NOTE: This version of the solicitation is posted for informational purposes only on the Office of Science Grants and Contracts Web Site. The full and official version of the solicitation is posted on Grants.gov and may be found by searching for the Funding Opportunity (Notice) Number listed above.

The Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby announces interest in receiving applications for research grants in the Environmental Remediation Sciences Program (ERSP). The Environmental Remediation Sciences Division (ERSD) within the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) is tasked with developing the fundamental scientific basis for understanding the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface. This task is guided by the ERSD long term performance measure to "provide (by 2015) sufficient scientific understanding such that DOE sites would be able to incorporate physical, chemical and biological processes into decision making for environmental remediation and long-term stewardship." In order to meet this measure the ERSD funds basic research to investigate the key processes affecting the mobility of subsurface contaminants found at DOE sites. The goal of this solicitation is to support innovative, fundamental research investigating the coupled physical, chemical, and biological processes affecting the transport of subsurface contaminants at DOE sites. Applications should address hypothesis-driven research to define and/or understand the key physical, chemical, and biological processes influencing the form and mobility of DOE contaminants in the subsurface. Research projects should aim to provide the scientific basis for the development of new remediation concepts, or strategies for the long term stewardship of contaminated sites across the DOE complex. Applications should address the applicability of the proposed research to understanding DOE relevant, field-scale, contaminant transport processes. The environment of interest is the terrestrial subsurface including the vadose zone, the saturated zone and key groundwater-surface water interfaces. Phytoremediation and the study of organic contaminants are NOT addressed in this Notice. An outline of the general science needs of the ERSP is listed below.

It is anticipated that up to $6,000,000 will be available for approximately 20 awards to be made in Fiscal Year 2009, contingent on the availability of appropriated funds. For a Full Application (narrative limited to 20 pages) applicants may request project support for up to three years with annual budgets for single investigator projects not to exceed $250,000/year total costs. Annual budgets for multi investigator projects may not exceed $450,000/year total costs. For an Exploratory Application (narrative limited to 10 pages), applicants may request project support for up to two years with a total budget of up to $150,000. Applications should specify whether the application is a Full Application or an Exploratory Application.

PREAPPLICATIONS

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a brief preapplication, referencing Program Solicitation DE-PS02-08ER08-09 for receipt by DOE by 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time, January 22, 2008. Preapplications are limited to three pages total, including a prescribed cover page. The cover page should include: the project title, the Lead PI's name and complete contact information, whether a Full or Exploratory application is anticipated, and a table listing the Lead PI and institution and all funded Co-PIs, their institutions and the amount of funding requested for each year for the project for each funded investigator. The template for the required cover page should be downloaded from http://www.lbl.gov/ERSP/generalinfo/proposalcalls.html. Preapplications should be sent individually as a single PDF file attachment via email to: Kim.Laing@science.doe.gov. The subject line of the email must state: "Preapplication DE-PS02-08ER08-09 - [Full or Exploratory]". Preapplications must be received by DOE by 4:30 PM, Eastern Time, January 22, 2008. No FAX or mail submission of preapplications will be accepted.

Preapplications will be reviewed for conformance with the guidelines presented in this Solicitation and suitability in the technical areas specified in this Solicitation. A response to the preapplications encouraging or discouraging formal applications will be communicated to the applicants by February 13, 2008. Applicants who have not received a response regarding the status of their preapplication by this date are responsible for contacting the program office to confirm the status of their preapplications.

Preapplications should describe the research objectives, the technical approach(s), and the proposed team members and their expertise. The intent in requesting a preapplication is to save the time and effort of applicants in preparing and submitting a formal project application that may be inappropriate for the program. Preapplications will be reviewed relative to the scope and research needs as outlined in this solicitation and outlined in the ERSP strategic plan (at http://www.science.doe.gov/ober/ERSD_top.html). Biographical data are not required for preapplications, nor is an institutional endorsement necessary.

APPLICATION DUE DATE: March 26, 2008, 8:00 pm, Eastern Time.

Applications must be submitted using Grants.gov, the Funding Opportunity Announcement can be found using the CFDA Number, 81.049 or the Funding Opportunity Announcement number, DE-PS02-08ER08-09. Applicants must follow the instructions and use the forms provided on Grants.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For further information regarding this notice,

Contact: Dr. Michael Kuperberg
Telephone: (301) 903-4902
E-mail: Michael.Kuperberg@science.doe.gov

The Department of Energy oversees some of the largest environmental cleanup operations in the world. Cold War Era processing of uranium for nuclear power and weapons has left an enduring legacy of over 6 billion cubic meters of contaminated soil and groundwater. Innovative solutions, based on scientific understanding of subsurface processes, are needed to remediate, manage and monitor the various contaminated sites found across the DOE complex (NRC, 2000). The cleanup of contaminated sites across the DOE complex presents an enormous technical, scientific and financial challenge for the Department of Energy and the nation as a whole. While technologies exist for dismantling and decommissioning surface structures such as contaminated buildings, contaminants that have entered the subsurface are exceptionally difficult to clean up. This is particularly true for those contaminants that are spread over wide areas and whose potent toxicity and persistence require removal to very low levels. Radionuclides, which are products of nuclear fuel and weapons manufacturing, are of particular concern to DOE cleanup operations at DOE sites in addition to heavy metals and non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). This solicitation targets a subset of these contaminants listed below under the Contaminants of Concern section of the solicitation. At this time, we are NOT soliciting research projects that focus on non- aqueous phase liquids (organic contaminants).

The projected performance of subsurface remediation techniques and long term stewardship strategies is often based on insufficient knowledge of the transport behavior of contaminants in the subsurface, across key groundwater-surface water interfaces and the mechanisms of contaminant transformation. As a result, predictions of long-term contaminant mobility often prove to be inaccurate and in situ cleanup strategies often do not meet performance expectations, exceeding both cost and time schedule estimates. At many sites, it is likely that subsurface contamination will remain long after surface remediation measures have been completed (DOE, 2001; NRC, 2000). It is therefore imperative that the DOE understand the factors that affect contaminant mobility and transformation within the subsurface and across key groundwater- surface water interfaces in order to devise new remediation and long-term monitoring strategies and to provide realistic assessments of the threat posed by subsurface contamination. These tasks will require significant advances in our understanding of the key factors controlling the mobility and fate of contaminants. Additionally, these tasks will require the development of innovative tools for detecting, monitoring, modeling and stabilizing contaminants in situ, as well as novel techniques for removing contaminants from the subsurface.

The ERSP portfolio maintains a diverse suite of projects ranging from molecular-scale science to field-scale investigations. The ultimate goal of the ERSP is to provide the DOE with field-scale descriptions of subsurface processes affecting contaminant transport or transformation. Of the major challenges that remain, one of the most important is the linking of molecular-scale processes to larger scale processes and ultimately, to processes occurring at the field-scale.

Projects funded within the ERSP should progress toward demonstrating the field relevance of processes or techniques under investigation. To promote this approach, the ERSP is soliciting integrative and/or multidisciplinary applications addressing the investigation of contaminants of greatest concern to the DOE. This is not meant to preclude single investigator projects of strong DOE environmental relevance.

The preceding discussion is based on the ERSP Strategic Plan which is available on the ERSD website at http://www.science.doe.gov/ober/ERSD_top.html.

Contaminants of Concern

Key contaminants (and their mixtures) of interest for this Notice are:

• Radionuclides: uranium, technetium-99, strontium-90, plutonium, cesium-137, iodine-129, and neptunium-237.
• Non-Radioactive Metals: chromium(VI) and mercury.
• Nitrate and complexing agents but only as co-contaminants with the listed radionuclides or non-radioactive metals.

A description of the nature and extent of contamination at the principal DOE sites is available at http://www.nap.edu/books/0309065496/html/index.html/. More detailed information is available in some cases from the major DOE sites: Hanford (http://www.hanford.gov, http://www.hanford.gov/cp/gpp/, http://www.hanford.gov/cp/gpp/science/sandt.cfm) Idaho National Laboratory ( http://www.inl.gov/subsurface/environmentalissues/vadosezone.shtml) Oak Ridge Reservation ( http://www.oro.doe.gov/external/Programs/EnvironmentalManagement/tabid/42/Default.aspx) and Savannah River Site (http://www.srs.gov/general/srs-home.html, http://www.srs.gov/general/programs/soil/extpage.html.

Research Applications: Full and Exploratory

Applications submitted in response to this announcement should address the basic Science Needs of the ERSP outlined below, and should address at least one of the contaminants of interest. Applications must identify whether the application is a Full Application or an Exploratory Application as defined below. Both single investigator projects and multi-investigator projects are encouraged. Multi-investigator projects are expected to integrate multiple disciplines into the project. All projects should clearly delineate an integrative, hypothesis-driven research approach and describe how the results of the research would ultimately improve understanding of processes affecting the mobility of contaminants at the field scale in the context of the DOE cleanup mission. A specific statement of the environmental relevance of the proposed research to the DOE will be an important component of successful applications.

Note that the Novel Measurement and Monitoring science element, which has been a separate element within previous ERSP solicitations, is now incorporated into the Science Needs described below. Applicants proposing to develop novel measurement and monitoring technologies should justify both the novelty and technical merit of the proposed sensing systems as well as explain the potential to improve the understanding of subsurface processes and the monitoring of contaminated sites.

The intent of the Exploratory Research program is to catalyze the study of new concepts, tools and approaches that could lead to breakthroughs in subsurface remediation science as well as to broaden the pool of researchers in the ERSP. Eligible areas include the ERSP science needs described below. Exploratory Research projects will have shorter duration and less funding than Full Projects. These projects are intended to provide opportunities to conduct preliminary research and to develop novel ideas for later, more substantial funding opportunities within the ERSP (i.e., Full Applications). Exploratory Research applications should address topics that could lead to breakthroughs in understanding and/or technology in one or more of the science areas in the program and align with the ERSP focus on processes occurring in the terrestrial subsurface including the vadose zone, the saturated zone and key groundwater-surface water interfaces. The contaminants of interest for this Notice are the same as those listed above in the Contaminants of Concern section.

Science Needs

The ERSP seeks to develop a fundamental and quantitative understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes affecting contaminant transport in the subsurface and at key groundwater-surface water interfaces at DOE sites. Critical to this objective is a better understanding of how these processes couple to affect contaminant mobility, reactivity and stability in subsurface environments

Understanding contaminant transport at the field scale is limited by our current, inadequate understanding of the physical, chemical and biological factors that control contaminant mobility. Methods to characterize subsurface structures and the physical, chemical and biological properties affecting contaminant transport over a wide range of scales are crucial to providing more realistic conceptual models of contaminant transport. Geophysical and hydrogeologic methods to measure important subsurface structural and/or transport parameters are of interest to the ERSP as well as methods to detect and track temporal geochemical and biogeochemical changes in subsurface environments. Of particular interest are novel methods or techniques that directly impact the development of conceptual and/or quantitative models of contaminant mobility.

Many chemical and geochemical factors affect the transport and transformation of contaminants found in subsurface environments. Often several competing processes occur simultaneously complicating an overall quantitative description of contaminant mobility. At many DOE sites, DOE-relevant contaminants are found under unusual conditions of pH, ionic strength and redox potential, and in unusual mixtures or mineral forms not previously described. Additionally, various in situ remediation techniques produce changes in local geochemical conditions in groundwater or vadose zone settings that directly influence contaminant mobility. The ERSP seeks to develop an understanding of the key chemical and geochemical interactions that have a quantitatively important effect on contaminant transport in subsurface environments and the tools to detect and measure these processes. This requires the identification and prioritization of the essential processes needed to predict the extent and rate of reactions affecting contaminant transport at DOE sites. Insight gained at the molecular scale should be used to interpret or predict processes occurring at larger scales and ultimately along groundwater flowpaths in the subsurface. Refinement of conceptual and computational models of contaminant transport based on new geochemical understanding of contaminant mobility and insight of processes at the microbe-mineral interface is also of interest.

Microorganisms detected in the subsurface can profoundly alter geochemical conditions along groundwater flowpaths. In addition to indirectly creating conditions hindering contaminant mobility, many microorganisms are known to directly biotransform contaminants to innocuous or immobile forms. This is the basis for several in situ bioremediation technologies and natural attenuation mechanisms and may also play a role in the effectiveness of some in situ barrier systems. However, the sustained manipulation of subsurface microbial communities to affect contaminant transport and/or degradation is still largely an empirical exercise. Likewise the microbially-mediated mechanisms of natural attenuation processes and potential microbial involvement in other more physical/chemical in situ remediation techniques remain poorly understood. Much remains to be learned about the identity and, more importantly, the functioning of subsurface microbial communities relevant to contaminant biotransformation processes. Of particular concern to the ERSP is a better understanding of how microbial growth and activity quantitatively relate to mineral and contaminant biotransformation and the tools to measure and monitor this activity in situ. This requires a mechanistic understanding of how microorganisms access/obtain essential nutrients, electron donors and electron acceptors in order to sustain activity. ERSP is particularly interested in the integration of genome-enabled science with environmental studies to provide a more quantitative understanding of microbial metabolism and how metabolism is influenced by environmental conditions found at DOE sites. Also, interactions among groups of active microorganisms need to be better understood in order to more fully explain competitive processes and shifts in community structure. Additional techniques are needed to evaluate the distribution of active microbial communities in heterogeneous subsurface environments as well as identification of novel mechanisms of microbially mediated contaminant transformation.

The emphasis of the ERSP is on an integrative understanding of the relationships among the physical, chemical and biological processes influencing the transport and/or remediation of contaminants at DOE sites. Applications submitted to the ERSP need not necessarily incorporate an investigation of all three processes for situations where contaminant transport is dominated unequally by one process or another, but should describe the rationale for the overall focus of the research. These science needs are inherently multidisciplinary but do not preclude single investigator projects of strong DOE environmental relevance. Coordination with an ERSP field project is encouraged where appropriate but not required. The contaminants of interest for this Notice are listed above in the Contaminants of Concern section.

The following is a list of example areas of interest for this Solicitation. This list is intended to illustrate, but not necessarily constrain research to these selected areas:

• Understanding the fundamental chemical nature of reactive mineral surfaces, the biologically induced chemical and redox gradients across mineral-water interfaces and interactions with DOE relevant subsurface contaminants.
• Advanced techniques to assess the form, stability and distribution of immobilized DOE relevant contaminants in subsurface sediments.
• Research to identify and quantify the dominant physical and chemical mechanisms leading to the immobilization and/or remobilization of DOE relevant contaminants within the subsurface.
• Scaling of geochemical reactions and gradients, important for understanding the fate and transport of DOE relevant contaminants in the subsurface, occurring at the molecular, mineral surface and pore levels to larger scales.
• Techniques to quantitatively identify and quantitate active members of subsurface microbial communities and relate growth and activity to rates of biogeochemical reactions.
• Methods to quantify rates of contaminant biotransformation by active subsurface microbial communities.
• Understanding the hydrogeological and biogeochemical factors that govern the distribution and functioning of subsurface microbial communities.
• High(er) resolution geophysical techniques for evaluating subsurface structure, groundwater flow paths and contaminant transport.
• Novel, field-readable techniques for contaminant detection, speciation and quantification.
• New techniques for determining the presence and rates of key biogeochemical activities of subsurface microorganisms affecting contaminant transport.
• Sensors for evaluating redox, chemical gradients and, mineral or contamination speciation at crucial biogeochemical interfaces.
• Quantitative techniques to measure the distribution and contaminant sorption characteristics of minerals in natural materials
• Improving the understanding of the metabolic potential and physiology of subsurface microorganisms catalyzing contaminant transformation and/or the transformation of subsurface materials in situ.

ERSD strongly encourages investigators to familiarize themselves with the resources and potential partnering opportunities provided by ERSD. Leveraging of these resources is strongly encouraged. ERSD funds basic research on subsurface contaminant transport and remediation processes ranging from molecular scale processes to field scale processes via a unique set of program resources and partnering. Beginning in FY 2007, ERSP initiated three large multidisciplinary field scale research projects at three different sites. The Integrated Field-Scale Subsurface Research Challenges (IFCs) at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Rifle, Colorado represent a new format for directed research that continues ongoing subsurface science at these sites. The IFC at the Hanford site, Washington provides a framework for a focused, integrated research effort at the Hanford 300 Area. In addition, ERSD supports a project at the Hanford 100H area to perform field investigations to assess the potential for immobilizing and detoxifying chromium contaminated soils and groundwater using bioremediation. These sites are an important component of ERSP-funded research enabling the testing of laboratory-derived hypotheses under natural conditions at the field scale. The sites also provide ERSP investigators with opportunities to obtain samples of environmental media for experimental purposes or opportunities to conduct short-term field experiments. Proposers interested in utilizing these resources must contact the respective Lead Scientist and must include a letter of support in the full application. Programmatic and contact information for these projects can found at: http://www.lbl.gov/ERSP/generalinfo/field_scale.html.

Programmatic resources also include the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory (EMSL, http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/) located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. EMSL is a National Scientific User Facility that supports an array of integrative experimental and computational science resources that are made available to the scientific community. Investigators are strongly encouraged to consider EMSL capabilities in developing applications.

ERSD jointly funds several Environmental Molecular Science Institutes (EMSIs) with the National Science Foundation (NSF). ERSD supported EMSIs are located at Stanford University and Penn State University and are focusing on the fundamental nature of chemical and biological processes occurring at important environmental interfaces ( http://pangea.stanford.edu/research/emsi/index.html) and the kinetics and scaling of biogeochemical processes (http://www.ceka.psu.edu/). ERSD also provides support for experimental work at the national synchrotron light sources (see Availability of User Facilities and Other Specialized Resources below).

Biological processes profoundly influence contaminant transport at a variety of scales in the subsurface. ERSD maintains a close relationship with the Genomics:GTL program (http://genomicsgtl.energy.gov) and the microbial genome sequencing efforts at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI, http://www.jgi.doe.gov/) in order to take advantage of revolutionary genome-enabled and systems biology techniques that promise a more mechanistic understanding of subsurface microbial metabolism affecting contaminant transport.

DOE's substantial computational resources are now being applied to simulations of subsurface reactive transport through ERSD's participation in the SciDAC (Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing, http://www.osti.gov/scidac/) program. The SciDAC program funds computationally intensive research on fundamental science questions using some of the world's most powerful computers.

Collaboration and Training

Multi-disciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations are strongly encouraged to enhance and strengthen research capabilities as needed. Collaboration could include institutions such as universities, industry, non-profit organizations, federal laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), including the DOE National Laboratories. All collaborative applications should include letters of agreement from included collaborators. These letters should specify the contributions the collaborators intend to make if the application is accepted and funded. Applications for multi-investigator projects should present a management structure for integrating collaborating investigators. Involvement of students and post doctoral scientists is encouraged. Refer to http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/Colab.html for details.

Availability of User Facilities and Other Specialized Resources

The Department of Energy has responsibility for programs and facilities that offer unique and complementary resources that support research in environmental remediation sciences. Potential applicants are encouraged to consider use of these programs/facilities in development of applications.

• The Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory (EMSL) at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov), is sponsored by ERSD as a National Scientific User Facility with state-of-the-art instrumentation in environmental spectroscopy (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/capabs/esbf.shtml), high field magnetic resonance spectroscopy (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/capabs/hfmrf.shtml), high performance mass spectrometry (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/capabs/hpmsf.shtml), high resolution electron microscopy (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/capabs/insf.shtml), and high performance computing (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/capabs/mscf.shtml).

  The EMSL's high performance supercomputer is available for computational research in the physical, chemical and biological sciences, including geochemistry, groundwater flow and transport simulations, molecular thermodynamics and kinetics, heavy element chemistry, geochemistry, and surface chemistry (http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/capabs/mscf.shtml). The EMSL supercomputer is currently being upgraded and, by September 2008, should be greatly enhanced, providing up to ten times greater peak processing capabilities. Remote and on-site access to the system and associated software, and visualization and data storage capabilities are available through a separate application and external peer review process.

  DOE also provides compute cycles to the scientific user community at other high performance computing centers, including the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (http://www.nersc.gov), and the National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (http://nccs.gov/).

• ERSD provides user support for experiments at synchrotron light sources that are capable of providing structural and chemical information often unavailable with conventional instrumentation. DOE laboratories with synchrotrons supporting ERSD research and points of contact include: Argonne National Laboratory (http://www.aps.anl.gov/index.html), contact Ken Kemner (kemner@anl.gov); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ( http://esd.lbl.gov/als_environmental_program/), contact Susan Hubbard (sshubbard@lbl.gov); and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory ( http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/mes/remedi/index.html), contact John Bargar, (bargar@slac.stanford.edu). Use of the synchrotron light sources requires a separate approval process.

National Research Council, 2000. Research Needs in Subsurface Science, U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Management Science Program. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. http://www.nap.edu/browse.html

Department of Energy, 2001. A Report to Congress on Long-Term Stewardship. Office of Environmental Management. Washington, DC. http://www.lm.doe.gov/documents/3_pro_doc/lts_study/rpt_to_congress_vol_I.pdf

Davis, J.A.; S.B. Yabusaki; C.I. Steefel; J.M. Zachara; G.P. Curtis; G.D. Redden; L.J. Criscenti; B.D. Honeyman 2004. Assessing Conceptual Models for Subsurface Reactive Transport of Inorganic Contaminants EOS 85, 449-455. http://www.iscmem.org/Documents/Publication_Davis2004Eos.pdf

Department of Energy, 2006. EMSL Strategic Plan 2006. Prepared for DOE under contract DE- AC06-76RL01830 by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL-15578), http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/docs/strategic_plan_01_06.pdf.

Department of Energy, 2007. Basic Research Needs for Geosciences: Facilitating 21st Century Energy Systems. DOE Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Washington, DC, 186p. http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/reports/files/GEO_rpt.pdf

Relevance to Mission

A key consideration in the evaluation of research applications will be applicability to the Environmental Remediation Sciences Division (ERSD) mission to support basic science that underpins environmental remediation and long term stewardship of DOE sites. Applicants will need to identify specific areas of scientific need and make a strong case for the value of the proposed research in helping to resolve those needs. The application should explain how resolution of these needs could improve capabilities in site stewardship and/or understanding/controlling subsurface contaminant fate and transport. Therefore, all applications submitted in response to this Notice must explicitly state how the proposed research will support the accomplishment of the BER Long Term Measure to "provide (by 2015) sufficient scientific understanding such that DOE sites would be able to incorporate physical, chemical and biological processes into decision making for environmental remediation and long-term stewardship." DOE also will consider, as part of the evaluation, program policy factors including balance among the program areas and research already in progress.

Other Special Requirements:

Only the Lead Institution and PI need submit an application to this Notice at this time but the submission must include all budgetary information for all funded Co-PIs. The application narrative should begin with a cover page that includes: the project title, the Lead PI's name and complete contact information, whether the application is for a Full or Exploratory project, and a table listing the Lead PI and institution and all funded Co-PIs, their institutions and the amount of funding requested for each year for the project for each funded investigator. The template for the required cover page should be downloaded from http://www.lbl.gov/ERSP/generalinfo/proposalcalls.html. Additionally, submitting (lead) PIs should include the entire submission package (application, budgets for all funded PIs, certification forms, etc.) in one pdf document as an attachment within the Grants.gov submission system.

The one-page Project Summary/Abstract should be a self-contained document that identifies the name of the applicant, the project director/principal investigator(s), the project title, the objectives of the project, the hypotheses to be tested, the proposed experimental design, the names of all investigators and their affiliations, and the potential impact of the project (i.e., benefits, outcomes). The abstract does not count toward the narrative page limits.

Attachments should include short (2 pages) curriculum vitae, a listing of all current and pending federal support and Letters of Intent for proposed collaborators, including use of IFC sites or samples (when applicable). These attachments do not count toward the narrative page limits.

Grantees must comply with federal and state laws and regulations as appropriate. Although compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the responsibility of DOE, grantees proposing to conduct field-related research should expect to provide information necessary for the DOE to complete the NEPA review and documentation.

Program Funding

It is anticipated that up to $6,000,000 will be available for approximately 20 awards to be made in Fiscal Year 2009, contingent on the availability of appropriated funds. Funds for this research will come from the Environmental Remediation Sciences Program. DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs associated with preparation or submission of applications. DOE reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the applications submitted in response to this Notice.

For a Full Application (narrative limited to 20 pages), applicants may request project support up to three years, with year 2 and 3 support contingent on the availability of funds, progress of the research and programmatic needs. Annual budgets for single investigator projects may not exceed $250,000/year total costs. Annual budgets for multi investigator projects may not exceed $450,000/year total costs.

For an Exploratory Application (narrative limited to 10 pages), applicants may request project support for up to two years with a total budget of up to $150,000.

Applications that are not compliant with either the page or budget limitations described above may be declined administratively without review.

All Lead PI's are required to attend an annual ERSD PI meeting (generally a four-day meeting held in the Washington DC area). Travel funds should be budgeted to allow at least the lead PI to attend this meeting.

Posted on the Office of Science Grants and Contracts Web Site
December 19, 2007.