[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 107 (Thursday, June 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31359-31361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12599]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No.: 040526164-4164-01 I.D. 050304G]
RIN 0648-ZB60


Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Culture and Restoration Projects in 
the Chesapeake Bay; Chesapeake Bay Non-native Oyster Research to 
Support an Environmental Impact Statement

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to invite the public to submit 
proposals for available funding provided through the NOAA Chesapeake 
Bay Office (NCBO) to assist in carrying out the following two 
initiatives under the Chesapeake Bay Studies Program (11.457) Submerged 
Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) culture and large-scale restoration in the 
Chesapeake Bay; and, research and development projects on non-native 
oysters to support the current effort to develop a Chesapeake Bay 
Environmental Impact Statement. Funds are available to state, local and 
Indian tribal governments, institutions of higher education, other non-
profit and commercial organizations. This notice describes the 
conditions under which project proposals will be accepted and the 
criteria under which proposals will be evaluated. Depending upon the 
level of Federal involvement in these two initiatives, selected 
recipients will enter into either a cooperative agreement or a grant. 
NCBO intends to continue with several existing relationships and to 
make awards through these programs for currently funded multiple year 
projects pending acceptable scientific review.

DATES: Applications must be received by 5 p.m. eastern time on July 6, 
2004. Applications received after that time will not be considered for 
funding.
    Statements of Intent (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION) should be 
submitted by June 23, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Proposals must be submitted Derek Orner, Program 
Coordinator, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 107A, 
Annapolis, MD 21403.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derek Orner, Program Coordinator, NOAA 
Chesapeake Bay Office, telephone: (410) 267-5660, or e-mail: 
[email protected]. You can obtain a copy of the application package, 
including the full funding opportunity announcement for this 
solicitation, from Derek Orner. You can also obtain the application 
package from the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office grants home page http://noaa.chesapeakebay.net/grants. The Statement of Intent (see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION) should be sent to Derek Orner 
([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Electronic Access: The full funding 
opportunity announcement for these Chesapeake Bay Studies programs is 
available via Web site: http://www.ofa.noaa.gov/amd/SOLINDEX.HTML or by 
contacting the program official identified above (see ADDRESSES). This 
announcement will also be available through Grants.gov at http.//
www.Grants.gov.
    Funding Availability: This solicitation announces that 
approximately $550,000 may be made available through the Chesapeake Bay 
Studies submerged aquatic vegetation program and approximately 
$2,000,000 may be made available through the Chesapeake Bay Studies 
non-native oyster research program. This document describes how 
interested persons can apply for funding and how funding decisions will 
be made for both initiatives.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 753a; 16 U.S.C. 661-666c.
    CFDA: 11.457, Chesapeake Bay Studies.
    Eligibility: Eligible applicants include state, local and Indian 
tribal governments, institutions of higher education, other nonprofit 
organizations and commercial organizations.
    Cost Sharing Requirements: NOAA strongly encourages applicants 
applying for either initiative to share as much of the costs of the 
award as possible. Funds from other Federal awards may not be 
considered matching funds. The nature of the contribution (cash versus 
in-kind) and the amount of matching funds will be taken into 
consideration in the final selection process. Priority will be given to 
proposals that propose cash rather than in-kind contributions.
    Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are 
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.''
    Evaluation and Selection Procedures: An initial administrative 
review/screening is conducted by the NCBO to determine compliance with 
requirements/completeness including eligibility and relevance to the 
NCBO. Proposals that do not support the technical and management areas 
of interest of the Chesapeake Bay, as

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defined in the full funding announcement, will not be considered for 
funding. All applications meeting the requirements of this solicitation 
will undergo an external technical review conducted by a minimum of 
three independent mail reviewers. All proposals will be individually 
evaluated, rated and ranked in accordance with the assigned weights of 
the evaluation criteria listed below. This review normally will involve 
experts from both NOAA and non-NOAA organizations.
    For the SAV Program, the technical reviewers' ratings will be used 
to produce a rank order of the proposals. In making the final 
selections, the selecting official will award in rank order unless the 
proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order based upon one 
of more of the selection factors.
    For the non-native oyster research program, the NCBO will convene a 
review panel consisting of at least three regional experts in the 
scientific and management aspects of oyster research from NOAA and non-
NOAA organizations. Each member of the panel will review the technical 
review ranking and comments and individually make recommendations and 
provide a numerical ranking to the Program Coordinator. No consensus 
advice will be given by the reviewer panel members. The selection 
official selects proposals after considering the technical reviewer's 
comments, peer panel reviews and selection factors listed below. In 
making the final selections, the selecting official will award in rank 
order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order 
based upon one of more of the selection factors.
    Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of 
the following evaluation criteria at the indicated weights:
    (1) Importance/Relevance and Applicability of Proposal (15 points). 
This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the 
proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, regional, state, or 
local activities.
    (2) Technical/Scientific Merit (15 points). This criterion assesses 
whether the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the 
methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals and 
objectives.
    (3) Overall Qualification of Applicants (5 points). This criterion 
ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary education, 
experience, training, facilities, and administrative resources to 
accomplish the project.
    (4) Project Costs (10 points). This criterion ascertains whether 
the applicant possesses the necessary education, experience, training, 
facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project.
    (5) Outreach and Education (10 points). NOAA assesses whether this 
project provides a focused and effective education and outreach 
strategy regarding NOAA's mission to protect the Nation's natural 
resources.
    Selection Factors: The Program Coordinator may, in consultation 
with the NCBO staff, review the ranking of the proposals and the 
technical review comments and make recommendations to the NCBO 
Director. The average numerical ranking from the technical review will 
be the primary consideration in deciding which of the proposals will be 
recommended for funding to the NOAA Grants Officer. The NCBO Director 
shall select awards in rank order unless the proposal is justified to 
be selected out of rank order based upon 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 of the 
following factors:
    1. Availability of funding;
    2. Balance/distribution of funds: geographically, by type of 
institutions, by type of partners, by research areas, by project types;
    3. Duplication of other projects funded or considered for funding 
by NOAA or other Federal agencies;
    4. Program priorities and policy factors;
    5. Applicant's prior award performance; or
    6. Partnerships and/or participation of targeted groups.
    The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements: 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), as amended by the Federal Register notice on October 30, 2002 
(67 FR 66109), are applicable to this solicitation.
    Limitation of Liability: In no event will NOAA or the Department of 
Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs if these 
programs fail to receive funding or are cancelled because of other 
agency priorities. Publication of this announcement does not oblige 
NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.
    National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): NOAA must analyze the 
potential environmental impacts, as required by the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects or proposals 
which are seeking NOAA Federal funding opportunities. Detailed 
information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the following 
NOAA NEPA Web site: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our NOAA 
Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6_TOC.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality implementation 
regulations, http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/toc_ceq.htm). 
Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under their 
description of their program activities, applicants are required to 
provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted, 
locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible 
construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist 
(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic chemicals, 
introduction of nonindigenous species, impacts to endangered and 
threatened species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef 
systems).
    In addition to providing specific information that will serve as 
the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be 
requested to assist NOAA in drafting of an environmental assessment, if 
NOAA determines an assessment is required. Applicants will also be 
required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying and implementing 
feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse 
environmental impacts of their proposal. The failure to do so shall be 
grounds for the denial of an application.
    Paperwork Reduction Act: This document contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, and CD-346 has been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget under the respective control 
numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040, 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 requirements 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    Executive Order 12866: This action has been determined to be ``not 
significant'' for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): It has been determined that 
this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as 
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
    Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior 
notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required by the 
Administrative

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Procedure Act or any other law for this notice concerning grants, 
benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. section 553(a)(2)). Because notice 
and opportunity for comment are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 
or any other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexible Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et. seq. are inapplicable. Therefore, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis has not been prepared.

    Dated: May 28, 2004.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-12599 Filed 6-2-04; 8:45 am]
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