NOAA-NOS-ORR-2019-2005817 Full Announcement.pdf

FY2019 Marine Debris Research

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 3

A. Program Objective 3 B. Program Priorities 4 C. Program Authority 10

II. Award Information 10 A. Funding Availability 10 B. Project/Award Period 11 C. Type of Funding Instrument 11

III. Eligibility Information 12 A. Eligible Applicants 12 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 12 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 14

IV. Application and Submission Information 14 A. Address to Request Application Package 15 B. Content and Form of Application 15 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 22 D. Submission Dates and Times 23 E. Intergovernmental Review 23 F. Funding Restrictions 23 G. Other Submission Requirements 24

V. Application Review Information 25 A. Evaluation Criteria 25 B. Review and Selection Process 28 C. Selection Factors 30 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 31

VI. Award Administration Information 32 A. Award Notices 32 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 32 C. Reporting 36

VII. Agency Contacts 37 VIII. Other Information 37

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 1 of 37

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: FY2019 Marine Debris Research

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-ORR-2019-2005817

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.999, Marine Debris Program

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, December 14, 2018. Applications may be mailed, but applications not adhering to postmark or submission deadlines may be rejected without further consideration.

Funding Opportunity Description: The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), authorized in the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1951-1958), provides funding to support eligible organizations to conduct research directly related to marine debris through field, laboratory, and modeling experiments. The MDP invites applications for research funding in any of three areas of focus:

research that explores the ecological risk associated with marine debris and determines debris exposure levels; research that examines the fate and transport of marine debris; and/or research that quantifies habitat impacts resulting from marine debris and the gains in ecosystem services that result when debris is removed. Projects may address one or more of these research priorities and should be original, hypothesis-driven projects that have not previously been addressed to scientific standards. Successful proposals through this solicitation will be funded through cooperative agreements. Funding of up to $1,500,000 is expected to be available for Marine Debris Research grants in Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19). Typical awards will range from $150,000 - $250,000. Funding for this grant competition comes through the NOAA Marine Debris Program as appropriations to the Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service.

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

Marine debris is defined as "any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes" (15 C.F.R. § 909.1). Marine debris can include land-based solid waste items such as plastic bags, cigarette butts, foam take-out containers, or balloons, as well as ocean-based items such as derelict fishing gear and abandoned vessels. Marine debris is primarily the result of human actions such as ineffective or improper waste management, dumping and littering, or storm water runoff.

Fishing gear may be lost from storms or accidents and become marine debris. There are many adverse impacts from marine debris, including wildlife injury and death from entanglement or ingestion, exposure to toxic chemicals which attach to or are in plastics, habitat destruction, vessel damage, and economic loss to tourism, fisheries and maritime activities.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), a division of the Office of Response and Restoration, leads national efforts to address marine debris. The mission of the NOAA MDP is to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris. A principal objective of the NOAA MDP in carrying out this mission is to provide financial and technical assistance to organizations with the expertise to successfully develop and execute marine debris research projects that will improve our understanding of marine debris impacts. This includes the ecological risks associated with marine debris including levels of exposure to debris; the fate and transport of marine debris in nearshore, coastal environments; and the impacts of marine debris on coastal and marine habitats.

A second objective of the NOAA MDP is to promote scientific application of marine debris research results through collaboration with diverse entities and groups. These include partnerships with public and nonprofit organizations, citizen and watershed groups, anglers, boaters, industry (e.g. commercial and recreational fishing industries, aquaculture industry, fishing gear manufacturers, other marine industries, and plastic and waste management industries), corporations and businesses, youth groups, students, landowners, academics, and local and state government agencies. For this solicitation, consideration of local and state government resource management objectives with respect to marine debris issues is encouraged as is the communication and dissemination of research findings to relevant management agencies.

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The priorities for this opportunity described below support NOAA’s Mission to protect, restore, and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through ecosystem-based management. This opportunity supports the NOAA commitment to conduct science that benefits living marine resources and navigation safety, as well as NOAA’s mission to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs.

The priorities of this opportunity also address the 2016-2020 MDP Strategic Plan research goal of identifying, analyzing, and increasing our understanding of the environmental and societal impacts of marine debris by assessing impacts and risks to targeted species and sectors, as well as assessing and promoting management and restoration options to reduce the impacts of marine debris.

B. Program Priorities

The overarching goal of this funding opportunity is to advance the state of marine debris science by funding hypothesis-driven research projects in order to enhance resource management objectives. This goal will be achieved through rigorous, scientific inquiry of three research priorities, which are described in further detail in the following pages.

Program priorities (in no preferential order) for this competition are for research that:

- conducts an ecological risk assessment or uses a risk assessment framework to evaluate the likelihood that adverse ecological effects may occur or are occurring to a managed/regulated recreational, commercial, or aquaculture fishery species population as a result of exposure to marine debris. This can include research that estimates exposure of a managed/regulated recreational, commercial, or aquaculture fishery species to a specific type of marine debris and quantifies subsequent biological impacts to the target species;

- investigates the fate and transport of marine debris, including the vertical transport of debris from surface waters, throughout the water column, to benthic sediments; and

- quantifies impacts from marine debris to intertidal and nearshore habitats and the gains in ecosystem services when debris is removed from sensitive habitats.

Proposed projects may address one or more of these research priorities, but applicants should keep in mind the need for the project to answer discrete, well-defined and articulated research questions about the proposal’s chosen priority area(s). Successful applicants will be those with clearly defined goals, well-articulated research questions and hypotheses, relevant and established methods to fulfill hypothesis-testing requirements including necessary

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 4 of 37 statistical analyses, and thorough data analysis, including assessment of results in relation to the current scientific literature and broader impacts. All proposals should provide a rationale for the target species, debris type, habitat of interest, and/or geographic region of interest.

Proposals are encouraged to involve collaboration among research sectors (e.g., academia, non-governmental organizations, and industry).

The following sections describe the research priorities for this grant competition in more detail. Note that all priorities will be considered equally, and all proposed research projects will be evaluated based on the criteria outlined in Section V.A.

PRIORITIES

1. ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT:

Impacts from marine debris have been demonstrated across levels of biological organization from suborganismal levels (e.g., cellular) to the organism and on up to ecological levels (e.g., population or assemblage). At suborganismal levels, plastic is the most common form of debris causing demonstrated impacts. A number of studies have documented the presence of microplastics in finfish and shellfish made available for human consumption (i.e., sold in markets). Ingested microplastics have been reported to inhibit reproductive capacities in oysters with the potential for impacts at the population level. In addition, plastic particles ingested by fish have been shown to accumulate in the brain and are believed to be linked to observed behavioral changes (i.e., eat slower) that could lead to population-level impacts as well.

At higher levels of biological organization (e.g., organismal) derelict fishing gear is the most common form of debris causing demonstrated impacts. Recent research indicates that large numbers of individuals of a target species can be removed annually from a population as a result of derelict fishing gear confinement and that these removals have a substantial economic impact. However, the extent to which these demonstrated impacts scale up to the ecological level (i.e., population) is largely unknown.

The ability to prioritize the potential ecological risks of marine debris to species that are managed for the purposes of human consumption and focus on the risks presumed to be of greatest magnitude requires sound assessments of risk and exposure. This priority calls for research that performs an ecological risk assessment or utilizes a risk assessment framework to evaluate the likelihood that adverse ecological effects may occur or are occurring to a managed/regulated recreational, commercial, or aquaculture fishery species population as a result of known exposure to marine debris. Risk assessment proposals should consider the

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 5 of 37 following:

a. Ecological risk may be expressed quantitatively through probabilistic estimates of both the exposure elements (e.g., debris concentration) and adverse effect (e.g., confinement, entanglement, ingestion). The likelihood of adverse effects may also be expressed through semi- quantitative or qualitative comparison of exposure and effects.

b. While all species will be considered, this opportunity places special emphasis on freshwater, estuarine, or marine populations that serve as a seafood resource and are managed as part of an established commercial, recreational, or aquaculture fishery in the U.S. or its territories. Proposals that emphasize these species are higher priorities for this competition. Projects should be focused at a regional (e.g. statewide coastal zone) or local scale (i.e., small embayment).

c. While all types of marine debris will be considered, proposals that estimate the risk of confinement or entanglement of a target species (or managed bycatch species) in its respective derelict gear as well as the risk associated with microplastic ingestion are higher priorities for this competition.

d. The proposal must include a working conceptual model that describes and illustrates the relationships among marine debris, exposure, and ecologically relevant endpoints including assessment endpoints and measurement endpoints (when appropriate). The conceptual model should describe how the marine debris type in question might affect the species at higher levels of biological organization (e.g., population).

e. Risk assessment relies on estimates of exposure; thus, exposure analyses describing how individuals/populations come in contact with debris, including quantification of the amount of contact across space and time (e.g., magnitude, frequency, duration of exposure) will also be considered. The analyses may also describe exposure sources, pathways, routes, and uncertainties in the analyses. Lab experiments will be considered but should examine environmentally relevant concentrations of marine debris for the target species as determined through environmental sampling or published data. A sufficient number of debris concentrations (exposure levels) should be evaluated in order to generate an exposure-response curve as a means of determining threshold levels of exposure. As an example, the relationship between environmental debris concentrations (external exposure) and fraction ingested (internal exposure) followed by the relationship between amount ingested (exposure) and biological impacts (response). Corresponding effects should be documented at each exposure level.

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f. Applicants should work closely with local resource managers to ensure that the assessment population of interest reflects management goals. Proposals that make this link will score higher in evaluation. The assessment population of interest must be clearly and explicitly defined. For example, risk may be evaluated for individuals of a species, the general population, certain life stages (e.g., juveniles or adults), or population subgroups that are recognized as highly susceptible and/or highly exposed to marine debris. However, proposals that focus on populations or population subgroups are higher priorities for this competition. Letters of support from management agencies are helpful in demonstrating support for the project.

g. Applicants should work closely with local resource managers to clearly articulate population or subpopulation assessment endpoint(s) of interest with respect to the assessment population (i.e., attribute of the assessment population to be protected) that are ecologically relevant, reflect policy/management goals and societal values, and will lead to informed decision making. For individual organisms within the target species population, overall health is an example of an assessment endpoint. Extirpation, abundance, or yield/production are examples of assessment endpoints at the population-level.

h. Applicants should also work closely with local resource managers to develop and clearly articulate relevant measurement endpoints (i.e., measurable biological effects of exposure to marine debris that relate to or are predictive of the assessment endpoint).

Mortality, growth, and fecundity are examples of measurement endpoints for individual organisms. At the population-level, occurrence, numbers/density, or reproductive performance are examples of measurement endpoints.

i. Use of existing data sets is encouraged to the extent possible and practicable. Please note that NOAA MDP does NOT have data available for researchers to use in a risk assessment. Proposals should describe the data sets likely to be used in the risk assessment, including whether those data already exist or require collection. If data are not available for a critical component of the risk assessment, gap filling experiments and field or modeling studies are acceptable and highly encouraged.

2. FATE AND TRANSPORT:

Global estimates of the distribution and abundance of marine plastic debris on the ocean surface account for only 1% of the of the mismanaged plastic waste believed to enter the ocean annually. Although the water’s surface is only one oceanic compartment where marine debris resides (i.e., water column, seafloor, sea ice, biota), the orders of magnitude difference between surface estimates and inputs from land indicate a fundamental gap in our knowledge

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 7 of 37 of the fate and transport of marine debris across these compartments and the global mass inventory of marine debris at large. Further complicating the issue is a lack of understanding regarding how the physical properties of various types of marine debris affect its fate and transport, a result of variable fragmentation and degradation processes.

Understanding the pathways and transformations of marine debris among oceanic compartments is essential to assessing exposure and hence determining risks and impacts to marine ecosystems, including managed species. This priority calls for research that will advance our understanding of the transport of marine debris within and among oceanic compartments as a result of oceanographic processes and the variable processes of degradation, fragmentation, biofouling and bioaggregation among debris types. Fate and transport proposals should consider the following:

a. Research may focus on a general (e.g., plastic particles) or a specific (e.g., plastic beverage bottles, fishing nets) debris type with justification for the selection.

b. Research may include (but is not limited to) field, lab, and/or modeling studies on:

i. remobilization dynamics of shoreline-stranded debris;

ii. turbulent mixing of buoyant debris;

iii. export rates from nearshore environments to open ocean/Great Lake;

iv. effects of biofouling/bioaggregation on particle density sinking rates; and

v. effects of ocean or Great Lake circulation patterns on debris dispersion and accumulation.

c. Although studies of fate and transport of marine debris at a global scale will be considered, due to the dynamic nature of coastal environments, priority will be given to those studies with a regional (i.e., statewide coastal zone) or local (i.e., small embayment) focus. Applications should provide justification of the locality selection.

d. Priority will be given to those projects that link the proposed work to a specific management plan or management objective (e.g., waste reduction or trash capture), or if collaboration with local policy makers is pursued. Letters of support from management agencies are helpful in demonstrating these linkages and overall support for the project.

3. HABITAT IMPACTS:

The accumulation of marine debris can alter and degrade marine and coastal habitats through physical damage caused by abrasion, shearing, or smothering, and can change the physical and chemical composition of sediments. Thus, marine debris can impair critical nursery, Federal Funding Opportunity Page 8 of 37 refuge, and forage habitat for many marine fauna. Changes in marine and coastal habitats can alter complex ecosystems and ultimately affect provision of ecosystem services afforded by these habitat elements. Damage to many habitat-forming foundation species by marine debris has not yet been fully characterized. Knowledge of the habitat impacts of marine debris and the benefit to the environment following removal can help inform resource managers in directing limited restoration funds to projects that produce the greatest gains in ecosystem services. Habitat impact proposals should consider the following:

a. Research should focus on quantifying the extent of damage to habitat (i.e., area impacted, number of individuals impacted, mortality of individuals) from marine debris, estimating ecosystem service impairment as a result of the damage, monitoring recovery of habitat upon removal of debris, and valuation of ecosystem services gained through recovery. This opportunity places special emphasis on regional field studies. Lab/mesocosm experiments will be considered but should examine environmentally relevant concentrations and types of marine debris.

b. While all habitat types will be considered, priority will be given to benthic, nearshore, and intertidal foundation species (i.e., mangroves, salt marsh, freshwater wetland, seagrass, bivalve reefs, coral reefs, kelp forests) and therefore proposals that focus on these habitats will score higher in evaluation.

c. Special emphasis will be placed on physical impacts to habitat from derelict fishing gear or abandoned/derelict vessels. Ingestion or adhesion of microplastics will also be considered but quantification of impacts should focus on higher levels of biological organization (i.e., species, population).

d. Priority will be given to those projects that link the proposed work to a specific regional/local management plan or management objective, or if collaboration with local policy makers or industry is pursued. Letters of support from management agencies are helpful in demonstrating support for the project.

Projects with a primary emphasis on the development of methodologies for sampling marine debris in the environment are not a focus of this grant competition and will receive lower priority. Projects that solely characterize the distribution of marine debris in the environment are not a focus of this grant competition and will receive lower priority. Because funding is limited, proposals requesting support for large equipment purchases, to expand an organization's day-to-day administrative or program management activities or to support strictly administration, salaries, overhead, and travel without being part of a specific project

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 9 of 37 will be a low priority. If a project requires funding for large equipment purchases, the application should provide a lease versus purchase justification, identify how the overall project will continue into the future and how any equipment operation and maintenance costs will be paid for beyond the award period. Projects that are duplicative of those that the NOAA MDP currently supports or those that have been funded by NOAA, partner organizations, and/or other federal agencies may not receive priority

Applicants should also note that the following activities, in general, will not be considered for use of federal dollars under project awards: (1) activities that constitute legally required mitigation for the adverse effects of an activity regulated or otherwise governed by local, state, or federal law; (2) activities that constitute restoration for natural resource damages under federal, state, or local law; and (3) activities that are required by a separate consent decree, court order, statute, or regulation.

Applications addressing other types of pollution not fitting the definition of marine debris provided in Section I.A. are not priorities for this solicitation and may not be considered.

The NOAA MDP encourages projects implementing activities that fit into any existing national or regional programs, priorities or strategic plans to address marine debris (e.g.

National Estuary Program or NOAA Habitat Focus Area sites, the Great Lakes Land-based Marine Debris Action Plan, the Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan, the Hawai’i Marine Debris Action Plan, the Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan, the Florida Marine Debris Reduction Guidance Plan, the California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy, etc.) and describe how they do so.

C. Program Authority

Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1951-1958).

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Funding of up to $1,500,000 is expected to be available for this grant solicitation. The actual funding amount available is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations. The NOAA MDP does not plan to fund proposals with a budget less than $75,000 or more than $350,000 under this solicitation. Typical project awards range from $150,000 to $350,000.

The NOAA MDP anticipates that between 2 and 5 awards will be made under this

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 10 of 37 solicitation. The exact amount of funds to be awarded and the number of awards made will be at the discretion of NOAA following pre-award negotiations with highly meritorious applicants. NOAA may request that a highly ranked applicant submitting more than one meritorious proposal combine all or parts of its proposals into one award. Publication of this opportunity does not obligate NOAA to award any specific project or obligate all or any part of available program funds. Awards may include funding from other programs or agencies.

There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to make awards for any or all proposals. The number of awards to be made under this solicitation will depend on the number of eligible applications received, the amount of funding requested by recommended applicants, the merit and ranking of the proposals, and the amount of funds made available to the NOAA MDP by Congress.

B. Project/Award Period

Applications should cover a project period of performance of two years in duration. The earliest anticipated start date for awards will be August 1, 2019. Applicants should consider this date when developing plans for initiating proposed project activities. Applicants selected to receive funding may be asked to modify the project start date to accommodate any delays in federal appropriations. The project start date should always fall on the first day of any given month and the project end date should always end on the last day of any given month.

Applications for renewal or supplementation of previously-awarded NOAA MDP projects are allowed, however any proposal to continue work on an existing project must submit a full application as described in this announcement and will be subject to the competitive process and will not receive preferential treatment. In some cases NOAA may fund a project with incremental funding, usually in the form of a multi-year award. If incremental or multi-year funding is awarded, in which NOAA only obligates funds initially for the first phase of a project, NOAA has no obligation to provide any additional prospective funding in connection with that award in subsequent time periods; additional funding is contingent upon satisfactory performance, continued relevance to program mission and priorities, and the availability of funds.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Selected applications will be funded through cooperative agreements since NOAA staff will be substantially involved in aspects of the project. Substantial involvement may include, but is not limited to, activities such as engagement with recipient on environmental compliance requirements, hands-on technical collaboration or permitting assistance, support in developing and/or reviewing study approach, methodologies and conceptual models, tracking project progress through site visits, regular conference calls, and progress report evaluation and milestone approval, developing performance measures to assess project outcomes, reviewing manuscript drafts (if any), and support in developing and disseminating

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 11 of 37 public-facing communication materials or events to highlight marine debris research activities.

Marine debris research activities funded through this competition may have long-term planning goals and objectives common to the programmatic needs of both NOAA and the recipients. As such, NOAA may seek to maintain a long-term partnership with recipients by establishing cooperative agreements in relevant situations as "institutional awards". If a cooperative agreement is established as an institutional award, the initial cooperative agreement will be established for no more than five years and NOAA may issue new cooperative agreements to the recipient for similar or related activities through a non-competitive selection process.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

In accordance with the Marine Debris Act, eligible applicants are state, local, tribal, and territory governments, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or commercial (for-profit) organizations with expertise in a field related to marine debris.

Applications from federal agencies or employees of federal agencies will not be considered.

Interested federal agencies may collaborate with eligible applicants but may not receive funds through this competition.

All projects must take place within the United States or territories or their respective waterways. Foreign organizations and foreign public entities (non-U.S. or territory organizations) are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant but can be listed as a sub-awardee or contractor.

NOAA is strongly committed to broadening the participation of veterans, minority-serving institutions, and entities that work in underserved areas. The NOAA MDP encourages proposals from, or involving any of the above types of institutions.

Applications that have been submitted to other NOAA grant programs or as part of another NOAA grant may be considered under this solicitation.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

A major goal of the NOAA MDP is to fund projects that leverage the investment of federal funds with other contributions from a broad range of public and private partners. To this end, the Marine Debris Act requires applicants to provide a minimum 1:1 ratio of non-

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 12 of 37 federal matching contributions to NOAA funds requested to conduct the proposed project. In addition to required cost sharing, the NOAA MDP encourages applicants to leverage additional investment where possible.

"Cost share" or "match" is defined by 2 C.F.R. 200.29 as "the portion of project costs not paid by federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by federal statute)." Any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third party in-kind contributions, will be accepted as part of an applicant's cost sharing or matching when the contributions meet the criteria listed in 2 C.F.R. 200.306. For example, matching funds may come from a variety of public and private sources and may include third party in-kind goods and services (e.g., private boat use, volunteer labor, etc.). In addition, applicants are permitted to combine contributions for allowable costs from non-federal partners when they meet the criteria in Section 200.306, such as not being contributed as match for other projects, and being available within the project period stated in the application. Federal contributions cannot be used as match without a specific legal authority, but can be described in the budget narrative to demonstrate additional leverage or partnership. Applicants may also choose to designate part or all of their federally-negotiated indirect costs as match. Refer to Section IV.F.2.

"Indirect Costs".

If the match requirement cannot be met, the Marine Debris Act allows the NOAA Administrator to waive all or part of the matching requirement if the applicant can demonstrate the following:

1) no reasonable means are available through which applicants can meet the matching requirement, and

2) the probable benefit of such project outweighs the public interest in such matching requirement.

Applicants wishing to waive all or part of this competition’s match requirement should include a request letter or provide other language in the required Budget Narrative as a part of the application package being submitted. Match waiver requests must justify the need for the waiver, describe attempts to obtain sources of matching funds, and explain how the benefit of the project outweighs the public interest in providing match, along with any other extenuating circumstances preventing the incorporation or local availability of matching contributions.

In accordance with 48 U.S.C. 1469a, NOAA has determined that any requirement for local matching funds less than $200,000 (including in-kind contributions) to be provided by American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern

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Mariana Islands shall be waived, notwithstanding any other provision of law. Any matching funds otherwise required by law to be provided by government entities of the above-mentioned insular areas may be waived at the discretion of NOAA.

Applicants should note that cost sharing is an evaluation criterion (See Section V.A.

"Evaluation Criteria") for this funding opportunity. As such, if available, the inclusion of matching contributions is encouraged. Please note within the proposal whether cash or third party in-kind contributions have been secured at the time of application, or if such contributions are still pending.

Applicants whose proposals are selected for funding will be bound by the cost share amount reflected in the award document signed by the NOAA Grants Officer. Successful applicants should carefully document cost sharing, including but not limited to, the computed value of services and/or resources provided by the applicant’s organization or a third party (e.g., real property, equipment, supplies and expendable goods) as well as facilities and administration costs. Letters of commitment for any secured matching contributions expected for an award should be submitted as an attachment to the application.

The Marine Debris Act also allows the NOAA Administrator to authorize, as appropriate, the non-federal share of the cost of a project to include money paid pursuant to, or the value of any in-kind service performed under, an administrative order on consent or judicial consent decree that will remove or prevent marine debris. See 33 USC 1952(c)(3).

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

For activities conducted under an award funded through this competition, recipients of financial assistance from the NOAA MDP involved in the collection, assessment, oversight, or interpretation of scientific information are required to adhere, to the best of their ability, to the principles, policies and codes of conduct identified in NOAA’s Policy on Scientific Integrity (NOAA Administrative Order 202-735D), which is available at:

http://www.corporateservices.noaa.gov/ames/administrative_orders/chapter_202/202-735- D.html

The intent of the policy is to strengthen widespread confidence (from scientists, decision-makers, and the general public) in the quality, validity, and reliability of NOAA-funded science. Further information on this policy can be found at:

http://nrc.noaa.gov/scientificintegrity.html.

IV. Application and Submission Information

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A. Address to Request Application Package

Complete application packages, including required federal forms, general instructions, and supplementary instructions specific to the Fiscal Year 2019 Marine Debris Research grants competition, can be found on Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov). If the application forms and instructions cannot be downloaded from Grants.gov, please contact Tom Barry (tom.barry@noaa.gov, 240-533-0425).

B. Content and Form of Application

Please visit http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/proposal-submission-guidance-applicants for helpful information on developing and submitting proposal documents/information.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply through the Grants.gov website.

Applicants are also encouraged to minimize the number of files uploaded to an application by combining the proposal’s files as much as possible. Adobe PDF is the preferred file format for electronic submissions.

If Grants.gov cannot reasonably be used, or internet access is not available to the applicant, a paper-copy application must be mailed to the NOAA MDP (see Section IV.G. "Other Submission Requirements" for complete mailing information). Forms SF-424, SF-424B, and CD-511 paper-copy submissions must be signed by the Authorized Representative (or appropriate designee) listed in the application. If paper copy applications are not signed by the Authorized Representative, the application may not be accepted for review. Paper applications should be printed on on 8.5" x 11" paper, have numbered pages, and should not be bound or stapled in any manner.

Applications must adhere to page limits and any pages that exceed the limit for each section may not be reviewed. Files that cannot be opened or downloaded will not be reviewed. Full proposals will not be accepted if sent via fax or email.

Applications should be sufficiently detailed in accordance with the guidelines and information requirements listed below and elsewhere in this announcement. Proposed activities must be able to be completed within the proposed period of performance. Each full proposal application must contain the following required federal application forms (available from Grants.gov) and adhere to page limits indicated for each category unless otherwise noted below:

- SF-424 - Application for Federal Assistance

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- SF-424A - Budget Information, Non-construction Programs

- SF-424B - Assurances, Non-construction Programs

- CD-511 - Certifications Regarding Lobbying

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

- Cover Sheet (described below, 1 page or less);

- Project Description (described below, 15 pages or less);

- Data Sharing Plan (described below, 2 pages or less);

- Budget Narrative (described below, 4 pages or less, and include a budget table);

- Curriculum vitae or résumé of each of the primary project personnel;

- Maps with site location(s) highlighted, where applicable;

- Letter(s) documenting partner support; and

- Indirect cost rate agreement, if applicable (no page limit); and

- Other relevant attachments important to the overall understanding and evaluation of the proposed project, such as summaries of regional marine debris action plans or project site photographs, or documentation about any permits necessary to perform the project (20 pages or less).

The following sections describe the proposal’s content requirements.

1) Cover Sheet (1 page or less):

a) Project Title;

b) Principal Investigator and Co-PI Information: Name, Organizational/ Institutional affiliation, Physical Address, Telephone Number and Email Address.

c) Project Overview: Briefly describe the objectives of the research project, methods to be utilized and potential for advancing the state of marine debris science, and broader impacts/benefits to marine resources and society.

d) Project Location: Please indicate the State or general geographic area where the project will take place.

e) Budget and Duration: approximate Federal funds requested, non-Federal match anticipated, and project duration (in months).

2) Project Description (15 pages or less).

When writing the Project Description, applicants should understand the components of the

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 16 of 37 evaluation criteria (see Section V. A. "Evaluation Criteria" in this announcement), as they explain how proposals will be scored for the application to be competitive. The Project Description may not exceed 15 pages. Figures, tables, and other visual materials such as conceptual models and photographs are included in the 15-page limitation. URLs that provide supporting information should not be used. The Project Description should clearly describe the work to be undertaken and must include:

a) Introduction : A summary of the current understanding of the state of marine debris science (as it relates to the research priority chosen for study) that establishes the context of the work being proposed. Please discuss how the proposed work relates to the current state of marine debris knowledge, the scientific significance, as well as how the project will make broader contributions to the field. Include the type(s) of marine debris to be addressed (i.e., specific derelict fishing gear, land-based debris, microplastics, etc.). Include a justification for the chosen target species (for ecological risk assessment and exposure level priorities) as well as for the study area/region of interest (all priorities).

b) Hypothesis or Research Question: A clearly stated hypothesis or research question that directly addresses risk management or resource/environmental management objectives in the specified region.

c) Methods and Study Area: An outline of the general plan of work, including the broader study design and a clear, concise outline of methods, procedures, and activities to be performed. For the fate and transport priority, please describe how the nearshore environment is delineated (e.g., distance from shoreline or other criteria). If addressing the ecological risk assessment priority, please include a conceptual model or adverse outcome pathway that outlines the cause-and-effect relationships or provides the direct/indirect lines of evidence that link marine debris impacts across biological levels of organization.

d) Expected Results: Describe potential outcome measures that will be used to track the success of the project. Research outcome measures may include (but are not limited to) the following:

i. A description of how the proposed project will advance knowledge in the field of marine debris particularly resource management decisions;

ii. Potential benefits the research may have on living marine resources, habitats, and society;

iii. Anticipated submission of a manuscript to a peer-reviewed, scientific journal;

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iv. Identification of appropriate management/regulatory actions to be taken in response to the identified risk;

v. Lessons learned - identification of critical themes that may (or may not) be exportable to other situations; and

vi. Communication strategy for informing appropriate stakeholders.

e) References Cited: This section should include all references to source materials cited within the Introduction and Methods sections. Please follow any accepted scholarly format for citations that includes authors’ names, year of publication, article and journal (or chapter and book) title, volume number, and page numbers. The Reference Cited section is not included in the 15-page limit but should include bibliographic references only (i.e., no additional parenthetical information should be included).

f) Project Implementation Timeline with Milestones: Describe the anticipated project duration (not to exceed 24 months) and the timeline and milestones for completing project objectives.

g) Organizational Structure and Project Staff: Describe the organizational structure of the applicant, and the qualifications of project staff. Include a CV for all key personnel. If applicable, describe any previous NOAA involvement in and/or support for the project and include name(s) of any relevant NOAA staff.

3) Data Management Plan (2 pages)

Proposals submitted in response to this announcement must include a Data Management Plan of up to two pages describing how environmental data and information collected or created under a NOAA Marine Debris Program cooperative agreement will be made discoverable by and accessible to the general public, if requested. Such data must be made available in a timely fashion (typically within two years), and should be free of charge or at no more than the cost of reproduction.

The Data Management Plan should be aligned with the Data Management Guidance provided by NOAA in Section VI.B.9. below. The contents of the Data Management Plan (or absence thereof), and past performance regarding such plans, will be considered as part of proposal review. A typical plan should include descriptions of the types of environmental data and information expected to be created during the course of the project; the tentative

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 18 of 37 date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; methods for providing data access; approximate total volume of data to be collected;

and prior experience in making such data accessible.

A sample Data Management Plan may be found at: http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/proposal-submission-guidance-applicants

4) Budget Justification (4 pages or less, including a budget summary table)

Applicants should follow NOAA’s Budget Narrative Guidance document to ensure the appropriate content and format is provided with the proposal. This document can be found at: http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/training.html

The Budget Justification should include both a narrative and a summary budget table that lay out and describe each line item’s various costs in as much detail as is reasonable. For clarification and simplicity, the Budget Justification should be organized using the object classes in the order that they appear on the SF424A. Include detailed descriptions of all cost justifications for both federal funds and any cost sharing or matching funds (cost share or matching funds should be described in the same level of detail as the federal funds). The amounts described in the Budget Justification narrative and summary table must match the dollar amounts on all required forms. The summary budget table does not count toward the 4 page limit.

The Budget Justification narrative should also indicate if the proposal has been submitted for funding consideration elsewhere, what amount has been requested or secured from other sources, and whether the funds requested/secured are federal or non-federal. The source of any matching funds, including applicant or third party in-kind contributions, should be explained. If funding will be used to complete part of a larger project, the Budget Justification should describe the overall budget for the entire project to allow NOAA to make an informed determination of a project’s readiness and cost-benefit ratio. Any funding other than the federal funds requested and proposed cost share or match should be considered additional leverage.

If sub-awards are expected to be made, describe the process that will be used to identify recipients and justification for that process.

The Budget Justification narrative should also indicate if the applicant is requesting a waiver of all match requirements, as outlined above in Section III.B. "Cost Share or Matching Requirement." As previously stated, in accordance with 48 U.S.C. 1469a(d), NOAA has

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 19 of 37 waived the requirement for local matching funds to the insular areas (up to $200,000) defined above in Section III.B.

NOAA assesses budgets to determine the reasonableness, necessity, and adequacy of proposed costs for accomplishing the project objectives, and performs a cost analysis to assure that costs are reasonable, allowable, and allocable in accordance with applicable federal cost principles. NOAA MDP may recommend funding only specific components of a project, as such applicants should describe the extent to which project activities can be scaled up or scaled down.

Requests for equipment (any single piece of equipment costing $5,000 or more) should be strongly tied to achieving the project’s stated goals, and a comparison with rental costs should be provided to justify the need to purchase. In general, funding requests for equipment purchases such as vehicles, boats, and similar items will be a low priority.

Publication costs (i.e., journal page charges, poster printing) for communicating research results are allowed.

If applying for a Multi-Year award (2 to 5 years), the application must contain a line item budget (SF-424A) and corresponding budget narrative for each of the funding periods anticipated.

Refer to Section IV.F.2. regarding indirect costs in the budget.

5) Other Application Submission Information

Applicants should not assume NOAA has any prior knowledge relative to the merits of the project described in the proposal. As such, proposals should be written with an appropriate level of detail. Inclusion of supplementary materials (e.g., photographs, summaries of project designs, key diagrams, copies of secured permits) are strongly encouraged and do not count toward the project narrative page limit, although supplementary materials should not exceed 20 pages. Letters of support from partners, local and state governments, and Congressional representatives are helpful in demonstrating support for the project. Such supplementary information should be combined and submitted as a single file in the Grants.gov application.

Participant safety is critically-important during project implementation. Proposals should demonstrate meaningful consideration for the safety of project participants during project activities. It should be noted that all funded projects will be required to have a written safety plan governing all project-related activities, especially regarding the safety and management of interns and volunteers. The safety plan should consider safety at all project sites during

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 20 of 37 and after project implementation and take into account potential safety concerns for current and future uses of the project site.

If a project requires scuba diving or the use of surface-supplied air, it is the responsibility of the recipient organization to ensure that divers are qualified and trained to a level commensurate with the type and conditions of the diving activity being undertaken. The organization must describe their capacity (appropriate insurance, safety policies, etc.) to effectively oversee all proposed diving activities in the proposal. All diving activities must meet, or be specifically exempted from, OSHA guidelines.