[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 92 (Monday, May 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32016-32020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11928]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 020418090-2090-01; I.D. 041202B]
RIN 0648-ZB19


Financial Assistance for Research and Development Projects to 
Assess the Potential Suitability of Non-native Oysters in Chesapeake 
Bay

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: NMFS publishes this notice to solicit proposals for research 
and development projects that will address the potential suitability of 
Crassostrea ariakensis or other oysters for aquaculture in Chesapeake 
Bay. Through this notice, NMFS sets forth instructions on how to apply 
for financial assistance, and how NMFS will determine which 
applications will be selected for funding. A total of up to $100,000 in 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 funds is available through the NOAA/NMFS 
Chesapeake Bay Office for cooperative agreements.

DATES: Applications for funding under this program must be received by 
5 p.m. eastern daylight savings time on June 12, 2002. Applications 
received after that time will not be considered for funding. 
Applications will not be accepted electronically nor by facsimile 
machine submission.

ADDRESSES: You can obtain an application package from, and send 
completed applications to: Mr. Derek Orner, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 107A, 
Annapolis, MD 21403. You can also obtain the application package from 
the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office webpage. http://noaa.chesapeakebay.net/

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lowell Bahner or Mr. Derek Orner, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, 410/267-
5660; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    A. Authority. The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, at 16 
U.S.C. 753a, authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), for the 
purpose of developing adequate, coordinated, cooperative research and 
training programs for fish and wildlife resources, to continue to enter 
into cooperative agreements with colleges and universities, with game 
and fish departments of the several states, and with non-profit 
organizations relating to cooperative research units. The Secretary of 
Commerce is authorized under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 
U.S.C. 661-666c, to provide assistance to, and cooperate with, Federal, 
State, and public or private agencies and organizations in the 
development, protection, rearing, and stocking of fisheries resources 
thereof, and for fisheries habitat restoration. The Departments of 
Commerce (DOC), Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-77, 115 Stat.748) makes funds 
available to the Secretary.
    B. Catalog of Federal Assistance (CFDA). The activities requested 
are listed in the ``Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance'' under 
number 11.457, entitled Chesapeake Bay Studies.
    C. Research Initiative Description. The Eastern oyster, Crassostrea 
virginica, has been a major fishery in Chesapeake Bay for nearly three 
centuries. In the late 1950's, MSX spread into the lower Chesapeake Bay 
devastating native populations of the eastern oyster. By the 1970's, 
MSX had wiped out vast tracts of oysters in Virginia. In the 1980's, 
Dermo joined MSX in decimating the native oyster population. Together, 
both diseases have frustrated restoration and aquaculture efforts and 
have brought the oyster fishery to near demise.
    Several workshops were convened in the Chesapeake Bay region to 
explore options for countering the effects of these diseases. These 
workshops focused on specific topics such as research needs to combat 
MSX and Dermo (see the National Oyster Disease Research Program), 
socio-economic issues related to the oyster industry and the ecological 
and genetic implications of introducing non-native oyster species. 
Initial experimentation was conducted on C. gigas but has recently 
moved toward investigations of another Asian species, C. ariakensis. 
This research initiative seeks to garner information to make 
scientifically-based resource management decisions.

[[Page 32017]]

    D. Funding Availability. This document describes how interested 
persons can apply for funding under this initiative and how funding 
decisions will be made.
    This solicitation announces that funding of up to $100,000 may be 
available through the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. This announcement 
does not guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to make 
awards for all selected applications submitted under this program.

II. Research Priorities

    Proposals should exhibit familiarity with related work that is 
completed or ongoing. Where appropriate, proposals should be multi-
disciplinary. Coordinated efforts involving multiple eligible 
applicants or persons are encouraged. Proposals must address one of the 
priorities listed here. If the proposal addresses more than one 
priority, it should list first on the application the priority that 
most closely reflects the objective of the proposals.
    (A) Consideration for funding will be given to applications that 
address the following priorities for C. ariakensis and/or other 
potentially suitable oysters for aquaculture in Chesapeake Bay. Due to 
the risks of accidental release of non-native organisms into Chesapeake 
Bay, in-water testing may need to be conducted outside Chesapeake Bay 
and in waters native to the organism being evaluated, or in closed 
systems with adequate safety controls. Proposals should clearly explain 
the safe guards that would be used. Proposals should also explain any 
needs for obtaining or conducting an Environmental Assessment (EA) or 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to comply with National 
Environmental Policy Act or National Invasive Species Act or other 
relevant Federal or state requirements, since these would have a direct 
impact on whether or not the work could be conducted. Proposals may 
include:
    (1) Assessment of the biological and physiological requirements of 
the oyster with regard to its potential as a fishery and for creating 
habitat suitable to Chesapeake Bay. Proposals may include life history 
characteristics, stock recruitment characteristics, environmental 
requirements, growth rates, reproductive rates and capacity, geographic 
range, capacity for reef building, reef structure, value as habitat, 
screening of potential pathogens, disease susceptibility, causes of 
mortality, predators and predation, filtering capacity, and other 
environmental considerations relevant to the growth and survival of a 
viable culture or stock.
    (2) Comparison of oysters that can reproduce with those that can 
not (sterile). Proposals may include comparisons of growth rates, value 
as habitat, disease susceptibility, causes of mortality, predators and 
predation, filtering capacity, and other factors relevant to the 
comparison.
    (3) Evaluation of benefits and risks associated with culturing or 
releasing non-native oysters in Chesapeake Bay. Proposals may include 
the economic benefits and risks to the commercial and recreational 
sectors, role of watermen in aquaculture or restoration, potential for 
spreading disease, potential for becoming invasive, potential for 
competition with native species, potential for cross-breeding or 
genetic mixing, potential for fouling boats, engines, pilings, marinas, 
pumps, wires, and pipes, comparison of non-reproductive organisms with 
reproductively capable organisms for aquaculture or wide-scale 
restoration, capacity as habitat or fishery, potential reversion from 
non-reproductive (sterile) to reproductive (non-sterile) state, and the 
potential to spread naturally to adjacent waters, including the 
Atlantic Ocean, Coastal Bays, Gulf Coast and East and Gulf Coast bays 
and estuaries.

III. How to Apply

    A. Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants are institutions of 
higher education, hospitals, other nonprofits, commercial 
organizations, foreign governments, organizations under the 
jurisdiction of foreign governments, international organizations, 
state, local and Indian tribal governments. Federal agencies or 
institutions are not eligible to receive Federal assistance under this 
notice.
    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.
    B. Duration and Terms of Funding. Under this solicitation, NMFS 
will fund 12 month cooperative agreements. The cooperative agreement 
has been determined to be the appropriate funding instrument because of 
the substantial involvement of NMFS in:
    1. Developing program research priorities;
    2. Evaluating the performance of the program for effectiveness in 
meeting regional goals for Chesapeake Bay management entities;
    3. Monitoring the progress of each funded project;
    4. Holding periodic workshops with investigators; and
    5. Working with recipients to prepare annual reports summarizing 
current research efforts with the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office.
    Project dates should be scheduled to begin no later than 1 October 
2002. Cooperative agreements are approved on an annual basis but may be 
considered eligible for continuation beyond the first project and 
budget period subject to the approved scope of work, satisfactory 
progress, and availability of funds at the total discretion of NMFS. 
However, there are no assurances for such continuation. Publication of 
this document does not obligate NMFS to award any specific cooperative 
agreement or to obligate any part of the entire amount of funds 
available.
    C. Cost-sharing Requirements. Applications must reflect the total 
budget necessary to accomplish the project, including contributions 
and/or donations. Cost-sharing is not required but is encouraged.
    D. Format. 1. Applications for project funding must be complete and 
must follow the format described in this document.
    Applicants must identify the specific research priority or 
priorities to which they are responding. If the proposal addresses more 
than one priority, it should list first on the application the priority 
that most closely reflects the objective of the proposals. For 
applications containing more than one project, each project component 
must be identified individually using the format specified in this 
section. If an application is not in response to a priority, it should 
so state. Applicants should not assume prior knowledge on the part of 
NMFS as to the relative merits of the project described in the 
application.
    Applications must not be bound and must be one-sided. All 
incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant. Applicants 
are required to submit 1 signed original and 2 copies of the proposal.

[[Page 32018]]

    2. Applications must be submitted in the following format:
    (a) Cover sheet: An applicant must use OMB Standard Form 424 
(revised July 1997) as the cover sheet for each project. Applicants may 
obtain copies of these forms from the NOAA Grants Management Division, 
the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (see ADDRESSES) from the NOAA Grants 
website, http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/grants/.
    (b) Project summary:It is recommended that each proposal contain a 
summary of not more than one page that provides the following:
    (1) Project title.
    (2) Project status (new vs. continuation).
    (3) Project duration (beginning and ending dates).
    (4) Name, address, and telephone number of applicant.
    (5) Principal Investigator(s) (PI).
    (6) Project objectives.
    (7) Summary of work to be performed.
    (8) Total Federal funds requested.
    (9) Cost-sharing to be provided from non-Federal sources, if any. 
Specify whether contributions are project-related cash or in-kind.
    (10) Total project cost.
    (c) Project description (including results from prior support): 
Each project must be completely and accurately described. The main body 
of the proposal should be a clear statement of the work to be 
undertaken and should include: specific objectives and performance 
measures for the period of the proposed work and the expected 
significance; relation to longer-term goals of the PI's project; and 
relation to other work planned, anticipated, or underway under Federal 
Assistance. The project description must not exceed 15 pages in length. 
Visual materials, including charts, graphs, maps, photographs and other 
pictorial presentations are not included in the 15-page limitation. If 
an application is awarded, NMFS will make all portions of the project 
description available to the public for review; therefore, NMFS cannot 
guarantee the confidentiality of any information submitted as part of 
any project, nor will NMFS accept for consideration any project 
requesting confidentiality of any part of the project.
    Each project must be described as follows:
    (1) Identification of problem(s): Describe the specific problem to 
be addressed (see section II above).
    (2) Project objectives:The project description must identify the 
following three project objectives: a. Identify the specific priority 
listed earlier in the solicitation to which the proposed projects 
respond, if any. b. Identify the problem/opportunity you intend to 
address and describe its significance to the fishing community. c. 
State what you expect the project to accomplish.
    If you are applying to continue a project previously funded under 
the Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program, describe in detail your 
progress to date and explain why you need additional funding.
    Objectives should be:
    (a) Simple and easily understandable.
    (b) As specific and quantitative as possible.
    (c) Clear with respect to the ``what and when'' and should avoid 
the ``how and why.''
    (d) Attainable within the time, money, and human resources 
available.
    (e) Use action verbs that are accomplishment oriented.
    (f) Identify specific performance measures.
    (3) Results from Prior Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Support:If 
any Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI identified on the project has 
received NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office support in the past 5 years, 
information on the prior award(s) is required. The following 
information must be provided:
    (a) The NOAA award number, amount and period of support;
    (b) The title of the project;
    (c) Summary of the results of the completed work, including, for a 
research project, any contribution to the development of human 
resources in science/biology;
    (d) Publications resulting from the award;
    (e) Brief description of available data, samples, physical 
collections and other related research products not described 
elsewhere; and
    (4) Need for Government financial assistance: Demonstrate the need 
for assistance. Any appropriate database to substantiate or reinforce 
the need for the project should be included. Explain why other funding 
sources cannot fund all the proposed work. List all other sources of 
funding that are or have been sought for the project.
    (5) Benefits or results expected: Identify and document the results 
or benefits to be derived from the proposed activities.
    (6) Project statement of work: The Statement of Work is the 
scientific or technical action plan of activities that are to be 
accomplished during each budget period of the project. This description 
must include the specific methodologies, by project job activity, 
proposed for accomplishing the proposal's objective(s).
    Investigators submitting proposals in response to this announcement 
are strongly encouraged to develop inter-institutional, inter-
disciplinary research teams in the form of single, integrated proposals 
or as individual proposals that are clearly linked together. Such 
collaborative efforts will be factored into the final funding decision.
    Each Statement of Work must include the following information:
    (a) The applicant's name.
    (b) The inclusive dates of the budget period covered under the 
Statement of Work.
    (c) The title of the proposal.
    (d) The scientific or technical objectives and procedures that are 
to be accomplished during the budget period. A detailed set of 
objectives and procedures to answer who, what, how, when, and where. 
The procedures must be of sufficient detail to enable competent workers 
to be able to follow them and to complete scheduled activities.
    (e) Location of the work.
    (f) A list of all project personnel and their responsibilities.
    (g) A milestone table that summarizes the procedures (from item 
III.D.2.c(5)(d)) that are to be attained in each project month covered 
by the Statement of Work. Table format should follow sequential month 
rather than calendar month (i.e. Project period Month 1, Month 2... 
versus October, November ...)
    (7) Federal, state and local government activities: List any 
programs (Federal, state, or local government or activities, including 
Sea Grant, state Coastal Zone Management Programs, NOAA Oyster Disease 
Research Program, the state/Federal Chesapeake Bay Program, etc.) this 
project would affect and describe the relationship between the project 
and those plans or activities.
    (8) Project management: Describe how the project will be organized 
and managed. Include resumes of principal investigators. List all 
persons directly employed by the applicant who will be involved with 
the project. If a consultant and/or subcontractor is selected prior to 
application submission, include the name and qualifications of the 
consultant and/or subcontractor and the process used for selection.
    (9) Monitoring of project performance: Identify who will 
participate in monitoring the project.
    (10) Project impacts: Describe how these products or services will 
be made available to the fisheries and management communities.
    (11) Evaluation of project: The applicant is required to provide an 
evaluation of project accomplishments and progress towards the project

[[Page 32019]]

objectives and performance measures at the end of each budget period 
and in the final report. The application must describe the methodology 
or procedures to be followed to determine technical feasibility, or to 
quantify the results of the project in promoting increased production, 
product quality and safety, management effectiveness, or other 
measurable factors.
    (12) Total project costs: Total project costs is the amount of 
funds required to accomplish what is proposed in the Statement of Work, 
and includes contributions and donations. All costs must be shown in a 
detailed budget. A standard budget form (SF-424A) is available from the 
offices listed and on the internet (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will not 
consider fees or profits as allowable costs for grantees. Additional 
cost detail may be required prior to a final analysis of overall cost 
allowability, allocability, and reasonableness. The date, period 
covered, and findings for the most recent financial audit performed, as 
well as the name of the audit firm, the contact person, and phone 
number and address, must be also provided.
    (d) Supporting documentation: Provide any required documents and 
any additional information necessary or useful to the description of 
the project. The amount of information given in this section will 
depend on the type of project proposed, but should be no more than 20 
pages. The applicant should present any information that would 
emphasize the value of the project in terms of the significance of the 
problems addressed. Without such information, the merits of the project 
may not be fully understood, or the value of the project may be 
underestimated. The absence of adequate supporting documentation may 
cause reviewers to question assertions made in describing the project 
and may result in lower ranking of the project. Information presented 
in this section should be clearly referenced in the project 
description.

IV. Review Process and Criteria

    A. Initial Evaluation of Applications. Applications will be 
reviewed by NOAA to assure that they meet all requirements of this 
announcement. Proposals that do not support the research priorities as 
defined in section II. above will not be considered for funding.
    B. Consultation with Experts in the Field of Fisheries Research and 
Invasive Species. For applications meeting the requirements of this 
solicitation, NMFS will conduct an individual technical evaluation (via 
mail/electronic mail) of each project. This review normally will 
involve experts from both NOAA and non-NOAA organizations. All comments 
submitted to NMFS will be taken into consideration in the technical 
evaluation of projects. Reviewers will be asked to score and comment 
based on the following four criteria (total of 50 possible points):
    1. Problem description and conceptual approach for resolution, 
especially the applicant's comprehension of the problem(s), familiarity 
with related work that is completed or ongoing, and the overall concept 
proposed to resolve the problem(s) (15 points).
    2. Soundness of project design/technical approach, especially 
whether the applicant provided sufficient information to technically 
evaluate the project and, if so, the strengths and weaknesses of the 
technical design proposed for problem resolution (20 points).
    3. Project management and experience and qualifications of 
personnel, including organization and management of the project, and 
the personnel experience and qualifications (5 points).
    4. Justification and allocation of the budget in terms of the work 
to be performed (10 points).
    C. Review Panel. NMFS will convene a review panel consisting of at 
least three regional experts (both NOAA and non-NOAA panelists) in the 
scientific and management aspects of fisheries and invasive species 
research.
    Each individual panel member will:
    1. Provide independent review based on the same criteria and 
scoring as the technical review.
    2. Provide a numerical ranking of all submitted proposals and 
suggestions for modifications (i.e., budget, personnel, technical 
approach, etc.).
    The review panel will collectively:
    1. Discuss all review comments as a panel incorporating the 
evaluation provided by the technical reviewers.
    D. Funding Decision. After applications have been evaluated and 
ranked numerically by the review panel, the Director of the NOAA/NMFS 
Chesapeake Bay Office, in consultation with NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office 
staff and the Assistant Administrator (AA) for Fisheries, NOAA, will 
determine the projects to be recommended for funding based upon the 
technical evaluations and panel review comments, and determine the 
amount of funds available for the program. Numeric ranking will be the 
primary consideration for deciding which of the proposals will be 
selected for funding. In making the final selections, NOAA/NMFS may 
consider costs, geographical distribution, inter-jurisdictional and 
inter-institutional collaboration and duplication with other federally 
funded projects. Accordingly, numerical ranking is not the sole factor 
in deciding which proposals will be selected for funding. The Director 
of the NOAA/NMFS Chesapeake Bay Office will prepare a written 
justification for any recommendations for funding that fall outside the 
ranking order, or for any cost adjustments. The exact amount of funds 
awarded to each project will be determined in preaward negotiations 
between the applicant, the Grants Office, and the NOAA/NMFS Chesapeake 
Bay Office staff. Potential grantees should not initiate projects in 
expectation of Federal funding until an award document signed by an 
authorized NOAA official has been received.
    E. Applications not selected for funding will be held in the 
Program Office for a period of at least 12 months.

V. Administrative Requirements

    A. Obligations of the Applicant
    Periodic Workshops--Investigators will be expected to prepare for 
and attend one or two workshops with other Fisheries Research Program 
researchers to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.
    B. Other Requirements
    1. Indirect Cost Rates--The budget may include an amount for 
indirect costs if the applicant has an established indirect cost rate 
with the Federal government. Regardless of any approved indirect cost 
rate applicable to the award, the maximum dollar amount of allocable 
indirect costs for which the Department of Commerce will reimburse the 
recipient shall be the lesser of the line item amount for the Federal 
share of indirect costs contained in the approved budget of the award, 
or the Federal share of the total allocable indirect costs of the award 
based on the indirect cost rate approved by an oversight or cognizant 
Federal agency and current at the time the cost was incurred, provided 
the rate is approved on or before the award end date. However, the 
Federal share of the indirect costs may not exceed 25 percent of the 
total proposed direct costs for this Program. Applicants with indirect 
costs above 25 percent may use the amount above the 25 percent level as 
cost sharing. 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.
    2. The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements 
for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register 
notice

[[Page 32020]]

of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), are 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.
    3. Financial Management Certifications/preaward Accounting Survey--
Successful applicants, at the discretion of the NOAA Grants Officer, 
may be required to have their financial management systems certified by 
an independent public accountant as being in compliance with Federal 
standards specified in the applicable Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) Circulars prior to execution of the award. Any first-time 
applicant for Federal grant funds may be subject to a preaward 
accounting survey by the DOC specified in the applicable OMB Circulars/
Code of Federal Regulations prior to execution of the award.

Classification

    This action has been determined to be not 
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Applications under this program are subject to Executive Order 
12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
    Pursuant to Section 553(a)(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act, 
prior notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required for 
this notification concerning grants, benefits, and contracts. 
Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required for 
purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
    This document contains collection-of-information requirements 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms (SF) 
424 and 424A have been approved by OMB under their respective control 
numbers 0348-0043 and 0348-0044. 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: May 7, 2002.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-11928 Filed 5-10-02; 8:45 am]
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