[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7628-7631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3451]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7624-2]


Notice of Availability for FY 04 Enforcement and Compliance 
Assurance Multi-Media Assistance Agreements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Compliance (OC), within EPA's Office of 
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), is soliciting proposals 
for states and tribes to support their on-going efforts in state/tribal 
data system modernization. In particular, the grants will fund 
technical assistance and technical expertise for states/tribes to 
ensure that they will be able to accurately transmit water enforcement 
and compliance data to EPA. Grants will be in the range of $50,000--
$200,000. The total number and amount of the awards will depend on the 
amount of funds available.

DATES: Electronic or hard copy proposals must be received by April 12,

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2004. Funding decisions will be made by late May based on the 
proposals. Applicants selected to receive funds will be required to 
submit final grant materials (e.g., grant application, certifications, 
assurances) to the appropriate EPA Region by August 29, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Copies of proposals should be sent to David Piantanida 
(2222A), U.S. EPA--Ariel Rios South Rm 6149D, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20460, email: [email protected], Tel: (202) 
564-8318, Fax: (202) 564-0034; and simultaneously to the appropriate 
Regional Enforcement Coordinator. This Notice will be posted on the 
EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Web site at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/planning/state/grants/stag/index.html

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Piantanida at (202) 564-8318.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Eligibility and Authority

    Eligible applicants include States, Tribes, Inter-Tribal Consortia, 
Territories, Local governments, and multi-jurisdictional state 
organizations. Where a lead state environmental agency exists, 
applicants should work with and coordinate through, the lead state 
environmental agency.
    EPA expects to award these grants under the Clean Water Act, 
Section 104. The applicable grant regulations for this grant program 
are in 40 CFR part 31 for state and local governments and Indian 
tribes.
    Authority to enter into assistance agreements for the purposes 
described in this Notice are delegated to OECA in EPA Delegation 1-47, 
Assistance Agreements for Economic, Social Science, Statistical, and 
Other Research, Development, Studies, Surveys, Demonstrations, 
Investigations, Public Education Programs, Training, and Fellowships.
    Funding priorities must be allowable under 66.709 (Capacity 
Building Grants and Cooperative Agreements for States and Tribes) of 
the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA).

II. Funding

    The funds available are from OECA's Multi-Media State and Tribal 
Assistance Grants (STAG) appropriation. The grants/cooperative 
agreements should be in the range of $50,000 to $200,000, although 
proposals below or above that range will be considered. The total 
number and amount of the awards will depend on the amount of funds 
available. The U.S. EPA reserves the right to make no awards under this 
solicitation.
    State and tribal matching funds are not required. However, 
preference will be given to proposals which also make a commitment of 
state or tribal resources towards the total project cost. This can be 
state or tribal personnel salary dedicated to the project, cash 
contribution to the project budget, or other ``in kind'' contributions. 
The value of donated or ``in-kind'' services in the performance of a 
project should be considered in accordance with OMB Circular A-87, 
``Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments.'' 
Lastly, federal funds cannot generally be used to provide a match or 
cost-share for other federal projects.
    EPA can not predict that additional funds for these focus areas 
will be available in future years. Therefore, states and tribes should 
assume that these funds will be available on a one-time only basis and 
should not propose projects requiring annual funding.

III. Desired Projects

    OECA will only consider funding projects for the focus area 
described below and for projects which can be completed in three years 
or less. Projects will be evaluated for potential funding based on the 
extent to which they address the focus area below.

A. Focus Area--Permit Compliance System Modernization (PCS)

    In FY2004, OECA will continue its effort in the phased 
implementation of the Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS). 
ICIS will be a consolidated enforcement, compliance and National 
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting information 
management system that will provide a single source of information for 
the national enforcement, compliance and NPDES permitting programs. 
This new system will reduce burden and duplication by providing a 
single source of data entry, will improve public access to data, 
support the development of risk reduction strategies, and will provide 
states and Regions with a modernized system to meet their program 
management needs.
    The second phase of ICIS is centered around the modernization of 
PCS which supports the implementation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) 
NPDES program. PCS has little or no data for major new NPDES 
requirements, such as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) 
Storm Water, and Sanitory Sewer Overflow (SSO). PCS is being modernized 
to address these serious data gaps, as well as provide for easy use of 
and access to the system, use of current information technology, 
support the Agency's initiative for data integration, and to promote 
the exchange and sharing of data via the Network and the Agency Central 
Data Exchange (CDX) with our state partners. The availability of more 
comprehensive data in a modernized PCS will enhance the Agency's and 
the states' ability to more effectively manage the CWA NPDES program.
    Grant funding will support state/tribal efforts to procure 
technical assistance and technical expertise to ensure the continued 
flow of data from states and tribes to OECA modernized systems. 
Examples of state/tribal technical assistance/expertise activities to 
be covered include:
     Migration of state/tribal data from the legacy 
Permit Compliance System (PCS) to the new modernized Integrated 
Compliance Information System-National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 
System, (ICIS-NPDES) (e.g., conversion of General Permit data currently 
in legacy PCS to correspond with the General Permit data requirements 
of the modernized system);
     Data clean-up to support the state/tribal data 
conversion from the legacy PCS system to the new ICIS-NPDES; and,
     Activities to support the states/tribes in their 
move to the full use of ICIS-NPDES (e.g., feasibility study/requirement 
analysis).

B. Proposal Criteria

    All proposals will be evaluated and ranked based on the criteria 
outlined below. The following three criteria and associated points will 
be used by EPA to evaluate the proposals:
    (a) [20 points] The proposal must describe the existing and/or 
proposed state/tribal use of the PCS system (e.g., support management 
of the NPDES program);
    (b) [20 points] The proposal must describe how data is currently 
being entered into PCS;
    (c) [60 points] Proposals must clearly identify the states/tribes 
activities to be performed that will ensure data entry and/or data flow 
of NPDES information to the new ICIS-NPDES and to meet EPA's modernized 
system, and/or new, data requirements. Examples of modernization 
activities include data migration, data conversion, and analyses or 
studies to support the state's full use of the modernized system.

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C. Past Performance

    In addition to the above criteria, EPA will also consider past 
performance of a grantee under this grant program (e.g., timely and 
complete quarterly/semi-annual reports, results/outcomes are apparent 
during the project, final reports are timely and complete). Where there 
are two proposals that have been ranked equally, the applicant with 
better past performance will win. If a grantee should have no record 
under this program, they will not be unfairly penalized.

D. Other EPA Funding Opportunity--Office of Environmental Information--
The Exchange Network

    Applicants may also be interested in related efforts by EPA and its 
State/Tribe/Territory partners to develop the Environmental Information 
Exchange Network. The Exchange Network is an Internet- and standards-
based, secure information systems network which will support the 
electronic storage and collection of high-quality data, provide real-
time access to environmental data, and help users integrate data from 
many different sources. The Exchange Network Grant Program provides 
funding to States, Tribes, and Territories to support the development 
of Exchange Network nodes and data flows. The deadline for submitting 
pre-proposals for the FY 2004 Exchange Network Grant Program was 
February 3, 2004, but EPA expects to continue the program in FY 2005, 
provided appropriations for the program become available. In FY 2005, 
EPA plans to highlight ICIS-NPDES as one of the key Exchange Network 
data flows. For more information about the types of ICIS-NPDES 
activities that may be supported in the future, please refer to the FY 
2004 Exchange Network Grant Program Guidance (http://www.epa.gov/Networkg, click on Guidance Document, and go to Section VIII: Systems 
Information). For further information about the Exchange Network Grant 
Program, please contact Rebecca Moser at (202) 566-1679.

IV. Process and Schedule

    Electronic proposals must be received by EPA by April 12, 2004 and 
should follow the format below. Proposals should be submitted 
simultaneously to the appropriate Regional Enforcement Coordinator, and 
to David Piantanida, OECA, (See contact information below). Funding 
decisions will be made by late May, 2004 based on the proposals. 
Applicants selected to receive funds will be required to submit a final 
grant package electronically by August 29, 2004. Regions will provide 
final application materials to selected applicants.
    FOIA, CBI, and Enforcement Screening: Applicants should be aware 
that proposals submitted under this or any other EPA grant program are 
subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This means that 
anyone can request and receive copies of all the information submitted 
in your grant proposal. If your application contains any Confidential 
Business Information (CBI), be sure to highlight it so the 
confidentiality can be protected in the event of a FOIA request.

Proposed Milestones for 2004 OECA Multi Media Assistance Agreements

April 12 Electronic Proposals due simultaneously to the appropriate EPA 
Regional Enforcement Coordinator, and David Piantanida, (OECA) (See 
contact information below).
Late May EPA notifies all applicants (selected and non-selected) via e-
mail of funding decisions.
Mid June Selected recipients receive final application materials from 
EPA Regional office. Regional Project Officer and Regional Grants 
Contact are identified.
August 29 Final Proposals and Grant Applications are due to Regional 
Project Officer, Regional Grant Contact, and David Piantanida, (OECA).
Late September Grants are awarded

V. Format for Proposals

    Proposals should not exceed 12 pages and follow the format below: 
(12 point font, on 8\1/2\ by 11 inch paper)
    A. Project Information:
    State/Tribe and Department:
    Title of Project:
    Focus Area: (from Notice of Availability).
    Total Funds Requested from EPA:
    Total Project Cost (including state/tribe cash and in-kind 
contributions):
    Contact Person: (name, title, address, phone, fax, & email).
    Preferred Assistance Agreement: (Grant or cooperative agreement).
    B. Summary:
     Summary of the problem being addressed;
     Summary of project goal(s);
     Summary of project components;
     Summary of how the project components will 
address the problem & attain the goals.
    C. Summary Work Plan:
     Proposed activities--list and describe 
activities and how they relate to the proposal criteria;
     Measures--how will the success of the project be 
measured? Include both output and environmental outcome measures;
     Sharing results--how will the results of the 
project be shared across states/tribes?
    D. Project Milestones:
     List project milestones with estimated dates, 
including estimated duration of project.
    E. Project Costs:
     Include a detailed itemized budget for all 
project costs--distinguish the funds requested from any state/tribe 
contributions (in kind or other).

VI. Reports

    Awarded recipients will be required to submit semi-annual and final 
progress reports to their project officer and to David Piantanida at 
the address below. A template reporting form will be e-mailed to all 
recipients. Recipients will also be required to complete annual 
financial status reports. All reports must be prepared in either Word 
or Wordperfect formats and delivered electronically to the appropriate 
project officer and to David Piantanida.

VII. Contact Information

    For more information regarding this process, please contact David 
Piantanida at the address below: David Piantanida (2222A), US EPA--
Ariel Rios South Rm 6149D, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20460, [email protected].
    Tel: (202) 564-8318.
    Fax: (202) 564-0034.

EPA Regional Contacts

EPA Region I
    (Act) Enforcement Coordinator: Joel Blumstein--
[email protected]
    Enforcement Division Director: Stephen Perkins--
[email protected]
EPA Region II
    Enforcement Coordinator: Barbara [email protected]
    Enforcement Division Director: Dore [email protected]
EPA Region III
    Enforcement Coordinator: Samantha Fairchild--
[email protected]
EPA Region IV
    Enforcement Coordinator: Bruce [email protected]
    Enforcement Division Director: Mary Kay Lynch-- [email protected]
EPA Region V
    Compliance Assistance Coordinator: Linda Mangrum--
[email protected]
EPA Region VI

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    Enforcement Coordinator: Connie [email protected]
    Enforcement Division Director: Gerald Fontenot--
[email protected]
EPA Region VII
    Enforcement Coordinator: Althea [email protected]
EPA Region VIII
    Enforcement Coordinator: Eddie [email protected]
    Enforcement Division Director: Carol [email protected]
EPA Region IX
    Enforcement Coordinator: Jim [email protected]
EPA Region X
    Enforcement Coordinator: Deborah [email protected]
    (Act) Enforcement Division Director: Mike Bussell--
[email protected]

    Dated: February 9, 2004.
Lisa Lund,
Acting Director, Office of Compliance.
[FR Doc. 04-3451 Filed 2-17-04; 8: 45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P