PFAS Research Grants are awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that fund scientific research into per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals, to better understand their environmental and health impacts. The program (Funding Opportunity Number EPA-G2018-ORD-A1) offered awards ranging from $500,000 to $10,000,000.

Eligible applicants include universities, colleges, and research institutions. This opportunity closed June 18, 2018 and is listed for reference purposes only. Researchers interested in current PFAS funding should check the EPA National Center for Environmental Research for active funding opportunities.

National Priorities: PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES | US EPA National Priorities: PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Center for Environmental Research National Priorities: PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES CLOSED: FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.

Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2018-ORD-A1 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66. 511 Solicitation Opening Date: May 4, 2018 Solicitation Closing Date: June 18, 2018: 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION C.

Authority and Regulations D. Specific Areas of Interest/Expected Outputs and Outcomes III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION IV.

APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION A. Grants. gov Submittal Requirements and Limited Exception Procedures B.

Application Package Information C. Content and Form of Application Submission D. Submission Dates and Times F.

Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION C. Past Performance History Review D.

Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS) Review F. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION C.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements Access Standard Forms ( How to Apply and Required Forms ) View research awarded under previous solicitations ( Research Grant Areas ) SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing this Request for Applications (RFA) to better understand the impacts of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on water quality and availability across the U.S. The Agency is seeking new information on 1) the fate and transport of short (C4 to C7) and long-chain (≥ C8) PFAS in the environment, including per- and poly-fluorinated carboxylic acids, sulfonic acids, and ethers, and associated precursor and transformation products; 2) comprehensive human and ecosystem exposure to PFAS; and 3) PFAS toxicity, modes of action, physiologically-based pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and other topics related to hazard assessment.

Proposals may address any or all of these topic areas in support of the development of robust risk assessments for human and ecological exposure to PFAS in water. This solicitation provides the opportunity for the submission of applications for projects that may involve human subjects research. Human subjects research supported by the EPA is governed by EPA Regulation 40 CFR Part 26 (Protection of Human Subjects).

This includes the Common Rule at subpart A and prohibitions and additional protections for pregnant women and fetuses, nursing women, and children at subparts B, C, and D. Research meeting the regulatory definition of intentional exposure research found in subpart B is prohibited by that subpart in pregnant women, nursing women, and children.

Research meeting the regulatory definition of observational research found in subparts C and D is subject to the additional protections found in those subparts for pregnant women and fetuses (subpart C) and children (subpart D). All applications must include a Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS, as described in Section IV. C.

5. c of this solicitation), and if the project involves human subjects research, it will be subject to an additional level of review prior to funding decisions being made as described in Sections V. D and V.

E of this solicitation.

Guidance and training for investigators conducting EPA-funded research involving human subjects may be obtained here: Basic Information about Human Subjects Research Basic EPA Policy for Protection of Subjects in Human Research Conducted or Supported by EPA Anticipated Type of Award: Grant Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately 2 awards Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $3,968,800 total for all awards Potential Federal Funding per Award: Up to a total of $1,984,400, including direct and indirect costs, with a maximum duration of 3 years.

Each applicant must contribute a minimum 25 percent match that may include in-kind contributions (see Section III. B. for more detail).

Cost-sharing is required. Proposals with budgets including a federal contribution exceeding the total maximum federal award limit will not be considered. Each applicant must contribute a minimum 25% non-federal match.

The minimum 25% non-federal match, equal to a minimum of $496,100 (assuming the applicant requests $1,984,400 in EPA funds) must be included. Including matching, projects can exceed $2,480,500 (if the applicant proposes more than the minimum required non-federal match), however the federally funded portion of the budget must not exceed $1,984,400.

In order to be eligible for funding consideration, applicants must demonstrate in their application how they will meet the required minimum 25% match in accordance with 2 CFR §200. 306. Public and private nonprofit institutions and public and private universities and colleges located in the United States are eligible.

Foreign entities, States, including the District of Columbia, and State and local government departments, territories, possessions, and Tribal nations of the U.S., are not eligible to apply under this RFA. Profit-making firms are not eligible to receive assistance agreements from EPA under this program. See full announcement for more details.

If your organization is not currently registered with Grants. gov, you need to allow approximately one month to complete the registration process. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a unique entity identifier (e.g.‘DUNS number’) and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more.

Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through Grants. gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline. This registration, and electronic submission of your application, must be performed by an authorized representative of your organization.

If you do not have the technical capability to utilize the Grants. gov application submission process for this solicitation, see Section IV. A below for additional guidance and instructions.

Technical Contact: Michael Hiscock (hiscock. michael@epa. gov); phone: 202-564-4453 Eligibility Contact: Ron Josephson (josephson.

ron@epa. gov); phone: 202-564-7823 Electronic Submissions: Debra M. Jones (jones.

debram@epa. gov); phone: 202-564-7839 I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION One of the high-priority research areas identified by the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) is drinking water.

Under the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the responsibility for ensuring public water systems provide safe and sufficient drinking water is divided among the EPA, states, tribal nations, water systems, and the public . In addition, under the Clean Water Act (CWA), EPA has established requirements for setting water quality standards and regulating pollutant discharges into U.S. waters.

PFAS are a potential risk to the waters of the U.S. EPA is issuing this call for research to better understand the impacts of PFAS on water quality and availability across the U.S. The Agency is seeking new information on 1) the fate and transport of short (C4 to C7) and long-chain (≥ C8) PFAS in the environment, including per- and poly-fluorinated carboxylic acids, sulfonic acids, and ethers and associated precursors and transformation products; 2) comprehensive human and ecosystem exposure to PFAS; and 3) PFAS toxicity, modes of action, physiologically-based pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and other topics related to hazard assessment.

Proposals may address any or all of these topic areas in support of the development of robust risk assessments for human and ecological exposure to PFAS in water. The research is intended to inform new strategies that protect public health and the environment from PFAS exposure and adverse outcomes.

The research will also support states and municipalities in developing PFAS standards and policies that address water quality and availability challenges. The research will build on the current understanding of fate and transport characteristics and behavior, exposure profiles, and toxicological effects of PFAS chemicals, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

It should also provide information on other PFAS including but not limited to: perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs); per- and poly-fluorinated carboxylic acids, sulfonic acids, and ethers; per- and poly-fluoropolyethers (PFPE); and PFAS precursors, byproducts and transformation products. The EPA currently supports a number of drinking water-related research grants resulting from previous solicitations.

Information regarding current research can be found on EPA’s Research Grants website . EPA recognizes that it is important to engage all available minds to address the environmental challenges the nation faces. At the same time, EPA seeks to expand the environmental conversation by including members of communities which may have not previously participated in such dialogues to participate in EPA programs.

For this reason, EPA strongly encourages all eligible applicants identified in Section III, including minority serving institutions (MSIs), to apply under this opportunity. For purposes of this solicitation, the following are considered MSIs: Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1061).

A list of these schools can be found at White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities ; Tribal Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059(c)). A list of these schools can be found at American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities ; Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C.

§ 1101a(a)(5)). There is no list of HSIs.

HSIs are institutions of higher education that, at the time of application submittal, have an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25% Hispanic students at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application for this grant; and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions; (AANAPISIs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059g(a)(2)).

There is no list of AANAPISIs. AANAPISIs are institutions of higher education that, at the time of application submittal, have an enrollment of undergraduate students that is not less than 10 % students who are Asian American or Native American Pacific Islander. PFAS are a large group of approximately 5,000 human-derived chemicals that are used in a large number of consumer products and industrial applications (1, 2).

Major uses that contribute to environmental releases include fire training and fire response; industrial production from primary and secondary manufacturing; landfills; and wastewater treatment operations (3, 4). Once present in the environment, PFAS are transported via water and air. Soil may be contaminated from air and water, or from the application of commercial or industrial products, biosolids, and sludges (5).

Humans are exposed to PFAS in a variety of ways, including consumption of drinking water and food, contact with commercial products (e.g., food-packaging materials, water and stain repellents, treated fabrics), inhalation of residues in household dust and indoor air, and for some, through occupational exposure (6).

Due to the ubiquitous nature of PFAS chemicals, the vast majority of the global population has been exposed to PFAS, as demonstrated by numerous reports of PFAS detected in human blood samples (7, 8). Yet, of the entire group of PFAS chemicals, relatively few have been studied for their chemical properties, occurrence or health impacts.

Very limited information is available for the majority of these chemicals regarding environmental fate and transport, human and ecological exposure, human health risks, and persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) potential. The understanding of adverse toxicological impacts from some PFAS is greater than for others.

For example, such information on PFOA and PFOS has resulted in decreased use of long-chain PFAS (see Table 1 for EPA PFAS activities). This is largely the result of their bioaccumulation and persistence in the human body. PFOA and PFOS are also highly stable in the environment, and not degraded by hydrolysis, photolysis, biologically-catalyzed reactions or other degradation processes (9).

Thus, these chemicals are persistent, and have been observed globally in environmental media, including surface water, groundwater, drinking water, wastewater, landfill leachates, soils, and biota. PFOA and PFOS are also not subject to biochemical metabolism, and their rate of elimination is exceedingly slow.

Human and animal exposures have been associated with developmental growth deficits, altered serum cholesterol, endocrine disruption, immune suppression, liver damage and possibly cancer (10).

The following groups of PFAS would especially benefit from additional research: Short-chain PFAS (C4 to C7) PFAS found as residuals from manufacturing processes Alternatives for long-chain PFAS (≥ C8) such as per- and poly-fluoroethers PFAS generated through environmental chemical transformation Table 1. EPA PFAS activities since 2000 ( https://www. epa.

gov/pfas ) EPA initiates voluntary phase-out of PFOS and related compounds. EPA publishes Significant New Use Rules (SNUR) on PFOS and related compounds. EPA launches 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program with eight companies to reduce PFAS emissions and product content by 95% by 2010 and 100% by 2015.

EPA publishes Method 537 for measuring PFOA, PFOS and 12 other PFAS in drinking water. Drinking water systems are required to monitor six PFAS under the Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3). EPA publishes non-regulatory, non-enforceable Lifetime Drinking Water Health Advisory levels of 70 µg/L for PFOA and PFOS, either individually or combined.

EPA publishes the Contaminant Candidate List 4 (CCL4) of unregulated contaminants known or anticipated to occur in public water systems which may require regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, including PFOA and PFOS.

To better understand the persistent water quality and availability challenges of PFAS, EPA is issuing this RFA to spur interdisciplinary research that generates new information for assessing PFAS fate and transport, exposure, and toxicity. The goals of the RFA align with the FY 2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan, Goal 1 – Core Mission, Objective 1. 2 – Provide for Clean and Safe Water.

The proposed research will provide the best available science needed to broadly address PFAS nationwide. The research will also improve the scientific foundation for environmental policy and decision-making related to PFAS, and will ultimately reduce risks to human health and the environment from PFAS. C.

Authority and Regulations The authority for this RFA and resulting awards is contained in the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300j-1, Section 1442, the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1254, Section 104(b)(3), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, P.

L. 115-141. For research with an international aspect, the above statutes are supplemented, as appropriate, by the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 102(2)(F).

Note that a project’s focus is to consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) listed above. Generally, a project must address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control depending on which statute(s) is listed above.

Further note applications dealing with any aspect of or related to hydraulic fracking will not be funded by EPA through this program. Additional applicable regulations include: 2 CFR Part 200, 2 CFR Part 1500, and 40 CFR Part 40 (Research and Demonstration Grants). D.

Specific Areas of Interest/Expected Outputs and Outcomes Note to applicant: The term “output” means an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work products related to an environmental goal or objective, that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date.

The term “outcome” means the result, effect or consequence that will occur from carrying out an environmental program or activity that is related to an environmental or programmatic goal or objective. The activities to be funded under this announcement support EPA’s FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan . Activities to be funded under this announcement support Goal 1: Core Mission, Objective 1.

2: Provide for Clean and Safe Water, of EPA’s FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan. Safe and sustainable water resources The proposed research supports strategies for evaluating PFAS, an emerging and complex water resource challenge of the 21st Century.

Through the development of new information on the fate and transport, exposure, and toxicity of PFAS, researchers will provide information to enable states, tribes, and local communities to assess, manage, and communicate the risk from PFAS contamination, in support of safe and clean drinking water nationwide. All applications must be for projects that support the goals and objectives identified above.

EPA requires that grant applicants adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700. 7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements .

Applicants must include specific statements describing the environmental results of the proposed project in terms of well-defined outputs and, to the maximum extent practicable, well-defined outcomes that will demonstrate how the project will contribute to the priorities described above. The Agency is soliciting research that will advance current knowledge of PFAS fate and transport, human and ecological exposure, and toxicity.

Proposed approaches, tools, and data should contribute to enabling states, tribes, and local communities to make informed decisions about the assessment, management, and communication of risk from PFAS contamination in water. Note that the research should be nationally applicable, providing information relevant to stakeholders across the country.

The research should also focus on water quality (by evaluating the impact of PFAS in drinking water, surface water, and groundwater) and water quantity (to the extent that improving water quality increases the amount of safe drinking water available to the public). Applicants should address at least one of the three research areas described below and be national in scope.

Applications may respond to one research area in detail or integrate across two or three research areas. Applications should clearly indicate which research area(s) the application is addressing. Proposals that address more than one research area will not necessarily be rated more highly than those that address just one of the areas.

1. PFAS fate and transport Develop fate and transport information for evaluating water quality and availability effects of short and long-chain PFAS (including PFOA/PFOS alternatives, precursors, residuals, and transformation products) that are present in the environment.

Proposals may include: PFAS and co-contaminants introduced from source areas; movement in the environment (e.g., advection, dispersion, diffusion, sorption, leaching, partitioning to non-aqueous phase liquids, volatilizing, deposition, and other surface interactions); transport properties such as solubility and vapor pressure; and transformations and degradations, including polymers and oligomers, occurring in the environment such as through chemical or biological processes.

This information should be placed in the context of estimating concentrations in surface water, groundwater, and soil (including soils amended with biosolids, sludges, or influenced by leachates). By advancing fate and transport information and properties, the research will inform risk assessment applicable in communities throughout the U.S. 2.

PFAS human and ecological exposure Develop data on the processes and pathways leading to human and ecological exposure to PFAS for evaluating water quality and availability impacts throughout the U.S. This effort should include total or cumulative exposures to PFAS chemicals across chemical classes and structures.

Occurrence, identity, sources, and concentrations of PFAS and PFAS precursors in surface and groundwater nationwide; Information on the behavior of PFAS chemicals during wastewater reuse, treatment and disposal; Human activity patterns which contribute to or control water exposure; Relative source contribution of PFAS exposure to humans and ecosystems via different pathways (food, drinking water, household contact, etc.); and Behavior of chemical mixtures as well as individual chemicals leading to exposure.

This information should be developed to better understand human and ecological exposures to PFAS chemicals and precursors, to better inform risk assessment and risk mitigation approaches by communities throughout the U.S. Develop PFAS toxicity data for evaluating the water quality and availability impacts of the range of short and long-chain PFAS (including PFOA/PFOS alternatives, precursors, residuals, and transformation products) throughout communities in the U.S. Proposals may: Expand current understanding of the adverse health and aquatic and terrestrial ecological effects produced by PFAS.

This may include a more in-depth description of the known toxicological profiles of PFAS (hepatotoxicity, developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, tumor induction and endocrine disruption), but discovery of novel toxicities from exposure to PFAS (particularly new chemicals and across a range of doses and assessment endpoints) is a higher priority.

In addition, proposed toxicokinetic research to characterize the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties of the entire class of chemicals (such as physiologically based pharmacokinetic [PBPK] and ecological models) may be considered; Explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms of PFAS toxicity (such as activation of nuclear receptors for metabolic sensing) to provide broad coverage for legacy and new PFAS that will facilitate extrapolation of laboratory in vitro and in vivo data for human health and ecological risk assessments, as well as design of screening and predictive tools for computational modeling of PFAS toxicity; Design and conduct biomonitoring or epidemiological studies to improve linkage of toxicological findings derived from laboratory models to real-world exposure in humans and wildlife; and Develop and test practical methods for assessing risk from exposure to complex mixtures of PFAS in the environment.

This may include known concepts such as relative potency and toxic equivalency factors but novel approaches which address potential interactions within PFAS mixtures is a higher priority.

This information should be developed to better understand human and ecological effects resulting from exposure to PFAS chemicals and precursors, to better inform risk assessment and risk mitigation approaches by communities throughout the U.S. Proposals which are not national in scope may not be rated as highly under the evaluation process described in Section V.

Outputs expected from the research funded under this RFA include peer-reviewed publications, presentations, guidance documents, models, demonstrations, and case studies that help communities, municipalities, states, regions, and the public understand and respond to the risks associated with PFAS in water.

Outcomes expected from the research funded under this RFA include better planning and decision-making to prevent future PFAS exposures and adverse health effects and a greater awareness of how to restore water quality and availability in PFAS-contaminated areas. OECD. OECD/UNEP Global PFC Group, Synthesis Paper on Per- and Polyfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs), Environment, Health and Safety, Environment Directorate, OECD, 2013.

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August, 2015. Agency policy and ethical considerations prevent EPA technical staff and managers from providing applicants with information that may create an unfair competitive advantage. Consequently, EPA employees will not review, comment, advise, and/or provide technical assistance to applicants preparing applications in response to EPA RFAs.

EPA employees cannot endorse any particular application. Multiple Investigator applications may be submitted as: (1) a single Lead Principal Investigator (PI) application with Co-PI(s) or (2) a Multiple PI application (with a single Contact PI). If you choose to submit a Multiple PI application, you must follow the specific instructions provided in Sections IV.

and V. of this RFA. For further information, please see the EPA Implementation Plan for Policy on Multiple Principal Investigators ( RBM Toolkit - Research Business Models Working Group ).

This solicitation provides the opportunity for the submission of applications for projects that may involve human subjects research. All applications must include a Human Subjects Research Statement (HSRS; described in Section IV. C.

5. c of this solicitation). If the project involves human subjects research, it will be subject to an additional level of review prior to funding decisions being made as described in Sections V.

D and V. E of this solicitation. Groups of two or more eligible applicants may choose to form a consortium and submit a single application for this assistance agreement.

The application must identify which organization will be the recipient of the assistance agreement and which organizations(s) will be subawardees of the recipient. The application should include a plan (see “Data Plan” in section IV. C.

5. d) to make available to the NCER project officer all data generated (produced under the award) from observations, analyses, or model development used under an agreement awarded from this RFA. The data must be available in a format and with documentation such that they may be used by others in the scientific community.

These awards may involve the collection of “Geospatial Information,” which includes information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features or boundaries on the Earth or applications, tools, and hardware associated with the generation, maintenance, or distribution of such information.

This information may be derived from, among other things, a Geographic Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing, mapping, charting, and surveying technologies, or statistical data. It is anticipated that a total of approximately $3,968,800 will be awarded under this announcement, depending on the availability of funds, quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations.

The EPA anticipates funding approximately 2 awards under this RFA. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $1,984,400 in federal funds, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered. In addition, a minimum 25% non-federal match, which may include in-kind contributions (see Section III.

B. for more details) equal to a minimum of $496,100 (assuming the applicant requests $1,984,400 in EPA funds) must be included. Applications which do not demonstrate how the minimum 25% non-federal match will be met will not be considered.

The total project period requested in an application submitted for this RFA may not exceed 3 years. The EPA reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards, or make fewer awards than anticipated, under this RFA. The EPA reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made.

Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than six months after the original selection decisions. In appropriate circumstances, EPA reserves the right to partially fund proposals/applications by funding discrete portions or phases of proposed projects.

If EPA decides to partially fund a proposal/application, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal/application, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award, and therefore maintains the integrity of the competition and selection process. EPA intends to award only grants under this announcement.

Under a grant, EPA scientists and engineers are not permitted to be substantially involved in the execution of the research. However, EPA encourages interaction between its own laboratory scientists and grant Principal Investigators after the award of an EPA grant for the sole purpose of exchanging information in research areas of common interest that may add value to their respective research activities.

This interaction must be incidental to achieving the goals of the research under a grant. Interaction that is “incidental” does not involve resource commitments. III.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION This solicitation is available to public and private nonprofit institutions and public and private universities and colleges located in the United States. Foreign entities, States, including the District of Columbia, and State and local government departments, territories, possessions, and Tribal nations of the U.S., are not eligible to apply under this RFA.

Profit-making firms are not eligible to receive assistance agreements from the EPA under this program.

Non-profit organization, as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative or other organization that: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve and/or expand its operations.

While not considered to be a “non-profit organization(s)” as defined by 2 CFR Part 200, Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA. Hospitals that meet the definition of nonprofit at 2 CFR 200. 70 are also eligible to apply.

For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible. Nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible to apply. National laboratories funded by Federal Agencies (Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, “FFRDCs”) may not apply.

FFRDC employees may cooperate or collaborate with eligible applicants within the limits imposed by applicable legislation and regulations. They may participate in planning, conducting, and analyzing the research directed by the applicant, but may not direct projects on behalf of the applicant organization.

The institution, organization, or governance receiving the award may provide funds through its assistance agreement from the EPA to an FFRDC for research personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the research. However, salaries for permanent FFRDC employees may not be provided through this mechanism. Federal Agencies may not apply.

Federal employees are not eligible to serve in a principal leadership role on an assistance agreement, and may not receive salaries or augment their Agency's appropriations in other ways through awards made under this program. The applicant institution may enter into an agreement with a Federal Agency to purchase or utilize unique supplies or services unavailable in the private sector to the extent authorized by law.

Examples are purchase of satellite data, chemical reference standards, analyses, or use of instrumentation or other facilities not available elsewhere. A written justification for federal involvement must be included in the application. In addition, an appropriate form of assurance that documents the commitment, such as a letter of intent from the Federal Agency involved, should be included.

Potential applicants who are uncertain of their eligibility should contact Ron Josephson (josephson. ron@epa. gov) in NCER, phone: 202-564-7823.

Each applicant must contribute a minimum 25% non-federal cost share/match which