§5505 Environmental Education Grants

Summary

The Administrator may make cooperative agreements, contracts, or grants to pay for projects that create, test, or spread environmental education practices, methods, or techniques. Eligible work includes things like making curricula and teaching materials, testing field methods and pollution analysis, studying a specific environmental problem, training teachers or faculty in a region, and projects that build U.S. cooperation with Canada or Mexico. Priority goes to projects that develop new or much improved methods, ones that can be used widely, ones tied to skills or science listed in the report under section 5508(d), or ones that address an environmental issue the Administrator considers a high priority. The program must announce calls for proposals, pick and supervise projects, evaluate results, and share what works. Within one year of November 16, 1990 the Administrator must publish rules to run the program. Within 90 days after money is first provided for the chapter, and each year after, the Administrator must publish a solicitation for grants. Eligible applicants include local and State education or environmental agencies, colleges and universities, nonprofits, and noncommercial educational broadcasters. Projects must be done by the applicant or someone both the applicant and Administrator accept. For demonstration projects, federal money normally cannot exceed 75 percent of the cost (nonfederal share can be in-kind), though the Administrator may allow a higher federal share or full funding in special cases. No grant may be more than $250,000, and 25 percent of all funds obligated in a year must be for grants of $5,000 or less.