Surveys, Studies, Investigations and Special Purpose Grants
Published on AidPage by IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To support surveys, studies and investigations, and special purpose assistance for the award of Congressional earmarks and multimedia grants only. Congressional earmarks are assistance agreements awarded in response to an action from Congress or a Congressional Committee as reflected in appropriation or authorizing legislation or applicable legislative history. Multimedia grants are assistance agreements that are awarded citing two or more environmental law statutes, appropriation legislation, or applicable legislative history as the statutory authority. Assistance agreements may be associated with (1) air quality, acid deposition, drinking water, water quality, hazardous waste, toxic substances, and pesticides; (2) identifying, developing and demonstrating necessary pollution control techniques to prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution; and (3) evaluating the economic and social consequences of alternative strategies and mechanisms for use by those in economic, social, governmental, and environmental management positions. Funding Priority Funding priorities include the following: (1) Provide States, Tribes and Intertribal Consortia with training opportunities to encourage program development and/or implementation of the Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) program. (2) Provide States, Tribes and Intertribal Consortia with training opportunities to encourage program development and/or implementation of the Underground Storage Tanks (UST) program. (3) Provide state and tribal regulators with technical information on leaking underground storage tank (LUST) systems. (4) Provide state and tribal regulators with technical information on underground storage tank (UST) systems. (5) Partnering with states to provide technical assistance and forums for information exchanges; assisting States in developing their program capabilities to manage their LUST programs in the most efficient and effective manner possible. (6) Partnering with states to provide technical assistance and forums for information exchanges; assisting States in developing their program capabilities to manage their UST programs in the most efficient and effective manner possible. The Environmental Council of the States has requested $91,000 to provide state input into the Agency's strategic planning and budgeting process. This will establish a new cooperative agreement and will ultimately include up to $500,000 in funding over the period of the next two years. ECOS is exempt from competition as stated in the Agency's "Competition Policy" which was effective October 1, 2002. It is anticipated that the Agency will enter into agreements with ECOS for the following activities: (1) State and Federal Grants Officers Training. Jointly plan and undertake a session or sessions to share experiences about Performance Partnership Agreements and Grants, educate both State and Agency staff involved in these activities, thereby improving partnership operations and results. (2) State and Tribal Assistance for Results Program. Jointly plan and undertake a national meeting with the EPA Office of Compliance to provide grant recipients an opportunity to showcase the final results and environmental outcomes of their project(s) or demonstrate progress to date. The meeting would also provide grantees an opportunity to discuss lessons learned. (3) New State Environmental Commissioner Orientation. Jointly plan and undertake an orientation session for new State environmental commissioners. Topics would include ECOS operations, presentations from EPA offices dealing with State issues and opportunities for discussion. (4) One Cleanup Program. Jointly plan and undertake a discussion between EPA waste program leaders and State Commissioners about coordinating cleanups under various waste programs (RCRA corrective action, underground storage tanks, state clean up programs, etc.). As a followup, ECOS would query State programs for examples of
Possible uses and use restrictions...
Grants and cooperative agreements are available to support recipients' allowable direct costs incident to approved Surveys, Studies, and Investigations plus allowable indirect costs, in accordance with established EPA policies and regulations.
Who is eligible to apply...
Assistance under this program is generally available to States, territories, Indian Tribes, and possessions of the U.S., including the District of Columbia, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, and individuals which submit applications proposing projects with significant technical merit and relevance to EPA's mission. Some of EPA's statutes may limit assistance to specific types of interested applications. See "Authorization" listed above. For certain competitive funding opportunities, the Agency may limit eligibility to a particular subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency's competition policy.
Credentials/Documentation
Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments and Indian Tribes, OMB Circular No. A-21 for educational institutions, OMB Circular No. A-122 for nonprofit institutions, and FAR Part 31 for profit makers. Applicants may be requested to demonstrate they have appropriate background, academic training, experience in the field, and necessary equipment to carry out projects. EPA may ask applicants or principle investigators to provide curriculum vitae and relevant publications.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
The standard application forms as furnished by the Federal agency and required by OMB Circular No. A-102 and A-110 must be used for this program. EPA requires final applications to be made on Standard Form 424. Application kits should be requested from and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Grants Administration Division, Mail Code 3903R, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460 or the appropriate EPA Regional Office identified in Additional Contact Information - FMR Help. Detailed information and assistance, including an application kit, required forms, and a check list, may also be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/AppKit/. For competitive awards, Requests for Initial Proposals or Requests for Applications will specify application procedures.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
For competitive awards, EPA will review applications, proposals or submissions in accordance with the terms, conditions, and criteria in the solicitation/announcement of the competitive funding opportunity. Competitions will be conducted in accordance with EPA policies/regulations for competing assistance agreements. The Agency will then advise the applicant if funding is being considered. A final work plan will then be negotiated with the applicant.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in Request for Applications or Request for Initial Proposals.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Approximately 180 days.
Preapplication Coordination
EPA awards grants and cooperative agreements supporting Surveys, Studies, and Investigations based on unsolicited proposals and competitive applications submitted in response to EPA solicitations, considering relevance and likelihood of success of proposed projects. For this reason, we recommend that potential applicants discuss proposed projects with or submit preapplications to staff in the appropriate EPA technical program offices. See Additional Contact Information - FMR Help. Individual programs may be subject to E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." Applicants should consult the office or official designated as the State's Single Point of Contact for more information on the State's review process, and to determine if the State has selected the program for review. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circulars No. A-102 and No. A-110.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
As described in 40 CFR Part 30.63, and Part 31, Subpart F.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
None. A standard grant application should be prepared and submitted as a new grant, which will be reviewed in the same manner as the original application and will compete for available funds. Generally, EPA incrementally funds grants and cooperative agreements for surveys, studies, and investigations. Approval of subsequent funding increments is dependent on satisfactory project progress, continued relevance of the project to EPA's priorities, and availability of funds.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
State and local governments, U.S. territories and possessions, Indian Tribes, universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public and private nonprofit institutions and individuals.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
Project Grants
The funding, for fixed or known periods, of specific projects. Project grants can include fellowships, scholarships, research grants, training grants, traineeships, experimental and demonstration grants, evaluation grants, planning grants, technical assistance grants, survey grants, and construction grants.
Project Grants
The funding, for fixed or known periods, of specific projects. Project grants can include fellowships, scholarships, research grants, training grants, traineeships, experimental and demonstration grants, evaluation grants, planning grants, technical assistance grants, survey grants, and construction grants.
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Data Not Available.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
FY 03 $549,743,904; FY 04 est not available; and FY 05 est not available.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
68-0108-0-1-304.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
Examples of funded projects are: developing a reporter's guide to climate change, development of solid waste system for Indian Tribes, lead-based workshops, and radon information for real estate companies.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
Data Not Available.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
EPA selects proposed surveys, studies, and investigations projects for funding based on factors such as relevancy to EPA's mission, technical merit, and the likelihood of success. If EPA issues a solicitation for applications for a particular project or group of projects, the solicitation will identify specific criteria.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Grants and cooperative agreements are normally funded on a 12-month basis (annual). The total approved project period may not exceed 5 years for competitive awards.
Formula and Matching Requirements
As required by EPA statute, regulation, or program guidance, or negotiated and agreed to between the applicant and the program office.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
EPA includes reporting requirements for grants and cooperative agreements in the terms and conditions of the agreements. Agreements may require quarterly, interim, and final progress reports, and financial, equipment, and invention reports. Reporting requirements are also identified in the Grant Regulations Part 30 and Part 31.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, other EPA staff or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialist may occur each year. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations,? non-federal entities that expend $300,000 ($500,000 for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2003) or more in a year in Federal awards shall have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-federal entities that expend less than $300,000 ($500,000 for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2003) a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in OMB Circular No A-133.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
Recipients must keep financial records, including all documents supporting entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes in grants available to personnel authorized to examine EPA recipients grants and cooperative agreements records. Recipients must maintain all records until 3 years from the date of submission of final expenditure reports. If questions, such as those raised as a result of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
Clean Air Act of 1963, as amended, Public Law 95- 95, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.; Clean Water Act, as amended Public law 95-217, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001, as amended; Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, as amended, Public Law 93-523; Public Laws 94-140, and 95-396, 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.; Toxic Substances Control Act, as amended, Public Law 94-469, 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Surveys, Studies, and Investigations grants and cooperative agreements are subject to EPA's General Grant Regulations (40 CFR Part 30 and 40 CFR Part 31).
Contact information...
Web Sites
Regional Or Local Office
EPA encourages potential applicants to communicate with the appropriate EPA Regional Office listed in Additional Contact Information - FMR Help, and the Headquarters program contacts listed below.
Note:
This section lists the agency contact person, address and telephone number of the Federal Regional or Local Office(s)
to be contacted for detailed information regarding a program such as:
(1) current availability of funds and the likelihood of receiving assistance within a given period;
(2) pre-application and application forms required;
(3) whether a pre-application conference is recommended;
(4) assistance available in preparation of applications;
(5) whether funding decisions are made at the headquarters, regional or local level;
(6) application renewal procedures (including continuations and supplementals) or appeal procedures for rejected applications; and
(7) recently published program guidelines and material.
However, for most federal programs, this section will instruct the reader to consult the so-called
Appendix IV of the Catalog due to the large volume of Regional and Local Office Contacts for most agencies.
This information is provided in Additional Contact Information (see below).
Headquarters Office
For information on grant applications and procedures, contact Environmental Protection Agency, Grants Administration Division, Mail Code 3903R, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460. For program information contact: Office of Air and Radiation - Katherine Moore, (202) 564-1514; Office of Water - Kimberley Roy, (202) 564-4633; Office of Research and Development - Mark Thomas, (202) 564-4763 or Alice Sabatini, (202) 564-1023; Office of the Administrator - Shirley Leonard, (202) 564-1347; Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response - Julianne Edmondson, (202) 260- 0251; Office of Environmental Justice - Linda Smith, (202) 564-2602; Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance - Joseph Hall, (202) 564-2271; Office of International Affairs - Teresa Ruppe, (202)564-6619; Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances - Elaine Lyon-Johnson, (202)564-0547 or Janet Remmers, (202) 564-0548.
Note:
This section lists names and addresses of the office at the headquarters level with direct operational responsibility for managing a program. A telephone number is provided in cases where a Regional or Local Office is not normally able to answer detailed inquiries concerning a program. Also listed are the name(s) and telephone number(s) of the information contact person(s) who can provide additional program information to applicants.
Additional Contact Information (Appendix IV)
Due to the large volume of regional and local office contacts for most agencies, full contact information is also provided separately here in a PDF format:
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