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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-400083; FRL-4755-6]

Notice of Availability of Pollution Prevention Grants and

Announcement of Financial Assistance Programs Eligible for Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of Pollution Prevention Grants.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of approximately $6 million

in FY 94 grant/cooperative agreement funds under the Pollution

Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS) grant program. The purpose of

this program is to support State, Tribal, and regional-based programs

that address the reduction or elimination of pollution across all

environmental media: Air, land, and water. Grants/cooperative

agreements will be awarded under the authority of the Pollution

Prevention Act of 1990.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Your EPA Regional Pollution Prevention

Coordinator. Contact names for each Regional Office are listed under

unit IV of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Since its inception in 1989, approximately $30 million has been

awarded to over 100 State, Tribal, and regional organizations under

EPA's multimedia pollution prevention grant program.

In November 1990, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (the Act)

(Pub. L. 101-508) was enacted, establishing as national policy that

pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever

feasible. Section 6603 of the Act defines source reduction as any

practice that:

(i) reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or

contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the

environment (including fugitive emissions) prior to recycling,

treatment, or disposal; and

(ii) reduces the hazards to public health and the environment

associated with the release of such substances, pollutants, or

contaminants.

EPA further defines pollution prevention as the use of other

practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through:

increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water or

other resources, or protection of natural resources by conservation.

Section 6605 of the Act authorizes EPA to make matching grants to

States to promote the use of source reduction techniques by businesses.

In evaluating grant applications, the Act directs EPA to consider

whether the proposed State programs will:

(1) Make technical assistance available to businesses seeking

information about source reduction opportunities, including funding for

experts to provide on-site technical advice and to assist in the

development of source reduction plans.

(2) Target assistance to businesses for whom lack of information is

an impediment to source reduction.

(3) Provide training in source reduction techniques.

In addition to this grant making authority, the Act authorizes EPA

to establish a national source reduction clearinghouse, expands EPA's

authority to collect data to better track source reduction activities,

and requires EPA to report periodically to Congress on EPA's progress

in implementing the Act.

II. Availability of FY 94 Funds

With this publication, EPA is announcing the availability of

approximately $6 million in grant/cooperative agreement funds for FY

1994. The Agency has delegated grant authority to the EPA Regional

offices which formally transfers the decisionmaking and awarding

process for the PPIS grants to the Regions. Regional offices now assume

responsibility for the solicitation of interest, screening of

proposals, and the actual selection of awards. This sixth round of

awards represents a more direct and active Regional role in determining

FY '94 awardees. PPIS grant guidance will be developed separately by

each Regional program and will be provided to all applicants along with

any supplemental information the Regions may wish to provide.

Interested applicants should contact their Regional Pollution

Prevention Coordinator for more information.

III. Eligibility

In accordance with the Act, eligible applicants for purposes of

funding under this grant program include the 50 States, the District of

Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any

territory or possession of the United States, any agency or

instrumentality of a State including State universities and all

Federally-recognized Indian tribes. For convenience, the term ``State''

in this notice refers to all eligible applicants. Local governments,

private universities, private non-profit entities, private businesses,

and individuals are not eligible. These organizations excluded from

applying directly are encouraged to work with eligible applicants in

developing proposals that include them as participants in the projects.

EPA strongly encourages this type of cooperative arrangement.

1. The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance. The number

assigned to the PPIS program is 66.900. Organizations receiving

pollution prevention grant funds are required to match Federal funds by

at least 50 percent. For example, the Federal government will provide

half of the total allowable cost of the project, the State half of the

total allowable cost of the project. A grant request for $100,000 would

support a total allowable project cost of $200,000, with the State also

providing $100,000. State contributions may include dollars, in-kind

goods and services and/or third party contributions.

2. Eligible activities. In general, the purpose of the PPIS grant

program is to support the establishment and expansion of State-,

Regional-, Tribal-, or local-based multimedia pollution prevention

programs. EPA specifically seeks to build State pollution prevention

capabilities or to test, at the State level, innovative pollution

prevention approaches and methodologies. Funds awarded under the PPIS

grant program must be used to support pollution prevention programs

that address the transfer of potentially harmful pollutants across all

environmental media: Air, water, and land. Programs should reflect

comprehensive and coordinated pollution prevention planning and

implementation efforts State- or Region-wide and where approporiate,

seek to address State environmental equity issues. States might focus

on, for example:

a. Developing other multi-media pollution prevention activities,

including but not limited to: Providing direct technical assistance to

businesses; collecting and analyzing data to target outreach and

technical assistance opportunities; conducting outreach activities;

developing measures to determine progress in pollution prevention; and

identifying regulatory and non-regulatory barriers and incentives to

pollution prevention and developing plans to implement solutions, where

possible.

b. Institutionalizing multi-media pollution prevention as an

environmental management priority, establishing prevention goals,

developing strategies to meet those goals, and integrating the

pollution prevention ethic within both governmental and non-

governmental institutions of the State or region.

c. Initiating demonstration projects that test and support

innovative pollution prevention approaches and methodologies.

Proposals accepted for review under this program must qualify as

pollution prevention as defined by section 6603 of the Act. In May of

1992, EPA released a ``Statement of Definition'' as the formal

embodiment of the Agency's working definition of pollution prevention,

consistent with the Act. (See ``EPA Statement of Definition'' under

unit VI of this notice.)

3. Program management. Awards for FY 1994 funds will be managed

through the EPA Regional Offices.

4. Contact. Interested applicants are requested to contact the

appropriate EPA Regional Pollution Prevention Coordinator listed under

unit IV of this notice to obtain specific instructions and guidance for

submitting proposals. For general information on EPA's Pollution

Prevention Grant Program, contact: Lena Hann, Pollution Prevention

Division (7409), Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC 20460, (202) 260-2237.

IV. Regional Pollution Prevention Contacts

Mark Mahoney (PAS), US EPA Region 1, JFK Federal Bldg., Room 2203,

Boston, MA 02203, (617) 565-1155

Janet Sapadin (2-PM-PPIB), US EPA Region 2, 26 Federal Plaza, New York,

NY 10278, (212) 264-1925

Cathy Libertz (3ES43), US EPA Region 3, 841 Chestnut Bldg.,

Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 597-0765

Carol Monell, US EPA Region 4, 345 Courtland St., NE, Atlanta, GA

30365, (404) 347-7109

Cathy Allen, US EPA Region 5, 77 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-

3590, (312) 353-3387

Rob Lawrence (6M-PP), US EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Ave., 12th Floor,

Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75202, (214) 655-6580

Steve Wurtz, US EPA Region 7, 726 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101

(913) 551-7315

Sharon Riegel (8PM-SIPO), EPA Region 8, 999 18th St., Suite 500 Denver,

CO 80202-2405, (303) 293-1471

Hilary Lauer (H1B), US EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Ave., San Francisco,

CA 94105 (415), 744-2189

Robyn Meeker, US EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101,

(206) 553-8579

V. Media State Grants

Though the PPIS grant program is an instrumental component for

building and maintaining State pollution prevention programs, EPA is

seeking to further integrate pollution prevention into the Agency's

existing media-specific grant programs. To this end, States are

encouraged to access, where appropriate, media grant dollars to support

state pollution prevention activities. This new Agency policy provides

State programs with the opportunity to utilize grant funds,

traditionally targeted for end-of-pipe activities, to support source

reduction efforts. In November of 1992, in support of the Act and to

further integrate pollution prevention into the Agency's existing

regulatory programs, EPA released a Guidance for the Integration of

Pollution Prevention into Media State Grants. The Agency-wide pollution

prevention Guidance, beginning with the FY 1994 State grants cycle has

four goals:

1. Promoting pollution prevention in State programs supported

through Federal grants by establishing national principles to guide

workplans negotiated between Regional Offices and States.

2. Ensuring that grant requirements as interpreted by EPA/State

workplans are flexible enough to support innovative State pollution

prevention activities.

3. Establishing a simple accounting process to share information on

successful State projects, and identify statutory or other barriers to

funding State proposals.

4. Building sustained State capacity in pollution prevention to the

extent consistent with statutory grant requirements.

The new Guidance is designed to help integrate pollution prevention

into the Agency's activities as required by the Act. In other words, it

will now be possible, as a result of this guidance to use these

traditional media State grants to support pollution prevention

purposes. By emphasizing flexibility, the Guidance complements other

Agency efforts to build a productive environmental management system in

partnership with the States, and improve coordination with existing

State pollution prevention programs.

EPA's FY 1994 grant programs, in conjunction with the States,

should build on the Agency's many successful pollution prevention

efforts to explicitly promote pollution prevention in State workplans

(also called agreements). This Guidance will be incorporated into the

annual Agency Operating Guidance as well as program-specific Guidance

developed in conjunction with the State/EPA Operations Committee.

Program Guidance, intended to tailor the Agency-wide commitment to each

grant program, will be applied by EPA Regional offices and States in

the development of grant-assisted work. In general, the Guidance

applies to all of the Agency's media-specific State grant programs.

For further information, or for a copy of the Guidance, contact Tom

McCully, Acting Director, Pollution Prevention Policy Staff in the

Office of the Administrator, at (202) 260-8621, or Lena Hann, Pollution

Prevention Division, at (202) 260-2237.

VI. Definition of Pollution Prevention

EPA's ``Statement of Definition'' as defined in May of 1992

follows:

The following EPA ``Statement of Definition'' is a formal

embodiment of what has been the Agency's working definition of

pollution prevention, and is consistent with the Pollution

Prevention Act of 1990. It makes clear that prevention is our first

priority within an environmental management hierarchy that includes:

1) prevention, 2) recycling, 3) treatment, and 4) disposal or

release.

While it is subject to further refinement, this definition

should provide a common reference point for all of us. As you review

and apply the definition in your work, please keep the following

points in mind:

As always, whether the pollution prevention option is

selected in any given situation will depend on the requirements of

applicable law, the level of risk reduction that can be achieved,

and the cost-effectiveness of that option.

Accordingly, the hierarchy should be viewed as

establishing a set of preferences, rather than an absolute judgment

that prevention is always the most desirable option. The hierarchy

is applied to many different kinds of circumstances that will

require judgment calls.

Drawing an absolute line between prevention and

recycling can be difficult. ``Prevention'' includes what is commonly

called ``in-process recycling,'' but not ``out-of-process

recycling.'' Recycling conducted in an environmentally sound manner

shares many of the advantages of prevention, e.g. energy and

resource conservation, and reducing the need for end-of-pipe

treatment or waste containment.

As EPA looks at the ``big picture'' in setting strategic

directions for the decade ahead, it is clear that prevention is key

to solving the problems that all our media programs face, including

the increasing cost of treatment and cleanup. In the common-sense

words of Benjamin Franklin, ``an ounce of prevention is worth a

pound of cure.''

Please keep EPA's definition of pollution prevention in mind as

you perform your environmental work.

POLLUTION PREVENTION: EPA STATEMENT OF DEFINITION

(pursuant to the Pollution Prevention Act)

Under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, Congress established

a national policy that:

pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source

whenever feasible;

pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled

in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible;

pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should

be treated in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible; and

disposal or other release into the environment should

be employed only as a last resort and should be conducted in an

environmentally safe manner.

Pollution prevention means ``source reduction'', as defined

under the Pollution Prevention Act, and other practices that reduce

or eliminate the creation of pollutants through:

- increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy,

water or other resources, or

- protection of natural resources by conservation.

The Pollution Prevention Act defines ``source reduction'' to

mean any practice which:

- reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant or

contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the

environment (including fugitive emissions) prior to recycling,

treatment, or disposal; and

- reduces the hazards to public health and the environment

associated with the release of such substances, pollutants or

contaminants.

The term includes: equipment or technology modifications,

process or procedure modifications, reformulation or redesign of

products, substitution of raw materials, and improvements in

housekeeping, maintenance, training, or inventory control.

Under the Pollution Prevention Act, recycling, energy recovery,

treatment, and disposal are not included within the definition of

pollution prevention. Some practices commonly described as ``in

process recycling'' may qualify as pollution prevention. Recycling

that is conducted in an environmentally sound manner shares many of

the advantages of prevention -- it can reduce the need for treatment

or disposal, and conserve energy and resources.

Pollution prevention approaches can be applied to all pollution-

generating activity: including energy, agriculture, Federal,

consumer as well as industrial sectors. The impairment of wetlands,

ground water sources, and other critical resources constitutes

pollution, and prevention practices may be essential for preserving

these resources. These practices may include conservation techniques

and changes in management practices to prevent harm to sensitive

ecosystems. Pollution prevention does not include practices that

create new risks of concern.

In the agricultural sector, pollution prevention approaches

include:

- reducing the use of water and chemical inputs;

- adoption of less environmentally harmful pesticides or

cultivation of crop strains with natural resistance to pests; and

- protection of sensitive areas.

In the energy sector, pollution prevention can reduce

environmental damages from extraction, processing, transport and

combustion of fuels. Pollution prevention approaches include:

- increasing efficiency in energy use;

- substituting environmentally benign fuel sources; and

- design changes that reduce the demand for energy.

Dated: February 14, 1994.

Mark Greenwood,

Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

[FR Doc. 94-4048 Filed 2-22-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-F