U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment (MS117), 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268

A -- RESEARCH ON METHODS FOR INTEGRATING ECONOMICS AND ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT SOL NCEA-CIN-04 DUE 042098 POC Donna Tucker, FAX No. (513) 569-7475 E-MAIL: Click here to e-mail EPA Contact, tucker.donna@epamail.epa.gov. Project Synopsis: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Cincinnati Office (NCEA-Cincinnati) seeks proposals for cooperative agreements to conduct research on the development of methods for integrating economic assessment and ecological risk assessment. Proposals should describe the ecological-economic research to be conducted in collaboration with an ongoing ecological risk assessment. The effort can be associated with an ongoing effort of the U.S. EPA or the proposal writer may choose to conduct the research with an ecological risk assessment being conducted outside of the U.S. EPA. The full "Request for Applications" (RFA) provides background information on several ecological risk assessments ongoing within U.S. EPA, including place-based assessments (such as for specific watersheds) and issue-based assessments (such as for ecological impacts of shrimp viruses). To the extent possible, the proposed ecological-economic analysis should share (and explore the economic implications of) the following characteristics of the ecological risk assessment: system boundaries; management goals agreed upon by stakeholders; anthropogenic stressors; causal relationships between sources, stressors and ecological endpoints; a wide array of ecosystem-related goods and services; available policy, regulation or management options. EPA expects to collaborate significantly in the research, to include meeting with stakeholders and identification of relevant management options to be analyzed; therefore proposals should clearly identify an EPA role as well as the role of the proposal writer and institution. The intent of this application process is to develop one or more three-year cooperative agreements where the principal purpose is to provide support and stimulation to further scientific understanding in this area of research. Through April 20, 1998, written requests only will be taken to obtain a detailed solicitation package. Proposals must be received by July 15, 1998 and submitted in accordance with the RFA. Proposals will be thoroughly reviewed and evaluated by guidelines as set forth in the RFA. Depending on funding availability, the awards are estimated to range from $100,000 to $300,000 total over three years. The U.S. EPA reserves the right not to make any awards from this RFA. Interested applicants must be eligible to receive federal assistance under the Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 104 (b)3. ONLY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, NONPROFIT RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, INDIVIDUALS, OR NONPROFIT RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE UNDER THIS ACT SHOULD SUBMIT APPLICATIONS. Proposals from other Federal Agencies are not solicited and will not be accepted. Interested parties may obtain a copy of Solicitation #NCEA-CIN-04 by contacting Donna Tucker, U.S. EPA, National Center for Environmental Assessment -- Cincinnati, MS-117, 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268, FAX 513-569-7475. (0076)

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