We are soliciting applications from eligible recipients for a four-year cooperative agreement to create a new Center of Excellence for Chemical Alternatives Assessment to promote chemical safety and informed chemical substitution. EPA expects to award up to approximately $800,000.

The center would establish and deploy expertise to identify and evaluate the safety and functionality of chemical alternatives for products and processes. It would provide information and assistance to state, local, and tribal government agencies, industry, and others about safer chemicals or processes. This will minimize unintended, adverse consequences when making chemical substitution decisions.

The cooperative agreement will be issued and managed through EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. The amount of grant funding released each year is dependent upon congressional appropriation and the quality of applications received.

Quick facts

• Eligibility: U.S. state and local governments, U.S. territories and possessions, federally recognized Indian tribal governments and intertribal consortia of federally recognized tribes, universities and colleges, and private and public nonprofit institutions.
• Review of proposals: Only eligible applicants with applications that meet the threshold criteria in Section III of the Request for Applications (RFA) will be reviewed based upon the evaluation criterion provided in Section V. 
• Amount of award: EPA anticipates awarding approximately $800,000 under this competitive announcement. EPA intends to make one award to a U. S. organization or group, and the award is expected to be in the range of $800,000, issued over a four-year funding period.

FY 2017 Center of Excellence for Chemical Alternatives Assessment Request for Applications. The application period will close on January, 17, 2017, 11:59 pm (EDT).

This notice is published under the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) 66.716.