Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Lakes – Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00185

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the funding opportunity number for this grant?

The funding opportunity number is G24AS00185.

Which federal agency is offering this opportunity?

The awarding agency is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), listed as the Geological Survey in the announcement.

What type of funding mechanism is being used?

This opportunity is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement, which generally indicates substantial involvement by USGS during the project period (for example, collaboration on study design, data needs, interpretation, or coordination with agency partners).

What is the main purpose of this grant?

The grant supports science and technology research focused on evaluating how well remediation and habitat restoration actions are working at Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs), with emphasis on improving methods and approaches used to demonstrate remedy effectiveness and ecological recovery.

What problem is the opportunity trying to address?

The opportunity targets long-standing contaminated sediment issues in Great Lakes AOCs, where pollutants such as organic contaminants, mercury, and trace metals have persisted for decades and continue to drive ecological and human-use impacts tracked through Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs).

What are Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the context of this opportunity?

In this opportunity, AOCs are locations in the Great Lakes region with a legacy of contaminated sediments and related impacts. They are managed through remediation and restoration efforts, and they are not considered recovered until all listed Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) are removed.

What are Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs), and why do they matter here?

BUIs are formal categories used to track ecological and human-use impacts in AOCs. Examples mentioned include restrictions on fish consumption, degraded fish and wildlife populations, and loss or degradation of fish and wildlife habitat. BUI removal is critical because AOCs are not considered recovered until all BUIs are removed.

How does this opportunity relate to AOC delisting?

The opportunity is tied to the need for consistent, defensible evaluation of post-remediation and restoration outcomes that support BUI removal. EPA relies on BUI removal as the condition to petition for delisting an AOC, meaning the site is judged to have returned to a baseline, reference, or otherwise pre-defined condition.

Which EPA office’s decision needs are emphasized?

The work is framed around the practical decision needs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), specifically the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO), which manages AOC remediation under the Great Lakes Legacy Act.

Is this opportunity focused on doing remediation work, or on evaluating it?

Based on the description, the focus is on evaluating and improving assessment approaches that demonstrate whether remediation and habitat restoration are achieving intended outcomes, rather than simply performing remediation actions.

What kinds of research questions is the opportunity intended to help answer?

The opportunity highlights applied research needs such as determining whether sediment remedies are reducing contaminant exposure and risk as expected, whether restored habitats are functioning to support fish and wildlife recovery, which indicators and monitoring designs best track progress toward BUI removal, and how to interpret post-remediation data to support consistent delisting decisions across different AOCs.

What contaminants are explicitly mentioned as concerns in AOCs?

The opportunity specifically mentions organic contaminants, mercury, and trace metals as examples of pollutants that have persisted in contaminated sediments for decades.

What kinds of impacts are linked to these contaminants?

The contaminants are linked to ecological and human-use impacts tracked as BUIs, including restrictions on fish consumption, degraded fish and wildlife populations, and loss or degradation of fish and wildlife habitat.

What is the Assistance Listing (CFDA) number for this opportunity?

The assistance listing is CFDA 15.808.

What is the activity category for this funding?

The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is limited to organizations that are partners in the Great Lakes - Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). The narrative requirement states applicants must be active participants in that CESU partnership.

The listing shows "Others" as eligible applicants. What does that mean here?

While the eligible applicant category is listed as "Others," the eligibility requirement is clarified in the narrative: applicants must be active participants in the Great Lakes - Northern Forest CESU partnership.

What is the CESU Program, and why does it matter for eligibility?

CESUs are collaborative partnerships designed to link federal agencies with universities, nonprofits, and other research entities to provide applied research, technical assistance, and education tied to natural resource management priorities. Because this opportunity is issued through the CESU Program, eligibility is restricted to the specified CESU partnership members.

What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement rather than a more hands-off grant?

The announcement indicates that USGS is likely to have substantial involvement during performance, such as collaborating on study design, aligning data needs, participating in interpretation, or coordinating with agency partners.

What is the maximum award amount (funding ceiling)?

The funding ceiling for this opportunity is $200,000.

When was this opportunity created and when did it close?

The creation date is November 21, 2023. The original closing date is December 22, 2023.

What is meant by "remedy effectiveness" in this context?

In this context, "remedy effectiveness" refers to how well sediment remediation actions are achieving intended outcomes, especially whether remedies are reducing contaminant exposure and risk as expected, and whether the evidence supports progress toward BUI removal.

What is meant by evaluating whether habitat restoration is "working"?

The opportunity emphasizes determining whether restored habitats are functioning in ways that support fish and wildlife recovery and align with ecological recovery expectations implied by BUI removal targets.

Why is there emphasis on indicators and monitoring design?

The announcement notes unresolved technical and scientific questions about how to measure remedy effectiveness and evaluate restoration outcomes. It highlights the need to identify indicators and monitoring designs that best track progress toward BUI removal and support defensible delisting decisions.

What does "baseline, reference, or otherwise pre-defined condition" mean in relation to delisting?

The opportunity states that delisting decisions depend on demonstrating that the AOC has returned to a baseline, reference, or otherwise pre-defined condition, which is tied to the removal of all BUIs.

What kinds of outputs is this opportunity trying to generate?

The opportunity is aimed at generating applied research products that help agencies more confidently evaluate remediation and restoration outcomes, interpret post-remediation data, and support consistent, defensible decisions related to BUI removal and AOC delisting.