Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants

Appendix 5. Grants.gov Application Instructions for Brownfields

General Application Instructions

The electronic submission of your application must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov. For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on "Get Started," and then "Authorized Organization Representative (AOR)." Note that the registration process may take a week or longer to complete. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an AOR and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible.

To begin the application process for this grant program, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on "Apply for Grants." Then click on "Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions" to download the PureEdge viewer and obtain the application package (https://apply.grants.gov/forms_apps_idx.html). You may retrieve the application package by entering the Funding Opportunity Number, EPA-OSWER-OBCR-06-01, in the space provided. You may also be able to access the application package by clicking on the button at the bottom right side of the Find synopsis that says Apply for Grant Electronically.

Application Submission Deadline: Your organization's AOR must submit your complete application electronically to EPA through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) no later than 5:00 Eastern Time, December 14, 2005.

Please submit all of the application materials described below.

Application Materials

The following forms and documents are required under this announcement:

1. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)
2. Project Narrative Attachment Form (Work Plan)

The application package must include all of the following materials:

1. Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance
   Complete the form. There are no attachments. Please note that the organizational Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number must be included on the SF-424. Organizations may obtain a DUNS number at no cost by calling the toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711.

2. Project Narrative Attachment Form — Applicants must attach their cover letter and full proposal (see Section IV of proposal guidelines), the contents of which are described in the proposal guidelines.

Application Preparation and Submission Instructions

Documents 1 and 2 listed under Application Materials above should appear in the "Mandatory Documents" box on the Grants.gov Grant Application Package page.

For document 1 click on the appropriate form and then click "Open Form" below the box. The fields that must be completed will be highlighted in yellow. Optional fields and completed fields will be displayed in white. If you enter an invalid response or incomplete information in a field, you will receive an error message. When you have finished filling out each form, click "Save." When you return to the electronic Grant Application Package page, click on the form you just completed, and then click on the box that says, "Move Form to Submission List." This action will move the document over to the box that says, "Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission."

For document 2 you will need to attach electronic files. Prepare your project proposal using the format outlined and save the document to your computer as an MS Word or WordPerfect file. (U.S. EPA prefers to receive documents in MS Word, by documents prepared in WordPerfect will also be accepted.) When you are ready to attach your proposal to the application package, click on "Project Narrative Attachment Form," and open the form. Click "Add Mandatory Project Narrative File," and then attach your proposal (previously saved to your computer) using the browse window that appears. You may then click "View Mandatory Project Narrative File" to view it. Enter a brief descriptive title of your project in the space beside "Mandatory Project Narrative File Filename;" the filename should be no more than 40 characters long. If there are other attachments that you would like to submit to accompany your proposal, you may click "Add Optional Project Narrative File" and proceed as before. When you have finished attaching the necessary documents, click "Close Form." When you return to the "Grant Application Package" page, select the "Project Narrative Attachment Form" and click "Move Form to Submission List." The form should now appear in the box that says, "Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission."

Once you have finished filling out all of the forms/attachments and they appear in one of the "Completed Documents for Submission" boxes, click the "Save" button that appears at the top of the Web page. It is suggested that you save the document a second time, using a different name, since this will make it easier to submit an amended package later if necessary.

Once your application package has been completed and saved, send it to your AOR for submission to U.S. EPA through Grants.gov. Please advise your AOR to close all other software programs before attempting to submit the application package through Grants.gov.

In the "Application Filing Name" box, your AOR should enter your organization's name. The filing name should not exceed 40 characters. From the "Grant Application Package" page, your AOR may submit the application package by clicking the "Submit" button that appears at the top of the page. The AOR will then be asked to verify the agency and funding opportunity number for which the application package is being submitted. If problems are encountered during the submission process, the AOR should reboot his/her computer before trying to submit the application package again. [It may be necessary to turn off the computer (not just restart it) before attempting to submit the package again.] If the AOR continues to experience submission problems, he/she may contact Grants.gov for assistance by phone at 1-800-518-4726 or email at support@grants.gov.