[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 62 (Monday, April 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16168-16169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06541]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP)

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice of solicitation of letters of intent to apply to become 
the Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institutional Program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Sea Grant College Program is requesting letters 
of intent from eligible applicants to become a Sea Grant Institutional 
Program serving the Lake Champlain Region. An Institutional Program can 
be defined as a program that has demonstrated competence as a Coherent 
Area Program (or higher status) and has broad responsibilities for the 
development of Sea Grant state, regional, and national activities, 
engaging all of the institutions of higher learning in the region. Only 
institutions that have been the host entity of a Sea Grant Coherent 
Area Program for at least three years are eligible to apply. The 
National Sea Grant College Act of 1976, as amended, (the ``Act'' 
hereinafter) authorizes the NOAA to designate a Sea Grant institution 
on the basis of merit and that such designation is consistent with the 
goals of the Act.

DATES: Letters of intent must be received by April, 28, 2017, 5:00 p.m. 
EDT.

ADDRESSES: Letters of intent will be accepted by email or mail. Email 
is preferred. Mail letters should be sent to: Attention: Lake Champlain 
Institutional Program, Director, National Sea Grant College Program, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1315 East-West 
Highway, SSMC 3, Room 11735, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.
    Letters may be attached to an email to oar.sg.info[email protected]">oar.sg.info[email protected]. 
Please put ``Lake Champlain Institutional Program'' in the Subject 
line. All letters of intent will be acknowledged. If you do not receive 
an acknowledgement of your letter of intent within two weeks of sending 
it, please contact us using the information in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For any additional questions 
concerning this solicitation, please contact Elizabeth Rohring at 301-
734-1082 or by email at [email protected]. Please put ``Lake 
Champlain Institutional Status'' in the subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently, 33 Sea Grant Programs are located 
in coastal and Great Lakes states. These Programs are partnerships 
between the Federal government and universities or other institutions 
with higher learning mandates, funded by Federal grants. More 
information about the National Sea Grant College Program can be found 
at http://seagrant.noaa.gov/.
    There is currently no Sea Grant Program whose main area of service 
is Lake Champlain that has been recognized with Institutional or 
College status.
    Eligibility to Apply: To be eligible to apply to this solicitation, 
an institution

[[Page 16169]]

must have been the host entity of a Sea Grant Coherent Area Program for 
a minimum of three years. A ``Coherent Area Program'' is a grant-funded 
program selected by NOAA in order to conduct Sea Grant activities 
limited in geographic area and/or scope. All Coherent Area Programs are 
subject to Sea Grant review procedures and are periodically evaluated 
against Sea Grant project evaluation criteria.
    A group of institutions may together apply to this solicitation, if 
at least one major member of this group has been the host entity of 
Coherent Area Program as described above.
    A letter of intent must include:
     A non-binding statement of intent to submit a full 
proposal to be considered for a Lake Champlain Institutional Sea Grant 
Program;
     Identification (name, address, and type of organization) 
of the institution, or group of institutions, that will submit the 
application;
     Affirmation that the sender of the letter is authorized to 
represent that institution or group in seeking designation as an 
Institutional Sea Grant Program;
     Name and contact details (including email address) of the 
person to whom correspondence and full application information should 
be sent.

Eligible applicants who submit a letter of intent will be provided a 
complete information package on how to prepare and submit a full 
application, the criteria against which the application will be 
evaluated (which are drawn from regulation at 15 CFR 918.3 
``Eligibility, qualifications, and responsibility of a Sea Grant 
College''), the evaluation procedure (which may include both document 
review and a site visit), and the conditions on the institution or 
group that are associated with accepting Sea Grant Institutional 
Program status.

    Dated: March 29, 2017.
Paul Johnson,
Acting Deputy Chief Financial Officer/CAO, Office of Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-06541 Filed 3-31-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-KA-P