[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 217 (Friday, November 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63619-63621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21972]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2007-0049]


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

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of funds availability.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard seeks applications for fiscal year 2008 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 a national scope. 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: You may obtain application packages on or after November 1, 
2007. Proposals for the fiscal year 2008 grant cycle must be received 
before 3 p.m. Eastern time, January 22, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain application packages by calling the Coast 
Guard at 202-372-1060. Submit proposals to: Commandant (CG-54221), U.S. 
Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW., Room 3100, 
Washington, DC 20593-0001. This notice is available from the Coast 
Guard and on the Internet at the Web site for the Boating Safety 
Division at http://www.uscgboating.org and at http://www.regulation.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Vickie Hartberger, Boating Safety 
Division, U.S. Coast Guard (CG-54221), 2100 Second Street, SW., Room 
3100, Washington, DC 20593-0001; 202-372-1060; e-mail 
[email protected]. The points of contact for the nine 
project areas are listed at the end of each project description.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title 46, United States Code, Chapter 131, 
provides for the allocation of available funds from the Sport Fish 
Restoration and Boating Trust Fund for State recreational 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 for national recreational boating 
safety activities of national nonprofit public service organizations. 
We anticipate we will allocate approximately $5,400,000 among several 
organizations for fiscal year 2008. Thirty-seven awards totaling 
$5,219,380 were made in fiscal year 2007 ranging from $10,000 to 
$650,000. Nothing in this notice should be construed as committing the 
Coast Guard to dividing available funds among qualified applicants or 
awarding any specified amount. Applicants must be national, 
nongovernmental, nonprofit public-service organizations and must 
establish that their activities are national in scope. You may obtain 
an application package by writing or calling the point of contact 
listed in ADDRESSES on or after November 1, 2007. The application 
package contains all necessary forms, an explanation of how the grant 
program is administered, and a checklist for submitting a grant 
application. You can obtain specific information on organization 
eligibility, proposal requirements, award procedures, and financial 
administration procedures by contacting the person listed in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The Boating Safety Financial Assistance Program is listed in 
section 97.012 of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 
Prospective grantees may propose up to a 5-year grant with 12-month 
(fiscal year) increments identified. 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) 
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 additional future support, provided 
funds are available, the project continues to support the needs of the 
government, and the achieved results warrant further support. Award of 
continuation grants will be made on a strict case-by-case basis to 
assist planning in 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 
mission of the USCG Office of Boating Safety, which is: To ensure the 
public has a safe, secure, and enjoyable recreational boating 
experience by implementing programs that minimize the loss of life, 
personal injury, and property damage while cooperating with 
environmental and national security efforts. The performance goal of 
the National Recreational Boating Safety Program is to reduce 
recreational boating casualties. To achieve this goal, our objectives, 
for which we need additional expertise from grant recipients, include:
     Improving the reliability of boating accident reporting, 
which assists in identifying causal factors that could then be 
addressed through education and/or regulation.
     Tracking and Increasing Awareness of Safe Boating 
Practices.
     Increasing lifejacket wear.
     Decreasing the number of alcohol-involved accidents.

[[Page 63620]]

     Increasing operator compliance with Navigation Rules.
     Increasing operator compliance with USCG safety equipment 
carriage requirements.
     Tracking completion of advanced boating education courses 
with the future goal of using this data to increase said training.
     Tracking and increasing the number of NASBLA-approved 
boating safety education certificates issued annually.
    Some project areas of continuing and particular interest for grant 
funding include the following:
    1. Develop and Conduct a National, Year-Round, Safe Boating 
Campaign that addresses areas identified through the National RBS 
Program's Strategic Plan. The Coast Guard seeks a grantee to plan, 
develop and implement a 2008 National Safe Boating Campaign that 
promotes a concentrated effort to target specific boater market 
segments and recreational boating safety topics. This year-round 
campaign must coincide with the objectives of the National RBS Program. 
The nationwide activities of this public awareness campaign should be 
based on the support of the volunteers and professional groups at the 
grassroots (local) level. Key to this collaborative effort is how it 
will complement the Coast Guard's national outreach initiatives. The 
major focus of the effort will be to modify 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. Significant emphasis 
should be placed on lifejacket wear, boater education, safety and 
security issues, propeller injury prevention, and the dangers of carbon 
monoxide, as well as boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 
Efforts will also be coordinated, year-round, with other national 
safety initiatives and special media events. Point of Contact: Ms. Jo 
Calkin, 202-372-1065.
    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 National Recreational Boating Safety 
Program. The overall conference focus should have promotional 
strategies with special emphasis 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 subjects 
that afford the participants professional development opportunities and 
educational enhancement. Subjects should focus on, but not be limited 
to: Lifejacket wear, safety and security issues, propeller injury 
prevention, the dangers of carbon monoxide, boater education, vessel 
safety, outreach and awareness efforts, as well as boating under the 
influence of alcohol or drugs. Point of Contact: Ms. Jo Calkin, 202-
372-1065.
    3. Federal/State Cooperative Partnering Efforts. The Coast Guard 
seeks a grantee to provide programs to measurably enhance uniformity 
and reciprocity in state boating safety laws/regulations and other 
state boating safety efforts. The grantee would provide a forum to 
encourage such uniformity and reciprocity among jurisdictions, and 
closer cooperation and assistance in developing, administering, and 
enforcing state laws and regulations pertaining to boating safety. The 
grantee would further provide a forum to encourage sufficient patrol 
and other activities to ensure adequate enforcement of state boating 
safety laws and regulations, provision of an adequate USCG recognized 
state boating safety education program, enhanced maintenance of USCG 
approved vessel numbering system and enhanced implementation of a USCG 
approved marine casualty reporting system. Point of Contact: Mr. W. 
Vann Burgess, 202-372-1071.
    4. Develop and Conduct Boating Accident Investigation Seminars. The 
Coast Guard seeks a grantee to develop, provide instructional material, 
and conduct training courses nationwide for boating accident 
investigators, including four courses at the U.S. Coast Guard's 
Maritime Law Enforcement Academy in Charleston, South Carolina. Point 
of Contact: Mr. Mike Jendrossek, 202-372-1052.
    5. National Estimate of Personal Flotation Device Wear Rate. The 
Coast Guard seeks a grantee to provide reliable and valid national 
estimates of personal flotation device (PFD or lifejacket) wear by 
recreational boaters. Wear rates of PFDs should be based on actual 
observations taken from a representative sample of boaters across a 
range of water venues that include lakes, rivers, and bays. It is 
essential that observation methods remain as close as possible to those 
used in previous years so the number of boats, types of boats, length 
of boats, operation and activity of boats, as well as the age and 
gender of the boaters observed remain consistent. Using the design of 
the National PFD Wear Rate Study as a base, a supplemental 
observational study is solicited to determine if PFD wear rates are 
higher in an area after the roll-out of the annual Safe Boating 
Campaign. The grantee shall conduct observations in areas around the 
country that have relatively high boating activity in the summer and 
therefore may be expected to have a reasonable level of activity to 
make conclusions about changes in wear rates more stable. Observation 
data for 2007 will be collected for inclusion in the baseline measure. 
In the summer of 2008, the post-campaign measurement will be conducted. 
Point of Contact: Mr. Jeff Ludwig, 202-372-1061.
    6. 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. Po Chang, 202-372-1075.
    7. Inflatable Lifejacket Testing for Children. The Coast Guard 
seeks a grantee to develop a test program and conduct appropriate 
testing to determine if children under 16 years of age are capable of 
safely using automatic inflatable lifejackets. At least two age groups 
should be considered, (a) Children from 6-12 years old; and (b) 
Children from 12 to 16 years old. Point of Contact: Mr. Dan McCormick, 
202-372-1078.
    8. Navigation Rules and State Violations. The Coast Guard seeks a 
grantee to conduct a survey or study of each state and territory to 
determine such things as, ``Has the state adopted the COLREGS/
Navigation Rules within their state code? If not, have they created 
their own set of Navigation Rules?'' If not, do they at least use the 
Navigation Rules to determine other violations of state law (i.e. 
reckless operation, failure to have proper look out, etc.) How do they 
document such cases? The outcome of this survey should help (clarify) 
how the Coast Guard determines the most common Navigation Rules 
violations (documented) in terms of a common definition. Point of 
Contact: Mr. W. Vann Burgess, 202-372-1071.
    9. Practical ``on the water'' Course. The Coast Guard seeks a 
grantee to carry out a program to encourage and develop a small boat 
practical ``on the water'' course curriculum. The basic boat handling 
skills should take into consideration all types of weather conditions 
such as heavy winds and sea conditions. Close quarter maneuvering in 
congested harbor and waterways should also be taught. The operation of 
different types of vessels should also be taken into consideration, 
such as twin

[[Page 63621]]

or single inboard engines with rudder steerage which would be 
considerably different from inboard/outboard engines or outboard 
motors. The course should address all these issues. Point of Contact: 
Mr. Wayne Stacey, 202-372-1067.
    We encourage proposals addressing other boating safety concerns.
    Potential grantees should focus on partnership, e.g., exploring 
other sources, linkages, in-kind contributions, cost sharing, and 
partnering with other organizations or corporations. With your 
application, we encourage you to list and describe the tools you will 
use to measure your grant's performance toward achieving the goals of 
the National RBS Program Strategic Plan or toward achieving a specific 
objective that will result in the achievement of these goals. The 
Strategic Plan for the National RBS Program can be found on the Boating 
Safety Division Web site at http://www.uscgboating.org. For some 
examples of tools, we invite you to explore this CDC Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/demonstr.htm.
    This announcement is also available on the www.grants.gov Web site; 
we are also publishing the information in the Federal Register again 
this year to provide information to the public in a timely manner.

    Dated: October 31, 2007.
Francis J. Sturm,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Director of Prevention Policy.
[FR Doc. E7-21972 Filed 11-8-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P