Learn the Issues
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TRI Model
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) contains information about more than 650 toxic chemicals that are being used, manufactured, treated, transported, or released into the environment.
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Documents
Review the record collection of publicaly available documents for the Butte Area/Silver Bow Creek site.
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Will today’s presentation be made available?
Yes. The slide deck used for all FY25 Exchange Network Grants Information webinars will be available on EPA’s Exchange Network Grants website .
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How is operations & maintenance, which is a cost restriction under the EN Grant Program, defined?
See detailed explanation in EN Grants FAQs: Can you expand on the funding restriction around ‘operations and maintenance (O&M)’?
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How specific does an applicant need to be for supplies & equipment?
Applicants must itemize equipment and supplies down to the individual item level; you cannot include a bulk purchase for ‘office supplies’. If you are unsure of exact costs or items, applicants are asked to just do their best when compiling their proposed budget, based on the information available to them…
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If an applicant were to apply for a grant, can the work be done in phases?
As all EN assistance agreements are three years, per our standard period of performance, applicants should design their proposal with this three-year time frame in mind. Within these three years, applicants are welcome to build in a ‘phased approach’. Perhaps the first year and a half is requirements gathering and…
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If an applicant is awarded an EN grant this year, and later realizes the project is going to require a completely different component for the project to be successful (but this component was not in the original application), could we apply for a grant focused on that additional component the following year?
Applicants can definitely apply in consecutive years; however, work being proposed in a follow-on grant should not duplicate work carried out during the previous grants. Applicants applying for EN grants in consecutive years are often targeting projects areas (e.g., air, water, waste, etc.), separate and distinct from the original grant…
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If I apply for or receive an EN grants, is there a requirement to “share” data? If not, why is the program called the “Exchange Network”?
There is no requirement to share data. The program is built around a sharing of technology, ideas, and projects within communities doing similar work. EPA does encourage applicants to share data, as well as code or other project specifics, if they are interested, but there is no explicit requirement. Applicants…
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You mentioned the removal of the programmatic involvement criterion – can you explain further?
The programmatic involvement criterion was removed in FY25, as it was deemed no longer relevant to most submitted applications. EPA used to have this requirement for the applicant to demonstrate involvement from related media programs (air, water, waste, etc.) which ‘owned’ the environmental data that was being collected or managed…
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Under opportunity 3, can the Tribe purchase remote monitoring equipment for water quality monitoring of Streams?
Past projects have included the purchase of monitoring equipment. Please be sure to specify why the equipment is necessary for the successful completion of the project and how it directly supports accomplishment of project goals and outputs. Please note that EPA will review all proposed equipment and supply purchases carefully…
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Can a primary applicant partner with non-profit organizations and/or universities that do not have status as an instrumentality? Or do partners need to be eligible entities under the Exchange Network Grant Program and/or other state/Tribal governmental entities?
Yes, a primary applicant can partner with other eligible entities, nonprofit organizations, or an Interstate organization. This could also include a state or Tribal university, regardless of that university’s status as an instrumentality. The one express entity type restriction around partnerships is that EPA does not fund any projects in…
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Is contractual support capped at a percentage of the total grant?
No, there is no contractual cost cap. In fact, we commonly see projects that are 100% contractual. Ensure that you describe in your project narrative, budget narrative, and workplan how the proposed contractor support clearly supports the overall accomplishment of listed goals and outputs and meets business or administrative needs…
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Will the FY25 funding for the EN Grants program be similar to previous years or will it be reduced due to the ongoing Federal budget reductions? Is there a risk of the Exchange Network Grant Program being rescinded prior to the submission date?
To date, EPA is anticipating our standard budget, the $9.5 million within the program’s congressional appropriation, for the upcoming FY25 competition. EPA will communicate changes or other updates, as available.
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Can EPA provide clarification regarding reused components. What types of components does this include? EN components only? Or any project components?
EPA has a broad definition of IT Components, that has been expanded in recent years to include technology that wasn’t exclusively developed through EN projects or by participating EN partners. Below is the definition from the FY25 Exchange Network Grants Solicitation Notice: IT Component types include: Software; Web-Based Service(s); Cloud-Based…
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Our program has hit multiple snags throughout our application drafting process; is it possible to get an extension?
Unfortunately, due to our nature as a competitive grant program, we are unable to provide extensions for specific applicants. All applications must be submitted through grants.gov by the published due date in order to be considered eligible.
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Can a single non-profit submission that has support and or endorsements from state agencies and a Tribe submit an application? And would this submission compete with other Washington submitters?
Non-profits are not eligible entities in of themselves, so they cannot submit an application under our program (as the lead entity, anyways). Nonprofits can partner with an eligible entity, such as a state agency, a Tribe, a US territory, or an entity that has status as an instrumentality of a…
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In funding area 2 for Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) related activity, it looks like any electronic reporting expansions related to Drinking Water reporting can only be done as a partnership grant and not as an individual grant applicant. Is that correct?
In the FY25 EN Solicitation Notice (SN), all listed activities are restricted by applicant type. Potential project activities 1 ‘ implementing data systems to manage water systems to enable electronic reporting of Tribal water system data to CMDP or SDWIS State (via Lab-to-State) ’ and 2 ‘ improving data quality…
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EPA Helps NJ and NY Businesses and Municipalities Meet Environmental Goals
EPA News Release: EPA Helps NJ and NY Businesses and Municipalities Meet Environmental Goals
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CIMC - How to Link to the Map or Site Profiles
This page provides information on how to link to a particular view of the Cleanups in My Community map, or link to a particular cleanup profile from your web page.
