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g INTRODUCTION AND SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS PROJECTS FLOW CHART Each year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) receives a budget through an appropriations bill created by the Congress of the United States and signed by the President. Since 1994, EPA's budget for State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) has included funding for a number of "special needs" projects identified in the appropriations bills by name and dollar amount. Funding of these projects is in the form of a 55% reimbursement grant from EPA. A reimbursement grant is one in which the grantee incurs the costs, and then submits the invoices for such costs to EPA for payment at the federal percentage rate of the grant, no greater than 55%. EPA refers to these projects as Special Appropriations Projects (SPAPs); however, some people refer to them as STAG projects because they are identified in the STAG portion of our budget. The authority to award the SPAPs grants has been given to the ten regional offices within EPA. Region 4 in Atlanta, Georgia, awards the SPAPs grants for the southeastern states, i.e., Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This procedures manual is intended to be a tool to assist grantees in understanding the grant process requirements and provisions related to these SPAPs for wastewater, drinking water and storm water needs in Region 4. It is loosely organized into six phases that follow the process flow chart shown on the following pages. Included in the phases are the specific requirements for those actions. Please note that the states of AL, KY, MS and NC assist EPA in the administration of these grant to varying degrees; therefore, the process may differ slightly in those states. Since EPA cannot award funds for final design and construction until it completes an environmental review of the project, the grantee has two award process options. The first option is to request a grant for planning and conceptual design to prepare the needed preliminary engineering report and environmental information document with federal funds. The grant would then be amended to include funds for the construction phase of the project once the environmental review was completed by EPA. The second option is to request funding only for final design and construction, thus paying for the planning and environmental information document with local funds. In this option the grant would be awarded once the environmental review once EPA had completed its review. As with any document all comments are general in nature and specific project requirements may vary. Please note that this document is prepared as a reference tool for general nroiects and that the federal regulations will apply first in cases of conflict. This document is also part of the Region 4 workbook entitled, "Workbook for Special Appropriations Grants," and is available on line at httu://www.eua.aov/re~ion4/water/gtas/SPAPs workbook.html. 2