PKG00263605-instructions.pdf

FY 2021 NGWMN Program Announcement – G21AS00008

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United States Geological Survey

Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program National Ground-Water Monitoring Network

Proposals for Cooperative Agreements – Fiscal Year 2021 Program Announcement/Funding Opportunity G21AS00008

Closing Date: January 21, 2021

4 pm, Eastern Standard 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 purpose of the program is to support data providers to the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network. The Network provides groundwater data from Principal Aquifers at a regional or National scale to assist in assessing ground water resources. Response to this request is required to obtain and retain a cooperative agreement under the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network. Public report burden for this collection is estimated to average 30 hours per agreement and 125 hours to prepare a final technical report. The OMB Control Number is 1028-0114 for this information collection; the expiration date is September 30, 2021. Direct comments regarding this collection of information may be sent to the Bureau Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS807, Reston VA 20192.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA

http://www.grants.gov

SEE INSTRUCTIONS

http://www.grants.gov/

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

National Ground-Water Monitoring Network Cooperative Agreements

1. Application Submission Closing Date

2. Electronic Application Requirement

3. Award Description

4. National Ground-Water Monitoring Network

5. Eligibility Information

A. Applicant eligibility

B. Topic eligibility

C. Proposal eligibility

D. Unsuitable Proposals

6. Objectives

7. Network Policies, Standards and Procedures

8. Multi-year proposals

9. In-Kind Services Cost-Share Guidelines

10. Final Project Report

11. Application Preparation Instructions

A. Proposal Information Summary

B. Proposal

Objective 1: Support to become a new data provider

Objective 2: Support persistent data service from existing data providers

Objective 3: Filling gaps in information at NGWMN sites

Objective 4: Well maintenance

Objective 5: Well drilling

Objective 6: Purchase equipment to support continuous water-level data collection

C. Overall Budget and Detailed Budget for each Objective

D. Timeline for each Objective

E. Data Management Plan

F. Staff Qualifications

G. Supporting Letters

12. Rejection of Applications after Initial Review

13. Application Evaluation Procedure and Criteria

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14. Involvement of Federal Employees

15. Award Terms and Conditions

Attachment A - Proposal Information Summary Template

Attachment B – Example budgets

Attachment C - National Ground-Water Monitoring Network Terms and Conditions

Attachment D – Secretarial Priorities for Financial Assistance

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PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT CHANGES

Multiple changes have been implemented in this Program Announcement. The primary changes include:

Award Description

• Clarified that the maximum funding is $150,000 for a one-year project and

$300,000 for a two-year project National Ground-Water Monitoring Network

• Clarified that the Network focuses on serving data at long-term active sites to address current groundwater availability questions

Eligibility Information

• Added new objective to purchase equipment to support continuous water-level data collection

• Moved statement allowing software purchases to specific objective sections

Objectives

• Added statement allowing software purchases to support NGWMN web services to Objectives 1 and 2. Added statement allowing software purchases to analyze data collected during project under Objectives 3, 4, and 5

• Clarified that travel costs are not allowed under Objectives 1 or 2

• Clarified that adding 20 or more new sites to the NGWMN should be done under

Objective 2B

• Added new section describing Objective 6 which supports equipment purchases for continuous water-level data collection at NGWMN sites In-Kind Services Cost-Share Guidelines

• Provided example of in-kind services match calculation

• Changed score of objectives based on the percent match. Instead of a penalty during scoring, objectives with at least 25% match will receive a scoring bonus.

Objectives with at least 50% match will receive the largest bonus

Application Preparation Instructions

• Clarified that 20-page limit does not include figures or tables

• Added Section F which lists brief staff qualifications for staff working on any objective. Moved text about staff qualifications under each objective into this new section

• Tables of sites for Objectives 3-6 should include the Principal aquifer and the well depth

• Request labels of sites on maps, if possible

• Tasks listed in the work plan for each objective should be included on the detailed budget and the timeline for that objective

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• Asking for information on number of staff needed for field work related tasks

• Objective 2- Persistent Data Services o Requires a separate budget for Objective 2A and 2B so that the work can be evaluated and scored separately o When proposing to add new sites under Objective 2B a map should be included showing the potential new sites and the Principal Aquifer

• Objective 4- Well Maintenance o Clarified that a separate paragraph is not required for sites for which well-integrity testing is proposed. The work proposed for all sites can be summarized o Requested additional details for slug test work

• Objective 5- Well Drilling o When a replacement well is proposed, the original site should remain in the NGWMN to maintain the historic data o Cost estimates for each well should include the drilling costs and any other cost associated with each well (salary, travel, etc.). This allows partial funding of only some wells, if needed o Clarified that data collection at a new site to fill the minimum data requirements can be proposed under Objective 5 (geophysical logging, GPS work, and well integrity testing) o Added statement that all data collected at any new wells needs to be publicly available

• Objective 6- Purchase equipment to support continuous water-level data collection o Added new objective o Requires description of equipment to be purchased o Requires table of sites for which equipment will be purchased with basic information and the cost of the equipment o Federal salary costs can only be used to document the equipment purchases in the final report Budget for each objective

• Details on tasks used as in-kind services is needed. This should include the number of NGWMN sites where data is collected as match

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POINTS TO REMEMBER

Contact Daryll Pope if you have any questions.

Ensure that the work you propose is submitted under the proper objective and that the work is eligible under that objective. Follow the requirements for each objective listed in Section 11.

Applications which show an understanding of and reference to the Framework Document and Tip Sheets will be scored higher.

Do not include work under Objectives 4, 5, or 6 in a proposal to become a new data provider (Objective 1).

For Objective 1, make sure you include a map with your potential sites and any existing NGWMN sites in your state (including those from other data providers) that includes the Principal aquifers.

For Objectives 3-6, include a separate map for each objective that shows the sites where work is proposed and the Principal aquifers. For Objective 5, always show any existing NGWMN sites on the map in addition to any proposed new or replacement wells.

Include a scale bar, north arrow, and an explanation for each map. If the map is zoomed in for detail, make sure to include an inset map showing the location on a statewide map.

If you are proposing work at specific sites for Objectives 3-6, make sure you include a table of the sites you will be working on. The table must include the NGWMN ID, the principal aquifer, and the well depth. All sites for which work is proposed (except new wells proposed for drilling) must be in the NGWMN Well Registry by January 21, 2021.

For well rehabilitation and well drilling work, include a paragraph describing each well where work is proposed. This should include the need for the work, a description of the work, and how the work benefits or fills gaps in the NGWMN.

Always include in-kind services match for each objective for any work proposed under Objectives 3, 4,5, or 6. Objectives that have at least 25% match will receive a bonus score during proposal evaluation.

Providing costs for individual work tasks under an objective can help us partially fund work within an objective during proposal evaluation. Itemize costs for individual work tasks done by contractors.

Use the budget formats described in Section 11.C and depicted in the examples included in Attachment B.

Consider NGWMN Well Density guidelines when proposing gap filling activities.

Make sure the Budget Summary and the budget in the SF-424A form are consistent with the detailed budgets for each objective included in the proposal.

Make sure to proofread your proposal before submitting

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Cooperative funding Agreements to Support National Ground-Water

Monitoring Network Data Providers Fiscal Year 2021

CFDA 15.980

National Ground-Water Monitoring Network Cooperative Agreements

The Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program of the USGS is offering a cooperative agreement funding opportunity to state or local water-resources agencies that collect groundwater data to participate in the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network. The USGS is working to develop and administer a National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN). This funding opportunity is to support data providers for the National Ground- Water Monitoring Network and to address the Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Priorities.

Legal authority for this opportunity is provided under Public Law 111-11, Subtitle F—Secure Water: Section 9507 “Water Data Enhancement by the United States Geological Survey.”

Funds will be used to support connecting new data providers to the Network and to support existing data providers to maintain persistent data service and to enhance the NGWMN.

1. Application Submission Closing Date January 21, 2021, at 4 pm, Eastern Standard Time

2. Electronic Application Requirement For the FY 2021 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 must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov on or before:

January 21, 2021, at 4 pm, Eastern Standard 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 are from a university, contact your Office of Sponsored Programs. They may already have completed the registration process and should work with you to submit the application.

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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

A question at the top of 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 “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 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 GRANT SPECIALIST.

mailto:support@grants.gov?subject=Support

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If you need help entering your proposal, you can reach the Grants.gov Contact Center at:

1-800-518-4726. 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.

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 January 21, 2021 at 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

See Section 11, 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. When 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 grant issues, contact:

Sara Roser

(703) 648-7357 sroser@usgs.gov (email preferred)

For National Ground-Water Monitoring Network Program issues contact:

Daryll Pope

(804) 261-2630 dpope@usgs.gov http://www.grants.gov/aboutgrants/federal_holidays.jsp http://www.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jso http://www.usgs.gov.contracts/grants/grantsgov.html mailto:lmahoney@usgs.gov mailto:sroser@usgs.gov mailto:dpope@usgs.gov

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3. Award Description The funding available for this Program Announcement is expected to be up to $1,800,000 for Federal FY2021. This estimate does not bind the USGS to a specific number of awards or to the amount of any individual award. Congress has not yet authorized FY2021 funds for the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network, so awards cannot be made until this funding is appropriated. Work performance under these awards must be completed within the two-year cycle from the start date. The timing of funds availability and the signing of the award will determine the start date. Individual applications are restricted to a funding level of $150,000 for a one-year project or $300,000 for a two-year project. Funding for routine work under Objective 2 to maintain persistent data services is limited to $20,000 per year (Objective 2A).

Substantial involvement of the USGS is anticipated to provide support to new data providers during the site selection and classification process and to establish web services that interact with the NGWMN Data Portal. USGS also will provide guidance to existing data providers on techniques for collection of site information, on well maintenance activities, and on well drilling to support development of the NGWMN. Therefore, these awards will be in the form of cooperative agreements. NGWMN cooperative agreements address the Department of Interior’s Secretarial Priorities to improve State and local groundwater monitoring efforts to more effectively manage groundwater resources at the regional and national scale (Secretarial Priority 1a, Attachment D) and to enhance communication and data sharing between State and local water resource agencies and the U.S. Department of the Interior (Secretarial Priority 3b, Attachment D).

All projects should propose start dates between July 15, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

4. National Ground-Water Monitoring Network The National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN) is designed to be a compilation of selected wells and springs from existing monitoring efforts to create a network to assess long-term water-level and water-quality trends at a National scale. The National Ground- Water Monitoring Network started as a product of the Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW) of the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI). The design for the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network is presented in the document ‘A National Framework for Ground-Water Monitoring in the United States’ and is available at:

https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/ngwmn_framework_report_july2013.pdf. The Network focuses on monitoring groundwater in the Nation’s most productive aquifers. The Network is designed primarily to help answer questions of groundwater availability at a Principal or major aquifer scale. The NGWMN focuses on serving data at actively monitored sites to help answer current groundwater availability questions. To create a unified network, field and data management techniques need to be as consistent as possible and sites need to be selected and classified in a common manner. In addition, site density in the Network should be consistent at the Principal and Major aquifer scale. This spreadsheet has the recommended well densities for each state and Principal aquifer.

https://acwi.gov/sogw/ https://acwi.gov/ https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/ngwmn_framework_report_july2013.pdf https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/aquifer/atlas.html https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/WellDensities.xlsx

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Data from the NGWMN is served from a Network Portal that links to data from all the providers’ various databases. To accomplish this, the data providers must set up and maintain persistent web services for their databases. The data elements from these web services are mapped to the Portal elements so that data can be retrieved to answer questions at a regional scale that crosses data provider boundaries.

The focus of the Network will be on long-term data collected at a sufficient frequency to determine seasonal and long-term effects. Water-level and water-quality data from both wells and springs are included in the NGWMN. The NGWMN program supports the Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Priorities by allowing water managers, primarily State Water Resource Agencies, to share their water-level and water-quality monitoring data to help monitor current conditions and avoid future water conflicts that may result from changes in the environment.

5. Eligibility Information

A. Applicant eligibility

Applicants can be state or local water-resource agencies which collect groundwater data.

Federal agencies are not eligible to apply for NGWMN Cooperative Agreements funding.

Funds from the projects cannot be distributed to Federal agencies to act as a contractor.

Agencies that are partnering with the local USGS Water Science Center to collect water-level or water-quality data as part of a Cooperative Matching Funds project are considered current data providers and are eligible for funding under Objectives 3-6 to enhance the NGWMN.

Discussion and coordination with USGS NGWMN staff are encouraged; however, USGS personnel are prohibited from helping an organization directly prepare its application for competitive funding.

Application announcement date: September 28, 2020 Applications must be submitted by the closing date of January 21, 2021

B. Topic eligibility

Several objectives have been identified and prioritized to meet the overall goal of building a Network that covers the Nation with data from well-defined sites and using accepted data-collection and data-management techniques. These objectives support the DOI Secretarial Priorities by enhancing communication and data sharing between State and local water resource agencies and the U.S. Department of the Interior and improving State and local groundwater monitoring efforts to more effectively manage groundwater resources at the regional and national scale.

The highest priority of the NGWMN is to support persistent data services from existing data providers to the NGWMN Portal and to add new data providers to build a robust network.

Existing data providers also may request funds for additional activities to enhance their NGWMN sites. These activities can include: filling site information gaps, performing maintenance activities at existing sites in the Network, drilling new wells for the NGWMN, or purchasing equipment to monitor continuous water-levels.

https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/

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The following objectives will be supported for funding by the NGWMN:

1. Support to become a new data provider

2. Support persistent data service from existing data providers

3. Filling gaps in information at NGWMN sites

4. Well maintenance

5. Well drilling

6. Purchase equipment to support continuous water-level data collection

Agencies cannot propose work under Objectives 4, 5, or 6 in a proposal to become a new data provider (Objective 1).

Funding cannot be used to:

• Purchase software or software maintenance license fees that are used for routine processing of water-level or water-quality data.

• Purchase or lease vehicles to be used to support routine data collection efforts

• Purchase equipment or supplies for water-quality sampling

• Purchase equipment to support telemetry at NGWMN sites

• Purchase downhole cameras or supplies

• Purchase geophysical logging equipment or supplies

• Purchase GPS equipment

• Develop new agency databases

• Purchase land or obtain easements for site access

• Contract with USGS or other Federal agencies to perform work on the project

C. Proposal eligibility

The following items will result in a proposal or work under the related objective being deemed ineligible:

• Missing budget information o Overall budget o Detailed budget for each objective

• Proposals from data providers working with a local USGS Cooperative Matching Funds project to collect groundwater data that are missing a letter of support from the local USGS Water Science Center

• Funding request that exceeds award limits

• Proposals that contract with U.S. Government Agencies to provide funding to perform work on the project

D. Unsuitable Proposals

The following proposals are ineligible for consideration under this Announcement:

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

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

• Proposals principally involving the direct procurement of a product, equipment, or service not used for data collection

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• Proposals that contract with U.S. Government Agencies to provide funding to work on the project

6. Objectives The NGWMN is providing financial support for six objectives described in this section. The type of work supported under each objective is described in this section. The requirements that need to be addressed in the proposal for each objective are described in section 11.B, of this program announcement. Proposed work outside these objectives will not be funded.

If an agency is applying as a new data provider, then the ‘Support to become a new data provider’ objective must be completed before work can begin on any other objectives.

During the second year of a new data provider project, the applicant can propose work under Objectives 2 and 3 that begins once the Objective 1 work is planned to be completed. New data provider proposals are not permitted to propose work under Objectives 4, 5, or 6 in their initial proposal.

Agencies who have an active project to become a new data provider or who are already a data provider may apply for any Objectives 2-6 under this Program Announcement.

Objective 1: Support to become a new data provider This objective provides funding to perform work necessary to become a data provider to the NGWMN. The agency will select and classify sites from their existing networks for inclusion in the NGWMN. They will provide data from agency databases to the NGWMN Portal by creating new web services or repurposing existing web services.

They will document field and data management practices specific to their agency so that users of the NGWMN data have information on the quality of data from the varied sources. A brief report summarizing the work to become a new data provider is required.

Ideally, work to become a new data provider would be completed in year one of a two-year project but may continue into a second year if necessary. Note that no other objectives may be initiated on the project until the ‘Support to become a new data provider’ objective is complete.

The expected total costs to become a new data provider commonly ranges from about $60,000 to $120,000. Costs may vary depending on Information Technology (IT) costs, security issues, the number of sites that need to be reviewed and classified, and indirect rates.

Web services established in this objective are how agency data are shared with the NGWMN Data Portal. Guidance for setting up the web services is available in the Web Service Development tip sheet. The web services must return the minimum data elements as described in the Minimum Data Elements Tip Sheet. The service must return the data in XML format. We encourage, but do not require the use of data standards for the XML web services that are established. These include: WaterML2 for https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WebServices_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WebServices_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_Minimum_Data_Elements_Tip_Sheet.pdf http://www.waterml2.org/

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For water-level network sites, separate web services are required to serve water-level, well-construction, and lithology data.

For water-quality network sites, water-quality data can be provided by either setting up new web services or by making the data available through the USEPA Water Quality Exchange. New data providers are encouraged to provide data through the Water Quality Exchange as this makes the data available to the NWQMC Water-Quality Data Portal, which can be used to provide the data to the NGWMN. If web services are used to serve the water-quality data instead, they should follow the guidelines in the Water- Quality Web Services Tip Sheet and use of the WQX standard is encouraged. In either case, separate web services are required for water-level, well construction, lithology, and water-quality data (if not provided through the USEPA Water Quality Exchange).

If using the USEPA Water Data Exchange, data providers would need to regularly upload their data to ensure that recent data are available.

During the site selection and classification portion of the project, providers should identify sites that would be beneficial to the NGWMN but are missing some required data elements. These sites can be added to the NGWMN Well Registry but should not yet be displayed on the Portal (Display Flag set to ‘N’). These sites will then be eligible for funding under Objective 3 to fill the site information gaps. If all sites have missing data elements, work to fill those gaps for selected wells may be proposed under Objective 3 in a project to become a new data provider.

Software purchases or license fees to support delivery of NGWMN data via web services are supported. However, software purchases related to storage of agency data or routine processing of data are not supported.

Travel costs are not supported for work under Objective 1.

Objective 2: Support persistent data service from existing data providers This objective provides funding to perform activities necessary to maintain persistent data services from agency databases to the NGWMN Portal and to support work to add new sites to the network and upgrade or improve web services. Work under this objective can consist of two parts that will require separate budgets and work plans and will be evaluated separately.

Part A: Work under Part A is to support data providers to keep the sites and information in the NGWMN current and to maintain the database connections (web services) to the NGWMN Data Portal. Support for this work is limited to a maximum of $20,000 per year. Activities supported under this are:

• Maintain web services that provide data to the portal http://docs.opengeospatial.org/is/16-032r2/16-032r2.html https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/storage-and-retrieval-and-water-quality-exchange https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/storage-and-retrieval-and-water-quality-exchange https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/storage-and-retrieval-and-water-quality-exchange https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/storage-and-retrieval-and-water-quality-exchange http://www.waterqualitydata.us/ http://www.waterqualitydata.us/ https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WQ_WebServices_TipSheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WQ_WebServices_TipSheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WQ_WebServices_TipSheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WQ_WebServices_TipSheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WQ_WebServices_TipSheet.pdf

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• Fix any issues with the services so that data continues to flow to the NGWMN Data Portal

• Keep the list of sites in the NGWMN Well Registry up to date o Remove sites that are no longer active o Add new replacement sites to the NGWMN

• Keep metadata for NGWMN sites in the Well Registry up to date

• Provide updates to the NGWMN Data Provider page for their agency

Part B: Work supported under Part B allows agencies to apply for funding to support additional work. There is no funding limit on this additional work beyond the annual and project limits ($150,000 for a one-year project or and $300,000 for a two-year project). This additional work may include:

• Upgrade web services in conjunction with major agency database upgrades,

• Add new fields to existing services that have recently been requested by the

NGWMN Portal staff,

• Upgrade existing services to provide data using established XML data standards (WaterML2, GWML, or WQX),

• Modify existing water-quality services to meet guidelines in the Water-Quality

Web Services Tip Sheet,

• Modify existing databases to store fields required as Minimum Data Elements by the NGWMN and modify existing web services to serve these new fields,

• Expand web services. This can include adding new web services that were not originally set up when the agency became a data provider. For example, an agency that currently provides only water-level data could use this objective to add a web service to serve water-quality data, or

• Expand the number of sites in the NGWMN. This may include selecting sites for a Principal aquifer that was not part of the data provider’s original project.

This can support selecting and classifying the new sites and adding the sites to the NGWMN Well Registry. Adding less than 20 new sites to the NGWMN should be done under Objective 2A. Expansion of sites under 2B should be for 20 or more new sites.

Software purchases or license fees to support delivery of NGWMN data via web services are supported. However, software purchases related to storage of agency data or routine processing of data are not supported.

Water-level monitoring or water-quality data collection is not supported under this objective. Purchase of monitoring equipment or supplies is not supported under this objective. Quality assurance of routinely collected data is not supported.

Travel costs are not supported for work under Objective 2.

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Objective 3: Filling gaps in information at NGWMN sites

This objective provides funding to perform work necessary to fill metadata gaps in the required data elements listed in the NGWMN Minimum Data Requirements tip sheet.

The work may include data entry from available sources or field data collection efforts that fill metadata gaps.

For existing data providers, work to fill site information gaps can only be proposed for sites that are in the NGWMN Well Registry at the time of the proposal due date.

New data providers can propose work that they know will need to be done at all sites prior to entry into the NGWMN. The specific sites do not need to be listed, since they have not been selected yet.

Examples of supported site information gap-filling activities include:

• Data collection to fill metadata gaps o Sounding wells to determine depth o Well logging to determine well construction details including screen intervals, casing diameter and depth, etc. Logging can include downhole camera surveys o Well logging to determine lithology o GPS or leveling of land surface altitude and/or measuring points at wells o GPS update of Latitude/Longitude o Entry of data collected under this objective into agency databases and the NGWMN Well Registry

• Data entry to fill metadata or NGWMN data gaps o Entry of lithologic data from paper files o Entry of well construction data from paper files o Entry of historical water-level or water-quality data for NGWMN sites into current agency databases

Water-level monitoring or water-quality data collection is not supported under this objective. Purchase of monitoring equipment or supplies is not supported under this objective. Purchase of downhole cameras, geophysical logging equipment, or GPS equipment is not supported. Equipment rental and travel costs are allowed. Software purchases to analyze data collected during the project are supported.

Objective 4: Well maintenance

This objective provides funding to perform maintenance work on wells in the NGWMN to ensure that data are of high quality. The work may include well redevelopment, well rehabilitation or repair, periodic pumping to ensure connection to the aquifer, or testing of the well to ensure performance. Other routine well-maintenance activities may also be supported including replacing shelters or installing protective casing.

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For existing data providers, well maintenance tasks can only be done at sites that are in the NGWMN Well Registry at the time of the proposal due date.

Examples of supported Well Maintenance activities include:

o Well redevelopment o Periodic pumping of observation wells to assess/maintain connection to aquifer o Well-integrity testing o Well rehabilitation o Well repair o Installation of protective surface casing at wells o Well camera investigations

Water-level monitoring or water-quality data collection is not supported under this objective. Purchase of monitoring equipment or supplies is not supported under this objective.

Purchase of downhole cameras, geophysical logging equipment, or GPS equipment is not supported. Equipment rental and travel costs are allowed. Software purchases to analyze data collected during the project are supported.

Objective 5: Well drilling

This objective provides funding to install wells to enhance or maintain the NGWMN.

Well installation may include replacement wells for existing NGWMN sties and installation of wells at new locations that fill spatial gaps in the NGWMN Network.

Drilling shall be done by qualified and licensed agency staff or by using a contract driller. All state drilling requirements must be met. Well drilling activities cannot be contracted to the USGS. In addition, USGS staff cannot be contracted to serve in any role in the drilling operations using NGWMN cooperative agreement funds.

Water-level monitoring or water-quality data collection is not supported under this objective. Purchase of monitoring equipment or supplies is not supported under this objective. Supplies needed for well drilling are allowed. Equipment rental and travel costs are allowed. Software purchases to analyze data collected during the project are supported.

Objective 6: Purchase equipment to support continuous water-level data collection This objective supports the purchase of water-level monitoring equipment for NGWMN continuous water-level sites. Once every five years, equipment may be purchased to replace equipment at current NGWMN sites with continuous data collection. Equipment may also be purchased under Objective 6 to upgrade the water-level monitoring frequency at existing NGWMN sites to continuous data collection.

This could be for NGWMN Trend sites with only quarterly or monthly discrete data collected or to equip an existing NGWMN Surveillance site to be a Trend monitoring site.

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Equipment purchases can include data loggers, pressure transducers, and cables to collect continuous water-level data. Funding for equipment to provide realtime data via satellite telemetry or cell phone networks is not supported. Telemetry equipment can be installed at the sites but must be purchased by the agency and may be used as in-kind services match.

This objective can be used to cover only equipment purchase costs and personnel time needed for documentation of equipment purchases in the project final report. Water-level monitoring operations and maintenance or field visit costs are not supported under this objective but can be used as in-kind services. Salary for equipment purchase or installation is not eligible for funding but can be used as in-kind services.

7. Network Policies, Standards and Procedures The requirements for the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network are described in the National Ground-Water Management Framework Document, which is available online at:

http://acwi.gov/sogw/ngwmn_framework_report_july2013.pdf

“Tip Sheets” are available to provide guidance related to the NGWMN and can be found at:

https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/learnmore.jsp under the ‘Data Provider’ tab. The tip sheets are a quick reference for data providers on the following topics:

• Well Selection Criteria for Water Levels

• Well Selection Criteria for Water Quality

• Defining the Subnetwork

• Defining Monitoring Categories

• Populating the Well Registry

• Minimum Data Requirements for Candidate sites

• Web Service Development

• Water-Quality Web Services

These tip sheets should be used as guidance during a project to become a new data provider.

They contain information on well selection and classification, minimum requirements for NGWMN sites, adding sites to the NGWMN, and guidelines on web services.

The Well Selection tip sheets both reference a spreadsheet that lists well densities for the NGWMN by Principal aquifer and State. Applicants should consult this spreadsheet before they propose adding new wells to the NGWMN or drilling new wells to enhance the Network.

In most cases, sites should not be added to the NGWMN (added to the Well Registry and have Display of the site turned on) until the Minimum Data Elements for the sites are available.

Work under Objective 3 to fill site-information gaps can be done on wells that are not yet active in the NGWMN, if they have been added to the Well Registry and have the Display Flag set to ‘N’.

http://acwi.gov/sogw/ngwmn_framework_report_july2013.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/learnmore.jsp https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WL_Criteria_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WQ_Criteria_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_Subnetwork_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_Monitoring_Categories_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_Well_Registry_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_Minimum_Data_Elements_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WebServices_Tip_Sheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/NGWMN_WQ_WebServices_TipSheet.pdf https://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn/doc/WellDensities.xlsx

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8. Multi-year proposals All agreements will be for a maximum period of two years. The total funding for an individual award may not exceed $150,000 for a one-year project or $300,000 for a two-year project. All work must be completed by the end of the two-year cycle (dependent upon actual project period of performance) and final reports (Attachment C 5.b.2) generated within 90 days of completion. For two-year projects, a progress report (Attachment C 5.b.1) should be submitted 60 days prior to the end of the 1st year of the project.

9. In-Kind Services Cost-Share Guidelines In-kind services cost sharing is used to create partnerships to meet the goals of building and enhancing the NGWMN. This allows agencies to contribute work they are doing at NGWMN sites to match the Federal funding provided for the NGWMN. Only work performed at NGWMN sites or potential new NGWMN sites (well drilling) can be used as in-kind services.

In-kind services are not required for work proposed under Objectives 1 or 2 because work done under these objectives is generally of benefit primarily to the NGWMN.

While no specific match rate is required, a 1:1 match rate of agency in-kind services to USGS funding is suggested (50% match). The formula for calculating the match percent is: ((in-kind services costs) / (in-kind services costs + USGS Funding)) * 100. Agencies providing at least 25% match for work proposed on Objectives 3, 4, 5, or 6 will receive a scoring bonus when the proposals are evaluated. Objectives with at least 50% match will receive the largest bonus.

Details on scoring are described in section 13.

Since each objective is scored independently during review, in-kind services cost sharing must be provided separately for each objective. Include in-kind services cost sharing in the detailed budget for each objective and provide similar details like that required for work to be funded by the USGS. List the individuals who will be doing the work and the tasks they will be doing.

Examples of in-kind resource match are: salaries, contracts for work supported under this proposal, contractual support, travel expenses, software purchase, equipment or supplies used for the project, and indirect costs or overhead charges. Agency activities related to operation and maintenance of NGWMN sites that are a part of their current (local agency) network can be used as in-kind services match. This can be either the collection of water-level data for a NGWMN site or sampling of a NGWMN site. If equipment purchases will not be exclusively used on the project or at NGWMN sites, the cost of the equipment should be pro-rated based on how much the equipment will be used for the NGWMN during the performance period of the project. Work to perform quality assurance of data at NGWMN sites can also be used as in-kind services match. Drilling work used as match can only be for wells that will be added to the NGWMN. The need for these wells should be described in the same detail required for other NGWMN sites. Their benefit to the NGWMN needs to be shown. All in-kind service activities must occur during the performance period of the project.

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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 the following criteria:

o Verifiable from the recipients’ records.

o Not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted project or program.

o Necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of project or program objectives.

o Allowable under the applicable cost principles.

o Not paid by the Federal Government under another award, except where authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost matching.

o Provided for in the approved budget when required by the Federal awarding agency.

o 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.

Third-party in-kind services can include work done by another state or local agency in support of your project.

The 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 detailed budget breakdown.

10. Final Project Report A Final Technical Report is required that describes in detail the work performed and results obtained during the grant period. The report does not have to be formally published by the agency; however, the report will be made available through on the agency’s Data Provider page on the NGWMN Data Portal. Work proposed under each objective should be documented in the Final Project Report.

Costs for preparation of the Final Project Report should be included in the work plan for each objective in the proposal. Check to ensure that the planned staff hours and total cost of the Final Project Report are reasonable.

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The Final Technical report should include:

Cover page The cover page should include the following information:

o Award Number o Agency Name o Title o Author(s) and Affiliation(s) with address and zip code o Author’s Telephone numbers and email address o Term covered by award (start and end dates) o Date of final report

Main body of the report

The main body of the report should include:

o Overview of work planned and accomplished during the project o Detailed description of work accomplished under each objective

For new data providers:

o Description of existing water-level and/or water-quality networks including the objectives of the networks o Description of site selection criteria and process o Description of process used to assign Subnetworks and Monitoring Categories for both water-level and water-quality networks (as appropriate for your Network) o Description or link to Field techniques for water-level measurement and water-quality sample collection (as appropriate for your network) o Description of data management procedures in place. Describe data quality and quality assurance processes o List of Minimum Data elements and how they are provided to the Data Portal (via the Well Registry or web services) o Notes on any sites that have missing required data elements o Note any sites that do not meet requirements in Table 4.5.1.1 and/or 4.5.2.1 of the Framework Document.

o A description of the web services used or installed for this project o Analyte list used for water-quality sampling networks o List of laboratories and their accreditation for analyzing properties and constituents included in the monitoring program if water-quality data are served o Describe any work done under Objectives 2 or 3 as part of the initial project

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For existing data providers:

o Description of work done to support the NGWMN as a data provider for each objective o Describe any data-collection, well-maintenance, or well-drilling activities completed during the project o Describe any methods used for data collection o Describe the procedures used to quality assure any data collected before it was entered into agency databases or the NGWMN Well Registry o Table listing any new or replacement wells added to the NGWMN. Include the

Principal Aquifer, well depth, and the NGWMN site number. If the well is a replacement well, list the site number for the previous well o Description of any updates made to web services during period of award o Description of any problems encountered in serving data to the NGWMN data portal o Well construction diagrams for any new wells o Provide a summary of any equipment purchased under Objective 6 and list each well showing the equipment purchased and the date the equipment was installed.

Details on deadlines and how to submit the Final Project Report are included in Attachment C Section 5.2.

11. Application Preparation Instructions Your electronic submission shall consist of forms SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B. Form SF- 424D is needed for proposals that include work under Objective 5. The items described below in items A through F should be included in the application package as the ‘Project Narrative Attachment Form’.