[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 211 (Friday, October 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62074-62075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27486]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7575-2]


State Innovation Grant Program, Notice of Availability of 
Solicitation for Proposals for 2003/2004 Awards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Policy, 
Economics and Innovation (OPEI) is giving notice of the availability of 
its solicitation for proposals for the 2003/2004 grant program to 
support innovation by State environmental regulatory agencies--the 
``State Innovation Grant Program.'' The solicitation is available at 
the Agency's State Innovation Grant Web site: http://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants, or may be requested from the Agency by e-mail, 
telephone, or by mail. Only the principal environmental regulatory 
agency within each State (generally, where delegated authorities for 
Federal environmental regulations exist) is eligible to receive these 
grants.

DATES: State environmental regulatory agencies will have 68 days (until 
January 7, 2004) from the date of publication of the solicitation on 
the Web site (October 30, 2003) to respond with a pre-proposal, budget, 
and project summary. The environmental regulatory agencies from the 
fifty (50) States; Washington, DC, and four (4) territories were 
notified of the solicitation's availability by fax and email 
transmittals on October 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Solicitation can be downloaded from the 
Agency's Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants/2003solicitation or may be requested by telephone (202-566-2182), or by 
e-mail ([email protected]). Proposals submitted in 
response to this solicitation, or questions concerning the solicitation 
should be sent to:
    State Innovation Grant Program, Office of Policy, Economics and 
Innovation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1807T), 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    Proposal responses or questions may also be sent by fax to (202-
566-2220), addressed to the ``State Innovation Grant Program,'' or by 
e-mail to: [email protected]. We encourage e-mail 
responses. If you have questions about responding to this notice, 
please contact EPA at this e-mail address or fax number, or you may 
call Gerald Filbin at 202-566-2182. EPA will acknowledge all responses 
it receives to this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: In Fall of 2002, EPA conducted a competition for a new 
grant program designed to support innovation in environmental programs 
at the State level. Following the pilot round of State Innovation 
Grants in 2002, EPA consulted with the States through the Environmental 
Council of the States and through a comment period announced in the 
Federal Register (68 FR 34944, June 11, 2003) (see http://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants on the grant solicitation process). Based upon 
that input EPA made several improvements in the process for this year--
including a pre-announcement process that would allow time for States 
to consult with EPA Regions on potential projects prior to the 
solicitation, and a change from a 30-day to a 60-day response period 
once the solicitation is announced. One of the recommendations from the 
consultation was to incorporate State input into the selection of topic 
areas for subsequent solicitations, to ensure that State priorities 
were considered in projects that EPA selected.
    There was support from a large number of the responding States for 
maintaining innovation in permitting as a subject of the next 
solicitation, in order to create a stable resource base for an area 
that is core to the innovation efforts in most States. Within this 
topic there was considerable support for EPA assistance to the States 
for implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) relating 
to permitting (see: http://www.epa.gov/ems/ and Environmental Results 
Programs (ERPs) (see: http://www.epa.gov/ooaujeag/permits/masserp.htm). 
There were other topics suggested by the States--including a few topics 
that were suggested by more than one State, but because of the strong 
support for the innovation in permitting topic, and the relatively 
small amount of funding anticipated this year for the program, EPA was 
concerned that too many topics might diffuse the resources available 
and prohibit adequate funding for projects of significant scale. 
Several of the other topics suggested may in fact, be eligible for 
support through other EPA assistance programs. The State Innovation 
Grant Program will try to provide some flexibility around the 
``innovation in permitting'' theme for a variety of projects, although 
permitting programs or alternatives to permitting programs will be at 
the core of projects we select.


[[Page 62075]]


    Dated: October 9, 2003.
Christopher Knopes,
Associate Director, Office of Environmental Policy Innovation.
[FR Doc. 03-27486 Filed 10-30-03; 8:45 am]
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