05-21214. Availability of Grants Funds for Fiscal Year 2006; Reopening of Application Deadline

AGENCY:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

NOAA publishes this notice to reopen the solicitation period on the “NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration Announcement of Opportunity, FY 2006,” which was originally announced in the Federal Register on June 30, 2005. This notice applies to only those applicants who have already submitted preproposals. The solicitation period is being extended from October 3, 2005 to October 28, 2005 to provide preproposal applicants more time to submit proposals.

DATES:

Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. e.s.t. on October 28, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

Applications should be submitted electronically to http://www.grants.gov/​ and to the Office's Frequently Asked Questions address: [e-mail]. Electronic submission is strongly encouraged. Applicants without Internet access may send applications to Proposal Manager, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, 1315 East-West Highway, SSMC3, 10th Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; these applications must be received by the Office of Ocean Exploration no later than 5 p.m. e.s.t. on October 28, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nicolas Alvarado by telephone at 301-713-9444, ext. 130 or by e-mail at [e-mail] or Jeremy Potter by telephone at 301-713-9444, ext.136 or by e-mail at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NOAA publishes this notice to reopen the solicitation period on the following initiative originally announced in the Federal Register on June 30, 2005 (70 FR 37766). NOAA reopens the solicitation period for the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration Announcement of Opportunity, FY 2006 from October 3, 2005 to October 28, 2005 to provide those applicants who have already submitted preproposals more time to submit their final proposals. This reopening does not alter the intent of the Office of Ocean Exploration's letters of encouragement and discouragement previously sent to preproposal applicants. Final proposals that were received between October 3 and October 28, 2005 will be considered timely and be given full consideration. All other requirements for this solicitation remain the same.

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. 66177B66178, 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 (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 18, 2005.

Mark Brown,

Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.