order 14110, the Blueprint 

for an AI Bill of Rights, and the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology 

AI Risk Management Framework. These 

resources can be found at: https://

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/ 

presidential-actions/2023/10/30/ 

executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-andtrustworthy-development-and-use-ofartificial-intelligence/, https://

www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ai-bill-ofrights/, and https://www.nist.gov/itl/airisk-management-framework. For those 

applicants who are proposing AI in their 

grant applications to develop or 

implement new AI systems for use in 

educational settings, the Department 

highly encourages applicants to review 

the recent resources produced by the 

Department. These resources provide 

valuable insights that can guide the 

responsible development and 

implementation of AI-based tools and 

services intended to improve education 

outcomes. For more information on the 

use of AI in Education, please visit: The 

Department of Education, Office of 

Educational Technology at: tech.ed.gov. 

Any questions related to an open 

grant competition may be directed to 

contact the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 

in the competition NIA. 

• Forms: When you submit your 

application electronically, all 

documents must be submitted 

electronically, including all information 

you typically provide on the following 

forms: the Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 

Education Supplemental Information for 

SF 424, Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED 524), and all 

Department-specific assurances and 

certifications. 

• File Type: When you submit your 

application electronically, you must 

upload any narrative sections and all 

other attachments to your application as 

files in either Portable Document 

Format (PDF) or Microsoft Word. 

Although applicants have the option of 

uploading any narrative sections and all 

other attachments to their application in 

either PDF or Microsoft Word, the 

Department recommends applicants 

submit all documents as read-only 

flattened PDFs, meaning any fillable 

PDF files must be saved and submitted 

as non-fillable PDF files and not as 

interactive or fillable PDF files, to better 

ensure applications are processed in a 

more timely, accurate, and efficient 

manner. If you choose to submit your 

application in Microsoft Word, you may 

do so using any version of Microsoft 

Word (i.e., a document ending in a .doc 

or .docx extension). If you upload a file 

type other than PDF or Microsoft Word 

or if you submit a password-protected 

file, the Department will be unable to 

review that material. Please note that 

this will likely result in your 

application not being considered for 

funding. The Department will not 

convert material from other formats to 

PDF or Microsoft Word. 

• Notification of Receipt: After you 

electronically submit your application, 

you will receive from Grants.gov an 

automatic notification of receipt that 

contains a Grants.gov tracking number. 

Grants.gov will also notify you 

automatically by email if your 

application met all of the Grants.gov 

validation requirements or if there were 

any errors (such as submission of your 

application by someone other than a 

registered Authorized Organization 

Representative (AOR), issues with your 

UEI number, or inclusion of an 

attachment with a file name that 

contains special characters). If you 

discover that your submitted 

application was incomplete or included 

errors, you will be given an opportunity 

to correct any errors and resubmit, but 

you must still meet the deadline date 

and time (11:59:59) for submission. 

Email confirmations and receipts from 

Grants.gov do not indicate receipt by the 

Department, nor do they mean that your 

application is complete or has met all 

application requirements. While your 

application may have been successfully 

validated by Grants.gov, it also must be 

reviewed in accordance with the 

Department’s application requirements 

as specified in the competition NIA and 

in these application instructions. It is 

your responsibility to ensure that your 

submitted application has met all of the 

Department’s requirements. 

Additionally, the Department may 

request that you provide us with 

original signatures on forms at a later 

date. 

Once your application is successfully 

validated by Grants.gov, the Department 

will retrieve your application from 

Grants.gov and send you an email with 


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104530 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Notices 

a unique PR/Award number for your 

application. 

• Application Deadline Date 

Extension in Case of Technical Issues 

with the Grants.gov System: If you 

experience problems with Grants.gov 

while submitting your application, 

please contact the Grants.gov Support 

Desk immediately, toll-free, at 1–800– 

518–4726. The Grants.gov Support 

Center will provide you with a Support 

Desk Case Number documenting your 

communication. You must retain your 

Support Desk Case Number for future 

reference as proof of your 

communication with the Support 

Center. Please subsequently contact the 

person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section in the 

competition NIA and provide an 

explanation of the technical problem 

you experienced with Grants.gov, along 

with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case 

Number. 

If you are prevented from 

electronically submitting your 

application on the application deadline 

date because of technical problems 

within the Grants.gov system, the 

Department will grant you an extension 

until 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, the 

following business day to enable you to 

transmit your application electronically, 

provided the Department can verify the 

technical issues that affected your 

ability to submit your application on 

time via your Grants.gov Support Desk 

Case Number. 

Note: The extensions to which the 

Department refers in this section apply 

only to technical problems with the 

Grants.gov system. The Department will 

not grant you an extension if you failed 

to fully register in order to submit your 

application to Grants.gov (including 

with the required UEI number and TIN 

currently registered in SAM) before the 

application deadline date and time or if 

the technical problem you experienced 

is unrelated to the Grants.gov system. 

b. Submission of Paper Applications. 

The Department discourages paper 

applications, but if electronic 

submission is not possible (e.g., you do 

not have access to the internet), (1) you 

must provide a prior written notification 

that you intend to submit a paper 

application and (2) your paper 

application must be postmarked by the 

application deadline date. 

The prior written notification may be 

submitted by email or by mail to the 

person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of the 

competition NIA. If you submit your 

notification by email, it must be 

received by the Department no later 

than 14 calendar days before the 

application deadline date. If you mail 

your notification to the Department, it 

must be postmarked no later than 14 

calendar days before the application 

deadline date. 

If you submit a paper application, you 

must have, and include on your 

application, a UEI number and mail the 

original and two copies of your 

application, on or before the application 

deadline date, to the Department at the 

following address: 

U.S. Department of Education, OFO/G5 

Functional Application Team, Mail 

Stop 2C124, Attention: (Assistance 

Listing Number + Suffix Letter), 400 

Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20202 

You must show proof of mailing 

consisting of one of the following: 

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service 

postmark. 

(2) A legible mail receipt with the 

date of mailing stamped by the U.S. 

Postal Service. 

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or 

receipt from a commercial carrier. 

(4) Any other proof of mailing 

acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. 

Department of Education. 

If you mail your application through 

the U.S. Postal Service, the Department 

does not accept either of the following 

as proof of mailing: 

(1) A private metered postmark. 

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by 

the U.S. Postal Service. 

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not 

uniformly provide a dated postmark. 

Before relying on this method, you 

should check with your local post 

office. 

The Department will not consider 

applications postmarked after the 

application deadline date. 

Note for Mail Delivery of Paper 

Applications: If you mail your 

application to the Department— 

(1) You must indicate on the envelope 

and in Item 11 of the SF 424 the ALN, 

including suffix letter, if any, of the 

competition under which you are 

submitting your application; and 

(2) The G5 Functional Application 

Team will notify you of the 

Department’s receipt of your grant 

application. If you do not receive this 

notification within 15 business days 

from the application deadline date, you 

should contact the person listed in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section of the competition NIA. 

Accommodations; Accessible Format: 

Individuals with disabilities who need 

an accommodation or auxiliary aid in 

connection with the application process 

should contact the person listed in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section in the competition NIA. If the 

Department provides an accommodation 

or auxiliary aid to an individual with a 

disability in connection with the 

application process, the individual’s 

application remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in the 

competition NIA. 

On request to the person listed under 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document and a copy of the 

application package in an accessible 

format. The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

Department documents published in the 

Federal Register, in text or PDF. To use 

PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat 

Reader, which is available free at the 

site. 

You may also access Department 

documents published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Roberto Rodriguez, 

Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation 

and Policy Development. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30488 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Record of Decision for DOE/EIS–0082– 

S–SA–01 Supplement Analysis for 

Defense Waste Processing Facility 

Failed Melter Aboveground Storage 

AGENCY: Office of Environmental 

Management, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Record of decision (ROD). 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces its decision to 

construct an interim aboveground 

storage facility for storage of two 

Defense Waste Processing Facility 

(DWPF) failed melters (Melter Nos. 1 

and 2) in lieu of underground storage 

units. Moving Melter Nos. 1 and 2 from 

the Failed Equipment Storage Vaults 

(FESVs) to aboveground storage will 

allow space for storage of two melters 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES