[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63952-63953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25578]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Announcement of Notice To Re-Solicit Proposals for the National 
Coastal and Estuarine Research and Technology Program (NCERT)

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of National Coastal and Estuarine Research and 
Technology Program: Request for Resubmissions.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
publishes this notice to re-solicit proposals for the National Coastal 
and Estuarine Research and Technology Program (NCERT). This notice 
provides further information regarding the Summary Description, Program 
Priorities, Funding Availability, and the Review and Selection Process 
for the program. Any proposals that were submitted to the initial 
solicitation must be re-submitted by the new deadline to be considered 
for an award. New proposals are also eligible for funding.

DATES: Applications must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on December 
8, 2008. Applications received after the deadline will be returned to 
the sender without further consideration. No facsimile or electronic 
mail applications will be accepted.

Addresses for Submitting Proposals: Applications must be submitted 
through http://www.grants.gov, unless an applicant does not have 
Internet access. In that case, hard copies with original signatures may 
be sent to Marie Bundy, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, SSMC4 10542, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marie Bundy, 1305 East-West Highway, 
N/ORM5, SSMC4 10542, Silver Spring, MD 20910; or by Phone at (301) 713-
3155 ext. 101, or fax at (301) 713-4012, or via E-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CFDA: Funding Opportunity Number: NOS-OCRM-
2009-2001493, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 
11.419, Coastal Zone Management Administration Awards.
    NOAA publishes this notice to re-solicit proposals for the National 
Coastal and Estuarine Research and Technology Program (NCERT). The 
program originally solicited applications in the Federal Register on 
July 11, 2008 (73 FR 40052). However, the program has amended the 
Summary Description, Program Priorities, Funding Availability, and the 
Review and Selection Process to provide more detailed information 
concerning the objectives of the program, the amount of funding that 
has been identified, and the review process. This amendment may impact 
the contents of proposals submitted by applicants in response to the 
July 11, 2008 solicitation; therefore NCERT is returning all proposals 
and providing applicants the opportunity to amend their proposals in 
light of the information provided in this notice. All other 
requirements and information as published in the July 11, 2008 Federal 
Register notice remain unchanged.
    Applicants should read carefully the information provided below 
before submitting their proposal to ensure that the proposal addresses 
the objectives and requirements of the program.
    National Coastal and Estuarine Research and Technology Program 
(NCERT) Summary Description: The purpose of this federal funding 
opportunity is to establish a National Coastal and Estuarine Research 
and Technology (NCERT) Program that operates in partnership with the 
National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Through a cooperative 
agreement with NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division (ERD), a National 
Program will be established to support collaborative research and 
partnerships with and among the NERRS. The intent is that the NCERT 
Program will facilitate the transformation of the best available 
science into practical innovative tools that coastal managers can use 
to detect, prevent, and reverse the impacts of coastal pollution and 
habitat degradation. Additionally, this National Program will provide 
coastal and estuarine managers with a better understanding of what 
tools are available, how well they work, and how best to apply them. 
This solicitation is not intended to provide directed funding for 
individual research projects or short term activities focused on 
solving local coastal and estuarine problems.
    Program Priorities: Critical issues identified as program 
priorities for a successful NCERT Program include:
     The ability to foster targeted, multidisciplinary, 
collaborative research to understand the impacts of human activities on 
coasts and estuaries and develop, demonstrate and apply tools and 
technologies that can be used to detect, prevent, or reverse impacts;
     An explicit plan to use the system of 27 National 
Estuarine Research Reserves as living laboratories for research and 
development of science-based solutions to coastal pollution and habitat 
degradation;
     A plan to develop, demonstrate, and deliver effective and 
affordable technological solutions to address coastal management 
challenges;
     The capacity to catalyze collaboration across geographic 
and organizational boundaries, bringing local, State, and Federal 
government, academia, cooperative institutes, and the private sector 
together to work on solutions to coastal and estuarine environmental 
problems;
     The capacity to evaluate the barriers to the development 
and use of coastal and estuarine environmental technologies, and to 
identify ways to eliminate or overcome these barriers; and
     An integrated programmatic focus on estuarine and coastal 
management issues and priorities such as: Land use, habitat restoration 
and change, estuarine contamination, storm water management and 
contamination.
    Funding Availability: Funding is contingent upon the availability 
of Federal appropriations. NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division 
anticipates up to $5,232,000 will be available annually, for five 
years, to fund a National Coastal and Estuarine Research and Technology 
Program under this competition. Therefore, total funding over the five-
year period is anticipated to be up to $26,160,000, depending on the 
availability of Federal funds.
    Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been 
appropriated for this program. In no event will NOAA or the Department 
of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs if this 
program fails to receive funding or is cancelled because of other 
agency priorities. There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be 
available to make awards for all qualified projects. Publication of 
this notice does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or 
program or to obligate any available funds. If one incurs any costs 
prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA 
official, one would do so solely at one's own risk of these costs not 
being included under the award. Recipients and subrecipients are 
subject to all Federal laws and agency policies, regulations and 
procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance awards. Statutory 
Authority: Section 310 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as 
amended, 16 U.S.C. 1456c. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) 
Number: 11.419, Coastal Zone Management Administration Awards. 
Application Deadline: December 8, 2008.

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    No facsimile or electronic mail applications will be accepted. 
Address for Submitting Proposals: Applications must be submitted 
through http://www.grants.gov, unless an applicant does not have 
Internet access. In that case, hard copies with original signatures may 
be sent to: Marie Bundy, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, SSMC4 10542, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910. Facsimile transmissions and electronic mail 
submission of full proposals will not be accepted.
    Review and Selection Process: Once a full application has been 
received by NOAA, an initial administrative review will be conducted to 
determine completeness of the application. All proposals will be 
evaluated and scored individually in accordance with the assigned 
weights of the evaluation criteria by three merit reviewers and/or a 
panel of reviewers.
    The selecting official will not score proposals as part of the 
merit review nor participate in discussion of the merits of the 
proposal.
    Recommendations for funding will then be forwarded to the selecting 
official, the Chief of the Estuarine Reserves Division, for the final 
funding decision. In making the final selections, the Chief will award 
in rank order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of 
rank order based on the selection factors listed in section V.C 
``Selection Criteria'' of the original Federal Funding Opportunity.
    Investigators may be asked to modify objectives, work plans or 
budgets based on funds available, and provide supplemental information 
required by the agency prior to the award being made. Declined 
applications will be held in the OCRM/ERD for the required 3 years in 
accordance with the current retention requirements, and then destroyed.
    Agency Contacts: Technical Information: Marie Bundy, OCRM/ERD 
Research Coordinator, [email protected], 301-713-3155. Business 
Management Information: Marie Bundy, OCRM/ERD Research Coordinator, 
[email protected], 301-713-3155.
    Eligibility: Eligible applicants are non-Federal institutions of 
higher education, other non-profits, commercial organizations, and 
state and local governments that possess the statutory authority to 
receive financial assistance. Please note that: (1) The Office of Ocean 
and Coastal Resource Management, Estuarine Reserves Division (OCRM/ 
ERD) will not fund any Federal Full Time Employee (FTE) salaries, but 
will fund travel, equipment, supplies, and contractual personnel costs 
associated with the proposed work. (2) Researchers must be employees of 
an eligible entity listed above; and proposals must be submitted 
through that entity. Non-Federal researchers should comply with their 
institutional requirements for proposal submission. (3) OCRM/ERD will 
accept proposals that include foreign researchers as collaborators with 
a researcher who has met the above stated eligibility requirements.
    Cost Sharing Requirements: None.
    Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are not 
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.''
    Paperwork Reduction Act: This document contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, 424C, 424D, and SF-LLL has 
been approved by OMB under the respective control numbers 4040-0004, 
0348-0044, 4040-0007, 0348-0041, 4040-0009, and 0348-0046. 
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 PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    Executive Order 12866: This notice 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 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marie Bundy at (301) 713-3155 of 
NOAA's National Ocean Service, Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-
West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

    Dated: October 21, 2008.
Donna Wieting,
Deputy Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-25578 Filed 10-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P