Source: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/7844515/Request-for-Applications
Timestamp: 2015-05-22 22:57:46
Document Index: 50638720

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 31', 'art 32', 'art 34', 'art 34', 'art 31', 'art 32', 'art 34', 'art 2']

Request for Applications by dd4f6d48e300e297
Innovations Grants for State/Local/Tribal Innovative Approaches to Reducing Air Pollution
Request for Applications for FY2005 OVERVIEW: Federal Agency Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Innovations Team Funding Opportunity Title: Innovations Grants for State/Local/Tribal Innovative Approaches to Reducing Air Pollution Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-OAR-EMAD-05-22 Announcement Type: Initial Announcement for FY2005 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number 66.034: Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Special Purpose Activities Relating to the Clean Air Act. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority for this action is Clean Air Act, Section 103(b)(3) which authorizes the award of grants for research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys, and studies related to the causes, effect, extent, prevention and control of air pollution. Receipt of Application OAQPS Evaluation Award Documentation Distribution EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: OAQPS is seeking applications from states, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, international organizations, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, which submit applications proposing projects with significant technical merit and relevance to EPA&#39;s Office of Air and Radiation&#39;s mission. For certain competitive funding opportunities, the Agency may limit eligibility to a particular subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency’s competition policy. For more information about OAQPS, please visit our website at www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps. OAQPS seek to facilitate the implementation of new and innovative programs, technologies, and/or strategies, including non-traditional and voluntary measures for achieving additional emissions reductions. We are specifically interested in proposals designed to advance our mission and reflect innovation within our areas of focus. For more information about OAQPS, please visit our website at www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps. I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION Authority: EPA expects to award grants under Clean Air Act, Section 103(b)(3) which authorizes the award of grants for research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys, and studies related to the causes, effect, extent, prevention and control of air pollution. 1 No later than 5:00 P.M. EST on January 6, 2006 No later than 5:00 P.M. March 3, 2006 To be determined
Regulations governing these cooperative agreements are found at 40 CFR 30 for institutions of higher education, colleges and universities, and non-profit organizations and 40 CFR Part 31 for States, federally recognized Indian Tribes, and local governments. Additionally, the provisions of 40 CFR Part 32, governing government-wide debarment and suspension; and the provisions in 40 CFR Part 34 regarding restrictions on lobbying. All costs incurred under this program must be allowable under the applicable OMB Cost Circulars: A-87 (States and local governments); A-122 (non profit organizations); or A-21 (universities). Copies of these circulars may be found at: http://whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars. In accordance with EPA policy, and OMB circulars, as appropriate, any recipient of funding must agree not to use assistance funds for lobbying, fund raising, or political activities (e.g., lobbying members of Congress or lobbying for other Federal grants, cooperative agreements or contracts); see 40 CFR Part 34. Program Description: The purpose of this award is to facilitate the implementation of new and innovative programs, technologies, and/or strategies, including non-traditional and voluntary measures for achieving additional air pollution emissions reductions. The mission of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards is to lead and manage national air quality programs to protect public health and the environment from air pollution. One main area of focus is to work with stationary and area sources on regulatory, market-based and voluntary programs and strategies to achieve real environmental benefits. To facilitate and encourage the implementation of new and innovative programs, technologies, and strategies, we are specifically interested in proposals designed to advance our mission and reflect innovation within our areas of focus. For more information about OAQPS, please visit our website at www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan and Anticipated Outcomes/Outputs: 1. Linkage to EPA Strategic Plan. These assistance agreements will support EPA Strategic Plan Goal 1 – Clean Air and Global Climate Change. To see EPA’s Strategic Plan: www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/plan.htm. 2. Outcomes -- the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related or programmatic in nature, must be quantitative, and may not necessarily be achievable within an assistance agreement funding period. Through this grant program, OAQPS expects proposed projects to result in quantifiable air pollution emissions reductions. 3. Outputs -- an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work products related to an environmental goal or objective, that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during an assistance agreement funding period. Through this grant program, OAQPS expects proposed projects to include a mechanism to quantify emissions reductions, as well as a progress report mechanism. II. AWARD INFORMATION: 2
For this competition, OAQPS has $100,000 available for grants under this request for applications. We anticipate award of two grants resulting from this announcement. The suggested project period is May 1, 2006 through April 30, 2007. Please note that based on availability of funds and quality of applications, EPA reserves the right to award no grants under this Request for Applications (RFA). III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: A. Eligible Applicants: OAQPS is seeking applications from states, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, international organizations, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, which submit applications proposing projects with significant technical merit and relevance to EPA&#39;s Office of Air and Radiation&#39;s mission. For certain competitive funding opportunities, the Agency may limit eligibility to a particular subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency’s competition policy. For more information about OAQPS, please visit our website at www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps. Non-profit organizations described in Section 501( c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply. Regulations governing these cooperative agreements are found at 40 CFR 30 for institutions of higher education, colleges and universities, and non-profit organizations and 40 CFR Part 31 for States, federally recognized Indian Tribes, and local governments. Additionally, the provisions of 40 CFR Part 32, governing government-wide debarment and suspension; and the provisions in 40 CFR Part 34 regarding restrictions on lobbying. All costs incurred under this program must be allowable under the applicable OMB Cost Circulars: A-87 (States and local governments); A-122 (non profit organizations); or A-21 (universities). Copies of these circulars may be found at: http://whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars. B. Threshold Criteria: All organizations submitting applications in response to this solicitation must meet the eligibility criteria outline above. Applications not following the format will not be considered for award. IV. APPLICATION &amp; SUBMISSION INFORMATION: Confidential Business Information - In accordance with 40 CFR 2.203, applicants may claim all or a portion of their application/proposal as confidential business information. EPA will evaluate confidentiality claims in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2. Applicants must clearly mark applications/proposals or portions of applications/proposals they claim as confidential. If no claim of confidentiality is made, EPA is not required to make the inquiry to the applicant otherwise required by 40 CFR 2.204(c)(2) prior to disclosure. A. Application Package: Please follow the instructions provided in the section below titled, “Content and Form of Application Submission.” Application kits are available at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm 3
. B. Content and Form of Proposal Submission: Proposals not following the format and content requirements below will not be considered for award DUNS Requirement: All applicants applying for funding, including renewal funding must have a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Number System (DUNS) number. The DUNS number must be included in the data entry field labeled: “Organizational Duns” on Form SF 424. Applicants can receive a DUNS number, at no cost, by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1-866-705-5711, or visiting the D&amp;B website at: http://www.dnb.com. Instructions on obtaining a DUNS number can be found at: http://www.grants.gov/GetStarted. 1. Submission Methods: Applicants may submit proposals by hard copy submission, by e-mail, or electronically thru grants.gov as explained below. If submitted by hard copy, two original hard copies are required. Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 P.M. EST on January 6, 2006. For proposals submitted via email, the address is: langdon.robin@epa.gov. For proposals submitted by hard copy, the address is: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air Quality Planning &amp; Standards Attention: Ms. Robin Langdon (C339-02) 109 TW Alexander Drive Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 , Proposals will be reviewed by OAQPS staff and ranked using the evaluation criteria in Section V. For proposed work plans that would collect environmental data, a Quality Assurance Project Plan is not required at time of submittal but will be required before the project commences. 2. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT: Please include the following elements in your proposal. Note that the project selection criteria in Section V. are cross-referenced to the proposal format and content detailed below. Please address the criterion in parentheses at the end of each section (below) in that specific section; criteria may also be discussed in other proposal sections. Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance. This form can be downloaded from EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment website at: (http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.htm). Short Descriptive Title Lead Organization: Organization name, address, and project lead, phone, fax number, and e-mail address. Key Performers: List all organizational performers and their expected contributions. List the name and organization of the lead person(s). Provide any background information that directly shows the leader’s proven ability to successful manage this effort. 4
Problem Statement: Clearly state the air quality related problem the proposed project is addressing. Define the current approach (if one exists) for this problem and its shortcomings. Project Description (Workplan): The description must include the following information: o Objectives. Briefly state the objective of the proposed project (Project Feasibility). o Description. Provide an overview and justify the proposed approach and/or technology. Include any historical or scientific background and a description of how the project is innovative (Innovation). Identify any other current or past efforts that you are aware of that are similar to the proposed project. o Approach. Provide a detailed description of the proposed project. Include a brief description of a proposed site(s), if applicable, and the scale of the proposed effort. Provide a schedule of the expected milestones (e.g., Project Kickoff, Site Selection, Test Start and End Dates, Final Report) and notable expected accomplishments during the project (Project Feasibility). o Methodologies. Identify the performance indicators the project manager will measure to: (i) determine whether the project was successful, and (ii) support the final report (Performance Measures). o Technical Risks. Identify potential concerns and technical risks in applying this effort now and/or transferring the concept to other places. Highlight any known institutional or regulatory barriers that might affect the transition. Expected Benefit: Describe (both quantitatively and qualitatively) how the project will achieve emission reductions or air quality benefits. Include (to the extent quantifiable) the amount of emission reduction or potential health benefit (Immediate Significance). When possible, estimate the expected return on investment for implementing this effort. Transferability: Describe how this methodology or technology can or will be transferred to others in local, state or national areas. Consider success over the long-term (3-5 years) in encouraging others to implement similar innovative approaches to air quality management (Long-term Significance). Budget/Funding: List all sources of expected funding needed to support the project/demonstration. Include a breakdown of any equipment, contractual efforts, supplies, travel, or other charges that would be part of this project. Include information on applicant’s ability to leverage additional resources to complete or complement the project (Budget). See Budget Table template below. Communication Plan: How will the project be “marketed” and how might the marketing encourage others to seek innovative projects (Communication Plan)? Programmatic Capability: Provide information on your: (i) past performance in successfully completing federally and/or non-federally funded projects, (ii) history of meeting reporting requirements on prior or current assistance agreements with federal and/or non-federal organizations and submitting acceptable final technical reports, (iii) organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the project, and (iv) staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources to successfully achieve the goals of the project. In evaluating an applicant for programmatic capability purposes, EPA will consider information provided by the applicant and may consider information from other sources including Agency files. . 5
Environmental Results. The project work plan must include mechanisms for tracking and measuring progress toward achieving the expected environmental outputs and outcomes identified in Section I of this announcement.
Budget Category Personnel Fringe Benefits Travel Equipment Supplies Contractual Indirect Cost Other (detail): Total
3. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES: Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 P.M. EST on January 6, 2006 by the project officer. If a proposal is submitted late, it will be rejected without further evaluation. C. Instructions for Electronic Submittal Using Grants.gov 1. The electronic submission of your proposal using Grants.gov must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for Federal assistance. For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on “Get Started,” and then “Authorized Organization Representative (AOR).” Note that the registration process may take a week or longer to complete. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an AOR and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible. To begin the application process for this grant program, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on the “Apply for Grants” tab. Then click on “Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions” to download the PureEdge viewer and obtain the application package (https://apply.grants.gov/forms_apps_idx.html). To download the PureEdge viewer click on the “PureEdge Viewer” link. Once you have downloaded the viewer, you may retrieve the application package by entering the Funding Opportunity Number, EPA-OAREMAD-05-22, or the CFDA number for this announcement, in the appropriate space..
Application Submission Deadline: Your organization’s AOR must submit your complete application electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than 5:00 P.M. EST on January 6, 2006.
3. Application Materials. If applying thru Grants.gov, please submit all of the application 6
materials described below. I. Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance II. Proposal (prepared in accordance with the requirements in Section IV.B.2 of the announcement). 4. Application Preparation and Submission Instructions Documents I and II listed under Application Materials above should appear in the “Mandatory Documents” box on the Grants.gov Grant Application Package page. Click on the appropriate form and then click “Open Form” below the box. The fields that must be completed will be highlighted in yellow. Optional fields and completed fields will be displayed in white. If you enter an invalid response or incomplete information in a field, you will receive an error message. When you have finished filling out each form, click “Save.” When you return to the electronic Grant Application Package page, click on the form you just completed, and then click on the box that says, “Move Form to Submission List.” This action will move the document over to the box that says, “Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.” For II, you will need to attach electronic files. Prepare your proposal based on the format and content requirements outlined in Section IV.B.2 of this announcement and save the document to your computer as an MS Word, PDF or WordPerfect file. When you are ready to attach your proposal to the application package, click on “Project Narrative Attachment Form,” and open the form. Click “Add Mandatory Project Narrative File,” and then attach your proposal (previously saved to your computer) using the browse window that appears. You may then click “View Mandatory Project Narrative File” to view it. Enter a brief descriptive title of your project in the space beside “Mandatory Project Narrative File Filename;” the filename should be no more than 40 characters long. If there other attachments that you would like to submit to accompany your proposal, you may click “Add Optional Project Narrative File” and proceed as before. When you have finished attaching the necessary documents, click “Close Form.” When you return to the “Grant Application Package” page, select the “Project Narrative Attachment Form” and click “Move Form to Submission List.” The form should now appear in the box that says, “Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.” Once you have finished filling out all of the forms/attachments and they appear in one of the “Completed Documents for Submission” boxes, click the “Save” button that appears at the top of the Web page. It is suggested that you save the document a second time, using a different name, since this will make it easier to submit an amended package later if necessary. Please use the following format when saving your file: “Applicant Name – FY06 – Assoc Prog Supp – 1st Submission” or “Applicant Name – FY 06 Assoc Prog Supp – Back-up Submission.” If it becomes necessary to submit an amended package at a later date, then the name of the 2nd submission should be changed to “Applicant Name – FY06 Assoc Prog Supp – 2nd Submission.” Once your application package has been completed and saved, send it to your AOR for submission to U.S. EPA through Grants.gov. Please advise your AOR to close all other software programs before attempting to submit the application package through Grants.gov. 7
In the “Application Filing Name” box, your AOR should enter your organization’s name (abbreviate where possible), the fiscal year (e.g., FY06), and the grant category (e.g., Assoc Prog Supp). The filing name should not exceed 40 characters. From the “Grant Application Package” page, your AOR may submit the application package by clicking the “Submit” button that appears at the top of the page. The AOR will then be asked to verify the agency and funding opportunity number for which the application package is being submitted. If problems are encountered during the submission process, the AOR should reboot his/her computer before trying to submit the application package again. [It may be necessary to turn off the computer (not just restart it) before attempting to submit the package again.] If the AOR continues to experience submission problems, he/she may contact Grants.gov for assistance by phone at 1800-518-4726 or email at support@grants.gov. or, Langdon.Robin@epa.gov If you have not received a confirmation of receipt from EPA (not from support@grant.gov) within 30 days of the application deadline, please contact Robin Langdon , at Langdon.Robin@epa.gov Failure to do so may result in your application not being reviewed. V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION: Proposals will be evaluated according to the criteria defined below. 1. 20 points -- Innovation. Projects that highlight and incorporate new and novel concepts, approaches, methods, or combinations of expertise to achieve additional emissions reductions will score higher on this criterion. The proposal should discuss the project’s innovation in the context of any limitations to existing methods or technologies for controlling emissions. 20 points -- Immediate Significance. Projects that highlight the degree to which the proposed project, in the near term, will directly lead to additional emissions reductions and improvements in public health will score higher on this criterion. The proposed project must also characterize the actual public benefits to be derived. 20 points -- Long Term Significance. Projects that succeed at achieving broader air quality objectives over a longer period will score higher on this criterion. Proposals must address the potential for project success over the long-term (3-5 years) to encourage others to implement similar innovative approaches to achieving emission reductions. 10 points -- Project Feasibility. Projects that have well defined and clearly achieveable goals will score higher on this criterion. The proposal must include a description of the project’s conceptual framework, design, methodology, and analyses. 10 points -- Budget. Projects that include a detailed budget, including the use of these award monies, will score higher on this criterion. The proposal must address the question of the measurable cost savings associated with the replication or transfer of the project 8
idea. Also, if applicable, the proposal must address the applicant’s ability to leverage additional resources to complete or complement the project. 6. 10 points -- Communication Plan. Projects that include a plan to: (1) market the project or idea, and/or (2) market to encourage others to replicate the project or seek innovative projects will score higher on this criterion. 10 points – Programmatic Capability. Applicants will be evaluated based on their:: (i) past performance in successfully completing federally and/or non-federally funded projects similar in size, scope, and relevance to the proposed project, (ii) history of meeting reporting requirements on prior or current assistance agreements with federal and/or non-federal organizations and submitting acceptable final technical reports, (iii) organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the project, and (iv) staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the goals of the project. Applicants with no past performance or reporting history (items i and ii above) will receive a neutral score for those elements of this criteria). 10 points -- Environmental Results. The work plan must include mechanisms for tracking and measuring progress toward achieving the expected environmental outputs and outcomes identified in Section I of this announcement.
REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: Each application will be evaluated by an Evaluation Team within OAQPS. The Evaluation Team will base its evaluation solely on the selection criteria disclosed in this notice. The applicant organizations whose applications are selected/recommended will move to the next phase and will be notified electronically on or around March 3, 2006. The applicants not selected will also be notified electronically within 15 days of notifying those applicants selected for further consideration. Applications that fail to comply with the administrative requirements of the Request for Application will not be considered for award, they are found to lack relevancy, or they are judged technically unacceptable. EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards. Awards involving the collection of environmental data will be subject to the requirements of a Quality Assurance Project Plan and will require coordination with OAQPS. VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION: Award Notices: Successful applicants whose final applications have been selected and approved can expect to receive an award document that constitutes an offer to the recipient organization and sets forth the terms and conditions of the assistance agreement. As the assistance agreement is a legal 9
document, an authorized representative of your organization must indicate acceptance by signing and returning the appropriate copies to the Office of Grants and Debarment: Office of Grants and Debarment (3903R) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20460 Dispute Resolution: Assistance agreement competition – related to disputes will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures published in 70 FR 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005) which can be found at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/051371.htm. Copies of these procedures may also be requested by contacting: Robin Langdon US EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning &amp; Standards 109 TW Alexander Drive Mailcode: C339-02 Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 Telephone: 919-541-4048 langdon.robin@epa.gov Administrative and National Policy Requirements: 1. A listing and description of general EPA Regulations applicable to the award of assistance agreements may be viewed at: http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/applicable_epa_regulations_and_description.htm Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs may be applicable to awards, resulting from this announcement. Applicants selected for funding may be required to provide a copy of their proposal to their State Point of Contact (SPOC) for review, pursuant to Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. This review is not required with the Initial Proposal and not all states require such a review.
REPORTING: Progress Reports: Written reports describing tasks accomplished, results achieved to date including any problems encountered and how problems were overcome, and a summary of funds expended will be required on a quarterly basis, as stated in 40 CFR Section 31.40 and 30.51. 10
Reports should be submitted electronically if possible. A format for the quarterly report will be sent electronically to the grantee after the award has been made. Final Reports: Are required at the completion of the project as stated in 40 CFR Section 31.40 and 30.51. The report will include copies of any agreed upon work products resulting from the project, and copies of materials generated in connection with the project activities. Any additional requirements will be stated in the Special Conditions of the Award Document. Financial Status Reports (FSRs): are required on an annual basis as stated in 40 CFR Section 30.52 and 40 CFR Section 31.4a, as applicable. A Final FSR is required at the completion of the project. VII. Agency Contact: Robin Langdon US EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning &amp; Standards 109 TW Alexander Drive Mailcode: C339-02 Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 Telephone: 919-541-4048
"Request for Applications"