[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 108 (Friday, June 5, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30746-30747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15004]
[[Page 30746]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6108-1]
Notice Announcing Availability, Guidance and Evaluation Criteria
for Sector-Based Multimedia State Cooperative Agreement Funds
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PURPOSE: This Notice and Cooperative Agreement Guidance and Evaluation
Criteria, announces the availability of the cooperative agreements and
summarizes the requirements and process for States to submit proposals
for funding. At this time EPA invites eligible States and Territories
to submit pre-proposals no longer than 5 pages to the appropriate EPA
Regional office and to the workgroup chair by Friday, July 10, 1998.
CONTACT: Amy Porter, 2225A, Office of Compliance, US EPA, 401 M Street
SW, Washington, DC 20460, (202) 564-4149, [email protected].
This information is also being made available, with additional
details, on the Internet at http://es.epa.gov/oeca/polguid0.html. Hard
copy of the full package, with detailed pre-proposal requirements, can
be obtained at the address above, or through any EPA Regional Office.
Background and Purpose
The FY 1998 EPA budget contains $1,836,000 in State cooperative
agreement funds available for multimedia/sector-based work under
authority of section 28 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA
plans to fund proposals in the range of $100,000-$500,000 to address
sector, multimedia, ecosystem, or community-based environmental
protection (CBEP) compliance and enforcement projects which are part of
State efforts to establish or operate programs under section 28 of
TSCA. All projects should have an impact on improving any aspect of
data quality, either for the area being addressed, or overall. Projects
relating to the national priority and significant sectors as defined by
the OECA Memoranda of Agreement with Regions, as well as multi-State
projects addressing problems affecting adjoining States, will be given
priority for funding. Also, any other sector or priority project
identified by Regions in their individual MOAs will be given funding
priority. The national priority sectors include Dry Cleaners, Primary
Nonferrous Metals, and Petroleum Refining. The significant sectors are
Municipalities, Industrial Organic Chemicals, Chemical Preparation,
Iron and Basic Steel Products, Pulp Mills, Auto Service/Repair Shops,
and Agricultural Practices.
Statutory Authority
The funding authority for making these grants is section 28 of TSCA
which allows ``the Administrator to make grants to States for the
establishment and operation of programs to prevent or eliminate
unreasonable risks within the States to health or the environment which
are associated with a chemical substance or mixture and with respect to
which the Administrator is unable or is unlikely to take action under
[TSCA] for their prevention and elimination.'' The Office of Compliance
believes that all projects that meet the criteria laid out in the
guidance and which qualify for funding under this program will meet the
statutory standards of TSCA section 28 because there are no multi-media
compliance and enforcement initiatives for the types of projects being
funded by this grant, nor are there likely to be.
If the forthcoming Environmental Program Grants Rule has been
promulgated at the time these grants are awarded, they will be governed
by that Rule.
Eligibility
Eligible entities include State governments and U.S. Territories.
Eligible applicants will compete nationally for a portion of the total
$1,836,000 allocation. The Agency intends to announce a separate call
for proposals for Federally recognized Tribes with a different focus at
a later date.
Scope
The funding authority provides an avenue for cross-media
environmental concerns. Cooperative agreements funded under this
initiative are intended to provide eligible States and Territories the
opportunity to try different and/or innovative approaches to multimedia
compliance and enforcement. Proposals must address sector, multimedia,
ecosystem, or community based environmental protection (CBEP)
compliance assistance, monitoring or enforcement related to programs
for the prevention or elimination of risks associated with chemical
substances or mixtures. (For the definitions of chemical substances and
mixtures, please refer to section 3 of TSCA, or contact EPA for further
clarification.) Proposals should address how the project will improve
at least one of the following aspects of data quality: accuracy,
completeness, consistency, utility, timeliness, and/or access to
existing data systems or those newly developed for sector-related
projects, either for the area being addressed, or overall.
Projects relating to the MOA national priority and significant
sectors will be given priority for funding. Also, any other sector or
priority project identified by Regions in their individual MOAs will be
given the same priority for funding. Proposals for multi-State projects
submitted by the lead State addressing problems affecting adjoining
States, proposals for multi-year projects and multiple projects per
State are also welcome.
Funding
Proposals in the range of $100,000-$500,000 will be considered for
funding. The funding authority requires that recipients provide 25%
matching funds. In-kind contributions such as volunteer labor hours may
be applied towards the match, provided they meet the criteria in 40 CFR
31.24. Awards must be received by the State within two years of the
budget allocation, but there are no time constraints on when the States
can spend the money. States may use awards all at once or over multiple
years, and at any time.
Process
Pre-proposals not longer than 5 pages, following the format
specified in the guidance, must be submitted to EPA. The format
includes a detailed list of proposal requirements. The pre-proposal
process is intended to enable EPA to evaluate the proposals, request
clarifications as needed, suggest modifications, and select States
invited to submit a full proposal to the appropriate Region. The pre-
proposal process is designed to reduce the investment of State
resources for those States not invited to submit a full proposal.
Schedule
(1) At this time, we are asking interested States to submit pre-
proposals of 5 pages or less to both the appropriate EPA Regional
office and to the workgroup chair, Amy Porter, by July 10, 1998. The
name and address of the Regional Contact can be obtained from Amy
Porter (see CONTACT section above).
(2) EPA will complete its analysis of the pre-proposals and request
clarification by September 4, 1998.
(3) Full State proposals are due to the appropriate EPA Region no
later than November 27, 1998.
[[Page 30747]]
(4) EPA will analyze the final State proposal to assure it is in
concert with the evaluation criteria and any clarifications requested
from the pre-proposal, and meet any necessary administrative
requirements before making an award.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This rule is not a
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Dated: May 26, 1998.
Elaine Stanley,
Director, Office of Compliance.
[FR Doc. 98-15004 Filed 6-4-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P