Louisiana State University (LSU) Coastal Marine Institute (CMI)

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) operates CFDA 15.422, the Louisiana State University Coastal Marine Institute, which funds environmental and applied research on Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf (OCS) oil, gas, renewable energy, and marine minerals activity, with the most recent grant awards issued in September 2020.

Activity has slowed materially. The program disbursed 44 cooperative agreements totaling $7.9 million in federal dollars between 2004 and 2020, with award cadence declining from four awards annually in 2014–2015 to two awards in 2020 and no awards since. The portfolio is composed entirely of cooperative agreements, reflecting BOEM's standard requirement for substantial federal scientist involvement in research development and conduct. BOEM accounts for 33 awards and $7 million of federal dollars obligated; the broader Department of the Interior contributed 11 awards and $897 thousand.

Funded research spans coastal geological and geomorphic assessment, benthic ecosystem monitoring, sediment dynamics, deepwater observation systems, oil-spill impact analysis, and socioeconomic studies of coastal communities affected by offshore energy development. Representative recent awards include investigation of ancient bald cypress forests in the northern Gulf ($514 thousand, September 2020), assessment of non-linear sedimentation and dredge-area benthic impacts on the Louisiana shelf ($353 thousand, June 2020), and development of a water-quality monitoring program for sediment borrow areas ($579 thousand, September 2017). Typical awards range from $50 thousand to $600 thousand. Combined federal and non-federal dollars obligated total $8.5 million, indicating modest matching contributions from recipients.

The most recent open solicitation closed in July 2020 (M20AS00165, due July 9, 2020). No grant opportunities have been posted since. The program's last active solicitation cycle in 2019 (M19AS00016, due June 17, 2019) invited LSU proposals on eight specific environmental research topics, a pattern consistent with prior years' invitation-based announcements. The extended absence of new opportunities since mid-2020 suggests the program may be dormant or substantially constrained pending agency direction.