[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 17, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3991-3994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1381]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 000202023-1001-02; I.D. No.110200C]
RIN 0648-ZA78


Announcement of Funding Opportunity to Submit Proposals for the 
Coastal Ecosystem Research Project in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

AGENCY: Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research/Coastal Ocean 
Program (CSCOR/COP), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Announcement of funding opportunity for financial assistance 
for project grants and cooperative agreements.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this document is to advise the public that 
CSCOR/COP is soliciting 1-year and 2-year proposals for modeling, 
monitoring and retrospective studies of coastal ecosystem research in 
the Northern Gulf of Mexico (N-GOMEX). Funding is contingent upon the 
availability of Federal appropriations. It is anticipated that projects 
funded under this announcement will have an August 1, 2001, start date.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of proposals at the COP office is 3 
p.m, EST, March 14, 2001. Note that late-arriving applications provided 
to a delivery service, on or before, March 13, 2001, with delivery 
guaranteed before 3 p.m.,EST, on March 14, 2001, will be accepted for 
review if the applicant can document that the application was provided 
to the delivery service with delivery to the address listed below (see 
ADDRESSES) guaranteed prior to the specified closing date and time; and 
in any event, the proposals are received in the COP office by 3 p.m. 
EST, no later than two business days following the closing date.

ADDRESSES: Submit the original and 10 copies of your proposal to 
Coastal Ocean Program Office (N-GOMEX 2001), SSMC3, 9th Floor, 
Station 9700, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. NOAA and 
COP Standard Form Applications with instructions are accessible on the 
COP Internet site (http://www.cop.noaa.gov) under the COP Grants 
Support Section, Part D, Application Forms for Initial Proposal 
Submission. Forms may be viewed, and in most cases, filled in by 
computer. All forms must be printed, completed, and mailed to CSCOR/COP 
with original signatures. Blue ink for original signatures is 
recommended but not required. If you are unable to access this 
information, you may call CSCOR/COP at 301-713-3338 to leave a mailing 
request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Technical Information: Kenric Osgood, 
N-GOMEX 2001 Program Manager, COP Office, 301-713-3338/ext 135, 
Internet: [email protected]
    Business Management Information: Leslie McDonald, COP Grants 
Administrator, 301-713-3338/ext 137, Internet: [email protected]
    See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION under the heading, ELECTRONIC ACCESS, 
for a listing of web sites pertaining to period hypoxia in the northern 
Gulf of Mexico.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    The following web sites furnish results of studies concerning the 
periodic hypoxia associated with the northern Gulf of Mexico: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/ocd/necop/, for results from the Nutrient Enhanced 
Coastal Ocean Productivity (NECOP) study and, http://www.nos.noaa.gov/Products/pubs_hypox.html for Gulf of Mexico hypoxia reports produced 
by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). Hard 
copies of reports from these studies can be obtained from the COP 
office.
    A workshop report, U.S. GLOBEC report No. 19, is available from the 
following address or homepage: U.S. GLOBEC Coordinating Office, UMCES, 
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, P.O. Box 38, Solomons, MD 20688; 
Phone: 410-326-7370; Fax: 410-326-7341; Internet: [email protected] 
and http://www.usglobec.org.
    A listing of ongoing projects in the northern Gulf of Mexico funded 
by the COP are provided within the COP Internet Site at http://www.cop.noaa.gov/projects/GMX.htm

Background

Program Description

    For complete Program Description and Other Requirements for the 
COP, see the General Grant Administration Terms and Conditions of the 
Coastal Ocean Program published in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, 
October 19, 2000) and at the COP home page.
    Coastal regions dominated by large rivers are disproportionately 
important to the biological production of the world's oceans, primarily 
because these rivers carry large amounts of ``new'' nitrogen. An 
important river-dominated coastal ecosystem in the U.S., which supports 
high primary and secondary production, is the one dominated by the 
Mississippi River in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 20 
percent of the U.S. commercial fishery landings by dollar value are 
from the northern Gulf. Major recreational fisheries also exist in this 
region.
    There is a strong relationship between riverine inputs (especially 
nutrients) and primary production, followed in turn by zooplankton 
production and fish production in a classic nutrient-phytoplankton-
zooplankton-fish (NPZF) food web. Anthropogenic nitrogen loadings from 
the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico have increased dramatically 
during the past several decades, which has led to changes in the 
ecosystem of the northern Gulf, including (1) an initial increase in 
overall biological production; (2) the annual development of an 
extensive zone of bottom water hypoxia during the summer stratified 
period; and (3) an apparent shift from a balanced pelagic/

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demersal fish community to one significantly more dominated by pelagic 
fisheries.
    Several past and present programs have studied the seasonal hypoxia 
associated with the northern Gulf of Mexico. Notably, from 1990 to 
1997, the COP supported a study on Nutrient Enhanced Coastal Ocean 
Productivity (NECOP); and the Committee on Environment and Natural 
Resources (CENR) recently completed an integrated assessment of Gulf of 
Mexico hypoxia. Results and reports of these studies can be found on 
the web sites or obtained from CSCOR/COP as listed under ``Electronic 
Access'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATIONsection of this document.
    A workshop was held in January 1999 to discuss relationships 
between the Mississippi River, the production of marine populations, 
and ecosystem parameters in the Gulf of Mexico; and to discuss how 
these relationships might be affected by changes in weather and 
climate. A report of the workshop, U.S. GLOBEC report No. 19, is 
available from the address or homepage provided under ``Electronic 
Access'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document
    This solicitation for proposals will augment the initial phase of a 
program, started in fiscal year 2000, to examine the inter-
relationships driving the Mississippi River-dominated Gulf of Mexico 
ecosystem. Abstracts of ongoing studies funded by CSCOR/COP in the 
northern Gulf of Mexico are available on the COP internet site that is 
provided in this document under ``Electronuc Access'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. The planned suite 
of studies will enable improved predictions about future effects of 
nutrient loading, eutrophication, hypoxia, and climate change on the 
Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
    In order to fully develop a predictive capability, a more intensive 
5-7 year program is being planned when additional funding becomes 
available. This complete program will include monitoring, retrospective 
studies, modeling and process field studies to identify relationships 
among ecosystem constituents.
    The process studies will be nested within monitoring efforts which 
identify and measure important ecosystem components, and retrospective 
and modeling efforts which will place the field measurements into 
broader temporal and theoretical context.
    The overall goal of the entire program is to understand and 
ultimately predict how changes in the physical, chemical and biological 
environment, including changes in climate, nutrient loading and 
hypoxia, will affect populations of marine animal species, especially 
economically and ecologically important species, in the northern Gulf 
of Mexico. The projects conducted as a result of this current 
solicitation for proposals will help guide the evolution of the future 
program.

Structure of the Research Program

    CSCOR/COP intends to expand the initial research program, which was 
initiated in fiscal year 2000, with additional projects. Possible types 
of new projects include, in priority order, modeling, monitoring and 
retrospective studies. Subsequent announcements may solicit further 
proposals in these areas and for process field studies in the region, 
depending on the outcome of the proposed research solicited here and 
the levels of future appropriated funding.
    Modeling studies are needed to provide a framework for studies in 
the northern Gulf of Mexico. Modeling activities will be used to guide 
further program development and identify important processes for the 
extensive fieldwork anticipated to follow this preliminary phase. 
Modeling studies may include: models that simulate impacts of varying 
nutrient flux on productivity and trophic response in the northern Gulf 
of Mexico ecosystem, including impacts to and responses of commercially 
and recreationally important fisheries; NPZF models; physical-
biological coupled models of processes in the Gulf ecosystem influenced 
by the Mississippi River discharge, including transport and population 
dynamics of key zooplankton and fishery populations; models of 
oceanographic and climate influences on nutrients and their impact on 
Gulf productivity; models of biogeochemical cycling of nutrients within 
the Gulf and its relationship to the dynamics of organic carbon flux in 
the Gulf; and models of water column stability and hypoxic zone 
dynamics.
    It is desirable for the modeling studies to be integrative or 
designed so that they can be fitted with other models to form an 
integrative whole. The goal is to build a predictive capability for the 
northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
    Proposed monitoring studies should provide calibration and 
validation data for modeling activities, but not duplicate ongoing 
activities. Monitoring studies could include shipboard surveys, multi-
disciplinary mooring observations, drifters, and analysis of regional 
satellite data. Possible monitoring activities responsive to this 
announcement include physical or chemical observations or biological 
observations of distribution and abundance of key species, and their 
relation to hypoxia.
    Proposed retrospective analyses should provide quantitative and 
detailed information on issues relevant to the objectives listed in the 
recent CENR reports. Examples include retrospective analyses of 
biological data concerning key animal populations; retrospective 
analyses of the coupling between transport and population dynamics of 
key species; and retrospective analyses of coupling between climate, 
drainage basin, and shelf oceanography. A better definition of the 
past, current, and potential impacts of hypoxia on both commercially 
and ecologically important species and ecosystems is needed.

Part I: Schedule and Proposal Submission

    This announcement requests full proposals only. The provisions 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. Information regarding this announcement, additional 
background information, and required Federal forms are available on the 
COP home page.

Full Proposals

    Applications submitted in response to this announcement require an 
original proposal and 10 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 proposal copies provide for a timely review process. Facsimile 
transmissions and electronic mail submission of full proposals will not 
be accepted.

Required Elements

    All recipients must follow the instructions in the preparation of 
the CSCOR/COP application forms referenced later in this document in 
Part II: Further Supplementary Information, (10) Application forms. 
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

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project's title starting with the acronym N-GOMEX 2001, a short title 
(less than 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, must 
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. It should be written in the third person. The 
summary is used to help compare proposals quickly and allows the 
respondents to summariz e these key points in their own words.
    (3) Statement of work/project description: The proposed statement 
of work/project must be completely described, including identification 
of the problem, scientific objectives, proposed methodology, relevance 
to the program goals, and its scientific priorities. The project 
description section (including Relevant Results from Prior Support) 
should not exceed fifteen pages. Page limits are inclusive of figures 
and other visual materials, but exclusive of references and milestone 
chart.
    Project management should be clearly identified with a description 
of the functions of each PI within a team. Environmental data must be 
submitted to the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center. It is 
important to provide a full scientific justification for the research; 
do not simply reiterate justifications presented in this document. 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.
    (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 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: Provide time lines of major tasks covering the 
duration of the proposed project, up to 24 months.
    (5) Budget and Application Forms: Both NOAA and COP-specific 
application forms may be obtained at the COP Grants website. Forms may 
be viewed, and in most cases, filled in by computer. All forms must be 
printed, completed, and mailed to CSCOR/COP; original signatures in 
blue ink are encouraged. If applicants are unable to access this 
information they may call the CSCOR/COP grants administrator listed in 
the section FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    At time of proposal submission, all applicants must 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. Applicants must also submit a COP Summary Proposal Budget Form 
for each fiscal year increment. Multi-institution proposals must 
include a Summary Proposal Budget Form for each institution. Use of 
this budget form will provide for a detailed annual budget and for 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 applications must 
include a budget narrative and a justification to support all proposed 
budget categories. Ship time needs should be identified in the proposed 
budget. The SF-424A, Budget Information (Non-Construction) Form, will 
be requested only from those applicants subsequently recommended for 
award.
    (6) Biographical sketch: Abbreviated curriculum vitae, two pages 
per investigator, must be included 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 must be included. If there are no collaborators, this 
should be so indicated. Students, post-doctoral associates, and 
graduate and postgraduate advisors of the PI must also be disclosed. 
This information is needed to help identify potential conflicts of 
interest or bias in the selection of reviewers.
    (7) Proposal format and assembly: The original proposal should be 
clamped in the upper left-hand corner, but left unbound. The 10 copies 
can be stapled in the upper left-hand corner or bound on the left edge. 
The page margin must be one inch (2.5 cm) at the top, bottom, left and 
right, and the type face standard 12 points size must be clear and 
easily legible.

Part II: Further Supplementary Information

    (1) Program authorities: For a list of all program authorities for 
the Coastal Ocean Program, see General Grant Administration Terms and 
Conditions of the Coastal Ocean Program published in the Federal 
Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 2000) and at the COP home page. The 
specific authority cited for this announcement is 33 U.S.C. 1442.
    (2) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 11.478 Coastal 
Ocean Program and 47.050 for the Directorate for Geosciences, National 
Science Foundation.
    (3) Program description: For complete COP program descriptions, see 
General Grant Administration Terms and Conditions of the Coastal Ocean 
Program published in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 
2000).
    (4) Funding availability: Funding is contingent upon the 
availability of Federal appropriations. It is estimated that 
approximately $400,000 per fiscal year will be available for supporting 
studies proposed by submissions to this announcement. Priority for 
these funds will be given to proposals that promote balanced coverage 
of the science objectives stated under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, 
Structure of the Research Program.
    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 is based on satisfactory performance 
and is at the total discretion of the funding agency.
    Publication of this document does not obligate the COP to any 
specific award or to any part of the entire amount of funds available. 
Recipients and

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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 for non-Federal 
applicants; interagency transfer agreements or other appropriate 
mechanisms other than project grants or cooperative agreements for 
Federal applicants.
    (7) Eligibility criteria: For complete eligibility criteria for the 
COP, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and Conditions annual 
document in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 2000) and 
the COP home page. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher 
education, not-for-profit institutions, international organizations, 
state, local and Indian tribal governments and Federal agencies. COP 
will accept proposals that include foreign researchers as collaborators 
with a researcher who is affiliated with a U.S. academic institution, 
Federal agency, or other non-profit organization.
    Applications from non-Federal and Federal applicants will be 
competed against each other. Proposals selected for funding from non-
Federal applicants will be funded through a project grant or 
cooperative agreement under the terms of this notice. Proposals 
selected for funding from NOAA employees shall be effected by an intra-
agency fund transfer. Proposals selected for funding from a non-NOAA 
Federal agency will be funded through an inter-agency transfer. PLEASE 
NOTE: Before non-NOAA Federal applicants may be funded, they must 
demonstrate that they have legal authority to receive funds from 
another Federal agency in excess of their appropriation. Because this 
announcement is not proposing to procure goods or services from 
applicants, the Economy Act (31 USC 1535) is not an appropriate legal 
basis.
    (8) Award period: Full proposals should cover a project period of 
up to 2 years, with a start date of August 1, 2001. Multi-year project 
period funding may be funded incrementally on an annual basis; but once 
awarded, multi-year projects will not compete for funding in subsequent 
years. Each award shall require a Statement of Work which represents 
substantial accomplishments that can be easily separated into annual 
increments if prospective funding is not made available, or is 
discontinued.
    (9) Indirect costs: If indirect costs are proposed, 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.
    (l0) Application forms: For complete information on application 
forms for the COP, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and 
Conditions document in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 
2000); the COP home page; and the information given 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 
document in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 2000) and at 
the COP home page.
    (12) Evaluation criteria: For complete information on evaluation 
criteria, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and Condition 
document in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 2000) and at 
the COP home page.
    (13) Selection procedures: For complete information on selection 
procedures, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and Conditions 
Document in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 2000) and at 
the COP home page. All proposals received under this specific Document 
will be evaluated and ranked individually in accordance with the 
assigned weights of the above evaluation criteria by independent peer 
mail review.
    (14)Other requirements: For a complete description of other 
requirements, see COP's General Grant Administration Terms and 
Conditions document in the Federal Register (65 FR 62706, October 19, 
2000) and at the COP home page.
    (15) 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.
    (16) 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.
    (17) Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are 
not subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of 
Federal Programs.''
    (18) This notification involves collection-of-information 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The use of 
Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, and SF-LLL has been approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control numbers 0348-0043, 
0348-0044, 0348-0040 and 0348-0046.
    The following requirements have been approved by OMB under control 
number 0648-0384; a Summary Proposal Budget Form (30 minutes per 
response), a Project Summary Form (30 minutes per response), a 
standardized format for the annual Performance Report (5 hours per 
response), a standardized format for the Final Report (10 hours per 
response), and the submission of up to 20 copies of proposals (10 
minutes per response). The response estimates include the time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding these requirements 
and the burden estimate, or any other aspect of this collection of 
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to 
[email protected]. Copies of these forms and formats can be 
found on the COP home page under Grants Support sections, Parts D and 
F.
    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: January 10, 2001.
John Oliver
Director, Management and Budget Office, National Ocean Service.
[FR Doc. 01-1381 Filed 1-16-01; 8:45 am]
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