2017WUDR PA 021517.pdf

United States Geological Survey

Water Availability and Use Science Program Water Use Data and Research

Proposals for Cooperative Agreements – Fiscal Year 2017 Program Announcement/Funding Opportunity G17AS00032

Closing Date: April 18, 2017 4 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: The Paperwork Reduction Act says that the agency must tell you why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether you have to give it to us. This information is being collected to determine the eligibility of the applicant and as a basis for approval or disapproval of the proposed project. The USGS is authorized under SECURE Water Act Section 9508 to assist state water resource agencies with improving their water use data collection activities. USGS has implemented the Water Use Date and Research program (WUDR), to work with state water agencies in gathering and analyzing their data, and assists this effort via cooperative agreements. WUDR supports State water resource agencies in developing water use and availability datasets and improving the collection and reporting frequency of water use categories, including the inclusion of categories that have been discontinued in the past due to limited resources. Response to this request is required to obtain and retain a cooperative agreement under the Water Use Data and Research program. Public report burden for this collection is estimated to average 40 hours per agreement and 12 hours to prepare both an interim and final technical report. The OMB Control Number is 1028-0118 for this information collection; the expiration date is April, 30, 2019. Direct comments regarding this collection of information may be sent to the Bureau Clearance Officer, gs-info_collections@usgs.gov.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA

http://www.grants.gov

SEE INSTRUCTIONS

http://www.grants.gov/

FY 17 WUDR Program Announcement – G17AS00032

Page | i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... i

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS ................................................................................................ i

PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT CHANGES .................................................................. ii

POINTS TO REMEMBER ................................................................................................. ii

1. Application Submission Closing Date

2. Electronic Application Requirement

3. Award Description

4. Eligibility Information

A. Applicant Eligibility B. Topic Eligibility

5. USGS Data Goals for Major Water Use Categories

6. Unsuitable Proposals

7. Application Preparation Instructions

A. Proposal Information Summary B. Proposal C. Budget Summary D. Detailed Budget E. Principal Investigator Resume

8. Rejection of Applications after Initial Review

9. Application Evaluation Procedure and Criteria

10. Reporting Requirements and Instructions

11. Involvement of Federal Employees

12. Award Terms and Conditions

List of Attachments Attachment A – Data Goals for Major Water-Use Categories Attachment B – Proposal Information Summary Template Attachment C – Budget Summary Attachment D – Water Use Data and Research Program Terms and Conditions

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PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT CHANGES

Multiple changes have been implemented in this Program Announcement. The primary changes include changes to the priority topics, the technical evaluation criteria, the required information to be provided in the Project Narrative Document, and the information required in the progress reports.

The proposal page limit was increased to 15 pages to allow applicants to provide additional information on proposed tasks and methods.

Data Management Plan Requirements added.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

DESCRIBE the project and the process you expect to follow to complete the project.

If you are proposing multiple activities to complete the project, clearly state the work you will be doing for each activity.

ALWAYS contact us if you have questions, we are here to help. Questions specific to your proposal as to what will or will not be funded cannot be addressed.

START submitting your proposal to Grants.gov well in advance of the due date. Do not wait until the due date to begin the submission process.

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Cooperative Funding Agreements for the USGS Water Use Data and Research Program

Announcement for Fiscal Year 2017

CFDA 15.981

The Water Availability and Use Science Program (WAUSP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a two-year cooperative agreement opportunity to State water resource agencies that collect water use data to participate in the Water Use Data and Research (WUDR) program. This funding opportunity is to support State Water Resource agencies in the collection and reporting of water use data for the WUDR program.

Legal authority for this opportunity is provided under Public Law 111-11, Subtitle F—SECURE Water: Section 9508 “National Water Availability and Use Assessment Program.” The USGS WUDR program will provide financial assistance, through cooperative agreements with State Water Resource agencies, to improve the availability, quality, compatibility, and delivery of water use data that is collected and/or estimated by States. The Act requires that these State Water Resource agencies make water use or availability datasets resulting from this funding opportunity available in a machine readable open format that the USGS can integrate with appropriate datasets maintained by the USGS.

Funds have not yet been appropriated for this program for FY 2017. The Government's obligation under this program is contingent upon the availability of funds.

1. Application Submission Closing Date: April 18, 2017, at 4 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

2. Electronic Application Requirement

For the FY 2017 funding cycle all proposals shall be submitted electronically via Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov). Hard/paper submissions will NOT be accepted. Electronic copies submitted via e-mail will NOT be accepted under any circumstances. All proposals shall be submitted electronically through Grants.gov on or before:

April 18, 2017 at 4 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

Please be aware that the electronic submission process requires first time users to register using an e-Authentication process. This registration process can be somewhat complex and can take up to 3 weeks to complete. Be advised that it is virtually impossible to begin the process of electronic submission for the first time if you start just a few days before the due date.

If you have any questions or problems with the registration process, or the completion of the application package, please contact the grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

mailto:support@grants.gov?subject=Support

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A question on the grant opportunity in Grants.gov will ask if you would like to receive email notifications of changes to this opportunity. Providing your email address at the prompt ensures you will be notified if changes are made to this program announcement after the original posting.

Briefly, when you submit a grant application package to Grants.gov, you will receive a confirmation screen as well as three additional emails over two business days from Grants.gov informing you of your application processing status:

1. Confirmation screen

2. Submission Receipt (with a “Track My Application” link)

3. Submission Validation (or Rejection with Errors)

4. Agency Retrieval

CONFIRMATION: Submission Confirmation Screen.

After you submit your grant application package, a confirmation screen will appear on your computer screen. This screen confirms that you have submitted an application to Grants.gov.

NOTIFICATION 1: Submission Receipt Email Within two business days after your application package has been received by the Grants.gov system, you will receive a submission receipt email which indicates that your submission has entered the Grants.gov system and is ready for validation. This email also contains a tracking number for use while tracking the status of the submission as well as a “Track My Application” link, to use to see the progress of your submission.

NOTIFICATION 2: Submission Validation Receipt Email – This is the important one!

After you receive the submission receipt email, the next email you will receive will be a message validating or rejecting your submitted application package with errors. The Grants.gov system is designed to check for technical errors within the submitted application package. Grants.gov does not review application content for award determination. Grants.gov will not post the application if there are errors. Failure to correct errors and re-submit by the date and time for closing shall not be a reason for accepting a late application.

NOTIFICATION 3: Grantor Agency Retrieval Email Once your application package has passed validation it is delivered to the grantor for award determination and further approval. After the grantor has confirmed receipt of your application, you will be sent a third and final email from Grants.gov. The grantor may also assign your application package an agency specific tracking number for use within their internal system. IF

YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL WITHIN FOUR DAYS OF THE CLOSING

DATE, PLEASE CONTACT THE CONTRACTING OFFICER.

If you need help entering your proposal, you can reach the Grants.gov Contact Center at: 1- 800-518-4726 or email support@grants.gov. Their hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and they are closed on Federal Holidays.

mailto:support@grants.gov?subject=Support http://www.grants.gov/aboutgrants/federal_holidays.jsp

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During the application period an applicant may submit a revised or corrected proposal through Grants.gov. Include a cover letter as the first page of the proposal stating that the proposal is revised and indicating that the previous submittal is to be withdrawn from consideration. Such submissions must be completed by April 18, 2017 at 4:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

For more information, see Section 7 of this document, Application Preparation Instructions, which describes requirements for the proposal and other application components.

Please allow sufficient time for the proposal to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov and allow time for possible computer delays. Applicants are strongly advised not to wait until the last minute for submission. A proposal received after the closing date and time will not be considered for award. If the USGS determines that a proposal will not be considered for award due to lateness, the applicant will be notified immediately.

Questions?

For Grants.gov issues, see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jso or http://www.usgs.gov.contracts/grants/grantsgov.html, or contact:

Laura Mahoney, (703) 648-7344, lmahoney@usgs.gov

For Contracting Officer issues, contact:

Sara Roser

(703) 648-7357 sroser@usgs.gov

For Water Use Data and Research program issues, contact:

Melinda Dalton, WUDR Program Coordinator

(678) 924-6637 msdalton@usgs.gov

Information Sessions

To facilitate the financial assistance application process, two conference calls will be conducted to accommodate inquiries from Applicants about the WUDR program and the proposal review, evaluation, and selection process. These calls will be held on:

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 from 10:00-11:00 am EST; and Wednesday, March 8, 2017 from 2:00-3:00 pm EST

Call-in number: (712) 432-0600 Access code: 1048486# http://www.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jso http://www.usgs.gov.contracts/grants/grantsgov.html mailto:lmahoney@usgs.gov

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3. Award Description

The total amount of funding available for this Program Announcement is expected to be up to a total of $1,500,000 for Federal FY2017. Applications are restricted to a minimum federal funding level of $40,000 and a maximum federal funding level of $100,000 for work to improve the availability, quality, compatibility, and transfer of water use data that is collected and/or estimated by States. These estimates do not bind the USGS to a specific number of awards or to the amount of any award. Congress has not yet authorized FY2017 funds for the WUDR program so awards cannot be made until this funding is authorized. Work performance under these awards must be completed within the two-year cycle from the start date. The start date will be determined by the timing of funds availability and the issuance of the award. Substantial involvement of the USGS (local USGS Water Science Centers and/or the USGS National Water Use Team) is expected to aid state collaborators with refining existing water use databases, development of new techniques for estimating water use, and establishing data management policies for sharing of water use data that adhere to data goals for major water-use categories (Attachment A) previously developed by the USGS for all water use categories nationally; therefore, these awards will be in the form of cooperative agreements.

All projects must propose start dates between July 15, 2017 and September 15, 2017.

4. Eligibility Information

A. Applicant Eligibility

Applicants must be state water resource agencies which collect water use data. Collaboration with and leveraging existing projects with USGS Water Science Centers is encouraged;

however, USGS personnel are prohibited from helping an organization prepare its application for competitive funding and are ineligible to receive WUDR funds.

Applicants can include a cost-share contribution in the form of in-kind services.

A set cost-sharing percentage for the recipient is not mandated, but a match of in-kind services is encouraged and should be denoted within the budget as cost sharing.

In order to receive an award under this FY2017 Program Announcement, applicants must have submitted a Workplan to the USGS WUDR Program Management (Melinda Dalton, msdalton@usgs.gov and Cheryl Dieter, cadieter@usgs.gov). Applicants may apply for the WUDR FY17 funding prior to submitting their Workplan, but the Workplan must be submitted before an award can be made. If an applicant's proposal is recommended for funding but the WUDR Program Management has not received the applicant's Workplan, the project will not be awarded funding. Most states received $26,000 through the WUDR non-competitive financial assistance program to complete the Workplan. For those States that did not receive $26,000 through the WUDR non-competitive financial assistance program but are now interested in receiving these funds you can contact the WUDR Program Office to express your interest. A non-competitive award outside of this Program Announcement would be made to provide these funds. A State may submit a Workplan on their own, i.e. no mailto:msdalton@usgs.gov mailto:cadieter@usgs.gov

Page | 5 federal funding. Instructions on what is required in the Workplan can be found at http://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/grant-application.html.

Application announcement date: February 15, 2017 Applications must be submitted by the closing date of April 18, 2017

B. Topic Eligibility

Water managers across the United States require more complete, timely, and accurate water availability information to support policy and decision-making, specifically data associated with water withdrawals and consumptive use that are used to establish local and regional water budgets. State water resource agencies are the primary authorities responsible for regulating and collecting data on water supplies, allocations, uses, and/or rights. The U.S.

Geological Survey (USGS), through its Water Availability and Use Science Program (WAUSP), is the only Federal agency that explicitly collects water-use data as a part of its mission. The WAUSP works with State, local, and Federal partners to consolidate dozens of disparate datasets to create comprehensive reports of water use in the United States every five years. Because of differences in methodology and data quality, USGS water use compilations require significant effort to standardize (to the extent possible) such data between States. The WAUSP products form the basis of the water use component of the National Water Census as called for by the SECURE Water Act (Section 9508, Public Law 111–11).

Recognizing the limitations of current water use data, the USGS Water Use Data and Research program will provide financial assistance, through cooperative agreements with State water resource agencies, to improve the availability, quality, compatibility, and transfer of water use data that is collected and/or estimated by States. The Act requires that these State Water Resource agencies make water use or availability datasets resulting from this funding opportunity available in a machine readable open format that the USGS can integrate with appropriate datasets maintained by the USGS.

The USGS has identified three priority topics for the FY17 WUDR Program Announcement.

Proposals that address one or more of these three priority topics will be given funding preference.

The three priority topics (in no particular order) for the FY17 WUDR Program Announcement are:

• IMPROVE WATER USE DATA COLLECTION, QUALITY ASSURANCE,

OR TRANSFER. Data transfer includes making data and metadata available to the USGS in a machine readable open format.

• IMPROVE TIER LEVEL (see Attachment A, Data Goals for Major Water-Use Categories) for the following water-use categories: IRRIGATION, PUBLIC SUPPLY, OR INDUSTRIAL, including both estimated and reported data. For example, going from annual to monthly withdrawals, acquiring source of water (groundwater versus surface water), reporting public supply deliveries to other http://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/grant-application.html

Page | 6 categories (commercial, industrial, domestic), estimating consumptive use, or acquiring ancillary data such as number of facilities.

• Conduct studies that DEVELOP METHODS AND/OR COEFFICIENTS to improve water use estimates for categories where measured data are not available.

Proposals will be considered that address additional topics, but may be given a lower funding preference than proposals that address the three priority topics listed above.

5. USGS Data Goals for Major Water-Use Categories

More information on the USGS Water Use Data and Research program (WUDR) can be found at: http://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/index.html. Attachment A provides a table outlining three tiers for major categories of water use. Within the table, the USGS has identified baseline goals (Tier 1), and additional levels (Tiers 2 and 3) of data, for all major categories of water use, most of which have been estimated by the USGS and published every 5 years since 1985 (https://water.usgs.gov/watuse/WU-Category-Changes.html). These standards are provided to assist State water-resource agencies in determining areas in which to focus proposed work.

6. Unsuitable Proposals

The following proposals are ineligible for consideration under this Announcement at this time:

• Proposals from U.S. Government Agencies or U.S. Government employees.

• Proposals from Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC).

• Proposals that were previously funded though the WUDR program, or other federal grant programs.

7. Application Preparation Instructions

Your electronic submission shall consist of forms SF-424, SF-424a, and SF-424b, plus the items described below. No additional documents or materials may be submitted. Failure to comply with the required application components listed below may result in the proposal being rejected.

Items A through D, as described below, shall be combined together in one document, in the order noted below, and submitted through Grants.gov in either MS Word or Adobe PDF format. The application shall not exceed 15 single-spaced pages (including figures, tables, references, appendices, etc.), and the type size shall not be smaller than 12 point. All pages of the application shall be numbered. All text, figures, and tables shall be sized to fit on 8½” by 11” paper with 1-inch margins. The resume, SF forms, Data Management Plan, and negotiated rate agreement required tables do not count toward the page limit.

In the Grants.gov forms, floating your mouse over a field will provide instructions for completing that field. You can also click on the ‘Check Package for Errors’ button to check the entire application for validation errors (incomplete fields, etc.)

http://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/index.html https://water.usgs.gov/watuse/WU-Category-Changes.html

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The application submitted through Grants.gov as the ‘Project Narrative Attachment Form’ (in MS Word or Adobe PDF format) shall be assembled in the following order:

A. Proposal Information Summary B. Proposal C. Budget Summary D. Detailed Budget

A. Proposal Information Summary.

Provide a summary for the proposal using the format shown in Attachment B.

B. Proposal

Please include the following sections:

1) Project Summary. Provide an overall summary of the project including a brief description of work to be accomplished, category(ies) of water use data collection or methodology development, how the proposed work addresses tier level improvement, and geographic and temporal scale of data activity.

2) Project Description.

a) Problem Statement. Describe the problem and the state agency’s role relevant to the problem.

b) Project Objectives. Describe the objectives of the proposed work.

c) Approach. Proposers should address what they want to do (tasks), why they want to do it, how they plan to do it (approach), how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits could accrue if the project is successful. Describe the significance of each task relative to the project objectives. If work is not being performed by the applicant agency, explain the role relative to water use of the party conducting the work. Describe work being done by contractors. Describe specific products, such as reports, datasets, etc., that will be produced as part of the project. Describe how data will be transferred to the USGS. (Guidance on data transfer will be provided on the USGS WUDR website https://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/index.html).

d) Project Timeline. Include a timeline for the proposed work. Include timelines for tasks and subtasks specified in the description of project activities.

e) Relevance to SECURE Water Act. Describe how data will be made available to the USGS in machine readable open form, such that the data can be easily integrated (by the USGS) into USGS databases in compliance with the SECURE Water Act.

f) Relevance to State Priorities. Describe how the proposed tasks meet the goals of the State water use program.

g) Transferability. Describe how the methods used to collect, estimate, quality control, or publish datasets can be transferred to other States’ water use programs or to USGS programs/projects.

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h) Collaboration. Describe collaboration with the local, state, federal agencies (including the USGS), or educational institutions.

i) Team Experience. Succinctly describe the relevant experience of the project team members.

j) IT Infrastructure

i) Describe databases used to store data

ii) Briefly describe any current data sharing applications or web sites

iii) Describe IT staff experience and availability

iv) Discuss any security requirements or limitations

k) Data Management Plan Requirements. Proposals submitted to USGS must include a supplementary document of no more than two pages labeled "Data Management Plan" (DMP). This supplementary document should describe how the proposal will conform to USGS policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results and associated data. A valid DMP may include only the statement that no detailed plan is needed (e.g. “No data are expected to be produced from this project”), as long as the statement is accompanied by a clear justification. This supplementary document may include:

i) the types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project;

ii) the standards to be used for data and metadata format and content (where existing standards are absent or deemed inadequate, this should be documented along with any proposed solutions or remedies);

iii) policies for access and sharing including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements;

iv) provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives; and

v) plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products, and for preservation of free public access to them.

Additional guidance on data management plans is available from the USGS Data Management web site (http://www.usgs.gov/datamanagement/plan/dmplans.php).

Note: The DMP does not count toward the 15 page limit.

C. Budget Summary

Provide a budget summary for each year using the format shown in Attachment C. The budget items should correlate with the detailed budget below.

D. Detailed Budget A budget sheet for each year is required that provides more detail than what is entered under the SF-424A form. In this budget breakdown sheet please separate federal from cost-sharing funds (see ‘In-kind Resource Match’ section below). A set cost-sharing percentage for the recipient is not mandated, but a match of in-kind services is encouraged and should be denoted within the budget as cost sharing. The cost for the project should include both the agency in-kind services and the work to be funded by the WUDR funding opportunity. Please provide the following information for each objective or major task. Applicants should include the following categories for both federal and in-kind services:

http://www.usgs.gov/datamanagement/plan/dmplans.php

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a. Salaries

• Please provide a list of staff that will work on each objective listed in the proposal. If staff will work on more than one objective, please include an entry with the hours for that employee on each objective.

• Objective Name: For each objective provide a table with the following items for each staff member that will work on the objective

1. employee name,

2. title,

3. hourly rate of compensation,

4. fringe benefit rate and hourly rate of fringe benefit,

5. the total hourly rate (item 3 + item 4),

6. the number of hours planned,

7. the cost (item 5 times item 6),

8. the percent of the cost that is Federally funded, and

9. the percent of cost that is Agency in-kind services. (items 8 and item

9 should add to 100%)

b. Supplies. For each major type of supply, enter a description and the cost for supplies needed for the project (include percent of cost that is Federally funded and/or provided as in-kind);

c. Equipment: Enter a description and the cost for each piece of equipment needed for the project. Please list any computer purchases separately. If possible, computer purchases should be as in-kind services to avoid property ownership issues;

d. Contractors: Provide the following detailed breakdown for each contractor needed for the project:

1. hourly rate of compensation,

2. fringe benefit rate and hourly rate of fringe benefit,

3. the total hourly rate (item 1 + item 2),

4. the number of hours planned,

5. the cost (item 5 times item 6),

6. the percent of the cost that is Federally funded, and

7. the percent of cost that is Agency in-kind services. (items 8 and 9 should add to 100%)

e. Travel: Provide detailed information on proposed travel, i.e. where to, why, how many, how long, per diem and lodging rates, etc. (include percent of cost that is Federally funded and/or provided as in-kind); and

f. Indirect Cost/General and Administrative (G&A) Cost: Show the proposed rate, cost base, and proposed amount for allowable indirect costs based on the cost principles applicable to the Applicant's organization. If the Applicant has separate rates for recovery of labor overhead and G&A costs, each charge should be shown. Explain the distinction between items included in the two cost pools. The Applicant should propose rates for evaluation purposes, which they are also willing to establish as fixed or ceiling rates in any resulting award. NOTE: A copy of the indirect negotiated cost agreement with the Federal Government should be provided with the application package. Pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, Section 200.414, in the

Page | 10 absences of a negotiated rate agreement, non-Federal entities may use a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC).

In-Kind Resource Match

Examples of in-kind resource match are: salaries, contract support, student assistance fees, travel expenses, software purchase, equipment dedicated to the project, production of outreach materials, and indirect costs or overhead charges.

All contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, will be accepted as part of the recipient’s in-kind match when such contributions meet all of the following criteria:

• verifiable from the recipients’ records,

• not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted project or program,

• necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of project or program objectives,

• allowable under the applicable cost principles,

• not paid by the Federal Government under another award, except where authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost matching,

• provided for in the approved budget when required by the Federal awarding agency, and

• conform to the provision of the appropriate OMB Circular, as applicable.

Volunteer services furnished by professional and technical personnel, consultants, and other skilled and unskilled labor may be counted as in-kind match if the service is an integral and necessary part of the project. Rates for volunteer services shall be consistent with those paid for similar work in the recipient’s organization. In those instances in which the required skills are not found in the recipient organization, rates shall be consistent with those paid for similar work in the labor market in which the recipient competes for the kind of services involved.

In either case, paid fringe benefits that are reasonable, allowable, and allocable may be included in the valuation.

Match calculation: For example, with a request for an award of $5,000 of Federal assistance, a 50-50 cost share contribution by the applicant would be $5,000 in value for a total of $10,000 value committed to the project ($5,000 and $5,000 Federal and applicant, respectively).

Applicant must document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project and include this information in the detail budget breakdown.

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E. Principal Investigator Resume Please include a resume for the principal investigator of the project. The resume should include relevant professional experience.

8. Rejection of Applications after Initial Review

If an application does not meet all requirements specified in the Announcement, as determined by the Contracting Officer in consultation with the USGS WUDR Program Coordinator, the institution and principal investigator will be promptly notified that the proposal will not be reviewed, indicating the reason for its rejection. States may make revisions and apply for funding again during later years, if funding for the program continues.

9. Application Evaluation Procedure and Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by the USGS WUDR Technical Committee and will be considered in accordance with the criteria written below: The weighting factor that will be applied to each criterion is shown as a percentage.

1. Technical quality of the proposal. This criterion considers the scientific merit of the proposed approach, whether the approach is innovative or employs a proven, reliable technique that is appropriate to the problem, and the probability of achieving positive results within the designated period. The proposal includes all required information listed in Section 7 (Application Preparation Instructions). The title of the proposal includes the agency name, the geographic area, and a brief statement of the work to be accomplished. The proposal should include a clear presentation of the project phases, and milestones for the proposed project duration. This criterion also considers whether the proposed budget is commensurate with the level of effort needed to accomplish the project objectives and whether the cost of the project is reasonable relative to the value of the anticipated results. (40%) Evaluation is based on the following:

a. The proposal is clearly written and has all required sections.

b. The proposed approach is technically appropriate.

c. The timeline is included and appropriate.

d. The budget is appropriate for the scope of work.

2. Relevance to SECURE Water Act. The SECURE Water Act (Section 9508, “National Water Availability and Use Assessment Program”, Public Law 111–11) authorizes the USGS to provide financial assistance to State water resource agencies to improve the availability, quality, compatibility and transfer of water-use data that is collected and/or estimated by States. The Act requires that these State water use and availability datasets be integrated with appropriate datasets that are developed and/or maintained by the USGS. This criterion evaluates whether the State water resource agency proposed study

Page | 12 fulfills the requirements of the SECURE Water Act (listed above). (20%) Evaluation is based on both of the following:

a. The proposed work will improve the availability, quality, compatibility and transfer of water-use data that is collected and/or estimated by States.

b. The results of the proposed study will be provided to the USGS. Where applicable, data will be provided to the USGS in a machine readable open format, and easily integrated by the USGS into appropriate water use and availability datasets that are developed and/or maintained by the USGS.

3. Relevance to State priorities. This criterion evaluates whether the State water resource agency proposal helps to achieve the State’s identified priorities. The proposal should demonstrate the need for the effort/activity, and how it relates to the State’s identified priorities. (10%) Evaluation is based on both of the following:

a. The proposal identifies the relevant State priority(ies).

b. The proposal identifies how the study will address the State priority(ies).

4. Transferability. This criterion evaluates the potential for the results (tools developed, methods, approaches) of the proposed study to be applied to or used by other State water resource agencies. This criterion also evaluates the transferability, and/or usefulness of the results of the proposed study to other USGS programs, databases, and/or studies.

(10%) Evaluation is based on both of the following:

a. The technical tools, data, methods, or products of the proposed study are useful and transferable to other States.

b. The technical tools, data, methods, or products of the proposed study are useful and transferable to other USGS programs or studies.

5. Collaboration. This criterion evaluates collaboration with relevant agencies or organizations within or outside the State, and collaboration with USGS Water-Science Center personnel where appropriate. (10%) Evaluation is based on all of the following:

a. The lead State agency has discussed and/or collaborated with other State or local agencies during the development of the proposal.

b. The proposal identifies collaboration opportunities with USGS personnel.

c. The proposal identifies collaboration opportunities with other federal, State, or local agencies during the project period.

6. Competence of Principal Investigator and members of State Team. This criterion considers experience and competence of the State water resource agency principal investigator and team, and if applicable, the promptness with which the research results were disseminated to the scientific community from previous WUDR funding. When applicable, this factor includes the timely publication of project results and data in peer-reviewed scientific and technical journals or state agency publication or program related website, the impact of the results, and whether reporting requirements from previous USGS awards have been satisfied. (10%) Evaluation is based on all of the following:

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a. A resume describing relevant professional experience for the principal investigator is attached.

b. The proposal describes the relevant experience of the team members.

c. The experience of team members is appropriate.

d. Previous publications/awards were completed on time.

10. Reporting Requirements and Instructions

Progress Reports and Final Technical Reports shall describe in detail the work performed and results obtained during the grant period. Final Technical Reports are due 90 days after the conclusion of the project period. Any information contained in a previously submitted progress report shall be repeated or restated in the Final Technical Report. All report requirements are described in Attachment D Section 5. Reporting Requirements.

All reports are to be submitted as pdf files, and submitted via e-mail attachment to WUDR Program Management:

Melinda Dalton msdalton@usgs.gov Cheryl Dieter cadieter@usgs.gov

11. Involvement of Federal Employees

Federal employees, including USGS employees, are prohibited from serving in any capacity (paid or unpaid) on any application submitted under this Announcement; federal employees may not assist in the development of proposals. Proposals that have a real or apparent conflict of interest related to Federal employees will not be processed for evaluation. This does not prohibit cooperation or collaboration between USGS and non-USGS scientists once a grant or cooperative agreement is in place; however, Federal employees are not eligible to receive funds associated with this program.

12. Award Terms and Conditions

Award Recipient must comply with award Terms and Conditions (Attachment D). Submittal of an application constitutes the applicant’s acceptance of the terms and conditions for inclusion on any award resulting from their application. Any concerns with the requirements of the Special Terms and Conditions shall be presented to the Contracting Officer at least three (3) days prior to the closing date of the Announcement.

A. No pre-award costs are authorized B. No-Cost extensions to the project period are discouraged.

C. Project Report. A final technical report must be completed and submitted to the

USGS within 90-days of the end date of the project.

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Attachment A

Data Goals for Major Water-Use Categories

The USGS has identified goals for all major categories of water use (see table below), most of which have been estimated by the USGS and published every 5 years since 1985. These guidelines are provided to assist State water resource agencies in determining areas in which to focus proposed work. States that currently meet the data goals for major water-use categories outlined in Tier 1, for a specific water-use category would focus on Tier 2 and/or Tier 3. States are not required to meet Tier 1, in all categories, before addressing Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 data needs. Data collected and studies conducted in Tiers 1, 2, and 3 should be designed to benefit both local and national estimates and provide information for water availability studies by water managers, academia, federal, and or local agencies. The definitions of basic water-use terms and categories as used by USGS can be found in USGS Circular 1405 (http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1405/).

In addition to the standards listed in the table, baseline goals for all categories of water use include:

1. Facility or system withdrawals for the following categories: Public Supply, Self-supplied Industrial, Irrigation-Crop, Thermoelectric, Irrigation-Golf Course, Livestock (major facilities), Mining and Aquaculture

2. Withdrawals, deliveries or returns by water source – groundwater, surface water, reclaimed wastewater, wastewater effluent, and/or recycled water. For groundwater sources the aquifer should be identified.

3. Withdrawals by water type – fresh or saline

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Category Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

Pu bl ic S up pl y

• Monthly withdrawals, reported by system and water source and water type.

• Deliveries to domestic users from public-supply systems, and populations served.

• Report system information relevant to HUC-8 and county, and groundwater withdrawals with aquifer designation.

• Site-specific annual and monthly withdrawals (by intake and/or well or well field) reported by water source, and by water type.

• Quantity of water purchased between systems and source(s) of water.

• Quantity of water sold between systems.

• Reporting and/or verification of water deliveries for domestic, commercial, industrial, thermoelectric and other use.

• Interbasin transfers.

• System uses (internal and other non-revenue uses) and losses.

• Improve population served estimates.

• Use of reclaimed wastewater for public or landscape irrigation.

In du st ria l

• Annual withdrawals by facility reported by water source, by water type, and industry classification.

• Groundwater withdrawals reported with reference to aquifer.

• Site-specific (by intake and/or well) annual and monthly withdrawals reported by water source, by water type, and industry classification.

• Deliveries from public supply to Industrial and deliveries from other categories.

• Site-specific consumptive use estimates.

• Site-specific discharges to surface water or land application.

Irr ig at io n- C ro p • Aggregate annual withdrawals reported by water source, by water type, acres irrigated, and method of irrigation.

Aggregate areas may be sub-county levels, but are feasible to summarize to county or watershed.

• Site-specific withdrawals by well or diversion from surface-water feature, or delivery from reclaimed wastewater.

• Monthly withdrawals reported by water source, type, acres irrigated, crop, and method of irrigation.

• Consumptive use and conveyance loss estimates by aggregate area (sub-county, watershed (HUC8 or up to

HUC12).

• Site-specific return flows.

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Th er m oe le ct ric

• Site-specific, annual and monthly withdrawals and net power generation reported by cooling-system type (once-through or recirculating), by water source and by water type, and the source of the information (plant, govt.

agency, etc.).

• Site-specific return flows.

• Site-specific annual and monthly consumptive use.

Se lf- Su pp lie d D om es tic

• Self-supplied domestic populations, by HUC-8 and county, and by water source.

• Studies of actual metered domestic withdrawals, monthly by source.

• Improve estimates of self-supplied populations by utilizing property data and/or public water supply service areas, or other methods.

Irr ig at io n

G ol f C ou rs es

• Site-specific annual and monthly withdrawals reported by water source, by water type, and acres irrigated.

Groundwater withdrawals designated by aquifer.

• Consumptive use estimates, by course, reported by month or annual.

• Acres irrigated by system type, by course.

Li ve st oc k

• Annual withdrawals for major facilities, reported by water source and by water type.

• Site-specific annual and monthly withdrawals for all facilities reported by source of water, and by water type.

• Site-specific animal counts and animal type.

• Improved and verified coefficients for water use per head for animal type, confined or open-range, seasonal variability, and other variables.

• Water withdrawals from sources supported by USDA programs to protect streams

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M in in g

• Annual withdrawals reported by HUC-8 and county, by source of water, and by water type.

• Site-specific annual and monthly withdrawals. Site-specific commodity identified.

• Evaluation/reporting on water use by process (commodity processing, dewatering, dust suppression, etc.).

• Reporting on return flows/discharge of water from dewatering.

A qu ac ul tu re

• Annual withdrawals reported by HUC-8 and county, by source of water, and by water type.

• Site-specific annual and monthly withdrawals. Site-specific facility information (method, species cultured, etc.)

C om m er ci al

• Annual and monthly deliveries from public supply for commercial use.

• Site-specific annual and monthly withdrawals for self-supplied establishments

H yd ro el ec tr ic

Po w

• Site-specific, annual and monthly water use (water use to spin turbines) by water source and water type, and the source of the information (plant, govt.

agency, etc.).

W as te w at

Tr ea tm en t • Site-specific, annual and monthly return flows from public wastewater treatment and industrial facilities.

• Site-specific discharges to surface water or land application.

Water Use Data Storage and Availability

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W at er u se da ta ba se

• Monthly and annual withdrawal data are reported to the state agency and stored in an electronic format.

• Withdrawal data are entered electronically into a database.

Automatic QA/QC checks are integrated into the electronic database and/or data entry routines.

• Withdrawal data include water source, water type and location (county and HUC-12). Data are made available for export by the state agency or for download.

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Attachment B

USGS Water Use Data and Research Cooperative Agreement Proposal Information Summary Template

Use the format below for the required Proposal Information Summary

1. Project Title: The title of the proposal should include the agency name, the geographic area, and a brief statement of the work to be accomplished.

2. Project Keywords: List 3 to 5 keywords for the proposed work.

3. Primary Investigator(s): List technical contacts and contact information here (Name) (Agency Name) (Street Address/P.O. Box) (City, State, Zip Code) (Telephone Number), (FAX Number), (E-mail Address)

4. Authorized Institutional Provide name of Institutional/Financial contact here Representative: (Name) (Agency Name) (Organizational Unit)

(Street Address/P.O. Box) (City, State, Zip Code)

(Telephone Number), (FAX Number), (E-mail Address)

5. Amount Requested: (List amount requested for Fiscal Year 2017 support)

6. Proposed Start Date: (The date you would like to start work; between

July 15, 2017 and September 15, 2017)

7. Proposed Duration: (12 or 24 months, No awards are issued for less than 12 months)

8. Cooperative Research and List any known Cooperative Research and Development Development Agreement: Agreement (CRADA) between the USGS and the applicant.

NOTE: CRADAs are not general cooperative agreements with USGS Water Science Centers or other USGS Programs.

(Title of CRADA) (Name of USGS representative) (Program under which CRADA is endorsed)

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Attachment C

Budget Summary

Indirect cost rate:

Budget summary Category Federal $ Agency in-kind $ Total $

1. Salary (wages, fringe)

2. Travel

3. Equipment

4. Supplies

5. Contractors

6. Total Direct Costs (items 1-5)

7. Indirect cost

8. Total Cost (items 6 and 7)

In-kind services percent:

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Attachment D

Water Use Data and Research Program Terms and Conditions

1. Acceptance

Acceptance of a Federal Financial Assistance award from the Department of the Interior (DOI) carries with it the responsibility to be aware of and comply with the terms and conditions of award. Acceptance is defined as the start of work, drawing down funds, or accepting the award by signature or electronic means. Awards are based on the application submitted to and approved by DOI and are subject to the terms and conditions incorporated either directly or by reference below.

2. USGS Involvement

Substantial involvement is anticipated through the terms of this Agreement between the USGS and the Recipient. A summary of the involvement is as follows:

The Water Use Data and Research (WUDR) Program will be carried out in close collaboration with Water Use Specialists at USGS Water Science Centers, and/or the USGS National Water Use Team during the development of technical requirements and categorical water use data collection and methods development. The Recipients will be integral in data collection, methods development, and data management activities, potentially working with local cooperators and other federal agencies to facilitate project development and data acquisition and management.

The USGS WUDR Technical Team will manage and develop all the technical requirements and guidance associated with the WUDR Program. Together the USGS and state collaborators will refine existing water use databases, develop new techniques for estimating water use, and establish data management policies for sharing of water use data that adhere to data goals for major water-use categories previously developed by the USGS (Attachment A). Data and information collected as part of this program must be stored electronically, provided to the USGS in machine readable open format to input into existing USGS databases (when applicable), but may be disseminated via a variety of means, including graduate student theses, USGS series reports, and scientific publications.

3. Funding

(a) The total estimated cost of the USGS share for the performance of this Agreement is

(insert total amount of the agreement).

(b) The amount obligated under this Assistance Award Modification, hereinafter referred to as

“obligated funds,” presently the sum of (insert total amount of the agreement), shall be available for payment of costs incurred by the recipient for the period (to be completed at time of award).

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In no event shall costs be incurred in performance of this agreement in excess of the funds currently obligated.

4. Pre-Agreement Costs

The Recipient is not authorized to incur costs prior to the award of this Agreement. Costs incurred prior to the award of this agreement are not allowable.

5. Reporting Requirements

(a) Required reports/documents. The Principal Investigator is required to submit the following reports or documents. Further description of requirements follows the table below.

Report/ Document

Method of Delivery

Submit To

When Due

(1) Progress Report

Send PDF file as an email attachment or fill out web-based review form.

WUDR Program Management See Section…