[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58120-58122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25418]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2003-16200]


National Boating Safety Activities: Funding for National 
Nonprofit Public Service Organizations

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard seeks applications for fiscal year 2004 grants 
and cooperative agreements from national, nongovernmental, nonprofit, 
public service organizations. These grants and cooperative agreements 
would be used to fund projects on various subjects promoting 
recreational boating safety on the national level. This notice provides 
information about the grant and cooperative agreement application 
process and some of the subjects of particular interest to the Coast 
Guard.

DATES: Application packages may be obtained on or after October 8, 
2003. Proposals for the fiscal year 2004 grant

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cycle must be received before 3 p.m. eastern time, January 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Application packages may be obtained by calling the Coast 
Guard Infoline at 800-368-5647. Submit proposals to: Commandant (G-OPB-
1), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Room 3100, 
Washington, DC 20593-0001. This notice is available from the Coast 
Guard Infoline and on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov in docket 
USCG-2003-16200 or at the Web site for the Office of Boating Safety at 
http://www.uscgboating.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Vickie Hartberger, Office of 
Boating Safety, U.S. Coast Guard (G-OPB-1/room 3100), 2100 Second 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001; 202-267-0974. The points of 
contact for the nine project areas are listed at the end of the 
description of each project area.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title 46, United States Code, section 13103, 
allocates funds available from the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund for 
boating safety grants. The majority of funds are allocated to the 
States, and up to 5 percent of these funds may be distributed by the 
Coast Guard for grants and cooperative agreements to national, 
nonprofit, public service organizations for national recreational 
boating safety activities. It is anticipated that up to $2,950,000 will 
be made available for fiscal year 2004. Thirty-two awards totaling 
$2,994,500 were made in fiscal year 2003 ranging from $7,000 to 
$370,000. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as 
committing the Coast Guard to dividing available funds among qualified 
applicants or awarding any specified amount.
    It is anticipated that several awards will be made by the Director 
of Operations Policy, U.S. Coast Guard. Applicants must be national, 
nongovernmental, nonprofit, public service organizations and must 
establish that their activities are, in fact, national in scope. An 
application package may be obtained by writing or calling the point of 
contact listed in ADDRESSES on or after October 8, 2003. The 
application package contains all necessary forms, an explanation of how 
the grant program is administered, and a checklist for submitting a 
grant application. Specific information on organization eligibility, 
proposal requirements, award procedures, and financial administration 
procedures may be obtained by contacting the person listed in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Prospective grantees may propose up to a 5-year grant with 12-month 
(fiscal year) increments. In effect, an award would be made for the 
first year and thereafter renewal is optional. Each annual increment 
would not be guaranteed. Under a continuation (multi-year) grant type 
of award the Coast Guard agrees to support a grant project at a 
specific level of effort for a specified period of time, with a 
statement of intention to provide certain additional future support, 
provided funds become available, the achieved results warrant further 
support, and are in support of the needs of the government. Award of 
continuation grants will be made on a strict case-by-case basis to 
assist planning certain large scale projects and ensure continuity. 
Procedures also provide for awarding noncompetitive grants or 
cooperative agreements on a case-by-case basis. This authority is 
judiciously used to fund recurring annual projects or events which can 
only be carried out by one organization, and projects that present 
targets of opportunity for timely action on new or emerging program 
requirements or issues.
    The following list includes items of specific interest to the Coast 
Guard, however, potential applicants should not be constrained by the 
list. We welcome any initiative that supports the organizational 
objectives of the Recreational Boating Safety Program to save lives, 
reduce the number of boating accidents, injuries and property damage, 
and lower associated health care costs. Some project areas of 
continuing and particular interest for grant funding include the 
following:
    1. Develop and Conduct a National Annual Safe Boating Campaign. The 
Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop and conduct the year 2005 
National Annual Safe Boating Campaign that targets specific boater 
market segments and recreational boating safety topics. This year-round 
campaign must support the organizational objectives of the Recreational 
Boating Safety Program and the nationwide grassroots activities of the 
many volunteer groups who coordinate local media events, education 
programs, and public awareness activities, as well as compliment the 
Coast Guard ``You're In Command'' campaign. The major focus of the 
campaign will be to affect the behavior of all boaters with special 
focus on boat operators being responsible for their own safety as well 
as the safety of their passengers. A significant emphasis should be 
placed on life jacket wear, safety and security issues, and the dangers 
of carbon monoxide, as well as boating under the influence of alcohol 
or a dangerous drug. Efforts will also be coordinated, year-round, with 
other national safety activities and special media events. Point of 
Contact: Ms. Jo Calkin, (202) 267-0994.
    2. Develop and Conduct a National Recreational Boating Safety 
Outreach and Awareness Conference. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to 
plan, implement, oversee, and conduct a National Recreational Boating 
Safety Outreach and Awareness Conference that supports the 
organizational objectives of the Recreational Boating Safety Program. 
The overall conference focus should have promotional strategies with 
special focus on boat operators being responsible for their own safety 
as well as the safety of their passengers. Significant emphasis should 
be placed on offering multiple subject matter areas that afford the 
participants professional development opportunities and educational 
enhancement. Areas should focus on, but not be limited to: life jacket 
wear, safety and security issues, the dangers of carbon monoxide, 
boating education, vessel safety, as well as boating under the 
influence of alcohol or a dangerous drug. Point of Contact: Ms. Jo 
Calkin, (202) 267-0994.
    3. State/Federal/Boating Organizations Cooperative Partnering 
Efforts. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to provide programs to 
encourage greater participation and uniformity in boating safety 
efforts. Applicants would provide a forum to encourage greater 
uniformity of boating laws and regulations, reciprocity among 
jurisdictions, and closer cooperation and assistance in developing, 
administering, and enforcing Federal and State laws and regulations 
pertaining to boating safety. Point of Contact: Ms. Audrey Pickup, 
(202) 267-0872.
    4. Voluntary Standards Development Support. The Coast Guard seeks a 
grantee to carry out a program to encourage active participation by 
members of the public and other qualified persons in the development of 
technically sound voluntary safety standards for boats and associated 
equipment. Point of Contact: Mr. Peter Eikenberry, (202) 267-6984.
    5. Develop and Conduct Boating Accident Seminars. The Coast Guard 
seeks a grantee to develop, provide instructional material, and conduct 
training courses nationwide for boating accident investigators, 
including three courses at the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve Training Center 
in Yorktown, Virginia. Point of Contact: Mr. Rick Gipe, (202) 267-0985.
    6. National Estimate of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) Wear 
Rate. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop

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a statistically valid national estimate and evaluation of wear rates of 
PFDs by recreational boaters. Wear rate should be determined by actual 
observation of boaters rather than other means such as surveys. Point 
of Contact: Mr. Peter Eikenberry, (202) 267-6894.
    7. Recreational Boat Navigation Light Installation Practices. The 
Coast Guard seeks a grantee to conduct a study of recreational boat 
navigation light installation practices. This study shall include both 
traditional incandescent and light emitting diode (LED) lights 
installed in recreational boats and/or available for sale as after 
market items. The study shall be focused on identifying issues related 
to compliance with Rules of the Road, and particularly instances in 
which the specific positioning of navigation lights may cause glare or 
other effects that interfere with the operator's visibility. The study 
shall identify instances in which compliance with Rules of the Road 
lighting requirements may not serve to enhance the safety of 
recreational boaters. The grantee shall make recommendations for 
changes to recreational lights that will enhance safety. Point of 
Contact: Mr. Richard Blackman, (202) 267-6810.
    8. Recreational Boating Study/Survey Analysis. This project is a 
multiple phase project, with the first phase already in progress. The 
first phase of the project has been directed primarily at compiling and 
reviewing boating studies and reports, categorizing and summarizing 
research in a format that will encourage and facilitate its use by 
boating businesses and agencies, and in developing Web-based mechanisms 
to efficiently maintain this information (e.g., on-line boating 
research tracking form, boating research discussion page). Web-based 
tools are also being utilized to encourage research-related dialogue 
and future research partnerships, identify recreational boating 
research priorities and opportunities for multiple purpose studies, and 
widely publish and disseminate the resulting literature review and 
project deliverables. The second phase of the project will continue to 
identify, compile and analyze boating studies. During the second phase, 
more attention will be directed to encouraging dialogue focused on 
identifying future research agendas for boating research, and 
developing partnerships that will coordinate and make studies more 
comparable (e.g., comparable definitions, sampling, definitions). For 
example, instead of doing separate boating safety studies, safety 
issues and behaviors could be incorporated into existing research 
projects where appropriate. These subsequent efforts will also identify 
and propose uniform definitions for boating-related terms and concepts, 
along with other common research variables that will enhance the 
potential of integration and comparability across recreational boating 
studies. In the second phase of the project, grantee is to convene a 
high-level symposium with representation from industry associations, 
marine trade associations, state and federal boating agencies, and 
university researchers to: establish boating research priorities, 
identify ways to encourage integrated multiple-sponsor studies, and to 
develop a funding strategy for encouraging and supporting these 
initiatives. Point of Contact: Mr. Bruce Schmidt, (202) 267-0955.
    9. Navigation Lighting On Barges. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee 
to research and analyze the danger posed to recreational boaters by 
barges, both under tow and being pushed, under the conditions of 
reduced visibility. The grantee would provide recommendations for 
additional lighting or other means to increase the visibility of the 
barges. Any lighting recommendations must be consistent with Rule 20 of 
the Navigation Rules (33 U.S.C. 2020), that is, additional lights 
cannot be mistaken for the lights specified in the Rules and do not 
impair their visibility or distinctive character. Point of Contact: Mr. 
Rick Gipe, (202) 267-0985.
    Potential grantees should focus on partnership, i.e., exploring 
other sources, linkages, in-kind contributions, cost sharing, and 
partnering with other organizations or corporations. We encourage 
proposals addressing other boating safety concerns.
    The Boating Safety Financial Assistance Program is listed in 
section 20.005 of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

    Dated: September 30, 2003.
Jeffrey J. Hathaway,
Rear Admiral, U. S. Coast Guard, Director of Operations Policy.
[FR Doc. 03-25418 Filed 10-7-03; 8:45 am]
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