NOAA-NOS-OCM-2023-2008054 NOFO Report.pdf

CZM Habitat Protection and Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Competition

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 5 C. Program Authority 8

II. Award Information 9 A. Funding Availability 9 B. Project/Award Period 9 C. Type of Funding Instrument 10

III. Eligibility Information 10 A. Eligible Applicants 10 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 11 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 12

IV. Application and Submission Information 18 A. Address to Request Application Package 18 B. Content and Form of Application 18 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 34 D. Submission Dates and Times 35 E. Intergovernmental Review 35 F. Funding Restrictions 36 G. Other Submission Requirements 37

V. Application Review Information 38 A. Evaluation Criteria 38 B. Review and Selection Process 50 C. Selection Factors 52 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 53

VI. Award Administration Information 53 A. Award Notices 53 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 54 C. Reporting 59

VII. Agency Contacts 61 VIII. Other Information 61

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NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: CZM Habitat Protection and Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Competition

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2023-2008054

Federal Assistance Listings Number: 11.473, Office for Coastal Management

Dates: Letters of Intent (LOIs) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 14, 2023.

Full proposals (by invitation only) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 10, 2024.

Funding Opportunity Description: The purpose of this notice is to solicit grant proposals from eligible state and territory Coastal Zone Management Programs (CZM Programs) for coastal habitat restoration; coastal habitat restoration planning, engineering, and design; and land conservation projects that support the goals and intent of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP), and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, coastal habitat conservation is defined as the acquisition of fee simple interest in real property or conservation easements.

NOAA anticipates that approximately $59.6 million will be competitively awarded to approved state and territory Coastal Management Programs. For habitat restoration engineering, design and planning, it is anticipated that projects will range from approximately $200,000-$500,000.

For habitat restoration, it is anticipated that projects will range from approximately $2 million to $6 million. For land conservation, it is anticipated that projects will range from approximately $1 million to $4 million. Applicants may propose projects with a Federal funding request less than or more than these amounts, up to $6 million.

The NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) encourages applicants and awardees to support the principles of equity and inclusion when writing their proposals and performing their work. Promoting equity and inclusion through community engagement, co-development, and partnership improves creativity, productivity, and the vitality of the coastal management

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

Coastal areas support communities and are home to natural infrastructure, including forests, wetlands, floodplains, and dunes. These not only support productive fisheries, coastal recreation, and other coast-dependent economic activities, but also protect these coastal communities from storm impacts and other coastal hazards. The National Coastal Zone Management Act established a national system of state and territorial Coastal Zone Management Programs and stated that there is a national interest in the effective management, beneficial use, protection, and development of the coastal zone. The Coastal Zone Management Act notes that coastal habitat is ecologically fragile and consequently extremely vulnerable to degradation or destruction by human alterations. Funding under this opportunity will enable approved coastal programs to protect and restore these ecologically significant habitats within the nation’s coastal zone, including conserving lands that protect coastal habitat or lands that play a critical role in helping coastal communities build resilience to storms, flooding, inundation, erosion, tsunamis, sea level rise and lake level changes, and other climate-related hazards affecting the U.S. coastlines.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports NOAA’s efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change. A key pillar is resilience to climate change and its impacts, throughout our communities and ecosystems. Specifically, this NOFO seeks projects that enhance coastal resilience. Coastal areas support the nation’s largest and often fastest-growing population centers as well as key natural assets. Strengthening coastal resilience means preparing and adapting coastal communities to mitigate the impacts of and more quickly recover after extreme events such as hurricanes, coastal storms, flooding, and sea level rise.

Habitat restoration and natural and nature-based infrastructure and solutions are critical to doing so by protecting lives and property; sustaining commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing; recovering threatened and endangered species; and maintaining and fostering vibrant coastal economies and lifestyles.

This NOFO – along with the NOFOs for National Coastal Resilience Fund;

Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants; Coastal Habitat and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities; and National Estuarine Research Reserve Habitat Protection and Restoration grants– aims to fund projects that support the overarching goal of enhancing coastal resilience. This NOFO focuses on projects by coastal zone management programs approved by NOAA under the Coastal Zone Management Act.

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This announcement solicits applications from Federally-approved coastal management programs for projects relating to:

1. coastal habitat restoration;

2. coastal habitat restoration planning, engineering, and design; and

3. coastal land conservation.

Projects are expected to be scoped in a manner that would allow them to be completed within three years of the start date of the award, with the potential of up to five years.

This competition has a mandatory pre-proposal/letter of intent. Only applicants whose pre-proposals strongly align with program objectives and goals, as determined by NOAA through the review process described in Section V.A, will be invited to submit full applications. Pre-proposals must be submitted by the deadline stated in Section IV.D. For details regarding the suggested content of pre-proposals, please see Section IV.B.

B. Program Priorities

This competition is anticipated to fund a combination of habitat restoration and land conservation projects that are ‘shovel ready’ or reasonably advanced in the acquisition due diligence process, as well as habitat restoration planning, engineering, and design projects that will create a pipeline of future projects. Proposals that include on-the-ground implementation will be given priority compared to those that include only pre-implementation activities. NOAA aims to fund high-impact projects that can have a transformational effect on an ecosystem or community.

NOAA will prioritize the geographic distribution of funding. Therefore, projects may be selected out of rank order to increase geographic distribution of funds across coastal states with meritorious projects. Projects may also be selected out of rank order to fund a variety of project types or to select meritorious projects that best advance the principles of equity and inclusion or effectively factor anticipated climate change effects. NOAA intends to allocate at least 10% of the competition funding towards projects that target engagement and partnership with underserved communities, provided that a sufficient number of meritorious projects meeting this criterion are submitted to the competition.

There are three categories of projects that are eligible, as follows.

1. Habitat Restoration: For habitat restoration projects, priority will be given to projects that:

a. reflect coastal habitat restoration priority areas identified in state/territories, tribal or regional plans;

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b. restore important habitats and connected ecosystem functions/species;

c. restore hydrologic connections between habitats that improve ecosystem function;

d. enhance or restore important ecosystem services that support coastal communities, vulnerable populations or cultural resources (i.e., coastal flood protection, extreme weather resilience, water quality and quantity, food safety and security, chronic coastal erosion, etc);

e. include a long-term plan for monitoring specific criteria relevant to achieve project objectives; and/or

f. provide for engineering and design needs, if not already completed.

2. Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering, and Design: Habitat restoration planning, engineering, and design projects will be evaluated using the same criteria as noted above for habitat restoration projects, with the exception that monitoring plans are not required for planning, engineering, and design projects.

Applicants proposing pre-implementation activities should demonstrate how these efforts will support or catalyze subsequent on-the-ground restoration. As with on-the-ground projects, all planning, engineering, and design projects must be located within a state’s Coastal Zone Management Program Boundary or within a coastal watershed county.

3. Land Conservation: For land conservation projects, priority will be given to projects that:

a. have significant ecological value, and

b. have a demonstrated need for protection; and

c. can be effectively managed and protected.

Of the land conservation projects that meet the above standards, priority will also be given to projects that:

e. are designed to protect properties under an imminent threat of conversion to a use that will degrade or diminish their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state;

f. serve to mitigate the adverse impacts caused by coastal population growth in the coastal environment; and/or

g. reflect the land conservation priority area(s) that are: identified in state or regional conservation plans such as a state’s CELCP plan; including the goals and objectives of its CZM Program and National Estuarine Research

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Reserve (NERR) management plans approved under the CZMA; or included in other regional, tribal or state watershed protection plans.

Additionally, NOAA will seek to advance the following three Program Priorities:

1. Restoration and Conservation: priority will be given to projects that address:

a. strengthening protection of key land and water areas and support the habitat protection goals and priorities of the National Coastal Zone Management Act;

b. protecting or restoring high quality coastal ecosystems;

c. increasing connectivity to improve habitat conditions; and/or

d. preventing fragmentation, maintaining species or habitat diversity.

2. Climate Resilience: factoring anticipated climate change effects. For example, priority will be given to those projects that:

a. account for future environmental conditions in restoration designs, ensuring long-term ecosystem function to the full extent possible with available data and information;

b. protect pathways for habitat and species migrations in response to sea level rise or changing lake levels;

c. reduce existing stressors that hinder the ability of species or ecosystems to withstand climatic events; and/or

d. protect key ecosystem features, (e.g. keystone species or habitats, or natural infrastructure).

3. Equity and Inclusion: The NOAA Office for Coastal Management encourages applicants and awardees to advance the principles of equity and inclusion when developing and implementing their work. Supporting the principles of equity and inclusion in the context of this funding competition includes but is not limited to:

a. providing benefits to underserved communities and populations experiencing heightened vulnerabilities and disproportionate impacts relating to coastal access, ocean or Great Lakes resource management, and coastal habitat stressors including climate change;

b. providing benefits to tribes, tribal organizations and Indigenous communities to protect and restore coastal resources, including projects that incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge. This term refers to the cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 61 environment. NOAA recognizes the importance of Indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge for understanding the environment, adapting to environmental change, and mitigating negative environmental impacts;

c. seeking engagement with, input from, and partnerships with communities, groups and individuals who have not historically been actively engaged in, or may be underrepresented in the work of state or territorial coastal management programs; and

d. promoting equity and inclusion through community engagement, co-development, and partnership improves creativity, productivity, and the vitality of the coastal management community that OCM supports.

In alignment with the 2018-2023 National CZM Strategic Plan, and Executive Order 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government, all applicants are asked to describe how their proposed project will advance equity and inclusion (see Section V.B.4). For this funding competition, the following definitions from Executive Order 13985 are being included:

e. the term “equity” means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment.

f. the term “underserved communities” refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life.

C. Program Authority

Statutory authority for this program is provided under Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1456c (Technical Assistance), 16 U.S.C. § 1456-1 (CELCP), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, and the Inflation Reduction Act, Public Law 117-169.

Note: The eligibility and procedural requirements in this funding opportunity supersede the CELCP Guidelines, published in the Federal Register on June 17, 2003 (68 Fed.Reg. 35860- 35869). Most notably, recipients are not required to have an approved CELCP plan in order to be eligible for this competition; there is no match requirement; and the details of the state project solicitation/nomination process, as well as the NOAA merit review and project selection process may differ from the procedures described in the guidelines. Applicants should follow the application procedures as described in this announcement.

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II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Total anticipated funding for this Federal award announcement is approximately $60,000,000, subject to availability of funding and final administrative funding allocations.

For habitat restoration engineering, design and planning, it is anticipated that projects ranging from approximately $200,000-$500,000 will be selected. For habitat restoration, it is anticipated that projects ranging from approximately $2 million to $6 million per project will be selected. For land conservation, it is anticipated that projects ranging from approximately $1 million to $4 million will be selected. Applicants may propose projects with a Federal funding request less than or more than these amounts, up to $6 million.

The lead applicant on any proposal will be responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, this program, including any funds awarded to an eligible sub-awardee.

There is no guarantee that funds will be available for this Federal funding opportunity or that any proposal will be selected for funding. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, the applicant does so at their own risk of not being selected and these costs not being included in a subsequent award.

Direct costs of proposal preparation shall not be included within the project application budget. In addition, NOAA and the Department of Commerce (DOC) will not be responsible for project costs if this program fails to receive funding. Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and agency policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance awards.

Highly ranked proposals not funded in the current fiscal period may be considered for funding in another fiscal period without NOAA repeating the competitive process outlined in this announcement. Funding in subsequent fiscal years encompassing the proposed period of performance is subject to the availability of funding.

B. Project/Award Period

Consistent with the Program Objectives of this announcement, projects are expected to be scoped in a manner that would allow them to be completed within three years of the start date of the award, with the potential of up to five years. It is anticipated that projects funded under this announcement will have an award start date of August 1, 2024. Applicants may submit proposals with a project period of 12 to 36 months, or, for habitat restoration projects only, applicants may request a project period of up to 48 months to allow for at least one year of post-restoration monitoring.

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NOAA may extend an award for a total performance period of up to five years if circumstances warrant, such as unforeseen circumstances that prevent the project from being completed within the original period of performance. In order to qualify for an extension, award recipients must be up-to-date on all progress and financial reports, demonstrate progress during the initial period of performance, and be able to demonstrate that additional time is likely to result in successful completion of the project.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Projects will be funded as grants or cooperative agreements, as described in 2 C.F.R. § 200.1, depending on the nature of the project. If a cooperative agreement is used, NOAA expects to be substantially involved in many aspects of the award. Applicants may propose anticipated Federal roles and responsibilities in their proposals, or NOAA may establish the particular involvement. Substantial involvement may include, but is not limited to, collaborating on the scope of work, providing assistance with technical aspects of the habitat restoration, reviewing and commenting on design plans, and reviewing procurement materials to the extent authorized by 2 C.F.R. § 200.325.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Any coastal state or territorial CZM Program that has been approved by NOAA pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. § 1455) is eligible for habitat restoration and conservation funds under this announcement. Each applicant may submit no more than three letters of intent for consideration under this competition.

For selected projects, NOAA may make financial assistance awards to the lead CZM Program agency, which will be responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of and in a manner consistent with this program, including any funds awarded to an eligible sub-applicant. NOAA may, with concurrence of the state’s CZM Program lead agency, make a grant directly to an identified sub-applicant in order to expedite completion of an approved project. For these projects, the CZM Program lead state agency would submit the Letter of Intent and include a description of which CZM Program partner would be the final grant recipient. If the CZM Program is invited to submit a final application for this proposal, then the CZM Program partner would submit the final application through grants.gov. In such cases, the CZM Program partner (as the grant recipient) will be responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the approved purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, this program.

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Non-governmental organizations may serve as the lead applicant for habitat restoration projects or for habitat restoration engineering, design and planning projects. As noted in section III C.3. Public Benefit, all projects must be located on publicly-owned land, or land where a public entity holds a lease or easement that provides for adequate public control of the property. For these projects, the project application should also include a letter of support from the public entity who holds title or a legal interest on the project site.

Non-governmental organizations are not eligible to hold title to lands acquired with these funds and therefore may not serve as the lead applicant for habitat conservation projects and also should not be listed as a subawardee for the land acquisition portion of the project However, non-governmental organizations may participate as partners with eligible entities in the acquisition, restoration and long-term stewardship of lands through this program, such as: identifying target properties; conducting or assisting in acquisition negotiations to secure properties; conducting restoration activities; and providing stewardship and management of properties in perpetuity, including holding a secondary easement or other stewardship agreement for these lands.

DOC/NOAA supports cultural and gender diversity and is strongly committed to broadening the participation of Minority Service Institutions, including historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and Asian American and Pacific Islander serving institutions that work in underserved areas. While this program limits applicants to state and territorial CZM Programs, DOC/NOAA encourages applicants to include partners and contributors from any of the above groups or institutions.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

Pursuant to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, Division J, Title II, in order to promote a more equitable competition that supports a wider variety of projects and project partners, there is no non-Federal matching requirement for this funding.

However, applicants are strongly encouraged to combine NOAA Federal funding with formal matching contributions or informal leverage from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors to implement restoration. Such cost sharing is an element considered in the evaluation criteria.

Non-Federal match funds may be optionally included within the application to demonstrate stakeholder support for the proposed work. For applications including non-Federal match funds within the proposed budget, the ratio of approved NOAA funds to non-Federal match funds will be legally binding within the award document signed by NOAA’s Grants Management Division, if the application is selected for funding. NOAA is under no

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 61 obligation to amend the match contributions once the award document is signed by the recipient, unless the amount is amended based on extenuating circumstances. NOAA encourages applicants to include and describe informal leveraged funds in the budget narrative to demonstrate partnership and collaboration. Leveraged funds are funds that are in addition to Federal BIL funds and voluntary matching funds that are spent on a funded project. Federal sources cannot be considered for voluntary matching funds, but can be described in the budget narrative as leveraged funds. NOAA will require successful applicants to track leveraged funds as part of the project reporting requirements.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

Criteria 1-6 apply to all project types. Criteria 7-8 are specific to land conservation projects.

1. Each applicant may submit no more than 3 proposals (Letters of Intent) for this competition.

2. Project location. All projects must be located within a state’s Coastal Zone Management Program Boundary or within a coastal watershed county, as described in the NOAA publication “Defining coastal counties,” available at https://coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/defining-coastal-counties.pdf.

3. Public Benefit. All projects should provide clear public benefit. Eligible habitat restoration projects must be located on publicly-owned land, or land where a public entity holds a lease or easement that provides for adequate public control of the property. Restoration planning, engineering, and design projects should also be for publicly owned or controlled project sites, or for sites where the majority of the project area is under public ownership or control. Land conservation projects must provide for non-Federal public ownership by the grant recipient or sub-recipient for conservation in perpetuity.

For the purposes of this announcement, non-Federal public ownership includes state agencies, Federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations as defined at 25 U.S.C. § 5304 (see also 2 C.F.R. § 200.1), local governments as defined at 15 C.F.R. § 28.105, or other local or regional entities as included in the definition under section 306A(e) of the CZMA (16 U.S.C. § 1455a(e)), provided that each has the authority to acquire and manage land for conservation purposes.

Projects must allow passive public access or provide other public benefit(s), to the extent it is appropriate and consistent with resource protection. However, this funding

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 61 is not intended to support public access infrastructure; therefore, public access infrastructure projects such as construction or restoration of boardwalks, boat ramps, bridges, bathrooms, or walkways would not be eligible for funding under this competition.

4. Mitigation. Federal project funds may not be used to comply with mandatory or compensatory mitigation for recent, pending or future habitat losses resulting from the actions of agencies, organizations, companies, or individuals. Project funds also may not be used for enforcing fish, wildlife, or other regulations, either solely or primarily, except when necessary for the accomplishment of approved project purposes.

5. Monitoring. Applications requesting funding for restoration activities should include a Monitoring Plan. Applicants should be willing to work with NOAA to adjust the plan, if necessary, to ensure that the proposed parameters are adequate and meaningful.

All Monitoring Plans should propose sufficient, cost-effective monitoring metrics that assess whether the restoration action was carried out as designed and provide a basic level of effectiveness. Monitoring Plans should:

a. include parameters that evaluate short-term structural changes at the project site(s) (e.g. as-built surveys), and may also include a basic measure of effectiveness (e.g. presence/absence of target species);

b. propose pre-implementation data collection, when applicable;

c. include parameters with quantitative or clearly defined ecological targets;

and

d. include parameters with ecological targets that can be evaluated within approximately one-year post-implementation.

Applications requesting funding for feasibility and planning projects should include a pre-restoration monitoring that meets the requirements listed above. On a limited basis, NOAA may also consider funding more in-depth, longer-term monitoring that addresses ecological effectiveness or restoration technique effectiveness. NOAA may choose to provide additional out year funds to an award, increase the award period, and/or an additional out year award for successful applicants whose awards are identified as suitable for longer-term effectiveness monitoring. Projects proposing such effectiveness monitoring should describe the specific question or hypothesis that will be addressed, and detail the monitoring methods and analyses proposed.

NOAA encourages projects that align monitoring metrics with regional and/or other restoration funding programs. Monitoring should support ecosystem service goals of

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 61 the restoration projects, as well as consider cultural ecosystem services.

6. Post Award Changes in Scope: In the event that a funded project is determined to be no longer feasible, in-full or in-part, after the start of the award, the recipient may propose a replacement project that also meets the intent and purposes of this funding competition. This project will be reviewed by NOAA staff using the criteria within this funding announcement and if the project is found meritorious consistent with program priorities in section I.B. and evaluation criteria in V.A., then NOAA may approve the replacement project. However, NOAA may take the need for a replacement project into account when making subsequent years’ funding recommendations, in order to ensure that one coastal state is not being approved for a disproportionate number of projects.

7. Eligible Coastal Land Conservation Projects: This competition provides support for acquisition of fee simple interests in lands or conservation easements from willing sellers within eligible states (as defined in Eligible Applicants, above). In order to be eligible, a project must:

a. protect important coastal and estuarine areas that have significant conservation or ecological values, or that are threatened by conversion from their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other uses. Historic and aesthetic values will also be evaluated, but for the purposes of this competition, the primary purpose of the project must be based on conservation or ecological values;

b. provide for non-Federal public ownership by the grant recipient or sub-recipient for conservation in perpetuity. If the grant recipient is a state agency that does not have authority to hold title to lands, the property may be held by another eligible non-Federal public entity as defined under #3, “Public Benefit”, above. Applications requesting funding for land conservation should describe the proposed strategy for long-term stewardship of the site once acquired, including ongoing monitoring and management, and, if restoration is proposed, how that will be accomplished.

c. provide for passive public access or other public benefit on some portion of the property, as appropriate and consistent with resource protection, or clearly describe why passive public access would be detrimental to the conservation goals of the property;

d. Advance the goals, objectives, and implementation of state, tribal or regional conservation plans such as a state’s Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) plan; included the goals and objectives of its coastal management plan and National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 61 management plans approved under the CZMA; or included in other regional, tribal or state watershed protection plans;

e. Acquire property or conservation easements from willing sellers;

f. Be consistent with a state’s coastal management program approved under the CZMA; and

g. Complement (or not conflict with) working waterfront needs, to the extent practicable.

8. For Land Conservation projects, award funds may be used for:

a. Acquisition of properties or interests in properties (conservation easements) from willing sellers, including direct expenses relating to the acquisition of lands. Costs to be paid from the Federal share must be documented and expended within the period of performance unless approved for reimbursement as a pre-award cost.

The negotiated price of the property or conservation easement should be based on the fair market value as established by a complete and self-contained appraisal prepared by an independent state-approved appraiser. Appraisals must reflect nationally recognized appraisal standards, including the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition (the Yellow Book). If an appraisal has not been completed at the time a project proposal is submitted, the applicant may propose a good-faith estimate of the cost for the project based on market value or agreement with the willing seller. However, if the project is selected for funding, an appraisal will be required before funds can be released. The amount of the grant cannot exceed the estimated cost in the project application. If the appraised value of the property is higher than the estimated cost in the project proposal, the applicant must make up the difference. If the appraised value is lower than the estimated cost, NOAA may reduce the Federal share of the project as appropriate.

For projects that propose to acquire more than one property, parcels must be located in the same vicinity, be substantially related in terms of conservation values, or have other direct physical or strategic connection (for example, acquiring multiple properties that will be assembled into a single greenway).

NOAA recommends that applicants limit the scope to acquiring no more than three separate parcels. Properties containing multiple parcels covered under a single appraisal, title report, and survey plat could count as one parcel (e.g., a subdivided property with the same landowner).

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Although uncommon, projects involving lands already held by a public entity or by a conservation organization (such as a land trust) whose purpose is to manage and protect land for ecological or conservation values, or lands already subject to an easement or deed restriction that limits the conversion of such lands from their natural, undeveloped or recreational state, may also qualify if they meet the following criteria to demonstrate their need for protection:

i. the property was acquired and has been held by such entity in a “buy and hold” arrangement for a period less than three years from the publication date of this funding announcement, or

ii. the property was previously acquired and/or managed for a non-conservation purpose by a public entity; and

- the agency or entity currently holding title does not have a mission to manage land for conservation purposes, or

- the agency or entity currently holding title has governing authorities that require sale when transferring property to another public agency.

In these circumstances, reimbursement of some “holding costs” may be eligible subject to a limit of five percent of the total award. Any costs incurred prior to the start of the award are considered pre-award costs subject to prior approval by NOAA. See Section III C.8.c below.

b. Costs for administering a land conservation grant award. Staffing and administrative costs must be incurred within the period of performance, and should only include the amount of time necessary to complete the proposed project. Such costs may include time spent by staff for project planning, implementation, and review, as well as costs for certain initial land stewardship activities, such as signage, baseline report development, public safety, or other stewardship purposes.

c. Expenses such as appraisals, surveys, title opinions, and other direct transaction costs, are considered acquisition costs and do not count toward the five percent limit for administrative costs. Appraisal reports for properties valued more than $250,000 should also be reviewed by a qualified review appraiser. Applicants may consider budgeting costs for an independent appraisal review for all properties valued more than $250,000.

Allowable grant costs are limited to costs necessary and reasonable to achieve the approved objectives of a grant and must be consistent with

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 61 general cost principles for grants awarded by Federal agencies, as specified in 2 C.F.R. Part 200, available at http://go.usa.gov/c3pre. Land trusts and other nonprofit partners may participate as project subawardees or contractors to assist with obtaining necessary due diligence materials or to manage land stewardship portions of the project. However, nongovernmental organizations may not be subawardees for the land acquisition portion of a project since competition funding can only be utilized to provide for the acquisition of non-Federal public ownership interests.

NOAA will not reimburse expenses that have been incurred prior to the start of a grant award, except in the following cases. Generally, applicants may receive reimbursement for certain costs incurred within 90 days prior to the grant’s official start date if such costs are requested in the application and the applicant can demonstrate it is necessary to incur the costs prior to the official award start date. Grant recipients must seek prior approval from NOAA for reimbursement for pre-award costs over 90 days before the award start date.

Such costs are allowable only to the extent that they would have been allowable if incurred after the date of the Federal award and only with the written approval of NOAA. In general, NOAA will not reimburse pre-award costs that occur prior to the publication date of this funding announcement.

Pre-award costs eligible for consideration include costs necessary for conducting appraisals, title work, and environmental assessments. The cost of land acquisition may also be reimbursed as a pre-award cost.

Reimbursement of funds is subject to NOAA’s approval of due diligence documents; closing on a property prior to the award start date is at the applicant’s risk.

d. Land Conservation funds may not be used for:

i. funding long-term operations, maintenance, and management of the land (above those costs allowed for initial land stewardship);

ii. construction of buildings, boat launching facilities, docks or piers, shoreline armoring, or other facilities;

iii. research;

iv. outreach and education;

v. acquisition of lands, or interests in lands, that completely restrict access to specific persons (e.g., non-residents of a community);

vi. acquisition of lands, or interests in lands, to comply with mandatory or compensatory mitigation for recent, pending or future habitat losses resulting from the actions of agencies, organizations, companies, or individuals;

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vii. enforcing fish, wildlife, or other regulations, either solely or primarily, except when necessary for the accomplishment of approved project purposes;

viii. acquisition of land for active recreation, such as sports facilities, water parks, playgrounds, or similar uses, except for at a de minimis scale;

ix. reimbursement of expenses that have been incurred prior to the start of a grant award, except those approved as pre-award costs.

e. De minimis uses: Sustainable aquaculture, forestry, agriculture, and small-scale community recreation facilities (such as playgrounds, sports fields, non-primitive camping areas, or paved bicycle paths) may be allowed on a de minimis scale if they are located away from sensitive ecological features. For the purposes of this competition, de minimis scale is considered to be no more than 10 percent of the total acreage of the project. The location, size, and nature of these uses should be described in the project proposal and NOAA may negotiate with the applicant if the project is selected for funding.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

The standard SF-424 application package is available online at http://www.grants.gov. If this is not feasible, application packages may be requested from the Office for Coastal Management via email at ocm.czm.infrastructure@noaa.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

Applicants should submit a complete standard NOAA financial assistance application package in accordance with the guidelines in this document. Applications that do not follow the Letter of Intent and proposal application requirements stated in this announcement may not be considered for review.

All application materials should use a legible 11 or 12-point font with 1-inch margins on all sides, single spaced. Electronic applications must be submitted as Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) to the extent possible.

For this funding competition, a pre-proposal Letter of Intent (LOI) is required before submitting a full proposal. The LOI should provide a concise description of the proposed work and its relevance to program objectives. The goal of the pre-proposal process is to streamline the application and review process by inviting full applications only from

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 61 applicants whose projects are most likely to support NOAA’s goals as described in this announcement and for those projects that are most likely to be ready to start implementation soon after being awarded funding.

Please note that only LOIs that strongly align with the program objectives and goals will be invited to submit a full proposal. Applicants will not be invited to submit a proposal if the LOI does not strongly align with the program objectives and goals, or the LOI does not include the required components listed below. Applicants may not submit a full proposal unless they receive an invitation from NOAA. Any proposal submitted without having received an invitation will not be reviewed.

The Office for Coastal Management will respond to each LOI by email informing the lead Principal Investigator whether or not they are invited to submit a proposal. We anticipate sending responses by October 6, 2023. If the lead principal investigator does not receive an email by October 6, 2023, the applicant must contact ocm.czm.infrastructure@noaa.gov and request the status of his or her LOI. The results of the LOI review will be released to the lead principal investigator only. The proposal submission deadlines in this announcement will apply to everyone.

The LOI must contain the following:

1. LOI Cover Page: The LOI should include the following information on a cover page:

a. Applicant;

b. Project title;

c. Type of Project: Habitat Restoration; Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering, and Design; or Land Conservation;

d. Names and affiliation of the lead principal investigators (PIs) with contact information. NOAA will communicate with the lead PI on the status of their LOI;

e. Proposed project start and end dates; and

f. Total Federal Funding request

2. LOI Content: The body of the LOI should be no more than 4 pages, 11 or 12-point font, single spaced, and must include the following components:

a. Statement of Purpose: state the intent, goal, and outcome of proposed work;

b. Brief Project Description. Briefly describe the proposed project and activities, ensuring to highlight and describe:

i. the ecosystem benefits of the project; and

ii. the intended benefits to the region and local community in improving resilience.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 61

c. Milestones: Include a short, bulleted list of key project milestones.

d. Equity and Inclusion: Briefly describe how the proposed activity broadens the participation of, and/or supports the needs of underrepresented groups.

e. Climate: Briefly describe how the proposed activity will enhance climate resilience.

f. Geography and Maps: Describe the location of the project, providing regional and site-specific maps as appropriate. Maps will not count against the page limit for the LOI.

g. Landowner (for habitat restoration and habitat restoration planning, design, and engineering projects). Include the name and address of the landowner of the project site.

h. Pre-Existing Uses: Briefly describe the existing uses of the property, the nature of those uses, and whether those uses will continue after completion of the project.

i. Partnerships: Describe any public, non-governmental organizations, private or individual partners involved in the project and their intended roles.

j. Project Readiness. For habitat restoration projects:

i. identify and list all consultations, permits, and regulatory approvals necessary for the proposed project and include documentation or approval status (e.g., not applied for; pending; secured). Please describe whether project design plans are construction ready (90 to 100% complete). Please describe whether experienced contractors are available and likely to compete under project bid process, if this information is known at the time of application submittal.

For land conservation projects:

ii. identify whether sites have been identified, the property is on the market, and/or negotiations with landowner have resulted in an option or purchase & sale agreement or other evidence that a seller would be willing to sell at a mutually agreeable price and terms; whether appraisal, title opinion, and other documentation have been completed or can be produced within the performance period; and whether the site has any uncertainties (such as liens, judgments, need for remediation) that are not likely to be resolved within the proposed award performance period.

k. Project Timeline. Provide a realistic timeline of all project activities to be supported with Federal funds, including an indication of when activities will begin.

l. Budget summary. Provide an overview of the estimated amount of funding requested, match or leveraged funding expected, and brief details on how funds

Notice of Federal Funding Page 20 of 61 will be used.

If and once a PI is invited to submit a full proposal, the complete application package should include the following forms and documents, with each below group as separate files:

1. Full Proposal Details:

a. Project description (proposal), as described in the application component section below, should be limited to no more than 15 pages, 11 or 12-point font, single spaced. The project description should also include a title page and table of contents, but these pages (title and table of contents) will not count towards the page limit. Additionally, the budget narrative, budget justification, budget forms, and Appendices will not count towards the 15-page limit for the project description.

Project descriptions that exceed the 15-page limit will be shortened by removing pages at the end of the proposal narrative (see element 3 of the component section below) before it is forwarded to merit reviewers for evaluation. Pages removed from lengthy applications will not be reviewed or considered.

Applications that are incomplete, unclear, or contain numerous typographical errors may not be understood effectively by reviewers, resulting in lower evaluation scores, so applicants are advised to review their application materials closely before they are submitted to the agency for consideration.

2. The following Federal forms from the SF-424 Form Family should be included in the application package, as applicable (no page limit with forms and related mandatory Federal form information):

a. Application for Federal Assistance: Form SF-424: Applicants requesting Federal funding under this program must submit a copy of SF-424, 'Application for Federal Assistance'. An electronic signature and date stamp will automatically be included on SF-424 forms submitted via Grants.gov.

b. Budget Information for Non-construction Programs: Form SF-424A. Applicants are required to submit a SF-424A Budget Form to summarize the budget for the proposed scope of work. If the application is requesting an award period of more than one year (multiple year award), the applicant must provide a budget and budget justification for each year. The application should include separate federal and non-federal (if applicable) budgets for each year in separate columns in Section B of the 424A. Total award funding is shown in the final column of Section B. Non- Federal funding is broken out by source in Section C. Federal and non-Federal funds should be expended at a similar rate throughout the course

Notice of Federal Funding Page 21 of 61 of the project. Section F summarizes the direct charges in line 21 and lists the indirect charges requested; please show the rate used in line 22.

Please note that completion of the SF-424A form as described above represents NOAA's preference and may not be consistent with the instructions that accompany the SF-424A form. All budget figures should match the funding requested on the application cover sheet and correspond with the descriptions contained in the project and budget narratives. Each proposed sub-award of $30,000 or more should be accompanied by a separate SF-424A form to fully document the proposed subaward budget.

c. Assurances for Non-construction Programs: Form SF-424B.

d. Certification Regarding Lobbying: Form CD-511.

e. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: Form SF-LLL (if applicable).

f. Federal forms and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) information, as well as information provided to complete the Federal forms (e.g., Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement), can be submitted separately or combined and submitted as one PDF document.

All full Proposal applications should contain the following:

1. Title Page (Proposal Cover Sheet, not included in page limit), with:

a. Project title.

b. Type of Project: Habitat Restoration; Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering, and…