[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13301-13303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6586]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-2003-0105; FRL-7298-6]


Notice of Availability of Regional Pesticide Environmental 
Stewardship Program (PESP) Grants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of approximately $500,000 
in fiscal year 2003 grant/cooperative agreement funds under section 20 
of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as 
amended. This funding is for grants to States and federally recognized 
Native American Tribes for research, public education, training, 
monitoring, demonstrations, and studies that advance pesticide risk 
reduction.

DATES: Applications must be received by the appropriate EPA Regional 
Office on or before May 16, 2003. EPA will make its award decisions by 
June 20, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Your EPA Regional PESP Coordinator 
listed under Unit V. of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general but will be of 
particular interest to eligible applicants which include the 50 States, 
District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, 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. Since other entities may 
also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the 
specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any 
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
entity, consult your EPA Regional PESP Coordinator listed under Unit V. 
of this notice.

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

    1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this 
action under docket identification (ID) number OPP-2003-0105. The 
official public docket consists of the documents specifically 
referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other 
information related to this action. Although a part of the official 
docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials 
that is available for public viewing at the Public Information and 
Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 2, 
1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. This docket facility is open 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal

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holidays. The docket telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    2. Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register'' 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/. Additional information is 
available on EPA's PESP website at http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/PESP/regional_grants.htm.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public 
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official 
public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that 
are available electronically. Although not all docket materials may be 
available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly 
available docket materials through the docket facility identified in 
Unit I.B.1. Once in the system, select ``search,'' then key in the 
appropriate docket ID number.
    3. By mail or in person. Contact your EPA Regional PESP Coordinator 
listed under Unit V. of this notice.

II. Availability of FY'03 Funds

    With this publication, EPA is announcing the availability of 
approximately $500,000 in grant/cooperative agreement funds for FY'03. 
The Agency has delegated grant making authority to the EPA Regional 
Offices. Federal funding is limited to $40,000 per project and matching 
funds are not required. Projects which leverage funding from other 
sources are encouraged.

III. Eligible Applicants

    In accordance with the Act, ``. . . Federal agencies, universities, 
or others as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the act, . . 
.'' are eligible to receive funding. Restrictions on the funds 
appropriated for this program limit the eligible applicants to the 50 
States, District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, 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. 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. EPA 
encourages organizations excluded from applying directly to work with 
eligible applicants in developing proposals that include them as 
participants in the projects. Contact your EPA Regional PESP 
Coordinator for assistance in identifying and contacting eligible 
applicants.

IV. Activities and Criteria

A. Activities

    The goal of PESP is to reduce the risks associated with pesticide 
use in agricultural and non-agricultural settings in the United States. 
The purpose of the grant program is to support projects that address 
this goal. Pesticide pollution prevention, integrated pest management 
(IPM), IPM in schools, children's health issues related to pesticides, 
and those research methods for documenting IPM adoption or the 
reduction of risks associated with changes in pesticide use will 
receive priority consideration. Other projects will be considered as 
they complement these goals through public education, training, 
monitoring, demonstrations, and other activities.
    EPA specifically seeks to build IPM capacities or to evaluate the 
economic feasibility of new IPM approaches at the local level (i.e., 
innovative approaches and methodologies that use application or other 
strategies to reduce the risks associated with pesticide use). Projects 
might focus on, for example:
    [sbull] Researching the effectiveness of multimedia communication 
activities for; including but not limited to: promoting local IPM 
activities, providing technical assistance to pesticide users; 
collecting and analyzing data to target outreach and technical 
assistance opportunities; developing measures to determine and document 
progress in pollution prevention; and identifying regulatory and non-
regulatory barriers or incentives to pollution prevention.
    [sbull] Researching methods for establishing IPM as an 
environmental management priority, establishing prevention goals, 
developing strategies to meet those goals, and integrating the ethic 
within both governmental and non-governmental institutions of the State 
or region.
    [sbull] Initiating research or other projects that test and 
support: Innovative techniques for reducing pesticide risk or using 
pesticides in a way to reduce risk, and innovative application 
techniques to reduce worker and environmental exposure.
    [sbull] Implementing reduced-risk pest management programs with 
special considerations of the impact to human health, water and/or air 
quality, or ecosystem processes. A list of projects funded since FY'98 
and their proposals may be obtained at http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/PESP/regional_grants.htm or from your Regional PESP Coordinator.

B. Criteria

    EPA Regional Offices are responsible for the solicitation, 
screening, and selection of proposals for funding. A generic request 
for proposal will be available on EPA's website on or before March 26, 
2003, at http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/PESP/regional_grants.htm. 
Interested applicants must contact the appropriate EPA Regional PESP 
Coordinator to obtain specific instructions, regional criteria, 
guidance, and format for submitting proposals. Proposals will be 
evaluated based on the following criteria:
    1. Qualifications and experience of the applicant relative to the 
proposed project.
    [sbull] Does the applicant demonstrate experience in the field of 
the proposed activity?
    [sbull] Does the applicant have the properly trained staff, 
facilities, or infrastructure in place to conduct the project?
    2. Consistency of proposal with the risk reduction goals of PESP.
    3. Does the project provide for a quantitative or qualitative 
evaluation of achieving the stated goals?
    [sbull] Is the project designed in such a way that it is possible 
to measure and document the results quantitatively and qualitatively?
    [sbull] Does the applicant identify the method that will be used to 
measure and document the results quantitatively and qualitatively?
    4. Likelihood the project can be replicated to benefit other 
communities or the product may have broad utility to a widespread 
audience. Can this project, taking into account typical staff and 
financial restraints, be replicated by similar organizations in 
different locations to address the same or similar problem?

C. Program Management

    The awarding of FY'03 funds will be managed through the EPA 
Regional Offices. Quality Assurance/Quality Control plans may be 
required, depending on the nature of the project and the data 
collected. Contact your Regional PESP Coordinator for more information 
about this requirement.

V. Regional PESP Coordinators

    Region I: (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, Vermont), Andrea Szylvian, 1 Congress St., Suite 1100, (CPT), 
Boston, MA 02114-2023; telephone: (617) 918-1198; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Region II: (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), 
Tara

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Masters, Raritan Depot, 2890 Woodbridge Ave., (MS-500), Edison, NJ 
08837-3679; telephone: (732) 906-6183; e-mail: [email protected].
    Region III: (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West 
Virginia, District of Columbia), Fatima El-Abdaoui, 1650 Arch St., 
(3WC32), Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029; telephone: (215) 814-2129; e-
mail: [email protected].
    Region IV: (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee), Troy Pierce, 61 Forsyth St., SW., 
Atlanta, GA 30303-8960; telephone: (404) 562-9016; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Region V: (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, 
Wisconsin), Heather McDonald, 77 W Jackson Blvd., (DT-8J), Chicago, IL 
60604-3507; telephone: (312) 886-3572; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Region VI: (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), 
Jerry Collins, 1445 Ross Ave., Suite 1200, (6PD-P), Dallas, TX 75202-
2733; telephone: (214) 665-7562; e-mail: [email protected].
    Region VII: (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska), Brad Horchem, 901 N 
5th St., (WWPDPEST), Kansas City, KS 66101; telephone: (913) 551-7137; 
e-mail: [email protected].
    Region VIII: (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, 
Wyoming), Peg Perreault, 999 18th St, Suite 300, (8P-P3T), Denver, CO 
80202-2466; telephone: (303) 312-6286; e-mail: [email protected].
    Region IX: (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, 
Guam), Paul Feder, 75 Hawthorne St., (CMD-1), San Francisco, CA 94105; 
telephone: (415) 947-4160; e-mail: [email protected].
    Region X: (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington), Sandy Halstead, 
24106 North Bunn Road, Prosser, WA 99350; telephone: (509) 786-9225; e-
mail: [email protected].

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides, Risk reduction.

    Dated: March 13, 2003.
Janet L. Andersen,
Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 03-6586 Filed 3-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S