NOAA-NOS-OCRM-2015-2004238 FFO Report.pdf

ANNOUNCEMENT OF FEDERAL 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 Projects of Special Merit Competition - FY2015

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCRM-2015-2004238

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.419, Coastal Zone Management

Administration Awards

Dates: Full proposals must be received and validated by Grants.gov, postmarked, or provided to a delivery service on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 11, 2014.

Funding Opportunity Description: The purpose of this document is to advise eligible applicants that NOAA is soliciting proposals for competitive funding under the Coastal Zone Management

Act's (CZMA) Enhancement Program Projects of Special Merit, authorized under Section 309 of the CZMA (16 U.S.C. §1456b). The objective of Section 309 assistance is to encourage each

State or Territory with a federally-approved coastal management program (CMP) to continually improve its program in specified areas of national importance. The intent of Projects of Special

Merit (PSM) funding is to offer CMPs the opportunity to develop innovative projects that further their approved enhancement area strategies and focus on the following national enhancement area priorities: Wetlands, Hazards, Cumulative and Secondary Impacts, and Ocean and Great

Lakes Resources. Any CMP that has been approved by NOAA pursuant to the Coastal Zone

Management Act (16 U.S.C. §1455) and has an approved 2011-2015 Section 309 Assessment and Strategy that contains at least one strategy addressing one or more of the four priority enhancement areas is eligible to apply for this competition.

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

The objective of Section 309 is to encourage States or Territories with federally-approved coastal management programs (CMPs) to continually improve their programs. The intent of Projects of Special Merit (PSM) funding is to offer CMPs the opportunity to develop innovative projects that further their approved enhancement area strategies and focus on national priorities. The Secretary is authorized to make grants to a CMP for the development and submission of Federally approved program changes that support attainment of one or more enhancement area objectives established at 15 C.F.R. § 923.122.

PSM funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to CMPs. Proposed projects shall further the objectives of an approved enhancement area strategy but shall not be essential to meeting specific benchmarks in the strategy. PSM projects shall not be dependent on long term levels of funding to succeed.

B. Program Priorities

Proposals must focus on one or more of the following priority enhancement area objectives:

- Wetlands: Protecting, restoring, or enhancing existing coastal wetlands, or creating new coastal wetlands.

- Hazards: Preventing or significantly reducing threats to life and property by eliminating development and redevelopment in high-hazard areas, managing development in other hazard areas, and anticipating and managing the effects of potential sea level rise and

Great Lakes level change.

- Cumulative and Secondary Impacts: Developing and adopting procedures to assess, consider, and control cumulative and secondary impacts of coastal growth and development, including the collective effect on various individual uses or activities on coastal resources, such as coastal wetlands and fishery resources.

- Ocean and Great Lakes Resources: Planning for the use of ocean and Great Lakes resources, including planning for offshore energy use.

Funds may be used for any of the following allowable uses which support the attainment of a program change:

- Project personnel costs;

- Supplies and overhead;

- Travel;

- Equipment (pursuant to relevant OMB guidance);

- Projects, studies and reports; and

- Contractual costs including subcontracts, sub-awards, personal service contracts with individuals, memoranda of agreement/understanding, and other forms of pass through funding for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of Section 309.

Funds may not be used for land acquisition or construction projects.

C. Program Authority

Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. § 1456b).

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Total anticipated funding for PSM is $1 million or 10% of Section 309 funds for FY

2015. Funding is subject to availability of FY 2015 appropriations. The allocation may vary depending on the total Section 309 funds available. It is estimated that approximately 5-15 proposals ranging from $50,000 to $200,000 will be selected. The maximum amount that may be requested for the federal share of a PSM is $200,000. Funds not allocated for PSM awards will be returned to the weighted formula allocation under Section 309. Each applicant may submit no more than two applications for consideration under this competition.

B. Project/Award Period

The standard financial assistance award period is 18 months. It is anticipated that projects funded under this announcement will have a grant start date of October 1, 2015.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Projects will be funded as cooperative agreements. A cooperative agreement is used when substantial involvement of the federal government during performance of the proposed activity is anticipated. The recipient can expect substantial collaboration, participation, and/or intervention in the management of the project by NOAA. Some examples of substantial involvement by NOAA include the ability to halt an activity immediately if detailed performance specifications are not met; NOAA specifying direction or redirection of scope of work due to the interrelationships with other projects; NOAA collaborating with the recipient by working jointly with a recipient scientist or technician in carrying out the scope of work, by training recipient personnel, or detailing federal personnel to work on the project; and by NOAA limiting recipient discretion with respect to scope of work, organizational structure, staffing, mode of operations, and other management processes, coupled with close monitoring or operational involvement during performance.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Any State or Territorial CMP that has been approved by NOAA pursuant to the Coastal

Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. § 1455) is eligible under this announcement if the requirements established at 15 C.F.R. § 923.121 are met. Specifically, applicants must have an approved Assessment and Strategy for the 2011-2015 assessment period which includes at least one strategy for one or more of the priority enhancement areas identified in Section

I.B of this federal funding opportunity (FFO). In addition to strategies that were originally approved as part of a State or Territory's Assessment and Strategy, approved strategies also include strategies that were added or substantially modified and approved by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management prior to the start of the competition. Strategies added or substantially modified after the date on which this notice was published are not approved strategies for the purposes of this competition. See 15 C.F.R. § 923.121 for all requirements.

The designated lead agency for implementing each approved CMP is eligible to submit projects for funding under this competition. For the purposes of this competition, the San

Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is an eligible applicant. Eligible applicants may submit a proposal on behalf of State agency partners within the approved

State CMP network, if applicable. Local governments and nonprofits may participate as partners on the proposed projects; however, projects should be focused upon enhancing the approved State CMP.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

Pursuant to 15 C.F.R. § 923.124 (a)(1), matching share is not required

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

As noted above, each applicant may submit no more than two applications for consideration under this competition.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Application materials are available online at: http://www.grants.gov (Grants.gov). If an applicant does not have Internet access, application packages shall be requested from the competition manager: Elizabeth Mountz, Office for Coastal Management, NOAA National

Ocean Service, 1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-713-3155 ext. 148, Elizabeth.Mountz@noaa.gov

During the competition period, eligible applicants (the designated lead agency for implementing each approved CMPs) should submit any questions regarding the competition via email to the competition manager listed above. Questions and answers will be compiled on a bi-weekly basis, at a minimum, and sent out to the CMP program managers' email list in order for all potential applicants to have access to the same level of information. All questions should be submitted to NOAA by November 21, 2014, in order to allow NOAA to respond in a timely manner for the information to be useful for all potential applicants developing proposals. NOAA will not answer any competition policy-related questions submitted after November 21, 2014. Competition policy-related questions include inquiries on project eligibility, eligible costs, and project narrative requirements. However, during this period NOAA will continue to assist applicants with questions regarding the application submittal process, such as resolving issues related to Grants.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

Applications: Application proposals shall contain the following items, as required under

15 C.F.R. § 923.126(b):

(1) A clear and concise description of the project explaining the relationship of the project to the CMP's approved Assessment and Strategy and how it will support an approved enhancement area strategy;

(2) A specific timetable;

(3) A description of the activities that will be undertaken to complete the project and by whom;

(4) Identification of any sub-awardees, pursuant to 15 C.F.R. §923.94(b)(1)iii);

(5) An estimate of total costs; and

(6) Documentation of fiscal needs and technical needs, if any:

- Fiscal needs: information on the current State budget (surplus or deficit), the budget of the applying agency (increase or decrease over previous fiscal year), future budget projections, and what efforts have been made by the applying agency, if any, to secure additional State funds from the Legislature and/or from off-budget sources such as user fees;

and

- Technical needs: identification of the technical knowledge, skills and equipment that are needed to carry out proposed projects and that are not available to the applying agency, and what efforts the applying agency has made, if any, to obtain the trained personnel and equipment it needs (for example, through agreements with other State agencies).

The application should be no more than 10 pages, single-spaced, using 12-point Times

New Roman font. A penalty of 5 points will be assigned to any applications that exceed this limit. See Section V. Application Review for detailed information on how applications will be evaluated. The 10-page limit does not include the proposal title page and any appendices.

Appendices shall be limited to materials that directly support the main body of the proposal

(for example, detailed sub-award budget information, letters of support, resumes or

Curriculum Vitae (CVs), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) information, references, detailed descriptions of the qualifications of any known sub-awardee or contractor, maps, and the data/information sharing plan referenced in Section VIII of this

FFO, if the application proposes to produce environmental data). Appendices or supplemental information are excluded from the 10-page limit. The data/information sharing plan should be included as an appendix and does not need to be included within the project narrative

The following Federal Application Forms are required:

a. Application for Federal Assistance: Form SF-424

b. Budget Information for Non-construction Programs: Form SF-424A

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)

In addition, each application must include the following required elements:

1. PROJECT TITLE

2. PROJECT OVERVIEW

Applicant Contact Information:

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Principle Project Manager:

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Project Partners (if any):

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Geographic Area(s) Affected:

Total Cost: $

Did you submit an additional PSM proposal for consideration? __ Yes __ No

3. PROJECT OF SPECIAL MERIT ENHANCMENT AREAS

Identify the enhancement area under which you would like this proposal to be considered (list all that apply: Cumulative and Secondary Impacts, Wetlands, Coastal

Hazards, and/or Ocean and Great Lake Resources).

4. ASSOCIATED PROGRAM CHANGE

a) Identify the approved strategy that the proposed PSM will support (please use the exact title as approved in the Assessment and Strategy):

b) List the type(s) of program change that the supported strategy was approved to result in, or implement (list all that apply):

- A change to coastal zone boundaries; new or revised authorities, including statutes, regulations, enforceable policies, administrative decisions, executive orders, and memoranda of agreement/understanding;

- New or revised local coastal programs and implementing ordinances;

- New or revised coastal land acquisition, management, and restoration programs;

- New or revised Special Area Management Plans (SAMP) or plans for Areas of

Particular Concern (APC) including enforceable policies and other necessary implementation mechanisms or criteria and procedures for designating and managing APCs;

and,

- New or revised guidelines, procedures and policy documents which are formally adopted by a state or territory and provide specific interpretations of enforceable CMP program policies to applicants, local government and other agencies that will result in meaningful improvements in coastal resource management.

5. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Provide a clear and concise description of the project that explains the relationship of the proposed project to the CMP's approved Assessment and Strategy and how the proposed project will further all or part of a program change that the CMP has identified in its

Strategy. In addition, the project description should include:

- clear and specific project goals, measurable objectives, and outcomes;

- how the project addresses one or more PSM national priority enhancement area objectives in an innovative way;

- project activities that will be undertaken and by whom (including the identification of any sub-awardees);

- the likelihood for success of the project approach to achieve the identified goals, objectives, and outcomes; and

- project evaluation components and activities to communicate or disseminate project outcomes.

6. BENEFITS TO COASTAL MANAGEMENT

Describe the anticipated effect(s) and outcome(s) of the PSM including

- a clear articulation of the scope and value in improved coastal management and resource protection;

- benefits to the public;

- timeframe in which project outcome(s) are expected to result in implementable management improvements; and

- transferability to other CMPs.

7. FISCAL AND TECHNICAL NEEDS AND PAST PERFORMANCE

a) Fiscal and Technical Needs: Provide a brief description of the fiscal and technical needs of the State related to the proposed project

b) Past Performance under the Section 309 Program: Provide a brief description of the CMP's past performance and success in achieving the expected results of Section 309 strategies that are similar in size, scope, and relevance to the proposed project.

8. PROJECT WORK PLAN

Provide a work plan that includes the major tasks or actions necessary for achieving the goals and outcomes of the proposed project. Briefly describe the capacity of the program to carry out the project including collaboration with partners. The work plan should also identify milestones, outcomes, and a schedule for their completion.

Example Work Plan Format (please duplicate outline as needed for multiple tasks):

Title:

Timeframe:

Description of Activities and Program Capacity:

Milestone(s) and Date of Completion:

Outcome(s) and Date of Completion:

List of Final Products:

9. PROJECT BUDGET

Budget narrative: The budget narrative shall be composed of two parts, a budget table and a budget description. The budget narrative shall include the total project costs that are required to accomplish what is proposed in the Project Description. The budget narrative shall provide the information needed to determine how the numbers outlined in the Budget

Information form (Form SF-424A) were derived. The narrative should explain the specific budget categories that are outlined in the Form SF-424A, such as personnel/salaries, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contract costs, and indirect costs. The budget narrative submitted with the application should match the dollar amounts on all required Federal forms (Forms SF-424 and SF-424A). Additional cost detail may be required prior to a final analysis of overall cost allowability, allocability, and reasonableness. The budget table should detail the federal Section 309 funds required for each task by budget category as described below:

Budget Category Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Total

Personnel

Fringe

Travel

Subcontract

Indirect

Supplies

Equipment

Other

Total

Please Note the following:

-The budget narrative must itemize and describe the intended use of equipment greater than $5,000 unit cost in value purchased under the award. (Applications selected for funding will be required to conduct a lease vs. purchase analysis for all equipment purchased under this award.)

-The budget may include an amount for indirect costs only if the applicant has an established indirect cost rate with the Federal government.

-Funds for salaries and fringe benefits may be requested only for those personnel who are directly involved in implementing the proposed project and whose salaries and fringe benefits are directly related to specific products or outcomes of the proposed project. NOAA strongly encourages applicants to request reasonable amounts of funding for salaries and fringe benefits to ensure that your proposal is competitive.

-NOAA requires budget category details (Personnel, Fringe, Travel, Subcontract, Indirect, Supplies, Equipment, and Other) for each sub-award or sub-contract proposed under this award. These subaward/subcontract budget details may be included within the appendices, and would not count towards the application’s 10 page limit. If the applicant does not have adequate subaward/subcontract budget detail within the original application, NOAA will require this information once the project is recommended for funding.

- PSM funds may not be used to contract with NOAA for products or services. NOAA also cannot 'retain' PSM funds; all PSM funds must be awarded to the state.

10. APPENDICES

Only material that is submitted as a single package will be reviewed. Appendices must be limited to materials that directly support the main body of the proposal (for example, detailed budget information, letters of collaboration, resumes, references, lists of data sources, and maps).

a. Mandatory detailed budget information for each sub-award and contract.

Information must include the name and location (city, state, and Congressional district) of the entity receiving the funds and the location of the primary place of performance under the contract or subaward.

b. Letters of Collaboration. All supporting letters from partner organizations that are instrumental to the project shall be included in the application package. Letters must clearly indicate the level of commitment and/or collaboration. Letters of collaboration do not need original signatures.

c. Resumes. Provide resumes of the Principal Investigator for the project and other key personnel critical to the success of the project. Ensure that resumes address qualifications relevant to conducting the proposed work. Please limit resumes to a maximum of two pages of each key investigator.

d. Data Sharing Plan. Environmental data and information, collected and/or created under NOAA grants/cooperative agreements must be made visible, accessible, and independently understandable to general users, free of charge or at minimal cost, in a timely manner (typically no later than two years after the data are collected or created), except where limited by law, regulation, policy or by security requirements.

1. A Data/Information Sharing Plan of no more than two pages shall be required as an

Appendix. A typical plan may include the types of environmental data and information to be created during the course of the project; the tentative date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; policies addressing data stewardship and preservation; procedures for providing access, data, and security; and prior experience in publishing such data. The Data/Information Sharing Plan will be reviewed as part of the NOAA Standard Evaluation Criteria, Item 1 -- Importance and/or Relevance and

Applicability of Proposed Project to the Mission Goals.

2. The Data/Information Sharing Plan (and any subsequent revisions or updates) will be made publicly available at time of award and, thereafter, will be posted with the published data.

3. Failing to share environmental data and information in accordance with the submitted Data/Information Sharing Plan may lead to disallowed costs and be considered by

NOAA when making future award decisions.

PIs must indicate how and when they have made their data accessible and usable by the community in the past.

NOAA's Administrative Order on the Management of Environmental Data Management and Information is available under:

http://www.corporateservices.noaa.gov/ames/administrative_orders/chapter_212/212-

15.html

e. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Environmental Compliance-- Under

NEPA, NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts of projects or proposals seeking funding from NOAA.

The applicants selected for funding must complete sections A, B, C, and D of the

Environmental Compliance Questionnaire for National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration Federal Financial Assistance Applicants (OMB Approval No.: 0648-0538) http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/questionnaire.pdf 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).Sections E, F, G, and H are not required with the initial application because this competition focuses on program policy changes, and on-the-ground construction projects are not eligible for funding through this competition. Therefore NOAA anticipates that most projects funded through this competition would not require permits or have impacts related to damage assessment and restoration or fisheries sampling and analysis.

After the application is submitted, NOAA may require additional information to fulfill

NEPA and other compliance requirements. If NOAA determines that an environmental assessment is required, applicants may also be requested to assist in drafting the assessment.

Applicants may 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. In some cases if additional information is required after an application is selected, funds can be withheld by the Grants Officer under a special award condition requiring the recipient to submit additional environmental compliance information sufficient to enable NOAA to make an assessment on any impacts that a project may have on the environment.

Detailed information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the following

NOAA NEPA website: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/ including NOAA Administrative Order

216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6.pdf and the Council on

Environmental Quality implementation regulations http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/ceq_regulations/regulations.html or http://www.csc.noaa.gov/funding/_pdf/CEQ%20Regulations%20for%20Implementing%20t he%20Procedural%20Provisions%20of%20NEPA.pdf

f. Paperwork Reduction Act -- This collection of information contains requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of Forms SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, and

SF-LLL and CD-346 has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control numbers 0348-0040, 0348-0044, 0348-0043, 0348-0046 and 0605-0001. The

NEPA Questionnaire is approved by OMB control number: 0648-0538.

This collection is further approved by OMB under control number 0648-0119.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number.

C. Submission Dates and Times

Full proposals must be received and validated by Grants.gov, postmarked, or provided to a delivery service on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, December 11, 2014.

Please note: Validation or rejection of your application by Grants.gov may take up to two business days after submission. Please consider this process in developing your submission timeline. Applications received after the deadline will be rejected/returned to the sender without further consideration. Use of U.S. mail or another delivery service must be documented with a receipt. No facsimile or electronic mail applications will be accepted.

D. Intergovernmental Review

Funding applications are subject to Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. It is the state agency's responsibility to contact their state's Single Point of Contact (SPCO) to find out about and comply with the state's process under EO 12372. To assist the applicant, names and addresses of the SPOCs are listed on the Office of

Management and Budget's website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc/.

E. Funding Restrictions

Awards will contain special award conditions that recipients must meet as a term of accepting the grant. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, they do so at their own risk of these costs not being included under the award. In no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation or other project costs if this program fails to receive funding or is cancelled because of other agency priorities.

Funds awarded cannot necessarily pay for all the costs that the recipient might incur in the course of carrying out the project. Allowable costs are limited to costs necessary and reasonable to achieve the approved goals and objectives and are determined by reference to relevant Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements. Please note that by

December 26, 2014, DOC anticipates adopting the OMB Uniform Administrative

Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (OMB Uniform

Requirements), which is codified at 2 C.F.R. Part 200. The OMB Uniform Guidance supersedes and streamlines requirements from previous OMB circulars, including OMB

Circulars A-122, "Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations"; A-21, "Cost Principles for

Education Institutions"; and A-87, "Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal

Governments." Generally, costs that are allowable include salaries, equipment, supplies, and training, as long as these are "necessary and reasonable."

Applicants requesting indirect costs are required to submit a copy of their current and signed indirect cost rate agreement with their application package.

If an award recipient has not previously established an indirect cost rate with a Federal agency, the negotiation and approval of a rate is subject to the procedures required by

NOAA and the Department of Commerce. The U.S. Department of Commerce, Financial

Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions require that recipients within 90 days of the award start date, submit to the address listed below documentation (indirect cost proposal, cost allocation plan, etc.) necessary to perform the review.

Lamar Revis, Grants Officer

NOAA Grants Management Division

1325 East West Highway

9th Floor

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

F. Other Submission Requirements

The standard NOAA funding application package is available at www.grants.gov

(Grants.gov) and application packages, including all letters of collaboration, shall be submitted through the apply function on Grants.gov. Applicants must register with

Grants.gov before any application materials can be submitted. To use Grants.gov, applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). Allow a minimum of five days to complete the CCR registration. (Note: Your organization's Employer Identification Number

(EIN) will be needed on the application form.). An organization's one time registration process may take up to three weeks to complete so allow sufficient time to ensure applications are submitted before the closing date. The Grants.gov site contains the application package (forms) and submission directions, and is also where the completed application is submitted.

The Grants.gov site contains directions for submitting an application, the application package (forms), and is also where the completed application is submitted. Applicants using

Grants.gov must locate the downloadable application package for this solicitation by the

Funding Opportunity Number or the CFDA number (11.419 ). Applicants will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit the application via the Grants.gov site.

After electronic submission of the application through Grants.gov, the person submitting the application will receive within the next 24 to 48 hours two email messages from

Grants.gov updating them on the progress of their application. The first email will confirm receipt of the application by the Grants.gov system, and the second will indicate that the application has either been successfully validated by the system before transmission to the grantor agency or has been rejected because of errors. After the application has been validated, this same person will receive a third email when the application has been downloaded by the Federal agency.

If an applicant does not have Internet access, one set of originals (signed) and an electronic copy (on CD or DVD) of the proposals and related forms shall be mailed to the attention of Elizabeth Mountz, Office for Coastal Management, NOAA National Ocean

Service, 1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

No email or fax copies will be accepted. Proposal application packages, including all letters of collaborations and any letters of support, shall be submitted together in one package.

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

a. Importance and relevance of proposed project to the objective of the competition (45 percent).

This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, or State activities. Each application will be judged on the importance of the project to the management of coastal issues in the applicant's State or region and how the CMP will benefit from the project. Applications will be evaluated on the following:

- Likelihood that the proposed project would help the State make substantial progress toward achieving the program change(s) of its approved Section 309 enhancement area strategy(ies) for one or more national priority enhancement area objectives (i.e., wetlands, hazards, cumulative and secondary impacts, and ocean and Great Lakes resources (including planning for offshore energy uses) as described in the project proposal. (15 points)

- Likelihood that the proposed project would result in improved management of ocean and coastal resources and uses and provide public benefit in one or more national priority enhancement area objectives. (15 points)

- Transferability of project results to solve coastal management issues in other states.

(15 points)

b. Technical/scientific merit (30 percent).

This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically sound, if the methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals, objectives, and outcomes.

Applications will be evaluated on the following:

- Extent to which the project proposal includes clear goals, objectives, outcomes and timetables. (10 points)

- Extent to which the proposed approach is technically sound (i.e., the proposed methods, approaches, and concepts are appropriate given the projects goals, objectives, and desired outcomes) and innovative (10 points)

- Degree to which the proposal identifies the State's technical needs and explains how the proposed project will help meet those needs. (5 points)

- Degree to which there is a meaningful evaluative component to the project to assess the overall success of the project and effectiveness of project outcomes. (5 points)

- c. Overall qualifications of applicants (10 percent).

This criterion ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary program capacity to accomplish the project. Applications will be evaluated based on the following:

- Overall qualification of the applicant and past performance. (5 points)

- Extent to which PSM funding provides essential technical support for the State's ability in the long-term to address an identified critical need or gap. (5 points)

d. Project costs (5 percent).

This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time-frame. Applications will be evaluated on the following:

- The reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget for the level of work proposed and with the expected benefits to be achieved. (5 points)

e. Outreach and education (10 percent).

This criterion assesses whether the project provides a focused and effective outreach and education strategy regarding NOAA's mission to protect the Nation's natural resources.

Applications will be evaluated on the following:

- The quality of proposed partnerships, including the degree of participation within the network of coastal states, organizations, Local, State, and Federal agencies, etc., and demonstration of partnering that results in training, outreach, and/or education. (5 points)

- Quality of proposed education and outreach activities to ensure public, other state coastal management programs, and relevant stakeholders are aware of and can benefit from project results. (5 points)

B. Review and Selection Process

Screening, review, and selection procedures will take place in three steps: 1) an initial screening by competition program staff within NOAA's Office for Coastal Management; 2) a merit review; and 3) final selection by the Selecting Official (i.e., Director of the Office for

Coastal Management or the Director's designee). The merit review step will involve at least three reviewers per application. The Selecting Official will make the final decision regarding which applications will be funded based on the numerical ranking of the applications, the evaluations by the merit reviewers, and the selection factors set in V.C., below.

1. Initial Screening. The initial screening will ensure that application packages have all required forms and application elements and meet all of the eligibility criteria. Applications that pass this initial screening will be submitted for merit review.

2. Merit Review. Eligible applications for PSM will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria and weights described in this solicitation by at least three independent peer reviewers through an independent peer mail review and/or an independent peer panel. Each reviewer will independently evaluate each project and provide an individual score. Both Federal and non-Federal experts may be used in this process. No consensus advice will be given by the independent peer reviewers through mail reviews or on the review panels. If a panel is convened, the panel will be comprised of subject matter experts and may convene in person or by teleconference, video conference or electron electronic means. The merit reviewer's ratings are used to produce a rank order of the proposals.

3. Final Selection. The competition program staff will create a ranking of the proposals to be recommended for funding using the average merit review or panel review scores, if a panel review is conducted. The reviewer comments, composite project scores, rank order, and a summary of the concerns (if any) identified through the mail and/or panel review process along with information pertaining to selection factors (see below) will be presented to the Selecting Official.

Based on the numerical ranking, merit review written evaluations, and the additional selection factors described below, the Selecting Official will develop a list of projects recommended for funding. Please note that not all activities submitted under a single proposal may be deemed appropriate for funding, and the Selecting Official may recommend alternate activities as appropriate or only partial funding, based on the selection factors and the merit and/or panel review written evaluations. For a proposal to be selected for funding, the applicant may be asked to modify objectives, work plans, and budgets, and to provide supplemental information required by the agency prior to the award. When a decision has been made (whether an award or declination), anonymous copies of mail merit review comments or summaries of panel deliberations, can be made available to the applicant upon request.

C. Selection Factors

The Selecting Official shall award 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. Availability of funding.

2. 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. Whether this project duplicates other projects funded or considered for funding by

NOAA or other Federal agencies.

4. Program priorities and policy factors as described in section 1 of this federal funding opportunity.

5. Applicant's prior award performance.

6. Partnerships and/or Participation of targeted groups.

7. Adequacy of information necessary for NOAA staff to make a NEPA determination and draft necessary documentation before recommendations for funding are made to the

Grants Officer.

The Selecting Official or designee may negotiate the funding level of the proposal.

D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

The review of applications will begin in December 2014. All PSM awards will have an

October 1, 2015, start date regardless of the start date for a State's annual CMP award.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

Applications recommended for funding by the Selecting Official will be forwarded to the NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD) by the Program Office. The applicant will be notified by the program office by e-mail that their application was recommended for funding. The applicant must be aware that the notification by the program office is NOT the official award notice. Official notification happens only when the applicant receives an award notice from the Grants Officer.

Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email that their application was not recommended for funding within 10 business days after the final program office recommendations have been approved by the NOAA GMD.

To enable the use of a universal identifier and to enhance the quality of information available to the public as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency

Act of 2006, to the extent applicable, any applicant awarded in response to this announcement will be required to use the System for Award Management (SAM), which may be accessed online at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

Applicants are also required to use the Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System and will be subject to reporting requirements, as identified in OMB guidance published at 2

C.F.R. Part 25, which may be accessed online at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr25_main_02.tpl.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

1. The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and

Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register notice of December 17, 2012 (77

FR 74634) are applicable to this solicitation and may be accessed online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-12-17/pdf/2012-30228.pdf#page=1.

2. Please note that on December 26, 2013, OMB published final guidance titled Uniform

Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements (OMB Uniform

Guidance) (https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/26/2013-30465/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit-requirements-for-federal-awards), which streamlines the language from eight existing OMB circulars, including Cost Principles

(OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A 122) and administrative requirements (OMB Circulars A 102 and A 110), into one consolidated set of guidance applicable to federal assistance awards.

Once adopted, the OMB Uniform Guidance will supersede DOC’s uniform administrative requirements set out at 15 C.F.R. parts 14 and 24. The DOC expects to adopt the OMB

Uniform Guidance by December 26, 2014, meaning that the OMB Uniform Guidance will apply to all new awards and to additional funding to existing awards made after December

26, 2014. In addition, the audit requirements of the OMB Uniform Guidance will apply to audits of non-Federal entities beginning on or after December 26, 2014. Therefore, applicants should familiarize themselves with the OMB Uniform Guidance. Additional information on the substance of and transition to the OMB Uniform Guidance may be found at https://cfo.gov/cofar/.

3. Limitation of Liability

There is no guarantee that funds will be available to make awards 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, they do so at their own risk of these costs not being included in a subsequent award. In no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible for any proposal preparation costs. Recipients and sub-recipients are subject to all federal laws and agency policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to federal financial assistance awards.

Applicants must be in good standing with all existing NOAA grants and/or cooperative funding agreements in order to receive funds. Publication of this announcement does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project, obligate any available funds, or provide special fishing privileges.

The NOAA program office reserves the right to immediately halt activity under the award if the recipient is not fulfilling the requirements of the project as outlined in the grant award. Non-compliance with a federally approved project may result in termination of the award.

4. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). See the NEPA information in Section

IV. B, of this announcement.

5. Unpaid or delinquent tax liability.

In accordance with current Federal appropriations law, NOAA will provide a successful corporate applicant a form to be completed by its authorized representatives certifying that the corporation has no Federally-assessed unpaid or delinquent tax liability or recent felony criminal convictions under any Federal law.

6. Coastal Zone Enhancement Program Requirements

The project must meet the CZMA Section 309 Program Guidance FY 2011-2015 published in July 2009. The Guidance may be accessed online at http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/backmatter/guidance.html.

C. Reporting

Grant recipients are required to provide semi-annual financial and performance reports.

Performance reports are required every six months from the time an award starts until it is closed. Performance reports are to be submitted to the NOAA program officer. The standard performance period is 18 months, but may be extended an additional 18 months if circumstances warrant. Within 30 days of the conclusion of each six-month period, recipients must submit a report summarizing activities conducted in support of the project during the prior six months. Financial reports are to be submitted to the NOAA Grants

Officer. NOAA's Grants Management Division will also provide guidance for its semi-annual financial reporting requirements. Each grant recipient will need to demonstrate, through performance and financial reports, that all award conditions have been met before an award can be closed. Financial and performance reporting, as well as all other grant management activities after a grant is awarded, are conducted electronically through

NOAA's grants management system, NOAA Grants On-line, at:

https://grantsonline.rdc.noaa.gov/.

The recipient will be requested to ensure that all interim progress reports indicate whether financial reports have been submitted to NOAA's GMD and are up to date. In their final progress report, recipients will be asked to a) clearly state the resulting impact of their project and products in the coastal management community; and b) certify that "Final financial reports have been submitted to NOAA's Grants Management Division and a final funding draw-down has been made through the Automated Standard Application for

Payments (ASAP)."

If equipment or tangible personal property is purchased with grant funds, applicants shall submit an inventory in accordance with relevant OMB requirements, which shall be incorporated under the award. As noted above, DOC anticipates adopting the OMB Uniform

Guidance, which is codified at 2 C.F.R. Part 200. The equipment requirements of the OMB

Uniform Guidance are set out at 2 C.F.R. § 200.313. As applicable, the recipient must submit Form SF-428 (Tangible Personal Property Report) annually and in the final progress report. Form SF-428 may be attached as an appendix to progress reports. The program office recommends that if the equipment is no longer needed, recipients are encouraged to request disposition instructions for equipment approximately 150 days before the project period ends to allow sufficient time to have equipment disposition requests addressed before a project ends. Equipment disposition instructions typically require that recipients complete an "other" award action request in Grants Online. NOAA will provide instructions for disposition in accordance with OMB requirements.

As applicable, the recipient must report on real property annually and at award closeout, by completing Form SF-429 (Real Property Status Report).

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 includes a requirement for awardees of applicable Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY 2011 or later. All awardees of applicable grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.FSRS.gov on all subawards over $25,000

VII. Agency Contacts

Elizabeth Mountz

Office for Coastal Management

NOAA Ocean Service

1305 East West Highway

Silver Spring, MD 20910

301-713-3155 ext. 148

Elizabeth.Mountz@noaa.gov

VIII. Other Information

The Office for Coastal Management will not release the names of applicants submitting proposals unless ordered by a court or requested to do so by an appropriate

NOAA official and administrative protocol. Applicants can use a NOAA public search feature to find out information about NOAA awards < https://grantsonline.rdc.noaa.gov/flows/publicSearch/begin.do > or go through the Freedom of Information Act process to request more information about grant competitions. More information about the NOAA FOIA process is online at the following address:

http://www.noaa.gov/foia/.

Department of Commerce regulations implementing FOIA are found at 15 C.F.R. Part 4, Public Information. These regulations set forth rules for the Department regarding making requested materials, information, and records publicly available under the FOIA.

Applications submitted in response to this FFO may be subject to requests for release under the Act. In the event that an application contains information or data that the applicant deems to be confidential commercial information which is exempt from disclosure under FOIA, that information should be identified, bracketed, and marked as Privileged, Confidential, Commercial or Financial Information. Based on these markings, the confidentiality of the contents of those pages will be protected to the extent permitted by law.