DARRP Restoration Implementation Grants (2026)
Open Posted
- Opportunity number
- NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2026-33781
- Agency
-
Department of Commerce
- Applications due
- Award size
- $2,500,000 to $100,000,000
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
-
- 11.463 Habitat Conservation
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Categories
-
- Environment
- Natural Resources
- Eligible applicants
-
- Other
- Points of contact
-
- David Landsman david.landsman@noaa.gov
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is soliciting cooperative agreement applications to implement marine and coastal habitat restoration and conservation projects related to oil spills, hazardous substance releases, and natural resource damages, with applications due November 18, 2026. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profits, and commercial (for-profit) organizations; applications from federal, state, and tribal governments will not be considered due to potential trustee council conflicts, though local governments may apply if identifying large-scale restoration opportunities.
NOAA does not anticipate accepting proposals with first-year budgets less than $500,000 or more than $20 million, or total five-year budgets less than $2.5 million or more than $100 million. Typical awards range from $2.5 million to $50 million, with total anticipated funding up to $100 million for initial cooperative agreements. The earliest anticipated award start date is June 1, 2027, with funding provided on an as-available basis for up to five years.
Restoration activities implement authorities under the Oil Pollution Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, Clean Water Act, National Marine Sanctuaries Act, RESTORE Act, and related statutes. Recipients will implement activities identified in consent decrees or natural resource damage assessment and restoration plans, which may include rebuilding productive fisheries, recovering threatened and endangered species, improving economic vitality, and managing sub-awards and project evaluation. Applicants must demonstrate experience in marine and coastal resources restoration, effective funds management, capacity to manage multiple projects and sub-awards, and experience soliciting restoration projects through competitive processes.
Evaluation criteria are weighted as follows: importance and applicability to program goals (30 points), technical and scientific merit (20 points), overall qualifications of applicants (20 points), project costs (20 points), and outreach and education (10 points). Recipients selected may be designated as institutional award cooperative agreements eligible for non-competitive future funding if periodic independent merit reviews validate program effectiveness. The assistance listing is 11.463 (Habitat Conservation).
Synopsis
The principal objective of the Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP) Restoration Implementation Grants is for NOAA to collaborate with non-federal partners to implement marine and coastal habitat restoration and conservation in order to accomplish common goals related to oil spills, hazardous substance releases, and other natural resource damages. Successful applicants will support and implement restoration activities authorized under the Oil Pollution Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, Clean Water Act, National Marine Sanctuaries Act, and other federal agencies' authorities related to oil spills, hazardous substance releases, and natural resource damages, such as the RESTORE Act. Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be for those capable of implementing restoration and conservation activities across a wide geographic scale. NOAA NOFO Page 2 of 26 Restoration activities may include actions that rebuild productive and sustainable fisheries; contribute to the recovery and conservation of threatened and endangered species; and improve economic vitality, including local employment. Recipients will be implementing activities identified in consent decrees or natural resource damage assessment and restoration plans, and may be developing or soliciting projects to meet restoration goals. This may include recipients reviewing restoration plans and: collaborating with the trustee to select activities to be contracted or sub-awarded by the recipient; collaborating with the trustee to select projects for which the recipient has direct implementation responsibility; competition management to sub- award projects; and implementing pre- and post-restoration project evaluation and monitoring. Projects may also include restoration planning and technique development activities that further the mutual interests of DARRP and of funding recipient partners, such as environmental compliance analyses or restoration planning for potential, future incidents.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profits, and commercial (for-profit) organizations. Applications from federal, state, or tribal governments will not be considered, due to their potential role as trustee council members. Applications from local governments will only be considered if they identify potential large scale restoration opportunities based on current or anticipated restoration plans. Applications from individuals or employees of federal agencies will not be considered. Non-eligible organizations are encouraged to work with those that are eligible to apply.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| PKG00294100.pdf | ||
| Foa_Content_of_NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2026-33781.pdf |
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