EPA is soliciting applications from qualified (non-PROFIT) entities that have an interest and experience in conducting assessments or tests of new or existing environmental monitoring and…

EPA is soliciting applications from qualified (non-PROFIT) entities that have an interest and experience in conducting assessments or tests of new or existing environmental monitoring and remediation technologies for identifying and recovering critical minerals (CMS) at contaminated legacy mining sites. Applicants must have the ability and knowledge to conduct assessment, testing and quality assurance support for new (sbir phase 2 and 3) and commercial environmental monitoring and remediation technologies. Ability and knowledge can be illustrated in a number of ways, including but not limited to having conducted the same or similar activities in the past as those described here. Familiarity with federal cooperative agreement or grant operation and management would also be helpful for applicants to highlight. Displaying and describing productivity under these or other federal agreements would also benefit in the solicitation process.activities:activities and responsibilities of the recipient must include: - establishing a stakeholder group and technical panels to help in prioritizing technical monitoring and recovery needs (i.e., categories of technology to assess and/or test). - developing and submitting a scientific data management plan (sdmp, see section I.F. And IV.D.6) and a post-award initiative quality management plan (QMP) and operating the initiative in accordance with their QMP. - providing outreach workshops; - preparing and developing technology testing protocols that include stakeholder needs. - developing performance metrics for assessing and testing new or existing technologies as well as sustainability metrics for evaluating long term and cross media impacts of the characterization or recovery technologies. - potentially managing subawards/contracts (as needed) with organizations for managing assessment, testing and data collection, and write progress and summary reports. Recipient may conduct (but are not limited to) CM identification/monitoring and recovery projects that provide: - outreach on the initiative's activities and track outcomes for impacts; - technology and process evaluations or demonstrations; - technical assistance, outreach and/or training to model or accelerate solutions; - feasibility studies; - expanding acceptance of monitoring or reclamation technologies at mining sites through technology demonstration projects or training and technical assistance; or - demonstration, training, or technical assistance projects for developing or improving existing technologies for 'alternative use.' - help make technology assessments more relevant to stakeholders through such activities as establishing relationships with other organizations that conduct technology assessment and performance testing similar to that undertaken by the initiative. Technology demonstrations must involve new or experimental technologies, methods, or approaches, where the results of the project will be disseminated so that others can benefit from the knowledge gained in the demonstration project. A project that is accomplished through the performance of routine, traditional, or established practices, or a project that is simply intended to carry out a task rather than transfer information or advance the state of knowledge, however worthwhile the project might be, is not a demonstration. These activities relate generally to the gathering or transferring of information or advancing the state of knowledge. Recipient should emphasize this 'learning' concept, as opposed to 'fixing' an environmental problem via a well-established method. To the extent practicable, recipient's work must embody innovation. Innovation for the purposes of this RFA is defined as the process of making changes; a new method, custom or device. Innovation can take the form of wholly new appli