[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 1997)] [Notices] [Pages 5393-5396] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-2840] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [OPPTS-00208; FRL-5582-5] Notice of Availability of FY 1997 Grant Funds for the Establishment of a Pollution Prevention Information Network AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of availability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: EPA is soliciting grant proposals to establish a national network of pollution prevention information centers. EPA anticipates that between $750,000 and $1 million will be available. The purpose of this request for proposals is threefold: (1) To create new centers for the collection, synthesis and dissemination of pollution prevention information for States not currently served by a pollution prevention regional center, (2) to support existing regional pollution prevention information centers and (3) to coordinate work among new and existing centers in order to: minimize duplication of effort in information collection and synthesis, and training for the promotion of pollution prevention technologies, and establish information standards and peer review that will facilitate information exchange among centers. Grants/ cooperative agreements will be awarded under the authority of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. DATES: Applications must be postmarked by April 28, 1997. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain copies of the grant guidance and application package or to obtain more information regarding this program, please contact Beth Anderson at (202) 260-2602. You may also forward your requests and questions via the Internet to: [email protected] or mail your request to Beth Anderson at the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Mail Code 7409, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Scope and Purpose of this Grant Competition 1. The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. This solicitation is made under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (the Act) (Pub. L. 101-508), which established as national policy that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible. Section 6603 of the Act defines source reduction as any practice that: (1) Reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment (including fugitive emissions) prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal; and (2) Reduces the hazards to public health and the environment associated with the release of such substances, pollutants, or contaminants. EPA further defines pollution prevention (P2) as the use of other practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through: increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water or other resources, or protection of natural resources, or protection of natural resources by conservation. Section 6605 of the Act authorizes EPA to make matching grants to States to promote the use of source reduction techniques by businesses. In evaluating grant applications, the Act directs EPA to consider whether the proposed State program will: (1) Make technical assistance available to businesses seeking information about source reduction opportunities, including funding for experts to provide on-site technical advice and to assist in the development of source reduction plans. (2) Target assistance to businesses for whom lack of information is an impediment to source reduction. (3) Provide training in source reduction techniques. Section 6606 of the Act authorizes EPA to establish a source reduction clearinghouse to compile information on management, technical and operational approaches to source reduction. The Act States that EPA should use the clearinghouse to: (1) Serve as a center for source reduction technology transfer. (2) Mount active outreach and education programs by the States to further the adoption of source reduction technologies. (3) Collect and compile information reported by States receiving grants under section 6605 on the operation and successes of State source reduction programs. 2. Purpose of national pollution prevention information network. Currently there are few limited mechanisms or systems to coordinate the development, review, and dissemination of pollution prevention information among Federal, State, local agencies, and universities involved in promoting source reduction technologies. Access to pollution prevention (P2) information and assistance varies across the United States. In addition, not all programs providing assistance to small businesses have access to pollution prevention information that may be useful and relevant to their clientele. As a result, the purpose of this request for proposals is three fold: (1) To create new centers for the collection, synthesis and dissemination of pollution prevention information for States not currently served by a pollution prevention regional center, (2) to support existing regional pollution prevention information centers, and (3) to coordinate work among new and existing centers in order to: minimize duplication of effort in information collection and synthesis, and training for the promotion of pollution prevention technologies, and establish information standards and peer review that will facilitate information exchange among centers. The development of a P2 information network of centers would allow State P2 information needs to be addressed on a regional basis and allow for improved information exchange. A coordinated network would facilitate information exchange and decrease duplicative research that might be conducted in each State by standardizing formats for P2 information (such as case studies or vendors) and developing systems to: coordinate information needs, determine types of P2 information that need to be developed, coordinate the production of relevant P2 information, disseminate this information among small business assistance providers, and evaluate the effectiveness of the [[Page 5394]] information being disseminated in changing business practices to incorporate pollution prevention. EPA believes that investing in coordinating and standardizing P2 information collection, synthesis, and publication will benefit State P2 technical assistance providers as well as other small business assistance programs, such as the Small Business Development Centers and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnerships. Regional P2 information centers could benefit a variety of small business assistance programs by allowing for specialization in expertise, where this expertise can be shared nationally. Regional centers could be more responsive to the common information needs of the States being served and allow States to focus resources on issues unique to each State. EPA wants this competitive grant process to: (1) Improve access to P2 information for all State business assistance programs. (2) Increase the availability of P2 technical assistance to all States, by sharing the research, synthesis, and training in current P2 information nationally. (3) Increase and improve partnerships among State entities serving small businesses by providing a forum for defining and meeting common program objectives. EPA believes that some of the benefits of a coordinated P2 information network would be: uniform access to high quality information across all industrial sectors and localities, minimized duplication of effort in developing P2 materials, improved leveraging of existing resources, and improved quality and focus of P2 information available through the use of standard formats and peer review. 3. EPA's prior efforts to promote P2 information sharing. On August 20 and 21, 1992, EPA sponsored a subcommittee meeting of the ``National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, State and Local Programs Committee.'' At this meeting, the delivery of P2 technical information to State and local technical assistance programs was discussed in the context of the national data base, Pollution Prevention Information Exchange System (PIES) and the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC) that EPA was operating. This initial meeting raised issues of information quality, roles for a national clearinghouse, and priority information needs or functions for P2 technical assistance programs. In October 1993, EPA funded a proposal from the National Roundtable of State Pollution Prevention Programs (now called the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR)) to ``develop a design and management plan for a national network of pollution prevention information providers.'' In February 1995, NPPR submitted its final report. In this report, based on the results of survey and telephone interviews, the functions of an information network that would best support pollution prevention technical assistance programs were:Make information readily accessible and easy to search. Collect and update technical information. Identify experts or other sources of information. Provide technical information in a synthesized format (which might include case studies, process information, bibliography, vendor information, etc.). In October 1994, EPA funded a 3-year pilot proposal to establish a model program for interstate cooperation on pollution prevention information sharing. Three organizations agreed to participate in the pilot to coordinate information collection, synthesis, peer review, and dissemination: Northeast Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA), the Illinois Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center (now called the Illinois Waste Management and Research Center (WMRC)), and the Wisconsin Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center (SHWEC). Under this pilot program, State focus groups were formed to determine pollution prevention information needs. In September 1995, the States in the Northeast approved a 5-year plan to aid in the collection, organization, and distribution of pollution prevention technical information in the Northeast. The Great Lakes States developed a management plan for the Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse and set up a listserve system (P2TECH) to assist pollution prevention technical assistance programs (P2TAPs) nationwide in finding answers to technical assistance problems. Four pollution prevention technical information packets will be written and peer- reviewed to summarize P2 technical solutions for the subject industry or process topic. In addition, these three programs have collaborated on three different data bases: vendor, bibliographic, and case study, data bases. 4. Existing P2 Information Centers. There are several existing centers (in addition to the three listed above: WMRC, NEWMOA, and SHWEC) that serve clients outside their State boundaries, although the kinds of services or information offered varies with each center. The Waste Reduction Resource Center in Raleigh, North Carolina receives some funds from EPA's Regions 3 and 4 and serves States in those two regions with P2 information, site visits, and training. The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Research Center (Seattle, WA) receives funds from EPA's region 10 and provides a data base on P2 research that is available nationally. The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing Sciences (Cincinnati, OH) also provides a nationally available data base for pollution prevention and cost effective technologies relevant in the metal finishing, metal painting and printing operations. Other States may be at a disadvantage because of the lack of a regional P2 information center. Such a regional center could coordinate State P2 information needs and training, rather than requiring each State to develop its own P2 materials and training. II. Eligibility 1. Applicants. In accordance with the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, eligible applicants for purposes of funding under this grant program include the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, any agency or instrumentality of a State including State universities and all Federally recognized Indian tribes. For convenience, the term ``State'' in this notice refers to all eligible applicants. Local governments, private universities, private non-profit entities, private businesses, and individuals are not eligible. These organizations excluded from applying directly are encouraged to work with eligible applicants in developing proposals that include them as participants in the projects. EPA strongly encourages this type of cooperative arrangement. 2. Availability of FY 97 funds. With this publication, EPA is announcing the availability of between $750,000 and $1 million in grant/cooperative agreement funds for FY 1997. These awards will be made through a competitive process for amounts not to exceed $350,000. Projects may last up to 3 years. 3. Matching requirements. Under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, the Federal Government will provide up to half of the total allowable costs of the project, and the State will provide the remainder. For example, a project [[Page 5395]] costing $200,000 could be funded by a grant for up to $100,000 from the Federal government. The State is responsible for providing the remainder. State contributions may include cash, in-kind goods and services, and third party contributions. III. Types of Proposals Being Solicited 1. General. Funds awarded under the Act must be used to support pollution prevention programs that address the transfer of potentially harmful pollutants across all environmental media: air, water, and land. Programs should reflect comprehensive and coordinated pollution prevention implementation efforts region-wide. Proposed projects should serve the needs of the State programs they support and should focus on one or more of the following areas: compiling information that can be shared among States or regions of the country; providing a means of sharing P2 expertise, resources, or training; information collection, synthesis and peer review of new P2 documents; and information dissemination (electronic or hard copy). 2. Types of proposals. EPA is soliciting two different types of grant proposals. The first type of proposal (type 1) would describe activities designed to coordinate work among new and existing centers in order to: minimize duplication of effort in information collection and synthesis, and training for the promotion of pollution prevention technologies, and establish information standards and peer review that will facilitate information exchange among centers. The second type of proposal (type 2) would: (1) create new centers for the collection, synthesis, and dissemination of pollution prevention information for States not currently served by a pollution prevention regional center, or (2) support existing regional pollution prevention information centers. Only one grant will be awarded for purpose of coordinating work among P2 information centers (type 1). Since this type of proposal will involve working with existing P2 information centers, letters of support for the proposal should be included from at least three centers currently providing P2 information to a number of States. The remaining awards will be made to new or existing centers (type 2). One proposal may combine both types of proposals (type 1 and type 2). For instance: an existing P2 information center can request funding to provide for oversight and coordination of other P2 information centers as well as funding to support P2 information collection, synthesis, and dissemination. In this case, the proposal should contain both letters of support from other P2 information centers as well as from the States being served by the center. 1. Type 1 Proposals. There are various actions that could be taken to achieve the purposes of a type 1 proposal. Coordination and oversight of P2 information collection and dissemination encompasses all centers, existing centers or new centers. This coordination function would contribute to P2 information exchange and dissemination by developing standard formats for commonly used information such as case studies or vendor information. A standard format would specify the key information that should be captured, in a case study for instance, to ensure content is useful for technical assistance providers. Dissemination of P2 information would be served if there were one central point for collection and dissemination of information. For example, case studies from each State could be submitted to one entity, key information put into a uniform case study format and then disseminated. Currently, State grant funds may be used to collect case study information or create P2 manuals for businesses in each State without knowledge of similar efforts in other States. Coordination would also serve to decrease duplication of effort where States or regions develop training for State personnel or businesses. Such training materials and expertise could be shared among regions. Coordination of P2 centers could also enhance the possibility of a local program being able to focus resources on one or two specific industries because they could rely on other centers to provide P2 information on industries not within their focus. The first type of proposal, addressing the coordination and oversight of the P2 information network, should include letters from at least three P2 information centers which serve more than 3 States, supporting the proposal, since cooperation among these centers will be essential to the success of such a proposal. The goals and objectives must be clearly identified and the proposal should describe the strategy for the following activities: (1) Standardization of P2 information format and procedures used to compile and share P2 information. (2) Establishment of a procedure for peer review that ensures quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of center P2 publications. (3) Coordination of P2 technical information and training being developed by various centers to avoid duplication of effort and build on existing information resources. 2. Type 2 Proposals. The second type of proposal describes activities that provide a P2 information center, which would serve at least 3 or more States, to coordinate P2 information collection, synthesis, dissemination, and training. This could allow States to utilize existing information and training materials for promoting P2 without each State developing their own materials. These regional centers (not necessarily corresponding to EPA Regions) could act as a hub for receiving and disseminating P2 information for their local State clients. Some of the advantages of such a center are: regional environmental issues which cross State boundaries could be addressed; programs and innovations could be shared among neighboring States; and the center could be held accountable and be evaluated by those States. This type 2 proposal, addressing the need for States to share information and training expertise, should include letters from the States supporting the existence or creation of a P2 information center. 3. Activities in both types of proposals. The goals and objectives for both types of proposals must be clearly identified and the proposal should describe a strategy for: (1) Convening an advisory group, including State or local agencies and businesses, that will identify P2 information and training needs and evaluate the usefulness of center services. (2) Collecting, synthesizing, writing, peer reviewing, and distributing new P2 technical material to promote the use of P2 in industries and other sectors (agriculture, service, etc.) where such P2 information is lacking. (3) Sharing P2 expertise, training materials, and P2 information with other small business assistance centers in order to minimize duplication of effort and promote the availability of P2 technologies and solutions to small businesses. IV. Process for Evaluation of Proposals Proposals accepted under this program must qualify as pollution prevention projects and must address pollution in all media: air, land, and water. The proposal should contain Standard Form 424 Application for Federal Assistance and Standard Form 424A with information on the proposed budget and match. A one-page cover sheet that summarizes the type of proposal being submitted, the objectives of the proposal, and support for the proposal from other states or P2 [[Page 5396]] information centers should be included to assist reviewers. A national panel, comprised of EPA representatives from both Headquarters and the Regions, will evaluate each proposal. Acceptable proposals, meeting the eligibility requirements in Unit II. of this document, will be reviewed according to the following criteria: (1) Feasibility of the activities being proposed, taking into account the commitments from other States or programs that will be participating in the proposal. (2) Qualifications and experience of the project manager and staff committed to working on the proposal. (3) Appropriateness and/or adequacy of the proposed budget and time line for the activities being conducted in the proposal. (4) Adequacy of the provisions for ensuring responsiveness to the P2 information needs of the States. Dated: January 29, 1997. William H. Sanders III, Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. [FR Doc. 97-2840 Filed 2-4-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-F