Financial
Assistance for Community-based Habitat Restoration Projects
II. AWARD INFORMATION
III. ELIGIBILITY
INFORMATION
IV. APPLICATION
AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
V. APPLICATION
REVIEW AND SELECTION INFORMATION
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION
INFORMATION
VII. AGENCY CONTACTS
VIII. OTHER INFORMATION
   
FEDERAL
AGENCY NAME : National Marine Fisheries Service
(NOAA Fisheries), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Department of Commerce FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE:
Community-based Habitat Restoration Project Grants ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE:
Initial Announcement CATALOUGUE OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC
ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 11.463, Habitat Conservation DATES: Applications
must be postmarked by September 15, 2004.
Applications that are postmarked after that time will
not be considered for funding. No facsimile or electronic
mail applications will be accepted. APPLICATION SUBMISSION:
NOAA Community-based Restoration Program, NOAA Fisheries,
Office of Habitat Conservation (F/HC3), 1315 East West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-713-0174. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION:
The NOAA Community-based Restoration Program
(CRP) provides funding to catalyze the implementation
of locally-driven, grass-roots habitat restoration projects
that will benefit living marine resources, including
anadromous fish. Projects funded through the CRP have
strong on-the-ground habitat restoration components
that provide educational and social benefits for people
and their communities in addition to long-term ecological
habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources. The role
of NOAA in the CRP is to help identify potential restoration
projects, strengthen the development and implementation
of sound restoration projects and science-based monitoring
of such projects within communities, and develop long-term,
ongoing national and regional partnerships to support
community-based restoration of living marine resource
habitats across a wide geographic area. Proposals selected
for funding through this solicitation will be implemented
through a cooperative agreement. Funding of up to $3,000,000
is expected to be available for community-based habitat
restoration projects in FY 2005. The NOAA Restoration
Center (RC) anticipates that typical awards will range
from $50,000 to $200,000. 
I.
Funding Opportunity Description A. Program Objectives The principal objective of the NOAA Community-based
Restoration Program (CRP) is to provide federal financial
and technical assistance to grass-roots, community-based
activities that restore living marine resources and
their habitats and promote stewardship and a conservation
ethic for NOAA trust resources. NOAA trust resources
are living marine resources and their habitats, including
commercial and recreational fishery resources (marine
fish and shellfish); anadromous fish species (such as
salmon and striped bass that spawn in freshwater and
then migrate to the sea); endangered and threatened
marine species; marine mammals and marine turtles; marshes,
mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, other coastal
habitats, areas identified by NOAA Fisheries as essential
fish habitat (EFH) and areas within EFH identified as
Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC). NOAA trust
resources can also include marine habitats and resources
associated with National Marine Sanctuaries, National
Estuarine Research Reserves, and areas under state coastal
management programs.
Successful applications will be those that:
- demonstrate collaboration among entities such as
public and nonprofit organizations, citizen and watershed
groups, industry, corporations and businesses, youth
conservation corps, students, landowners, academics,
and local government, state, and federal agencies
to cooperatively implement habitat restoration projects,
and
- are able to report a net gain in acres restored
or anadromous fish-accessible stream miles re-established,
and document volunteer hours involved or a maximization
of project partnerships.
Partnerships may be developed at national, regional
and local levels and may contribute funding, land, technical
assistance, workforce support or other in-kind services;
promote grass-roots participation in the improvement
of locally important living marine resources; and engender
local stewardship and monitoring activities to sustain
and evaluate the success of the restoration. Community-based
restoration projects supported by the CRP are successful
because they have significant local backing, depend
upon citizens hands-on involvement, and typically involve
NOAA technical assistance or oversight. B. Program Priorities The CRP is interested in funding projects that will
result in on-the-ground restoration of habitat to benefit
living marine resources, including anadromous fish species.
Restoration is defined here as activities that contribute
to the return of degraded or altered marine, estuarine,
coastal and freshwater anadromous fish habitats to a
close approximation of their condition prior to disturbance.
Restoration may include, but is not limited to, improvement
of coastal wetland tidal exchange or reestablishment
of historic hydrology; dam or berm removal; improvement
or reestablishment of fish passage; reef/substrate/habitat
creation; establishment of riparian buffer zones and
improvement of freshwater habitat features in watersheds
that support anadromous fish; exclusionary fencing and
planting; invasive species removal; planting of native
coastal wetland and submerged aquatic vegetation; and
enhancement of feeding, spawning and growth areas essential
to marine or anadromous fish, including degraded areas
that historically were important habitat for living
marine resources, and through the restoration of which
would support these resources again. Since the inception of the CRP, west coast projects
have focused primarily on restoration of salmonid freshwater
habitats. To broaden the scope of funded CRP projects
in the Pacific Northwest and California, and respond
to concerns about potential funding overlap of CRP projects
and Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund projects, the
CRP seeks proposals for projects that benefit multiple
species, including non-salmonid resources, and projects
that emphasize restoration of marine and estuarine habitats.
The CRP expects to continue to support freshwater salmonid
habitat restoration efforts, however projects that benefit
multiple species including non-salmonid marine resources
may receive greater funding consideration. In addition,
any salmonid project that would occur where NOAA species
recovery planning efforts are underway must be consistent
with those planning efforts to be competitive under
this solicitation. The CRP recognizes that accomplishing restoration
is a multi-faceted effort involving project design,
engineering services, permitting, construction, oversight,
monitoring and education and outreach. The focus of
the program, however, is to provide funding and technical
expertise to support on-the-ground implementation of
fishery habitat restoration projects that involve significant
community support. To that end, projects must involve
an outreach and/or volunteer component tied to the restoration
activities, and may involve limited pre-implementation
activities, such as engineering and design and short-term
baseline studies. Implementation of on-the-ground habitat restoration
projects must have clearly identified goals (broad in
scope) and specific, measurable objectives. Evaluating
these objectives must involve monitoring during the
project period of at least one structural and one functional
parameter, as supported by Title I of the Estuaries
and Clean Waters Act of 2000, to ensure a basic level
of assessment of project success. Monitoring must be
conducted in a timely fashion with a frequency and length
of time appropriate to each parameter in the context
of the project objectives and status. Examples of structural
and functional monitoring parameters by habitat restoration
project type will be available on the world wide web
at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration,
and assistance in refining the objectives and/or selecting
appropriate parameters will be available from CRP staff. The CRP will consider funding more than one project
under a single award. All projects should be sufficiently
detailed as per the guidelines and information requirements
listed in this document for an application to be competitive,
and all projects should be able to be completed within
the award period specified below. The CRP anticipates that a limited portion of available
funds will be used to support high quality, quantitative
monitoring projects to advance the science and technology
of coastal and marine habitat restoration. Independent
applications emphasizing science-based monitoring of
previously completed CRP projects are encouraged. They
should incorporate and expand upon the minimum evaluation
requirements as identified above. Proposals for monitoring
restoration projects other than those funded through
the CRP or for restoration research will not be considered.
Proposals emphasizing a singular restoration component,
such as only outreach or program coordination are discouraged,
as are applications that propose to expand an organization’s
day-to-day activities, or that primarily seek support
for administration, salaries, overhead and travel. Because
funds are limited, funding land purchase agreements,
conservation easements, and large equipment purchases
such as vehicles, boats and similar items will be a
low priority.
C. Program Authority
The Secretary of Commerce is authorized under the Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended
by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970, to provide
grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries habitat
restoration.
II.
Award Information A. Funding
Availability
This solicitation announces that funding of up to $3,000,000
is expected to be available for community-based habitat
restoration projects in FY 2005. The NOAA Restoration
Center anticipates that typical project awards will
range from $50,000 to $200,000; NOAA will not accept
proposals for under $30,000 or proposals for over $250,000
under this solicitation. There is no guarantee that
sufficient funds will be available to make awards for
all proposals. The number of awards to be made as a
result of this solicitation will depend on the number
of eligible applications received, the amount of funds
requested for initiating restoration projects by the
applicants, the merit and ranking of the proposals,
and the amount of funds made available to the CRP by
Congress.
The CRP anticipates that between 15 and 25 awards will
be made as a result of this solicitation. The exact
amount of funds that may be awarded will be determined
in pre-award negotiations between the applicant and
NOAA representatives. Publication of this document does
not obligate NOAA to award any specific project or obligate
all or any parts of any available funds. In FY 2004,
17 applications were recommended for funding ranging
from $30,000 to $206,277 for an approximate total of
$1.62 million. In FY 2003, 29 awards were made ranging
from $25,000 to $200,000 for a total of $2.2 million;
in FY 2002, 33 awards were made ranging from $15,200
to $150,000 for a total of $1.7 million; in FY 2001,
42 awards were made ranging between $14,400 and $100,000
for a total of $1.8 million. B. Project/Award
Period
Awards will be made for projects where requested funding
will be used to complete proposed restoration and monitoring
activities within a period of 24 months from the approved
start date of the project. The earliest date for receipt
of awards will be approximately 150-180 days after the
close of this solicitation; applicants should consider
this selection and processing time in developing requested
start dates for proposed restoration activities. If
an application is selected for funding, NOAA has no
obligation to provide any additional prospective funding
in connection with that award in subsequent years. Any
subsequent proposal to continue work on an existing
project must be submitted to the competitive process
for consideration and will not receive preferential
treatment. Permission to extend the period of performance
beyond the 24 month award period is at the total discretion
of NOAA and must be requested in writing at least 60
days in advance of an award’s expiration date. C. Type of
Funding Instrument
Selected applications will be funded through a cooperative
agreement since regional NOAA staff will be substantially
involved in aspects of the project. Substantial involvement
may include, but is not limited to, activities such
as hands-on technical or permitting assistance, support
in developing protocols to adequately monitor the restoration
to evaluate success, tracking the progression of the
restoration through site visits and progress report
evaluation, and involvement in public meetings and events
to highlight restoration activities. D. Permits and
Approvals It is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain
all necessary Federal, state and local government permits
and approvals where necessary for the proposed work
to be conducted. Applicants are expected to design their
proposals so that they minimize the potential for adverse
impacts to the environment. If applicable, documentation
of requests or approvals of required environmental permits
should be included in the application package. Applications
will be reviewed to ensure that they contain sufficient
information to allow CRP staff to conduct a NEPA analysis
so that appropriate NEPA documentation, required as
part of the application package, can be submitted to
the NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD) along with
the recommendation for funding for selected applications.
For more information see Section VI. B. “Administrative
and National Environmental Policy Act Requirements”.
III.
Eligibility Information A. Eligible
Applicants
Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education,
hospitals, other non-profits, commercial (for profit)
organizations, organizations under the jurisdiction
of foreign governments, international organizations,
and state, local and Indian tribal governments whose
projects have the potential to benefit NOAA trust resources.
Applications from federal agencies or employees of Federal
agencies will not be considered. Federal agencies are
strongly encouraged to work with states, non-governmental
organizations, national service clubs or youth corps
organizations and others that are eligible to apply.
The Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to broadening
the participation of historically black colleges and
universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal
colleges and universities, and institutions that work
in under served areas. The CRP encourages proposals
involving any of the above institutions.
B. Cost Sharing
or Matching Requirements
A major goal of the CRP is to provide seed money to
projects that leverage funds and other contributions
from a broad public and private sector to implement
locally important habitat restoration to benefit living
marine resources. To this end, applicants are encouraged
to demonstrate a minimum 1:1 non-Federal match for CRP
funds requested to conduct the proposed project. NOAA
strongly encourages applicants to leverage as much investment
as possible. Applicants with less than 1:1 match will
not be disqualified, however, applicants should note
that cost sharing is an element considered in Evaluation
Criterion #4. “Project Costs”. The nature
of the contribution (cash versus in-kind) and the amount
of matching funds will be taken into consideration in
the review process, with cash being the preferred method
of contribution.
Match can come from a variety of public and private
sources and can include in-kind goods and services and
volunteer labor. Federal funds are not considered matching
funds. Applicants are permitted to combine contributions
from additional non-federal partners in order to meet
the 1:1 match expected, as long as such contributions
are not being used to match any other funds. Applicants
are also permitted to apply federally negotiated indirect
costs in excess of federal share limits as described
in Section IV. E. 2. “Indirect Costs”. Applicants whose proposals are selected for funding
will be bound by the percentage of cost sharing reflected
in the award document signed by the NOAA Grants Officer.
Successful applicants should be prepared to carefully
document matching contributions, including the names
of participating volunteers and the overall number of
volunteer or community participation hours devoted to
individual habitat restoration projects. Letters of
commitment for any secured resources expected to be
used as match for an award should be submitted as an
attachment to the application.
IV.
Application and Submission Information A. Address
to Request Application Package
This solicitation, complete application packages (including
required Federal forms) with instructions and the address
for submission, and information on the CRP, including
examples of community-based habitat restoration projects
that have been funded to date, can be found on the world
wide web at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration.
The required forms are as follows:
- Application for Federal Assistance: SF-424
(9/03 version)
- Budget Information, Non-construction Programs:
SF-424A
- Assurances, Non-construction Programs: SF-424B
- Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension,
and other Responsibility Matters: Drug Free Workplace
Environment: CD-511
- CD-512
(remains with applicant–do not submit as part
of the application package)
Depending on the applicant, the following forms may
also be required:
- Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: SF-LLL
(if applicable)
- Applicant for Federal Assistance: CD-346
(required for the following individuals: Non-profit
Organizations, Sole Proprietorship, Partnerships,
Corporations and Joint Venture)
If the standard NOAA application forms and instructions
for applicants cannot be downloaded contact the NOAA
Restoration Center, Community-based Restoration Program,
NOAA Fisheries (F/HC3), 1315 East West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910-3282, 301-713-0174, email Melanie.Gange@noaa.gov.
Potential applicants are invited to contact CRP staff
before submitting an application to discuss the applicability
of project ideas to the CRP’s goals and objectives,
and/or to request an application package that contains
instructions for submitting standard NOAA grant applications
and supplementary instructions specific to the CRP.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact staff
(Perry.Gayaldo@noaa.gov)
with respect to comprehensive monitoring proposals since
the pool of available funding for this activity is expected
to be limited and highly competitive. B. Content
and Form of Application Submission
To apply, a complete standard NOAA grant application
package should be submitted in accordance with the guidelines
in this document. Each application should include:
- federal application forms specified above;
- a project summary that follows the prescribed format,
not to exceed two pages;
- a narrative project description of no more than
12 pages, including a detailed narrative budget justification;
- the curriculum vitae or resume of primary project
personnel;
- a site location map such as a USGS topographic
quadrangle map with site location(s) highlighted;
- a letter documenting private landowner or public
land manager support; and
- other relevant attachments the applicant deems
important to the overall understanding and evaluation
of the proposed project.
1. Summary Information (not to exceed two
pages):
- Applicant Organization
- Project Title
- Site Location (nearest town or watershed, and geographic
coordinates if known)
- Land Owner (name and address if privately owned,
resource agency contact if public land)
- On-the-Ground Implementation Start Date (not proposed
award start date)
- NOAA Trust Resources to benefit from the project
- habitat(s), organism(s)(species) currently using
the project area or expected to return, and any listed
threatened or endangered species in the project area
or in the vicinity
- Project Scope (Briefly list specific tasks to be
accomplished with requested funds, and proposed techniques
that will be used to implement and monitor the restoration)
- Area to be Restored (acreage, stream miles and/or
other measurable outcome)
- Project Time Line
- Permits (identify permits expected to be necessary
for this project and current status of applications
or consultations)
- Federal Funds Requested & Non-Federal Match
Anticipated
- Overall Project Cost
- Partner and Volunteer Support Anticipated (hours/tasks)
- Letters of Support (list those included with the
application, particularly those from private landowner/public
lands agency resource personnel)
2. Narrative Project Description The narrative project description should closely follow
the organization of the evaluation criteria for the
application to receive a consistent review against competing
applications. The body of the narrative description
should be no more than 12 pages long (in12-point font)
including a narrative budget justification, and should
give a clear presentation of the proposed work. In general,
proposals should clearly demonstrate anticipated benefits
to specific NOAA trust resource habitats (such as salt
marshes, seagrass beds, coral reefs, mangrove forests,
and riparian habitat near rivers, streams and creeks
used by anadromous fish, or where fish passage is certain
to be restored to habitat formerly used by anadromous
fish), describe how these benefits will be achieved
through the proposed restoration activities, and identify
the range of species expected to benefit.
The narrative should include at least one of the following:
an estimate of acreage to be restored by the proposed
project; proportion of local degraded habitat to be
restored; stream miles to be reopened to fish passage;
or another measure that describes the significance of
the proposed actions on NOAA trust resources and habitats.
The applicant should also indicate whether the proposed
project is part of a larger community or watershed plan,
or otherwise prioritized in a publically vetted, published
restoration or planning document. Projects taking place
in marine protected areas such as National Marine Sanctuaries,
National Estuarine Research Reserves, or in special
management areas such as those under state coastal management,
in National Estuary Program sites, in Essential Fish
Habitat (EFH) or areas within EFH identified as Habitat
Areas of Particular Concern may receive greater funding
consideration.
The narrative should describe the historic condition
of the restoration site and, if applicable, the processes
which resulted in degradation of the area and how these
processes have been abated to allow for successful restoration.
It should list the species currently found in the project
site, identify the problems the project will address,
describe short- and long-term objectives and goals,
detail the methods for carrying out and monitoring the
project, and clearly explain the project’s relevance
and significance to enhancing habitat to benefit living
marine resources.
Detailed information appropriate to the type of project
should be included. For example:
- dam removal and fish passage projects should describe
historical fish runs in the river, identify the river
length that will be restored, the distance to the
next upstream blockage, any downstream blockages or
seasonal impediments to fish passage; state how the
project will meet fish passage guidelines established
for the area, and identify the dam owner/landowner;
- projects proposing to change tidal flushing characteristics
should be accompanied by a hydrograph showing any
tidal restriction(s);
- projects proposing to create, restore, or rehabilitate
shellfish grounds should identify whether the site
was historically classified or productive habitat,
the current and historic bottom type at the project
location; the type and source of substrate base to
be added (if any) and whether the material is permitted
for open water placement, the origin and strains of
any seed to be placed on the site and the proximity
to any existing or remnant sources of similar type
in the area, and information on future management
including potential for future harvest;
- projects proposing to install fish passage devices
or moveable control structures like self-regulating
tide gates should submit as an appendix a management
plan that details who will be in charge of the operation
and maintenance of such structures, how they will
be operated, and similar details;
- projects involving large woody debris (LWD) placement
or other engineering decision making should highlight
the qualifications and experience of the designer/engineer,
outline the specific objectives for debris placement,
and indicate the monitoring and adaptive management
plans for the placement;
- projects involving planting should include information
on site preparation and invasive control methods,
the basis for determining species and planting density,
a brief discussion about genetic integrity and how
that will be addressed, and detail planned maintenance
activities including duration of maintenance.
To ensure a basic level of assessment of project success,
implementation of on-the-ground habitat restoration
projects must have clearly identified goals (broad in
scope) and specific, measurable objectives. Proposals
should describe evaluation of these objectives by indicating
at least one structural and one functional parameter
that will be monitored during the project period. For
each selected parameter (minimum of two), a baseline
value, reference value, and a proposed target value
must be identified prior to the implementation of restoration
efforts. Proposals should describe how monitoring will
be conducted in a timely fashion by describing the frequency
and length of time appropriate to each parameter in
the context of the project objectives and status. To provide assurance that the project will expeditiously
meet environmental compliance and permitting requirements,
so that on-the-ground activities will begin within the
first 12 months after the project’s start date,
projects that would require permits and consultations
should list all necessary permits required to complete
the project, including the appropriate contact information
for each permitting agency and documentation of all
permits already secured for the project.
NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts,
as required by the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), for applicants that are seeking NOAA federal
funding. Proposals should provide enough detail for
NOAA to make a NEPA determination (see Section VI. B.
“Administrative and National Environmental Policy
Act Requirements”). Successful applications cannot
be forwarded to the NOAA Grants Management Division
with recommendations for funding until NOAA completes
necessary NEPA documentation (see Section I.B. “Program
Priorities”. Consequently, as part of an applicant's
package, and under the description of proposed activities,
applicants are required to provide detailed information
on the activities to be conducted, such as site locations,
species and habitat(s) to be affected, possible construction
activities, and any environmental concerns that may
exist (e.g., the use of and/or disposal of hazardous
or toxic substances, introduction of non-indigenous
species, impacts to endangered and threatened species,
impacts to coral reef systems, etc.). 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 and one does not already exist
for the activities proposed in the application. Applicants
will also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying
and implementing feasible measures to reduce or avoid
any identified adverse environmental impacts of their
proposal. The failure to do so shall be grounds for
the denial of an application. Applicants are encouraged to consult with NOAA as
early as possible to obtain guidance with respect to
the level and scope of information needed by NOAA to
comply with NEPA. A phased approach to funding project
activities may be recommended, or special award conditions
may be imposed limiting the use of funds for activities
that have outstanding environmental compliance requirements
to fulfill. The type of detailed information described
above is critical to evaluating the significance of
a project and its readiness to use available funding.
The project narrative should describe the organizational
structure of the applicant group, identify proposed
project staff, and detail their experience and qualifications.
If known, the applicant should state the level of NOAA
involvement in, and/or support for the project and include
contact information of relevant NOAA staff. Applications will be evaluated for cost-effectiveness
by examining the proportion of funds directed to on-the-ground
restoration/monitoring activities compared with that
to be used for general program support. Budgets must
include a detailed breakdown by category of cost (object
class) separated into federal and non-federal shares
as they relate to specific aspects of the project, with
appropriate narrative justification for both the federal
and non-federal shares. If funding will be used to complete part of a larger
project, a budget for the entire project should be provided
to allow the selecting official to make an informed
determination of a project’s readiness and cost-benefit
ratio. A narrative budget justification should indicate
if the project has been submitted for funding consideration
elsewhere, what amount has been requested or secured
from other sources, and whether the funds requested/secured
are federal or non-federal. The narrative budget justification
is included within the overall narrative project description
12-page limit. The project narrative should also describe community
involvement in the project, such as community participants
(project partners) other than the applicant and their
contributions, volunteer opportunities, education/outreach/stewardship
plans, and efforts to disseminate information on project
goals and results and/or the sources of project funding
and support. If applicable, the narrative should explain
how the proposed project will complement or encourage
other local restoration or conservation activities. To demonstrate a project’s potential to realize
long-term benefits for NOAA trust resources, indicate
project readiness, and protect the federal investment,
a letter of commitment is required from the landowner
for projects on private land, or from relevant resource
agency personnel for projects on public, permanently
protected land, that provides assurance that the project
will be maintained for its intended purpose. For monitoring
proposals, the proposal should address the critical
issue of success, failure or adaptive management as
identified or supported by the local community, landowner
or Habitat Restoration Program. Applicants should not assume prior knowledge on the
part of NOAA as to the relative merits of the project
described in the application. Inclusion of supplementary
materials such as photographs, project designs, diagrams,
copies of secured permits, letters of support, etc.
are strongly encouraged and do not count toward the
project narrative page limit.
Applications should not be bound in any manner and should
be printed on one side only. Three hard copies (including
one original signed in blue ink) of each application
are required and must be submitted to the NOAA Restoration
Center (see sub-section G. “ Addresses”).
Applicants may opt to submit additional hard copies
(seven are needed for reviewing purposes) if it does
not cause a financial hardship. An additional copy may
also be submitted on a PC-compatible diskette or CD
ROM in either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect formats.
Different applications from the same organization must
be submitted in separate envelopes. C. Submission
Dates and Times
Applications must be postmarked, or provided to a delivery
service and documented with a receipt, by September
15, 2004. Applications postmarked or provided to a delivery
service after that time will not be considered for funding.
Applications submitted via the U.S. Postal Service must
have an official postmark; private metered postmarks
are not acceptable. In any event, applications received
later than 15 business days following the postmark closing
date will not be accepted. No facsimile or electronic
mail applications will be accepted. Applicants desiring
acknowledgment of receipt of their applications should
include a self-addressed post card.
D. Intergovernmental
Review
Applications under this program are subject to the provisions
of Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review
of Federal Programs.” Any applicant submitting
an application for funding is required to complete item
16 on SF-424 regarding clearance by the State Single
Point of Contact (SPOC) established as a result of EO
12372. To find out about and comply with a State’s
process under EO 12372, the names, addresses and phone
numbers of participating SPOC’s are listed in
the Office of Management and Budget’s home page
at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html.
E. Funding
Restrictions
1. Allowable Costs Funds awarded cannot necessarily pay for all the costs
that the recipient might incur in the course of carrying
out the project. Generally, costs that are allowable
include salaries, equipment, and supplies, as long as
these are “necessary and reasonable” specifically
for the purpose of the award. Allowable costs are determined
by reference to the OMB Circulars A-122, “Cost
Principles for Non-profit Organizations”; A-21,
“Cost Principles for Education Institutions”;
A-87, “Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian
Tribal Governments”; and Federal Acquisition Regulation,
codified at 48 Code of Federal Regulations, subpart
31.2 “Contracts with Commercial Organizations.”
All cost reimbursement subawards (subgrants, subcontracts,
etc.) are subject to those federal cost principles applicable
to the particular type of organization concerned.
Pre-award costs are generally unallowable. The earliest
date for receipt of awards will be approximately 150-180
days after the close of this solicitation. Applicants
should consider this selection and processing time in
developing requested start dates for proposed restoration
activities. 2. Indirect Costs
The budget may include an amount for indirect costs
if the applicant has an established indirect cost rate
with the federal government. Indirect costs are essentially
overhead costs for basic operational functions (e.g.,
lights, rent, water, insurance) that are incurred for
common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified
specifically within a particular project. For this solicitation,
the federal share of the indirect costs must not exceed
the lesser of either the indirect costs the applicant
would be entitled to if the negotiated federal indirect
cost rate were used or 25 percent of the direct costs
proposed. For those situations in which the use of the
applicant’s indirect cost rate would result in
indirect costs greater than 25 percent of the federal
direct costs, the difference may be counted as part
of the non-federal share. A copy of the current, approved negotiated indirect
cost agreement with the federal government should be
included with the application. If the applicant does
not have a current negotiated rate and plans to seek
reimbursement for indirect costs, documentation necessary
to establish a rate must be submitted within 90 days
of receiving an award. F. Other
Submission Requirements
Send applications to Christopher D. Doley, Director,
NOAA Restoration Center, NOAA Fisheries (F/HC3), 1315
East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282, ATTN:
CRP Project Applications.
V.
Application Review and Selection Information A. Evaluation
Criteria
Reviewers will assign scores to proposals ranging from
0 to 100 points based on the following five standard
NOAA evaluation criteria and respective weights specified
below. 1. Importance and Applicability of Proposal
(25 points)
This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic
value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA,
federal, regional, state or local activities. For the
Community-based Habitat Restoration Projects competition,
NOAA will evaluate applications based on the following:
- The potential of the project to restore, protect,
conserve or enhance habitats and ecosystems vital
to self-sustaining populations of living marine resources
under NOAA Fisheries stewardship (including commercial,
recreational, threatened or endangered species), and
the extent to which restoration activities are expected
to result in direct ecological benefits or otherwise
maximize benefits for LMR. For monitoring of previously
funded CRP projects, applications will be considered
with respect to their potential to comprehensively
evaluate restoration success. Projects occurring in
marine protected areas such as National Marine Sanctuaries,
National Estuarine Research Reserves, special management
areas, areas identified by NOAA as essential fish
habitat (EFH) or areas within EFH identified as Habitat
Areas of Particular Concern may receive greater consideration.
- The project’s significance with respect to
the extent of proposed habitat restoration activities
or the type(s) of habitat(s) that will be restored,
considered in the context of the local environment.
- The likelihood that the project will deliver tangible,
specific results that are measurable, and that tie
back to relevant Habitat Restoration Program performance
measures such as acreage or stream miles restored
for fish passage. Those applications that identify
parameters and targets are likely to score higher
on this criterion.
- Whether the proposal addresses a priority habitat
as evidenced by reference to a restoration plan, watershed
assessment or stewardship plan or similar publicly
vetted, published planning document.
2. Technical/Scientific Merit (25 points)
This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically
sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate,
and whether there are clear project goals and objectives.
For the Community-based Habitat Restoration Projects
competition, proposals will be evaluated based on the
following:
- The completeness and adequacy of detail in the
project description, including clearly stated restoration
objectives and goals, and the extent to which the
implementation plan is achievable within the 24 month
award period, including the ability to yield minimum
monitoring data.
- The overall technical feasibility of the project
from both biological and engineering perspectives,
including whether the proposed approach is technically
sound and uses appropriate methods that are likely
to achieve project goals and objectives on both an
ecological and community stewardship level.
- Whether there are plans for long-term management
of the restored resource, and an effective mechanism
to evaluate project success, including adequate and
meaningful monitoring that includes a clearly stated
goal and at least one structural and one functional
monitoring parameter for which results are achievable
within the award period.
- For assurance that implementation of the project
will meet all federal, state and local environmental
laws, and will expeditiously obtain applicable permits
so that on-the-ground activities will begin within
the first 12 months after a project’s proposed
start date. Projects that would require permits and
consultations should list all necessary permits required
to complete the project, including the appropriate
contact information for each permitting agency and
documentation of all permits already secured for the
project. Applications submitted with evidence of completed
environmental assessments, completed consultations
and/or secured permits, if applicable, are likely
to score higher on this criterion. For monitoring
of previously funded CRP projects, applications will
be evaluated with respect to the potential of monitoring
results to further advance restoration methods or
techniques for implementation of similar projects.
3. Overall Qualifications of Applicants (10
points)
This criterion ascertains whether the applicant possesses
the necessary education, experience, training, facilities,
and administrative resources to accomplish the project.
For the Community-based Habitat Restoration Projects
competition, NOAA will evaluate applications based on
the following:
- The capacity of the applicant and associated project
personnel to conduct the scope and scale of the proposed
work, as indicated by the qualifications and past
experience of the project leaders and/or partners
in designing, implementing and effectively managing
and overseeing projects that benefit living marine
resources. Examples of projects similar in scope and
nature that have been successfully completed by the
implementation team are encouraged. Communities and/or
organizations developing their first locally-driven
restoration project may not be able to document past
experience, and therefore will be evaluated on their
potential to effectively manage and oversee all project
phases, as evidenced by the explanation of characteristics
such as education, training and/or experience of primary
project participants.
- The facilities and/or administrative resources
and capabilities available to the applicant to support
and successfully manage the restoration work, including
the availability of NOAA or other technical expertise
to guide the project to a successful completion. Applicants
with demonstrated or potential NOAA involvement in
or support for the proposed project may score higher
on this criterion.
4. Project Costs (20 points)
This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if
it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs
and time-frame. For the Community-based Habitat Restoration
Projects competition proposals will be evaluated on
the following:
- Their cost-effectiveness. Reviewers will examine
the percentage of funds that will be dedicated to
all phases of project implementation including physical,
on-the-ground coastal habitat restoration and/or science-based
monitoring, compared to the percentage for general
program support such as administration, salaries,
overhead and travel. Applications proposing to use
restoration funds to expand an organization’s
day-to-day activities are unlikely to obtain a high
score under this criterion. To encourage on-the-ground
restoration, funding for salaries must be used to
support staff directly involved in accomplishing the
restoration work and should contain a detailed breakdown
of personnel hours and costs by task.
- Whether the proposed budget is realistic, based
on the applicant’s stated objectives and time
frame, and sufficiently detailed, with appropriate
budget breakdown and justification of both federal
and non-federal shares by object class as listed on
form SF-424A. Requests for equipment (any single piece
of equipment costing $5,000 or more) should be strongly
tied to achieving on-the-ground habitat restoration
and a comparison with rental costs should be used
to justify the need to purchase. In general, funding
requests for equipment purchases such as vehicles,
boats and similar items will be a low priority.
- The ability of the applicant to demonstrate that
a significant benefit will be generated for a reasonable
cost. If funds are requested for partial support of
a project, the budget will be examined with respect
to the overall project budget to allow an informed
determination of a project’s readiness and cost-benefit
ratio.
- The demonstrated need for funding and the overall
leverage of NOAA funds anticipated, including the
amount of cash match. NOAA will expect cost-sharing
at a 1:1 level to leverage funding or other resources
that improve cost-effectiveness and to further encourage
partnerships among government, industry, and academia.
Applicants that provide documentation that acceptable
secured match is available within the proposed project
period, and those that are able to provide cash contributions,
are likely to score higher on this criterion.
5. Outreach, Education and Community Involvement
(20 points)
NOAA assesses whether the project provides a focused
and effective education and outreach strategy regarding
NOAA’s mission. For the Community-based Habitat
Restoration Projects competition, proposals will be
evaluated on the following:
- Whether the activities proposed will involve citizens
and broaden their participation in coastal habitat
restoration and/or science-based monitoring, and lead
to achievement of long-term stewardship for restored
living marine resources and a heightened community
conservation ethic. Community participation may include
hands-on training, restoration and/or monitoring activities
undertaken by volunteers or work crews.
- Public outreach as it relates to the proposed project,
including plans to disseminate information on project
goals, results, project partners and their roles,
sources of funding and other support provided; and
the potential for the proposed project to encourage
future restoration and protection of living marine
resources or complement other local restoration or
conservation activities.
- On the depth and breadth of community support,
as reflected by the diversity and strength of project
partners, sponsorship by local entities (either through
in-kind goods and services such as earth-moving services,
technical expertise, conservation easements, or cash
contributions), and/or written support from state
and local governments or members of Congress.
- On the potential of the project to be sustainable
and long-lasting, as indicated by assurances provided
by the applicant in the form of a letter of commitment
from the affected landowner for a project on private
land, or from the appropriate resource agency personnel
for a project on permanently protected land, including
assurance that the project will be maintained for
its intended purpose. For monitoring of previously
funded CRP projects, applications will be considered
with respect to whether the project addresses a critical
issue of success, failure or adaptive management as
identified or supported by the local community, land
owner or Habitat Restoration Program.
B. Review
and Selection Process
Applications will be screened by CRP staff to determine
if they are eligible, complete and in accordance with
instructions detailed in the standard NOAA Grants Application
Package. Applications that present narrative information
in the same order as the evaluation criteria set out
above are likely to be more competitive, as reviewers
will be more easily able to identify information that
directly translates to scoring. Eligible restoration
proposals will undergo a technical review, ranking,
and selection process. As appropriate during this process,
the NOAA Restoration Center will solicit individual
technical evaluations of each project proposed and may
request evaluations from other NOAA offices, the Regional
Fishery Management Councils, other federal and state
agencies, such as state coastal management agencies
and state fish and wildlife agencies, and private and
public sector restoration experts who have knowledge
of a specific applicant, program or its subject matter.
Proposals also will be reviewed by NOAA regional and
headquarters staff to determine how well they meet the
stated aims of the CRP, and how well the proposal meets
the goals of the NOAA Restoration Center (RC) and NOAA’s
Habitat Restoration Program. Applications for habitat restoration projects will
be evaluated by at least three individual technical
reviewers, including those mentioned in the above paragraph,
according to the criteria and weights described in this
solicitation. The proposals will be rated, and reviewer
comments and composite project scores and a rank order
will be presented to the Director of the NOAA Restoration
Center (Director). The Director, in consultation with
CRP staff, will select the proposals to be recommended
to the Grants Management Division (GMD) for funding
and determine the amount of funds available for each
approved proposal. The proposals shall be recommended
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) the availability of funding;
(2) the 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) duplication
of other projects funded or considered for funding by
NOAA and/or other federal agencies; (4) program priorities
and policy factors as set out in section I.A and B;
(5) the applicant’s prior award performance; (6)
partnerships and/or participation of targeted groups;
and (7) adequacy of information necessary for NOAA staff
to make a NEPA determination and draft necessary documentation
before recommendations for funding are made to GMD.
Hence, awards may not necessarily be made to the highest
scored proposals. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified
that their proposal was not among those recommended
for funding. Unsuccessful applications submitted in
hard copy will be kept on file until the close of the
following fiscal year then destroyed. Successful applicants generally will be identified
approximately 90-120 days after the close of this solicitation.
The earliest date for receipt of awards will be approximately
150-180 days after the close of this solicitation, when
all NOAA/applicant negotiations and NEPA analysis and
documentation supporting cooperative agreement activities
have been completed. Applicants should consider this
selection and processing time in developing requested
start dates for proposed restoration activities.
VI.
Award Administration Information A. Award
Notices
Successful applicants may be asked to modify objectives,
work plans, or budgets prior to final approval of an
award. The exact amount of funds to be awarded, the
final scope of activities, the project duration, and
specific NOAA cooperative involvement with the activities
of each project will be determined in pre-award negotiations
among the applicant, the NOAA Grants Office, and the
CRP staff. Projects should not be initiated in expectation
of federal funding until a notice of award document
is received from the NOAA Grants Office. B. Administrative
and National Environmental Policy Act Requirements
1. Administrative Requirements.
Successful applicants that accept a NOAA award under
this solicitation will be bound by Department of Commerce
standard terms and conditions. This document will be
provided with a copy of the award by the NOAA Grants
Office, and can be found at: http://www.osec.doc.gov/oebam/pdf/ST&C-rev-1002.pdf.
In addition, award documents provided by the NOAA Grants
Office may contain special award conditions limiting
the use of funds for activities that have outstanding
environmental compliance requirements to fulfill, and/or
stating other compliance requirements for the award
as applicable, such as the required use of the CRP’s
form and format approved by OMB under control number
0648-0472 for submitting semi-annual progress reports.
2. NEPA Requirements 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 website: 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
an applicant's 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 environmental impacts of their proposal. The
failure to do so shall be grounds for the denial of
an application. Applicants proposing restoration activities that cannot
be categorically excluded from further NEPA analysis
or that are not covered by the NOAA Fisheries Community-based
Restoration Program Environmental Assessment (EA) and
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be informed
after the peer review stage and may be requested to
assist in the preparation of an EA prior to an award
being made, or provide for NOAA review a copy of an
EA that covers proposed activities if one exists. The
CRP EA and FONSI can be found at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/
restoration/ projects_programs/crp/assessment/ ea_main.html.
C. Reporting Requirements
Progress reports are due semi-annually and cover 6-month
periods that begin with the start date listed in award
documentation provided by GMD. Progress reports are
due directly to the NOAA Community-based Restoration
Program office and are due no later than 30 days after
each 6-month project period. A final report is due no
later than 90 days after the expiration date of an award.
Progress reports must be submitted using a specific
format for narrative information and a fill-form for
project specific details that can be found on the NOAA
Restoration Center website at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration.
Use of this required progress report form and format
involves collection-of-information requirements subject
to the Paperwork Reduction Act, and has been approved
by OMB under control number 0648-0472 and expires on
April 30, 2006. Complete details on reporting requirements
will be provided to successful applicants in the award
documentation provided by the NOAA Grants office.
Financial reports cover the periods from October 1 -
March 31 (due by April 30) and April 1 - September 30
(due by October 30), and should be submitted directly
to the NOAA Grants Management Division as per instructions
contained in official NOAA award documentation. Recipients
of CRP funding are strongly encouraged to submit project
information on-line through the National Estuaries Restoration
Inventory (NERI) at https://neri.noaa.gov/.
Submission of project information through NERI is not
a substitute for submitting the mandatory CRP progress
report form and format. Only projects receiving funding
through the Estuary Restoration Act are required to
submit project information on-line through NERI. NERI
is a web-based inventory of restoration projects that
restoration practitioners can use to track the success
and progress of their own projects. Projects submitted
to NERI may be counted toward the one million acre goal
of the Estuary Restoration Act and information will
be available for on-line queries and reports once the
project is approved. This collection-of-information
is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, and has been
approved by OMB under control number 0648-0479 and expires
on July 31, 2006. For more information on submitting
projects to NERI, see https://neri.noaa.gov/about.html.
VII.
Agency Contacts For further information contact Robin Bruckner or
Melanie Gange at(301)713-0174, or by fax at (301) 713-0184,
or by e-mail at Robin.Bruckner@noaa.gov
or Melanie.Gange@noaa.gov.
VIII.
Other Information The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification
Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained
in the Federal Register notice of October 1, 2001 (66
FR 49917), as amended by the Federal Register notice
published on October 30, 2002 (67 FR 66109), are applicable
to this solicitation. 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. Prior notice and an opportunity for public comment
are not required by the Administrative Procedure Act
[5 U.S.C. 553 (a) (2)] or by any other law for this
document concerning grants, benefits, and contracts.
Accordingly, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S. C.
601 et seq.).
This action has been determined to be not significant
for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The use of the standard NOAA grant application package
referred to in this notice involves collection-of-information
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.
The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, SF-LLL, and
CD-346 have been approved by OMB under the respective
control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040, 0348-0046,
and 0605-0001.
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 Paperwork Reduction Act,
unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
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