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2006 Rocky Mountain Clean Diesel Collaborative Grant
Rocky Mountain Clean Diesel Collaborative
Announcement:A new tool to estimate emissions and emission reductions is available for use in the grant applications.
Questions and Answers
Also see October 26th questions and October 2nd questions belowMonday, November 20, 2006
Question 1:
Is this the first year that this RFP is being offered by EPA Region 8?
Answer 1:
Yes previous RFP have been national competitions. This RFP is restricted to projects in the Region 8 states (UT, CO, WY, MT, ND, SD)
Question 2:
I understand that applicants may request up to the $100,000 available - are smaller projects requesting less than $100,000 preferred over larger projects?
Answer 2:
EPA would prefer to fund several projects rather than award the entire $100,000 for one project.
Question 3:
Finally, is there any preference on how proposals are received (email, Grants.gov, or hard copy)?
Answer 3:
The format (email, grants.gov, hard copy) of the submitted proposal will not impact the evaluation score of the application. However, Grants.gov should be used if possible to improve the efficiency and consistency of EPA's grant process.
Question 4:
Is there a required match amount for engine or vehicle replacements?
Answer 4:
As noted in Section III, B, page 7, of the RFP there is no required match for this grant. However, as is also noted, the amount of any match that an applicant proposes is considered in the evaluation criteria. Therefore, a higher level of matching funds or in-kind value is beneficial in this grant competition.
Question 5:
If a project is considering vehicle or engine replacements what emissions limits or standards should the engine or vehicles meet?
Answer 5:
The engines and vehicles should be the cleanest available. For on-road trucks and buses the 2007 US EPA standards will be in effect on January 1, 2007 and any new engines or vehicles to be purchased for these projects should meet the new standards. The non-road engines and vehicles should also meet the latest standards. The standards and effective dates vary depending on horsepower, as seen in this summary.
Question 6:
Can the EPA funds be used to test the emissions of the vehicles or engines before and after the project is complete to verify the emissions reductions?
Answer 6:
The Clean School Bus USA and Clean Diesel grant funds now available from Region 8 can not be used for emission testing of the vehicles or engines. New engines and vehicles must be certified to meet the most current applicable standards and the retrofit equipment must be EPA or CARB verified. In a sense the emissions reductions are pre-certified.
Question 7:
Can the grant funds be used to fund engine pre-heaters, fuel fired cab heaters, auxiliary power units or other similar idle reduction equipment?
Answer 7:
Yes. While the heaters and APUs are not EPA or CARB verified, EPA supports the use of equipment to reduce unnecessary idling. This type of equipment will be funded on a limited, demonstration basis. Applicants should include details about the planned use and expected benefits of the equipment and how the use of the equipment will be ensured so that emissions reductions will be realized.
Question 8:
The Request for Applications says that projects should start the 1st or 2nd quarter of FY 2007?
Answer 8:
Funded projects must begin after EPA awards the grant, and completed within 24 months. It's likely that the grants will be awarded in March or April 2007
Question 9:
The sample budget in the RFP has many items that I don't understand and didn't plan on including in my budget do I have to include all the listed items in my budget?
Answer 9:
Just include the items that you need in you budget. The sample budget is intended to show the entire universe of possible budget items.
Question 10:
In our project we don't have any external partners, can I include internal partners for example from a different department or branch?
Answer 10:
Yes, include both internal and external partners to demonstrate the support for the completion of the project.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Announcement:
A new tool to estimate emissions and emission reductions is available for use in the grant applications.
Question 1:
Is this the first year that this RFP is being offered by EPA Region 8?
Answer 1:
Yes previous RFP have been national competitions. This RFP is restricted to projects in the Region 8 states (UT, CO, WY, MT, ND, SD)
Question 2:
I understand that applicants may request up to the $100,000 available - are smaller projects requesting less than $100,000 preferred over larger projects?
Answer 2:
EPA would prefer to fund several projects rather than award the entire $100,000 for one project.
Question 3:
Finally, is there any preference on how proposals are received (email, Grants.gov, or hard copy)?
Answer 3:
The format (email, grants.gov, hard copy) of the submitted proposal will not impact the evaluation score of the application. However, Grants.gov should be used if possible to improve the efficiency and consistency of EPA's grant process.
Question 4:
Is there a required match amount for engine or vehicle replacements?
Answer 4:
As noted in Section III, B, page 7, of the RFP there is no required match for this grant. However, as is also noted, the amount of any match that an applicant proposes is considered in the evaluation criteria. Therefore, a higher level of matching funds or in-kind value is beneficial in this grant competition.
Question 5:
If a project is considering vehicle or engine replacements what emissions limits or standards should the engine or vehicles meet?
Answer 5:
The engines and vehicles should be the cleanest available. For on-road trucks and buses the 2007 US EPA standards will be in effect on January 1, 2007 and any new engines or vehicles to be purchased for these projects should meet the new standards. The non-road engines and vehicles should also meet the latest standards. The standards and effective dates vary depending on horsepower, see a summary at http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/offroad.html.
Question 6:
Can the EPA funds be used to test the emissions of the vehicles or engines before and after the project is complete to verify the emissions reductions?
Answer 6:
The Clean School Bus USA and Clean Diesel grant funds now available from Region 8 can not be used for emission testing of the vehicles or engines. New engines and vehicles must be certified to meet the most current applicable standards and the retrofit equipment must be EPA or CARB verified. In a sense the emissions reductions are pre-certified.
Question 7:
Can the grant funds be used to fund engine pre-heaters, fuel fired cab heaters, auxiliary power units or other similar idle reduction equipment?
Answer 7:
Yes. While the heaters and APUs are not EPA or CARB verified, EPA supports the use of equipment to reduce unnecessary idling. This type of equipment will be funded on a limited, demonstration basis. Applicants should include details about the planned use and expected benefits of the equipment and how the use of the equipment will be ensured so that emissions reductions will be realized.
Question 8:
The Request for Applications says that projects should start the 1st or 2nd quarter of FY 2007?
Answer 8:
Funded projects must begin after EPA awards the grant, and completed within 24 months. It's likely that the grants will be awarded in March or April 2007
Question 1:
Is this the first year that this RFP is being offered by EPA Region 8?
Answer 1:
Yes previous RFP have been national competitions. This RFP is restricted to projects in the Region 8 states (UT, CO, WY, MT, ND, SD)
Question 2:
I understand that applicants may request up to the $100,000 available - are smaller projects requesting less than $100,000 preferred over larger projects?
Answer 2:
EPA would prefer to fund several projects rather than award the entire $100,000 for one project.
Question 3:
Finally, is there any preference on how proposals are received (email, Grants.gov, or hard copy)?
Answer 3:
The format (email, grants.gov, hard copy) of the submitted proposal will not impact the evaluation score of the application. However, Grants.gov should be used if possible to improve the efficiency and consistency of EPA's grant process.
Question 4:
Is there a required match amount for engine or vehicle replacements?
Answer 4:
As noted in Section III, B, page 7, of the RFP there is no required match for this grant. However, as is also noted, the amount of any match that an applicant proposes is considered in the evaluation criteria. Therefore, a higher level of matching funds or in-kind value is beneficial in this grant competition.
Question 5:
If a project is considering vehicle or engine replacements what emissions limits or standards should the engine or vehicles meet?
Answer 5:
The engines and vehicles should be the cleanest available. For on-road trucks and buses the 2007 US EPA standards will be in effect on January 1, 2007 and any new engines or vehicles to be purchased for these projects should meet the new standards. The non-road engines and vehicles should also meet the latest standards. The standards and effective dates vary depending on horsepower.
Question 6:
Can the EPA funds be used to test the emissions of the vehicles or engines before and after the project is complete to verify the emissions reductions?
Answer 6:
The Clean School Bus USA and Clean Diesel grant funds now available from Region 8 can not be used for emission testing of the vehicles or engines. New engines and vehicles must be certified to meet the most current applicable standards and the retrofit equipment must be EPA or CARB verified. In a sense the emissions reductions are pre-certified.
Question 7:
Can the grant funds be used to fund engine pre-heaters, fuel fired cab heaters, auxiliary power units or other similar idle reduction equipment?
Answer 7:
Yes. While the heaters and APUs are not EPA or CARB verified, EPA supports the use of equipment to reduce unnecessary idling. This type of equipment will be funded on a limited, demonstration basis. Applicants should include details about the planned use and expected benefits of the equipment and how the use of the equipment will be ensured so that emissions reductions will be realized.
