Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 9793 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

convene its Socioeconomic Panel (SEP). 

DATES: The meeting will be convene at 

8:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 26, 2009 

and conclude no later than 1:30 p.m. on 

Friday, March 27, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Quorum Hotel, 700 N. Westshore 

Blvd., Tampa, FL 33609; telephone: 

(813) 289–8200. 

Council address: Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 2203 

North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, 

FL 33607. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Assane Diagne, Economist, Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (813) 348–1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico Fishery Management Council 

will convene its SEP to discuss fisheries 

economics statistics of the Gulf of 

Mexico and United States and fishery 

resource allocation issues, including 

allocation methods and data 

availability. 

A copy of the agenda and related 

materials can be obtained by calling the 

Council office at (813) 348–1630. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not on the agendas may come before the 

SEP for discussion, in accordance with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), those issues 

may not be the subject of formal action 

during this meeting. Actions of the SEP 

will be restricted to those issues 

specifically identified in the agendas 

and any issues arising after publication 

of this notice that require emergency 

action under Section 305(c) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided the 

public has been notified of the Council’s 

intent to take action to address the 

emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Tina 

O’Hern at the Council (see ADDRESSES) 

at least 5 working days prior to the 

meeting. 

Dated: March 3, 2009. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–4753 Filed 3–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No. 090219207–9212–01] 

RIN 0648–ZC05 

NOAA Coastal and Marine Habitat 

Restoration Project Grants 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of funding availability 

under the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act. 

SUMMARY: NOAA delivers funding and 

technical expertise to restore coastal and 

marine habitats. These habitats support 

valuable fisheries and protected 

resources, improve the quality of our 

water, provide recreational 

opportunities for the public’s use and 

enjoyment, and buffer our coastal 

communities from the impacts of storms 

and sea level rise. Projects funded 

through NOAA have strong on–the– 

ground habitat restoration components 

that provide social and economic 

benefits for people and their 

communities in addition to long–term 

ecological habitat improvements. 

Through this solicitation, NOAA seeks 

to openly compete funding available for 

habitat restoration under the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

Applications should be submitted for 

any project that is to be considered for 

this funding, even for those projects put 

forth to the Federal Government as 

examples by internal and external 

restoration partners or submitted as 

applications to other NOAA 

competitions. Competition will ensure 

that the most beneficial restoration 

projects are selected to realize 

significant ecological gains (with 

emphasis on projects that are regionally 

or nationally significant species and 

ecosystems), fuel America’s near–term 

economy, and ensure that projects are 

truly ‘‘shovel–ready.’’ Proposals 

selected for funding through this 

solicitation will be implemented 

through a grant or cooperative 

agreement, with awards dependent 

upon the amount of funds made 

available to NOAA for this purpose by 

Congress. NOAA anticipates that up to 

$170 million may be available for 

coastal and marine habitat restoration; 

typical awards are expected to range 

between $1.5 million to $10 million. 

Funds will be administered by NOAA’s 

Office of Habitat Conservation. 

DATES: Applications must be 

postmarked, provided to a delivery 

service, or received by www.grants.gov 

by 11:59 PM EDT on April 6, 2009. Use 

of U.S. mail or another delivery service 

must be documented with a receipt. No 

facsimile or electronic mail applications 

will be accepted. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic applications are 

strongly encouraged and are available at 

http://www.grants.gov. Grants.gov 

requires applicants to register with the 

system prior to submitting an 

application for the first time. This 

registration process can take over a 

week and involves multiple steps. In 

order to allow sufficient time for this 

process, prospective applicants should 

register as soon as they decide to apply, 

even if not yet ready to submit an 

application. If an applicant is having 

difficulty downloading the application 

forms from Grants.gov, contact 

Grants.gov customer support at 1–800– 

518–4726 or support@grants.gov. If an 

applicant is having difficulty with 

Grants.gov, the applicant should contact 

Craig Woolcott at 

Craig.Woolcott@noaa.gov, or by phone 

at 301–713–0174, or by mail at NOAA 

Fisheries, Office of Habitat Conservation 

(F/HC3), 1315 East West Highway, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Craig Woolcott or Melanie Gange at 

(301) 713–0174, or by e–mail at 

Craig.Woolcott@noaa.gov or 

Melanie.Gange@noaa.gov. Prospective 

applicants are invited to contact NOAA 

staff before submitting an application to 

discuss whether their project ideas are 

within the scope of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s 

objectives and NOAA’s mission and 

goals. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

principal objective of these NOAA 

Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration 

Project Grants is to provide Federal 

financial and technical assistance to 

‘‘ready-to-go’’ (shovel–ready) projects 

that meet NOAA’s mission to restore 

marine and coastal habitats and that 

will result in near–immediate 

stimulation of local United States (U.S.) 

economies through the creation or 

retention of restoration–related jobs for 

work in U.S. jurisdictions. 

NOAA seeks to support projects that 

will result in on–the–ground restoration 

of marine and coastal habitat (including 

Great Lakes habitat) that are aligned 

with the objectives of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

Restoration for the purposes of this 

solicitation will be broadly inclusive. 

Restoration includes, but is not limited 

to, activities that contribute to the return 

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of degraded or altered marine, estuarine, 

coastal, and freshwater (diadromous 

fish) habitats to a close approximation 

of their function prior to disturbance. 

Habitat restoration activities that 

produce ecologically significant habitat 

features to create buffers or ‘‘green 

infrastructure’’ that serve to protect 

coastal communities from sea level rise, 

coastal storms and flooding, or that 

provide adaptation to climate change 

will also be considered. The program 

priorities for this opportunity primarily 

support NOAA’s ‘‘Ecosystems’’ mission 

support goal of ‘‘Protect, Restore, and 

Manage Use of Coastal and Ocean 

Resources through Ecosystem–Based 

Management.’’ 

NOAA will emphasize the selection of 

mid–scale, shovel–ready restoration 

projects that will (1) yield significant 

ecological benefits with emphasis on 

regionally or nationally significant 

species and ecosystems, and (2) 

stimulate local economies through the 

creation or retention of restoration– 

related jobs for work in U.S. 

jurisdictions. Mid–scale projects are 

anticipated to be those with a total 

project cost (NOAA award plus any 

match or leverage) over $1.5 million. 

Shovel–ready projects are expected to 

be those where feasibility studies and/ 

or other baseline information required 

for a design are available, where 

required consultations and permits, if 

not in–hand, are either in progress or 

there is reasonable assurance provided 

that they can be attained quickly, and 

where NEPA analysis and any 

environmental permits and 

authorizations are finished or can be 

expeditiously completed, so that 

projects can be implemented shortly 

after funding is made available (see 

NEPA details below, and in Section 

VI.B.2 of the FFO). 

High priority will be given to 

applications for projects that: 

• Have the greatest potential to 

achieve ecological benefits and 

maximize jobs creation/preservation; 

•Can begin within the first 90 days of 

the award start date; 

•Can be completed within 12–18 

months; 

• Have the greatest potential to be 

sustainable and provide lasting benefits 

of regional or national significance; 

• Identify specific goals and outcomes, 

with appropriate ecological and 

economic performance metrics; 

• Propose sufficient, cost–effective 

monitoring appropriate to the scope and 

scale of the project to evaluate a 

project’s benefits; 

• Are consistent with NOAA species 

recovery planning efforts if located in 

areas where recovery planning efforts 

for Endangered Species Act listed 

species are underway; 

•Request funds primarily to 

implement physical, on–the–ground 

coastal habitat restoration (as opposed 

to funds for general program support, 

overhead and travel). 

Because the purpose of these funds is to 

quickly stimulate local U.S. economies 

through habitat restoration, applications 

for projects lacking opportunity to 

generate employment through 

restoration implementation or provide 

long–term economic benefits will not 

compete well and are discouraged. 

The following are exemplary of the 

types of coastal and marine habitats and 

projects that will receive priority for 

restoration funding consideration: 

• Diadromous fish habitat, particularly 

projects that remove in–stream 

migration barriers or create/restore 

habitats limiting productivity; 

• Shellfish habitat restoration/ 

creation, for the broad ecological 

benefits and ecosystem services they 

provide; 

•Coral reefs, through projects that 

address land–based sources of 

pollution, recovery from disturbance or 

disease, or that promote coral 

recruitment and/or recovery; 

•Coastal wetlands, through shoreline 

restoration or hydrological 

reconnection; 

• Projects that seek to restore coastal 

and marine habitat to recover threatened 

or endangered species or for species of 

concern; 

• Projects that provide protection for 

communities and infrastructure through 

habitat restoration to improve coastal 

resiliency to storms and coastal 

flooding; 

• Projects that improve the potential 

for coastal habitat to respond to climate 

change through restoration or protection 

of transition zones that provide room for 

habitat migration with sea level rise; 

• Projects that seek to address the 

problem of marine debris accumulation 

in coastal and marine habitats; 

• Projects that support conservation 

corps type activities to provide 

employment, education and training 

through restoration of coastal and 

marine habitat; and 

•Restoration of Great Lakes habitats 

within Areas of Concern addressing 

beneficial use impairments to loss of 

fish and wildlife habitat and/or 

degradation of benthos. 

Safety is a critical consideration for 

restoration project implementation. If an 

application is selected, the grantee must 

have a written safety plan for all 

project–related activities, including 

management of volunteers (if 

applicable). The safety plan should 

consider safety at the site during and 

after project construction, and take into 

account potential safety concerns with 

regard to the current and future use of 

the site. 

Electronic Access 

The full text of the Federal Funding 

Opportunity (FFO) announcement for 

this program can be accessed via the 

Grants.gov web site at http:// 

www.grants.gov (FFO number: NOAA– 

NMFS–HCPO–2009–2001709). The FFO 

will also be available by contacting the 

program officials identified under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Applicants must comply with all 

requirements contained in the FFO. 

Statutory Authority 

The Secretary of Commerce is 

authorized under the following statutes 

to provide grants and cooperative 

agreements for habitat restoration: 

• Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the 

Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970; 

• Magnuson–Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management 

Reauthorization Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 

1891a; 

• Marine Debris Research, Prevention, 

and Reduction Act, 33 U.S.C. 1951 et 

seq.; 

•Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 

16 U.S.C. 6403; 

•Coastal Zone Management Act of 

1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1451 et 

seq.; 

• National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1431 et seq.; 

• Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1382; and 

• Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 

1535. 

Catalogue of Domestic Federal 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.463, 

Habitat Conservation. 

Funding Availability 

NOAA anticipates that up to $170 

million may be available for coastal and 

marine habitat restoration; typical 

awards are expected to range between 

$1.5 million and $10 million. NOAA 

will not accept applications requesting 

more than $20 million or less than 

$500,000 under this solicitation. There 

is no guarantee that sufficient funds will 

be available to make awards for all 

applications. The number of awards to 

be made as a result of this solicitation 

will depend on the number of eligible 

applications received, the amount of 

funds requested for habitat restoration 

projects by the applicants, the merit and 

ranking of the applications, the amount 

of funds made available by Congress, 

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and the amount of funding, if any, put 

toward American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act projects outside this 

solicitation. 

NOAA will consider funding more 

than one project under a single 

application and/or award. Applicants 

that bundle projects in a single 

application should ensure that there is 

sufficient detail for each project as per 

the guidelines and information 

requirements listed in this document if 

an application is to be competitive; all 

projects in the bundle should be able to 

be initiated quickly as well as 

completed within the award period 

specified below. Projects that are 

sufficiently different in nature so that 

they cannot be succinctly described 

within the narrative page limit 

requirements may be most competitive 

as individual applications and should 

be submitted as such. 

The exact amount of funds that may 

be awarded will be determined in pre– 

award negotiations between the 

applicant and NOAA representatives. 

Publication of this document does not 

obligate NOAA to award any specific 

project or obligate all or any parts of any 

available funds. Pre–award costs are 

generally unallowable. If applicants 

incur any costs prior to an award being 

made, they do so at their own risk of not 

being reimbursed by the government. 

There is no obligation on the part of 

NOAA to cover pre–award costs unless 

approved by the Grants Officer as part 

of the terms when the award is made. 

Eligibility 

Eligible applicants are institutions of 

higher education, non–profits, 

commercial (for profit) organizations, 

U.S. Territories, and state, local and 

Indian tribal governments. Applications 

from Federal agencies or employees of 

Federal agencies will not be considered. 

Federal agencies are strongly 

encouraged to work with states, non– 

governmental organizations, municipal 

and county governments, conservation 

corps organizations and others that are 

eligible to apply. 

The Department of Commerce/ 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (DOC/NOAA) is 

strongly committed to broadening the 

participation of historically black 

colleges and universities, Hispanic– 

serving institutions, tribal colleges and 

universities, and institutions that work 

in under–served areas. NOAA 

encourages applications involving any 

of the above institutions. 

Cost Sharing Requirements 

There is no statutory matching 

requirement for this funding. 

Evaluation and Selection Procedures 

The evaluation criteria, review 

process and selection factors that apply 

to eligible applications under this 

funding opportunity are below. Further 

information about the application 

requirements, evaluation and selection 

process can be found in the FFO. 

Evaluation Criteria for Projects 

Reviewers will assign scores to 

applications ranging from 0 to 50 points 

based on the following five standard 

NOAA evaluation criteria and 

respective weights specified below. 

Applications that best address these 

criteria will be most competitive. 

1. Importance and Applicability of 

Proposal (20 points): This criterion 

ascertains whether there is intrinsic 

value in the proposed work and/or 

relevance to NOAA, Federal, regional, 

state or local activities. For the NOAA 

Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration 

Project Grants competition, applications 

will be evaluated based on the 

following: 

•The potential of an application to 

meet the intent of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 

readily maximize jobs created or 

maintained through implementation of 

shovel–ready coastal and marine habitat 

restoration projects, and to improve the 

short– and long–term economic 

condition of an area (e.g., increased 

fisheries benefits, increased tourism and 

recreation, etc.), based on the 

significance of the anticipated outcomes 

of the project. This includes the extent 

to which the project(s) will deliver 

tangible, specific results that are 

measurable with respect to the number, 

type, speed, and duration (in labor 

hours) of jobs created or maintained 

directly resulting from the project.(8 

points) 

•The potential of an application to 

meet NOAA’s mission to protect and 

restore marine and coastal habitats, 

based on the significance of the 

anticipated ecological benefits. This 

includes the extent to which the project 

will deliver tangible, specific results 

that are measurable and relevant to 

NOAA performance measures such as 

acres restored, stream miles opened for 

fish passage, tonnage of marine debris 

removed, and similar outputs that 

directly result from the project. (8 

points) 

•The potential of the project to be 

sustainable and provide lasting benefits 

of regional or national significance for 

coastal and marine habitats. Reviewers 

will be looking for evidence that 1) there 

is demonstrated support for the project 

in the form of a letter from partners, 

local entities, and/or state and local 

governments, and a letter of 

commitment from the appropriate 

resource agency personnel for a project 

in permanently protected areas, or from 

the affected landowner for a project on 

private property, that provides 

assurance of support and dedication to 

protecting the project for its useful life 

(letter of support, conservation 

easement, or significant financial or 

other in–kind investment); 2) the 

applicant has chosen the most self– 

sustaining restoration technique that 

accomplishes the project’s goals; and/or 

3) the project will remove a habitat or 

species impact that will not re–occur. (4 

points) 

2. Technical/Scientific Merit (12 

points): This criterion assesses whether 

the approach is technically sound and/ 

or innovative, if the methods are 

appropriate, and whether there are clear 

project goals and objectives. For the 

NOAA Coastal and Marine Habitat 

Restoration Project Grants competition, 

applications will be evaluated based on 

the following: 

•The extent to which the applicant 

has described a realistic implementation 

plan, beginning within the first 90 days 

of the award start date, and whether the 

project is likely to be fully achievable 

within 12–18 months. Applications that 

provide assurance that implementation 

of the project will meet all Federal, state 

and local environmental laws, and that 

applicable permits and/or approvals are 

in hand or will be obtained 

expeditiously, so that on–the–ground 

activities will begin soon after the 

project’s proposed start date are likely to 

score higher(see NEPA details in 

Section VI.B.2 of the FFO). Applications 

submitted with evidence of completed 

environmental assessments, completed 

consultations and/or secured permits, if 

applicable, will score higher. (5 points) 

•The overall feasibility of the project 

from a socioeconomic perspective. This 

includes the likelihood that a project is 

able to meet stated employment targets 

and whether there is an effective 

mechanism to evaluate project success, 

including adequate and meaningful 

performance measures for economic 

benefits, for which results will be 

available within and following the 

award period. Those projects that 

identify specific quantifiable targets 

achievable during the award period are 

likely to score higher. (3 points) 

•The overall technical feasibility of 

the project from a biological and 

engineering perspective, including 

whether the proposed approach is 

technically sound, safe, and uses 

appropriate methods and personnel. 

This includes the likelihood that a 

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project is able to achieve stated project 

goals and objectives on an ecological 

basis, and whether there is an effective 

mechanism to evaluate project 

performance (e.g., sufficient, cost– 

effective monitoring appropriate to the 

scope and scale of the project), for 

which results will be available within 

and following the award period. Those 

projects that identify specific 

quantifiable targets, achievable during 

the award period, are likely to score 

higher. For projects requiring 

maintenance to assure success/proper 

function, the adequacy of the long–term 

operation and/or maintenance plan will 

be considered. (4 points) 

3. Overall Qualifications of 

Applicants (6 points): This criterion 

ascertains whether the applicant 

possesses the necessary education, 

experience, training, facilities, and 

administrative resources to accomplish 

the proposed work. For the NOAA 

Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration 

Project Grants competition, applications 

will be evaluated based on the 

following: 

•The capacity/knowledge of the 

applicant and associated project 

personnel to conduct the scope and 

scale of the proposed work, as indicated 

by the qualifications and past 

experience of the project leaders and/or 

partners in designing, implementing 

and effectively managing and overseeing 

projects that restore marine and coastal 

habitats. Proposals that require 

engineering decision making should 

highlight the qualifications and 

experience of the designer/engineer. 

Applicants are encouraged to reference 

examples of projects similar in scope 

and nature that have been successfully 

completed by the implementation team. 

(4 points) 

•The facilities/equipment and/or 

administrative resources and 

capabilities available to the applicant, or 

that will be secured to support and 

successfully manage the restoration 

work and grant responsibilities. (2 

points) 

4. Project Costs (10 points): This 

criterion evaluates the budget to 

determine if it is realistic and 

commensurate with the project needs 

and time–frame. For the NOAA Coastal 

and Marine Habitat Restoration Project 

Grants competition, applications will be 

evaluated on the following: 

•Whether the proposed budget is 

cost–effective and realistic, based on the 

applicant’s stated objectives, time frame, 

and amount of overall project budget 

already secured from other sources. 

Applications will be evaluated based on 

the percentage of funds requested that 

will be dedicated to all phases of project 

implementation including physical, on– 

the–ground coastal habitat restoration, 

compared to the percentage for general 

program support, overhead and travel. 

The degree to which funding for salaries 

will support staff directly involved in 

accomplishing the restoration work, as 

evidenced by a detailed breakdown of 

personnel hours and costs by task, with 

appropriate NAICS code data that 

indicates the primary activity of 

businesses/partners involved in the 

restoration work, will be evaluated. 

Requests for equipment (any single 

piece of equipment costing $5,000 or 

more) will be evaluated on how strongly 

tied the equipment is to achieving on– 

the–ground habitat restoration and on 

the adequacy of lease versus buy 

comparisons in justifying the need for 

purchase. (5 points) 

•Whether the proposed budget is 

sufficiently detailed, with appropriate 

budget breakdown and justification of 

Federal and any non–Federal shares by 

object class as listed on form SF–424A. 

If funding will be used to complete part 

of a larger project, a budget overview for 

the entire project should be provided to 

allow the selecting official to make an 

informed determination of a project’s 

readiness. (3 points) 

•Whether an applicant can leverage 

the Federal investment through 

matching contributions and/or 

partnerships. Applicants that propose to 

use independent sources of funds for 

in–depth evaluation and monitoring of 

long–term ecological and/or 

socioeconomic impacts of a project 

outside the award period will receive 

full points for this sub–criterion. NOAA 

encourages applicants to provide 

matching contributions and work with 

partners to improve cost–effectiveness; 

however, match is not required. (2 

points) 

5. Outreach and Education (2 points): 

NOAA assesses whether the project 

provides a focused and effective 

education and outreach strategy 

regarding NOAA’s mission to protect 

the Nation’s natural resources. For the 

NOAA Coastal and Marine Habitat 

Restoration Project Grants competition, 

applications will be evaluated on the 

following: 

• Public outreach as it relates to the 

proposed project, including plans to 

disseminate information on project 

goals, results, project partners, jobs 

created or maintained; sources of 

funding and other support provided, 

such as the involvement of project 

partners; and the potential for the 

proposed project to encourage future 

restoration and protection of marine and 

coastal habitats or complement other 

local restoration or conservation 

activities. (2 points) 

Review and Selection Process 

Applications will undergo an initial 

administrative review to determine if 

they are eligible and complete. Eligible 

applications will then undergo a 

technical review, ranking, and selection 

process to determine how well they 

meet the stated aims of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the 

mission and goals of NOAA. 

Eligible applications for habitat 

restoration projects will be evaluated by 

at least three individual technical 

reviewers according to the criteria and 

weights described in this solicitation. 

Each technical reviewer will 

independently evaluate each project and 

provide an individual score. No 

consensus advice will be provided by 

these reviewers. Applications will likely 

be subject to a subsequent panel review. 

A panel review is dependent on the 

constraints surrounding the Act and 

may be forgone. If a panel review is not 

convened, the application ranking, 

technical review comments and scores 

will be provided to the Selecting 

Official (SO). If a panel is convened, the 

FFO, technical ranking, top ranked 

applications, and technical review 

comments and scores will be provided 

to a panel whose members will not have 

participated as technical reviewers. The 

panel will be comprised of Federal 

employees, and may convene in person, 

or by teleconference, video conference 

or other electronic means, to discuss the 

applications and consider technical 

reviewer comments. Prior to the panel 

discussion, each member of the panel 

will independently assign a numerical 

rating between 1 and 4 for each 

application according to the following 

scale: 

1 — Marginal; application partially 

meets some of the evaluation criteria 

(See Evaluation Criteria above and 

section V.A. of the FFO) but does not 

address program priorities outlined in 

the FFO. 

2 — Fair; application adequately 

meets some of the evaluation criteria 

(See Evaluation Criteria above and 

section V.A. of the FFO) and sufficiently 

addresses a program priority outlined in 

the FFO. 

3 — Good; application thoroughly 

meets much of the evaluation criteria 

(See Evaluation Criteria above and 

section V.A. of the FFO) and addresses 

program priorities outlined in the FFO. 

4 — Excellent; application fully meets 

most of the evaluation criteria (See 

Evaluation Criteria above and section 

V.A. of the FFO) and exceptionally 

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addresses program priorities outlined in 

the FFO. 

Panel member scores will be averaged 

and an interim ranking will result 

which will be presented to the panel for 

discussion, with the goal of reaching 

consensus on the applications to be 

recommended for funding. After 

discussing the applications, panelists 

will again assign a numerical rating 

between 1 and 4 (as described above) for 

each application, scores will be 

averaged, and a final project ranking 

developed. The final ranking from the 

panel will be presented to the SO and 

should be the primary consideration by 

the SO in deciding which applications 

will be recommended to the NOAA 

Grants Officer. 

Selection Factors for Projects 

The SO anticipates recommending 

applications for funding in rank order 

unless an application is justified to be 

selected out of rank order based upon 

one or more of the following selection 

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 out in section I.A and I.B of 

the FFO; 

(5) An applicant’s prior award 

performance; 

(6) Partnerships and/or participation 

of targeted groups; and 

(7) Adequacy of information 

necessary for NOAA staff to make a 

NEPA determination and draft 

necessary documentation before 

recommendations for funding are made 

to the NOAA Grants Officer. 

Successful applicants may be asked to 

modify work plans or budgets, and 

provide supplemental information 

required by the agency prior to final 

approval of an award. 

Successful applicants should expect 

that information about their projects and 

anticipated and realized economic 

impacts will be posted on Recovery.gov, 

a White House–managed website 

established for the purpose of 

transparency and oversight. Federal 

agencies expect to be obligated to 

publish their plans for expenditure of 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act funds on this website, including 

announcements for grant competitions, 

details on awards made with these 

funds, and performance and 

accountability information on funded 

projects. Recipients of American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds 

will be required to comply with Section 

1606 of the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act regarding wage rate 

requirements, and Section 1605 

regarding the use of American iron, 

steel, and manufactured goods for 

applicable project types (see 

Application and Submission 

Information in Section IV.B.2 of the 

FFO). Recipients will also need to assist 

NOAA in meeting mandatory reporting 

requirements under Title XV., Section 

1512 (Reports on Use of Funds), of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act (see Reporting Requirements details 

in Section VI.C of the FFO). Initial 

guidance to Federal agencies for 

implementing American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act programs, including 

reporting requirements for agencies, is 

provided in OMB Memorandum M–09– 

10 (February 18, 2009). Additional 

guidance may be forthcoming related to 

responsibilities of recipients of grants 

and cooperative agreements. 

Intergovernmental Review 

Applications submitted by state and 

local governments are subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ Any applicant submitting an 

application for funding is required to 

complete item 16 on SF–424 regarding 

clearance by the State Single Point of 

Contact (SPOC) established as a result of 

EO 12372. To find out and comply with 

a State’s process under EO 12372, the 

names, addresses and phone numbers of 

participating SPOCs is listed in the 

Office of Management and Budget’s 

home page at: http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/ 

spoc.html. 

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 obligate NOAA 

to award any specific project or to 

obligate any available funds. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

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 

funding. Detailed information on NOAA 

compliance with NEPA can be found at 

the following NOAA NEPA website: 

http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including 

NOAA Administrative Order 216–6 for 

NEPA, and the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) 

implementation regulations. 

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, safety 

concerns, 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). 

It is the applicant’s responsibility to 

obtain all necessary Federal, state, and 

local government permits and approvals 

where necessary for the proposed work 

to be conducted. Applicants are 

expected to design their projects so that 

they minimize the potential for adverse 

impacts to the environment. Applicants 

will also be required to cooperate with 

NOAA in identifying feasible measures 

to reduce or avoid any identified 

adverse environmental impacts of their 

proposed project. The failure to do so 

shall be grounds for not awarding a 

grant. Documentation of requests/ 

completion of required environmental 

authorizations and permits, including 

Endangered Species Act or Marine 

Mammal Protection Act authorizations, 

if applicable, should be included in the 

application package. Applications will 

be reviewed to ensure that they contain 

sufficient information to allow NOAA 

staff to conduct a NEPA analysis so that 

appropriate NEPA documentation, 

required as part of the application 

package, can be submitted to the NOAA 

Grants Management Division along with 

the recommendation for funding for 

selected applications. 

Applicants proposing restoration 

activities that cannot be categorically 

excluded from further NEPA analysis, or 

that are not covered by the NOAA 

Fisheries Community–based Restoration 

Program Environmental Assessment 

(PEA) and Finding of No Significant 

Impact (FONSI) or Supplemental PEA 

and FONSI, or whose activities are not 

covered under another agency’s NEPA 

compliance procedures that can be 

analyzed and adopted for use by NOAA, 

will be informed after the technical 

review stage to determine if NEPA 

compliance and other requirements can 

otherwise be expeditiously met so that 

a project can proceed within the 

timeframes anticipated under American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 

CRP PEA and FONSI can be found at: 

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/recovery. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

9798 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 

If additional information is required 

after an application is accepted, funds 

can be withheld by the Grants Officer 

under a special award condition 

requiring the recipient to submit 

additional environmental law 

compliance information sufficient to 

enable NOAA to make an assessment on 

any impacts that a project may have on 

the environment and to verify 

compliance with any environmental 

laws. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

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, nor shall 

a person be subject to 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 (Regulatory 

Impact Review) 

This notice has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of the 

Executive Order 12866. 

Executive Order 12132 (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 

not applicable. Therefore, a regulatory 

flexibility analysis has not been 

prepared. 

Dated: March 2, 2009. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–4801 Filed 3–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Nomination of Existing Marine 

Protected Areas to the National 

System of Marine Protected Areas 

AGENCY: NOAA, Department of 

Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Public notice and opportunity 

for comment on the list of nominations 

received from Federal, State and 

territorial marine protected area 

programs to join the National System of 

Marine Protected Areas. 

SUMMARY: NOAA and the Department of 

the Interior (DOI) invited Federal, State, 

commonwealth, and territorial marine 

protected areas (MPA) programs with 

potentially eligible existing MPAs to 

nominate their sites to the national 

system of MPAs. The national system 

and the nomination process are 

described in the Framework for the 

National System of Marine Protected 

Areas of the United States (Framework), 

developed in response to Executive 

Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas. 

The final Framework was published on 

November 19, 2008, and provides 

guidance for collaborative efforts among 

Federal, State, commonwealth, 

territorial, Tribal and local governments 

and stakeholders to develop an effective 

and well coordinated National System 

of MPAs (national system) that includes 

existing MPAs meeting national system 

criteria as well as new sites that may be 

established by managing agencies to fill 

key conservation gaps in important 

ocean areas. 

DATES: Comment on the nominations to 

the national system of MPAs are due 

April 6, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to 

Joseph A. Uravitch, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, 

National Marine Protected Areas Center, 

1305 East West Highway, N/ORM, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. Fax: (301) 

713–3110. E-mail: 

mpa.comments@noaa.gov. Comments 

will be accepted in written form by 

mail, e-mail, or fax. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lauren Wenzel, NOAA, at 301–713– 

3100, ext. 136 or via e-mail at 

mpa.comments@noaa.gov. An 

electronic copy of the list of nominated 

MPAs is available for download at 

http://www.mpa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on National System 

The national system of MPAs 

includes member MPA sites, networks 

and systems established and managed 

by Federal, State, Tribal and/or local 

governments that collectively enhance 

conservation of the nation’s natural and 

cultural marine heritage and represent 

its diverse ecosystems and resources. 

Although participating sites continue to 

be managed independently, national 

system MPAs also work together at the 

regional and national levels to achieve 

common objectives for conserving the 

nation’s important natural and cultural 

resources, with emphasis on achieving 

the priority conservation objectives of 

the Framework. MPAs include sites 

with a wide range of protection, from 

multiple use areas to no take reserves 

where all extractive uses are prohibited. 

The term MPA refers only to the marine 

portion of a site (below the mean high 

tide mark) that may include both 

terrestrial and marine components. 

Benefits of joining the national system 

of MPAs, which are expected to increase 

over time as the system matures, 

include a facilitated means to work with 

other MPAs in the region, and 

nationally on issues of common 

conservation concern; fostering greater 

public and international recognition of 

MPAs and the resources they protect; 

priority in the receipt of available 

technical and other support for crosscutting needs; and the opportunity to 

influence Federal and regional ocean 

conservation and management 

initiatives (such as integrated ocean 

observing systems, systematic 

monitoring and evaluation, targeted 

outreach to key user groups, and 

helping to identify and address MPA 

research needs). In addition, the 

national system provides a forum for 

coordinated regional planning about 

place-based conservation priorities that 

does not currently exist. 

Joining the national system does not 

restrict or require changes affecting the 

designation process or management of 

member MPAs. It does not bring State, 

territorial or local sites under Federal 

authority. It does not establish new 

regulatory authority. The national 

system is a mechanism to foster great 

collaboration among participating MPA 

sites and programs enhance stewardship 

in the waters of the United States. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES