NOAA-NOS-ORR-2020-2006162 Full Announcement.pdf

FY2020 Marine Debris Removal

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 3

A. Program Objective 3 B. Program Priorities 4 C. Program Authority 7

II. Award Information 7 A. Funding Availability 7 B. Project/Award Period 8 C. Type of Funding Instrument 8

III. Eligibility Information 9 A. Eligible Applicants 9 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 9 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 11

IV. Application and Submission Information 11 A. Address to Request Application Package 12 B. Content and Form of Application 12 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 22 D. Submission Dates and Times 23 E. Intergovernmental Review 23 F. Funding Restrictions 24 G. Other Submission Requirements 25

V. Application Review Information 26 A. Evaluation Criteria 26 B. Review and Selection Process 33 C. Selection Factors 35 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 36

VI. Award Administration Information 36 A. Award Notices 36 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 36 C. Reporting 41

VII. Agency Contacts 42 VIII. Other Information 42

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 42

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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

Funding Opportunity Title: FY2020 Marine Debris Removal

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-ORR-2020-2006162

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

Dates: NOTE: This year’s competition will have a pre-proposal requirement (hereafter described as Letter of Intent; LOI), which has changed the submission deadlines for this competition.

This funding opportunity requires a letter of intent to be submitted before full proposals will be invited. Letters of intent must be received via email (as an attachment) no later than 11:59 p.m.

Eastern time, September 4, 2019. If invited per the instructions in this announcement, full proposals must then be submitted through and validated by Grants.gov, postmarked, or provided to a delivery service on or before 11:59 p.m. EST, December 4, 2019. Applications may be mailed, but applications not adhering to postmark or submission deadlines will be rejected without further consideration.

Funding Opportunity Description: The NOAA Marine Debris Program, authorized in the Marine Debris Act, codified at 33 U.S.C. § 1951 et seq., supports the development and implementation of locally-driven, marine debris prevention, assessment, and removal projects that benefit coastal habitat, waterways, and NOAA trust resources. Projects awarded through this grant competition will create long-term, quantifiable ecological benefits and habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources through on-the-ground marine debris removal activities, with highest priority for those targeting derelict fishing gear and other medium- and large-scale debris. Projects should also foster awareness of the effects of marine debris to further the conservation of living marine resource habitats, and contribute to the understanding of marine debris composition, distribution and impacts. Successful proposals through this solicitation will be funded through cooperative agreements. Funding of up to $2,500,000 is expected to be available for Marine Debris Removal grants in Fiscal Year 2020. The typical funding level for the federal share of project awards ranges from $50,000 to $150,000. Funding for this grant competition comes through the NOAA Marine Debris Program as appropriations to the Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 2 of 42

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 come from land-based or ocean-based sources, and can range in size from small solid waste items such as plastic bags, cigarette butts, foam take-out containers, or balloons, large 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. NOAA MDP’s mission is to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris, a principal objective of which is to provide financial and technical assistance to organizations with the expertise to identify, evaluate, and execute marine debris removal projects. The funding from this solicitation will develop impactful, community-driven and cost-effective projects that remove threats to living marine resources and improve habitats through the removal of marine debris. These activities align with NOAA's mission to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources, and promote stewardship and a conservation ethic for NOAA trust resources.

NOAA trust resources are living marine resources and their habitats, including commercial and recreational fishery resources (marine and Great Lakes fish and shellfish); coastal habitats; diadromous fish species; endangered and threatened marine species; marine mammals and marine turtles; marshes, mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, other coastal habitats; Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs).

NOAA trust resources can also include marine habitats and resources associated with National Marine Sanctuaries, National Estuarine Research Reserves and areas under state coastal management programs, including Areas of Concern within the Great Lakes.

A second objective of the NOAA MDP is to prevent marine debris through education and

Notice of Federal Funding Page 3 of 42 awareness by collaborating with diverse entities and groups. These include partnerships with public and nonprofit organizations, citizen and watershed groups, anglers, boaters, industry (e.g. the commercial fishing industry, the aquaculture industry, fishing gear manufacturers, other marine industries, and the plastics and waste management industries), corporations and businesses, youth conservation corps, students, landowners, academics, and local, state, and federal government agencies.

B. Program Priorities

The highest program priorities for this solicitation are the detection and removal of derelict fishing gear and the removal of medium- to large-scale marine debris that have a negative impact on NOAA trust resources and important habitat areas. Derelict fishing gear includes, but is not limited to, such items as abandoned crab or lobster pots/traps, fishing nets, and synthetic (e.g., monofilament, polypropylene) line. Medium and large-scale debris are items that generally cannot be manually removed by an individual. Such projects must comply with applicable federal and state laws regarding handling and ownership.

Other priority activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Abandoned / derelict vessel (ADV) removal and associated vessel debris removal activities. Proposals for ADV removal activities must demonstrate direct benefits to the aforementioned habitats. Proposals should also identify specific vessels or discrete target removal areas and utilize existing prioritized inventories of derelict vessels such as those maintained by state regulatory agencies. Proposals with an ADV removal component should indicate that a search for responsible parties, such as the vessel’s owner, has been conducted and that no acceptable responsible party exists. Recreational or commercial vessels are applicable under this funding opportunity. More information on ADV removal may be found at NOAA’s ADV InfoHub (https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/discover-issue/types-and-sources/abandoned-and-derelict-vessels)

- Proposals that pair removal activities with technically-sound, cost-effective habitat monitoring that measures the benefits of debris removal to NOAA trust resources. This includes pre- and post-removal monitoring of the removal site, and should include information on the areal extent and habitat types impacted by the debris, objective measures of ecosystem health in and around the removal site, species impacts and mortality rates, length of time debris will cause impacts if not removed, or other additional data the NOAA MDP may require. Such projects that include a monitoring component may receive higher priority under this funding opportunity.

- Detection and removal of debris resulting from hurricanes or other natural disasters.

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- Detection and removal of legacy aquaculture debris. Legacy aquaculture debris removal proposals should indicate that a search for responsible parties (such as the property’s current or former owner) has been conducted and that no acceptable responsible party exists.

- Shoreline or riparian cleanup projects should be coupled with a comprehensive outreach program, monitoring program, or volunteer involvement that aims to reduce or prevent future accumulation of marine debris. Such projects may include cleanups of shoreline litter, as well as timed, targeted watershed "hot spot" cleanups to prevent seasonal debris inundation into sensitive habitats used by NOAA trust resources. Such projects will be considered a priority only if there is a strong link to NOAA trust resource impacts. For shoreline removal activities, the NOAA MDP has developed standardized marine debris shoreline survey protocols to facilitate regional and site-specific comparisons of debris loads.

If a proposal has a shoreline cleanup component, applicants should contact the NOAA MDP to discuss whether it would be appropriate to incorporate NOAA MDP monitoring and data collection protocols, which are posted at http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/research/marine-debris-monitoring-and-assessment-project.

- Derelict piling removal projects should have a meaningful benefit to NOAA trust resources or have a strong debris impact-related reason supporting removal (e.g., derelict pilings that snag marine debris and add to the impact of this debris in that area or pilings that are breaking up and generating more debris). Such projects will be considered a priority only if there is a strong link to NOAA trust resource impacts, there is landowner and/or regulatory permission to conduct the removal, and the removal is one component of a greater marine debris removal proposal or are recognized as a priority through a regional prioritization process. Piling removal proposals should indicate that a search for responsible parties (such as the property’s current or former owner) has been conducted and that no acceptable responsible party exists.

Strong proposals will integrate innovative, sustainable approaches for disposal of debris (i.e.

re-use, recycling, energy recovery, use of open shipping capacity to reduce transport costs (also known as "backhauling"), partnering with local waste management companies, etc.).

NOAA may consider the disposal methodology and whether these types of sustainable disposal options are integrated into the project as a selection factor when making final funding recommendations.

Prevention, outreach, education, volunteer activities and data collection are important aspects of debris removal projects. Proposals are encouraged to include such activities as project components, but they should not be the main focus of the project - proposals that

Notice of Federal Funding Page 5 of 42 focus mainly on prevention through education and outreach are not a priority for this competition. These activities should be tied to, and include substantial interaction with the targeted user groups prioritized in Section I. A. For outreach activities in general, applicants are encouraged to incorporate existing outreach and educational resources into their projects, including those available for download at http://www.marinedebris.noaa.gov/resources.

Similarly, proposals may include any associated habitat restoration costs that may be needed, however such costs must be minimal and directly address habitat impaired by debris removed under the project.

Strong proposals will also describe, where applicable, the navigational and economic benefits that are expected from the removal effort. Successful proposals may be required to track or measure such benefits during or following removal activities.

Projects taking place in Sanctuaries, Reserves, or other protected areas (as described in Section I.A above) may receive greater consideration for funding in this competition.

However, projects are not limited to these areas and may take place in remote or urbanized areas. Despite project location, all proposals must have a primary emphasis on removal activities that benefit NOAA trust resources described above and must clearly lay out the direct links to such resources.

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, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Regional Action Plan, the Southeast Marine Debris Action Plan, etc.) and describe how they do so. Regional plans can be found on the MDP website at https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/emergency-response-guides-and-regional-action-plans.

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 will be a low priority. If a project requires funding for large equipment purchases, collection facilities, or other long-term operations, 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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 42 may not receive priority.

All proposed removal projects will be evaluated based on the criteria outlined in Section V.A.

Projects focused on removing primarily hazards to human health or removals for aesthetic purposes, with no clear connection to NOAA trust resources are not a focus of this grant competition.

Applicants should also note that the following activities, in general, will not be considered under this competition: (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.

C. Program Authority

Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. § 1951 et seq.)

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Funding of up to $2,500,000 is expected to be available for this grant solicitation. The actual funding amount available is contingent upon Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations. The NOAA MDP does not plan to fund proposals for removal activities at less than $50,000 or more than $250,000 under this solicitation. The typical funding level for the federal share of project awards ranges from $50,000 to $150,000. For projects that include habitat recovery monitoring activities, applicants may request additional funds not to exceed $100,000 for such activities, for a project of up to $350,000. In such cases the NOAA MDP would work with successful applicants to determine final levels of monitoring effort and funding.

The NOAA MDP anticipates that between 8 and 15 awards will be made under this 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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 42 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 no more than two years in duration. If monitoring activities are proposed to be conducted before or following removal, NOAA may consider applications with a period of performance of up to three years as long as there is reasonable justification provided. The earliest anticipated start date for awards will be September 1, 2020 – 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.

Applications for renewal or supplementation of previously-awarded NOAA MDP projects are allowed, however such proposals 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 is defined as, but is not limited to, engagement with the recipient on environmental compliance requirements, hands-on technical collaboration or permitting assistance, support in developing protocols (e.g., for data collection or monitoring), tracking the progress of removal efforts 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 public-facing communication materials or events to highlight marine debris removal activities.

Marine debris removal, prevention, or monitoring activities funded through this competition

Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 42 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

As outlined in the Marine Debris Act, eligible applicants are state, local, tribal, and territory governments whose activities affect research or regulation of marine debris and any institution of higher education, nonprofit organization, or commercial (for-profit) organization 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 are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant but can be involved as project partners.

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

The Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. § 1951 et seq.) requires NOAA MDP’s grant programs to leverage its federal grant funding with non-federal cost share or match.

Applicants often satisfy this requirement by developing and including public and private partnerships, as well as in-kind and financial contributions, to accomplish the overall project objectives. Applicants must provide a minimum 1:1 ratio of non-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.

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"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. Matching funds may come from a variety of public and private sources and may include in-kind goods and services from the applicant or third parties (e.g., private boat use, existing equipment, 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. Section 200.306 also describes the valuations to attribute to the matching contributions. 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 request a waiver in the Budget Narrative section 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 certain cases, if circumstances warrant, match waivers may also be negotiated post-award at NOAA’s discretion.

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 Mariana Islands shall be waived, notwithstanding any other provision of law. Any matching

Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 42 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 estimated 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(d)(3).

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

For removal and monitoring 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 2020 Marine Debris Removal 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

LETTER OF INTENT:

Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) and receive an invitation from the NOAA MDP before submitting a full proposal. LOIs must be submitted as an email attachment to grants.marinedebris@noaa.gov by 11:59 pm EDT on September 4, 2019 (see Section IV.D.

below). Please put “FY2020 Marine Debris Removal Letter of Intent (LOI)” in the email subject heading. Do not direct questions to this email address (see Section VII below).

Applicants must follow the LOI and full application requirements stated in this announcement, or they may not be considered. The LOI submission is a critical step to determine if proposed projects are well-suited for this specific competition. The goal of the LOI is to streamline the proposal review process by inviting full applications only from those applicants whose projects are most likely to support NOAA's implementation of the Marine Debris Act through the removal of marine debris, and for NOAA MDP to be able to provide feedback and guidance on invited application ideas. In the LOI, applicants must indicate clearly which priorities their project proposes to address, and how. Those applicants whose LOIs do not strongly align with program objectives and goals, as determined by the NOAA MDP (through the review process described below in Section V.A.), will not be invited to submit full applications. The LOI must be no more than two (2) pages in length. It should be single-spaced, use 11- or 12-point font, with one-inch margins, and should provide a concise description of the proposed work and its relevance to the competition’s priorities. If the LOI is incomplete, or is submitted late, it may not be considered. Those applicants invited to submit a full proposal will receive an email notification containing feedback and full-proposal submission instructions from NOAA MDP. NOAA MDP may limit the number of full applications invited in order to manage the review workload.

The LOI should include each of the components listed below:

a) Applicant Organization;

b) Project Title;

c) Principal Investigator(s) Name, Address, Telephone Number and Email Address.

Briefly describe the PI or organization’s experience or expertise that would lead to a

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 42 successful removal project. A list of primary project partners and their roles/contributions should also be part of this section;

d) Project Location (list the geographic area(s) in which the project will be implemented.

Include geographic coordinates of removal sites if known.);

e) Project Description: clearly state the purpose of the project and briefly list specific tasks to be accomplished with requested funds and proposed techniques that will be used; identify NOAA trust resources that are likely to benefit (habitats and species currently using the project area or expected to benefit) and why the project is important; and indicate the duration of the project.

f) Removal activity start date (not the proposed award start date);

g) Funding: approximate federal funds requested and non-federal match anticipated

h) Project Outcomes: estimate how many pounds of debris will be removed from the marine/coastal environment, number of traps/nets (if applicable), acreage to be cleared, volunteer participation, etc. Describe any anticipated ecological services to be restored by debris removal, as well as any quantifiable economic benefits anticipated.

FULL PROPOSAL (only if invited):

APPLICANTS MAY ONLY SUBMIT A FULL PROPOSAL IF INVITED TO DO SO BY

NOAA.

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 applications.

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.

Applications must adhere to page limits and any pages that exceed the limit for each section

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 42 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.

Application documents must use 11- or 12-pt font on an 8.5” x 11” page size. Paper applications can be printed double sided and should not be bound or stapled in any manner.

Applications should be sufficiently detailed in accordance with the guidelines and information requirements listed below and elsewhere in this announcement, and should 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

- 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)

- Project Summary (described below, 2 pages or less);

- Project Narrative (described below, 12 pages or less);

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

- Budget Narrative (described below, 6 pages or less);

- Curriculum vitae or résumé of the primary project personnel (2 pages or less per person);

- Maps with site location(s) highlighted (no page limit);

- Photographs of targeted debris and removal site characteristics (no page limit);

- Letter(s) documenting partner support (no page limit);

- 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 documentation about any permits necessary to perform the project (20 pages or less).

1. Project Summary (2 pages or less):

A brief project summary must include the following components:

a) Applicant Organization;

b) Project Title;

c) Principal Investigator(s) Name, Address, Telephone Number and Email Address.

d) Project Location (list the geographic area(s) in which the project will be implemented.

Include geographic coordinates of removal sites if known.);

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e) Project Description: clearly state the purpose of the project and briefly list specific tasks to be accomplished with requested funds and proposed techniques that will be used; identify NOAA trust resources that are likely to benefit (habitats and species currently using the project area or expected to benefit); and indicate the duration of the project.

f) Removal activity start date (not the proposed award start date);

g) Funding: approximate federal funds requested and non-federal match anticipated

h) Project Outcomes: estimate how many pounds of debris will be removed from the marine/coastal environment, acreage to be cleared, volunteer participation, etc. Describe any anticipated ecological services to be restored by debris removal, as well as any quantifiable economic benefits anticipated.

2. Project Narrative (12 pages or less)

When writing the project narrative, applicants should understand the components of the 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 narrative must not be more than 12 pages long and should give a clear presentation of the proposed work. Generally, the project narrative should include:

Introduction: A summary of what the removal project will do, and why the removal project is needed, demonstrating anticipated benefits to specific NOAA trust resources (as described in Section I.A.), as well as any benefits to the economy or navigation safety that might result.

Describe how these benefits will be achieved through the marine debris detection, assessment, and removal techniques proposed in the application. Identify the range of species and/or resources expected to benefit from removal activities, including the anticipated ecological services to be restored by debris removal.

Description: Describe all phases and aspects of the proposed on-the-ground project activities, removal techniques and processes. Describe the project location. Proposals should also describe the project's disposal arrangements to ensure debris would not potentially be re-introduced. Strong proposals will integrate innovative, sustainable approaches for debris disposal (e.g. re-use, recycling, energy recovery, use of open shipping capacity to reduce transport costs (also known as "backhauling"), partnering with local waste management companies, etc.) as described in Section I.B.

Applicants should note, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental statutes require NOAA to analyze a project's potential environmental impacts.

Applicants therefore should provide as much detailed information as is reasonable about the project's activities in this section, including details about site locations and access routes, Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 42 species and habitat(s) to be affected, proposed removal techniques and other on-the-ground project activities to be implemented, the time of year that work will take place, duration of removal activities in the field, and any environmental concerns that may exist (e.g., the use of and/or disposal of hazardous or toxic substances, potential introduction of non-indigenous species, impacts to endangered and threatened species, impacts to coral reef systems). See Section VI.B.10 for further detail on the NEPA process and requirements for applicants.

This section should also describe the community involvement in the project, such as contributions from community partners, volunteer opportunities, citizen participation, education/outreach/stewardship plans, and efforts to disseminate information on project goals, results, and/or the sources of project funding and support. If applicable, the narrative should explain how the proposed project would complement or encourage other local marine debris prevention or removal, restoration or conservation activities. Community participation may include involvement in the physical debris removal during the project, involvement in marine debris prevention and education activities, hands-on training, cash contributions, or donation of in-kind goods and services such as boat time, and/or monitoring activities undertaken by volunteers or work crews. Letters demonstrating such participation should be included in the application.

Applicants should indicate whether the proposed project is part of a larger, ongoing effort or is otherwise prioritized in any existing regional or national, publicly-vetted programs, priorities or strategic plans (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, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Regional Action Plan, the Southeast Marine Debris Action Plan, etc.). Proposal narratives should explicitly list or otherwise cite such documents for verification purposes, including the page number if referencing a specific action or issue within the plan.

Project Location: Provide maps, exact coordinates of all removal locations, and the time of year that removal activities will take place in each location. Be as specific as possible. If exact locations are unknown at the time of application, describe removal site locations in as much detail as possible.

Project Implementation Timeline and Milestones: Describe the anticipated project duration and the timeline and milestones for completing all project objectives.

Objectives and Goals: Describe short- and long-term objectives and goals including the

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 42 expected results and potential performance measures that will be used to track the success of the project. Describe how the project will benefit the NOAA trust resources currently found in the project site. Describe the methods for carrying out and monitoring (if applicable) the project, and clearly explain the project's significance to enhancing habitat to benefit living marine resources with specific examples.

To ensure a basic level of assessment of project success, marine debris removal projects should have broad, clearly identified goals and specific, measurable objectives. In order to track project success, all funded projects will need to be able to report the total amount of debris removed (pounds), total area or extent cleaned (acres and/or miles), types of debris encountered, and number of volunteers as well as total volunteer hours contributed to the project. Other performance measures relevant to demonstrating project success may include:

expected footprint or impacted area (in acres or square-feet) of removed debris; number of removal operations; number of discrete items removed (e.g., crab pots, gill nets, pilings);

species bycatch data (if appropriate); anticipated ecosystem services to be restored by the debris removal; percent of overall problem areas addressed by removal activities;

comparisons of initial removal targets to post-removal results; estimated debris accumulation rates; number of fishers who receive training on the safe removal of derelict gear or specific debris types; expected (or actual) weight of material recycled; expected (or actual) weight (pounds) of material prevented from entering the marine environment; economic or job creation metrics (if appropriate), among others.

Not all projects and applicants are expected to include a habitat and/or species monitoring component. Those proposals that do incorporate more in-depth monitoring in addition to debris removal activities (per Section I. B. above) should describe, in detail, the methodology for monitoring or post-removal evaluation. These studies should be designed in a scientifically rigorous manner to assess factors indicative of habitat or species improvement through project and location specific metrics. Such metrics may include:

information on the areal extent and habitat types impacted by the debris, objective measures of ecosystem health in and around the removal site, species presence, abundance, density or other similar metrics, species impacts and mortality rates (number of animals killed annually by the targeted debris), length of time debris will cause impacts if not removed; and any others the applicant deems appropriate to the removal site. Monitoring protocols should be designed to measure these improvements over a span of time appropriate to the targeted habitat/species (in some cases, monitoring may take longer than one year). Monitoring proposals should describe the anticipated, long-term ecological and socio-economic outcomes of the project; describe the approach to planning, developing and implementing the study design; describe rationale for proposed survey techniques and parameters; and advance our scientific understanding of marine debris monitoring by publishing peer-

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 42 reviewed literature on project accomplishments (if appropriate). Any proposed monitoring must be cost-effective and appropriate to the scope and scale of the project to evaluate a project's benefits. The NOAA MDP will work with successful applicants who have included an in-depth monitoring plan to ensure an acceptable approach is implemented and that the appropriate metrics are monitored to link removal to habitat or species improvement.

Permits and Consultations: Applicants must demonstrate that they have the legal authority to conduct the project activities within the proposed project area, and understand what permitting requirements exist for work to be conducted as described in the proposal. To provide assurance that the project will expeditiously meet environmental compliance and permitting requirements, projects that would require permits and consultations should list all necessary permits required to complete the project. This should include the appropriate contact information for each permitting agency, permit status, and documentation of all secured permits. Proposals must indicate the project's readiness and should ensure that on-the-ground debris removal activities will begin reasonably soon after the project's start date.

Letters of commitment are required from relevant landowners for projects on private land or from relevant resource agency personnel for projects on public, permanently protected land.

Letters of commitment should provide assurance that the project is supported, and will be maintained for its intended purpose. Documentation of plans for long-term project management should also be included.

Organization Structure and Project Staff: Describe the organizational structure of the applicant, and the qualifications of project staff. Describe the level of staff experience and qualifications in managing grants and implementing marine debris removal projects; this includes any relevant sub-contractors conducting project work. If applicable, describe any previous NOAA involvement in and/or support for the project and include name(s) of any relevant NOAA staff. Examples of successfully implemented past projects, or the organization’s experience successfully managing federal grants should be provided. If project staff have no specific examples to provide, applicants will be evaluated on their potential to effectively manage and oversee all project phases, demonstrated by the education, training, and/or experience of primary project participants.

References Cited: This section should include all references to source materials cited within the Project Narrative, if applicable. 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 12-page limit but should include bibliographic references only (i.e., no additional parenthetical information), and can be included as either a separate attachment or part of the

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Project Narrative.

3. Data Management Plan (2 pages or less)

Proposals must include a Data Management Plan of up to two pages describing how environmental data and information collected or created under an award made through this competition will be made discoverable by and accessible to the general public. 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 date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; methods for providing data access and the medium by which the data will be shared;

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 (6 pages or less)

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:

https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/BudgetNarrativeGuidanceWithChecklist.pdf

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 6

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 42 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.