Surveillance of Hazardous Substances Emergency Events; Notice of the Availability of Funds

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 39 (Monday, March 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9997-9999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4927]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[Program Announcement 99034]


Surveillance of Hazardous Substances Emergency Events; Notice of 
the Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 
announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 1999 funds for a 
cooperative agreement program to conduct surveillance of hazardous 
substances emergency events. This program addresses the ``Healthy 
People 2000'' priority area of Surveillance and Data Systems and 
Environmental Health.
    The primary purpose of this program is to assist state health 
departments in developing a state-based surveillance system for 
monitoring hazardous substances emergency events. This will allow the 
state health department to better understand the public health impact 
of hazardous substances emergencies through this added capacity.
    The objectives of the surveillance system are to:
    1. Describe the distribution of hazardous substances emergencies 
within individual states, as well as, nationally;
    2. Describe the type and cause of morbidity and mortality 
experienced by employees, first responders, and the general public as a 
result of selected hazardous substances emergencies;
    3. Analyze and describe risk factors associated with the morbidity 
and mortality; and
    4. Develop and propose strategies to reduce subsequent morbidity 
and mortality when comparable events occur in the future.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided only to the health departments of 
States or their bona fide agents, including the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the 
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 
the Republic of Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and 
federally-recognized Indian tribal governments. In consultation with 
States, assistance may be provided to political subdivisions of States.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $1,000,000 may be available in FY 1999 to fund 
approximately 14 new and/or competing continuation awards. It is 
expected that the average award will be $70,000, ranging from $60,000 
to $80,000. The awards are expected to begin on or about September 30, 
1999, and will be made for a 12-month budget period within a project 
period of up to five years. Funding estimates are subject to change.
    Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports 
and the availability of funds.

Use of Funds

    Funds may be expended for reasonable program purposes, such as 
personnel, travel, supplies, and services. Equipment may be purchased 
with cooperative agreement funds, however justification must be 
provided which should include a cost comparison of purchase versus 
lease options. All purchased equipment must be compatible with ATSDR 
equipment and shall be returned to ATSDR at the completion of the 
project.

Funding Priorities

    Priority will be given to the following:
    1. Geographic distribution across the entire United States.
    2. Representation from both agricultural and industrial areas.
    3. Areas reporting higher numbers of events. (It is expected that a 
surveillance system will cover an entire state unless justified by 
population and industry density.)
    4. Electronic data management/transfer capabilities, and in-kind 
technical support.

D. Program Requirements

    All Hazardous Substances Emergency Event Surveillance (HSEES) will 
be performed in accordance with the methodology described in the HSEES 
protocol provided. The protocol was developed to meet the objectives 
outlined under PURPOSE. A copy of the protocol is provided in the 
application kit.

Cooperative Activities

    To achieve the purpose of this program, the recipient shall be 
responsible for conducting activities under 1., below, and ATSDR will 
be responsible for conducting activities under 2., below:
    1. Recipient Activities
    a. Develop a mechanism that ensures that the state health 
department is notified of hazardous substance emergency events in a 
timely fashion. This should include negotiating formal or informal 
agreements with all State agencies that are normally notified when 
hazardous substances emergencies have occurred. These State agencies 
should include, but not be limited to, State police and fire 
departments, environmental agencies, and various offices of emergency 
government.
    b. Investigate the emergency event by gathering and entering the 
information obtained from all sources into the HSEES tracking system. 
Sources may include, but are not limited to, those agencies mentioned 
in 1a., and other relevant Federal, State, local, and private agencies 
in keeping with the surveillance protocol.
    c. Establish and maintain appropriate procedures to ensure the 
timely gathering and entering of the information into a database as 
prescribed by the HSEES protocol.
    d. Disseminate data to those who can use it for prevention 
activities.
    e. Participate in quality control and quality assurance activities.
    f. Evaluate the overall performance of recipient's adherence to the 
surveillance protocol.
2. ATSDR Activities
    a. Assist recipients in acquiring appropriate information for 
performance of HSEES and evaluating the completeness and quality of 
relevant information.
    b. Provide prototype information gathering instrument.
    c. Assist recipients in establishing and maintaining appropriate 
and timely schedules for the HSEES surveillance process.
    d. Assist recipients in selecting training that will be useful in 
maintaining the surveillance system.
    e. Evaluate the overall performance of recipient's adherence to the 
surveillance protocol.

E. Application Content

    Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the criteria 
listed (whether a new applicant or a competing continuation applicant) 
so it is important to follow them in laying out your program plan. The 
application pages must be clearly numbered, and a complete index to the 
application and its appendices must be included. A less than 200 word 
abstract of the proposed project should be supplied with the 
application. The original and two copies of the applications must be 
submitted unstapled and unbound. All material

[[Page 9998]]

must be typed single-spaced, with unreduced font on 8 1/2'' by 11'' 
paper, with at least 1'' margins, and printed on one side only.

F. Submission and Deadline

    Application
    Submit the original and two copies of PHS 5161-1 (OMB Number 0937-
0189). Forms are in the application kit.
    On or before May 14, 1999, submit the application to: Nelda Y. 
Godfrey, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management Branch, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Announcement 99034, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30341-4146.

(By formal agreement, the CDC Procurement and Grants Office will act on 
behalf of and for ATSDR on this matter.)
    1. Deadline: Applications shall be considered as meeting the 
deadline if they are either:
    a. Received on or before the deadline date; or
    b. Sent on or before the deadline date and received in time for 
orderly processing. (Applicants must request a legibly dated U.S. 
Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a 
commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks 
shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
    2. Late Applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria 
in a. or b. above are considered late applications, will not be 
considered, and will be returned to the applicant.

G. Evaluation Criteria

    Each new and competing renewal application will be evaluated 
individually against the following criteria by an objective review 
group appointed by ATSDR.

1. Appropriateness and Knowledge of Surveillance System (20 percent)

New Applicants
    Demonstrate a need for such a surveillance system within their 
State. Demonstrate an understanding of the needs, limitations, and 
experience with surveillance systems as a means of assessing the impact 
of hazardous substances on public health.
Competing Continuation Applicants
    Applicant must demonstrate experience in collecting emergency event 
surveillance information within the State. This should include, but not 
be limited to, an assessment of the extent of hazardous substances 
emergencies and/or the morbidity and mortality associated with these 
events. Demonstrate an understanding of the needs, limitations, and 
experience with surveillance systems as a means of assessing the impact 
of hazardous substances on public health.

2. Proposed Methodology (25 percent)

New Applicants
    Applicant must demonstrate experience in, or an ability to develop, 
implement, maintain, and evaluate surveillance systems in accordance 
with the HSEES Protocol.
Competing Continuation Applicants
    Applicant must demonstrate experience in HSEES. This should include 
the development, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of a HSEES 
system in accordance with the surveillance protocol.

3. Capability and Coordination Efforts (20 percent)

New Applicants
    Demonstrate the ability to develop, maintain, or expand a formal or 
an informal working relationship with agencies outside of the State 
health departments that receive notifications of hazardous substances 
emergencies. Letters of support should accompany the application.
Competing Continuation Applicants
    Applicant must demonstrate the ability to develop, maintain, or 
expand a formal or an informal working relationship with agencies 
outside of the State health departments that receive notifications of 
hazardous substances emergencies. Letters of support should accompany 
application.

4. Quality of Information Collection (15 percent)

New Applicants
    Applicant should describe experience in collaborative projects for 
which the agency has had the responsibility of collecting information 
in a consistent format. Examples include surveillance projects, 
surveys, and prospective or retrospective hypothesis testing studies. 
The timely submission of data for analysis is critical in insuring the 
success of this surveillance. Accordingly, the applicant must 
demonstrate experience in, or the ability to collect, enter, and 
transfer data on a timely basis.
Competing Continuation Applicants
    Applicant should describe previous experience in HSEES systems, 
including collecting information for which the organization is 
responsible in a consistent format. Of critical importance to the 
success of the surveillance project is the timely submission of data 
for analysis. The applicant must demonstrate experience in, or the 
ability to collect, enter, and transfer data on a timely basis.

5. Dissemination of Information for Prevention Efforts (10 percent)

New Applicants
    Demonstrate experience in data dissemination for prevention 
efforts. Discuss future plans for prevention of hazardous substances 
emergency events related morbidity and mortality.
Competing Continuation Applicants
    Demonstrate experience in HSEES data dissemination for prevention 
of hazardous substances emergency events related morbidity and 
mortality. Discuss future plans for prevention of hazardous substances 
emergency events related morbidity and mortality.

6. Program Personnel (10 percent)

    Demonstrate that the proposed program staff are qualified and 
appropriate, and the time allocated for them to accomplish program 
activities is adequate. With limited funds available, the applicant 
must demonstrate that an infrastructure exists within the health 
department that will allow for full participation in the surveillance 
system with partial ATSDR financial support. Such in-kind support can 
include existing support staff, technical staff (e.g., epidemiologists, 
data management staff, environmental health scientists, emergency 
response personnel), and computer hardware.

7. Program Budget (Not scored)

    Budget must be reasonable, clearly justified, and consistent with 
intended use of cooperative agreement funds.

H. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with the original and two copies of:
    1. Annual progress report (include a 200 word or less abstract),
    2. Financial Status Report (FSR) no more than 90 days after the end 
of the budget period,
    3. Final financial report and performance report, no more than 90 
days after the end of the project period, and
    4. Electronically provide ATSDR with surveillance data as per 
protocol
    Send all reports to: Nelda Y. Godfrey, Grants Management 
Specialist, Grants

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Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30341-4146.
    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For complete description of each, see Attachment I.

AR-7  Executive Order 12372 Review
AR-9  Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements Data collection initiated 
under this cooperative agreement program has been approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget under number (0923-0008), ``Hazardous 
Substances Emergency Event Surveillance,'' 8/31/2001.
AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2000
AR-19  Third Party Agreements

I. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized in Sections 104(i)(1)(E)(15) of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act 
(SARA) [42 U.S.C. 9604 (i)(1)(E)(15)]. The Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance number is 93.161.

J. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    Please refer to Program Announcement 99034 when you request 
information. To receive additional written information and to request 
an application kit, call 1-888-GRANTS4 (1-888-472-6874). You will be 
asked to leave your name and address and will be instructed to identify 
the Announcement number of interest. If you have any questions after 
reviewing the contents of the application kit please contact: Nelda Y. 
Godfrey, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management Branch, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Announcement 99034, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), 2929 Brandywine Road, Mailstop E-13, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30341, Telephone: (404) 842-6671, E-mail address: 
NAG9@cdc.gov.
    To obtain technical assistance, contact: Dr. Wendy Kaye, Chief, 
Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Division of Health Studies, 
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Road, 
N.E., Mailstop E-31, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, Telephone: (404) 639-6203, 
E-mail address: WEK1@cdc.gov.
    See also the CDC home page on the Internet: https://www.cdc.gov

    Dated: February 23, 1999.
Georgi Jones,
Director, Office of Policy and External Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-4927 Filed 2-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P