[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 54 (Monday, March 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14942-14946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6852]



[[Page 14942]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Docket No. [000202024-0024-01; I.D. No. 011000C]
RIN: [0648-ZA79]


Announcement of Funding Opportunity for the South Florida 
Ecosystem Restoration Prediction and Modeling Program and the South 
Florida Living Marine Resources Program

AGENCIES: Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research/Coastal Ocean 
Program (CSCOR/COP), the National Ocean Service (NOS); the Southeast 
Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Announcement of Funding Opportunity for financial assistance 
for project grants.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that CSCOR 
and SEFSC are soliciting 1 to 2-year proposals for the South Florida 
Ecosystem Restoration Prediction and Modeling Program (SFERPM) and 
South Florida Living Marine Resources Program (SFLMR) to begin in FY 
2000, contingent on the availability of funds.
    These programs are two of a number of Federal and state programs 
that together comprise the Interagency Florida Bay (IFB) and Adjacent 
Marine Waters Science Program. The overall goal of this interagency 
effort is to develop the information and policies necessary for 
restoring the Everglades, Florida Bay, and adjacent marine ecosystems.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of proposals at the COP office is 3:00 
p.m., EST. April 19, 2000. It is anticipated that projects funded under 
this announcement will have a July 1, 2000 start date.

ADDRESSES: Submit the original and 19 copies of your proposal to 
Coastal Ocean Program Office (SFERPM 2000), SSMC#3, 9th Floor, Station 
9700, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. NOAA Standard 
Form Applications with instructions are accessible on the following COP 
Internet Site: http://www.cop.noaa.gov under the COP Grants Support 
Section, Part D, Application Forms for Initial Proposal Submission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Technical Information:
    Larry Pugh, SFERPM 2000 Program Manager, COP Office, 301-713-3338/
ext 117, Internet: Larry.P[email protected]; or Dr. Nancy Thompson, SFLMR 
2000 Program Manager, SEFSC, 305-361-4284, Internet: 
Nancy.T[email protected]; Business Management Information: Leslie 
McDonald, COP Grants Administrator, 301-713-3338/ext 137, Internet: 
Leslie.McD[email protected].
    Specific information about the ongoing SFERPM program, including 
descriptions of presently funded projects and the data management 
policy can be obtained from htttp://www.aoml.noaa.gov/ocd/sferpm. 
Reference is made to SFERPM Data Policy requirements later in this 
document under Part II: Further supplementary Information, paragraph 
(14) Other Requirements, subsection (b).
    For complete information about the Interagency Florida Bay web 
sites and Adjacent Marine Systems Science Program Management Committee 
(PMC) (discussed later in this document under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION); its Scientific Oversight Panel; copies of the Abstracts 
of its Annual Conferences; reports from its numerous topical workshops 
and research team meetings as well as the most recent overall Strategic 
Science Plan, consult http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/flbay/; or contact the 
IFB Program's Executive Officer: William Nuttle, Executive Officer, 
Interagency Science Center, 98630 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL 
33037.
    The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) resources 
trusteeship and management activities discussed later in this document 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION can be viewed on http://
www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov. The geographic scope and the subregions 
encompassed referred to later in this document under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION can be found at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/ocd/sferpm/
sub.html.
    Detailed information regarding South Florida Ecosystem Restoration 
discussed later in this document under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, 
subparagraph, the Research Program, can be viewed at http://
www.sfrestore.org.
    To view Important Documents including the Florida Bay Interagency 
Program Management Committee (PMC) comments on the RESTUDY Draft 
Feasibility Report and the Feasibility report referenced later in this 
document under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, subparagraph, The Research 
Program, see the COP or SFERPM websites listed earlier in this section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  

Background

Program Description

    For complete Program Description and Other Requirements criteria 
for the Coastal Ocean Program, see COP's General Grant Administration 
Terms and Conditions annual notification in the Federal Register (64 FR 
49162, September 10, 1999) and at the COP home page.
    The SFERPM and SFLMR programs are two of a number of Federal and 
state programs that together comprise the IFB Program. The interagency 
program supports monitoring, research and modeling activities designed 
to understand the effects of South Florida Ecosystem Restoration upon 
coastal ecosystems including the FKNMS.
    It is intended to provide some of the information required by an 
iterative restoration process through which management alternatives are 
developed and selected, alternatives implemented and physical and 
biological responses assessed. It is further anticipated that this 
evaluation process will be repeated as restoration proceeds since 
decisions will be driven by the best available scientific information.
    The activities conducted to restore the South Florida ecosystem 
occur predominately upstream of Florida Bay and the restoration impacts 
may not be direct or immediate. Therefore, improving our capability to 
predict these impacts is the ultimate goal of the IFB Science Program. 
Attaining this predictive capability implies a better understanding of 
the physics and ecology of Florida Bay and the larger coastal 
ecosystem.
    The SFLMR program focuses upon research on fishery resources, 
protected resources, and higher trophic level organisms and the 
interactions with living marine resources. Living marine resources 
include: fishery resources, both recreational and commercial, and 
protected resources--including endangered species, marine mammals, 
corals, and species that are candidates for listing under the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and their habitats. Research results will 
allow for the projection of the impacts of changes in freshwater 
delivery on living marine resources.
    The Florida Bay Science Program was initially based upon the 1994 
Florida Bay Science Plan developed for the Florida Bay Interagency 
Working group, as specifically suggested by a scientific panel convened 
at the request of the Secretary of the Interior. That Science Plan 
identified research deficiencies and unanswered questions concerning 
the condition and ecological history of Florida Bay and established the 
Florida

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Bay PMC and its formal administrative process.
    The PMC, explicitly linked to and sanctioned by the South Florida 
Restoration Task Force through its Working Group and Science 
Coordination Team, consists of designated representatives of the state 
and Federal agencies conducting or funding research in this part of the 
South Florida coastal marine ecosystem. The PMC is charged with 
providing policy makers reliable scientific information and science-
based recommendations, including timely evaluation of the effects that 
different upstream management alternatives might have upon the 
ecosystem within Florida Bay and the adjacent coastal marine ecosystem.
    To accomplish its objectives the PMC:
    (1) Developed a Strategic Science Plan in March 1997 for Florida 
Bay to guide individual agency implementation plans and to prioritize 
allocation of resources;
    (2) Evaluates individual agency implementation plans to avoid 
redundancy and assures research efforts are complementary; and 
together, to make the best use of the technical and financial resources 
being made available for South Florida coastal ecosystem restoration 
science;
    (3) Sponsors an Annual Science Conference to which all funded 
investigator teams in all the various agencies are required to 
participate;
    (4) Sponsors topical workshops on critical scientific issues;
    (5) Established a Scientific Oversight Panel composed of 
distinguished, knowledgeable, but financially disinterested, scientists 
from outside this region. This panel is asked to attend the Annual 
Science Conference; to chair or participate in topical workshops that 
require technical panel input; and to recommend to the PMC any changes 
in the science program to assure it is meeting the requirements of the 
South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Process;
    (6) Established research teams consisting of funded investigators 
and interested experts to review and integrate plans and sampling 
protocols of related projects including data management; and
    (7) Established an administrative infrastructure consisting of an 
Executive Officer, a Florida Bay Research Coordinator, and an Outreach/
Education Office.

Additional Program Description

    SFERPM's contribution to the Interagency Science Program has been 
to focus upon the larger oceanographic, atmospheric, geological and 
fisheries context within which Bay restoration will proceed. This has 
implied studying the Bay's interaction and exchange with the adjacent 
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastal marine ecosystems and its 
regulation by large scale atmospheric and meteorological processes that 
so intimately link the coastal marine to the coastal terrestrial 
systems in South Florida.
    The SFLMR Program began in 1996 with funding through the NMFS. 
Funding of research projects beginning in FY 2000 will result from this 
competitive process. The focus of this program is on living marine 
resources, especially those that are commercially and recreationally 
important, or are protected, and their habitats.
    SFERPM directly addresses the linkage between Florida Bay and the 
Florida Keys, thus complementing other NOAA South Florida Ecosystem 
Restoration Initiative related activities such as the NMFS-lead 
Protection of Living Marine Resources/Threatened and Endangered Species 
studies, NOS-led Integrated Florida Bay and Florida Keys Ecosystem 
Monitoring programs, FKNMS resources trusteeship and management 
activities. Detailed information including the most recent SFERPM 
Implementation Plan for the program and other program documents can be 
obtained from the address/homepage address listed earlier in this 
document under FURTHER INFORMATION.

Program Goals

    The overall goals of the Interagency Program were outlined as five 
management related central questions in the Strategic Science Plan for 
Florida Bay. These are:
    (1) How, and at what rates, do storms, changing freshwater flows, 
sea level rise, and local evaporation/precipitation influence 
circulation and salinity patterns within Florida bay and outflows from 
the Bay to adjacent waters?
    (2) What is the relative importance of the influx of external 
nutrients and of internal nutrient cycling in determining the nutrient 
budget of Florida Bay? What mechanisms control the sources and sinks of 
the Bay's nutrients?
    (3) What regulates the onset, persistence and fate of planktonic 
algal blooms in Florida Bay?
    (4) What are the causes and mechanisms for the observed changes in 
the sea grass community of Florida Bay? What is the effect of changing 
salinity, light, and nutrient regimes on these communities?
    (5) What is the relationship between environmental and habitat 
change and the recruitment, growth, and survivorship of animals in 
Florida Bay?
    The NOAA role has been to focus on the larger oceanographic, 
atmospheric, geological, and biological aspects of these questions. As 
noted earlier, detailed descriptions of past projects supported and 
their findings to date can be found on the SFERPM website under Funded 
Projects. The geographic scope and the subregions encompassed can be 
found at the address/homepage listed earlier in this document under 
FURTHER INFORMATION. Where essential to describe the linkages between 
Florida Bay and the adjacent waters, some projects have had a still 
wider geographic scope.

The Research Program

    The Interagency Science Program has been underway for several years 
and is now entering an Implementation Phase at which it is being asked 
to deliver information directly to the Restoration Management Community 
concerning minimum flow levels to Florida Bay; restoration performance 
measures; and ecological success criteria. See the South Florida 
Ecosystem Restoration Website for additional details at the address/
homepage listed earlier in this document under FURTHER INFORMATION.
    Moreover, water quality and physical modeling efforts are 
relatively mature but require validation and verification. Using these 
models to evaluate restoration scenarios will require continued data 
assimilation. Ecological models of upper and lower trophic levels are 
also in development and will have similar data requirements.
    To date, restoration targets relative to Florida Bay have been 
posed purely in terms of flow delivery to points well upstream of 
Florida Bay. These are deemed by the PMC to be good first steps but 
ultimately inadequate. See the CSCOR or SFERPM websites listed earlier 
in this document under FURTHER INFORMATION to view Important Documents 
including PMC Comments on the RESTUDY Draft Feasibility Report and the 
Feasibility report itself.
    In its review of the Restudy, the PMC committed itself to providing 
ecologically based restoration targets and performance measures for use 
in evaluating restoration scenarios and actions. Given the advice and 
recommendations of the PMC and Florida Bay Science Oversight Panel 
(FBSOP), NOAA's trustee and other management responsibilities in the 
region, and the likely funding of our Federal and state agency 
partners, CSCOR and NMFS/SEFSC anticipate funding SFERPM projects in 
the following research areas:
    (1) Nutrient Dynamics: Includes phosphorous and nitrogen cycles 
within

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the water column, exchange between the water column and benthos, and 
governing biogeochemical processes;
    (2) Water Column Biology: Includes trophic linkages, benthic-
pelagic coupling, and the potential impact of Bay water quality upon 
living marine resources and the FKNMS;
    (3) Physical Science: Includes circulation within the Bay, 
improving estimates of critical processes (i.e., evaporation, 
precipitation and wind stress), and providing data assimilation
    model based boundary conditions to bay circulation and hydrological 
models;
    (4) Ecosystem Modeling Studies: Includes modeling of trophic 
relationships of recruitment pathways;
    (5) Higher trophic levels: Monitoring and research are needed to 
provide answers to question 5 in the Strategic Science Plan. Results 
obtained should be directed at determination of the effects of changes 
in water quality and quantity and patterns on higher trophic level 
organisms especially important commercial and recreational fishery 
resources and mass protected resources, such as sea turtles, marine 
mammals and species listed as candidates for listing under the ESA.

Research Areas

(1) Nutrients

    The growth of both sea grasses and planktonic algae blooms depends 
upon the supply of plant nutrients. In Florida Bay these are introduced 
by freshwater runoff, groundwater seepage, atmospheric deposition, 
resuspension of bottom sediments and exchange with the Southwest 
Florida shelf. A quantitative understanding of the relative importance 
of these various processes and how they effect algal blooms has been 
the goal of SFERPM Nutrient Chemistry projects. Proposals are now 
solicited that refine our understanding of phosphorous and nitrogen 
cycles within the water column as well as between the water column and 
benthos and biogeochemical processes governing nutrient availability 
including atmospheric flux and the microbial loop.

(2) Water Column Biology

    Florida Bay is both a nursery ground and primary habitat for 
numerous commercially and recreationally significant fisheries species. 
The principal food of the young of many of these species is zooplankton 
that, in turn, consume planktonic algae. Moreover, many fisheries 
species have early stages living in the plankton. Planktonic animals 
are very sensitive to changes in water quality. Predicting the 
consequences of Restoration upon this ecosystem has been a goal of 
SFERPM Water Column Biology projects.
    The health of the coral reef community of the Florida Keys National 
Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) depends upon the water quality (temperature, 
salinity, nutrients, and chemical contaminants) of the waters that flow 
over them. With Restoration, not just water quantity but water quality 
throughout South Florida coastal waters will be changed. Proposals are 
now solicited that address trophic relationships between biological 
communities, ecosystem changes directly or indirectly related to Bay 
habitat changes, algal bloom causation and fate, benthic-pelagic 
coupling, and the impact of Bay water quality upon living marine 
resources and the FKNMS.

(3) Physical Science

    Unless we have a detailed understanding of circulation, 
temperature, and salinity within the Bay and how the Bay is linked to 
the surrounding waters of the South West Florida shelf and the FKNMS, 
we will be unable to predict the physical effects of Restoration i.e., 
what parts of the Bay will be affected by altered water flows and how 
they will be changed.
    Similarly, unless we have a detailed understanding of the wind 
field over the Bay, and the rainfall and evaporation distribution over 
the entire Peninsula, we will be unable to predict which parts of the 
Bay will be affected by altered water flows and what the resultant 
changes will be. Providing estimates of these critical parameters and 
how they will be locally and regionally altered by the major land use 
changes implicit in Restoration has been a goal of the SFERPM physical 
oceanography and atmospheric science projects. Proposals are now 
solicited characterizing circulation and flow within the Bay (including 
improving estimates of basin residence and turnover times), improving 
estimates of critical physical processes (especially evaporation and 
precipitation) and providing the meteorological boundary conditions 
required by circulation and hydrological models.

(4) Ecosystem Modeling Studies

    Over the past several decades we have seen fundamental changes in 
the Bay ecosystem; and with Restoration, we can expect the rate of 
change to accelerate. The goal of SFERPM Ecological Modeling has been 
to use the physical, chemical and biological information being 
generated by SFERPM and other projects to predict how the underlying 
ecology of Florida Bay will change with restoration.
    Proposals are now solicited that contribute to the Interagency 
Upper Trophic Level modeling program including the modeling of 
recruitment pathways within the FKNMS and/or between the FKNMS and 
Florida Bay. The PMC website should be consulted for the results of PMC 
sponsored workshops entitled: Higher Trophic Level Initiative for the 
Florida Bay Program and Progress Review of Florida Bay Models: Report 
of the Model Evaluation Group.

(5) Higher Trophic Level Research and Monitoring

    The success of restoration is measured in part by the 
sustainability of fishery and protected resources. It is imperative 
that models be developed which will provide information on how changes 
in water quality, including salinity levels and contaminants, will 
effect the population and trophic dynamics of living marine resources 
and their habitats. These models require data.
    Proposals are now solicited to conduct research and monitoring to 
define both qualitatively and quantitatively the mechanisms controlling 
growth, reproduction, recruitment and age/stage specific survivorship 
of commercially and recreationally important species and protected 
resources, such as sea turtles and bottle nosed dolphins are 
encouraged.
    For protected resources in particular, proposals which provide 
population estimates and the relative importance of South Florida 
coastal waters to recovery are encouraged. Information generated by 
research projects directed at the other four questions in the Strategic 
Science Plan is expected to be integrated with the proposed research in 
so far as it effects the dynamics of individual species and protected 
resources and their habitats.

Part I: Schedule and Proposal Submission

    The guidelines for proposal preparation provided here are 
mandatory. Proposals received after the published deadline or proposals 
that deviate from the prescribed format will be returned to the sender 
without further consideration. This announcement and additional 
background information will be made available on the COP home page.

Full Proposals

    Applications submitted in response to this announcement require an 
original

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proposal and 19 proposal copies at time of submission. This includes 
color or high-resolution graphics, unusually-sized materials (not 8.5'' 
x 11'' or 21.6 cm x 28 cm), or otherwise unusual materials submitted as 
part of the proposal. For color graphics, submit either color originals 
or color copies. The stated requirements for the number of original 
proposal copies provide for a timely review process because of the 
large number of technical reviewers. Facsimile transmissions and 
electronic mail submission of full proposals will not be accepted.

Required Elements

    All recipients are to closely follow the instructions and 
guidelines in the preparation of the standard NOAA Application Forms 
and Kit requirements listed in Part II: Further Supplementary 
Information, paragraph (10) of this document. Each proposal must also 
include the following seven elements:
    (1) Signed Summary title page: The title page should be signed by 
the Principal Investigator (PI) and the institutional representative. 
The Summary Title page identifies the project's title starting with the 
acronym SFERPM 2000, a short title (50 characters), and the lead PI's 
name and affiliation, complete address, phone, FAX, and E-mail 
information. The requested budget for each fiscal year should be 
included on the Summary Title page. Multi-institution proposals must 
include signed Summary Title pages from each institution.
    (2) One-page abstract/project summary: The Project Summary 
(Abstract) Form, which is to be submitted at time of application, shall 
include an introduction of the problem, rationale, scientific 
objectives and/or hypotheses to be tested, and a brief summary of work 
to be completed. The prescribed COP format for the Project Summary Form 
can be found on the COP Internet site under the COP Grants Support 
Section, Part D.
    The summary should appear on a separate page, headed with the 
proposal title, institution(s), investigator(s), total proposed cost, 
and budget period. These should be written in the third person. The 
summary is used to help compare proposals quickly and allows the 
respondents to summarize these key points in their own words.
    (3) Statement of work/project description: The proposed project 
must be completely described, including identification of the problem, 
scientific objectives, proposed methodology, relevance to the goals of 
the SFERPM Program, and its scientific priorities. The project 
description section (including Relevant Results from Prior Support) 
should not exceed 15 pages.
    Project management should be clearly identified with a description 
of the functions of each PI within a team. It is important to provide a 
full scientific justification for the research; do not simply reiterate 
justifications presented in this document. Both page limits are 
inclusive of figures and other visual materials, but exclusive of 
references and milestone chart. This section should also include:
    (a) The objective for the period of proposed work and its expected 
significance;
    (b) The relation to the present state of knowledge in the field and 
relation to previous work and work in progress by the proposing 
principal investigator(s);
    (c) A discussion of how the proposed project lends value to the 
program goals, and
    (d) Potential coordination with other investigators.
    NOAA has specific requirements that environmental data be submitted 
to the National Oceanographic Data Center.
    (e) References cited: Reference information is required. Each 
reference must include the name(s) of all authors in the same sequence 
in which they appear in the publications, the article title, volume 
number, page numbers, and year of publications. While there is no 
established page limitation, this section should include bibliographic 
citations only and should not be used to provide parenthetical 
information outside of the 15-page project description.
    (4) Milestone chart: Time lines of major tasks covering the 12 to 
24-month duration of the proposed project.
    (5) Budget: At time of proposal submission, all applicants shall 
submit the Standard Form, SF-424 (Rev 7-97), Application for Federal 
Assistance, to indicate the total amount of funding proposed for the 
whole project period. In lieu of the Standard Form 424A, Budget 
Information (Non-Construction), at time of original application, all 
proposers are required to submit a COP Summary Proposal Budget Form for 
each fiscal year increment (i.e., 2000, 2001). Multi-institution 
proposals must include budget forms from each institution.
    Use of this budget form will provide for a detailed annual budget 
and the level of detail required by the COP program staff to evaluate 
the effort to be invested by investigators and staff on a specific 
project. The COP budget form is compatible with forms in use by other 
agencies that participate in joint projects with COP, and can be found 
on the COP home page under COP Grants Support, Part D.
    All applicants shall include a budget narrative/justification that 
supports all proposed budget object class categories. The program 
office will review the proposed budgets to determine the necessity and 
adequacy of proposed costs for accomplishing the objectives of the 
proposed grant. Ship time needs must be identified in the proposed 
budget. The SF-424A, Budget Information (Non-Construction) Form, shall 
be requested from only those recipients subsequently recommended for 
award.
    (6) Biographical sketch: Abbreviated curriculum vitae, two pages 
per investigator, are sought with each proposal. Include a list of up 
to five publications most closely related to the proposed project and 
up to five other significant publications. A list of all persons 
(including their organizational affiliation), in alphabetical order, 
who have collaborated on a project, book, article, or paper within the 
last 48 months should be included. If there are no collaborators, this 
should be so indicated. Students, post-doctoral associates, and 
graduate and postgraduate advisors of the PI should also be disclosed. 
This information is used to help identify potential conflicts of 
interest or bias in the selection of reviewers.
    (7) Proposal format and assembly: Clamp the proposal in the upper 
left-hand corner, but leave it unbound. Use one inch (2.5 cm) margins 
at the top, bottom, left and right of each page. Use a clear and easily 
legible type face in standard 12 points size.

Part II: Further Supplementary Information

    (1) Program authorities: For a list of all program authorities for 
the Coastal Ocean Program, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms 
and Conditions annual document in the Federal Register (64 FR 49162, 
September 10, 1999) and at the COP home page. Specific authority cited 
for this announcement is 33 U.S.C. 1442 et seq.
    (2) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers: 11.478 for the 
Coastal Ocean Program and 11.472 for the National Marine Fisheries 
Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
    (3) Program description: For complete COP program descriptions, see 
the annual COP General Document (64 FR 49162, September 10, 1999).
    (4) Funding availability: Funding is contingent upon receipt of 
fiscal years 2000-2001 Federal appropriations. The anticipated maximum 
annual funding

[[Page 14946]]

for SFERPM and SFLMR activities is $1.9 million.
    If an application is selected for funding, NOAA has no obligation 
to provide any additional prospective funding in connection with that 
award in subsequent years. Renewal of an award to increase funding or 
extend the period of performance based on satisfactory performance and 
is at the total discretion of the funding agency.
    Publication of this document does not obligate NOAA to any specific 
award or to any part of the entire amount of funds available. 
Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and agency 
policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to Federal financial 
assistance awards.
    (5) Matching requirements: None.
    (6) Type of funding instrument: Project grants
    (7) Eligibility criteria: For complete eligibility criteria for the 
Coastal Ocean Program, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and 
Conditions annual document in the Federal Register (64 FR 49162, 
September 10, 1999) and at the COP home page under General 
Announcement.
    Federal researchers in successful multi-investigator proposals will 
be funded through NOAA. Proposals deemed acceptable from Federal 
researchers will be funded through a mechanism other than a grant or 
cooperative agreement, where legal authority allows for such funding. 
Non-NOAA Federal applicants are required to submit certification or 
documentation which clearly shows that they can receive funds from the 
Department of Commerce (DoC) for research (i.e., legal authority exists 
allowing the transfer of funds from DoC to the non-NOAA Federal 
applicant's agency).
    (8) Award period: Full Proposals should cover a project period of 1 
to 2 years, from FY 2000-01 to FY 2001-02.
    (9) Indirect costs: If indirect costs are proposed, the following 
statement applies: The total dollar amount of the indirect costs 
proposed in an application must not exceed the indirect cost rate 
negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency prior to the 
proposed effective date of the award.
    (10) Application forms: For complete information on application 
forms for the Coastal Ocean Program, see COP's General Grant 
Administration Terms and Conditions annual document in the Federal 
Register (64 FR 49162, September 10, 1999); the COP home page; and the 
information given earlier in this document under Required Elements, 
paragraph (5) Budget.
    (11) Project funding priorities: For description of project funding 
priorities, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and Conditions 
annual document in the Federal Register (64 FR 49162, September 10, 
1999) and at the COP home page.
    (12) Evaluation criteria: For complete information on evaluation 
criteria, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and Conditions 
annual document in the Federal Register (64 FR 49162, September 10, 
1999) and at the COP home page.
    (13) Selection procedures: For complete information on selection 
procedures, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and Conditions 
annual document in the Federal Register (64 FR 49162, September 10, 
1999) and at the COP home page.
    (14) Other requirements: As participants in the Interagency Science 
Program, funded principal investigators will be expected to:
    (a) Participate in meetings for planning and coordination of the 
Interagency Program. This includes attending and contributing to the 
Annual Interagency Florida Bay Science Program Conference, Research 
Team Meetings, and other relevant technical workshops sponsored by the 
PMC at the request of the SFERPM Coordinating Office.
    (b) Promptly quality control their data and make them readily 
available through the SFERPM Data Management Office in accordance with 
the SFERPM Data Policy, which is referenced earlier in this document 
under FURTHER INFORMATION.
    (c) Assist the SFERPM Coordinating Office and the Interagency PMC 
in the synthesis and interpretation of research results and the 
development of products of value to restoration and resource managers. 
For a complete description of other requirements, see COP's General 
Grant Administration Terms and Conditions annual document in the 
Federal Register (64 FR 49162, September 10, 1999) and at the COP home 
page.
    (15) Applicants are hereby notified that they are encouraged, to 
the greatest practicable extent, to purchase American-made equipment 
and products with funding provided under this program.
    (16) Pursuant to Executive Orders 12876, 12900 and 13021, the 
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to broadening the participation of 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving 
Institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities in its educational 
and research programs. The DOC/NOAA vision, mission and goals are to 
achieve full participation by Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) in 
order to advance the development of human potential, to strengthen the 
nation's capacity to provide high-quality education, and to increase 
opportunities for MSIs to participate in, and benefit from, Federal 
Financial Assistance programs. DOC/NOAA encourages all applicants to 
include meaningful participation of MSIs.
    (17) This notification involves collection-of-information 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of 
Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, and SF-LLL have been approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control numbers 0348-0043, 
0348-0044, 0348-0040 and 0348-0046.
    The COP Grants Application Package has been approved by OMB under 
control number 0648-0384 and includes the following information 
collections: a Summary Proposal Budget Form, a Project Summary Form, 
standardized formats for the Annual Performance Report and the Final 
Report, and the submission of up to 20 copies of proposals. Copies of 
these forms and formats can be found on the COP Home Page.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.

    Dated: March 13, 2000.
Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    Dated: March 3, 2000.
Gary C. Matlock,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 00-6852 Filed 3-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F