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State and Tribal Grant (STAG) Program
Frequently Asked Questions
EPA's Compliance and Enforcement program fund grants to states, tribes, inter-tribal consortia, territories and multi-jurisdictional organizations as a way of strengthening and building relationships with them, while helping to build their capacity to implement our nation's environmental laws and regulations.
These frequently asked questions provide further details on the STAG program. Please also look at the list of addistional questions that address general grant issues, as well as the PCS, AFS and tribal focus areas.
General Grant Program Questions
- Does an applicant have the option of determining a preferred assistance agreement (grant or cooperative agreement)?
- May an applicant apply for more than one focus area category? (e.g., PCS Modernization and Tribal Compliance Assurance).
- When are partial applications due?
- What is a partial application? Where can I find out about it?
- What if applicants have questions about the application process or focus areas?
- Who are Eligible Applicants?
- Are there reasons why an application would not be considered for review?
- Is there a list available of previous projects that received OECA STAG funding?
- Do forms need to be signed for partial applications?
- Can multiple states apply for a grant together?
- What types of allowable activities are covered under the OECA STAG Program? Specifically, what enforcement and compliance assurance activities are allowable? Confusion exists between allowable "capacity building" activities and non-allowable "direct implementation" activities. Can OECA provide a better distinction of what is allowable under this STAG Program?
- How about developing a compliance assistance tool? Is this an allowable activity?
- Please explain the review process.
- What are some examples of outcomes measures that could be used to show environmental results?
- Is this grant program part of the Environmental Exchange Network?
Tribal Compliance Assurance Focus Area Questions
- Is there a specific media emphasis for the training under the Tribal focus area?
- Would training for the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Program under RCRA and 40 CFR 112 be appropriate under this program?
PCS Modernization Focus Area Questions
- Can the PCS Modernization focus area cover the extract of data from ICIS-NPDES system for loading into state system data warehouses?
- Is it too early for a grant for PCS Modernization batch states?
- Concerning minor data load into ICIS, our state doesn’t have lat/long data for the minor facilities. Would obtaining lat/long data for minors via GPS fit within the PCS Modernization focus area under the grant?
- Have the Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) schemas been completed for ICIS-NPDES?
- We already have a grant for data migration under a previous year’s STAG program. May we apply for another grant?
- We might want to get involved with the EDMR effort. Can that be done?
- Are states not approved to implement the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) eligible to submit STAG grant proposals for the Permit Compliance System (PCS) Modernization focus area?
Additional Questions
Questions submitted during the FY2007 open announcement period
- Under the PCS Modernization focus area, does the STAG grant cover analysis and mapping from a state-hosted system to the final XML schemas for ICIS-NPDES?
- Are Alaskan Tribes that are not eligible for “Treatment in the Same Manner as State” (all but Metlakatla Indian Community) still eligible to apply for this funding opportunity?
- Do you know about how many awards will be made and will they be evenly distributed against all focus areas?
- Do you anticipate that most applicants that are invited to submit full applications will receive funding or do you plan to accept more applicants than you can fund?
- Can an applicant submit a proposal asking for supplemental funding for a project previously awarded and funded under a past Solicitation Notice?
- Can cities apply for grants under this STAG grant program?
- Can states and tribes that don’t use the AFS Universal Interface, but do use batch methods for data collection, apply for funding under the AFS focus area?
- Are inter-tribal consortia eligible for applying for grants?
General Grant Program Questions
1. Does an applicant have the option of determining a preferred assistance agreement (grant or cooperative agreement)?
Yes - grantees have the option of preparing their proposal as a grant (very little EPA coordination) or as a cooperative agreement (substantial EPA involvement). However, EPA will make the determination if an assistance agreement should be a grant or a cooperative agreement.
2. May an applicant apply for more than one focus area category? (e.g., PCS Modernization and Tribal Compliance Assurance)
Yes - however, applicants must submit a separate proposal and partial grant application for each focus area category
3. When are partial applications due?
All proposals and partial grant applications are due by July 8, 2008 (Midnight local time). All applications must be submitted through the EPA Grants Website.
4. What is a partial application? Where can I find out about it?
A partial grant application consists of the SF-424 (application for federal assistance) and the SF-424A (budget information).
These forms are available on the Grants Management Forms Web site
. These should be submitted with the proposals.
5. What if applicants have questions about the application process or focus areas?
Applicants may submit questions to Ginger Gotliffe, (gotliffe.ginger@epa.gov) June 10, 2008. Answers to all questions will be added to this FAQ file a few weeks after the questions have been submitted
6. Who are eligible applicants?
State agencies, U.S. territories, federally recognized Indian Tribes, the District of Columbia, Intertribal Consortia, state universities and multi-jurisdictional state organizations with enforcement and compliance assurance responsibilities or responsibilities that support enforcement and compliance assurance including but not limited to data management or research are eligible to apply for and receive funds. In addition, state universities with expertise in compliance assurance and enforcement issues are also eligible grant applicants
7. Are there reasons why an application would not be considered for review?
Yes, applications from: ineligible applicants, that do not address the specific focus areas announced in the solicitation notice, that were received after the closing date, or that did not follow the application instructions and format will not be eligible for reviewing using the evaluation criteria. (Section III of the Solicitation Notice). Applicants who fall into one of these categories will be notified within 15 days of their applications submission date.
8. Is there a list available of previous projects that received OECA STAG funding?
Yes, you may find a list and proposals of all funded OECA STAG projects on the List of Current Grants Web page which has information on grant selections from 1999- 2004. Additionally there are lists for the FY2005 and FY2006 awards.
9. Do forms need to be signed for partial applications?
Yes, both forms SF-424 and SF-424A need to be completely filled out and signed. The “partial” application refers to the fact that not all forms needed for a full application need to be submitted with the proposal. If a proposal is selected, then the applicant will need to complete the remaining forms to complete the application package.
10. Can multiple states apply for a grant together?
Yes, multiple states applying together would fall under the multi-jurisdictional State organizations category of eligible applicants.
11.
What types of allowable activities are covered under the OECA STAG Program? Specifically, what enforcement and compliance assurance activities are allowable? Confusion exists between allowable "capacity building" activities and non-allowable "direct implementation" activities. Can OECA provide a better distinction of what is allowable under this STAG Program?
These funds are designed for capacity building purposes and are not for direct implementation. EPA may only award funds for research, studies, investigations, demonstrations, training, and outreach. Also, EPA can fund planning but not the implementation of plans. Under the compliance assurance program this could include training and workshops, studies, surveys and statistical research. The solicitation notice will announce the specific focus areas and activities that will be considered each year. These focus area activities will be capacity building projects.
12. How about developing a compliance assistance tool? Is this an allowable activity?
Funding may cover the development of a new and unique compliance assistance tool. This is consistent with the capacity building concept of helping to improve capacity so that an entity will comply. However, development of these tools must be in response to the specific focus area explanation in the solicitation notice.
13. Please explain the review process.
All applications are initially reviewed for meeting the threshold requirements using the eligibility criteria (Section III) after which regional reviewers will conduct an initial relevancy review. Applications that successfully pass those reviews will then be evaluated on the evaluation criteria (Section V.A and B) by program experts familiar with the project funding areas. In general, program experts are composed of EPA Headquarters and Regional program analysts, environmental protection specialists, and computer analysts who are experts in their respective areas and proficient in the technical subjects they are reviewing. Each reviewer assigns a numeric score to each ranking criteria area These program experts will then convene as a consensus panel to finalize their evaluation and scoring and prepare a list of recommended projects based on the ranking of the final scores. These recommendations will be submitted to the Approving Official. The Approving Official will have the final authority to make the selection.
14. What are some examples of outcomes measures that could be used to show environmental results?
The solicitation notice provides examples of outcomes and outputs that each focus area should address. Applicants may develop measures for appropriate outcomes that their proposals will address.
15. Is this grant program part of the Environmental Exchange Network?
No, this is a separate grant program. The Environmental Information Exchange Network is run by EPA’s Office of Environmental Information, a separate Office in EPA. However, Section VIII of the solicitation notice asks States and tribes to use the Exchange Network to exchange data and information with each other and with EPA. This enhances the capacity building between states and tribes.
Tribal Compliance Assurance Focus Area Questions.
1. Is there a specific media emphasis for the training under the Tribal focus area?
Recipients should identify key areas where the training of tribal environmental professionals, including training for inspections, is appropriate and is needed. Some inspections where EPA authorization is currently in place, include the Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide, and Fungicide Act (FIFRA) or pesticide programs and the Clean Water Act. In addition, authorization of inspectors to conduct inspections on behalf of EPA is potentially available under other federal environmental laws, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Toxics Substance Control Act, and the Clean Air Act.
2. Would training for the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Program under RCRA and 40 CFR 112 be appropriate under this program?
Yes, this is an area where training of tribal environmental professionals may be appropriate. The Tribal Compliance Assistance Center and the Profile of Tribal Governmental Operations addresses the range of environmental regulations that are applicable to a wide array of operations undertaken by Federally-recognized Indian tribes.
PCS Modernization Focus Area Questions
1. Can the PCS Modernization focus area cover the extract of data from ICIS-NPDES system for loading into state system data warehouses?
The extract of data from ICIS-NPDES for loading into state system warehouses, was covered in the OEI FY2008 Network grant and should be covered in the FY2009 OEI Network grant. The OEI Network grant process for FY2009 will probably begin sometime in August 2008.
2. Is it too early for a grant for PCS Modernization batch states?
The focus areas for PCS Modernization (e.g., data clean-up) noted in the STAG grant solicitation apply to both direct user states and batch states. PCS data clean-up and PCS Modernization data migration and conversion, is a time consuming effort. The sooner states start their data clean-up of PCS to allow for data conversion and data migration to ICIS-NPDES, the better.
3. Concerning minor data load into ICIS, our state doesn’t have lat/long data for the minor facilities. Would obtaining lat/long data for minors via GPS fit within the PCS Modernization focus area under the grant?
Yes, it would fit under minor data clean-up as described in the solicitation.
4. Have the Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) schemas been completed for ICIS-NPDES?
The ICIS XML schema for reporting of Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) data to the system from ICIS-NPDES "hybrid" states have been completed and approved by the Exchange Network. The remaining ICIS-NPDES schema have been drafted but not completed. The EPA/State ICIS-NPDES Batch Integrated Project Team (IPT) will be supporting the development of the batch component of ICIS-NPDES. Contact Alison Kittle at 202-564-6233 to get the most recent version of the schemas.
5. We already have a grant for data migration under a previous year’s STAG program. May we apply for another grant?
You may apply for a grant under a different selection area defined in the solicitation notice. Please note however that the notice does have an additional selection factor in Section V.B. that takes into account whether the applicant has already received money under the STAG program
6. We might want to get involved with the EDMR effort. Can that be done?
There is an EDMR Network grant effort underway with the State of Texas as the lead state. The contact for the EDMR Network grant is Brandon Harris at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Brandon Harris can be contacted at BHARRIS@tceq.state.tx.us.
7. Are states not approved to implement the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) eligible to submit STAG grant proposals for the Permit Compliance System (PCS) Modernization focus area?
Yes - states that do not have approval for implementing the NPDES Program are still eligible to apply for grants in the PCS Modernization focus area. However, given that the focus area is the modernization of a system (PCS) they do not currently use, it is highly unlikely that a grant proposal from these states would meet the evaluation criteria for the PCS Modernization grant focus area.
Additional Questions
1. Under the PCS Modernization focus area, does the STAG grant cover analysis and mapping from a state-hosted system to the final XML schemas for ICIS-NPDES?
Analysis and mapping from a state-hosted system to the final XML schemas for ICIS-NPDES is covered under the OEI Network Grant program, not the Multi-media STAG grants program.
2. Are Alaskan Tribes that are not eligible for “Treatment in the Same Manner as State” (all but Metlakatla Indian Community) still eligible to apply for this funding opportunity?
Yes, all federally-recognized Indian tribes are eligible to apply for the grants, including tribes located in Alaska. “Treatment in the Same Manner as a State” is not relevant to this funding opportunity.
3. Do you know about how many awards will be made and will they be evenly distributed against all focus areas?
There is no way to determine ahead of time how many awards will be made. The number of selections made is dependent upon the number of proposals received, the quality of those proposals and the level of funding requested by the applicants. There is no way to determine how these will be distributed between the focus areas; it depends upon the quality of the proposals in each focus area.
4. Do you anticipate that most applicants that are invited to submit full applications will receive funding or do you plan to accept more applicants than you can fund?
We will not ask for full applications that would exceed the funding level for the solicitation. Historically most, but not all, applicants that have been invited to submit full applications have received funding.
5. Can an applicant submit a proposal asking for supplemental funding for a project previously awarded and funded under a past Solicitation Notice?
In response to a Solicitation Notice, applicants may submit proposals for 3-year projects and request funding to cover the entire 3-year project period. The projects subsequently selected under the Solicitation Notice are expected to be completed within the timeframe outlined in a recipient’s final workplan using the funds awarded. Future Solicitation Notices are not an opportunity to requests additional funds for previously awarded projects. The Agency is not committed to funding the same focus areas from year-to-year.
6. Can cities apply for grants under this STAG grant program?
No, the eligible applicants include states and tribes but not cities. Some of the focus areas involving training by states may provide training to cities within the states. Cities and municipalities are usually eligible for other grant programs such as those for water and wastewater projects. Please visit Water Funding and Grants for more information on those grants.
7. Can states and tribes that don’t use the AFS Universal Interface, but do use batch methods for data collection, apply for funding under the AFS focus area?
Yes, batch user states and tribes may propose to do feasibility studies/requirements analyses to support them in their consideration of options and pros/cons for the full utilization of the Universal Interface (UI). Proposals may also be submitted that cover studies on improvements to state’s system data and business flow processes to more easily report data to AFS. This includes technical assistance to support the feasibility study/requirements analysis for improving the flow of state and tribal MDR data and any additional environmental data to AFS. Applicants may also propose to do training and technical assistance on the UI to support customized reporting to AFS. All projects under this focus area involve doing studies and analysis or training. Actual implementation of the improvements cannot be performed using funding from this grant program.
8. Are inter-tribal consortia eligible for applying for grants?
Yes, inter-tribal consortia or multiple tribes working together may apply for grants under this STAG grant program.