§ 40.120-2 Need statements.

The need environmental research statement is the formal mechanism by which research needs are expressed and transmitted to EPA. The need statement is submitted as a way of identifying problems requiring a research solution rather than as a proposal for solving an environmental problem or an application for grant or contract assistance. The statement must define the specific problem to be solved, its extent and importance, the form of the solution needed, how and by whom the solution will be used and the consequences of deferring solution to the problem. Participation in this evaluation and planning process may be accomplished by the submission of need statements through EPA Assistant or Regional Administrators or directly to the Office of Research and Monitoring.

§ 40.120-3 Publication of research objectives.

Each year EPA will publish the results of the research planning process identifying the research objectives to be pursued by the Agency and the approximate amount of funds available for grant and contract assistance. This publication is called "EXPRO" (Extramural Program Information) and may be obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Monitoring, or the Grants Administration Division, Washington, D.C. 20460.

§ 40.125

§ 40.125-1

Grant limitations.

Limitations on duration.

(a) No research or demonstration grant shall be approved for a budget period in excess of 2 years except demonstration grants involving construction.

(b) No research or demonstration grant shall be approved for a project period in excess of 5 years except in cases where extensions of time without additional funds are appropriate

[38 FR 12784, May 15, 1973, as amended at 38 FR 16220, June 21, 1973]

§ 40.125-2 Limitations on assistance.

In addition to the cost-sharing requirements pursuant to 40 CFR 30.207, research and demonstration grants shall be governed by the specific assistance limitations listed below:

(a) Federal Water Pollution Control Act.-(1) Section 104(s)-no grant in any fiscal year may exceed $1 million.

(2) Sections 105(a), 105(c) and 108no grant may exceed 75 percent of the allowable actual project costs.

(b) Clean Air Act.—(1) Section 104— no grant may exceed $1,500,000.

(c) Solid Waste Disposal Act.-(1) No grant may exceed 75 percent of the allowable actual project costs for demonstration grants.

(2) No more than 15 percent of the total funds authorized to be appropriated in any fiscal year to carry out the purposes of section 208 shall be granted under this section for projects in any one State. Grants to interstate agencies will be considered to be to the States involved in proportion to the amounts of nonFederal funds expended for the project by the participating States or by the participating municipalities located in the respective States.

(3) No more than 70 percent of the funds available for award in any fiscal year under section 208 shall be awarded for projects dealing with solid waste problems in the standard metropolitan statistical areas. The remaining 30 percent shall be reserved for projects dealing with such problems in rural areas. Notwithstanding this allocation, if an insufficient number of acceptable applications are received for projects designed to assist in solving the solid waste problems of rural areas the 70-percent figure may be exceeded.

(4) No grant under section 208 for the demonstration of a resource recovery system shall be made for operation and maintenance costs beyond the first year of operation of the system. The year will not begin until the constructed facility is deemed by the grants officer to be fully operational.

Except as otherwise provided below, grants for research and demonstration projects may be awarded to any responsible applicant in accordance with 40 CFR 30.304:

(a) The Clean Air Act, as amendedpublic or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations, and to individuals.

(b) The Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended.

(1) Sections 204 and 205-public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations, and to individuals.

(2) Section 208-only to State, municipal, interstate, and intermunicipal agencies.

(c) The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended— other Federal agencies, universities, or others as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the act.

(d) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended:

(1) Section 104(b)-State water pollution control agencies, interstate agencies, other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations, and to individuals.

(2) Sections 104 (h) and 104(i)—public or private agencies and organizations and to individuals.

(3) Section 104(r)—colleges and universities.

(4) Section 104(s)—institutions of higher education.

(5) Sections 105(a), 105(e)(2), and 107 State, municipal, interstate, and intermunicipal agencies.

(6) Section 195(b)—State or States or interstate agency.

(7) Sections 105(c) and 105(e) (1)— persons.

(8) Section 108-State, political subdivision, interstate agency, or other public agency, or combination thereof.

(9) Section 113-only to the State of Alaska.

(e) The Public Health Service Act, as amended only to nonprofit agencies, institutions, organizations, and to individuals.

§ 40.135 § 40.135-1

Application.

Preapplication coordination. (a) All applicants.—(1) Applicants for research and demonstration grants are encouraged to contact EPA for further information and assistance prior to submitting a formal application. The EPA regional office or the National Environmental Research Center nearest the applicant will be able to provide such assistance or to refer the applicant to an appropriate EPA representative.

(2) Applicants shall prepare an environmental assessment of the proposed project where applicable, outlining the anticipated impact on the environment pursuant to 40 CFR part 6.

(b) Demonstration grants.-(1) All applicants for demonstration grants, except Indian tribes and authorized Indian tribal organizations, must notify the planning and development clearinghouses of the State (or States) and region (if one exists) or metropolitan area in which the project is to be located of

97-025-73-12

their intention to apply for Federal assistance. Applicants should contact the appropriate clearinghouse(s) for information and assistance concerning notification procedures.

(2) All comments and recommendations concerning the applications that are made by or through the clearinghouses, and a statement that such comments have been considered by the applicant, must be submitted with the application to EPA. If the requirements of OMB Circular A-95 are followed and no comments or recommendations are received, a statement to that effect must be included with the application.

$ 40.135-2 Application requirements.

All applications for research and demonstration grants shall be submitted in an original and 14 copies to the Environmental Protection Agency, Grants Administration Division, Washington, D.C. 20460, in accordance with 40 CFR 30.301 through 30.301-4.

(a) Applications involving human subjects. (1) Safeguarding the rights and welfare of human subjects involved in projects supported by EPA grants is the responsibility of the institution which receives or is accountable to EPA for the funds awarded for the support of the project.

(2) Institutions must submit to EPA, for review, approval, and official acceptance, a written assurance of its compliance with guidelines established by Department of Health, Education, and Welfare concerning protection of human subjects. However, institutions which have submitted and have had accepted, general assurance to DHEW under these guidelines will be considered as being in compliance with this requirement. These guidelines are provided in DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 72-102, the "Institutional Guide to DHEW Policy on Protection of Human Subjects." Copies of this publication are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20420.

(3) Applicants must provide with each proposal involving human subjects a certification that it has been or will be reviewed in accordance with the institution's assurance. This certification must be renewed annually on the basis of continuing review of the supported project. (b) Applications involving laboratory animals. Each application for a project

involving the use of warmblooded animals shall include a written assurance that the applicant has registered with the Department of Agriculture and is in compliance with the rules, regulations, and standards enunciated in the Animal Welfare Act, Public Law 89-544, as amended.

(c) Notice of research project (NRP).— Each application for research must include a summary (NRP) of proposed work (200 words or less) incorporating objectives, approach and current plans and/or progress. Upon approval of an application, summaries are forwarded to the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange. Summaries of work in progress are exchanged with government and private agencies supporting research and are forwarded to investigators who request such information.

(d) Federal Water Pollution Control Act.—(1) All applications for grants under section 105 (a) must have been approved by the appropriate State water pollution control agency or agencies.

(2) All applications for grants under section 107, where the proposed project will be located in the Appalachian region, shall have been coordinated with the Appalachian Regional Commission for determination that such demonstration project is consistent with the objectives of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, as amended.

§ 40.140 Criteria for award.

In determining the desirability and extent of funding for a project and the relative merit of an application, consideration will be given to the following criteria:

(a) The relevancy of the proposed project to the objectives of the EPA research and demonstration program;

(b) The availability of funds within EPA;

(c) The technical feasibility of the project;

(d) The seriousness, extent, and urgency of the environmental problems toward which the project is directed;

(e) The anticipated public benefits to be derived from the project in relation to the costs of the project;

(f) The competency of the applicant's staff and the adequacy of the applicant's facilities and available resources;

(g) The degree to which the project can be expected to produce results that

will have general application to pollution control problems nationwide;

(h) Whether the project is consistent with existing plans or ongoing planning for the project area at the State, regional, and local levels;

(i) The existence and extent of local public support for the project;

(j) Whether the proposed project is environmentally sound;

(k) Proposed cost sharing.

§ 40.140-2 Solid Waste Disposal Act. In addition, consideration will be given to the following criteria:

(a) All applications.—(1) Whether the project will demonstrate and implement positive improvements in solid waste management;

(2) The extent to which the project emphasizes innovative financial and institutional arrangements for creation of a self-financed solid waste management system;

(3) The extent to which the use of Federal funds for capital expenditures is limited;

(4) The level of progress of the State solid waste management plan applicable to the applicant (e.g., progressing satisfactorily, completed and accepted by EPA, adopted by the State);

(5) Whether the project can be completed in a shorter time span than similar proposed projects.

(b) Applications for grants under section 208.-(1) Whether the application includes provision for the equitable distribution among users of all costs and revenues associated with the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed project;

(2) The financial participation and support of each participating unit of government;

(3) The soundness of the overall technical design and the system's component unit process;

(4) The economic viability of the system including analyses of available markets and purchase commitments for salable commodities;

(5) The experience and expertise of the operational and management personnel;

(6) Whether it is consistent with any guidelines for solid waste recovery collection, separation, and disposal systems which the Administrator may publish pursuant to section 208 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act;

(7) Whether it is consistent with a plan which meets the requirements for solid waste management planning set forth in section 207(b) (2) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act;

(8) Whether it will provide for substantial recovery of materials or energy or both from solid waste entering the system on an area wide basis;

(9) The extent to which it does not duplicate a resource recovery system that has already been developed and is operating in an effective manner in the area.

§ 40.140-3 Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

(1) All applications for grants under section 105(c) must provide evidence that the proposed project will contribute to the development or demonstration of a new or improved method of treating industrial wastes or otherwise preventing pollution by industry, which method shall have industrywide application;

(2) All applications for grants under section 113 must include provisions for community safe water supply systems, toilets, bathing and laundry facilities, sewage disposal facilities and programs relating to health and hygiene. Such projects must also be for the further purpose of developing preliminary plans for providing such safe water and such elimination or control of water pollution for all native villages in the State of Alaska.

§ 40.145

Supplemental grant conditions.

In addition to the EPA general grant conditions (app. A to subch. B of 40 CFR and 40 CFR, pt. 30, subpt. C), all grants are awarded subject to the following requirements:

(a) The project will be conducted in an environmentally sound manner.

(b) In addition to the notification of project changes required pursuant to 40 CFR 30.900-1, prior written approval by the grants officer is required for project changes which may (1) alter the approved scope of the project, (2) substantially alter the design of the project, or (3) increase the amount of Federal funds needed to complete the project. No approval or disapproval of a project change pursuant to 40 CFR 30.900 or this section shall commit or obligate the United States to an increase in the amount of the grant or payments thereunder, but shall not preclude submission or consid

eration of a request for a grant amendment pursuant to 40 CFR 30.901.

§ 40.145-1

Solid Waste Disposal Act.

Research and demonstration grants under the Solid Waste Disposal Act are awarded subject to the following conditions.

(a) Open burning of solid waste at all disposal sites within the jurisdiction (or jurisdictions) for which the applicant has authority for solid waste management, will be eliminated within 30 calendar days of the grant award;

(b) Open dumping (whether on land or in water) and open burning of solid waste are prohibited by a regulation, ordinance, statute, or other legal authority enforced within the jurisdiction in which the applicant has authority or that action taken under the provisions of the grant will eliminate such practices. § 40.145-2 Federal Water Pollution

Control Act.

(a) No person in the United States shall on the ground of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving assistance under the Act.

(b) Grants under section 107 are awarded subject to the conditions—(1) that the State shall acquire any land or interests therein necessary for such project to assure the elimination or control of acid or other mine water pollution; and (2) that the State shall provide legal and practical protection to the project area to insure against any activites which will cause future acid or other mine water pollution.

§ 40.145-3 Projects involving construc

tion.

Research and demonstration grants for projects involving construction shall be subject to the following conditions:

(a) The applicant will demonstrate to the satisfaction of the grants officer that he has or will have a fee simple or such other estate or interest in the site of the project, and rights of access, as the grants officer finds sufficient to assure undisturbed use and possession for the purpose of construction and operation for the estimated life of the project; and in the case of projects serving more than one municipality, that the participating communities have such interests or rights as the grants officer finds sufficient to assure their undisturbed utilization of

the project for the estimated life of the project.

(b) Invitations for bids or requests for proposals shall be based upon a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for the material, product, or service to be procured. Such description shall not, in competitive procurements, contain features which unduly restrict competition. “Brand name or equal" description may be used as a means to define the performance or other salient requirements of a procurement, and when so used the specific features of the named brand which must be met by offerors should be clearly specified.

(c) Positive efforts shall be made by the grantees to utilize small business and minority-owned business sources of supplies and services.

(d) Subagreements for construction work may be negotiated when advertising for competitive bids is not feasible; however, the grantee must adequately demonstrate its need to contract with a single or sole source. All such subagreements are subject to prior approval by the grants officer.

(e) Construction work will be performed by the fixed-price (lump sum or fixed-rate (unit price) method, or a combination of these two methods, unless the grants officer gives advance written approval to use some other method of contracting. The cost-plus-a-percentage-of-cost method of contracting shall not be used. Adequate methods of advertising for and obtaining competitive sealed bids will be employed prior to award of the construction contract. The award of the contract will be made to the responsible bidder submitting the lowest responsive bid, which shall be determined without regard to State or local law whereby preference is given on factors other than the specification requirements and the amount of bid. The grantee must promptly transmit to the grants officer copies of bid protests, decisions on such protests, and related correspondence. The grants officer will cause appropriate review of grantee procurement methods to be made.

(f) On construction contracts exceeding $100,000, each bidder must furnish a bid guarantee equivalent to 5 percent of the bid price. In addition, the contractor awarded the contract must furnish performance and payment bonds, each of which shall be in an amount not less than 100 percent of the contract price. Con

struction contracts less than $100,000 shall follow the State or local requirements relating to bid guarantees, performance bonds, and payment bonds.

(g) The construction of the project, including the letting of contracts in connection therewith, shall conform to the applicable requirements of State, territorial, and local laws and ordinances to the extent that such requirements do not conflict with Federal laws.

(h) The grantee will provide and maintain competent and adequate engineering supervision and inspection for the project to insure that the construction conforms with the approved plans and specifications.

(i) Any construction contract must provide that representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency and the State, as appropriate, will have access to the work whenever it is in preparation or progress and that the contractor will provide proper facilities for such access and inspection. The contract must also provide that the grants officer, the Comptroller General of the United States, or any authorized representative shall have access to any books, documents, papers, and records of the contractor which are pertinent to the project for the purpose of making audit, examination, excerpts, and transcriptions thereof.

(j) The grantee agrees to construct the project or cause it to be constructed in accordance with the application, plans and specifications, and subagreements approved by EPA in the grant agreement or amendments.

(k) In addition to the notification of project changes pursuant to 40 CFR 30.900-1, a copy of any construction contract or modifications thereof, and of revisions to plans and specifications must be submitted to the grants officer.

§ 40.150 Evaluation of applications.

Every application for a research or demonstration grant will be evaluated by appropriate EPA staff in terms of relevancy and the applicable criteria set forth in § 40.140. Only applications considered relevant to EPA research and demonstration objectives will receive further consideration and be subjected to additional review. Relevancy will be measured by program needs and priorities as defined in the Agency's current planned objectives. Relevancy, coupled with the results of technical review, will provide the basis for funding recommendations.