[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 164 (Thursday, August 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44345-44346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21336]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7041-3]


Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund Cooperative 
Agreements--USTfields Pilots; Announcement of Proposal Deadline for 
Request for Proposals for the Competition for USTfields Pilots

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Request for proposals; notice of deadline.

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SUMMARY: EPA is accepting proposals for financial assistance for 
USTfields Pilots. ``USTfields'' are abandoned or underused industrial 
and commercial properties with real or perceived environmental 
contamination from petroleum from federally-regulated underground 
storage tanks (USTs). Up to half of the estimated 450,000 brownfields 
sites in the United States may contain abandoned underground storage 
tanks or be impacted by petroleum leaks from such tanks. However, 
petroleum contamination is generally excluded from coverage under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) and is not, therefore, covered under EPA's Brownfields 
program.
    EPA's USTfields initiative is intended to bridge this gap and take 
advantage of the many advances in Brownfields work that could and 
should be applied to the numerous USTfields sites across the country. 
The USTfields initiative will accomplish this by selecting pilots 
intended to: help clean up abandoned or underused underground storage 
tank sites; demonstrate how federal, state, tribal, local, and private 
entities can combine their knowledge and resources to effectively 
address USTfields properties; take advantage of the expertise and 
existing infrastructure being used in similar EPA cleanup projects to 
maximize the use of available resources; and disseminate the lessons 
learned from these pilots.
    EPA is inviting states (including the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), 
federally-recognized Indian tribes, and eligible intertribal consortia 
to submit up to three proposals each to compete for these pilots. EPA 
expects to select up to 40 USTfields pilots in 2001. Each selected 
pilot will receive up to $100,000 in Leaking Underground Storage Tank 
(LUST) Trust Fund monies. These USTfields Pilots will be selected on a 
competitive basis. Detailed instructions and information on how to 
apply for these pilots, the eligibility requirements, the factors that 
will be used to evaluate the proposals, and a description of the 
evaluation process EPA will use can be found in The USTfields 
Initiative: Proposal Guidelines for USTfields Pilots (EPA 510-B-01-001, 
August 2001) and is available on EPA's website at www.epa.gov/oust and 
from other sources (see below). To assist state, tribal, and 
intertribal consortia applicants, EPA will conduct a series of regional 
conference calls. Please consult the same website for the schedule of 
these conference calls. Questions and answers from the conference calls 
will also be summarized and posted as soon as possible on this website.

DATES: The deadline for submitting proposals for the USTfields Pilots 
is October 22, 2001. All proposals must be postmarked by that date. 
States, tribes, and intertribal consortia must send their proposals to 
their respective EPA Regional office via registered or tracked mail. 
(EPA Regional office contact information is provided in the Proposal 
Guidelines.)

ADDRESSES: Besides obtaining the Proposal Guidelines on EPA's website 
at www.epa.gov/oust, interested persons can also obtain a copy by 
contacting their EPA Regional office or by calling the RCRA, Superfund, 
and EPCRA Call Center at the following numbers: Callers outside the 
Washington, DC metro area at 1-800-424-9346; callers in the Washington, 
DC metro area at (703) 412-9810; TDD for the hearing impaired at 1-800-
553-7672.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven McNeely, EPA Office of 
Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) at (703) 603-7164, 
[email protected], or Tim R. Smith, EPA OUST at (703) 603-7158, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA's goal is to select a broad array of 
USTfields Pilots that will serve as models for states, local areas, 
tribes, and U.S. territories. EPA anticipates that at least one 
USTfields Pilot will be awarded in each of its ten Regions. EPA also 
anticipates that at least one USTfields Pilot will be awarded for a 
pilot submitted by a tribal or intertribal consortium applicant. A 
preference will be given to applicants that have previously 
participated in an EPA cleanup program (e.g., Brownfields Assessment 
Demonstration Pilot or RCRA Brownfields Pilot). EPA reserves the right 
to reject all applications and make no awards.

[[Page 44346]]

    The following is a summary of the evaluation criteria that will be 
used.
     Eligibility and Threshold Requirements is intended to 
gauge if the proposal is complete and otherwise meets the eligibility 
and threshold requirements for applicants and proposed properties and 
activities.
     Resource Use and Leveraging is intended to gauge how well 
a proposed project will utilize potential USTfields Pilot LUST Trust 
funds, including how it will leverage existing infrastructure.
     Community Involvement is intended to gauge how well a 
proposed pilot is supported by its community and the benefits to that 
community.
     Communication and Outreach is intended to gauge how well a 
proposed pilot will be able to convey ``lessons learned'' and the 
progress and results from conducting the project.
     Corrective Action Challenge is intended to gauge how well 
a proposed pilot will address the corrective action challenges.
     Project Planning and Schedule is intended to gauge how 
comprehensive the plans are for completing the proposed pilot and how 
soon the pilot will be completed.

    Dated: August 13, 2001.
Michael Shapiro,
Acting Assistant Administrator,Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 
Response.
[FR Doc. 01-21336 Filed 8-22-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P