21810 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 1995 / Notices

Department of Natural Resources, Al—

Jefferson County Department of Health,

Al). These audits were conducted to

assess the agencies’ performance under

the grants made to them by EPA

pursuant to Section 105 of the Clean Air

Act. EPA Region 4, has prepared reports

for the twenty-four agencies identified

above and these 105 reports are now

available for public inspection.

ADDRESSES: The reports may be

examined at the EPA’s Region 4 office,

345 Courtland Street, NE., Atlanta,

Georgia 30365, in the Air, Pesticides,

and Toxics Management Division.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Thomas, (404) 347–3555

vmx4180, at the above Region 4 address,

for information concerning States of

Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia,

and local agencies. Vera Bowers, (404)

347–3555 vmx4178, at the above Region

4 address, for information concerning

the States of Kentucky, North Carolina,

South Carolina, Tennessee and local

agencies.

Dated: April 18, 1995.

Patrick M. Tobin,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–10878 Filed 5–2–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

[FRL–5202–3]

Fiscal Year 1995 Environment

Technology Initiative Solicitation for

Socioeconomic Projects Related to

Pollution Prevention

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability, request

for proposals; extension of deadline for

receipt of applications.

SUMMARY: The deadline for receipt of

proposals for this solicitation has been

extended from May 1, 1995 to Tuesday,

May 16, 1995. The solicitation is

included in this notice. This solicitation

was previously announced in the

Federal Register on February 24, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

General information about the grant

solicitation process and application kits

may be obtained by calling (202) 260–

7474. For inquiries pertaining to

technical questions only call Kenneth

Jewett, Office of Policy, Planning and

Evaluation, (202) 260–4211 or fax your

request to (202) 260–2685.

Introduction

This Announcement describes a grant

solicitation of the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) to support

projects directed toward furthering the

objectives of the President’s

Environmental Technology Initiative

(ETI). The ETI is an integral part of the

Clinton Administration’s broad new

technology policy, enunciated on

February 22, 1993 in ‘‘Technology for

America’s Economic Growth: A New

Direction to Build Economic Strength’’.

This government-wide policy recognizes

that industry is the primary creator of

new technology and the main engine of

sustained economic growth. The policy

assigns the federal government a

catalytic role in promoting the

development of new pollution

prevention technologies for use across a

range of economic sectors including:

Auto manufacturing, computers and

electronics, iron and steel, metal

finishing and plating, petroleum

refining, and printing—as well as

converting defense technologies to

civilian applications. The ETI addresses

all of the above sectors that are

concerned with environmental

protection.

EPA seeks proposals to conduct

‘‘socioeconomic projects’’ related to

pollution prevention technology

development and use. Projects may be

focused on technology policy regulatory

reforms, opportunities for building

organizational capacity to be innovative,

and diffusion of innovative prevention

technologies. EPA’s interests in this

instance are clearly distinct from

conventional socioeconomic research

and development. That is, they go

beyond study and analysis of issues to

apply existing knowledge in pioneering

attempts to effect social or institutional

change with respect to promoting

development and use of innovative

pollution prevention technology.

Unlike other civilian technologies, the

demand for environmental technologies

is primarily driven by federal and state

pollution prevention and control

policies, regulation and enforcement.

Over the past 25 years, with the passage

of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water

Act, Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act, Superfund and other

environmental statutes, EPA has

invested hundreds of millions of dollars

in researching and developing new

technologies to monitor and control

pollution. With the passage of the

Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 and

the Agency’s adoption of ‘‘pollution

prevention’’ as a first-choice

environmental protection policy, the

demand for pollution prevention

technologies and concomitant research

and development in pollution

prevention has also influenced the

demand for ‘‘better, cheaper, more

reliable’’ environmental technologies—

especially technologies that can reduce

the costs of compliance, recycle or reuse wastes, foster cleaner, safer

manufacturing processes or prevent

pollution from being created at all.

Indeed, the domestic market for

environmental technologies in the U.S.

today is nearly $134 billion annually. It

employs more than 1,000,000

Americans in some 40,000 to 60,000

businesses nationwide.

Inadvertently however, the ‘‘policy

framework’’ that has driven the demand

for these technologies also poses

barriers to the adoption and use of

technologies that offer substantial

environmental and economic benefits.

According to Dag Syrrist, President of

Technology Funding in California, the

environmental technology industry

today, ‘‘fears innovation and repels

capital.’’ Technologies that can prevent

pollution, reduce health risks and

dramatically cut costs of managing

environmental quality are NOT getting

to market because of these barriers.

EPA’s ETI is uniquely positioned to

address these barriers—as a technology

policy reform initiative.

EPA is directing approximately $3.5

million this fiscal year (FY) in awards

under this initiative to not-for-profit

organizations, colleges and universities.

Proposals averaging $150,000 per year

with a maximum duration of 2 years are

being sought.

Not-for-profit organizations are

generally defined as those organizations

that qualify for such status under

section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue

Service tax code. Examples of not-forprofit organizations include public and

private colleges and universities, as well

as trade associations, professional

societies, research consortia, and

community development corporations.

Electronic Availability

This Announcement can be accessed

on the Internet at the following Gopher

and World Wide Web (WWW)

addresses:

Gopher: GOPHER.EPA.GOV

WWW: HTTP://WWW.EPA.GOV

Rationale

EPA has structured its ETI projectselection process for FY95 to conform to

the strategic ETI objectives contained in

the Agency’s Draft Technology

Innovation Strategy (EPA 543–K–93–

002), January 1994. This strategy has the

following objectives (please refer to the

draft Strategy document for more detail

on these objectives):

(1) Policy Framework: Adapt EPA’s

policy, regulatory, and compliance

framework to promote innovation;

(2) Innovation Capacity: Strengthen

the capacity of technology developers
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 1995 / Notices 21811

and users to succeed in environmental

innovation;

(3) Diffusion: Accelerate the diffusion

of innovative technologies at home and

abroad; and

(4) Environmental and Pollution

Prevention Technologies: Strategically

invest funds in the development and

commercialization of promising new

technologies.

This solicitation is focused on pollution

prevention-related proposals that

support the first three objectives.

Proposals relevant to the fourth

objective are being sought jointly by the

National Science Foundation (NSF) and

EPA through a contemporaneous

solicitation. Information about the joint

solicitation can be obtained from either

NSF (pfirth@nsf.gov; voice 703/306–

1480) or EPA (202/260–7474).

The 1990 Pollution Prevention Act

declares pollution prevention to be

national policy and states that ‘‘* * *

pollution should be prevented or

reduced at the source whenever

feasible.’’ Pollution prevention is now

considered EPA’s preferred choice for

environmental protection, and the

Agency is seeking to integrate

prevention as an ethic throughout all of

its activities. Pollution prevention

includes equipment or technology

modifications, process or procedure

modifications, reformulation or redesign

of products, substitution of raw

materials, and improvements in

industrial housekeeping, operational

maintenance, employee training, or

inventory control.

On July 22, 1994, EPA Administrator

Browner announced the new

environmental policy Common Sense

Initiative (CSI), which is designed to

shift environmental protection from the

current ‘‘pollutant-by-pollutant, end-ofpipe, command-and-control’’ approach

to an ‘‘industry-by-industry, multimedia, prevention-oriented’’ approach.

Six pilot industries were identified for

CSI: auto manufacturing, computers and

electronics, iron and steel, metal

finishing and plating, petroleum

refining, and printing. Proposals with

relevance to these industries will

receive priority consideration.

Program Scope

This EPA grant solicitation is

intended to finance prevention-related

projects supporting policy analysis

(frameworks), institution building

(innovation capacity), and domestic and

international diffusion. Descriptions of

the program areas that are addressed in

this solicitation are provided below.

Policy framework topics of interest

include: (1) Strengthening incentives for

the development and use of innovative

prevention technologies; and (2)

identifying and reducing barriers to

innovation. Aspects to be addressed

include regulations and implementation

mechanisms (e.g., permitting and

compliance policies and programs).

This program area encompasses all

environmental media (water, air, etc.)

and emphasizes pilot projects not

analytical studies. Policy framework

proposals often address issues that have

a broader focus than pollution

prevention alone. Such proposals are

welcomed so long as they are also

applicable to pollution prevention

technologies or issues.

Policy framework projects focus on

environmental regulatory programs in

the broadest sense, from regulation

through compliance and enforcement.

Projects selected in this areas will

address regulatory programs in order to:

• Identify and enhance incentives for

the development and use of prevention

technologies;

• Minimize barriers to the

development and use of such

technologies; and

• Incorporate provisions into new

and existing regulations and programs

that maximize flexibility and widen the

range of technologies accepted for use.

Special attention will be given to the

use of market-based instruments for

creating flexibility and incentives to

innovate.

Innovation capacity proposals should

be focused on how to assist, or catalyze,

prevention technology development and

commercialization efforts.

Examples of possible work in these

areas are programs or projects to:

• Establish programs to standardize

testing protocols and verify the cost and

performance of innovative prevention

technologies;

• Provide pollution prevention

technology testing centers;

• Catalyze the efforts of many

organizations to promote innovation by

convening partnerships;

• Develop and communicate timely

information about high priority

prevention technology gaps; and

• Work jointly with organizations in

the public and private sectors to identify

and address non-regulatory sources of

market inefficiency and failure in the

environmental technology sector.

Proposals on diffusion of information

should focus on new and improved

means of fostering information

networks, technical assistance, and

outreach activities. Both domestic and

international applications are

encouraged. For example, there is a

need to enhance the capacity of existing

or newly created public and private

sector diffusion activities to serve the

potential users of pollution prevention

technologies both domestically and

abroad. Proposals may include activities

relating to market demand, availability,

cost, performance, opportunities for

business development, and regulatory

requirements.

General Selection Criteria

The objective of this solicitation is to

harness the capability of the nonprofit

sector to help address the goals of the

ETI. EPA will not accept proposals that

are not directly related to one of the

previously mentioned areas of ETI

focus. Moreover, proposals must

address barriers to the development and

use of innovative pollution prevention

approaches to be eligible unless they are

addressing policy framework issues that

will also benefit pollution prevention

approaches as well as their target.

Each proposal will only be evaluated

against one strategy objective based on

the information provided above.

Proposals with relevance to industries

highlighted by the Common Sense

Initiative and the Design for

Environment Program will receive

priority consideration. Special

consideration will also be given to

projects that support small businesses

and/or small communities. This focus

on a select few industries is intended to

provide concentrated support for

cleaner technology development and

commercialization and sustainable

economic growth and increased

competitiveness.

Many barriers to development and

application of pollution prevention exist

because of the lack of flexibility in the

policy infrastructure. Thus, proposals

that seek to make the implementation of

environmental policy a process that is

more friendly to technology innovation

will also receive additional attention.

This is the one area in which projects

may go beyond the pollution prevention

domain.

The most significant problems and

creative solutions most likely will be

identified by nonprofit organizations

and industrial investigators, working

together on challenges posed by real

problems. Projects must show

appropriateness to current national

concerns for pollution reduction or

prevention; vague arguments that the

proposed project may eventually be of

value are not compelling.

This initiative particularly seeks

innovative and high risk/high payoff

ideas. It does not invite studies of ‘‘the

problem’’ but rather specific approaches

to possible solutions. Since the

preparation of competitive proposals is

very time consuming, it is also well to
21812 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 1995 / Notices

present the following examples of what

this initiative is not:

• Not basic research;

• Not technology development for

pollution prevention, remediation, or

control;

• Not diffusion of pollution control

technology; and

• Not activities addressing processes

to remove pollutants from waste streams

or remediate waste problems.

Specific Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated against

the following factors:

• Does the project reduce uncertainty,

improve flexibility, speed timing,

enhance cost-effectiveness, address

liability constraints, and/or diminish

restraints on technology innovation?

• Is there broad applicability of the

project’s expected results (i.e., across

levels of government, different states, or

environmental media)? Is the problem

clearly defined?

• Does the project complement

current environmental legislative

initiatives or significantly strengthen the

Nation’s ability to meet existing

statutory or regulatory goals?

• Will the project produce

measurable, visible results in an

expeditious time-frame? Action projects

will be emphasized over studies. Do

project participants have the authority

to implement programmatic changes?

• Does the project support multiorganizational partnerships across the

public and private sectors? Will the

project include leveraging funds among

the partnering organizations?

Applicant’s proposals will be given

more consideration to the extent that

matching funds or in-kind services from

participating partners are included.

• Does the proposal address global,

transboundary, or other international

environmental issues directly affecting

the United States or lower the cost of

innovative technologies for use in the

United States?

In addition, the following

considerations relate to particular

subtopics:

• Policy framework proposals will be

reviewed with respect to their capability

to advance the goals and activities of

ETI; breadth of applicability of the

expected results; and potential to reduce

barriers and create incentives; and

projected probability of success.

• Proposals embracing the theme of

innovation capacity should specifically

be designed to be self-sustaining after

ETI funds are expended.

• Domestic diffusion proposals must

be customer-based, and should

emphasize pollution prevention

technology approaches. Special

consideration will be given to projects

that support small businesses and/or

small communities.

• International diffusion proposals

should address global or international

environmental issues that directly affect

the United States. Proposals should also

result in improving U.S.

competitiveness and trade objectives in

the international arena.

The Application

Application forms and instructions

are available in the EPA Research Grants

Application Kit. Interested investigators

should review the materials in this kit

before preparing an application for

assistance. The kits can be obtained at

the following address: U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Research and Development,

Office of Exploratory Research (8703),

401 M Street, SW., Washington DC

20460.

Each application for assistance must

consist of Application for Federal

Assistance Forms (Standard Forms (SF):

424 and 424A), separate sheets that

provide the budget breakdowns for each

year of the project, the resumes of the

principal investigator and co-workers,

the abstract of the proposed project, and

a project narrative. All certifications

must be signed and included with the

application.

The closing date for application

submission has been extended to COB

on Tuesday May 16, 1995. COB is 5 pm

EDT in Washington, D.C.

To be considered, the original and

eight copies of the fully developed

research grant application, prepared in

accordance with the instructions in the

Application for Federal Assistance

Forms, must be received by the EPA

Office of Exploratory Research no later

than the above closing date. Informal,

incomplete, or unsigned proposals will

not be considered. Completed

applications should be sent via regular

or express mail to: U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Research

and Development, Office of Exploratory

Research (8703), 401 M Street, SW.,

Washington DC 20460.

Applications sent via express mail

should have the following telephone

number listed on the express mail label:

(202) 260–7445.

Special Instructions

The following special instructions

apply to all applicants responding to

this request for application.

• Applications must unbound and

clipped or stapled. The SF–424 must be

the first page of the application. Budget

information should immediately follow

the SF–424. All certification forms

should be placed at the end of the

application.

• Applicants must be identified by

printing ‘‘ETI95’’ in block 10 of the SF–

424. This will facilitate proper

assignment and review of the

application.

• A one-page abstract must be

included with the application.

• The ‘‘project narrative’’ section of

the application must not exceed 25,

consecutively numbered, 8 × 11 inch

pages of standard type (i.e., 12 point),

including tables, graphs, and figures.

For purposes of this limitation, the

‘‘project narrative’’ section of the

application consists of the following

five items:

1. Description of Project

2. Objectives

3. Results or Benefits Expected

4. Approach

5. General Project Information

Any attachments, appendices, and

other references for the narrative section

may be included but must remain

within the 25-page limitation.

Appendices will not be considered an

integral part of the application.

Items not included under the 25-page

limitation are the SF–424 and other

forms, budgets, resumes, and the

abstract. Resumes must not exceed two

consecutively-numbered pages for each

investigator and should focus on

education, positions held, and most

recent or related publications.

Applications not meeting these

requirements will be returned to the

applicant without review.

Guidelines and Limitations

All recipients are required to provide

a minimum of 1% of the total project

cost, which may not be taken from

Federal sources. All partnerships are

encouraged. Primary partners are

defined as contract awardees and

secondary partners are those partners

who do not receive grant funding

directly from EPA. Subcontracts from

primary partners to secondary partners

for research to be conducted under this

grant should not exceed 40% of the total

direct cost of the grant for each year in

which the subcontract is awarded.

Except for federal agencies and

employees work may primary partners

may subcontract work to any for-profit

or not-for-profit organizations.

Eligibility

Not-for-profit institutions located

within the U.S., including public and

private colleges and universities, are

eligible under all existing

authorizations. Federal agencies and

federal employees, as well as state and
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 1995 / Notices 21813

local governments are not eligible to

submit proposals to this program.

Potential applicants who are uncertain

of their eligibility should contact EPA’s

Grants Operations Branch at (202) 260–

9266.

Proprietary Information

By submitting an application in

response to this solicitation, the

applicant grants EPA permission to

share the application with technical

reviewers both within and outside of the

Agency. Applications containing

proprietary or other types of

confidential information will be

immediately returned to the applicant

without review.

Funding Mechanisms

The funding mechanism for all

awards issued under this solicitation

will consist of a grant agreement

between EPA and the recipient. In

accordance with Pub. L. 95–225, a grant

is used to accomplish a public purpose

of support or stimulation authorized by

Federal statute rather than acquisition

for the direct benefit of the Agency.

Minority Institution Assistance

Pre-application assistance is available

upon request for potential investigators

representing institutions identified by

the Secretary, Department of Education,

as Historically Black Colleges or

Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic

Association of Colleges and Universities

(HACUs), or Native American or Tribal

Colleges. For further information on

minority assistance, contact Charles

Mitchell by telephone at (202) 260–

7448, by faxing a written request to

(202) 260–0211, or by mailing it to the

address for EPA’s Office of Exploratory

Research shown below.

Contacts

Additional general and technical

information on this solicitation and the

grants program may be obtained by

contacting: U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Exploratory

Research (8703), 401 M Street SW.,

Washington DC 20460, Phone: (202)

260–7474/Fax: (202) 260–0211.

Information about the technical

content of the solicitation may be

obtained by contacting: Kenneth Jewett,

Office of Policy, Planning and

Evaluation, Phone: (202) 260–4211/Fax:

(202) 260–2685.

General information on the ETI may

be obtained from the ETI information

line: (202) 260–2686.

Dated: April 27, 1994.

Thomas E. Kelly,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Policy,

Planning and Evaluation.

[FR Doc. 95–10881 Filed 5–2–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

[OPP–00408; FRL–4952–9]

Metabolism Testing Guideline; Notice

of Workshop

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of workshop.

SUMMARY: There will be a 1-day

workshop sponsored by the EPA’s

Office of Pesticide Programs, to discuss

the revision of the Metabolism Testing

Guideline.

DATES: The workshop will be held on

Wednesday, May 24, 1995, from 8:30

a.m. to 5 p.m. Written comments must

be submitted by May 17, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held

at: Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700

Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.

Interested persons are invited to submit

written comments in triplicate to: By

mail: Public Response and Program

Resources Branch, Field Operations

Division (7506C), Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC 20460. In person, bring

comments to: Rm. 1132, Crystal Mall #2,

1921 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, VA.

Comments and data may also be

submitted electronically by sending

electronic mail (e-mail) to: oppdocket@epamail.epa.gov. Electronic

comments must be submitted as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Comments and data will also be

accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1

file format or ASCII file format. All

comments and data in electronic form

must be identified by the docket number

‘‘OPP–00408.’’ No Confidential Business

Information (CBI) should be submitted

through e-mail. Electronic comments on

this document may be filed online at

many Federal Depository Libraries.

Additional information on electronic

submissions can be found under the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

unit of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: Yiannakis M. Ioannou (7509C),

Office of Pesticide Programs,

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.

Office location and telephone number:

Rm. 820D, CM #2, 192l Jefferson Davis

Highway, Arlington, VA, (703) 305–

7894. Copies of documents may be

obtained by contacting: By mail: Public

Docket and Freedom of Information

Section, Field Operations Division

(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs,

Environmental Protection Agency, 40l

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.

Office location and telephone number:

Rm. ll28 Bay, CM #2, l92l Jefferson

Davis Highway, Arlington, VA, (703)

305–5805 or 5454.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Pesticide Assessment Guidelines

Subdivision F, describe protocols for

performing toxicology and related tests

to support registration of pesticides

under the Federal Insecticide,

Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

(FIFRA). Some of the tests are also used

in tolerance reviews under the Federal

Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

Subdivision F was proposed for public

comment in 1978 and published in

October 1982. At that time, the Agency

published the criteria for performing a

general metabolism study on a pesticide

and reserved a line item, Section 85-1,

for a guideline on General Metabolism

Studies of Pesticides. The Toxic

Substances Control Act (TSCA) also

specifies that General Metabolism

studies can be required under the TSCA

section 4 test rule.

The proposed revisions are the result

of efforts by Agency scientists to

improve the existing guideline to reflect

current state-of-the-art regarding

metabolism of pesticides and other toxic

compounds. In addition, a need for

revision was indicated by the results of

the Pesticide Reregistration Rejection

Rate Analysis as well as by comments

received in response to the notice

published in the Federal Register of

September 19, 1990 (55 FR 38578).

The agenda for the meeting and a

draft of the proposed Metabolism

Guideline revisions will be available

from the public docket within a week or

two prior to the meeting.

Any member of the public wishing to

submit written comments should

contact the OPP docket staff at the

address or the phone number given

above. Interested persons are permitted

to file written statements before the

meeting. To the extent that time permits

and upon advance notice, interested

persons may be permitted to present

oral statements at the meeting. There is

no limit on written comments for

consideration by the Panel, but oral

statements before the Panel are limited

to approximately 5 minutes. Since oral

statements will be permitted only as

time permits, the Agency urges the

public to submit written comments in

lieu of oral presentations. Persons

wishing to make oral and/or written