[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54944-54947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26353]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[USCG-1999-6311]


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

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agreements from national 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 8, 
1999. Proposals for the fiscal year 2000 grant cycle must be received 
before 4:30 p.m. eastern time, January 17, 2000.

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 http://www.uscgboating.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Albert Marmo or Ms. Vickie 
Hartberger, Office of Boating Safety, U.S. Coast Guard (G-OPB-1/room 
3100), 2100 Second Street, SW, Washington, DC 20593-0001; 202-267-0950 
or 202-267-0974. 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 2000. 
Thirty-five awards totaling $2,942,080 were made in fiscal year 1999 
ranging from $9,000 to $435,000. 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 8, 1999. 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.
    Prospective grantees may propose up to a five-year grant with 
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. 
Procedures also provide for awarding noncompetitive grants or 
cooperative agreements on a case by case basis. This authority is 
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. We welcome any initiative that can help to 
reduce recreational boating deaths, injuries or property damage. We 
have a high interest in initiatives that focus on recreational 
fishermen, canoeists, kayakers, and/or personal watercraft operators. 
Some project areas 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 
2001 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 2001 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, paddlers, hunters and anglers, and users of personal 
watercraft] and the dangers of boating while under the influence (BUI) 
of alcohol or drugs. The hunters, anglers, paddlers and personal 
watercraft user components 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 grant 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-round, 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. 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 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 2001 and be held concurrent or 
consecutively with additional major national recreational and/or 
boating

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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 aquatic 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.

3. 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.

4. 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 safety 
standards for boats and associated equipment. Point of Contact: Mr. 
Peter Eikenberry, 202-267-6984.

5. 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 U.S. Coast Guard Reserve 
Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia. Point of Contact: Mr. Rick Gipe, 
202-267-0985.

6. National Estimate of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) Wear Rate

    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.

7. 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.

8. Redesign of Personal Flotation Device (PFD) Labels

    The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to redesign the labels affixed to 
Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs). The final label designs for each of 
the five (05) types of PFDs would incorporate icons to show the 
applicability of that type of PFD as well as icons to communicate 
special uses and/or restrictions. The grantee would be expected to work 
with various organizations to gather and prioritize the information 
that needs to be conveyed by the label, develop the label, perform 
comprehension testing of each label element and design, and prepare a 
deliverable in the form of a draft standard to be delivered to the 
Standards Technical Panel for PFDs at Underwriters Laboratories. Point 
of Contact: Mr. Rick Gipe, 202-267-0985.

9. Sailing Lessons Learned

    The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to review reports and articles on 
major offshore sailing incidents over the last several years, review 
actions taken by various U.S. organizations to date and make 
recommendations for additional actions to improve sailboat safety in 
racing and non-racing environments in the United States and aboard U.S. 
flagged sailboats. Point of Contact: Mr. Carlton Perry, 202-267-0979.

10. Global Maritime Distress and Safety System Education

     The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop training aids and a 
training program to educate the recreational boating public on the 
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). The training 
program and training aids shall incorporate the history of GMDSS, a 
summary of its component systems, the definition of GMDSS Sea Areas, as 
well as the equipment carriage requirements for mandatory (SOLAS-class) 
vessels. The program should address the discontinuance of certain radio 
guards on GMDSS compliant vessels, and the potential difficulties non-
GMDSS equipped recreational boaters may encounter in trying to 
establish communications with such vessels in the future. In addition 
to providing this background, the program should focus on the aspect of 
GMDSS most likely to be used by recreational boaters in the future, 
i.e., VHF-FM Digital Selective Calling (DSC). The program should also 
emphasize the time frame for construction of the U. S. Coast Guard's 
infrastructure for VHF-FM DSC, currently slated for completion in 2005 
as part of the National Distress and Response System Modernization 
Project (NDRSMP). Point of Contact: LT Robert Schambier, 202-267-6702.

11. Boating Safety Problem-Specific Outreach

    The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop an informational package 
dealing with several safety issues, including carbon monoxide dangers, 
propeller injury prevention, off throttle steering properties and 
others to be specified. The information would be reproducible in 
pamphlet form as well as in format for inclusion on a web site and 
focused elements of the year-round national campaign. Point of Contact: 
Ms. Diane Schneider, 202-267-1196.

12. Off-Throttle Steering of Jet-pump Propelled Craft

    The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to identify available and emerging 
technology/methodology in the area of off-throttle steering of jet-pump 
propelled craft, and conduct testing on those items/methods that are 
determined to be most effective. Point of Contact: Mr. Gary Larimer, 
202-267-0986.

13. Measures of Effectiveness for State Grants

     The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop common measures of 
effectiveness (MOEs) that could be used to evaluate the overall 
effectiveness of the Coast Guard grant program for State recreational 
boating safety programs. The grantee would evaluate existing MOEs used 
in various States, research best business practices, and develop 
methodology associated with MOEs. The information would be disseminated

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to the States to assist their evaluation of the effectiveness of their 
individual programs. Point of Contact: Mr. Bruce Schmidt, 202-267-0955.
    Potential grantees should focus on partnership, i.e., exploring 
other sources, linkages, in-kind contributions, cost sharing, and 
partnering with other organizations or corporations. You may obtain a 
more detailed discussion of specific projects of interest to the Coast 
Guard by contacting the Coast Guard Infoline at 800-368-5647 and 
requesting a copy of a specific proposal. We also encourage proposals 
addressing other boating safety concerns. The Boating Safety Financial 
Assistance Program is listed in section 20.005 of the Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

    Dated: October 1, 1999.
Terry M. Cross,
Rear Admiral, U. S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Operations 
Acting.
[FR Doc. 99-26353 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
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