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State Innovation Grant Program, Notice of Availability of Solicitation for 2007 Awards

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

  [Federal Register: December 1, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 231)]
[Notices]
[Page 69563-69564]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01de06-72]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8250-4]

State Innovation Grant Program, Notice of Availability of
Solicitation for 2007 Awards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for
Environmental Innovation (NCEI) is giving notice of the availability of
its solicitation for pre-proposals for the 2007 ``State Innovation
Grant Program,'' an assistance agreement program to support innovation
by state environmental regulatory agencies.
    Only the principal environmental regulatory agency within each
state, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia (generally, where
delegated authorities for federal environmental regulations exist) is
eligible to receive funding under this solicitation.

DATES: Eligible agencies will have until January 18, 2007 to respond
with a pre-proposal, budget, and project narrative. Eligible agencies
from the fifty (50) states, four (4) U.S. territories, and Washington,
DC were notified of the solicitation's availability by e-mail and
transmittals on November 27 and November 28, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Copies of this solicitation can be downloaded from EPA's
State Innovation Grant Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/innovation/
stategrants/solicitation2007.pdf. Copies of this solicitation may
also be requested from the Agency by telephone ((202)-566-2186), by e-mail
(innovation_state_grants@epa.gov), or by mail (see below).
    Applicants are requested to apply electronically through 
http://www.grants.gov, as explained in Section IV of the solicitation.
Applicants must submit all information, as explained in Section IV of
the solicitation, with their application package. Questions concerning
the solicitation, and/or questions about responding to this notice may
be submitted in writing via:
    E-mail to: innovation_state_grants@epa.gov; Fax to: (202)
566-2220; or USPS mail to: State Innovation Grants Program, National
Center for Environmental Innovation, Office of the Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (MC 1807T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC 20460; or EPA will respond to all questions in
writing, and all questions and responses will be posted on the EPA
State Innovation Grant Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is soliciting pre-proposals for the ``State Innovation Grant
Program,'' an assistance agreement program, in an effort to support
innovation by state environmental regulatory agencies. In

[[Page 69564]]

April 2002, EPA issued its plan for future innovation efforts,
published as Innovating for Better Environmental Result: A Strategy to
Guide the Next Generation of Innovation at EPA (EPA 100-R-02-002;
http://www.epa.gov/innovation/pdf/strategy.pdf). This assistance
agreement program strengthens the EPA's partnership with the states by
assisting state innovation that supports EPA's Strategy. EPA would like
to help states build on previous experience and undertake strategic
innovation projects that promote larger-scale models for ``next
generation'' environmental protection and that promise better
environmental results. EPA is interested in funding projects that: (1)
Go beyond a single facility experiment to promote change that is
``systems-oriented,'' (2) provide better results from a program,
process, or sector-wide innovation, and (3) promote integrated (multi-
media) environmental management with high potential for transfer to
other states, U.S. territories, and tribes.
    ``Innovation in Permitting'' is again the theme for the 2007 State
Innovation Grants solicitation. Under this theme, EPA is interested in
pre-proposals for projects that:
    ? Support the development of state Environmental Results
Programs (ERPs);
    ? Involve the application of Environmental Management
Systems (EMS), including those that explore the relationship of EMS to
permitting or otherwise promote the use of EMS to improve environmental
performance beyond permit requirements (see EPA's Strategy for
Determining the Role of EMS in Regulatory Programs at http://www.epa.gov/ems
or http://www.epa.gov/ems/docs/EMS_and_the_Reg_Structure_41204F.pdf); or
    ? Implement National Environmental Performance Track
Programs, or similar state performance-based environmental leadership
programs, particularly including the development and implementation of
incentives.
    EPA interprets ``innovation in permitting'' broadly to include
permitting programs, pesticide licensing programs, and other
alternatives or supplements to permitting programs. EPA is interested
in creative approaches for both: (1) Achieving mandatory federal and
state standards; and (2) encouraging performance and addressing
environmental issues above and beyond minimum requirements.
    This solicitation begins the fifth State Innovation Grant
competition. Of State Innovation Grant Program awards made in prior
rounds under the theme of ``Innovation in Permitting'' (including those
with pending awards): Fifteen (15) were provided for development of
Environmental Results Programs, seven (7) were related to Environmental
Management Systems and permitting, five (5) were to enhance
Performance-Based Environmental Leadership programs, two (2) were for
Watershed-based permitting, and one (1) was for an information
technology innovation for the application of Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) and a web-based portal to a permitting process. For more
information on the prior State Innovation Grant Program solicitations
and awards, please see the ``Highlights of Previous Awards'' attachment
to this solicitation, or see the EPA State Innovation Grants Web site
at http://www.epa.gov/innovation/stategrants.

    Dated: October 30, 2006.
Elizabeth Shaw,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy Innovation.
[FR Doc. E6-20351 Filed 11-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 

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