DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[Docket No. 040113014–5064–02; I.D.
031705C]
Oceans and Human Health Initiative;
External Grants Program
AGENCY: Center for Sponsored Coastal
Ocean Research (CSCOR), National
Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
(NCCOS), National Ocean Service
(NOS), National Ocean and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.
SUMMARY: The purpose of this document
is to advise the public that NOS/CSCOR
is soliciting proposals for the Oceans
and Human Health Initiative External
Grants Program. This funding
opportunity is offered as part of NOAA’s
new Oceans and Human Health
Initiative (OHHI), established by the
Oceans and Human Health Act passed
by Congress in November 2004. The
OHHI is a competitive suite of programs
designed to enhance understanding of
the connections between the oceans and
human health, with the goal of
providing useful research and predictive
information to NOAA, public health
officials, and natural resource managers.
For the purposes of this announcement,
‘‘oceans’’ are defined as inclusive of the
Great Lakes, estuaries, and the ocean.
DATES: Proposals must be received at
NOAA’s CSCOR office by 3 p.m. eastern
time on April 26, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Applications submitted in
response to this announcement are
strongly encouraged to be submitted
through the Grants.gov Web site.
Electronic access to the full funding
announcement for this program is
available via the Grants.gov Web site:
http://www.grants.gov. The
announcement will also be available at
the NOAA Web site http://
www.ofa.noaa.gov/%7Eamd/
SOLINDEX.HTML or by contacting the
program official identified below.
Paper applications (a signed original
and two copies) should be submitted to
the Oceans and Human Health
Initiative, Center for Sponsored Coastal
Ocean Research, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, 1305 East
West Highway, SSMC 4, 8th floor
Station 8243, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Program Management Information: Hal
Stanford, NCCOS HQ, (301) 713–3020/
ext. 135, Internet:
Hal.Stanford@noaa.gov. Business
Management Information: Leslie
McDonald, NCCOS/CSCOR Grants
Administrator, (301) 713–3338/ext. 155,
Internet: Leslie.Mcdonald@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Summary Description
The OHHI is designed to enhance
NOAA’s capability in oceans and
human health through partnerships
with academia, the private sector, and
other Federal, State, and local agencies.
Toward that end, this funding
opportunity is intended to engage the
non-federal research community in
research across the physical, chemical,
biological, medical, public health, and
social sciences on priority issues for the
OHHI. The OHHI has several priority
areas described below by focus
questions and specific areas of interest;
these can be examined individually or
in combination:
1. Pathogens: The risk of human
disease occurrence as a function of
exposure to pathogens in marine and
coastal environments (including water
contact recreation and consumption of
fish, shellfish, and other marine
organisms).
2. Marine Biotoxins: The risk of
human disease as a function of exposure
to marine biotoxins in the environment,
and how do the effects of specific
environmental stressors (e.g., changes in
habitats, nutrient enrichment,
environmental pollutants, climate,
extreme events, land use, etc.) affect the
risk of human exposure to biotoxins.
3. Chemical Pollutants: The ecological
and human health risks from
contaminants in the marine and Great
Lakes.
4. Seafood and Public Health: The
potential for seafood to be a vector for
chemical contaminants, biotoxins, and
microbial pathogens to humans.
5. Sentinel and Model Species: How
investigations of sentinel species (living
in or dependent upon estuarine, coastal,
Great Lake or oceanic ecosystems) can
better inform our understanding of risks
to human health or inform our
understanding of ocean health as it
relates directly or indirectly to changes
in risk for human or public health.
6. Marine Natural Products,
Pharmaceuticals, and Biomedical
Research: The biomedical value of
marine natural products (including, but
not limited to, providing
pharmaceuticals, medical devices,
molecular probes, nutritional
supplements, diagnostics and
pigments).
All research proposals should include
appropriate outreach and education
components that facilitate the transfer of
research findings to such user groups as
public health officials and natural
resource managers at local, State and
Federal levels. Ideally, these user groups
would be engaged early in the research
process, with their documented interest
in the outcome of the proposed research
included in the proposal.
A non-federal partner should lead the
proposal. Participation of Federal
scientist(s) on the team is allowed but
no Federal expenses will be covered.
Applicants are encouraged to
collaborate with the NOAA Oceans and
Human Health Centers of Excellence
http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/mpe/ohi/
index.htm, the National Science
Foundation (NSF)/National Institute for
Environmental Health sciences (NIEHS)
Centers of Excellence in Oceans and
Human Health, and NOAA scientists
and other Federal and non-federal
researchers working on OHHI or related
issues as described in this
announcement. Applicants will be
required to provide a plan for
management and submission of data to
NOAA, to participate in an annual
OHHI research meeting, and to provide
information for the development of an
annual OHHI report required by
Congress.
Electronic Access
As has been the case since October 1,
2004, applicants can access, download
and submit electronic grant
applications, including the full funding
announcement, for NOAA Programs at
the Grants.gov Web site: grants.gov. The
announcement will also be available at
the NOAA Web site http://
www.ofa.noaa.gov/%7Eamd/
SOLINDEX.HTML or by contacting the
program officials identified above.
The closing date will be the same as
for the paper submissions noted in this
announcement. NOAA strongly
recommends that you do not wait until
the application deadline date to begin
the application process through
Grants.gov.
If Internet access is unavailable, hard
copies of proposals will also be
accepted—a signed original and two
copies at time of submission. This
includes color or high-resolution
graphics, unusually sized materials, or
otherwise unusual materials submitted
as part of the proposal. For color
graphics, submit either color originals or
color copies. Facsimile transmissions
and electronic mail submission of full
proposals will not be accepted.
Funding Availability
Funding is contingent upon
availability of Federal appropriations.
This solicitation announces that funding
totaling approximately $5.880 million is
available to support proposed projects,
which may have durations from 1–3
years. Approximately 5–20 awards are
expected from this announcement. It is
anticipated that the funding instruments
for most of the awards will be grants;
however, in some cases, if NOAA will
be substantially involved in the
implementation of an individual
project, the funding instrument may be
a cooperative agreement.
There is no guarantee that sufficient
funds will be available to make awards
for all qualified projects. If one incurs
any costs prior to receiving an award
agreement signed by an authorized
NOAA official, one would do solely at
one’s own risk of these costs not being
included under the ward.
Authority: Public Law 108–447.
CFDA: 11.478.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are institutions of
higher education, hospitals, other nonprofit
institutions, commercial
organizations, State and local
governments, and Indian tribal
governments.
Federal agencies are not eligible to
receive Federal assistance under this
notice.
Cost Sharing Requirements: None.
Intergovernmental Review:
Applications under this program are not
subject to Executive Order 12372,
‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.’’
Evaluation and Selection Procedures
Once a full application has been
received by NOAA, an initial
administrative review is conducted to
determine compliance with
requirements and completeness of the
application. All proposals will be
evaluated and scored individually in
accordance with the assigned weights of
the evaluation criteria by independent
peer mail review and/or by independent
peer panel review. Both Federal and
non-Federal experts in the field may be
used in this process. The peer mail
reviewers will be individuals with
expertise in the subjects addressed by
particular proposals. Each mail reviewer
and independent peer panel reviewer
will score proposals on a scale of five
to one, where scores represent
respectively: Excellent (5), Very Good
(4), Good (3), Fair (2), Poor (1).
The peer panel will be comprised of
10 to 20 individuals, with each
individual having expertise in a
separate area, so that the panel, as a
whole, covers a range of scientific
expertise. If the decision is made to
perform a mail review, the peer review
panel will use the mail reviews in
discussion and evaluation of the entire
slate of proposals. All proposals will be
evaluated and scored individually. The
peer panel shall rate the proposals using
the evaluation criteria and scores
provided in the notice. The individual
peer panelist scores shall be averaged
for each application and presented to
the program officers. No consensus
advice will be given by the independent
peer mail review or the review panel.
The program officers will neither vote
nor score proposals as part of the
independent peer panel nor participate
in discussion of the merits of the
proposal. Those proposals receiving an
average panel score of ‘‘Fair’’ or ‘‘Poor’’
will not be given further consideration,
and proposers will be notified of nonselection.
Proposals rated by the panel as either
‘‘Excellent,’’ ‘‘Very Good,’’ or ‘‘Good’’
will be ranked according to average
panel ratings, and/or by applying the
project selection factors listed below.
Program officers will determine the total
duration of funding for each proposal
and determine the amount of funds
available for each proposal subject to
the availability of fiscal year funds. In
addition, proposals rated by the panel as
either ‘‘Excellent,’’ ‘‘Very Good,’’ or
‘‘Good’’ that are not funded in the
current fiscal period, may be considered
for funding in another fiscal period
without having to repeat the
competitive review process.
Recommendations for funding are
then forwarded to the selecting official,
the Assistant Administrator (AA) of
NOS, for the final funding decision. In
making the final selections, the AA will
award in rank order unless the proposal
is justified to be selected out of rank
order based on the selection factors
listed below.
Investigators may be asked to modify
objectives, work plans or budgets, and
provide supplemental information
required by the agency prior to the
award. When a decision has been made
(whether an award or declination),
verbatim anonymous copies of reviews
and summaries of review panel
deliberations, if any, will be made
available to the proposer upon applicant
request. Declined applications will be
held in the NCCOS/CSCOR or the
required three years in accordance with
the current retention requirements, and
then destroyed.
Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be
evaluated on the basis of the following
evaluation criteria at the indicated
weights:
1. Importance and/or relevance and
applicability of proposed project to the
program goals: This ascertains whether
there is intrinsic value in the proposed
work and/or relevance to NOAA,
Federal, regional, State, or local
activities (30 percent).
2. Technical/scientific merit: This
assesses whether the approach is
technically sound and/or innovative, if
the methods are appropriate, and
whether there are clear project goals and
objectives. (30 percent).
3. Overall qualifications of applicants:
This ascertains whether the applicant
possesses the necessary education,
experience, training, facilities, and
administrative resources to accomplish
the project (20 percent).
4, Project costs: The Budget is
evaluated to determine if it is realistic
and commensurate with the project
needs and time-frame (10 percent).
5. Outreach and education: NOAA
assesses whether this project provides a
focused and effective education and
outreach strategy reading NOAA’s
mission to protect the Nation’s natural
resources. (10 percent).
Selection Factors: The merit review
ratings shall provide a rank order to the
Selecting Official for final funding
recommendations. A program officer
may first make recommendations to the
Selecting Official applying the selection
factors below. The Selecting Official
shall award in the rank order unless the
proposal is justified to be selected out
of rank order based upon one or more
of the following factors:
1. Availability of funding.
2. Balance/distribution of funds:
a. Geographically.
b. By type of institutions.
c. By type of partners.
d. By research areas.
e. By project types.
3. Whether this project duplicates
other projects funded or considered for
funding by NOAA or other Federal
agencies.
4. Program priorities and policy
factors set forth in sections I.A. and B.
and IV.B of the Full Funding
Opportunity.
5. Applicant’s prior award
performance.
6. Partnerships and/or Participation of
targeted groups.
7. Adequacy of information necessary
for NOAA to make a NEPA
determination and draft necessary
documentation before recommendations
for funding are made to the Grants
Officer.
National Endowment 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 the
applicants’ 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.
Applicants will also be required to
cooperate with NOAA in identifying
and implementing feasible measures to
reduce or avoid any identified adverse
environmental impacts of their
proposal. The failure to do so shall be
grounds for the denial of an application.
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.
Limitation of Liability
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. Recipients and sub
recipients are subject to all Federal laws
and agency policies, regulations and
procedures applicable to Federal
financial assistance awards.
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 comments
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, and none has been prepared.
It has been determined that this notice
does not contain policies with
Federalism implications as that term is
defined in Executive Order 13132.
Dated: March 21, 2005.
Richard W. Spinrad,
Assistant Administrator, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, National
Ocean Service.
[FR Doc. 05–5834 Filed 3–23–05; 8:45 am]