The next meeting of the ACE board will be a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, June 9 from 1:30 – 2:15 pm. Please contact larafloyd@whitebluffsconsulting.com to get the meeting link.

Meeting documents:

Revised ACE Meeting Agenda 060921

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites you to participate in the  

2021-2022 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Solicitation Informational Webinar

Thursday, June 10, 2021
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT

Register Now!

Registration for the 2021-2022 SBIR solicitation webinar is free.  Join us for an informational webinar on EPA’s 2021-2022 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I solicitation. Learn about EPA’s SBIR program, this year’s solicitation topics, and how to apply for an SBIR contract. EPA SBIR program experts will be available to answer questions following the presentation.

EPA’s 2021-2022 SBIR Phase I solicitation is anticipated to open in mid-June 2021. The solicitation purpose is to support eligible small businesses in the development and commercialization of innovative environmental technologies. EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR Program as a result of the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. With this solicitation, EPA is calling for small businesses to apply for Phase I awards for up to $100,000 to demonstrate proof of concept in one of the SBIR solicitation topic areas. Successful Phase I awardees are eligible to receive Phase II funding, up to $400,000 for two years, through an additional application process.

Webinar Objectives

• Review topics anticipated in the upcoming 2021-2022 SBIR Phase I solicitation
• Learn about the federal SBIR Program and EPA’s SBIR Program
• Learn how to apply via FedConnect
• Review administrative, submission, eligibility and proposal evaluation processes
• Share frequently asked questions

Proposed Research Topics for the 2021-2022 Solicitation 

Clean and Safe Water

• Modular decentralized non-potable water reuse for urban applications
• Low-input decentralized non-potable water reuse for irrigation applications
• Detection of lead service lines
• Retrofit technologies to improve operation of stormwater management infrastructure
• Technologies to process environmental samples of microplastics
• Technologies to remove microplastics from wastewater or stormwater

Air Quality

• Air monitoring technology for air toxics
• Low-cost sensors for air toxics and odors
• Continuous emission monitoring system for metal HAPs
• Integrated sampling, continuous monitoring for metal HAP emissions
• Technologies to reduce exposure to radon in buildings
• Air monitoring technology for methane (CH₄) from oil and gas storage tanks

Homeland Security

• Air treatment methods to reduce the risks from transmission of viruses and bacteria in enclosed or semi-enclosed environments

Sustainable Materials Management

• Innovative technologies that help consumers prevent food waste in the acquisition, preparation, and storage of food
• Innovative technologies that will improve the U.S. recycling system
• Low impact reusable and recyclable material alternatives to low value plastic items that escape management
• Low impact construction materials and technologies to reduce embodied carbon of buildings
• Low impact construction materials and technologies to increase resiliency to disasters and recovery of materials generated from these incidents

Safer Chemicals

• Microphysiological systems for predictive toxicology
• Post application pesticide drift predictor
• PCB-free coloration technologies

Risk Assessment

• Software tools and machine-learning applications for systematic review in science assessment

For more information on EPA’s SBIR program and funding opportunities: https://www.epa.gov/sbir

Learn more about SBIR program: www.SBIR.gov

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland Announces $150 Million to Create Public Parks, Expand Recreation Opportunities in Urban Areas

On May 10, 2021, the Department of the Interior announced the National Park Service will distribute $150 million to communities through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) grant program.

During this grant cycle, open May 10 – September 24, 2021, the National Park Service will be awarding between $300,000 and $5 million to state and local governments. State agencies must be the lead applicant for this grant opportunity, but they may apply for funds on behalf of a local government.

This grant program provides funding to renovate existing parks or create new outdoor recreation space in underserved communities funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).  For Information go to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=ORLP

To read the full Press Release:  https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-announces-150-million-create-public-parks-expand-recreation 

Examples of past projects are available here, including one in Portland, OR:

Portland, OR — $500,000 – The City of Portland, Verde, and private partners will develop a 25-acre park on a former brownfield in the Cully neighborhood of northeast Portland. The neighborhood, one of Portland’s larger and more populous neighborhoods, is predominantly minority and low-income and has limited outdoor recreation opportunities as compared to other regional areas. The grant will restore habitat and support development of an accessible playground, walking trail with exercise equipment, scenic overlooks, off leash dog area, Intertribal Gathering Garden (open to the public), and a youth soccer field at Thomas Cully Park.

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Juvenile Chinook Salmon in the Columbia River Basin: Implications for Stock Recovery

Among the populations of Pacific salmon and steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss (anadromous Rainbow Trout) that inhabit the Columbia River basin there are currently 13 Evolutionarily Significant Units listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. While habitat loss, dams, overharvest, and climate change have been implicated in declining abundance of Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha in the Columbia River, chemical contaminants represent an additional, yet poorly understood, conservation threat. In this study we measured concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in juvenile Chinook Salmon from various Columbia River stocks and life history types to evaluate the potential for adverse effects in these threatened and endangered fish. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs), recognized contaminants of concern in the Columbia basin, are the primary focus of this paper; other contaminants found in these fish, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are described in other publications. We frequently detected PCBs and DDTs in juvenile salmon and salmon diet samples from the lower Columbia River and estuary. In some cases, concentrations in salmon were above estimated thresholds for effects on growth and survival. The tidal freshwater portion of the estuary, between Portland, Oregon, and Longview, Washington, appeared to be an important source of contaminants for juvenile salmon and a region in which salmon were exposed to toxicants associated with urban development and industrial activity. Highest concentrations of PCBs were found in fall Chinook Salmon stocks with subyearling life histories, including populations from the upper Columbia and Snake rivers, which feed and rear in the tidal freshwater and estuarine portions of the river for extended periods. Spring Chinook Salmon stocks with yearling life histories that migrate more rapidly through the estuary generally had low PCB concentrations, but high concentrations of DDTs. Lipid content was low (<1%) in many of the fish examined, contributing to high lipid-adjusted contaminants concentrations in some samples. Click here to read the full study published in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.