[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8566-8567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2345]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 030602141-6030-34]


Availability of Grants Funds for Fiscal Year 2006; Regional 
Research, Information Planning and Coordination

AGENCY: National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant), Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; reopening of application period.

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SUMMARY: The NOAA National Sea Grant College Program publishes this 
notice to re-open the submission period for the Regional Research, 
Information Planning and Coordination Competitive funding announcement 
originally

[[Page 8567]]

published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2005. The new 
submission deadline is 5 p.m. e.s.t. on March 1, 2006. The NOAA 
National Sea Grant College Program publishes this notice to also change 
the definition of the insular Pacific region in the Federal Funding 
Opportunity associated with the FRN that was published on December 23, 
2005. For the purpose of developing a regional research and information 
plan, the insular Pacific region is defined as being ``comprised of the 
marine and coastal waters off the State of Hawaii, American Samoa, 
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely 
Associated States.''

DATES: The new deadline for applications is 5 p.m. EST on March 1, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: Applications should be submitted through Grants.gov APPLY 
(http://www.grants.gov). Applicants for whom online application is an 
undue hardship may submit hard copies (an original and two copies) to: 
National Sea Grant College Program, R/SG, Attn: Regional Competition, 
Rm 11732, NOAA, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The 
full text of the funding opportunity announcement for this competition 
can be accessed via Grants.gov FIND Web site: http://www.grants.gov. 
This announcement will also be available at the NOAA Web site: http://www.ofa.noaa.gov/%7Eamd/SOLINDEX.HTML

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Leon M. Cammen, OAR, National Sea 
Grant Office, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 or by 
phone at 301-713-2435 ext. 136, or via e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 23, 2005, the NOAA National Sea 
Grant College Program (Sea Grant) published a notice in the Federal 
Register soliciting applications for Regional Research, Information 
Planning and Coordination (70 FR 76258). That announcement solicited 
proposals for the development of regional research and information 
plans for U.S. coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes areas. The objective is 
to use Sea Grant's university capabilities to facilitate discussions 
among the broad range of regional ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 
stakeholders to help identify and prioritize critical resource 
management problems and associated research and information needs 
necessary for practical solutions.
    Sea Grant publishes this notice to re-open the period for 
submission of proposals until 5 p.m. e.s.t. on March 1, 2006. Any 
applications received between February 9, 2006 and March 1, 2006 will 
be considered timely and will be given full consideration. In addition, 
for the purpose of developing a regional research and information plan, 
Sea Grant changes the definition for the insular Pacific region. This 
area is defined as being ``comprised of the marine and coastal waters 
off the State of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associated States.'' These 
actions have been taken in order to provide more time to applicants 
since putting together regional teams and a planning process that will 
result in consensus is a complex and difficult task, and in order to be 
consistent with the National Sea Grant College Program Act of 2002 
(Pub. L. 107-299).

Classification

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.

Executive Order 12866

    It has been determined that this notice is not significant under EO 
12866.

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 comment 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.

    Dated: February 13, 2006.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 [FR Doc. E6-2345 Filed 2-16-06; 8:45 am]
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