94-4048. Notice of Availability of Pollution Prevention Grants and Announcement of Financial Assistance Programs Eligible for Review

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4048]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 23, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-400083; FRL-4755-6]

 

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 $6 million 
in FY 94 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-based 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 notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Since its inception in 1989, approximately $30 million has been 
awarded to over 100 State, Tribal, and regional organizations under 
EPA's multimedia pollution prevention grant program.
    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:
    (i) 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; and
    (ii) 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 94 Funds

    With this publication, EPA is announcing the availability of 
approximately $6 million in grant/cooperative agreement funds for FY 
1994. The Agency has delegated grant authority to the EPA Regional 
offices which formally transfers the decisionmaking and awarding 
process for the PPIS grants to the Regions. Regional offices now assume 
responsibility for the solicitation of interest, screening of 
proposals, and the actual selection of awards. This sixth round of 
awards represents a more direct and active Regional role in determining 
FY '94 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. 
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 66.900. 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-based 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 approporiate, 
seek to address State environmental equity issues. States might focus 
on, for example:
    a. Developing other multi-media 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 multi-media 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.
    Proposals accepted for review under this program must qualify as 
pollution prevention as defined by section 6603 of the Act. In May of 
1992, EPA released a ``Statement of Definition'' as the formal 
embodiment of the Agency's working definition of pollution prevention, 
consistent with the Act. (See ``EPA Statement of Definition'' under 
unit VI of this notice.)
    3. Program management. Awards for FY 1994 funds will be managed 
through the EPA Regional Offices.
    4. Contact. Interested applicants are requested to contact the 
appropriate EPA Regional Pollution Prevention Coordinator listed under 
unit IV of this notice to obtain specific instructions and guidance for 
submitting proposals. For general information on EPA's Pollution 
Prevention Grant Program, contact: Lena Hann, Pollution Prevention 
Division (7409), Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, [phone].

IV. Regional Pollution Prevention Contacts

Mark Mahoney (PAS), US EPA Region 1, JFK Federal Bldg., Room 2203, 
Boston, MA 02203, [phone]
Janet Sapadin (2-PM-PPIB), 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]
Cathy Allen, 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), EPA Region 8, 999 18th St., Suite 500 Denver, 
CO 80202-2405, [phone]
Hilary Lauer (H1B), US EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Ave., San Francisco, 
CA 94105 (415), 744-2189
Robyn Meeker, US EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101, 
[phone]

V. Media State Grants

    Though the PPIS grant program is an instrumental component for 
building and maintaining State pollution prevention programs, EPA is 
seeking to further integrate pollution prevention into the Agency's 
existing media-specific grant programs. To this end, States are 
encouraged to access, where appropriate, media grant dollars to support 
state pollution prevention activities. This new Agency policy provides 
State programs with the opportunity to utilize grant funds, 
traditionally targeted for end-of-pipe activities, to support source 
reduction efforts. In November of 1992, in support of the Act and to 
further integrate pollution prevention into the Agency's existing 
regulatory programs, EPA released a Guidance for the Integration of 
Pollution Prevention into Media State Grants. The Agency-wide pollution 
prevention Guidance, beginning with the FY 1994 State grants cycle has 
four goals:
    1. Promoting pollution prevention in State programs supported 
through Federal grants by establishing national principles to guide 
workplans negotiated between Regional Offices and States.
    2. Ensuring that grant requirements as interpreted by EPA/State 
workplans are flexible enough to support innovative State pollution 
prevention activities.
    3. Establishing a simple accounting process to share information on 
successful State projects, and identify statutory or other barriers to 
funding State proposals.
    4. Building sustained State capacity in pollution prevention to the 
extent consistent with statutory grant requirements.
    The new Guidance is designed to help integrate pollution prevention 
into the Agency's activities as required by the Act. In other words, it 
will now be possible, as a result of this guidance to use these 
traditional media State grants to support pollution prevention 
purposes. By emphasizing flexibility, the Guidance complements other 
Agency efforts to build a productive environmental management system in 
partnership with the States, and improve coordination with existing 
State pollution prevention programs.
    EPA's FY 1994 grant programs, in conjunction with the States, 
should build on the Agency's many successful pollution prevention 
efforts to explicitly promote pollution prevention in State workplans 
(also called agreements). This Guidance will be incorporated into the 
annual Agency Operating Guidance as well as program-specific Guidance 
developed in conjunction with the State/EPA Operations Committee. 
Program Guidance, intended to tailor the Agency-wide commitment to each 
grant program, will be applied by EPA Regional offices and States in 
the development of grant-assisted work. In general, the Guidance 
applies to all of the Agency's media-specific State grant programs.
    For further information, or for a copy of the Guidance, contact Tom 
McCully, Acting Director, Pollution Prevention Policy Staff in the 
Office of the Administrator, at [phone], or Lena Hann, Pollution 
Prevention Division, at [phone].

VI. Definition of Pollution Prevention

    EPA's ``Statement of Definition'' as defined in May of 1992 
follows:
    The following EPA ``Statement of Definition'' is a formal 
embodiment of what has been the Agency's working definition of 
pollution prevention, and is consistent with the Pollution 
Prevention Act of 1990. It makes clear that prevention is our first 
priority within an environmental management hierarchy that includes: 
1) prevention, 2) recycling, 3) treatment, and 4) disposal or 
release.
    While it is subject to further refinement, this definition 
should provide a common reference point for all of us. As you review 
and apply the definition in your work, please keep the following 
points in mind:
      As always, whether the pollution prevention option is 
selected in any given situation will depend on the requirements of 
applicable law, the level of risk reduction that can be achieved, 
and the cost-effectiveness of that option.
     Accordingly, the hierarchy should be viewed as 
establishing a set of preferences, rather than an absolute judgment 
that prevention is always the most desirable option. The hierarchy 
is applied to many different kinds of circumstances that will 
require judgment calls.
     Drawing an absolute line between prevention and 
recycling can be difficult. ``Prevention'' includes what is commonly 
called ``in-process recycling,'' but not ``out-of-process 
recycling.'' Recycling conducted in an environmentally sound manner 
shares many of the advantages of prevention, e.g. energy and 
resource conservation, and reducing the need for end-of-pipe 
treatment or waste containment.
    As EPA looks at the ``big picture'' in setting strategic 
directions for the decade ahead, it is clear that prevention is key 
to solving the problems that all our media programs face, including 
the increasing cost of treatment and cleanup. In the common-sense 
words of Benjamin Franklin, ``an ounce of prevention is worth a 
pound of cure.''
    Please keep EPA's definition of pollution prevention in mind as 
you perform your environmental work.
POLLUTION PREVENTION: EPA STATEMENT OF DEFINITION
(pursuant to the Pollution Prevention Act)
    Under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, Congress established 
a national policy that:
      pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source 
whenever feasible;
      pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled 
in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible;
      pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should 
be treated in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible; and
      disposal or other release into the environment should 
be employed only as a last resort and should be conducted in an 
environmentally safe manner.
    Pollution prevention means ``source reduction'', as defined 
under the Pollution Prevention Act, and 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.
    The Pollution Prevention Act defines ``source reduction'' to 
mean any practice which:
    - 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; and
    - reduces the hazards to public health and the environment 
associated with the release of such substances, pollutants or 
contaminants.
    The term includes: equipment or technology modifications, 
process or procedure modifications, reformulation or redesign of 
products, substitution of raw materials, and improvements in 
housekeeping, maintenance, training, or inventory control.
    Under the Pollution Prevention Act, recycling, energy recovery, 
treatment, and disposal are not included within the definition of 
pollution prevention. Some practices commonly described as ``in 
process recycling'' may qualify as pollution prevention. Recycling 
that is conducted in an environmentally sound manner shares many of 
the advantages of prevention -- it can reduce the need for treatment 
or disposal, and conserve energy and resources.
    Pollution prevention approaches can be applied to all pollution-
generating activity: including energy, agriculture, Federal, 
consumer as well as industrial sectors. The impairment of wetlands, 
ground water sources, and other critical resources constitutes 
pollution, and prevention practices may be essential for preserving 
these resources. These practices may include conservation techniques 
and changes in management practices to prevent harm to sensitive 
ecosystems. Pollution prevention does not include practices that 
create new risks of concern.
    In the agricultural sector, pollution prevention approaches 
include:
    - reducing the use of water and chemical inputs;
    - adoption of less environmentally harmful pesticides or 
cultivation of crop strains with natural resistance to pests; and
    - protection of sensitive areas.
    In the energy sector, pollution prevention can reduce 
environmental damages from extraction, processing, transport and 
combustion of fuels. Pollution prevention approaches include:
    - increasing efficiency in energy use;
    - substituting environmentally benign fuel sources; and
    - design changes that reduce the demand for energy.

    Dated: February 14, 1994.
Mark Greenwood,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. 94-4048 Filed 2-22-94; 8:45 am]
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