[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 56 (Thursday, March 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15067-15070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5834]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 040113014-5064-02; I.D. 031705C]


Oceans and Human Health Initiative; External Grants Program

AGENCY: Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR), National 
Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), National Ocean Service 
(NOS), National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department 
of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOS/
CSCOR is soliciting proposals for the Oceans and Human Health 
Initiative External Grants Program. This funding opportunity is offered 
as part of NOAA's new Oceans and Human Health Initiative (OHHI), 
established by the Oceans and Human Health Act passed by Congress in 
November 2004. The OHHI is a competitive suite of programs designed to 
enhance understanding of the connections between the oceans and human 
health, with the goal of providing useful research and predictive 
information to NOAA, public health officials, and natural resource 
managers. For the purposes of this announcement, ``oceans'' are defined 
as inclusive of the Great Lakes, estuaries, and the ocean.

DATES: Proposals must be received at NOAA's CSCOR office by 3 p.m. 
eastern time on April 26, 2005.

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ADDRESSES: Applications submitted in response to this announcement are 
strongly encouraged to be submitted through the Grants.gov Web site. 
Electronic access to the full funding announcement for this program is 
available via the Grants.gov Web site: http://www.grants.gov. The 
announcement will also be available at the NOAA Web site http://www.ofa.noaa.gov/%7Eamd/SOLINDEX.HTML or by contacting the program 
official identified below.
    Paper applications (a signed original and two copies) should be 
submitted to the Oceans and Human Health Initiative, Center for 
Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, 1305 East West Highway, SSMC 4, 8th floor Station 8243, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Program Management Information: Hal 
Stanford, NCCOS HQ, (301) 713-3020/ext. 135, Internet: 
[email protected]. Business Management Information: Leslie 
McDonald, NCCOS/CSCOR Grants Administrator, (301) 713-3338/ext. 155, 
Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Summary Description

    The OHHI is designed to enhance NOAA's capability in oceans and 
human health through partnerships with academia, the private sector, 
and other Federal, State, and local agencies. Toward that end, this 
funding opportunity is intended to engage the non-federal research 
community in research across the physical, chemical, biological, 
medical, public health, and social sciences on priority issues for the 
OHHI. The OHHI has several priority areas described below by focus 
questions and specific areas of interest; these can be examined 
individually or in combination:
    1. Pathogens: The risk of human disease occurrence as a function of 
exposure to pathogens in marine and coastal environments (including 
water contact recreation and consumption of fish, shellfish, and other 
marine organisms).
    2. Marine Biotoxins: The risk of human disease as a function of 
exposure to marine biotoxins in the environment, and how do the effects 
of specific environmental stressors (e.g., changes in habitats, 
nutrient enrichment, environmental pollutants, climate, extreme events, 
land use, etc.) affect the risk of human exposure to biotoxins.
    3. Chemical Pollutants: The ecological and human health risks from 
contaminants in the marine and Great Lakes.
    4. Seafood and Public Health: The potential for seafood to be a 
vector for chemical contaminants, biotoxins, and microbial pathogens to 
humans.
    5. Sentinel and Model Species: How investigations of sentinel 
species (living in or dependent upon estuarine, coastal, Great Lake or 
oceanic ecosystems) can better inform our understanding of risks to 
human health or inform our understanding of ocean health as it relates 
directly or indirectly to changes in risk for human or public health.
    6. Marine Natural Products, Pharmaceuticals, and Biomedical 
Research: The biomedical value of marine natural products (including, 
but not limited to, providing pharmaceuticals, medical devices, 
molecular probes, nutritional supplements, diagnostics and pigments).
    All research proposals should include appropriate outreach and 
education components that facilitate the transfer of research findings 
to such user groups as public health officials and natural resource 
managers at local, State and Federal levels. Ideally, these user groups 
would be engaged early in the research process, with their documented 
interest in the outcome of the proposed research included in the 
proposal.
    A non-federal partner should lead the proposal. Participation of 
Federal scientist(s) on the team is allowed but no Federal expenses 
will be covered. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with the NOAA 
Oceans and Human Health Centers of Excellence http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/mpe/ohi/index.htm, the National Science Foundation (NSF)/National 
Institute for Environmental Health sciences (NIEHS) Centers of 
Excellence in Oceans and Human Health, and NOAA scientists and other 
Federal and non-federal researchers working on OHHI or related issues 
as described in this announcement. Applicants will be required to 
provide a plan for management and submission of data to NOAA, to 
participate in an annual OHHI research meeting, and to provide 
information for the development of an annual OHHI report required by 
Congress.

Electronic Access

    As has been the case since October 1, 2004, applicants can access, 
download and submit electronic grant applications, including the full 
funding announcement, for NOAA Programs at the Grants.gov Web site: 
grants. gov. The announcement will also be available at the NOAA Web 
site http://www.ofa.noaa.gov/%7Eamd/SOLINDEX.HTML or by contacting the 
program officials identified above.
    The closing date will be the same as for the paper submissions 
noted in this announcement. NOAA strongly recommends that you do not 
wait until the application deadline date to begin the application 
process through Grants.gov.
    If Internet access is unavailable, hard copies of proposals will 
also be accepted--a signed original and two copies at time of 
submission. This includes color or high-resolution graphics, unusually 
sized materials, or otherwise unusual materials submitted as part of 
the proposal. For color graphics, submit either color originals or 
color copies. Facsimile transmissions and electronic mail submission of 
full proposals will not be accepted.

Funding Availability

    Funding is contingent upon availability of Federal appropriations. 
This solicitation announces that funding totaling approximately $5,880 
million is available to support proposed projects, which may have 
durations from 1-3 years. Approximately 5-20 awards are expected from 
this announcement. It is anticipated that the funding instruments for 
most of the awards will be grants; however, in some cases, if NOAA will 
be substantially involved in the implementation of an individual 
project, the funding instrument may be a cooperative agreement.
    There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to 
make awards for all qualified projects. If one incurs any costs prior 
to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, 
one would do solely at one's own risk of these costs not being included 
under the ward.
    Authority: Public Law 108-447.
    CFDA: 11.478.

Eligibility

    Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, 
hospitals, other non-profit institutions, commercial organizations, 
State and local governments, and Indian tribal governments.
    Federal agencies are not eligible to receive Federal assistance 
under this notice.
    Cost Sharing Requirements: None.
    Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are not 
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.''

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Evaluation and Selection Procedures

    Once a full application has been received by NOAA, an initial 
administrative review is conducted to determine compliance with 
requirements and completeness of the application. All proposals will be 
evaluated and scored individually in accordance with the assigned 
weights of the evaluation criteria by independent peer mail review and/
or by independent peer panel review. Both Federal and non-Federal 
experts in the field may be used in this process. The peer mail 
reviewers will be individuals with expertise in the subjects addressed 
by particular proposals. Each mail reviewer and independent peer panel 
reviewer will score proposals on a scale of five to one, where scores 
represent respectively: Excellent (5), Very Good (4), Good (3), Fair 
(2), Poor (1).
    The peer panel will be comprised of 10 to 20 individuals, with each 
individual having expertise in a separate area, so that the panel, as a 
whole, covers a range of scientific expertise. If the decision is made 
to perform a mail review, the peer review panel will use the mail 
reviews in discussion and evaluation of the entire slate of proposals. 
All proposals will be evaluated and scored individually. The peer panel 
shall rate the proposals using the evaluation criteria and scores 
provided in the notice. The individual peer panelist scores shall be 
averaged for each application and presented to the program officers. No 
consensus advice will be given by the independent peer mail review or 
the review panel.
    The program officers will neither vote nor score proposals as part 
of the independent peer panel nor participate in discussion of the 
merits of the proposal. Those proposals receiving an average panel 
score of ``Fair'' or ``Poor'' will not be given further consideration, 
and proposers will be notified of non-selection.
    Proposals rated by the panel as either ``Excellent,'' ``Very 
Good,'' or ``Good'' will be ranked according to average panel ratings, 
and/or by applying the project selection factors listed below. Program 
officers will determine the total duration of funding for each proposal 
and determine the amount of funds available for each proposal subject 
to the availability of fiscal year funds. In addition, proposals rated 
by the panel as either ``Excellent,'' ``Very Good,'' or ``Good'' that 
are not funded in the current fiscal period, may be considered for 
funding in another fiscal period without having to repeat the 
competitive review process.
    Recommendations for funding are then forwarded to the selecting 
official, the Assistant Administrator (AA) of NOS, for the final 
funding decision. In making the final selections, the AA will award in 
rank order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank 
order based on the selection factors listed below.
    Investigators may be asked to modify objectives, work plans or 
budgets, and provide supplemental information required by the agency 
prior to the award. When a decision has been made (whether an award or 
declination), verbatim anonymous copies of reviews and summaries of 
review panel deliberations, if any, will be made available to the 
proposer upon applicant request. Declined applications will be held in 
the NCCOS/CSCOR or the required three years in accordance with the 
current retention requirements, and then destroyed.
    Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of 
the following evaluation criteria at the indicated weights:
    1. Importance and/or relevance and applicability of proposed 
project to the program goals: This ascertains whether there is 
intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, 
regional, State, or local activities (30 percent).
    2. Technical/scientific merit: This assesses whether the approach 
is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, 
and whether there are clear project goals and objectives. (30 percent).
    3. Overall qualifications of applicants: This ascertains whether 
the applicant possesses the necessary education, experience, training, 
facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project (20 
percent).
    4, Project costs: The Budget is evaluated to determine if it is 
realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time-frame (10 
percent).
    5. Outreach and education: NOAA assesses whether this project 
provides a focused and effective education and outreach strategy 
reading NOAA's mission to protect the Nation's natural resources. (10 
percent).
    Selection Factors: The merit review ratings shall provide a rank 
order to the Selecting Official for final funding recommendations. A 
program officer may first make recommendations to the Selecting 
Official applying the selection factors below. The Selecting Official 
shall award in the rank order unless the proposal is justified to be 
selected out of rank order based upon one or more of the following 
factors:

    1. Availability of funding.
    2. Balance/distribution of funds:
    a. Geographically.
    b. By type of institutions.
    c. By type of partners.
    d. By research areas.
    e. By project types.
    3. Whether this project duplicates other projects funded or 
considered for funding by NOAA or other Federal agencies.
    4. Program priorities and policy factors set forth in sections I.A. 
and B. and IV.B of the Full Funding Opportunity.
    5. Applicant's prior award performance.
    6. Partnerships and/or Participation of targeted groups.
    7. Adequacy of information necessary for NOAA to make a NEPA 
determination and draft necessary documentation before recommendations 
for funding are made to the Grants Officer.

National Endowment 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 the applicants' 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 non-indigenous 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

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environmental impacts of their proposal. The failure to do so shall be 
grounds for the denial of an application.

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 December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78389) 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. Recipients and sub 
recipients are subject to all Federal laws and agency policies, 
regulations and procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance 
awards.

Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Prior notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required 
by the Administrative procedure Act or any other law for rules 
concerning public property, loans, grants, benefits, and contracts (5 
U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because notice and opportunity for comments are not 
required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical 
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
are inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis has not 
been prepared, and none has been prepared. It has been determined that 
this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as 
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.

    Dated: March 21, 2005.
Richard W. Spinrad,
Assistant Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, National Ocean Service.
[FR Doc. 05-5834 Filed 3-23-05; 8:45 am]
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