[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 10, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-11186]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 10, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[Announcement 415]

 

Program To Conduct Health Consultations and Public Health 
Assessment Activities

Introduction

    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 
announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 1994 funds for a 
cooperative agreement program for public health agencies to build 
capacity to conduct health consultations. This program is also intended 
to provide public health agencies with the capacity to conduct 
activities, in cooperation with ATSDR, during ATSDR's preparation of 
public health assessments at sites listed on the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System 
(CERCLIS) and other sites or facilities within their jurisdictional 
boundary where a hazardous substance has been released into the 
environment.
    The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the 
health promotion and disease prevention objectives of ``Healthy People 
2000,'' a PHS-led national activity to reduce morbidity and mortality 
and improve the quality of life. This announcement is related to the 
priority area of Environmental Health. (For ordering a copy of 
``Healthy People 2000,'' see the section Where to Obtain Additional 
Information.)

Authority

    This program is authorized under sections 104(i) (4), (6) and (15) 
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments 
and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 [42 U.S.C. 9604(i) (4), (6) and 
(15)], and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as 
amended (Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984) [42 U.S.C. 6939a 
(b) and (c)].

Smoke-Free Workplace

    The Public Health Service strongly encourages all grant recipients 
to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all 
tobacco products. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect 
and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.

Eligible Applicants

    Assistance is limited to official health departments of States or 
their bona fide agents or instrumentalities which have fifteen or less 
sites listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List 
(NPL). This includes the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Federated States 
of Micronesia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the 
Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and federally recognized 
Indian tribal governments.

Availability of Funds

    Approximately $178,000 will be available in FY 1994 to fund an 
estimated 3 awards. It is expected that the average new award will be 
$60,000, ranging from $40,000 to $80,000. It is expected that the 
awards will begin on or about September 29, 1994, and will be made for 
a 12-month budget period with a 3-year project period. Funding 
estimates may vary and are subject to change.
    Continuation awards within the project period will be made on the 
basis of satisfactory progress and the availability of funds.

Purpose

    The purpose of this program is for public health agencies to build 
capacity, in coordination with ATSDR, to conduct health related 
activities under CERCLA and RCRA. This includes conducting health 
consultations, providing public health advice and information, and 
coordinating public health activities during ATSDR's preparation of 
public health assessments at sites listed on the CERCLIS and other 
sites or facilities within their jurisdictional boundary where a 
hazardous substance has been released into the environment. This 
program is directed to public health agencies which have a limited 
number (15 or less) of proposed or listed sites on the NPL, but have a 
considerable need to build capacity to address health issues related to 
hazardous substance releases into the environment within their 
jurisdictional boundary.
    ATSDR currently has a cooperative agreement program which provides 
funding to support public health assessment activities in twenty-two 
States. Historically, this program has targeted those States with the 
greatest number of NPL sites. Because of the number of CERCLIS sites 
and operational RCRA facilities, there are a number of States which 
have a clearly demonstrated need to develop a program to address 
environmental health issues related to hazardous substances. These 
States have not qualified for funding under the existing program, 
however, because of the low number of NPL sites within their 
jurisdictional boundary. This program will enable ATSDR to address this 
need by providing financial assistance specifically to States with 
fewer NPL sites but who need to build capacity to address environmental 
health issues.

Program Requirements

    The recipient and ATSDR activities are listed below:

A. Recipient Activities

1. Health Consultations
    Conduct health consultations and provide public health advice and 
information in response to a question or request for information on 
specific public health issues that occur as a result of actual or 
potential human exposure to a hazardous substance. Participate in the 
Health Activities Recommendation Panel (HARP) review of health 
consultations.
2. Public Health Assessment Activities
    Conduct public health evaluation of sites listed on CERCLIS and 
other sites or facilities within their jurisdictional boundary where a 
hazardous substance has been released into the environment. These 
activities may include:
    (1) Site evaluations.
    (2) Community outreach and interaction activities.
    (3) Exposure investigations to further characterize the extent of 
human exposure for improving public health decision making.
    (4) Participating in the HARP review of public health assessments 
of sites within recipient's jurisdiction.

B. ATSDR Activities

1. Health Consultations
    Assist recipient in conducting health consultations in providing 
public health advice and information in response to a question or 
request for information on specific public health issues that occur as 
a result of actual or potential human exposure to a hazardous 
substance.
2. Public Health Assessment Activities
    Assist recipient during public health evaluation of sites listed on 
CERCLIS and other sites or facilities within their jurisdictional 
boundary where a hazardous substance has been released into the 
environment.

Evaluation Criteria

    Applications will be reviewed and evaluated according to the 
following criteria:

A. Proposed Program--50%

    Applicant's ability to address the following:
    1. Ability to respond to specific public health issues that occur 
as a result of actual or potential human exposure to a hazardous 
substance. (20%)
    2. Method described to evaluate and analyze toxicological, 
community, and environmental health data; community outreach and 
interaction; and exposure investigations. (20%)
    3. Description of HARP participation and involvement in public 
health meetings and with communities in response to concern about a 
particular site's impact on public health. (10%)

B. Program Personnel--30%

    The extent to which the proposal has described or provided 
biographical data on the:
    1. Appropriate qualifications, experience, leadership ability, and 
percentage of time principal investigator (or project director) will 
commit to the project;
    2. Appropriate qualifications, experience, and description of how 
staff will be utilized in relation to the activities to be performed to 
accomplish the work and their percentage of time to be spent on the 
project;
    3. If contractors are proposed, recipient will adhere to ``Third 
Party Agreements'' under ``Other Requirements'' of this announcement. 
Additionally, the following must be provided: name of contractor, 
method of selection, period of performance, detailed budget and 
justification (budget not scored).

C. Capability--20%

    Description of the applicant's capability to carry out the proposed 
project and suitability of facilities and equipment available or to be 
purchased for the project.

D. Human Subjects--(Not Scored)

    If the application involves the use of human subjects, the extent 
to which the applicant discusses all of the issues relevant to 
protection of the subjects and assesses whether or not subjects are 
adequately protected.

E. Program Budget--(Not Scored)

    The extent to which the budget relates directly to project 
activities, is clearly justified, and is consistent with intended use 
of funds.
    Continuation awards within the project period will be made on the 
basis of the following criteria:
    1. Satisfactory progress has been made in meeting project 
objectives;
    2. Objectives for the new budget period are realistic, specific, 
and measurable;
    3. Proposed changes in described long-term objectives, methods of 
operation, need for cooperative agreement support, and/or evaluation 
procedures will lead to achievement of project objectives; and
    4. The budget request is clearly justified and consistent with the 
intended use of cooperative agreement funds.

Executive Order 12372 Review

    Applications are subject to the Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs as governed by Executive Order (E.O.) 12372. E.O. 12372 sets 
up a system for State and local government review of proposed Federal 
assistance applications. Applicants should contact their State Single 
Point of Contact (SPOC) as early as possible to alert them to the 
prospective applications and to receive any necessary instructions on 
the State process. For proposed projects serving more than one State, 
the applicant is advised to contact the SPOC for each affected State. A 
current list of SPOCs is included in the application kit. If SPOCs have 
any State process recommendations on applications submitted to CDC, 
they should forward them to Henry S. Cassell, III, Grants Management 
Officer, Grants Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry 
Road, NE., Atlanta, Georgia 30305, no later than 60 days after the 
application deadline date. The granting agency does not guarantee to 
``accommodate or explain'' State process recommendations it receives 
after that date.
    Indian tribes are strongly encouraged to request tribal government 
review of the proposed application. If tribal governments have any 
tribal process recommendations on applications submitted to CDC, they 
should forward them to Henry S. Cassell, III, Grants Management 
Officer, Grants Management Branch, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., Mailstop E-13, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30305. This should be done no later than 60 days after 
the application deadline date. The granting agency does not guarantee 
to ``accommodate or explain'' for tribal process recommendations it 
receives after that date.

Public Health System Reporting Requirements

    This program is not subject to the Public Health System Reporting 
Requirements.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.202.

Other Requirements

A. Protection of Human Subjects

    If the proposed project involves research on human subjects, the 
applicant must comply with Department of Health and Human Services 
Regulations, 45 CFR Part 46, regarding the protection of human 
subjects. Assurance must be provided to demonstrate that the project 
will be subject to initial and continuing review by an appropriate 
institutional review committee. In addition to other applicable 
committees, Indian Health Service (IHS) institutional review committees 
also must review the project if any component of IHS will be involved 
or will support the research. If any Native American community is 
involved, its tribal government must also approve that portion of the 
project applicable to it. The applicant will be responsible for 
providing assurance in accordance with the appropriate guidelines and 
form provided in the application kit.

B. Cost Recovery

    CERCLA, as amended by SARA, provides for the recovery of costs 
incurred for response actions at each Superfund site from potentially 
responsible parties. The recipient would agree to maintain an 
accounting system that will keep an accurate, complete, and current 
accounting of all financial transactions on a site-specific basis, 
i.e., individual time, travel, and associated cost including indirect 
cost, as appropriate for the site. The recipient would also maintain 
documentation that describes the site-specific response actions taken 
with respect to the site, e.g., contracts, work assignments, progress 
reports, and other documents that describe the work performed at a 
site. The recipient will retain the documents and records to support 
these financial transactions and documentation of work performed, for 
possible use in a cost recovery case, for a minimum of ten years after 
submission of a final financial status report, unless there is 
litigation, claim, negotiation, audit or other action involving the 
specific site, then the records will be maintained until resolution of 
all issues on the specific site.

C. Third Party Agreements

    Project activities which are approved for contracting pursuant to 
the prior approval provisions shall be formalized in a written 
agreement that clearly establishes the relationship between the 
recipient and the third party. The written agreement shall, at a 
minimum:
    1. State or incorporate by reference all applicable requirements 
imposed on the contractors under the terms of the grant and/or 
cooperative agreement, including requirements concerning technical 
review (ATSDR selected reviewers), ownership of data, and the 
arrangement for copyright when publications, data, or other 
copyrightable works are developed under or in the course of work under 
a PHS grant-supported project or activity.
    2. State that any copyrighted or copyrightable works shall be 
subject to a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to the 
government to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use them, and to 
authorize others to do so for Federal government purposes.
    3. State that whenever any work subject to this copyright policy 
may be developed in the course of a grant by a contractor under a 
grant, the written agreement (contract) must require the contractor to 
comply with these requirements and can in no way diminish the 
government's right in that work.
    4. State the activities to be performed, the time schedule for 
those activities, the policies and procedures to be followed in 
carrying out the agreement, and the maximum amount of money for which 
the grantee may become liable to the third party under the agreement.
    The written agreement required shall not relieve the recipient of 
any part of its responsibility or accountability to PHS under the 
cooperative agreement. The agreement shall, therefore, retain 
sufficient rights and control to the recipient to enable it to fulfill 
this responsibility and accountability.

D. Disclosure

    Recipient is required to provide proof by way of citation to State 
code or regulation or other State pronouncement given the authority of 
law, that medical information obtained pursuant to the agreement, 
pertaining to an individual, and therefore considered confidential, 
will be protected from disclosure when the consent of the individual to 
release identifying information is not obtained.

Application Submission and Deadline

    The original and two copies of application PHS Form 5161-1 should 
be submitted to Henry S. Cassell, III, Grants Management Officer, 
Grants Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., 
room 300, Mailstop E-13, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, on or before July 15, 
1994. (By formal agreement, the CDC Procurement and Grants Office will 
act for and on behalf of ATSDR on this matter.)
    1. Deadline: Applications shall be considered as meeting the 
deadline if they are either:
    (a) Received on or before the deadline date, or (b) Sent on or 
before the deadline date and received in time for submission to the 
objective review group. (Applicants must request a legibly dated U.S. 
Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a 
commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal Service. Private metered 
postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
    2. Late Applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria 
in 1.(a) or 1.(b) above are considered late applications. Late 
applications will not be considered in the current competition and will 
be returned to the applicant.

Where to Obtain Additional Information

    A complete program description, information on application 
procedures, an application package, and business management assistance 
may be obtained from Maggie Slay, Grants Management Specialist, Grants 
Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., room 300, 
Mailstop E-13, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, telephone (404) 842-6797. 
Programmatic technical assistance may be obtained from Edward 
Skowronski, Program Manager, Division of Health Assessment and 
Consultation, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 
Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop E-57, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, telephone 
(404) 639-6360.

Please Refer to Announcement Number 415 When Requesting Information and 
Submitting an Application

    Potential applicants may obtain a copy of ``Healthy People 2000'' 
(Full Report, Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or ``Healthy People 2000'' 
(Summary Report, Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) referenced in the 
Introduction through the Superintendent of Documents, Government 
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325, telephone (202) 783-3238.

    Dated: May 5, 1994.
Claire V. Broome,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry.
[FR Doc. 94-11186 Filed 5-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P