[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 202 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61120-61121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21027]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 030602141-5255-26]


Availability of Grants Funds for Fiscal Year 2006

AGENCY: Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; re-open competition solicitation.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Research publishes this notice to reopen the 
competitive solicitation for the Ballast Water Technology Demonstration 
Program (Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation Facility).

DATES: The new deadline for the receipt of preliminary proposals for 
the Ballast Water Technology Demonstration Program (Research, 
Development, Testing and Evaluation Facility) is 5 p.m. EDT October 27, 
2005 for both electronic and paper applications. The deadline for 
receipt of FULL proposals remains unchanged at 4 p.m. EST, January 6, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: The address for submitting Proposals electronically is: 
http://www.grants.gov/. (Electronic submission is strongly encouraged). 
Paper submissions should be sent to the National Sea Grant Office, 
Attn: Mrs. Geraldine Taylor, SG-Ballast Water, 1315 East-West Highway, 
R/SG, Rm. 11732, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Telephone number for express 
mail applications is 301-713-2445. Full proposals should be submitted 
through Grants.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dorn Carlson, NOAA National Sea Grant 
Office, 301-713-2435; via Internet at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#195d766b77375a786b756a76775977767878377e766f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9fdbf0edf1b1dcfeedf3ecf0f1dff1f0fefeb1f8f0e9">[email protected]</span></a>; or Pamela 
Thibodeaux, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 703-358-2493; via Internet 
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9acafbf7fff6fbc5cef2f3f8f5fefffbefe2dafcede9b4fdf5ec"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7323121e161f122c271b1a111c171612060b331504005d141c05">[email protected]</span></a>. Further background information can be 
obtained from the above information contacts, or on the Ballast Water 
Program Web site, http://www.seagrant.noaa.gov/research/ nonindigenous/
ballast.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This program was originally solicited in the 
Federal Register on June 30, 2005, as part of the June, 2005 NOAA 
Omnibus solicitation. The original deadline for receipt of preliminary 
proposals was 4 p.m., EDT, on September 23, 2005. NOAA re-opens the 
solicitation period to provide the public more time to submit 
preliminary proposals. The new deadline for the receipt of proposals is 
October 27, 2005, for both electronic and paper applications. All 
applications that are received between September 23, 2005 and the date 
of publication of this notice will be considered timely. All other 
requirements for this solicitation remain the same.
    The deadline for receipt of FULL proposals remains unchanged at 4 
p.m. EST, January 6, 2006. The preliminary proposal solicitation for 
the other Ballast Water Technology Demonstration Program (Treatment 
Technology Demonstration Projects) is not reopened, and the submission 
deadline for full proposals in that competition remains unchanged.

Limitation of Liability

    Funding for programs listed in this notice is contingent upon the 
availability of Fiscal Year 2006 appropriations. Applicants are hereby 
given notice that funds have not yet been appropriated for the programs 
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, Vol. 
67, No. 210, pp. 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 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

[[Page 61121]]

(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 of 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 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, 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.

    Dated: October 13, 2005.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-21027 Filed 10-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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