Is the funding restriction on duplicative work in regard to EN grants or all received EPA grants?
During our annual application review process, we have application review panels score applications against the evaluation criteria as well as subject matter experts who conduct a separate technical review. These subject matter experts (SMEs) are from the applicable EPA National Program Office (e.g., the Office of Air and Radiation) and are familiar with the specific data flow that applies.
If the proposed project is similar to any prior work being done under any other EPA grant (including a prior EN assistance agreement) this should be referenced in the project narrative and the applicant should take care to spell out how this new work would be different from the other grant project. This way, the SMEs will not flag the work as duplicative, in the event that they are familiar with the other work that the applicant may have completed in the past.
Please remember that the EN grant program does not fund costs towards operations and maintenance.