[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 228 (Monday, November 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59868-59872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30016]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Energy Research Financial Assistance Program Notice 97-04; 
Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research Program

AGENCY: Office of Energy Research, DOE.

ACTION: Notice inviting research grant applications.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the 
Office of Energy Research (ER), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby 
announces its interest in receiving applications for research grants in 
the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Program. 
The NABIR Program is made up of the following scientific research 
elements: Acceleration; Assessment; Biogeochemical Dynamics; 
Biomolecular Science and Engineering; Biotransformation and 
Biodegradation; Community Dynamics and Microbial Ecology, and System 
Engineering, Integration, Prediction, and Optimization. The NABIR 
program also includes a social-legal element called Bioremediation and 
its Social Implications and Concerns (BASIC). Grant applications are 
being solicited in each of the first six scientific research elements, 
as well as in the BASIC element, but not in the System Engineering, 
Integration, Prediction, and Optimization element.

DATES: Applicants are encouraged (but not required) to submit a 
preliminary application for programmatic review. Early submission of 
preliminary applications is encouraged, to allow time for meaningful 
dialogue. A brief preliminary application should consist of two to 
three pages of narrative describing the research objectives and methods 
of accomplishment together with a brief summary of the principal 
investigator's publication and research background; only one copy is 
required. The deadline for receipt of formal applications is 4:30 p.m., 
E.S.T., January 30, 1997, to be accepted for merit review and to permit 
timely consideration for award in fiscal year 1997. An original and 
seven copies of the application must be submitted; however, applicants 
are requested not to submit multiple applications using more than one 
delivery or mail service.

ADDRESSES: If submitting a preliminary application, referencing Program 
Notice 97-04, it should be sent e-mail to [email protected]. 
Formal applications referencing Program Notice 97-04 on the cover page 
must be forwarded to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Research, Grants and Contracts Division, ER-64, 19901 Germantown Road, 
Germantown, MD 20874-1290, ATTN: Program Notice 97-04. This address 
must also be used when submitting applications by U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail or any other commercial overnight delivery service, or 
when hand-carried by the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John Houghton, Environmental 
Sciences Division, ER-74, Office of Health and Environmental Research, 
Office of Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown 
Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290, telephone (301) 903-8288, e-mail 
[email protected], fax (301) 903-8519.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The mission of the NABIR Program is to 
provide the scientific understanding needed to use natural processes 
and to develop new methods to accelerate those processes for the 
bioremediation of contaminated soils, sediments, and groundwater at DOE 
facilities. The program will be implemented through seven interrelated 
scientific research elements (Acceleration, Assessment, Biogeochemical 
Dynamics, Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Biotransformation and 
Biodegradation, Community Dynamics and Microbial Ecology, and System 
Engineering, Integration, Prediction, and Optimization); and a social 
and legal element called Bioremediation and its Social Implications and 
Concerns (BASIC). A document entitled Natural and Accelerated 
Bioremediation Research Program Plan (DOE/ER-0659T) contains an initial 
planning description of the NABIR Program and each of the science 
elements. It is available via the Internet using the following web site 
address: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/oher/nabir/cover.html. The 
NABIR Program Plan is also available from the Office of Scientific and 
Technical Information, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (DOE and DOE 
grantees only) and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Technology 
Administration, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 
22161, (703) 487-4650 (public source). Additional information about 
NABIR, such as references to infrastructure that could be available to 
the research community, can be accessed from the NABIR Homepage: http:/
/www.lbl.gov/NABIR/. Each scientific research element is directed by a 
program manager from OHER, who is responsible for providing support and 
overall direction for the element, including determining the relevance 
of the proposed research to the goals and objectives of the program 
element to the NABIR and other DOE programs. The NABIR program also has 
Science Team Leaders, selected through a previous peer review process, 
who will provide scientific leadership and coordination to the 
community of NABIR investigators.

Program Focus

    The NABIR Program supports long-term, hypothesis-driven research 
directed at specific topics that will provide the understanding 
necessary to develop effective new technologies for DOE site cleanup. 
This research will help determine the future viability of 
bioremediation technologies at the DOE sites. The NABIR Program will 
not support research to evaluate the risk to humans or to the 
environment. Although the program is directed at specific goals, it 
supports research that is more fundamental in nature than demonstration 
projects.
    The initial theme for the NABIR Program will be an emphasis on 
field-scale research and metal and radionuclide contamination, 
specifically on the metals and radionuclides associated with weapons 
production. However, the research program will support laboratory, 
theoretical, modeling, and other non-field research

[[Page 59869]]

projects, if they fill important gaps that would be necessary to 
complete understanding for field-scale applications. The study of real 
problems might iterate between, for example, the laboratory and the 
field. Investigators without access to laboratories licensed to work 
with radionuclides may propose research with non-radioactive surrogates 
of radionuclides, or collaboration with a licensed laboratory. The 
NABIR program will initially emphasize the bioremediation of metals and 
radionuclides in the subsurface below the root zone, including both 
thick vadose and saturated zones. Typically, the bioremediation of 
metals and radionuclides involves, but is not limited to, mobilization 
and immobilization scenarios. Consideration of organic contaminants, 
such as solvents and complexing agents that would be important 
substrates, facilitators, inhibitors, or carbon or electron donors or 
acceptors, can be included in the proposed research to the extent that 
they influence the primary goal of understanding the remediation of 
metals and radionuclides. Applicants are encouraged to review Chemical 
Contaminants on DOE Lands, DOE/ER-0547T, available at the OHER 
Homepage: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/oher/EPR/pub__epr.html, for 
a compilation of wastes and waste mixtures at the DOE sites.
    NABIR is a research program designed to serve as a foundation for 
microbial in situ bioremediation techniques. Although ``spillover'' 
benefits of the research to other cleanup needs such as the use of 
bioreactors to process waste streams are anticipated, NABIR supports 
investigations into bioremediation of subsurface waste sites. This 
emphasis includes research that will assist the application of in situ 
bioremediation in conjunction with other cleanup methods, for example, 
using bioremediation to mobilize radionuclides so that pump-and-treat 
techniques could be more effective. Problems characterized by large 
areas with low-concentration contamination are emphasized over problems 
of localized, high concentrations. Research on phytoremediation will 
not be supported during this initial funding period.
    In research plans that involve the potential release of chemicals, 
enzymes, and/or microorganisms to the field (both at contaminated and 
non-contaminated control sites), applicants should discuss how they 
will involve the public or stakeholders in their research, beginning 
with experimental design through completion of the project. All 
applicants should discuss other relevant societal issues, where 
appropriate, which may include intellectual property protection, 
communication with and outreach to affected communities (including 
members of affected minority communities where appropriate) to explain 
the proposed research.

NABIR Infrastructure

    The NABIR program anticipates selecting at least one Field Research 
Center (FRC) located on a DOE site. The FRC will serve as a central 
facility for researchers to use at their option.
    However, FRCs will not be available (or even identified) for at 
least a year, because of a current National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) review of the NABIR Program. Therefore, applicants are 
encouraged to use any site that is presently available to them, 
including but not limited to DOE sites. Investigators should describe 
how their research will interface with or transfer to field scale 
research at their site. Applicants should access the NABIR Homepage: 
http://www.lbl.gov/NABIR/ for a listing of available sites and 
facilities.
    A centrally-maintained database will be developed to provide 
limited data, such as site characterization and kinetics data, needed 
by a broad segment of investigators. Applications shall include a short 
discussion of the Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) 
measures that will be applied in data gathering and analysis 
activities. Successful grantees will be expected to coordinate their 
QA/QC measures with NABIR program personnel.

Scientific Research Elements

    The following sections describe each of the six NABIR scientific 
research elements and the emphasis that is given preference in this 
solicitation. Applicants may propose research that transcends more than 
one research element; it is also anticipated that many applications 
could be placed in more than one element. However, each application 
should state the one science element most closely aligned with the 
proposed research, to facilitate scientific review.
    Biotransformation and Biodegradation: The goal of all 
bioremediation efforts is to reduce the potential toxicity of chemical 
contaminants in the field by using living organisms or their products 
to mineralize, degrade, transform, mobilize, or immobilize 
contaminants. There is already a significant base of knowledge about 
many pathways for organic chemical degradation, and several important 
contaminant degradation mechanisms are presently under detailed 
investigation. Despite the successful contributions of existing 
knowledge about biodegradation and biotransformation mechanisms, there 
is still need for additional research. At present, the understanding of 
biotransformation and biodegradation pathways and mechanisms in the 
field is incomplete. Although the degradation of many organic compounds 
and the biotransformation of some inorganic compounds in laboratory 
cultures have been well described, it is unclear how this information 
relates to bioremediation processes under field conditions. The 
biotransformation of metals and radionuclides in thick vadose zones is 
poorly understood. Successful laboratory studies have not allowed for 
predictions about the fate of complex chemical mixtures that include 
metals and radionuclides in the field. It would be useful to know the 
metabolic pathways taken by mixtures of chemicals in the presence of 
complex microbial communities in vadose zones and their interfaces with 
saturated zones and the waste plume. It would be equally useful to 
understand the kinetics of desirable metal and radionuclide 
biotransformations and the physicochemical factors affecting those 
kinetics. Research is needed to address questions such as:
     How can laboratory studies be used to accurately represent 
field situations and allow for predictions of chemical fate?
     How important are microbial species interactions in the 
biotransformation of metals and radionuclides?
     How do organic co-contaminants affect the 
biotransformation of metals and radionuclides?
     What factors control the kinetics of desirable metal and 
radionuclide biotransformations in vadose and saturated zones?
     Can biological processes be harnessed to permanently 
sequester metals and/or radionuclides in the subsurface?
     What are the metal- and radionuclide-transforming 
capabilities of indigenous microorganisms in deep vadose or saturated 
zones representative of DOE sites?
    Community Dynamics and Microbial Ecology: Fundamental research in 
Community Dynamics and Microbial Ecology at both the molecular and the 
organismal level is needed to understand better the natural intrinsic 
processes of bioremediation in mixed contaminant sites. A more complete 
understanding of energetics and biogeochemical transformation at the 
community level may ultimately

[[Page 59870]]

provide the ability to control or stimulate communities capable of 
transformation and to channel carbon flow (particularly of polluting 
organic compounds) through these communities or populations. It is 
essential to understand the roles and interactions of diverse 
communities in order to understand how and to what extent the structure 
of the biological community influences the course of bioremediation and 
to what extent the environmental factors influence community dynamics 
in sites containing metals and radionuclides. This need is especially 
critical to successful bioremediation of diffuse metals and 
radionuclides in thick vadose and deep saturated zones. Research should 
be directed toward the identification and characterization of microbial 
communities at contaminated sites, and toward understanding the 
dynamics of extant microbial communities under the influence of metals 
and radionuclides. Research is needed to address questions such as:
     Is there sufficient biological activity and diversity in 
thick vadose zones to support natural and/or accelerated bioremediation 
of metals and radionuclides?
     What are the effects of metals and radionuclides on 
microbial community activity and diversity, including both metabolic 
and genetic activity and diversity?
     Do microbial (population) interactions occur within 
communities present in vadose zones contaminated with metals and 
radionuclides?
     What kind of measurement (assessment) technology must be 
developed to interrogate microbial communities for their activity and 
diversity before, during, and after bioremediation?
    Biomolecular Science and Engineering: The overall goal of research 
in the Biomolecular Science and Engineering element is to use molecular 
and structural biology to enhance understanding of bioremediation and 
to genetically modify macro-molecules and organisms to improve their 
bioremedial activities. Using information and data gained from other 
program elements, the molecules, enzymes, and enzyme pathways that are 
most effective for bioremediation of metals and radionuclides will be 
identified. Initial DOE objectives and priorities for research in 
Biomolecular Science and Engineering are to: (i) identify, clone, and 
sequence novel genes and promoters important to the bioremediation of 
metals and radionuclides; and (ii) construct or enhance bioremedial 
enzymatic pathways by identifying active genes from different 
procaryotic, eukaryotic and archaeal organisms and inserting those 
genes into one or more organisms that can survive and compete 
effectively in a contaminated subsurface environment. Research in these 
areas is encouraged that includes:
     How can we identify and characterize important genes and 
proteins that detoxify mixed contaminants or that affect the ability of 
organisms to live and survive under contaminated conditions?
     How can we identify and characterize genes from different 
organisms that can work together to improve bioremediation?
     How can we identify critical promoter elements that induce 
or regulate bioremedial genes or gene clusters?
     How can we develop expression systems for genes with an 
emphasis on the use of organisms that will survive in contaminated 
environments?
     How can we develop organisms with improved enzymatic 
pathways for bioremediation by combining genes from different organisms 
into a single organism with an emphasis on the use of soil organisms or 
organisms that will survive in other types of contaminated 
environments?
    Biogeochemical Dynamics: Successful bioremediation of metals and 
radionuclides at DOE sites is closely linked to understanding the 
complex and dynamic interplay of hydrological, geochemical, and 
biological processes within geological media that are themselves 
spatially and temporally heterogeneous. Understanding the natural 
biogeochemical processes that control the mobility and form of 
radionuclides is one of the most challenging problems affecting the 
future viability of bioremediation at DOE sites, particularly within 
the thick vadose zones and saturated zones below the root zone where 
much of the contamination resides.
    DOE cleanup problems are at the field scale, and the immediate 
priority in biogeochemical dynamics is to scale up the existing 
scientific knowledge base on underlying mechanisms and processes 
governing metal and radionuclide behavior to the field. Focus will be 
on (i) understanding how natural biogeochemical processes control the 
mobility and stability of contaminants in waste mixtures, including the 
biogeochemical processes that modify the form and behavior of 
contaminants in mixtures; and (ii) the influence of spatial 
heterogeneity in chemical, microbiological, and physical processes on 
the transport and transformation of contaminant mixtures.
    Research within biogeochemical dynamics seeks to quantify the 
intrinsic biogeochemical processes that influence the form and behavior 
of contaminants and which can lead to development of new concepts for 
in situ bioremediation. New and creative scientific approaches are 
sought that address the following fundamental research questions:
     What are the principal biogeochemical reactions that 
govern mixed contaminant concentration, chemical speciation, and 
distribution between the aqueous and solid phases in the vadose and 
saturated zones?
     What are the thermodynamic and kinetic controls on these 
reactions?
     What are the major factors controlling the rate and extent 
of oxidation and reduction of multivalent radionuclides and naturally-
occurring metals in various mineral phases? How can these factors be 
manipulated to enhance or limit the mobility of contaminants?
     What are the geochemical, microbiological, and transport 
processes and their interactions that control biological availability, 
transformation, and movement of contaminant mixtures?
     What are the interdependent distributions of 
microbiological, chemical, and physical properties and processes that 
have scale-dependent effects on biogeochemical phenomena and 
contaminant behavior? How can this information be scaled to the field?
     How can fundamental understanding of biogeochemical 
dynamics be used to develop innovative in situ remediation concepts for 
application to DOE sites?
    Assessment: Current methods for measuring and evaluating the 
effectiveness of bioremediation are inadequate and, in most cases, 
undeveloped. Demonstrating the effectiveness of bioremediation will 
require documentation for direct impacts, such as loss of contaminants 
from the site, or indirect impacts, such as product accumulation and 
detoxification. The two primary objectives of research in the 
Assessment program element are to develop innovative and effective 
methods for assessing (i) bioremediation rate and activity, including 
microbial community structure and dynamics, biotransformation processes 
and rates, and electron flow; and (ii) bioremediation end points, 
including not only the concentrations of the contaminants and 
byproducts but also the stability, bioavailability, and toxicity of 
residual end-products. NABIR will not, however, fund projects that

[[Page 59871]]

examine human health risks of end points.
    This element will focus on developing techniques for assessing the 
bioremedial activities of individual strains and functional groups 
within a community, as well as validate existing and emerging 
laboratory and field techniques. Priority will be given to research 
applications that could result in techniques and/or instrumentation 
that: (i) operate in real time; (ii) operate in field- scale 
heterogeneous environments; (iii) are cost-effective; and (iv) 
determine endpoints which more closely approximate limited or non-
bioavailability. Research is sought to answer questions such as:
     Can quantitative techniques be adapted or developed for 
measurement of microbial community structure, movement, activity, and 
effectiveness during bioremediation?
     How can geophysical, geochemical, and hydrologic 
properties critical to bioremediation effectiveness be determined?
     What new methods might be developed to interpret complex 
data sets, including temporal and spatial variability in support of 
bioremediation management?
     Can bioremediation endpoints that accurately measure 
bioavailability be quantitatively established?
    Acceleration: This program element will address effective delivery 
of microorganisms to contaminated zones, where bacteria and/or archaea 
can transform, mobilize, or immobilize toxicants, particularly metals 
and radionuclides in thick vadose and deep saturated zones. Highest 
priority will be on research that defines issues of microbial 
transport, such as chemical and physical heterogeneity and 
geochemistry. The fundamental processes that affect microbial survival 
are included in the Community Dynamics and Microbial Ecology Program 
Element.
    Building on new knowledge being developed in other program elements 
on microbial community dynamics, biogeochemical processes governing the 
form and behavior of inorganic solutes and the effects of heterogeneity 
on these processes, research is needed to address questions such as:
     What factors control the delivery and transport of 
microorganisms and genetic elements in heterogeneous subsurface 
systems?
     What are the coupled effects of chemical, biological, and 
hydrologic processes on transport, such as attachment/detachment of 
microbial cells (including viruses and genetic elements) to mineral 
grains in concert with advection and dispersion of cells and chemicals 
during flow through porous media?
     How can key controlling factors and coupled processes be 
evaluated and scaled to the field for acceleration of natural 
processes?

Basic

    The introduction of non-native or genetically engineered 
microorganisms or the manipulation of the environment to change its 
microbial composition or chemical characteristics has the potential to 
raise concerns among those who may live or work nearby. Great care is 
required to involve the affected communities and stakeholders in any 
plans to use novel agents and/or processes to remediate a contaminated 
site; for example, a deliberate release of a non-indigenous 
microorganism, the purposeful manipulation of a microbial community, or 
the mobilization of a hazardous chemical. Although it may be many years 
before work under the auspices of this program gets to that point, it 
is wise to begin to consider some of the issues involved now.
    The Bioremediation and its Societal Implications and Concerns 
(BASIC) component of the NABIR program is directed at these larger 
societal implications of bioremediation. DOE seeks to encourage 
applications that address effective ways to articulate the risks and 
benefits attendant to in situ bioremediation to stakeholders, and 
effective ways to involve affected communities in bioremediation 
research and decision making. The DOE also solicits applications for 
the preparation and dissemination of educational materials in any 
appropriate medium that will enhance understanding of the scientific as 
well as the societal aspects of NABIR among the public or specified 
groups. If an educational effort for a specific group is proposed, the 
value to NABIR of that group or community should be explained in 
detail. In addition, the DOE encourages applications for the support of 
conferences focusing on the legal and societal implications of NABIR. 
Applications should demonstrate knowledge of any relevant literature 
and should include detailed plans for the gathering and analysis of 
factual information and the associated societal implications. All 
proposed research applications should address the issue of efficient 
dissemination of results to the widest appropriate audience.

Administrative Information

    To provide a consistent format for the submission, review and 
solicitation of grant applications submitted under this notice, the 
preparation and submission of grant applications must follow the 
guidelines given in the Application Guide for the Office of Energy 
Research Financial Assistance Program 10 CFR Part 605.
    Information about the development, submission of applications, 
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, the selection process, and other 
policies and procedures may be found in 10 CFR Part 605, and in the 
Application Guide for the Office of Energy Research Financial 
Assistance Program. The Application Guide is available from the U. S. 
Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, ER-74, 19901 
Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290. Telephone requests may be 
made by calling (301) 903-3338. Electronic access to ER's Financial 
Assistance Application Guide is possible via the World Wide Web at: 
http://www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html. The Office of 
Energy Research (ER), as part of its grant regulations, requires at 10 
CFR 605.11(b) that a grantee funded by ER and performing research 
involving recombinant DNA molecules shall comply with the National 
Institutes of Health ``Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant 
DNA Molecules'' (51 FR 16958, May 7, 1986), or such later guidelines as 
may be published in the Federal Register. Grantees must also comply 
with other federal and state laws and regulations as appropriate, for 
example, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as it applies to 
genetically modified organisms. Although compliance with NEPA is the 
responsibility of DOE, grantees proposing to conduct field research are 
expected to provide information necessary for the DOE to complete the 
NEPA review and documentation. The research description must be 15 
pages or less, exclusive of attachments, and must contain an abstract 
or summary of the proposed research (to include the hypotheses being 
tested, the proposed experimental design, and the names of all 
investigators and their affiliations). Attachments include curriculum 
vitae, QA/QC plan, a listing of all current and pending federal 
support, and letters of intent when collaborations are part of the 
proposed research.
    Applications will be subjected to formal merit review (peer review) 
and will be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria which 
are listed in descending order of importance codified at 10 CFR 
605.10(d):
    1. Scientific and/or Technical Merit of the Project;

[[Page 59872]]

    2. Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach;
    3. Competency of Applicant's personnel and Adequacy of Proposed 
Resources;
    4. Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget.
    Also, as part of the evaluation, program policy factors become a 
selection priority.
    Note, external peer reviewers are selected with regard to both 
their scientific expertise and the absence of conflict-of-interest 
issues. Non-federal reviewers will often be used, and submission of an 
application constitutes agreement that this is acceptable to the 
investigator(s) and the submitting institution.
    It is anticipated that up to $10 million will be available for 
multiple awards to be made in FY 1997 and early FY 1998 in the 
categories described above, contingent on availability of appropriated 
funds. Applications may request project support up to three years, with 
out-year support contingent on availability of funds, progress of the 
research, and programmatic needs. Annual budgets for most of the six 
scientific research element projects are expected to range from 
$200,000 to $500,000 total costs. Annual budgets for most of the BASIC 
projects are expected not to exceed $100,000. Researchers are 
encouraged to team with investigators in other disciplines where 
appropriate. DOE may encourage collaboration among prospective 
investigators, to promote joint applications or joint research 
projects, by using information obtained through the preliminary 
applications or through other forms of communication.
    Although the required original and seven copies of the application 
must be submitted, researchers are asked to submit an electronic 
version of their abstract of the proposed research in ASCII format and 
their e-mail address to Karen Carlson by e-mail at 
[email protected]. Additional information on the NABIR Program 
is available at the following web site: http://www.lbl.gov/NABIR/. For 
researchers who do not have access to the world wide web, please 
contact Karen Carlson; Environmental Sciences Division, ER-74; U.S. 
Department of Energy; 19901 Germantown Road; Germantown, MD 20874-1290; 
(301) 903-3338 phone; (301) 903-8519 fax; [email protected]; 
for hard copies of background material mentioned in this solicitation. 
Curriculum vitae should be submitted in a form similar to that of NIH 
or NSF (two to three pages), see for example: http://www.nsf.gov:80/
bfa/cpo/gpg/fkit.htm#forms-9.

Related Funding Opportunities

    Investigators may wish to obtain information about the following 
related funding opportunities:
    Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management: The 
Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP). Contact: Carol Henry, 
Science and Policy Director, Office of Integrated Risk Management, EM-
52, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., 
Washington, DC 20585, e-mail [email protected]. Phone 202-586-
7150. The EMSP home page is available at web site: 
www.em.doe.gov.science.
    DOE/EPA/NSF/ONR Joint Program on Bioremediation, Dr. Robert E. 
Menzer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for 
Environmental Research and Quality Assurance, 401 M Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20460, [email protected]., phone (202) 260-
5779.

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this 
program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 
CFR Part 605.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 13, 1996.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director for Resource Management, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 96-30016 Filed 11-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P