[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17081-17083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4868]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 060324085-6085-01; I.D. 032906F]
Science on a Sphere Installation Cooperative Agreements
AGENCY: Office of Education (OEd), Office of the Undersecretary of
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (USEC), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice and request for proposals.
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SUMMARY: The NOAA Office of Education (OEd) is issuing a request for
applications from informal education institutions with interest in
displaying NOAA's Science on a Sphere. Awards will be made as one-year
cooperative agreements and will be issued in fiscal year 2006 (FY06).
Funded projects will support informal education institutions in
incorporating this data visualization technology and compatible
environmental data products into public exhibits. The goal of this
program is to build environmental literacy among the general public
through increased use of NOAA or NOAA-related data and data products in
informal education institutions. See NOAA's Education Plan for more
details on this goal and strategy: (http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/NOAA_Ed_Plan.pdf). It is anticipated that final recommendations for funding
under this announcement will be made by June 30, 2006, and that
projects funded under this announcement will have a start date no
earlier than October 1, 2006.
DATES: The deadline for full applications is 5 p.m., EDT May 5, 2006.
It is anticipated that final recommendations for funding under this
announcement will be made by June 30, 2006, and that projects funded
under this announcement will have a start date no earlier than October
1, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Full applications should be submitted through Grants.gov
APPLY (http://www.grants.gov). It is strongly suggested that Grants.gov
be accessed using Internet Explorer for maximum compatibility. Because
registration with Grants.gov can take up to three weeks, it is strongly
recommended that this registration process is completed as soon as
possible. Also, even if an applicant has registered with Grants.gov
previously, the applicant's password may have expired. It is
recommended that submission through Grants.gov be attempted 2 days
prior to the deadline to avoid electronic submission errors. See the
Office of Education's frequently asked questions site http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/sos_faqs.html for more details.
If an applicant does not have Internet access, application kits
must be requested from Carrie McDougall, completed, signed, and one
hard copy should be sent to Carrie McDougall, DOC/NOAA Office of
Education, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 6863, Washington, DC
20230. If submitting a hard copy, applicants are requested to provide a
CD-ROM of the application, including scanned signed forms or forms with
electronic signatures. Printed forms from Grants.gov submitted in hard
copy will not be accepted. Please note: Hard copies submitted via the
U.S. Postal Service can take up to 4 weeks to reach this office;
applicants are recommended to send hard copies via expedited shipping
methods (e.g., Airborne Express, DHL, Fed Ex, UPS). See the Office of
Education's frequently asked questions site http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/sos_faqs.html for more details. This announcement will also be
available at: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/funding_opps.html or by
contacting the program official identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
[[Page 17082]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie McDougall, telephone 202-482-
0875; e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NOAA Office of Education (OEd) is
issuing a request for applications from informal education institutions
with interest in displaying NOAA's Science on a Sphere. Awards will be
made as one-year cooperative agreements and will be issued in FY06. The
goal of this program is to build environmental literacy among the
general public through increased use of NOAA data or NOAA-related data
and data products in informal education institutions. See NOAA's
Education Plan for more details on this goal and strategy: (http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/NOAA_Ed_Plan.pdf). It is anticipated that final
recommendations for funding under this announcement will be made by
June 30, 2006, and that projects funded under this announcement will
have a start date no earlier than October 1, 2006. NOAA's Science on a
Sphere (SOS) is a complete data visualization system consisting of a
68-inch diameter opaque sphere onto which 4 video projectors project
seamless ``movies'' of animated earth system dynamics or other solar
system objects. NOAA data and NOAA-related data, models, and near real-
time whole-earth satellite imagery are provided with the SOS system.
The current version of the standard, turnkey system will be provided to
successful applicants. See http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/sos_faqs.html for
more details. A detailed description for each program priority is in
the full funding opportunity announcement that can be accessed via the
Grants.gov Web site, the NOAA Web site at http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/funding_opps.html, or by contacting the program official identified in
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Electronic Access
The full text of the full funding opportunity announcement for this
OEd program can be accessed via the Grants.gov FIND Web site. That
announcement will also be available at this NOAA Web site: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/funding_opps.html or by contacting the program
official identified under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Applicants
must read and comply with all requirements contained in the full
funding opportunity announcement. This Federal Register notice is
available through the NOAA Home page at: http://www.noaa.gov/.
Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1540; Public Law 109-108,
Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
2006.
CFDA: 11.469, Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects.
Funding Availability
NOAA announces the availability of approximately $200,000 of
Federal financial assistance in FY 2006 for Science on a Sphere
Installation Cooperative Agreements. Approximately 2 to 4 awards in the
form of cooperative agreements will be made. NOAA will only consider
projects that have duration of one year. The total Federal amount that
may be requested from NOAA shall not exceed $100,000 including direct
and indirect costs. Applications requesting Federal support from NOAA
of more than $100,000 in total costs will not be considered for
funding.
Publication of this notice does not oblige DOC/NOAA to award any
specific project or to obligate any available funds. If an applicant
incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an
authorized NOAA Grants Officer, the applicant would do so solely at
one's own risk of such costs not being included under the award.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, other
nonprofits, commercial organizations, and state, local and Indian
tribal governments. Federal agencies are not eligible to receive
Federal assistance under this announcement, but may be project
partners. Among those eligible applicants are K through 12 public and
independent schools and school systems, and science centers and
museums. The Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to increasing the
participation of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), i.e.,
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving
institutions, Tribal colleges and universities, Alaskan Native and
Native Hawaiian institutions, and institutions that work in underserved
communities. Applications are encouraged that involve any of the above
institutions.
Cost Sharing Requirements
There are no cost-sharing requirements.
Evaluation and Selection Procedures
NOAA published its agency-wide solicitation entitled ''Omnibus
Notice Announcing the Availability of Grant Funds for Fiscal Year
2006'' for projects for Fiscal Year 2006 in the Federal Register on
June 30, 2005 (70 FR 37766). The evaluation criteria and selection
procedures for projects contained in that omnibus notice are applicable
to this solicitation. Copies of the notice are available on the
Internet at: http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/funding.shtml. Further
details on evaluation and selection criteria can be found in the full
funding opportunity announcement.
Intergovernmental Review
Applications under this program are not subject to Executive Order
12372, ''Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
Limitation of Liability
In no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible
for application preparation costs if these programs fail to receive
funding or are cancelled because of other agency priorities.
Publication of this announcement does not oblige NOAA to award any
specific project or to obligate any available funds.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required
by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects
or proposals which are seeking NOAA Federal funding opportunities.
Detailed information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the
following NOAA NEPA Web site: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our
NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216 6 TOC.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality
implementation regulations, http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/toc
ceq.htm. Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under
their description of their program activities, applicants are required
to provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted,
locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible
construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist
(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic chemicals,
introduction of nonindigenous species, impacts to endangered and
threatened species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef
systems). In addition to providing specific information that will serve
as the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be
requested to assist NOAA in drafting of an environmental assessment, if
NOAA determines an assessment is required.
[[Page 17083]]
Applicants will also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying
feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse
environmental impacts of their proposal. The failure to do so shall be
grounds for not selecting an application. In some cases if additional
information is required after an application is selected, funds can be
withheld by the Grants Officer under a special award condition
requiring the recipient to submit additional environmental compliance
information sufficient to enable NOAA to make an assessment on any
impacts that a project may have on the environment.
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register
notice of December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78389), are applicable to this
solicitation.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This document contains collection-of information requirements
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The use of Standard Forms
424, 424A, 424B, and SF-LLL and CD-346 has been approved by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) under the respective control numbers
0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040, 0348-0046, and 0605-0001.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required
to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply
with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the
PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently valid
OMB control number.
Executive Order 12866
This notice has been determined to be not significant for purposes
of Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)
It has been determined that this notice does not contain policies
with Federalism implications as that term is defined in Executive Order
13132.
Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act
Prior notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required
by the Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules
concerning public property, loans, grants, benefits, and contracts (5
U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because notice and opportunity for comment are not
required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical
requirements for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)
are inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis has not
been prepared.
Dated: March 30, 2006.
Helen Hurcombe,
Director, NOAA Acquisitions and Grants, U.S. Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. E6-4868 Filed 4-4-06; 8:45 am]
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