Instructions and Application URL

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

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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 GroundWater 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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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 GroundWater 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.

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11. Application Preparation Instructions
Your electronic submission shall consist of forms SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B. Form SF424D 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’. Failure to comply with the required application components listed below
may result in the proposal being rejected.
Items A through G as described below shall be combined in one document, in the order
noted below, and submitted through Grants.gov in either MS Word or Adobe PDF format.
The application shall not exceed 20 single-spaced pages and the type size shall not be smaller
than 12 point. All pages of the application shall be numbered. All text, figures, and tables shall
be sized to fit on 8½” by 11” paper with 1-inch margins. The negotiated rate agreement,
figures, tables, detailed budgets for objectives, timelines for objectives, required maps,
letters of support, and the Data Management Plan do not count toward the page limit.
In the Grants.gov forms, floating your mouse over a field will provide instructions for
completing that field. You can also click on the ‘Check Package for Errors’ button to check the
entire application for validation errors (incomplete fields, etc.)

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The application submitted through Grants.gov as the ‘Project Narrative Attachment Form’ (in
MS Word or Adobe PDF format) shall be assembled in the following order:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.

Proposal Information Summary
Proposal
Detailed Budget for each objective
Timeline for each objective
Data Management Plan
Staff Qualifications
Supporting Letters

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Attachment A - Proposal Information Summary Template
USGS National Ground-Water Monitoring Network Cooperative Agreement

Proposal Information Summary

Use the format below for the Proposal Information Summary
1.

Project Title:

The title of the proposal. Should be short title and should match
that used in the title box of Form SF-424.

2.

Principal Investigator:

List one Principal Investigator/Technical Contact Name and
contact information here
(Name)
(Institute/Organization Name)
(Street Address/P.O. Box)
(City, State, Zip Code)
(Telephone Number), (E-mail Address)

3.

Authorized Institutional
Representative:

Provide name of Institutional/Financial contact here
(Name)
(Institute/Organization Name)
(Organizational Unit)
(Street Address/P.O. Box)
(City, State, Zip Code)
(Telephone Number), (E-mail Address)

4.

Amount Requested:

List total amount requested for project and the total for each year
of the project.

5.

Proposed Start Date:

(The date you would like to start work; between
July 15th, 2021 and September 30th, 2021)

6.

Proposed Duration:

(12 or 24 months)

7.

Data Provider Status:

Indicate status as ‘New’ or ‘Existing’ data provider. Existing data
providers, provide the date you started working with the NGWMN
as a data provider and the date and title of your last proposal.

8.

Objectives included in proposal

List each objective which is included in the proposal. Provide the
total USGS funding requested for each objective.

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