National Center for Environmental Economics

These FAQs apply only to competitions sponsored by EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE). This page will be updated as we receive questions regarding grants. We are not able to answer a question if the answer involves individual advice to a potential applicant.

This page was most recently updated on Tuesday, October 21, 2008.

Q1. Are indirect (overhead) costs allowable costs to include in the budget of the application?

A1. Yes, indirect costs are allowable costs. For more detailed information on policies concerning the definition and treatment of indirect costs for assistance agreement awards, visit the Grants Management website of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/grants_circulars.html.

Q2. Where do I add details explaining the basis for the budget calculations of indicated sums?

A2. On the SF-424A form, applicants are directed to use box 23, "Remarks," to provide details on budget calculations (e.g., Travel: N trips, each at $X). The 'supplemental page(s)' referred to in Section IV(B)(3)of the solicitation will then be a part of your file for this form. Please be aware for applicants using the fill-and-save PDF version of SF-424A, box 23 will not automatically be resized to show all the details you are able to enter using the software. Should an applicant need to enter more than two lines of text in this box, the information will still be visible to reviewers reading the file, but materials contained after the first two lines will not appear when the document is printed. Therefore we ask applicants submitting text in excess of two lines in this box to please alert us by indicating this in the box (e.g., adding the phrase 'continued' in the first two lines of visible text). Applicants using the WordPerfect or Word versions of the forms will not experience this, as the boxes will automatically be resized to accommodate additional lines of text. The required justification of costs is to be included as part of the Project Description, Budget Justification and Evaluation Criteria Discussion" file described in Section IV(B)(2)of the announcement. The information contained in box 23 of SF-424A should only include material necessary to explain the basis for the budget calculations; NCEE will not consider any justification information located here in evaluating the adequacy of the proposer's budget.

Q3. Is cost sharing crucial?

A3. As the solicitation notes (Section III.B), there is no match or cost-sharing requirements. However, costs are a critical component of the evaluation criteria and thus cost-sharing, as it pertains to cost effectiveness, will be considered.

Q4. Can grant funds be used to pay travel expenses, including overseas travel?

A4. Travel expenses are a legitimate cost, and may be covered as noted in another question on costs (above). However, payments for federal government employees' travel is prohibited.

Q5. What happens if I submit an application after the 11:59pm EST on December 5, 2008 deadline?

A5. It will not be reviewed.

Q6. What happens if my proposal is longer than the specified page limit?

A6. We will only consider the pages up to and including the last allowable page.

Q7. How can I determine whether the subject matter addressed in my proposal is covered under the statutory authority the EPA is using to provide the means for funding of assistance agreements covered under this solicitation?

A7. The EPA is given authority in its authorizing statutes to issue assistance agreements in support of economic studies addressing a variety of environmental issues and conditions. The specific citations introduced in the solicitation can be found in the United States Code. Links to the four sections included in the solicitation are provided below.

Clean Air Act, as amended, Section 103 http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00007403----000-.html
Clean Water Act, as amended, Section 104 http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode33/usc_sec_33_00001254----000-.html
Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended, Section 8001. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00006981----000-.html
Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended, Section 1442 http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00000300---j001-.html
Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10, 15 U.S.C. 2609 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/2609.html
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20, 7 U.S.C. 136r http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/7/136r.html
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, Section 311, 42 U.S.C. 9660 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/9660.html

EPA funds may only be used for the purposes set forth in the award and must be consistent with the statutory authority for the award. The applicant is responsible for drawing a clear connection in the application between the subject matter of the research to be performed and the statutory authority given to EPA to address issues that concern this same subject matter. Once proposals are reviewed and final recommendations are prepared, EPA will confirm the statutory authority to be used to fund the projects and may require modifications to the project consistent with the applicable statute.

Q8. Will the indirect cost rate that is applicable to projects funded under this announcement be our institution’s standard negotiated indirect cost rate for federal grants and contracts, or another rate such as a lower indirect cost rate negotiated under alternative programs supporting issuance of cooperative agreements? If another rate is applicable, what is that rate, or how will it be determined?

A8. Current EPA policy is to forward indirect cost rate proposals to cost negotiators at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) who, through an interagency agreement, negotiate rates on behalf of EPA. The cost negotiators conduct the reviews, and negotiate rates with the recipients. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has an online database which posts rate agreements negotiated by various federal agencies. The weblink for this database is http://rates.psc.gov/fms/dca/new_search.html.

Negotiated agreements for indirect cost rates are generally good for a 12-month period. However, if a recipient submits data covering more than one 12-month period in their indirect cost rate proposal, and is requesting rates for the additional year(s), then the cost negotiators may establish a rate(s) for the additional 12-month period(s). A rate agreement may also cover less than a 12-month period.

No special documentation is required during the application phase; documentation is required only after the grant is awarded. At that point an EPA grant specialist is responsible for determining if the recipient has an approved indirect cost rate agreement. The EPA grant specialist can (1) ask the recipient to provide a copy of the current indirect cost rate agreement; or (2) check the above online database and other databases managed within the EPA to verify the existence of an agreement.

EPA will reimburse indirect costs if the recipient has a current approved indirect cost rate. The EPA grant specialist must verify that a current rate is in place. However, indirect costs that are listed in the recipient’s budget for a period not covered by the current negotiated rate agreement are not eligible for a full reimbursement; unless the recipient submits an indirect cost rate proposal to its cognizant federal agency (EPA, if applicable) for the period in which those costs were incurred.

Q9. Are other federal agencies and federally-funded research and development centers (FFRDC) eligible to participate in this solicitation?

A9. National laboratories funded by Federal Agencies (Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, “FFRDCs”) may not apply. FFRDC employees may cooperate or collaborate with eligible applicants within the limits imposed by applicable legislation and regulations. They may participate in planning, conducting, and analyzing the research directed by the applicant, but may not direct projects on behalf of the applicant organization. The institution, organization, or governance receiving the award may provide funds through its assistance agreement from the EPA to an FFRDC for research personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the research. However, salaries for permanent FFRDC employees may not be provided through this mechanism.

Federal Agencies may not apply. Federal employees are not eligible to serve in a principal leadership role on a assistance agreement, and may not receive salaries or augment their Agency’s appropriations in other ways through awards made under this program.

The applicant institution may enter into an agreement with a Federal Agency to purchase or utilize unique supplies or services unavailable in the private sector. Examples are purchase of satellite data, census data tapes, chemical reference standards, analyses, or use of instrumentation or other facilities not available elsewhere. A written justification for federal involvement must be included in the application. In addition, an appropriate form of assurance that documents the commitment, such as a letter of intent from the Federal Agency involved, should be included.

Q10. Does the applicant need to complete the information on the SF-424 form that asks for the "Federal Entity Identifier" and the "Federal Award Identifier"?

A10. No. Both of these fields can be left blank by applicants, whether filling out the form using grants.gov or using one of the other methods to file an application.

new question: posted October 21, 2008
Q11. Can I request advice on whether my proposal falls within the scope of the RFP? Can I request feedback on whether the EPA is interested in my proposal? Can you give me any suggestions on how to improve the proposal?

A11. No - in accordance with EPA's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy (EPA Order 5700.5A1), EPA staff will not meet with individual applicants to discuss draft proposals, provide informal comments on draft proposals, or provide advice to applicants on how to respond to ranking criteria. Applicants are responsible for the contents of their applications/proposals. Proposals will be reviewed in accordance with the criteria set out in Section V of the RFP and the scope of the requested proposals is described in Section II. EPA cannot provide further information on these areas.

However, consistent with the provisions in the announcement, EPA will respond to questions from individual applicants regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the proposal, and requests for clarification about the announcement.

The scope of research requested for both areas of the solicitation is intentionally broad in order to solicit creative and potentially groundbreaking research.