State Innovation Grant Program, Preliminary Notice and Request for Input on the Development of a Solicitation for Proposals for 2008 Awards, 52558-52561 [E7-18164]
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BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8468–6]
State Innovation Grant Program,
Preliminary Notice and Request for
Input on the Development of a
Solicitation for Proposals for 2008
Awards
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA or Agency),
National Center for Environmental
Innovation (NCEI) is giving preliminary
notice of its intention to solicit pre-
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proposals for a 2008 grant program to
support innovation by state
environmental agencies—the ‘‘State
Innovation Grant Program.’’ The Agency
is also seeking input from state
environmental regulatory agencies on
the topic areas for the solicitation. In
addition, EPA is asking each state
environmental regulatory agency to
designate a point of contact (in addition
to the Commissioner or Cabinet
Secretary level) who will be the point of
contact for further communication about
the upcoming solicitation. If your point
of contact from previous State
Innovation Grant solicitations is to be
your contact for this year’s competition,
there is no need to send that
information again, as all previously
designated points of contact will remain
on our notification list for this year’s
competition. EPA anticipates
publication of a Solicitation
Announcement of Federal Funding
Opportunity on the Federal
government’s grants opportunities Web
site (https://www.grants.gov) to announce
the availability of the next solicitation
within 45 days.
DATES: State environmental regulatory
agencies will have 30 days from the date
of this pre-announcement notice in the
Federal Register publication until
October 15, 2007 to respond with: (1)
Suggestions for specific topics that
should be included under the general
subject area of ‘‘Innovation in
Environmental Permitting Programs’’
(e.g., topics with 1–2 paragraphs
description) for the next solicitation;
and (2) point of contact information for
the person within the state
environmental regulatory agency (in
addition to Commissioner or Cabinet
Secretaries) who will be designated to
receive future notices about the State
Innovation Grant competition. We will
automatically transmit notice of
availability of the solicitation to people
in state agencies identified for previous
solicitations.
ADDRESSES: We encourage e-mail
responses. Information should be
submitted in writing via: e-mail to:
innovation_state_grants@epa.gov;
regular mail (see below); or fax to ‘‘State
Innovation Grant Program’’ at (202)
566–2220. If you have questions about
responding to this notice, please contact
EPA at this e-mail address or fax
number, or you may call Sherri Walker
at (202) 566–2186. For regular mail send
to Sherri Walker, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (1807T), State
Innovation Grant Program; National
Center for Environmental Innovation;
Office of Policy, Economics, and
Innovation; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
PO 00000
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NW., Washington, DC 20460. Comments
sent by regular or overnight mail must
be received prior to close of business on
October 15, 2007. Please be advised that
mail sent via regular postal service may
be delayed due to additional security
screening requirements. For overnight
delivery, send to Sherri Walker, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(1807T), State Innovation Grant
Program; 1301 Constitution Avenue,
NW., EPA West, Room 4214 D,
Washington, DC 20004.
EPA will acknowledge all responses it
receives to this notice. If you have not
received an acknowledgment from EPA
within three (3) days of the end of the
notice period, please send an e-mail to:
innovation_state_grants@epa.gov or call
Sherri Walker at (202) 566–2186. Failure
to do so may result in your information
or comments not being received by the
deadline. EPA will respond to all
questions in writing, and all questions
and responses will be posted on the
EPA State Innovation Grant Web site at
https://www.epa.gov/innovation/
stategrants. State agencies are advised to
monitor this Web site for information
posted in response to questions received
prior to and during the competition
period.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In April 2002, EPA issued its plan for
future innovation efforts, published as
Innovating for Better Environmental
Results: A Strategy to Guide the Next
Generation of Innovation at EPA (EPA
100–R–02–002); (https://www.epa.gov/
innovation/pdf/strategy.pdf). EPA’s
Innovation Strategy presents a
framework for environmental
innovation consisting of four major
elements:
1. Strengthening EPA’s innovation
partnership with states and tribes;
2. Focusing on priority environmental
issues;
3. Diversifying environmental
protection tools and approaches; and
4. Fostering more ‘‘innovationfriendly’’ systems and organizational
cultures.
The State Innovation Grant Program
strengthens EPA’s partnership with the
states by supporting state innovation
compatible with EPA’s Innovation
Strategy. EPA wants to encourage states
to build on previous experience (theirs
and others) to undertake strategic
innovation projects that promote largerscale models for ‘‘next generation’’
environmental protection that promise
better environmental outcomes and
other beneficial results. EPA is
interested in funding projects that: (i)
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Go beyond a single facility experiment
and provide change that is ‘‘systemsoriented;’’ (ii) provide better results
from a program, process, or sector-wide
innovation; and (iii) promote integrated
(multi-media) environmental
management with a high potential for
transfer to other states, U.S. territories,
and tribes.
Since 2002, EPA has sponsored five
State Innovation Grant Program
competitions that asked for State project
pre-proposals that support innovation
generally related to environmental
permitting programs. This has included
alternatives to permitting and the
establishment of incentives to go
beyond compliance with permit
requirements. To date, projects have
clustered primarily around three
strategic topic areas: Environmental
Results Programs (ERP), Environmental
Management Systems (EMS), and the
National Environmental Performance
Track (PT) Program and similar state
performance-based environmental
leadership programs. Thirty-five awards
to States have been made from the five
prior competitions. These projects
awarded over 6.5 million dollars in
assistance to States. Some of the projects
fit into more than one category (e.g.,
combination projects of ERP with EMS,
or ERP with PT). Among the grant
projects, including those with pending
awards: eighteen (18) were provided for
development of environmental results
programs, eight (8) were related to
environmental management systems
and permitting, eight (8) were to
enhance performance-based
environmental leadership programs, two
(2) were for watershed-based permitting,
and one (1) was for an information
technology innovation for the
application of geographic information
systems (GIS) and a web-based portal to
a permitting process. For information on
prior State Innovation Grant Program
solicitations and awards, please see the
EPA State Innovation Grants Web site at
https://www.epa.gov/innovation/
stategrants.
Eligible Agencies to Compete for the
State Innovation Grant: Historically, we
have limited the competition to state
agencies with the primary delegations
from EPA for permitting programs. We
are aware that some state agencies redelegate their authorities for permitting
programs to regional, county, or
municipal agencies. This year, EPA is
considering enlarging the competitive
range of the solicitation to include those
to regional, county, or municipal
agencies with delegated authority, but a
tantamount factor for our consideration
of this proposed eligibility scenario in
order to ensure the broader application
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of the innovation being tested by the
local agency will be that the local
agency include the principal state
environmental regulatory agency as an
active member of the project team.
Agencies are encouraged to
collaboratively partner with other
governmental agencies or nongovernmental organizations within the
State (or outside of their state) that have
complementary environmental
mandates or symbiotic interests (e.g.,
energy, agriculture, natural resources
management, transportation, public
health). EPA will accept only one
proposal from an individual state. States
are also encouraged to partner with
other states and American Indian tribes
to address cross-boundary issues, to
encourage collaborative environmental
partnering within industrial sectors or
in certain topical areas (e.g.,
agriculture), and to create networks for
peer-mentoring. We anticipate, that as
in previous years, a multi-state or statetribal proposal will be accepted in
addition to an individual state proposal,
but a state may appear in no more than
one multi-state or state-tribal proposal
in addition to its individual proposal.
EPA regrets that because of the
limitation in available funding it is not
yet able to open this competition to
American Indian tribal environmental
agencies but we strongly encourage
tribal agencies to join with adjacent
states in project proposals. EPA is
interested in hearing from regional,
county, or municipal agencies about
their interest, capacity, and the
likelihood of commitment from the
principal statewide regulatory entity to
assist a potential project.
Proposed General Topic Areas for
Solicitation: To increase the likelihood
of strategic impact with what we
anticipate to be limited funds, EPA
proposes to continue with the general
theme of ‘‘innovation in permitting,’’
and additionally to continue with the
focus on the three strategic topic areas
similar to the last competition: (1)
Projects that support the development of
state Environmental Results Programs
(ERP); (2) projects which involve the
application of Environmental
Management Systems (EMS) including
those that explore the relationship of
EMS to permitting or otherwise promote
the use of EMS to improve
environmental performance beyond
permit requirements (see EPA’s Strategy
for Determining the Role of EMS in
Regulatory Programs at https://
www.epa.gov/ems or https://
www.epa.gov/ems/docs/
EMS_and_the_Reg_Structure_41204F
pdf)(3) projects that support state
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performance-based environmental
leadership programs or state support for
implementation of the National
Environmental Performance Track
Program, particularly including the
development and implementation of
incentives. EPA’s focus on a small
number of topics within this general
subject area effectively concentrates the
limited resources available for greater
strategic impact.
Projects will be much less likely to be
funded through the State Innovation
Grant Program if agency resources
pertinent to the topic are already
available through another EPA program.
Request for Input on Solicitation
Topics and Priorities: EPA encourages
communication from States and other
parties about these three thematic areas
mentioned here and other areas
potentially ripe for innovation. EPA is
asking for state environmental
regulatory agencies and other interested
parties to provide brief (about 1
paragraph) suggestions about additional
innovation topics within the subject of
innovation in permitting for possible
inclusion in the upcoming solicitation.
In addition to the three topic areas ERP,
EMS, and PT, EPA will continue to
encourage project proposals that address
the four major elements (i.e.,
strengthening innovation partnerships;
focusing on priority environmental
issues; diversifying environmental
protection tools and approaches; and
fostering ‘‘innovation-friendly’’ systems
and organizational cultures) and use
tools (i.e., incentives, information
resources, results-based goals and
measures, etc.) highlighted in the
Innovation Strategy. EPA may
contemplate a very limited number of
projects otherwise related to the general
theme of innovation in permitting, in
particular as they may address EPA
regional and state environmental
permitting priorities. To date, the State
Innovation Grant Program has
supported ERPs for: auto body/ auto
repair/auto salvage sectors in six (6)
state projects, underground storage
tanks (UST) in three (3) states, dry
cleaning in two (2) states, stormwater
management in two (2) states, printing
sector in one (1) state, animal feedlot
operations in one (1) state, underground
injection wells management in one (1)
state, and oil and gas production in one
(1) state. We are interested in continuing
the EMS theme, but may consider some
change to this theme. Also, we may be
interested in projects that promote a
developmental component or type of
‘‘on-ramp’’ for potential environmental
leaders that require upfront compliance
assistance. We may also be interested in
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exploring PT projects with an air permit
component.
State Innovation Grants will not be
applied to the development or
demonstration of new environmental
technologies. These assistance
agreements will not be awarded for the
development of information systems or
data or projects that have as a primary
focus the upgrading of information
technology systems, unless there is a
clear link to innovation in specific
permitting programs. Projects would be
much less likely to be funded through
this State Innovation Grant if agency
resources are already available through
another agency program. Project
selections and awards will be subject to
funding availability. State
environmental regulatory agency and
other respondents should send their
suggestions to EPA by mail, e-mail, or
fax as described in the ADDRESSES
section above.
Request for Input on Diffuse
Delegations and Designation of a
Primary Point of Contact: One of the
principal goals of the State Innovation
Grant program is the testing of an
integrated (multi-media) innovation
with the potential for replication or
broader application in other sectors,
permitting programs, agencies, states, or
tribes. Because of the limitation of funds
we have historically limited the
competition to state agencies with a
primary delegation from EPA for
permitting programs. We have concerns
that opening the competition to
regulatory entities at lower levels (e.g.
air control boards, water quality
management districts, counties or
municipalities) may limit the range of
results and the potential for
transferability of innovative approaches.
We recognize, however, that in some
instances states have re-delegated
programs to regional or local agencies
and that those agencies may manage
substantial permitting programs. EPA is
seeking comment from states that may
have re-delegated several authorities to
other governing regional or municipal
agencies or boards rather than in one
centralized state environmental
regulatory agency and from the boards
and districts on how we might
accommodate those delegations in this
program and take advantage of the
expertise in those programs while
maintaining the strategically important
goal of testing innovation for broad
application and transferability. EPA
asks that each state environmental
regulatory agency designate a primary
point-of-contact who we will add to the
EPA notification list for further
announcements about the State
Innovation Grant Program. For point of
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contact information, please provide:
name, title, department and agency,
street or post office address, city, state,
zip code, telephone, fax number, and
e-mail address. If your point of contact
from previous State Innovation Grant
solicitations is to be your contact for
this year’s competition, there is no need
to send that information again, as all
previously designated points of contact
will remain on our notification list for
this year’s competition. We are asking
that any new name be submitted with
the approval of the highest levels of
management within an Agency
(Commissioner, Director, Secretary, or
their deputies) within 30 days after
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. Please submit this information
to EPA by mail, fax, or e-mail prior to
October 15, 2007 in the following
manner:
By mail to: State Innovation Grant
Program, National Center for
Environmental Innovation, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(1807T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW., Washington DC 20460.
By fax to: State Innovation Grant
Program, (202) 566–2220.
By e-mail to:
Innovation_State_Grants@EPA.gov.
We encourage e-mail responses. If you
have questions about responding to this
notice, please contact EPA at this e-mail
address of fax number, or you may call
Sherri Walker at (202) 566–2186. For
point-of-contact information, please
provide: Name, title, department and
agency, mailing address (street or P.O.
Box), city, state, zip code, telephone, fax
number, and e-mail address. EPA will
acknowledge all responses it receives to
this notice.
Opportunity for Dialogue: Between
now and the initiation of the
competition with the release of the
solicitation, communication with
potential applicants may include
helping potential applicants determine
whether the applicant itself is eligible or
if the scope of an applicant’s potential
project is suitable for funding, and
responding to general requests for
clarification of the notice. To ensure an
equal opportunity for all potential
applicants, responses to questions that
come to us during the period between
this pre-announcement and the release
of the solicitation along with helpful
resource materials will be posted on the
State Innovation Grant Web site at
https://www.epa.gov/innovation/
stategrants. States are also invited to
communicate with NCEI about ideas for
future competition themes by contacting
the EPA Headquarters contact listed
below. The contacts for the EPA Regions
and the EPA HQ National Center for
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Environmental Innovation are as
follows:
Anne Leiby or Josh Secunda, U.S. EPA
Region 1, 1 Congress Street, Suite
1100, Boston, MA 02114–2023, (617)
918–1076 or (617) 918–1736,
leiby.anne@epa.gov or
secunda.josh@epa.gov. States: CT,
MA, ME, NH, RI, VT.
Michael Dunn, U.S. EPA Region 3, 1650
Arch Street (3EA40), Philadelphia, PA
19103, (215) 814–2712,
dunn.michael@epa.gov. States: DC,
DE, MD, PA, VA, WV.
Marilou Martin, U.S. EPA Region 5, 77
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL
60604–3507, (312) 353–9660,
martin.marilou@epa.gov. States: IL,
IN, MI, MN, OH, WI.
Wendy Lubbe, U.S. EPA Region 7, 901
North 5th Street, Kansas City, KS
66101, (913) 551–7551,
lubbe.wendy@epa.gov. States: IA, KS,
MO, NE.
Loretta Barsamian, U.S. EPA Region 9,
75 Hawthorne Street (SPE–1), San
Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 947–4268,
barsamian.loretta@epa.gov. States and
Territories: AS, AZ, CA, GU, HI, NV.
Jennifer Thatcher, U.S. EPA Region 2,
290 Broadway, 26th Floor, New York,
NY 10007–1866, (212) 637–3593,
thatcher.jennifer@epa.gov. States &
Territories: NJ, NY, PR, VI.
LaToya Miller, U.S. EPA Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, GA
30303, (404) 562–9885,
miller.latoya@epa.gov. States: AL, FL,
GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN.
Craig Weeks, U.S. EPA Region 6,
Fountain Place, Suite 1200, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202–2733, (214)
665–7505, weeks.craig@epa.gov.
States: AR, LA, NM, OK, TX.
Whitney Trulove-Cranor, U.S. EPA
Region 8, 999 18th Street, Suite 300,
Denver, CO 80202–2466, (303) 312–
6099, trulovecranor.whitney@epa.gov. States: CO,
MT, ND, SD, UT, WY.
Bill Glasser, U.S. EPA Region 10, 1200
Sixth Avenue (ENF–T), Seattle, WA
98101, (206) 553–7215,
glasser.william@epa.gov. States: AK,
ID, OR, WA.
Headquarters Office: Sherri Walker,
U.S. EPA (MC 1807T), Office of the
Administrator, National Center for
Environmental Innovation, State
Innovation Grants Program, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460, (202) 566–
2186, (202) 566–2220 fax.
For courier delivery only: Sherri Walker,
U.S. EPA, EPA West Building, Room
4214D, 1301 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20005.
Opportunity for Pre-Competition
Briefings and Addressing Questions: In
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addition, prior to this year’s solicitation,
we are planning to host a series of
briefings and opportunities for question
and answer (Q&A) sessions via
teleconference calls, one with each EPA
Region and all of their States. These
conference calls will enable us to offer
a two-hour streamlined proposal
development briefing to all States prior
to our solicitation, and will allow us to
answer any questions that the States
have prior to the competition, in
keeping with Federal requirements that
we afford assistance fairly in a
competition process. Specific
conference call logistics and grant
resource information will be provided to
each Region and the States as well as
being posted on our Web site at https://
www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants.
Pre-competition briefing summaries,
and all other all resource materials will
be posted on the Web site at https://
www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants.
Through this effort, we are hoping to
encourage individual States (and/or
State-led teams) to submit welldeveloped pre-proposals that effectively
describe in particular how their project
will achieve measurable environmental
results.
Dated: September 10, 2007.
David Widawsky,
Associate Office Director, Office of
Environmental Policy Innovation.
[FR Doc. E7–18164 Filed 9–13–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–RCRA–2003–0006; FRL–8468–2]
Recovered Materials Advisory Notice V
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final
Document.
rmajette on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection
Agency is providing notice of the
availability of the final Recovered
Materials Advisory Notice V (RMAN V)
and supporting materials. The final
RMAN V contains EPA’s
recommendations for purchasing one
new item and one revised item
designated in the final Comprehensive
Procurement Guideline (CPG) V,
published elsewhere in this Federal
Register. This action harnesses
government purchasing power to
stimulate the use of recovered materials
in the manufacture of products and
expand markets for those recovered
materials. EPA designates items that are
or can be made with recovered materials
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and provides recommendations for the
procurement of these items under the
authority of the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). The
items for which EPA is making
recommendations are: compost made
from recovered organic materials and
fertilizers made from recovered organic
materials.
These recommendations apply to
the one revised item (i.e., compost made
from recovered organic materials) and
one new item (i.e., fertilizers made from
recovered organic materials) whose
designations are effective September 15,
2008.
TABLE 1.—ENTITIES POTENTIALLY
SUBJECT TO SECTION 6002 REQUIREMENTS TRIGGERED BY CPG
AMENDMENTS
Marlene RedDoor, Office of Solid Waste,
Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste
Division (5306P), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue; 703–308–7276; fax number:
703–308–8686; e-mail address: RegelskiRedDoor.Marlene@epa.gov.
Federal Government.
State Government.
Local Government.
Contractor ......
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does This Action Apply to Me?
Final RMAN V provides
recommendations to procuring agencies
for the purchasing of items designated
in the CPG V final rule. Final CPG V
may affect procuring agencies under
RCRA section 6002 that purchase the
following items: compost made from
recovered organic materials and
fertilizers made from recovered organic
materials, as well as services, such as
landscaping or facilities maintenance
that include the supply or use of
compost or fertilizers. Section 6002
defines procuring agencies to include
the following: (1) Any federal agency;
(2) any state or local agency using
appropriated federal funds for a
procurement; or (3) any contractors of
these agencies who are procuring these
items for work they perform under the
contract. See RCRA section 1004(17).
The requirements of section 6002 apply
to these procuring agencies only when
the agencies procure designated items
whose price exceeds $10,000 or when
the quantity of the item purchased in
the previous year exceeded $10,000. A
list of entities that the final CPG V may
cover is provided in Table 1.
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Examples of regulated
entities
Category
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
52561
Federal departments or
agencies that procure
$10,000 or more of a designated item in a given
year
A state agency that uses appropriated federal funds to
procure $10,000 or more
of a designated item in a
given year
A local agency that uses appropriated federal funds to
procure $10,000 or more
of a designated item in a
given year
A contractor working on a
project funded by appropriated federal funds that
purchases $10,000 or
more of a designated item
in a given year
This table is not intended to be
exhaustive. To determine whether the
final CPG V applies to your
procurement practices, you should
carefully examine the applicability
criteria in 40 CFR 247.12. If you have
questions about whether the final CPG
V applies to a particular entity, contact
Marlene RedDoor at 703–308–7276.
B. How Can I Get Copies of This
Document and Other Related
Information?
1. Docket. EPA has established a
docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA–HQ–RCRA–2003–0006.
Information on the designated items is
also available from the CPG V Docket,
ID No. EPA–HQ–RCRA–2003–0005.
Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically through
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the OSWER Docket EPA/DC, EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC. This Docket
Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The telephone number
for the Public Reading Room is (202)
566–1744, and the telephone number for
the OSWER Docket is (202) 566–0270.
2. Electronic Access. You may access
this Federal Register document
electronically through the EPA Internet
under the ‘‘Federal Register’’ listings at
https://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
Preamble Outline
I. What is the statutory authority for this
action?
II. Why is EPA taking this action?
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 178 (Friday, September 14, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52558-52561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18164]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8468-6]
State Innovation Grant Program, Preliminary Notice and Request
for Input on the Development of a Solicitation for Proposals for 2008
Awards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency),
National Center for Environmental Innovation (NCEI) is giving
preliminary notice of its intention to solicit pre-proposals for a 2008
grant program to support innovation by state environmental agencies--
the ``State Innovation Grant Program.'' The Agency is also seeking
input from state environmental regulatory agencies on the topic areas
for the solicitation. In addition, EPA is asking each state
environmental regulatory agency to designate a point of contact (in
addition to the Commissioner or Cabinet Secretary level) who will be
the point of contact for further communication about the upcoming
solicitation. If your point of contact from previous State Innovation
Grant solicitations is to be your contact for this year's competition,
there is no need to send that information again, as all previously
designated points of contact will remain on our notification list for
this year's competition. EPA anticipates publication of a Solicitation
Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity on the Federal government's
grants opportunities Web site (https://www.grants.gov) to announce the
availability of the next solicitation within 45 days.
DATES: State environmental regulatory agencies will have 30 days from
the date of this pre-announcement notice in the Federal Register
publication until October 15, 2007 to respond with: (1) Suggestions for
specific topics that should be included under the general subject area
of ``Innovation in Environmental Permitting Programs'' (e.g., topics
with 1-2 paragraphs description) for the next solicitation; and (2)
point of contact information for the person within the state
environmental regulatory agency (in addition to Commissioner or Cabinet
Secretaries) who will be designated to receive future notices about the
State Innovation Grant competition. We will automatically transmit
notice of availability of the solicitation to people in state agencies
identified for previous solicitations.
ADDRESSES: We encourage e-mail responses. Information should be
submitted in writing via: e-mail to: innovation_state_grants@epa.gov;
regular mail (see below); or fax to ``State Innovation Grant Program''
at (202) 566-2220. If you have questions about responding to this
notice, please contact EPA at this e-mail address or fax number, or you
may call Sherri Walker at (202) 566-2186. For regular mail send to
Sherri Walker, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1807T), State
Innovation Grant Program; National Center for Environmental Innovation;
Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20460. Comments sent by regular or overnight mail
must be received prior to close of business on October 15, 2007. Please
be advised that mail sent via regular postal service may be delayed due
to additional security screening requirements. For overnight delivery,
send to Sherri Walker, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1807T),
State Innovation Grant Program; 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., EPA
West, Room 4214 D, Washington, DC 20004.
EPA will acknowledge all responses it receives to this notice. If
you have not received an acknowledgment from EPA within three (3) days
of the end of the notice period, please send an e-mail to: innovation_
state_grants@epa.gov or call Sherri Walker at (202) 566-2186. Failure
to do so may result in your information or comments not being received
by the deadline. EPA will respond to all questions in writing, and all
questions and responses will be posted on the EPA State Innovation
Grant Web site at https://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants. State
agencies are advised to monitor this Web site for information posted in
response to questions received prior to and during the competition
period.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In April 2002, EPA issued its plan for future innovation efforts,
published as Innovating for Better Environmental Results: A Strategy to
Guide the Next Generation of Innovation at EPA (EPA 100-R-02-002);
(https://www.epa.gov/innovation/pdf/strategy.pdf). EPA's Innovation
Strategy presents a framework for environmental innovation consisting
of four major elements:
1. Strengthening EPA's innovation partnership with states and
tribes;
2. Focusing on priority environmental issues;
3. Diversifying environmental protection tools and approaches; and
4. Fostering more ``innovation-friendly'' systems and
organizational cultures.
The State Innovation Grant Program strengthens EPA's partnership
with the states by supporting state innovation compatible with EPA's
Innovation Strategy. EPA wants to encourage states to build on previous
experience (theirs and others) to undertake strategic innovation
projects that promote larger-scale models for ``next generation''
environmental protection that promise better environmental outcomes and
other beneficial results. EPA is interested in funding projects that:
(i)
[[Page 52559]]
Go beyond a single facility experiment and provide change that is
``systems-oriented;'' (ii) provide better results from a program,
process, or sector-wide innovation; and (iii) promote integrated
(multi-media) environmental management with a high potential for
transfer to other states, U.S. territories, and tribes.
Since 2002, EPA has sponsored five State Innovation Grant Program
competitions that asked for State project pre-proposals that support
innovation generally related to environmental permitting programs. This
has included alternatives to permitting and the establishment of
incentives to go beyond compliance with permit requirements. To date,
projects have clustered primarily around three strategic topic areas:
Environmental Results Programs (ERP), Environmental Management Systems
(EMS), and the National Environmental Performance Track (PT) Program
and similar state performance-based environmental leadership programs.
Thirty-five awards to States have been made from the five prior
competitions. These projects awarded over 6.5 million dollars in
assistance to States. Some of the projects fit into more than one
category (e.g., combination projects of ERP with EMS, or ERP with PT).
Among the grant projects, including those with pending awards: eighteen
(18) were provided for development of environmental results programs,
eight (8) were related to environmental management systems and
permitting, eight (8) were to enhance performance-based environmental
leadership programs, two (2) were for watershed-based permitting, and
one (1) was for an information technology innovation for the
application of geographic information systems (GIS) and a web-based
portal to a permitting process. For information on prior State
Innovation Grant Program solicitations and awards, please see the EPA
State Innovation Grants Web site at https://www.epa.gov/innovation/
stategrants.
Eligible Agencies to Compete for the State Innovation Grant:
Historically, we have limited the competition to state agencies with
the primary delegations from EPA for permitting programs. We are aware
that some state agencies re-delegate their authorities for permitting
programs to regional, county, or municipal agencies. This year, EPA is
considering enlarging the competitive range of the solicitation to
include those to regional, county, or municipal agencies with delegated
authority, but a tantamount factor for our consideration of this
proposed eligibility scenario in order to ensure the broader
application of the innovation being tested by the local agency will be
that the local agency include the principal state environmental
regulatory agency as an active member of the project team. Agencies are
encouraged to collaboratively partner with other governmental agencies
or non-governmental organizations within the State (or outside of their
state) that have complementary environmental mandates or symbiotic
interests (e.g., energy, agriculture, natural resources management,
transportation, public health). EPA will accept only one proposal from
an individual state. States are also encouraged to partner with other
states and American Indian tribes to address cross-boundary issues, to
encourage collaborative environmental partnering within industrial
sectors or in certain topical areas (e.g., agriculture), and to create
networks for peer-mentoring. We anticipate, that as in previous years,
a multi-state or state-tribal proposal will be accepted in addition to
an individual state proposal, but a state may appear in no more than
one multi-state or state-tribal proposal in addition to its individual
proposal. EPA regrets that because of the limitation in available
funding it is not yet able to open this competition to American Indian
tribal environmental agencies but we strongly encourage tribal agencies
to join with adjacent states in project proposals. EPA is interested in
hearing from regional, county, or municipal agencies about their
interest, capacity, and the likelihood of commitment from the principal
statewide regulatory entity to assist a potential project.
Proposed General Topic Areas for Solicitation: To increase the
likelihood of strategic impact with what we anticipate to be limited
funds, EPA proposes to continue with the general theme of ``innovation
in permitting,'' and additionally to continue with the focus on the
three strategic topic areas similar to the last competition: (1)
Projects that support the development of state Environmental Results
Programs (ERP); (2) projects which involve the application of
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) including those that explore the
relationship of EMS to permitting or otherwise promote the use of EMS
to improve environmental performance beyond permit requirements (see
EPA's Strategy for Determining the Role of EMS in Regulatory Programs
at https://www.epa.gov/ems or https://www.epa.gov/ems/docs/EMS_and_
the_Reg_Structure_41204Fpdf)(3) projects that support state
performance-based environmental leadership programs or state support
for implementation of the National Environmental Performance Track
Program, particularly including the development and implementation of
incentives. EPA's focus on a small number of topics within this general
subject area effectively concentrates the limited resources available
for greater strategic impact.
Projects will be much less likely to be funded through the State
Innovation Grant Program if agency resources pertinent to the topic are
already available through another EPA program.
Request for Input on Solicitation Topics and Priorities: EPA
encourages communication from States and other parties about these
three thematic areas mentioned here and other areas potentially ripe
for innovation. EPA is asking for state environmental regulatory
agencies and other interested parties to provide brief (about 1
paragraph) suggestions about additional innovation topics within the
subject of innovation in permitting for possible inclusion in the
upcoming solicitation. In addition to the three topic areas ERP, EMS,
and PT, EPA will continue to encourage project proposals that address
the four major elements (i.e., strengthening innovation partnerships;
focusing on priority environmental issues; diversifying environmental
protection tools and approaches; and fostering ``innovation-friendly''
systems and organizational cultures) and use tools (i.e., incentives,
information resources, results-based goals and measures, etc.)
highlighted in the Innovation Strategy. EPA may contemplate a very
limited number of projects otherwise related to the general theme of
innovation in permitting, in particular as they may address EPA
regional and state environmental permitting priorities. To date, the
State Innovation Grant Program has supported ERPs for: auto body/ auto
repair/auto salvage sectors in six (6) state projects, underground
storage tanks (UST) in three (3) states, dry cleaning in two (2)
states, stormwater management in two (2) states, printing sector in one
(1) state, animal feedlot operations in one (1) state, underground
injection wells management in one (1) state, and oil and gas production
in one (1) state. We are interested in continuing the EMS theme, but
may consider some change to this theme. Also, we may be interested in
projects that promote a developmental component or type of ``on-ramp''
for potential environmental leaders that require upfront compliance
assistance. We may also be interested in
[[Page 52560]]
exploring PT projects with an air permit component.
State Innovation Grants will not be applied to the development or
demonstration of new environmental technologies. These assistance
agreements will not be awarded for the development of information
systems or data or projects that have as a primary focus the upgrading
of information technology systems, unless there is a clear link to
innovation in specific permitting programs. Projects would be much less
likely to be funded through this State Innovation Grant if agency
resources are already available through another agency program. Project
selections and awards will be subject to funding availability. State
environmental regulatory agency and other respondents should send their
suggestions to EPA by mail, e-mail, or fax as described in the
ADDRESSES section above.
Request for Input on Diffuse Delegations and Designation of a
Primary Point of Contact: One of the principal goals of the State
Innovation Grant program is the testing of an integrated (multi-media)
innovation with the potential for replication or broader application in
other sectors, permitting programs, agencies, states, or tribes.
Because of the limitation of funds we have historically limited the
competition to state agencies with a primary delegation from EPA for
permitting programs. We have concerns that opening the competition to
regulatory entities at lower levels (e.g. air control boards, water
quality management districts, counties or municipalities) may limit the
range of results and the potential for transferability of innovative
approaches. We recognize, however, that in some instances states have
re-delegated programs to regional or local agencies and that those
agencies may manage substantial permitting programs. EPA is seeking
comment from states that may have re-delegated several authorities to
other governing regional or municipal agencies or boards rather than in
one centralized state environmental regulatory agency and from the
boards and districts on how we might accommodate those delegations in
this program and take advantage of the expertise in those programs
while maintaining the strategically important goal of testing
innovation for broad application and transferability. EPA asks that
each state environmental regulatory agency designate a primary point-
of-contact who we will add to the EPA notification list for further
announcements about the State Innovation Grant Program. For point of
contact information, please provide: name, title, department and
agency, street or post office address, city, state, zip code,
telephone, fax number, and e-mail address. If your point of contact
from previous State Innovation Grant solicitations is to be your
contact for this year's competition, there is no need to send that
information again, as all previously designated points of contact will
remain on our notification list for this year's competition. We are
asking that any new name be submitted with the approval of the highest
levels of management within an Agency (Commissioner, Director,
Secretary, or their deputies) within 30 days after publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. Please submit this information to EPA
by mail, fax, or e-mail prior to October 15, 2007 in the following
manner:
By mail to: State Innovation Grant Program, National Center for
Environmental Innovation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1807T),
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20460.
By fax to: State Innovation Grant Program, (202) 566-2220.
By e-mail to: Innovation--State--Grants@EPA.gov.
We encourage e-mail responses. If you have questions about
responding to this notice, please contact EPA at this e-mail address of
fax number, or you may call Sherri Walker at (202) 566-2186. For point-
of-contact information, please provide: Name, title, department and
agency, mailing address (street or P.O. Box), city, state, zip code,
telephone, fax number, and e-mail address. EPA will acknowledge all
responses it receives to this notice.
Opportunity for Dialogue: Between now and the initiation of the
competition with the release of the solicitation, communication with
potential applicants may include helping potential applicants determine
whether the applicant itself is eligible or if the scope of an
applicant's potential project is suitable for funding, and responding
to general requests for clarification of the notice. To ensure an equal
opportunity for all potential applicants, responses to questions that
come to us during the period between this pre-announcement and the
release of the solicitation along with helpful resource materials will
be posted on the State Innovation Grant Web site at https://www.epa.gov/
innovation/stategrants. States are also invited to communicate with
NCEI about ideas for future competition themes by contacting the EPA
Headquarters contact listed below. The contacts for the EPA Regions and
the EPA HQ National Center for Environmental Innovation are as follows:
Anne Leiby or Josh Secunda, U.S. EPA Region 1, 1 Congress Street, Suite
1100, Boston, MA 02114-2023, (617) 918-1076 or (617) 918-1736,
leiby.anne@epa.gov or secunda.josh@epa.gov. States: CT, MA, ME, NH, RI,
VT.
Michael Dunn, U.S. EPA Region 3, 1650 Arch Street (3EA40),
Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 814-2712, dunn.michael@epa.gov. States:
DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV.
Marilou Martin, U.S. EPA Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
IL 60604-3507, (312) 353-9660, martin.marilou@epa.gov. States: IL, IN,
MI, MN, OH, WI.
Wendy Lubbe, U.S. EPA Region 7, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, KS
66101, (913) 551-7551, lubbe.wendy@epa.gov. States: IA, KS, MO, NE.
Loretta Barsamian, U.S. EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street (SPE-1), San
Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 947-4268, barsamian.loretta@epa.gov. States
and Territories: AS, AZ, CA, GU, HI, NV.
Jennifer Thatcher, U.S. EPA Region 2, 290 Broadway, 26th Floor, New
York, NY 10007-1866, (212) 637-3593, thatcher.jennifer@epa.gov. States
& Territories: NJ, NY, PR, VI.
LaToya Miller, U.S. EPA Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, GA
30303, (404) 562-9885, miller.latoya@epa.gov. States: AL, FL, GA, KY,
MS, NC, SC, TN.
Craig Weeks, U.S. EPA Region 6, Fountain Place, Suite 1200, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202-2733, (214) 665-7505, weeks.craig@epa.gov.
States: AR, LA, NM, OK, TX.
Whitney Trulove-Cranor, U.S. EPA Region 8, 999 18th Street, Suite 300,
Denver, CO 80202-2466, (303) 312-6099, trulove-cranor.whitney@epa.gov.
States: CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY.
Bill Glasser, U.S. EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue (ENF-T), Seattle,
WA 98101, (206) 553-7215, glasser.william@epa.gov. States: AK, ID, OR,
WA.
Headquarters Office: Sherri Walker, U.S. EPA (MC 1807T), Office of the
Administrator, National Center for Environmental Innovation, State
Innovation Grants Program, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20460, (202) 566-2186, (202) 566-2220 fax.
For courier delivery only: Sherri Walker, U.S. EPA, EPA West Building,
Room 4214D, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20005.
Opportunity for Pre-Competition Briefings and Addressing Questions:
In
[[Page 52561]]
addition, prior to this year's solicitation, we are planning to host a
series of briefings and opportunities for question and answer (Q&A)
sessions via teleconference calls, one with each EPA Region and all of
their States. These conference calls will enable us to offer a two-hour
streamlined proposal development briefing to all States prior to our
solicitation, and will allow us to answer any questions that the States
have prior to the competition, in keeping with Federal requirements
that we afford assistance fairly in a competition process. Specific
conference call logistics and grant resource information will be
provided to each Region and the States as well as being posted on our
Web site at https://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants. Pre-competition
briefing summaries, and all other all resource materials will be posted
on the Web site at https://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants. Through
this effort, we are hoping to encourage individual States (and/or
State-led teams) to submit well-developed pre-proposals that
effectively describe in particular how their project will achieve
measurable environmental results.
Dated: September 10, 2007.
David Widawsky,
Associate Office Director, Office of Environmental Policy Innovation.
[FR Doc. E7-18164 Filed 9-13-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
