[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 194 (Wednesday, October 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53972-53975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26853]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-1998-4525]


National Boating Safety Activities: Funding for National 
Nonprofit Public Service Organizations

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard seeks applications for grants and cooperative 
agreements from national

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nongovernmental, nonprofit, public service organizations. These grants 
and cooperative agreements would be used to fund projects on various 
subjects promoting boating safety on the national level. This notice 
provides information about the grant and cooperative agreement 
application process and some of the subjects of particular interest to 
the Coast Guard.

DATES: Application packages may be obtained on or after October 7, 
1998. Proposals for the Fiscal Year 1999 grant cycle must be received 
before 4:30 p.m. eastern time January 15, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Application packages may be obtained by calling the Coast 
Guard Infoline at 800-368-5647. Submit proposals to: Commandant (G-OPB-
1) U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW., Room 3100, 
Washington, DC 20593-0001. This notice is available from the Coast 
Guard Infoline and on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or at the Web 
Site for the Office of Boating Safety at URL address 
www.uscgboating.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Albert Marmo, Office of Boating 
Safety, U.S. Coast Guard (G-OPB-1/room 3100), 2100 Second Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20593-0001; 202-267-0950. For questions on viewing, or 
submitting material to, the docket, contact Dorothy Walker, Chief, 
Dockets, Department of Transportation, 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title 26, United States Code, section 9504, 
establishes the Boat Safety Account of the Aquatic Resources Trust 
Fund. From this trust fund, the majority of funds are allocated to the 
States, and up to 5% of these funds may be distributed by the Coast 
Guard for grants and cooperative agreements to national, nonprofit, 
public service organizations for national boating safety activities. It 
is anticipated that $2,950,000 will be available for fiscal year 1999. 
Twenty-two awards totaling $2,750,000 were made in fiscal year 1998 
ranging from $9,000 to $438,000. Nothing in this announcement should be 
construed as committing the Coast Guard to dividing available funds 
among qualified applicants or awarding any specified amount.
    It is anticipated that several awards will be made by the Director 
of Operations Policy, U.S. Coast Guard. Applicants must be national, 
nongovernmental, nonprofit, public service organizations and must 
establish that their activities are, in fact, national in scope. An 
application package may be obtained by writing or calling the point of 
contact listed in ADDRESSES on or after October 7, 1998. The 
application package contains all necessary forms, an explanation of how 
the grant program is administered, and a checklist for submitting a 
grant application. Specific information on organization eligibility, 
proposal requirements, award procedures, and financial administration 
procedures may be obtained by contacting the person listed in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    New procedures allow prospective grantees to propose up to a five-
year grant with the twelve month (fiscal year) increments. In effect, 
an award would be made for the first year and thereafter renewal is 
optional. Each annual increment would not be guaranteed. Under a 
continuation (multi-year) grant type of award the Coast Guard agrees to 
support a grant project at a specific level of effort for a specified 
period of time, with a statement of intention to provide certain 
additional future support, provided funds become available, the 
achieved results warrant further support, and are in support of the 
needs of the government. Award of continuation grants will be made on a 
strict case by case basis to assist planning certain large scale 
projects and ensure continuity. New procedures have also been 
established to implement awarding noncompetitive grants or cooperative 
agreements on a case by case basis. This authority will be judiciously 
used to fund recurring annual projects or events which can only be 
carried out by one organization, and projects that present targets of 
opportunity for timely action on new or emerging program requirements 
or issues. The following list includes items of specific interest to 
the Coast Guard, however, potential applicants should not be 
constrained by the list. Any initiative which can help to reduce 
recreational boating deaths, injuries or property damage is welcomed. 
Of high interest are initiatives which focus on recreational fishermen, 
canoeists, kayakers, and/or personal watercraft operators. Some 
projects area of continuing and particular interest for grant funding 
include the following:
    1. Develop and Conduct a National Annual Safe Boating Campaign. The 
Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop and conduct the year 2000 
National Annual Safe Boating Campaign that targets specific boater 
market segments and recreational boating safety topics. This year-round 
campaign must support the organizational objectives of the Recreational 
Boating Safety Program to save lives, reduce the number of boating 
accidents and associated health care costs, as well as support the 
nationwide grassroots activity of the many volunteer groups who 
coordinate local media events, education programs, and public awareness 
activities. Products must include, but are not limited to: situation 
analysis, post campaign component evaluation processes, measures of 
effectiveness, marketing strategy, distribution plan, and final report. 
All print, audio and video material must be designed to emphasize 
multiple year-round boating safety and accident prevention messages. 
Highlights of the calendar year 2000 national campaign will be special 
select materials and activities to support National Safe Boating Week 
and other selected national boating safety events. The major focus of 
the campaign will be to affect the behavior of all boaters to increase 
wearing of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) [with special emphasis on 
use by children and recreational anglers] and the dangers of boating 
while under the influence (BUI) of alcohol or drugs. The recreational 
angler component should reflect the statistical risks associated with 
fishing activities, falls overboard, cold water immersion, and failure 
to wear a PFD. An established portion of allocated grants funds must 
support a National Boating Accident Reporting Awareness Program that is 
designed to reach all boaters with a message on the importance of 
reporting boating accidents. Efforts will also be coordinated, year-
around, with other national transportation safety activities and 
special media events, in particular those which focus on the prevention 
of operating a boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Point of 
Contact: Ms. Jo Calkin, 202-267-0994.
    2. Evaluation of the National Safe Boating Campaign. The Coast 
Guard seeks a grantee to develop and conduct an objective and 
systematic evaluation of the National Safe Boating Campaign. This 
evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of the campaign in 
modifying on the water behavior, and thus meeting the objectives of the 
Recreational Boating Safety Program to save lives, reduce the number of 
boating accidents and associated health care costs. (Grantees or 
partners of grantees of previous National Safe Boating Campaigns will 
not be considered.) Point of Contact: Ms. J. Calkin, 202-267-0994.
    3. Develop and Conduct a National Recreational Boating Safety 
Outreach and Awareness Conference. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to 
plan, implement, and conduct a National Recreational Boating Safety 
Outreach and Awareness Conference. This conference must support the 
organizational objectives of the Recreational Boating Safety Program to

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save lives, reduce the number of boating accidents, and lower 
associated health care costs. The overall conference focus should have 
promotional strategies which address the following specific targeted 
audiences: paddlers, anglers and hunters, and personal watercraft 
users. The conference should be scheduled to be conducted during the 
spring of 2000 and be held concurrent or consecutively with additional 
major national recreational and/or boating safety and aquatic 
symposiums. The design of the conference should enhance the awareness 
and development of paid and volunteer professionals; national, state, 
and local boating safety program organization leaders; waterway 
managers and industry specialists. It should provide a unifying link 
between local or regional programs and those on the national level. The 
conference should be a collaborative effort of national organizations 
interested in the betterment of boating and equatic safety and should 
include, but not be limited to, plenary sessions, hands-on workshops, 
and the distribution of a post conference report (publication) 
describing the activities of the conference. Products should include, 
but are not limited to, specific program tasks, evaluation processes, 
measures of effectiveness, marketing strategy, and final report, Point 
of Contact. Ms. Jo Calkin, 202-267-0994.
    4. State/Federal/Boating Organizations Cooperative Partnering 
Efforts. The Coast Guard seeks grantees to provide programs to 
encourage greater participation and uniformity in boating safety 
efforts. Applicants would provide a forum to encourage greater 
uniformity of boating laws and regulations, reciprocity among 
jurisdictions, and closer cooperation and assistance in developing, 
administering, and enforcing Federal and state laws and regulations 
pertaining to boating safety. Point of Contact: Ms. Sandy Brown, 202-
267-6010.
    5. Voluntary Standards Development Support. The Coast Guard seeks a 
grantee to carry out a program to encourage active participation by 
members of the public and other qualified persons in the development of 
technically sound voluntary boating safety standards. Point of Contact: 
Mr. Peter Eikenberry, 202-267-6984.
    6. Conduct Technical Seminars on Boating Safety Standards and 
Compliance. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop, provide 
instructional materials for, and conduct training courses for 
recreational boat manufacturers nationwide on compliance with 
recreational boating Federal safety standards. Point of Contact: Mr. 
Gary Larimer, 202-267-0986.
    7. Develop and Conduct Boating Accident Seminars. The Coast Guard 
seeks a grantee to develop, provide instructional material, and conduct 
training courses nationwide for boating accident investigators, 
including three courses at the Coast Guard Reserve Training Center in 
Yorktown, Virginia. Point of Contact: Mr. Gary Larimer, 202-267-0986.
    8. Video Support for Accident Seminars. The Coast Guard seeks a 
grantee to record new video segments of laboratory demonstrations 
central to the instructional curriculum used in the accident 
investigation seminars. These segments include fuel vapor explosions, 
gas tank leak tests, stray current corrosion demonstrations, overheated 
electrical component tests and other laboratory demonstrations 
instructive in accident investigations. Point of Contact: Mr. Gary 
Larimer, 202-267-0986.
    9. Staged Boat Collisions. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to 
develop and produce a series of staged boating collisions using a 
variety of typical recreational watercraft including contemporary 
fishing boats and personal watercraft, among others. The purpose of the 
staged collisions is two-fold. First, the crashed boats resulting from 
the staged collisions will be used to form the first of three pools of 
watercraft to be used in the accident investigation training program 
nationwide. Second, film footage and technical data recorded and 
gathered during the staged collisions will be used to enhance 
understanding of the crash dynamics of recreational vessels under 
controlled conditions. Point of Contact: Mr. Gary Larimer, 202-267-
0986.
    10. National Estimate of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) Wear 
Rate. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop a statistically valid 
national estimate and evaluation of wear rates of PFDs by recreational 
boaters. Wear rate should be determined by actual observation of 
boaters rather than other means such as surveys. Special emphasis 
should be placed on identifying inland fishermen. Point of Contact: 
LCDR Rick Sparacino, 202-267-0976.
    11. Understanding and Awareness of Personal Flotation Device (PFD) 
Types and Capabilities. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to evaluate 
current methods of informing and educating boaters on performance, 
selection, use and care of PFDs. The grantee is to make recommendations 
for improvement. The evaluation is to include review of PFD labels, the 
required PFD information pamphlet, and manuals for their effectiveness, 
including readability, understandability and information retention. The 
goal is to make changes which will improve each of these factors and 
perhaps introduce new ways of reaching boaters so that they are able to 
readily make informed choices of the type of PFD which best meets 
individual needs and to fully understand the risks associated with use 
and failure to use the different PFD types under various operating and 
water conditions. The grantee is to also review existing outreach 
methods regarding PFD types and their capabilities, and make 
recommendations regarding effectiveness and ways to improve boater 
understanding before, at, and after the point of purchase. Point of 
Contact: Mr. Rick Gipe, 202-267-0985.
    12. Improvement of Navigation Light Visibility and Display. The 
Coast Guard seeks a grantee to investigate the safety aspects of 
navigation light lens size for lights constructed in accordance with 
the Navigation Rule specifications. The grantee shall determine the 
minimum lens size necessary to effect a safe level of navigation light 
discernment when viewed at close range against a background of lights 
and in inclement weather. Point of Contact: Mr. Randolph J. Doubt, 202-
267-6810.
    13. Human Factors and Risk Management in Recreational Boating 
Applications. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to apply risk analysis 
and risk management techniques in the recreational boating arena to 
identify and characterize the human factors and risk involved with the 
recreational boating experience, including operator controlled factors, 
boat characteristics, safety equipment, and operator safety awareness. 
The grantee shall identify operator and/or equipment interventions and 
develop methodology to eliminate or mitigate risk factors. Point of 
Contact: Mr. Phil Cappel, 202-267-0988.
    14. Personal Watercraft Operation Safety Interventions. The Coast 
Guard seeks a grantee to review personal watercraft accident report and 
investigation data and to interview emergency room personnel in areas 
with large numbers of personal watercraft (PWC) accidents. The grantee 
shall analyze data and information gathered and make recommendations 
for effective PWC safety interventions. Point of Contact: Mr. Bruce 
Schmidt, 202-267-0955.
    15. Angler/Hunter Safety Interventions. The Coast Guard seeks a 
grantee to conduct literature and reference research and develop a

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position paper (with resource references) on a national strategy on 
prevention of angler and hunter drowning fatalities involving use of 
small boats. This research is to include canvassing national small 
boat, angler and hunter organizations. The result will be a 
recommendation for a nationally focused outreach campaign targeted to 
this audience. Point of Contact: CWO2 Tim Duff, 202-267-1263.
    16. Education Course Testing in Remote Areas When Proctoring is 
Required. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee for a research project to 
determine the nature and types of educational programs that currently 
utilize remote testing when proctoring is required. Preliminary 
evidence suggests that there are examples in other disciplines that 
could illuminate methodologies, systems, and technologies that could be 
emulated in the area of boating safety education and testing. Point of 
Contact: Ms. Tami Levitas, 202-267-0848.
    17. Boating Safety Futures Forum. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee 
to plan and conduct a national forum on the future of recreational 
boating and boating safety in the new millennium. The audience for the 
boating futures forum would include top-level leaders of industry, 
nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local boating agencies 
for a strategic information sharing and planning conference to guide 
the development of recreational boating and boating safety priorities 
in the new century. The forum would include targeted sessions on 
demographic changes impacting recreational boating, the identification 
of trends in marine technology, exploration of resource needs and 
sources, and social, environmental and economic conditions that will be 
brought to bear on the recreational boating industry and the regulatory 
community. Point of Contact: Ms. Audrey Pickup, 202-267-0872.
    18. Recreational Boating Electronic Accident Reporting System. The 
Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop an electronic means for the 
public to submit recreational boating accident reports. Point of 
Contact: Mr. Phil Cappel, 202-267-0988.
    19. National Boating Survey. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to 
conduct a comprehensive national boating survey. This survey would 
update information collected in prior surveys. The purpose of these 
surveys was to obtain statistical estimates of recreational boats, 
boating households, boaters, boating exposures, practices, and 
activities. The best way to assess a boater's risk on the water, as 
well as the effectiveness of boating safety program activities in 
minimizing that risk, is to quantify exposure factors * * * who is 
boating, in what types of boats, where, how often, how long, doing what 
activities, etc., and relate those factors to accident data. The 
nationwide boating survey is to be of sufficient sample size to provide 
various exposures data by State. Point of Contact: Mr. Bruce Schmidt, 
202-267-0955.
    20. Information Resources Management: Recreational Boating Safety 
(RBS) Exposure Data Capture Project: The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to 
complete a comprehensive RBS Exposure Data Capture Project to identify 
organizations who routinely collect recreational boating exposure data 
measured in passenger hours. The grantee will use the results from a 
prior grant project which identified exposure data elements and their 
sources. The objectives of the project are twofold. The first objective 
is to create a national database of all sources who routinely collect 
recreational boating exposure data on a continuous basis. The database 
will contain all exposure data elements and their attributes to 
include: participant demographics, the locality, type and duration of 
boating activity, the frequency and methodology of data collection, 
data storage formats, and information that provides access to the data.
    The second objective is to determine the feasibility of collating 
and using data from the identified sources to develop valid national 
estimates of recreational boating exposure. Point of Contact: Mr. Bruce 
Schmidt, 202-267-0955.
    One area potential grantees should focus on is PARTNERSHIP. Explore 
other sources, linkages, in-kind contributions, cost sharing, and 
partnering with other organizations or corporations. A more detailed 
discussion of specific projects of interest to the Coast Guard may be 
obtained by contacting the Coast Guard Infoline at 800-368-5467 and 
requesting a copy of a specific proposal.
    Proposals addressing other boating safety concerns are encouraged. 
The Boating Safety Financial Assistance Program is listed in section 
20.005 of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

    Dated: September 30, 1998.
Ernest R. Riutta,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Operations.
[FR Doc. 98-26853 Filed 10-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-M