[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4349-4350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1500]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Estuarine Reserve System

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Announcement to re-open solicitation period for the National 
Estuarine research Reserve Land Acquisition and Construction Program 
FY10.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National 
Ocean Service, publishes this notice to re-open the solicitation period 
for the National Estuarine Research Reserve Land Acquisition and 
Construction Program FY10 to provide National Estuarine Research 
Reserve lead State agencies or designated universities in coastal 
States the opportunity to submit proposals for funds.

DATES: The deadline for the receipt of proposals is 11:59 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time on February 19, 2010 for both electronic and paper 
applications.
    Addresses for Submitting Proposals: Applications must be submitted 
through http://www.grants.gov, unless an applicant does not have 
Internet access. In that case, hard copies with original signatures may 
be sent to Nina Garfield, 1305 East West Highway, N/ORM5, SSMC4, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Garfield, 1305 East West Highway, 
N/ORM5, SSMC4, 10500, Silver Spring, MD 20910; or by phone at (301) 
713-3155 ext. 171, or via e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCRM-2010-2001856.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.420, 
Coastal Zone Management Estuarine Research Reserves.
    The National Estuarine Research Reserve Land Acquisition and 
Construction Program publishes this notice to re-open the application 
solicitation period to provide National Estuarine Research Reserve lead 
state agencies or designated universities in coastal states the 
opportunity to submit proposals for FY 2010 grant funds. The mission of 
the National Estuarine Research Reserve Land Acquisition and 
Construction Program is to provide funding to the designated reserves 
for acquiring additional property interests and for construction 
projects within these reserves to strengthen protection of key land and 
water areas; to enhance long-term protection of the areas for research 
and education; and provide for facility and exhibit construction and 
enhancement.
    This program originally solicited proposals in the Federal Register 
on July 16, 2009 (74 FR 34674) as part of the June 2009 NOAA Omnibus 
solicitation. The original deadline for receipt of proposals was 11:59 
p.m., EST, on November 30, 2009. Due to State fiscal constraints and 
uncertainties at the time of the original solicitation, some applicants 
may not have been able to submit proposals, and therefore the 
applications received totaled less than the funds available. Therefore, 
NOAA re-opens the solicitation period to provide applicants the 
opportunity to submit proposals. The deadline for the receipt of 
proposals is 11:59 p.m. EST on February 19, 2010 for both electronic 
and paper applications.
    Applicants are directed to the July 16, 2009 Federal Register 
notice and Federal Funding Opportunity announcement for information on 
the program's priorities, application requirements, evaluation 
criteria, and selection process for this solicitation. The program will 
evaluate applications received during both the original solicitation 
period and the re-opened period, at the same time using the evaluation 
and selection processes outlined in the July 16, 2009 notice and FFO 
announcement.
    Classification:
    Limitation of Liability: Funding for programs listed in this notice 
is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations. 
Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been 
appropriated for the competition listed in this notice. In no event 
will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible for proposal 
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.
    Universal Identifier: Applicants should be aware that they are 
required to provide a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 
System (DUNS) number during the application process. See the October 
30, 2002 Federal Register (67 FR 66177-66178), for additional 
information. Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no cost by 
calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1-866-705-
5711

[[Page 4350]]

or via the Internet (http://www.dunandbradstreet.com).

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 non-indigenous 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 an environmental assessment, if 
NOAA determines an assessment is required. 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 contained in the Federal Register 
notice of February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), 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, 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 respond to, nor 
shall any 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 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
are inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis has not 
been prepared.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Garfield at (301) 713-3155 
Extension 171 of NOAA's National Ocean Service, Estuarine Reserves 
Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 
20910.

    Dated: January 14, 2010.
Donna Wieting,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-1500 Filed 1-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P