[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14911-14916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7511]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 001206342-2025-02; I.D. 020502B]
RIN 0348-ZB00


NOAA Restoration Center; Request for National and Regional 
Habitat Restoration Partners

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for partnership proposals.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this document is to invite the public to submit 
multi-year proposals for establishing innovative partnerships with the 
NOAA Restoration Center (RC) at a national or regional level to further 
habitat restoration that will benefit living marine resources including 
anadromous fish. NOAA envisions working jointly on such partnerships, 
through its Community-Based Restoration Program (CRP), to select, 
competitively fund, and administer projects with substantial community 
involvement that restore NOAA trust resource habitats.
    This document describes the types of habitat restoration 
partnerships that the RC envisions establishing, and describes criteria 
under which applications will be evaluated for funding consideration. 
Partnerships selected through this notice will be implemented through a 
grant or cooperative agreement mechanism and will involve joint 
selection and co-funding of multiple community-based habitat 
restoration projects. Funding for establishing new partnerships in FY 
02 is limited and the selection process is anticipated to be highly 
competitive. This is not a request for individual community-based 
habitat restoration project proposals.

DATES: This is an open notice for applications that runs through August 
1, 2002. Applications will be evaluated and partners selected monthly 
after date of publication in the Federal Register until the close of 
this solicitation. Applications that are not selected in a previous 
month will be considered in subsequent months to compete on a rolling 
basis. Applications received later than 5 days following the closing 
date will not be accepted or returned. No facsimile or electronic mail 
applications will be accepted.

ADDRESSES: Send applications to Christopher D. Doley, Director, NOAA 
Restoration Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East West 
Highway (F/HC3), Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282; ATTN: CRP Partnership 
Applications.
    See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section under Electronic Access for 
additional information on the CRP and for application form information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robin J. Bruckner or Alison Ward, 
(301) 713-0174, or by e-mail at [email protected] or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Program Description

    The CRP, a financial and technical Federal assistance program, 
promotes strong partnerships at the national, regional and local levels 
to fund grass-roots, community-based activities that restore living 
marine resources and their habitats and promote stewardship and a 
conservation ethic for NOAA trust resources. NOAA trust resources are 
living marine resources that include commercial and recreational 
fishery resources (marine fish and shellfish and their habitats); 
anadromous species (fish, such as salmon and striped bass, that spawn 
in freshwater and then migrate to the sea); endangered and threatened 
marine species and their habitats; marine mammals, turtles, and their 
habitats; marshes, mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and other 
coastal habitats; and resources associated with National Marine 
Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves. Priorities for 
habitat restoration partnership activities include: areas identified by 
NOAA Fisheries as essential fish habitat (EFH) and areas within EFH 
identified as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern; areas identified as 
critical habitat for federally or state listed marine and anadromous 
species; areas identified as important habitat for marine mammals and 
turtles; watersheds or such other areas under conservation management 
as special management areas under state coastal management programs; 
and other important commercial or recreational marine fish habitat, 
including degraded areas that historically were important habitat for 
living marine resources.
    The CRP's objective is to bring together citizen groups, public and 
nonprofit organizations, watershed groups, industry, corporations and 
businesses, youth conservation corps, students, landowners, and local 
government, state, and Federal agencies to implement habitat 
restoration projects to benefit NOAA trust resources. Partnerships 
developed at national, regional and local levels contribute funding, 
land, technical assistance, workforce support or other in-kind services 
to promote citizen participation in the improvement of locally-
important living marine resources and develop local stewardship and 
monitoring activities to sustain and evaluate the success of the 
restoration.
    The CRP recognizes the significant role that partnerships can play 
in making habitat restoration happen within communities, and 
acknowledges that habitat restoration is often best implemented through 
technical and monetary support provided at a community level. 
Community-based restoration projects supported by the CRP are 
successful because they have significant local backing, depend upon 
citizens' hands-on involvement, and typically involve NOAA technical 
assistance or oversight. The role of NOAA in the CRP is to help 
identify potential restoration projects, strengthen the development and 
implementation of sound restoration projects within communities, and 
develop long-term, ongoing national and regional partnerships to 
support community-based restoration efforts of living marine resource 
habitats across a wide geographic area. For more information on the 
CRP, see Electronic Access.

II. Restoration Partnership Goals

    NOAA is interested in developing national and regional partnerships 
that will lead to the accomplishment of on-the-ground, community-based

[[Page 14912]]

restoration of marine, coastal and freshwater habitats to benefit 
living marine resources, including anadromous fish species. The primary 
goals of NOAA in establishing these partnerships are to restore living 
marine resource habitats; to involve community member volunteers in 
restoration activities to increase public awareness of the ecological 
value of fisheries habitat and foster a sense of community stewardship 
and pride for local restoration efforts; to develop and maintain long-
term, ongoing, working relationships of mutual benefit by partnering on 
activities where the priorities and goals of partners overlap; to 
combine resources with national and regional partners to increase the 
geographic scope and rate at which habitat restoration can be 
conducted; and to collaborate on project identification, development, 
and selection for funding with partners that are able to coordinate and 
manage most or all aspects of restoration activities.
    The RC envisions four primary means of working collaboratively to 
implement fisheries habitat restoration through partnerships: (1) 
Through sharing of restoration priorities, project ideas and techniques 
among interested organizations; (2) through the investment of technical 
assistance and oversight on particular restoration projects of mutual 
interest; (3) through collaborative identification of quality habitat 
restoration projects, and independent investment of technical 
assistance and cash and in-kind project contributions; and (4) through 
cooperative agreements, where potential national and regional partners 
apply for funds to work with the RC on a multi-year basis to identify, 
develop, implement and monitor community-based habitat restoration 
projects to benefit NOAA trust resources. Establishing partnerships 
through a cooperative agreement mechanism will involve joint selection 
and co-funding of numerous community-based habitat restoration 
projects, and is the primary focus of this Federal Register document.

III. National and Regional Restoration Partnerships

    NOAA invites the submission of multi-year proposals of up to 3 
years for establishing innovative partnerships with the RC at a 
national or regional level to further coastal habitat restoration. 
Successful applicants will be those whose partnership proposals are 
broad-reaching and demonstrate the potential for significant benefits 
to living marine resources across a large geographic area, and those 
whose restoration projects will actively engage community 
participation. Applicants seeking to establish partnerships must 
demonstrate that restoration activities will be consistent with NOAA 
Fisheries goals outlined in this notice.
    Proposals for both national and regional partnerships are 
encouraged. However, because regional partnerships are more focused in 
geographic scope, these applicants will be expected to demonstrate 
coordinated efforts among multiple groups such as universities, science 
centers, state and municipal agencies, watershed groups, local schools, 
civic groups and non-governmental organizations. Applications for 
regional partnerships should involve a coalition that will develop 
joint goals and objectives to accomplish habitat restoration, and whose 
activities are expected to take place across a substantial and defined 
geographic region, such as the Chesapeake Bay watershed, or the states 
that border the Gulf of Maine or the Gulf of Mexico, for example.
    The CRP has worked with a variety of partners on community-based 
fishery habitat restoration. Successful partnerships resulted where 
joint goals and priorities were most effectively accomplished through 
collaborative activities, including the pooling of financial and 
technical resources. The following narrative highlights the qualitites 
the CRP desires in working with national and regional community-based 
restoration partners. The example illustrates aspects that will be 
considered in the evaluation of applications, but it is not intended to 
limit the scope of partnership proposals.
    The CRP seeks partnerships to match NOAA cash contributions at a 
minimum of a 1:1 level, enabling a greater number of jointly evaluated 
and selected community-based habitat restoration projects to be 
implemented. The combined partnership investments are to be 
subsequently leveraged between 1 and 5 times once cash and in-kind 
contributions from local partners and volunteers are included. Ideally, 
NOAA's contribution under a partnership is used to co-fund competitive 
habitat restoration projects that benefit a wide range of NOAA trust 
resources over a substantial geographic area. NOAA and its partner(s) 
will jointly solicit for local, citizen-driven habitat restoration 
proposals, and identify, evaluate and prioritize individual projects 
for funding. Partners will be expected to play a primary role in 
project development, the competitive solicitation of proposals, the 
coordination of joint reviews and evaluations of proposals, the award 
and administration of sub-grants, and the direct administrative 
oversight and routine review of funded projects. Partners will be 
expected to ensure that all work on individual projects will meet 
Federal, state and local environmental permitting requirements and that 
projects will be monitored to evaluate their success. Partners also 
will be expected to conduct all financial, administrative and 
contractual aspects of subsequent awards, consistent with all 
applicable Federal regulations and U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA 
procedures and policies. NOAA's role in most partnerships would be to 
provide technical assistance in project development, conduct requisite 
field visits, assist in the review and evaluation of proposals, and 
provide funding and technical guidance during project implementation 
and monitoring of project success.
    Projects funded under a partnership will be expected to have strong 
on-the-ground habitat restoration components that provide educational 
and social benefits for people and their communities in addition to 
long-term ecological habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources. 
NOAA recognizes that accomplishing restoration is a multi-faceted 
effort involving project design, engineering services, permitting, 
construction, oversight and monitoring. Therefore, to allow maximum 
flexibility under a partnership, applicants should avoid unduly 
restricting proposed activities to specific restoration phases.
    Restoration is defined here as activities that contribute to the 
return of degraded or altered marine, estuarine, coastal and freshwater 
anadromous fish habitats to a close approximation of their condition 
prior to disturbance. Restoration may include, but is not limited to, 
improvement of coastal wetland tidal exchange or reestablishment of 
historic hydrology; dam or berm removal; improvement or reestablishment 
of fish passageway; natural or artificial reef/substrate/habitat 
creation; establishment of riparian buffer zones and improvement of 
freshwater habitat features that support anadromous fish; planting of 
native coastal wetland and submerged aquatic vegetation; and 
enhancement of feeding, spawning and nursery areas essential to marine 
or anadromous fish.
    A partnership application may target the restoration of specific 
habitats, or restrict work to certain geographic locations or the use 
of certain restoration techniques, if the restoration of these habitats 
or work in designated locations or with particular techniques has been 
documented under a regional planning effort to be a priority that is

[[Page 14913]]

also consistent with the priorities of NOAA Fisheries. An example of 
suitable documentation includes proposed restoration activities 
resulting from a regional planning or other process where multiple 
stakeholders have reached consensus. Proposals for partnerships with a 
narrow restoration focus that will benefit limited resources or few 
user groups, or that request funding solely to support or increase 
general organizational activities, are not considered ideal for the 
partnership development goals of the NOAA Restoration Center, and will 
be less likely to be selected for partnership agreements with the RC.

IV. Authority

    The Secretary of Commerce is authorized under the Fish and Wildlife 
Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661-666, to provide grants or cooperative 
agreements for fisheries habitat restoration.

V. Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The CRP is described in the ``Catalogue of Federal Domestic 
Assistance,'' under program number 11.463, Habitat Conservation.

VI. Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, 
hospitals, other non-profits, commercial organizations, organizations 
under the jurisdiction of foreign governments, international 
organizations, state, local and Indian tribal governments, and Federal 
agencies. Although Federal agencies are eligible to apply, they are 
strongly encouraged to work with states, non-governmental 
organizations, national service clubs or youth corps organizations and 
others that are eligible to apply as potential NOAA habitat restoration 
partners, rather than seeking partnerships directly with NOAA. 
Proposals selected for funding from non-Federal applicants will be 
funded through a project grant or cooperative agreement under the terms 
of this document. Proposals selected for funding from a non-NOAA 
Federal agency will be funded through an interagency transfer.
    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 proposals for innovative national and regional partnerships 
involving MSIs according to the criteria in this document, to 
strengthen the capacity of MSIs to foster student careers, research and 
workforce competitiveness in fisheries habitat restoration through 
identification, development, implementation and monitoring of on-the-
ground community-based restoration projects on a national or regional 
scale.

VII. Anticipated Funding Levels for Partnership Activities

    This solicitation invites multi-year partnerships of up to 3 years 
with the NOAA Restoration Center, in the form of cooperative agreements 
of up to $3,000,000 (combined NOAA and partner funds, maximum Federal 
funds $1,500,000) for the formation of national and regional habitat 
restoration partnerships in FY 2002, with allowances for higher amounts 
if the applicants can produce a cash match in excess of 1:1. Combined 
funds for partnerships may be scaled up from FY 2002 levels to 
$4,000,000 in FY 2003, and to $6,000,000 in FY 2004 dependent upon 
future budget increases. In accordance with NOAA Community-Based 
Restoration Program Guidelines (65 FR 16890, March 30, 2000), the 
Restoration Center Director (Director) will determine the proportion of 
funds available to the CRP on an annual basis that will be obligated to 
national and regional partnerships each year, including the proportion 
to be used for interagency partnerships, and the proportion to be used 
for direct solicitations for restoration projects through the CRP. The 
number of partnership awards to be made as a result of this 
solicitation will depend on the number of eligible applications 
received, the amount of funds requested for initiating partnerships by 
the applicants, the merit and rating of the proposals, and the amount 
of funds made available to the CRP by Congress. There is no guarantee 
that sufficient funds will be available to initiate partnerships where 
funding has been recommended, and the number of national and regional 
partnerships will be up to the discretion of the Director. Regional 
partnerships generally will have preference over national partnerships 
if available funds are limited. The exact amount of funds that may be 
awarded to work within a habitat restoration partnership will be 
determined in pre-award negotiations between the applicant and NOAA 
representatives. Publication of this document does not obligate NOAA to 
establish any specific partnership proposed or to obligate all or any 
parts of the available funds for partnership activities.
    For partnerships where funding is recommended, funds awarded cannot 
necessarily pay for all the costs that the recipient might incur in the 
course of carrying out the partnership role. Generally, costs that are 
allowable include salaries, equipment, supplies, and training, as long 
as these are ``necessary and reasonable.'' Allowable costs are 
determined by reference to the OMB Circulars A-122, ``Cost Principles 
for Non-profit Organizations''; A-21, ``Cost Principles for Education 
Institutions''; A-87, ``Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian 
Tribal Governments''; and Federal Acquisition Regulation, codified at 
48 Code of Federal Regulations, subpart 31.2 ``Contracts with 
Commercial Organizations.''

VIII. Matching Requirements

    The overall focus of the CRP is to provide seed money to individual 
projects that leverage funds and other contributions from a broad 
public and private sector to implement locally important habitat 
restoration to benefit living marine resources. To this end, applicants 
seeking national and regional partnerships with the RC are encouraged 
to demonstrate a minimum 1:1 non-Federal match. While this is not a 
requirement, the RC strongly advises applicants to leverage as much 
investment as possible. Applicants with less than 1:1 match will not be 
disqualified, however applicants should note that cost sharing is an 
element considered in evaluation criteria (5) Cost-effectiveness and 
Budget Justification. The match can come from a variety of public and 
private sources and can include in-kind goods and services. Federal 
funds may not be considered matching funds. Applicants are permitted to 
combine non-Federal contributions from additional partners in order to 
meet the 1:1 match expected to establish a partnership, as long as the 
matching funds are not already being used to match other funding 
sources. Applicants whose proposals are selected for habitat 
restoration partnership funding will be bound by the percentage of cost 
sharing reflected in the award document signed by the NOAA Grants 
Officer.

[[Page 14914]]

IX. Type of Funding Instrument

    Partnership proposals selected through this notice will be 
implemented through a cooperative agreement or interagency transfer. A 
cooperative agreement is a legal instrument reflecting a relationship 
between NOAA and a recipient whenever (1) the principal purpose of the 
relationship is to provide financial assistance to the recipient and 
(2) substantial involvement in the project by NOAA is anticipated 
during performance of the contemplated activity. NOAA may play a 
substantial role in any or all of the following: (1) Developing 
national and regional partnerships to promote locally driven habitat 
restoration activities; (2) conducting cooperative activities with 
recipients in project identification and ranking; (3) evaluating the 
performance of restoration projects; and (4) supporting project 
partners to enhance their effectiveness in meeting stated restoration 
goals for improving fisheries habitat.

X. Award Period and Partnership Duration

    Applications for national and regional partnerships should cover a 
project period between 1 and 3 years. Multi-year project period 
requests may be funded incrementally on an annual basis, but once 
awarded, multi-year partnerships will not need to compete for funding 
in subsequent years. If an application is selected and approved for 
funding under a partnership, NOAA has no obligation to provide 
additional funding in connection with this partnership in subsequent 
years. However, the intention of the CRP is to attract and maintain 
partnerships that will be ongoing and long-lasting. Established 
partnerships are expected to continue through the duration of the 
project period. Future opportunities for submitting proposals to the 
competitive process for developing multi-year, national and regional 
habitat restoration partnerships are anticipated, but will be dependent 
on CRP funding levels and on the performance of existing partners to 
successfully maintain existing partnership activities to identify, 
develop, evaluate, implement and monitor community-based fisheries 
habitat restoration projects. A recommendation to the NOAA Grants 
Management Division (GMD) to continue an award for a partnership in 
subsequent years, or to extend the period of performance, is at the 
total discretion of the Director.

XI. Electronic Access

    Information on the CRP, including examples of national partnerships 
and community-based habitat restoration projects that have been funded 
to date, can be found on the world wide web at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/community/index.html. The 
standard NOAA grants application forms and instructions for applicants 
are accessible through this web site, or they can be obtained from the 
NOAA Restoration Center (see ADDRESSES). Potential applicants are 
encouraged to contact the NOAA Restoration Center to discuss 
partnership ideas and request an application package that contains 
instructions for submitting NOAA grants applications and supplementary 
instructions specific to the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program.

XII. Application Process

    To submit a proposal, a complete NOAA grants application package 
should be filed in accordance with the guidelines in this document. 
Each application should include all specified sections as follows: 
cover sheet (an applicant must use OMB Standard Form 424 as the cover 
sheet for each project); budget detail (SF 424A and budget 
justification narrative); grant assurances (SF424B); certifications 
(CD-511); and SF-LLL and CD-346 if applicable; and narrative project 
description (statement of work). Budgets should include a detailed 
breakdown by category of cost estimates as they relate to specific 
aspects of the partnership, with appropriate justification for both the 
Federal and non-Federal shares.
    The narrative project description should be no more than 15 double-
spaced pages long, in 12 point font, and should give a clear 
presentation of the proposed partnership. It should identify the 
problems the partnership will address and the geographic area over 
which the partnership will operate. The narrative should describe 
short- and long-term objectives and goals, methods for identifying 
potential projects, the criteria that will be used for selecting 
restoration proposals and determining the success of projects 
implemented at a community level under the partnership, and the 
relevance of the proposed partnership to enhancing habitat to benefit 
living marine resources. The narrative also should address a mechanism 
that partners will use to ensure that all necessary environmental 
permits and consultations will be secured prior to the use of Federal 
funds. Additionally, the narrative should identify the anticipated 
partnership duration, amount and timing of funds requested, potential 
sources of match, and any restrictions the partner may impose on the 
further use of Federal funds. For example, if the partner anticipates 
limiting competition by restricting the level of funding per project, 
restricting funding to specific project phases, cost categories or to 
specific recipients, restricting habitat types, organization types or 
geographic locations from consideration, these restrictions should be 
clearly detailed in the narrative. It is NOAA's intention to maintain 
maximum competition and flexibility in the use of Federal restoration 
funds.
    Anticipated project partners other than the applicant should be 
identified; this is particularly important for those applying to 
establish regional partnerships. The project narrative should describe 
the organizational structure of the applicant group(s), detail their 
qualifications and identify proposed partnership staff. In general, 
applications should clearly demonstrate the broad-based benefits 
expected to habitats, and how these benefits will be achieved through 
partnership activities with the RC. Partnerships that emphasize a 
single restoration component, such as only outreach, monitoring, or 
program coordination are discouraged, as are applications that propose 
partnerships to expand an organization's day-to-day activities that 
have limited NOAA involvement, or primarily support administration, 
salaries, overhead and travel.
    Applications should not be bound or stapled and should be printed 
on one side only. Incomplete applications will be returned to the 
applicant. Three copies (including one signed original) of each 
application are required and must be submitted to the NOAA Restoration 
Center (see ADDRESSES). Applicants may opt to submit additional copies 
(seven are needed for reviewing purposes) if it does not cause a 
financial hardship.

XIII. Indirect Costs

    The budget may include an amount for indirect costs if the 
applicant has an established indirect cost rate with the Federal 
government. Indirect costs are essentially overhead costs for basic 
operational functions (e.g. lights, rent, water, insurance) that are 
incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be 
identified specifically within a particular partnership. For this 
solicitation, the Federal share of the indirect costs must not exceed 
the lesser of either the indirect costs the applicant would be entitled 
to if the negotiated Federal indirect cost rate were used or 25 percent 
of the direct costs proposed. For

[[Page 14915]]

those situations in which the use of the applicant's indirect cost rate 
would result in indirect costs greater than 25 percent of the Federal 
direct costs, the difference may be counted as part of the non-Federal 
share. A copy of the current, approved negotiated indirect cost 
agreement with the Federal Government should be included with the 
application. If the applicant does not have a current negotiated rate 
and plans to seek reimbursement for indirect costs, documentation 
necessary to establish a rate must be submitted within 90 days of 
receiving an award.

XIV. Partnership Selection Process

    Applications will be screened by CRP staff to determine if they are 
eligible, complete and in accordance with instructions detailed in the 
standard NOAA Grants Application Package. Eligible restoration 
partnership proposals will undergo a technical review, rating, and 
selection process. Proposals will be reviewed by NOAA regional and 
headquarters staff to determine how well applications meet the stated 
aims of the CRP, and how well the proposal meets the goals of the NOAA 
RC for establishing partnerships. As appropriate during this process, 
the NOAA Restoration Center will solicit individual technical 
evaluations of each partnership proposed and may request evaluations 
from other NOAA offices, the GMD, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the 
Regional Fishery Management Councils, other Federal and state agencies, 
such as state coastal management agencies and state fish and wildlife 
agencies, and private and public sector restoration experts who have 
knowledge of a specific applicant, program or its subject matter.
    Applications for proposed partnerships will be evaluated by 
individual technical reviewers, including those mentioned in the above 
paragraph, according to the criteria and weights described in this 
solicitation. The proposals will be rated, and reviewer comments and 
scores will be presented to the Director. Applications that were not 
selected in a previous month will be considered in subsequent months, 
but will only be evaluated and scored once. The Director, in 
consultation with CRP staff, may take into account the following 
program policy factors: (a) Diversity of geographic location and 
habitat types to be restored; (b) diversity of applicants; (c) degree 
of duplication of proposed partnership activities with other 
partnerships that are currently in effect or approved for funding by 
NOAA and other Federal agencies; (d) factors that may not be known by 
technical reviewers that would affect achievement of the CRP's 
objectives as described in this announcement and the Program Guidelines 
(65 FR 16890, March 30, 2000); and (e) the availability of funds. 
Hence, partnership awards may not necessarily be extended to all 
applicants that score well. The Director, in consultation with CRP 
staff, will select the partnerships to be recommended to the GMD for 
funding and determine the amount of funds available for each approved 
partnership. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified in writing that 
their proposal was not among those selected for funding, and 
unsuccessful applications will be kept on file until the close of the 
current fiscal year then destroyed.
    Successful applicants may be asked to modify objectives, work 
plans, or budgets prior to final approval of an award. The exact amount 
of funds to be awarded, the final scope of activities, the partnership 
duration, and specific NOAA cooperative involvement with the activities 
proposed under selected partnerships will be determined in pre-award 
negotiations among the applicant, the GMD, and CRP staff. Partnership 
activities should not be initiated in expectation of Federal funding 
until a notice of award document is received from the GMD.
    Successful applicants will be selected to establish habitat 
restoration partnerships with the RC monthly until the close of this 
solicitation. Notification of approved partnership status will take 
place approximately 60 days after the cooperative agreement application 
is forwarded to the GMD, when all NOAA/applicant negotiations of 
cooperative activities have been completed. Applicants should consider 
this selection and processing time in developing requested start dates 
for proposed partnership activities.

XV. Evaluation Criteria

    Reviewers will assign scores to proposals ranging from 0 
(unacceptable) to 100 (excellent) points based on the following five 
evaluation criteria and respective weights:
    (1) Potential of the Partnership to Benefit Living Marine Resources 
(20 percent)
    Proposals will be evaluated on (a) the national or regional extent 
of proposed habitat restoration activities and (b) the types of 
habitats that will be restored under the partnership. In particular, 
NOAA will evaluate partnership proposals based on the potential of the 
applicant and proposed magnitude of the partnership to restore, 
protect, conserve, and enhance habitats and ecosystems vital to self-
sustaining populations of living marine resources under NOAA Fisheries 
stewardship.
    (2) Partner Strengths and Experience (20 percent)
    The applicant should demonstrate its abilities to effectively and 
efficiently manage a significant number of projects simultaneously. 
Applicants will be evaluated on the qualifications, past experience, 
and potential of the project partners to effectively identify, develop, 
select, manage and oversee all project phases, particularly financial 
and administrative management of sub-awards, and the ability to ensure 
scientifically-based monitoring is implemented on individual projects 
funded through sub-awards.
    (3) Adequacy of Partnership Plan (20 percent)
    The partnership plan will be evaluated on: (a) the adequacy of 
proposed strategies for coordination with NOAA in all phases of project 
selection, design, implementation and monitoring; (b) the degree to 
which the selection process is competitive, and ensures that sub-awards 
are made according to technical evaluations and identified weighting 
factors consistent with NOAA priorities; (c) the ability of the partner 
to foster restoration activities under the partnership that will be 
consistent with regional or community planning processes, or other 
stakeholder mechanisms used to prioritize projects; (d) the degree to 
which projects selected for sub-awards are expected to have long-
lasting results that will be sustained into the future through 
conservation easements or similar protection; (e) the ability to 
advance the partnership and increase awareness of the importance of 
habitat restoration; and (f) the ability to provide assurance that 
projects implemented through sub-awards will meet all Federal and state 
environmental laws and obtain applicable permits and consultations.
    (4) Ability to Engage Communities in Habitat Restoration (20 
percent)
    Proposals will be evaluated on the suitability of proposed actions 
to involve citizens and broaden their participation in habitat 
restoration projects. Proposals must include information on how the 
selection of projects under the partnership with NOAA will promote 
significant community involvement in fisheries habitat restoration and 
stewardship. Community participation may include: (a) hands-on training 
and restoration activities undertaken by volunteers; (b) sponsorship 
from local entities, either through in-kind goods and services (earth 
moving, technical expertise, conservation easements) or cash

[[Page 14916]]

contributions; (c) public education and outreach; (d) support from 
state and local governments; and (e) ability to achieve long-term 
stewardship for restored resources and to generate a community 
conservation ethic.
    (5) Cost-effectiveness and Budget Justification (20 percent)
    Proposals will be evaluated on: (a) the percentage of funds that 
will be dedicated to all phases of restoration project implementation 
including physical, on-the-ground restoration compared to the 
percentage that is for administration and overhead to be used by the 
partner; (b) the overall leverage of NOAA funds anticipated, including 
the amount of cash match; (c) the ability to which the partnership and 
projects selected are likely to catalyze future restoration and 
protection of living marine resources; and (d) the ability of the 
applicant organization to demonstrate that a significant benefit will 
be generated for a reasonable cost. NOAA desires cost sharing to 
leverage funding and to further encourage partnerships among 
government, industry, and academia. In order to encourage on-the-ground 
restoration, if funding for salaries is requested, it must be used to 
support staff directly involved in overseeing the accomplishment of the 
restoration work that will take place under the partnership.

XVI. Other Requirements

    The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register 
notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), will be applicable to this 
solicitation. However, please note that the Department of Commerce will 
not implement the requirements of Executive Order 13202 (66 FR 49921), 
pursuant to guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget in 
light of a court opinion which found that the Executive Order was not 
legally authorized. See Building and Construction Trades Department v. 
Allbaugh, 172 F. Supp. 2d 138 (D.D.C. 2001). This decision is currently 
on appeal. When the case has been finally resolved, the Department will 
provide further information on implementation of Executive Order 13202.
    Applications under this program are subject to the provisions of 
Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.''

Classification

    Prior notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required 
by the Administrative Procedure Act or by any other law for this 
document concerning grants, benefits, and contracts. Accordingly, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act.
    The CRP will determine National Environmental Policy Act compliance 
on a project by project basis under each funded partnership.
    This action has been determined to be not significant for purposes 
of Executive Order 12866.
    The use of the standard NOAA grants application package referred to 
in this notice involves collection-of-information requirements subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 
424B, SF-LLL, and CD-346 have been approved by OMB under the respective 
control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040, 0348-0046, and 0605-
0001.
    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 Paperwork 
Reduction Act, unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

    Dated: March 22, 2002.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 02-7511 Filed 3-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S