[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8230-8234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-2572]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-00306; FRL-6762-6]


Pollution Prevention Grants and Announcement of Financial 
Assistance Programs Eligible for Review; Notice of Availability

AGENCY:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:  Notice.

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SUMMARY:  EPA expects to have approximately $5 million available in 
fiscal year 2001 grant/cooperative agreement funds under the Pollution 
Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS) grant program. Grants/
cooperative agreements will be awarded under the authority of the 
Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. The Pollution Prevention Act provides 
funds to state and tribal programs that address the reduction or 
elimination of pollution across all environmental media (air, land, and 
water) and to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of state 
technical assistance programs in providing source reduction information 
to businesses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For general information about the 
grant program contact: Christopher Kent, Pollution Prevention Division 
(7409) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone (202) 260-3480; e-mail address [email protected].
    For technical and regionally specific information: The EPA Regional 
Pollution Prevention Coordinator listed under Unit X of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to state governments, state programs or 
departments as well as other State institutions, such as universities 
as well as all federally recognized Native American Tribes. This notice 
may, however, be of interest to local governments, private 
universities, private nonprofit entities, private businesses, and 
individuals who are not eligible for this grant program. If you have 
any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a 
particular entity, contact the technical person listed under For 
Further Information Contact.

B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this 
Document or Other Related Documents?

    1. Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this 
document and certain other related documents that might be available 
electronically, from the EPA Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/. To 
access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and Regulations'' 
and then look up the entry for this document under the ``Federal 
Register--Environmental Documents.'' You can also go directly to the 
Federal Register listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgst. These 
documents are also available at the EPA P2 web site http://www.epa.gov/p2.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?

    You may submit comments through the mail, in person, or 
electronically. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that 
you identify PPIS 2001 in the subject line on the first page of your 
response.
    1. By mail. Submit your comments to: Pollution Prevention Division 
(7409), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, 
ATTN: PPIS.
    2. In person or by courier. Deliver your comments to: Pollution 
Prevention Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Room 409 East Tower, 401 M St., SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, ATTN: PPIS.
    3. Electronically. You may submit your comments electronically by 
e-mail to: ``[email protected],'' or mail your computer disk to 
the address identified in this unit. Do not submit any information 
electronically that you consider to be CBI. Electronic comments must be 
submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and 
any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be accepted on 
standard disks in WordPerfect, Word, or ASCII file format.

[[Page 8231]]

II. Background of the Pollution Prevention Incentives for States 
Grant Program

    More than $60 million has been awarded to over 100 state and tribal 
organizations under EPA's multimedia pollution prevention grant 
program, since its inception in 1989. During the past 10 years, PPIS 
funds have enabled state programs to implement a wide range of 
pollution prevention activities including over 8,000 pollution 
prevention assessments, 1,200 workshops, and the development of over 
500 pollution prevention case studies. PPIS grants also provide 
economic benefits to small businesses by funding state technical 
assistance programs focused on helping the businesses develop more 
efficient production technologies and operate more cost effectively.
    The goals of the PPIS grant program are to assist businesses and 
industries in identifying better environmental strategies and solutions 
for complying with Federal and state environmental regulations. PPIS 
grants are designed to affect the compatibility of businesses 
environmental and economic decision making, and improving 
competitiveness without increasing environmental impacts. Successes 
include decreases in facility emissions and discharges which lead to 
less stringent regulatory and permitting requirements, increases in 
production rates that correlate to decreasing environmental costs, 
elevated investments in new and better technologies, and savings that 
directly impact the overall profitability of a business. The majority 
of the PPIS grants fund state-based projects in the areas of technical 
assistance and training, education and outreach, regulatory 
integration, data collection and research, demonstration projects, and 
recognition programs.
    In November 1990, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (the Act) 
(Public Law 101-508) was enacted, establishing as national policy that 
pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever 
feasible.
    1. Section 6603 of the Act defines source reduction as any practice 
that:
    i. 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.
    ii. Reduces the hazards to public health and the environment 
associated with the release of such substances, pollutants, or 
contaminants.
    EPA further defines pollution prevention 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.
    2. 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:
    i. Make technical assistance available to businesses seeking 
information about source reduction opportunities, including funding for 
experts to provide onsite technical advice and to assist in the 
development of source reduction plans.
    ii. Target assistance to businesses for which lack of information 
is an impediment to source reduction.
    iii. Provide training in source reduction techniques.

III. Availability of FY 2001 Funds

    EPA expects to have approximately $5 million in grant/cooperative 
agreement funds available for FY 2001- 2002 pollution prevention 
activities. The Agency has delegated grant making authority to the EPA 
regional offices. EPA regional offices are responsible for the 
solicitation of interest and the screening of proposals.
    All applicants must address the national program criteria listed 
under Unit VI.2.ii. of this document. In addition, applicants may be 
required to meet supplemental EPA regional criteria. Interested 
applicants should contact their EPA Regional Pollution Prevention 
Coordinator, listed under Unit X of this document for more information.

IV. Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The number assigned to the PPIS program in the Catalogue of Federal 
Domestic Assistance is 66.708 (formerly 66.900).

V. Matching Requirements

    Organizations receiving pollution prevention grant funds are 
required to match Federal funds by at least 50%. For example, the 
Federal government will provide half of the total allowable cost of the 
project, and the state will provide the other half. State contributions 
may include dollars, in-kind goods and services, and/or third party 
contributions.

VI. Eligibility

    1. Applicants. In accordance with the Act, 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 Native American Tribes. For convenience, the 
term ``state'' in this notice refers to all eligible applicants. Local 
governments, private universities, private nonprofit entities, private 
businesses, and individuals are not eligible. State applicants are 
encouraged to establish partnerships with business and other 
environmental assistance providers to seamlessly deliver pollution 
prevention assistance. Successful applicants will be those that make 
the most efficient use of Federal/state government funding. In many 
cases, this has been accomplished through partnerships.
    2. Activities and criteria--i. General. The purpose of the PPIS 
grant program is to support the establishment and expansion of state 
and tribal multimedia pollution prevention programs. EPA specifically 
seeks to build state pollution prevention capabilities or to test, at 
the state level, innovative pollution prevention approaches and 
methodologies. Funds awarded under the PPIS grant program must be used 
to support pollution prevention programs that address the transfer and 
reduction of potentially harmful pollutants across all environmental 
media: Air, water, and land. Programs should reflect comprehensive and 
coordinated pollution prevention planning and implementation efforts 
state-wide. States that include PPIS funding as part of their overall 
State Performance Partnership Agreement (PPA)/Performance Partnership 
Grant (PPG) program satisfy this eligibility criteria.
    ii. 2001 national program criteria. This section describes the 
national program criteria EPA will use to evaluate proposals under the 
PPIS grant program. In addition to the national program criteria, there 
may be regionally specific criteria that the proposing activities are 
required to address. For more information on the EPA regional 
requirements, applicants should contact their EPA Regional Pollution 
Prevention Coordinator, listed under Unit X of this document. As well 
as ensuring that the proposed activities meet EPA's definition of 
pollution prevention, the applicant's proposal must include how they 
address the following three activities:

[[Page 8232]]

    a. Promote partnering among environmental and business assistance 
providers. Starting in 1994, EPA required PPIS grant applicants to 
identify other environmental assistance providers in their states and 
to work with these organizations to educate businesses on pollution 
prevention. EPA would like to continue to encourage cooperation among 
state pollution prevention programs and other environmental and 
business assistance providers such as the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) programs, Small Business Development 
Centers (SBDCs), Small Business Assistance Programs (SBAPs), Office of 
Enforcement and Compliance Assistance (OECA) Compliance Assistance 
Centers, the large number of university cooperative extension programs 
and other business and environmental assistance programs at the state 
level, as well as other well established nonregulatory programs. In 
part, through the PPIS grant funds, EPA is striving to support the 
development of a coordinated network of state environmental service 
providers that leverages the expertise of the various environmental 
assistance organizations and shows an ability to work jointly in an 
effort to promote pollution prevention in the state. EPA wants to help 
foster a cooperative network of environmental assistance providers 
since cooperation among state business and environmental assistance 
providers is paramount in this era of shrinking Federal funded 
programs. EPA would like to ensure that state pollution prevention 
programs and other assistance providers establish cooperative working 
relationships which make best use of their respective areas of 
expertise and most effectively serve their clients. State and tribal 
grant applicants should identify the partnering organization(s) they 
plan to work with during the grant funding cycle and demonstrate or 
document the relationship. This can be done, for example, through a 
letter of agreement, a joint statement, or principles of agreement 
signed by both parties or multiple parties. If the partnership involves 
providing Federal funds to ineligible entities, the grantees shall 
abide by state procurement regulations, as required by state law.
    b. Advance state environmental goals. EPA believes it is important 
for the sustainability of state pollution prevention programs to 
complement the goals and strategies of the state's environmental 
strategic plans and/or the activities included under the National 
Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS) in an effort to 
show that the pollution prevention work they are undertaking 
complements and supports the state's environmental strategic plans. If 
the state environmental program lacks a single comprehensive 
environmental strategy, applications must show a correlation between 
the proposed activity and the goals or objectives of the state's 
environmental program. EPA believes pollution prevention programs will 
continue to be valuable to the state environmental agency's top 
management if they can demonstrate how their actions will help advance 
state goals. EPA would like to ensure that pollution prevention is 
integrated at the state level by providing a service which supports the 
state's strategic plan. The grant application narrative should 
demonstrate how pollution prevention activities will advance state 
environmental goals as stated in the state environmental strategic 
planning documents or either PPA or PPG.
    c. Promote accomplishments within the state's environmental 
programs. EPA realizes the importance of documenting the program 
effectiveness and communicating those results to the affected media 
office. EPA wants to ensure that the environmental programs in the 
state are aware of the contributions of the pollution prevention 
program within their sectors, programs, and geographic areas by making 
a link between the regulatory program and the activities of the 
pollution prevention program. By creating this positive feedback 
mechanism to the state's regulatory program, the grantee can market 
their accomplishments and consequently help promote the sustainability 
of the pollution prevention program. Through the PPIS grants, EPA is 
working to encourage better awareness by the state regulatory and media 
programs of how pollution prevention and the state pollution prevention 
programs are helping the regulatory programs address increasingly 
complex environmental management problems. Applications must include 
what activities the pollution prevention program will undertake to 
ensure communication and feedback to the regulatory and other 
environmental programs showing how pollution prevention is helping to 
advance multimedia environmental protection.
    3. Identifiable measures of success. For each of the activities 
identified in the application, the applicant must identify how and what 
criteria they are using to track the effectiveness of the activity. 
Measures of success should be either measures of environmental 
improvement, or should be directly linked to such measures. For 
example, success could be identified by demonstrating a direct link 
between the project's activities and in quantifiable reductions in 
pollution generated or in the natural resources used. Most of the EPA 
regional offices have specific measurement structures (Region X in 
Global Reporting Initiative, NEWMOA's state measures in Region I, 
Region VIII new measurement project) in which to apply the grant 
activities towards. Please contact the appropriate Regional Pollution 
Prevention Coordinator, listing under Unit X of this document for more 
information on what measurement tool they are using.
    4. Program management. Awards for FY 2001 funds will be managed 
through the EPA regional offices. Applicants should contact their EPA 
Regional Pollution Prevention Coordinator, listed under Unit X of this 
document, to obtain specific deadlines for submitting proposals. 
National funding decisions will be made by May 2001.

VII. Use of P2Rx Regional Centers

    A priority that EPA considers important to strengthen state P2 
activities and aid the formation of partnerships with other business 
assistance providers is the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange 
(P2Rx). EPA has allocated a portion of its state grant funds to develop 
and sustain regional pollution prevention centers that facilitate and 
serve state needs in coordinating training and information development. 
EPA believes that the P2Rx network, which connects and coordinates 
regional pollution prevention information centers, can benefit both 
states programs and their clients by improving the quality and 
availability of pollution prevention technical information, sharing 
information, minimizing duplication of efforts in developing materials 
for training and technical assistance providers, providing for the 
development of quality peer reviewed P2 information, and expanding 
their understanding of how other states are addressing the needs of 
business assistance providers. For more information, visit the P2Rx web 
site at http://www.p2rx.org.
    EPA would like the grantees to use the resources available through 
their regional P2Rx center throughout the entire grant process. After 
10 years, there is a large amount of P2 information available, but 
finding high quality resources can be difficult. Thus, the creation of 
these P2Rx centers, can provide greater access to P2 value-added 
information.

[[Page 8233]]

    For example, grantees should contact the appropriate P2Rx center 
prior to starting any work to find out what information is currently 
available within that sector. Below is a listing of the regionally 
specific topics for each of the P2Rx centers. As products are generated 
from the grant, all work products (i.e., including but not limited to 
flyers, fact sheets, pamphlets, handbooks, model curricula, assessment 
and audit tools, videos, and event brochures) produced with Federal 
PPIS funds will be shared with the appropriate regional P2Rx center. To 
facilitate the transfer of information generated by pollution 
prevention grant dollars, all products from a P2 grant must be shared 
with the appropriate regional center. Please contact the EPA Regional 
Pollution Prevention center which is researching your grant topic.
    The following list shows the P2Rx centers and the topic they are 
researching and synthesizing information on:
    Regions I-II (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New 
York, Rhode Island, Vermont) P2Rx Center - The Northeast Regional P2 
Information Center serves as the topic hub on marinas, mercury, and 
metal fabrication projects.
    Regions III-IV: (Delaware, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 
Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia ) P2Rx Center - The Waste Reduction 
Resource Center serves as the topic hub on Department of Defense and 
environmental management systems projects.
    Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin) 
P2Rx Center - The Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable 
(GLRPPR) serves as the topic hub for printing and regulatory 
integration projects.
    Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) P2Rx 
Centers- The Southwest P2 InfoSource serves as the topic hub for 
electric utilities, gas and oil, and lean manufacturing projects.
    Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska) P2Rx Center - The 
Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center serves as a topic hub 
for Contained Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), green chemistry, green 
procurement, hospitals, and general P2 information.
    Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, 
Wyoming) P2Rx Center - The Peaks to Prairies Pollution Prevention 
Information Center serves as the topic hub for autobody, P2 in outdoor 
recreation, residential construction and Smart Growth projects.
    Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada) P2Rx Center - The 
Western Regional Pollution Prevention Network serves as the topic hub 
for auto repair, and hospitality projects.
    Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) P2Rx Center - The 
Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center serves as the 
topic hub for the aerospace industry, fiberglass fabrication, metal 
fabrication, metal finishing, metal machining, paint and coating 
manufacturing, and ship building and repair.

VIII. Proposal Narrative Format

    To clearly document the activities listed in the grant proposal, 
the narrative portion of the application should include a summary of 
proposed activities using the following format:
    1. A description of the proposed work and a timeline of activities.
    2. A list of tasks that will be carried out.
    3. A list of the resulting deliverables that will be produced.

IX. Progress Report

    Progress reports are due to the EPA project officer every April and 
October after the project period is over 1 month old. A final report is 
due within 90 days of the end of the grant period.
    In addition to the EPA project officer's regionally specific 
required number of copies of deliverables, please forward one copy of 
each of the semi-annual progress reports and the final reports (and 
deliverables) to the Pollution Prevention Division in Washington, DC. 
Please address the documents to: PPIS Grant Products, Pollution 
Prevention Division (7409), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    The narrative in the progress reports should refer back to the 
stated objectives and timeline of the original grant application. 
Beneath each objective, the objective's current status should be 
reported. Any substantive diversion from a stated objective, or any 
deviation from the proposed timeline should be explained. Only the 
activities required under the grant, which meet EPA's definition of 
pollution prevention, should be reported.
    At a minimum, the progress reports should also include the 
following:
    1. A short summary of the accomplishments for the reporting period.
    2. Progress on completing individual project tasks.
    3. The planned and actual schedules for task completion.
    4. Projected accomplishments for the next reporting period.
    5. Data on financial expenditures by budget category.
    Any printed deliverables required under the grant should be 
enclosed with the first report following the date the deliverable was 
due to be produced.
    A final report will be required upon completion of the grant.
    EPA is working on developing a standard electronic format for use 
by PPIS grantee on reporting their grant activities. Please contact the 
EPA Regional Pollution Prevention Coordinator, listed under Unit X of 
this document, for more information on the GranTrack Reporting Form.

X. Regional Pollution Prevention Coordinators

    Region I: (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, Vermont) Kira Jacobs, 1 Congress St., Suite 1100/SPP, Boston, 
MA 02114-2023, (617) 918-1817, e-mail: [email protected].
    Region II: (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) 
Deborah Freeman (SPMMB), 290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10007, 
(212) 637-3730, e-mail: [email protected].
    Region III: (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West 
Virginia, District of Columbia) Lorna Rosenberg, (3E100), 1650 Arch 
St., Philadelphia PA 19103-2029, (215) 814-5389, e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Region IV: (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee) Dan Ahern, Atlanta Federal Center, 
61 Forsyth St., SW., Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 562-9028, e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Region V: (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin) 
Phil Kaplan, (DRP-8J), 77 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-3590, 
(312) 353-4669, e-mail: [email protected].
    Region VI: (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) Joy 
Campbell, (6EN-XP), 1445 Ross Ave., 12th Floor, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 
75202, (214) 665-0836, e-mail: [email protected].
    Region VII: (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska) Chilton McLaughlin, 
(ARTD/TSPP), 901 N 5th St., Kansas City, KS 66101, (913) 551-7517, e-
mail: [email protected].
    Region VIII: (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, 
Wyoming) Linda Walters, (8P2-P2), 999 18th St., Suite 500, Denver, CO 
80202-2405, (303) 312-6030, e-mail: [email protected].
    Region IX: (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, 
Guam) Leif Magnuson (WST-7), 75

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Hawthorne Ave., San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 744-2153, e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Region X: (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) Carolyn Gangmark, 01-
085, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101, (206) 553-4072, e-mail: 
[email protected].

XI. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    Under the Agency's current interpretation of the definition of a 
``rule,'' grant solicitations such as this which are competitively 
awarded on the basis of selection criteria, are considered rules for 
the purpose of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA, 5 U.S.C. 
801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 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).

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Grant administration, Grants, Pollution 
prevention.


    Dated: January 19, 2001.
William H. Sanders,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

[FR Doc. 01-2572 Filed 1-29-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S