COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING FOR PUBLIC ACCESS AND COMMUNITY TRACKING (EMPACT) GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Competitive Solicitation for Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) Grants To Local Governments WHAT: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a competition in Fiscal Year 1998 as part of a new program called Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT). As part of a new Presidential initiative, the ultimate goal of EMPACT is to provide public access to clearly-communicated, time-relevant (timely or real-time), useful, and accurate environmental monitoring data in an ongoing and sustainable manner in 86 of the larger U.S. metropolitan areas. Environmental monitoring consists of the systematic measurement, evaluation, and communication of physical, chemical, and biological information intended to give insight into environmental conditions. EMPACT seeks to assist the American public in day-to-day decision-making about their health and the environment. This application will lead to grant awards to establish pilot programs in a limited number of eligible cities. The pilot programs will emphasize active partnerships between local and state government, research institutions, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and the Federal Government to provide timely environmental information to the public. The city pilot projects will also emphasize the utilization of advanced and innovative technologies to monitor environmental conditions and to provide and communicate environmental information to citizens. It is essential that data and information derived from EMPACT monitoring activities be communicated to the general public using terminology and formats that are clearly understandable, relevant, and credible. WHO: Local governments, as defined by 40CFR Part 31.3, and located in one of the 86 EMPACT metropolitan areas in the U.S., are eligible to apply for this program (see attached definition of metropolitan area and list of 86 larger U.S. metropolitan areas). Tribal governments located within an EMPACT metropolitan area are also eligible to apply. The local government will be the grant awardee although the most successful applications will be developed in cooperation with a consortium of partners WHEN: January 21, 1998 -- Request for Applications Published in the Federal Register and posted on the National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance (NCERQA) Internet home page, http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa March 2, 1998 -- Deadline for Letters of Intent received by EPA by 4:00 p.m. EST May 15, 1998 -- applications must be received by 4:00 p. m. EST HOW: Proposals will be reviewed by external peer panels. Only the highest ranked proposals based on criteria spelled out in the solicitation will be further evaluated by EPA for final awards. HOW MUCH: Approximately $3.5 million will be made available for this competition, with a projected award range from $250,000 to a maximum of $600,000 over the total life of the project, and a total project duration of 12 to 24 months. FOR INFORMATION: The full solicitation may be found on the Internet at: http://es.epa.gov/ncerqa/grants/rfa/empact.html Dr. Barbara Karn, EPA Environmental Engineering Research Division -- karn.barbara@epamail.epa.gov voice (202) 564-6824 Dr. Denice Shaw, EPA Environmental Office of Research and Development shaw.denice@epamail.epa.gov voice (202) 260-4627 WEB: http://www.epa.gov.ncerqa, http://www.epa.gov.ncerqa. E-MAIL: not available, karn.barbara@epamail.epa.gov.

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