To provide financial support to Water Resources Research
Institutes located at designated State universities in each of the 50 States,
Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Federated
States of Micronesia for research, information transfer and student training
on one or more aspects of priority water problems.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Formula Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
To provide the State institutes with funds to support a
State and regional program of water resources research and information
transfer. This may include basic or applied research, setting up conferences
to discuss research needs or results, conduct of research, information
dissemination, and training of students as a byproduct of research. In general
the funds are used to study regional, State, or local water problems, but the
results may often have national significance. Federal funds cannot be used for
formal instructional activities and general education, and the cost of
permanent buildings, either directly or indirectly.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: One
University Water Research Institute is authorized in each State and other
jurisdictions specified in Section 104. Other colleges and universities within
a State are encouraged to participate in the program in cooperation with the
designated institute.
Beneficiary Eligibility:
Researchers at qualified universities and colleges in the State through the
designated institute for the State.
Credentials/Documentation:
Proposed Research and Information Transfer Program application responsive to
instructions issued by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Pre-application Coordination:
Requires each Institute to collaborate with State interests in defining
research priorities and to coordinate with other institutes in region to avoid
duplication of effort. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.
12372.
Application Procedure: This
program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-110, or its
successor, and the Department of the Interior regulations at 43 CFR Part 401,
Subpart C. State institutes must submit proposed annual programs on the
Internet at http://www.niwr.org/NIWR, as required by the individual program
announcement.
Award Procedure: Geological
Survey approves or rejects, in part or as a whole, the program submitted by
each State institute. The State institutes are notified of any amendments
necessary to obtain Geological Survey approval.
Deadlines: For fiscal year
2002, applications under the formula grant portion must be filed on the
Internet at http://www.niwr.org/NIWR not later than January 15, 2002.
Applications under the competitive grant portion of the program must be filed
on the Internet at http://www.niwr.org/NIWR/ not later than March 15, 2002.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:
90 days.
Appeals: Deficiencies noted
by the U.S. Geological Survey can normally be corrected by the State
institutes.
Renewals: Not Applicable.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements:
Amount to each State Water Research Institute under the formula grant is on a
basis of one Federal share to not less than two nonfederal shares for fiscal
year 2002. Competitive matching grants are on the basis of one federal share
to not less than one nonfederal share for fiscal year 2002. Of the total,
$4.75 million will be awarded on a noncompetitive basis under an existing
formula grant portion of the program. The remaining $1.0 million will be
awarded on a competitive basis.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:
Assistance is on fiscal year basis. Payments are advanced at least quarterly
upon application and consistent with Financial Plan submitted previously by
institute for use of grant.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: Each State institute
makes a final report on accomplishments with grant, including synopses of
research projects.
Audits: Applicants agree to
give the sponsoring agency, the Comptroller General or other authorized audit
agency access to and the right to examine records related to the award. Awards
to educational institutions and nonprofit organizations are subject to the
audit requirements of OMB Circular No. A-110, or superseding regulations. In
accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24,
1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit
Organizations", nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of
$300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program- specific
audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than
$300,000 or more in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements
for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.
Records: Directors of the
State institutes are responsible for conduct of programs and maintaining books
and records reflecting financial and technical transactions of the program.
Records shall be retained and made available for audit for three years after
allottee's last disbursement of funds.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification:
14-0804-0-1-300.
Obligations: (Grants) FY 01
$5,208,000; FY 02 est $5,748,000; and FY 03 est $0.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance: Between $75,320 and $283,780 for fiscal year 2001.
In fiscal years 2001 and 2002, 54 applications were
received and approved under the formula grant portion of the program. In
fiscal year 2001, approximately 80 applications were received under the
competitive grant portion of the program and 9 grants were awarded; it is
estimated that approximately the same number of applications will be received
and awards issued in fiscal year 2002.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Rule, 30 CFR Part 401, 50 FR 27203, June 7, 1993; U.S.
Geological Survey Request for Applications under the Water Resources Research
Institute Grant Program (Section 104), Announcement 01HQPA0010, October 2001,
and Competitive Grant Program (Section 104g) Announcement 02HQPA0006, November
2001, at http://www.niwr.org/NIWR/.
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local Office:
None.
Headquarters Office:
Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, MS 424 National Center, Reston,
VA 20192. Contact: John Schefter, Chief, Office of External Research.
Telephone: (703) 648- 6800. Fax: (703) 648-5070. Email: schefter@usgs.gov.
Web Site Address: http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Examples include: Incorporation of Salinity in
Evaluating Water Availability; Non-point Source Runoff and Water Quality in a
Rapidly Growing Urban Watershed; Impacts of Flow Regime on Ecosystem Processes
in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin; Effects of Grazing
Management on Sediment and Phosphorus Losses from Pastures; Phosphorus
Source/Sink Dynamics in a Flood- Irrigated Agricultural System; and Fecal
Coliform Concentrations in Runoff from Fields with Applied Dairy Manure.
Descriptions of projects funded recently are provided on the Internet at http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Relevance to announced priorities, technical merit,
prospect of attaining objectives in period specified and potential for student
training.
