94-28702. Notice of Availability of Pollution Prevention Grants and Announcement of Financial Assistance Programs Eligible for Review

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28702]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 21, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-400090; FRL-4918-7]

 

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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Pollution Prevention Grants.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of approximately $5 million 
in fiscal year 1995 grant/cooperative agreement funds under the 
Pollution Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS) grant program. The 
purpose of this program is to support State, Tribal, and regional 
programs that address the reduction or elimination of pollution across 
all environmental media: Air, land, and water. Grants/cooperative 
agreements will be awarded under the authority of the Pollution 
Prevention Act of 1990.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Your EPA Regional Pollution Prevention 
Coordinator. Contact names for each Regional Office are listed under 
unit IV. of this preamble.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Approximately $30 million has been awarded to over 100 State, 
Tribal, and regional organizations under EPA's multimedia pollution 
prevention grant program, since its inception in 1989.
    In November 1990, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (the Act) 
(Pub. L. 101-508) was enacted, establishing as national policy that 
pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever 
feasible. Section 6603 of the Act defines source reduction as any 
practice that:
    (1) 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.
    (2) 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 by conservation.
    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 programs will:
    (1) Make technical assistance available to businesses seeking 
information about source reduction opportunities, including funding for 
experts to provide on-site technical advice and to assist in the 
development of source reduction plans.
    (2) Target assistance to businesses for whom lack of information is 
an impediment to source reduction.
    (3) Provide training in source reduction techniques.
    In addition to this grant making authority, the Act authorizes EPA 
to establish a national source reduction clearinghouse, expands EPA's 
authority to collect data to better track source reduction activities, 
and requires EPA to report periodically to Congress on EPA's progress 
in implementing the Act.

II. Availability of FY 95 Funds

    With this publication, EPA is announcing the availability of 
approximately $5 million in grant/cooperative agreement funds for FY 
1995. The Agency has delegated grant making authority to the EPA 
Regional offices which formally transfers the decision-making and 
awarding process for the PPIS grants to the Regions. Regional offices 
have responsibility for the solicitation of interest, screening of 
proposals, and the actual selection of awards. This seventh round of 
awards reflects a more direct and active Regional role in determining 
FY '95 awardees. PPIS grant guidance will be developed separately by 
each Regional program and will be provided to all applicants along with 
any supplemental information the Regions may wish to provide. However, 
in addition to Regional guidelines, all applicants must address the 
national requirements listed under unit III.3. of this document. 
Interested applicants should contact their Regional Pollution 
Prevention Coordinator for more information.

III. Eligibility

    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 Indian tribes. For convenience, the term ``State'' 
in this notice refers to all eligible applicants. Local governments, 
private universities, private non-profit entities, private businesses, 
and individuals are not eligible. These organizations excluded from 
applying directly are encouraged to work with eligible applicants in 
developing proposals that include them as participants in the projects. 
EPA strongly encourages this type of cooperative arrangement.
    1. The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance. The number 
assigned to the PPIS program is 66.708 (formerly 66.900). Organizations 
receiving pollution prevention grant funds are required to match 
Federal funds by at least 50 percent.
    For example, the Federal government will provide half of the total 
allowable cost of the project, the State half of the total allowable 
cost of the project. A grant request for $100,000 would support a total 
allowable project cost of $200,000, with the State also providing 
$100,000. State contributions may include dollars, in-kind goods and 
services and/or third party contributions.
    2. Eligible activities. In general, the purpose of the PPIS grant 
program is to support the establishment and expansion of State, 
Regional, Tribal, or local 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 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- or Region-wide and where appropriate seek 
to address State environmental justice issues. States might focus on, 
for example:
    a. Developing multimedia pollution prevention activities, including 
but not limited to: Providing direct technical assistance to 
businesses; collecting and analyzing data to target outreach and 
technical assistance opportunities; conducting outreach activities; 
developing measures to determine progress in pollution prevention; and 
identifying regulatory and non-regulatory barriers and incentives to 
pollution prevention and developing plans to implement solutions, where 
possible.
    b. Institutionalizing multimedia pollution prevention as an 
environmental management priority, establishing prevention goals, 
developing strategies to meet those goals, and integrating the 
pollution prevention ethic within both governmental and non-
governmental institutions of the State or region.
    c. Initiating demonstration projects that test and support 
innovative pollution prevention approaches and methodologies.
    3. Coordination of pollution prevention activities. The Federal 
government has extended and broadened its support of organizations that 
supply technical assistance, training and information to businesses. 
Examples of this include:
    a. Resources from the Department of Commerce's National Institute 
for Standards and Technology to support the Manufacturing Extension 
Partnerships.
    b. Resources from the Small Business Administration and EPA to 
support the technology assistance programs of the Small Business 
Development Centers.
    c. Resources from the Department of Energy to the industrial sector 
to assist in commercializing technologies developed from the national 
labs.
    d. Resources from EPA and State programs that support the Clean Air 
Act Small Business Assistance Programs.
    There is a growing emergence of business assistance organizations 
established within States to address the vast array of environmental 
concerns. Consequently, as a means to provide substantive support of 
pollution prevention, EPA is eager to ensure that the PPIS grants will 
add to the success and sustainability of these State pollution 
prevention programs. Therefore, it is important to clarify the role of 
the State pollution prevention program in terms of its relationship to 
its intended customers and to the other organizations which provide 
similar environmental assistance.
    Based on this, EPA has developed three mandatory requirements which 
must be addressed by all eligible applicants. Proposals that do not 
address these national requirements, even though they adequately 
address the Regional criteria, will not be considered eligible for 
funding. In the narrative of the grant application, the following three 
requirements must be addressed:
    (1) Briefly define the capacity and potential of the State program 
as a provider of pollution prevention assistance.
    (2) Identify other organizations at the regional, State and local 
level, that provide similar environmental assistance.
    (3) Describe the coordination capabilities with the identified 
environmental assistance programs:
    a. Briefly describe an approach to working with, leveraging and 
complementing the identified organizations.
    b. Address the barriers for coordination with these organizations 
and options to overcome the identified barriers.
    Proposals accepted for review under this program must qualify as 
pollution prevention as defined by EPA.
    4. Program management. Awards for FY 1995 funds will be managed 
through the EPA Regional Offices.
    5. Contact. Interested applicants are requested to contact the 
appropriate EPA Regional Pollution Prevention Coordinator listed under 
unit IV. of this document to obtain specific instructions and guidance 
for submitting proposals.

IV. Regional Pollution Prevention Contacts

Mark Mahoney (PAS), US EPA Region 1, JFK Federal Bldg, Room 2203, 
Boston, MA 02203, [phone]
Janet Sapadin (2-PPIB-OPM), US EPA Region 2, 26 Federal Plaza, New 
York, NY 10278, [phone]
Cathy Libertz (3ES43), US EPA Region 3, 841 Chestnut Bldg., 
Philadelphia, PA 19107, [phone]
Carol Monell, US EPA Region 4, 345 Courtland St., NE, Atlanta, GA 
30365, [phone], ext. 6779
Phil Kaplan, US EPA Region 5, 77 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-
3590, [phone]
Rob Lawrence (6M-PP), US EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Ave., 12th Floor, 
Suite 1200 Dallas, TX 75202, [phone]
Steve Wurtz, US EPA Region 7, 726 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 
66101, [phone]
Sharon Riegel (8PM-SIPO), US EPA Region 8, 999 18th St., Suite 500, 
Denver, CO 80202-2405, [phone]
Eileen Sheehan/Bill Wilson (H1B), US EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Ave., 
San Francisco, CA 94105, [phone] 415-744-2192.
Carolyn Gangmark, US EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 
[phone].

    Dated: November 14, 1994.
Susan B. Hazen,
Acting Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

[FR Doc. 94-28702 Filed 11-18-94; 8:45 am]
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