NATIONAL
OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES
SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
AUTHORIZATION:
Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996, Section 312(a),
16 U.S.C. 1861a; Departments of Justice and State, the Judiciary,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, Title II.
To
deal with commercial fishery failures due to fishery resource disasters.
Disaster causes may be (a) natural; (b) man-made (if they are "beyond
the control of fisheries managers to mitigate through conservation
and management measures"); or (c) undetermined.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Funds
can be used for assessing the effects of commercial fishery failures,
or restoring fisheries or preventing future failures, and assisting
fishing communities affected by the failures. However, the Secretary
of Commerce must first determine that the activity will not expand
the commercial fishery failure in that fishery or into other fisheries
or other geographical regions.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: Eligible applicants are agencies
of State governments or fishing communities for programs to provide
assistance to fishing communities (including fishing vessel owners,
operators, and crew and United States fish processors that are based
in such community).
Beneficiary
Eligibility: This program directly benefits
fishing communities (including fishing vessel owners, operators,
crew, and U.S. fish processors based in such communities) that
are adversely affected by commercial fishery failures due to a
fishery resource disaster.
Credentials/Documentation:
Applicants are required to satisfy all Department of Commerce,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA) standards
and regulations, including routine and special terms and conditions,
for financial assistance programs application and conduct. Costs
will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A- 87 for
State and local governments.
Pre-application
Coordination: The standard application forms
as furnished by the agency. This program is excluded from coverage
under E.O. 12372.
Application
Procedure: Submission of an application on
Standard Form 424, including all required certifications, to the
appropriate National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regional
administrator, science and research director, or office director.
This program is subject to the provisions of 15 CFR Part 24 (Uniform
Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements
to State and Local Governments). Other programs may be developed
to provide assistance to universities, nonprofit, or individuals
and are subject to the provisions of 15 CFR Part 14, Institutions
of Higher Education and Other Nonprofit Organizations. NOAA reserves
the right to withhold the awarding of a grant or cooperative agreement
to any individual or organization delinquent on a debt to the
Federal government until payment is made or satisfactory arrangements
are made with the agency to whom the debt is owed.
Award
Procedure: Proposals are initially evaluated
by the pertinent National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) office,
region science center, or their component laboratories, and are
subject to review for technical merit, soundness of design, competency
of the applicant to perform the proposed work, potential contribution
of the project to national or regional goals, and appropriateness
and reasonableness of proposed costs. Projects recommended for
funding will be submitted to the NOAA Grants Management Division
for review and approval.
Deadlines:
Project applications must be received by the receiving NMFS office
at least 120 days before the requested start date of the project.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: Approval time
is expected to range from 90 to 120 days, which includes processing
of the award through the NMFS and DOC financial assistance procedures.
Appeals:
None.
Renewals:
Grants and cooperative agreements are approved for a fixed period,
but may be continued beyond that period, subject to approved time
frame and scope of work, satisfactory progress, and availability
of funds. Renewal of an award to increase funding, extend the
period of an award to increase funding, or extend the period of
performance is at the total discretion of the Department.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: The Federal share
of any activity under this program must not exceed 75 percent of
the total costs of the activity. The minimum 25 percent contribution
from the recipient may be as cash or in-kind contributions.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Varies. Award
funds must be spent in the indicated budget period and are expended
in accordance with OMB Cost Principles and DOC financial and reporting
procedures. Award funds are normally released to the recipient
upon request through the Financial Assistance Disbursement System
(FADS).
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Reports are due in accordance with the terms and conditions of the
award. The Department's financial assistance standard terms and
conditions generally require that financial and performance reports
be submitted on a semi-annual basis.
Audits:
Audits are required at lease biennially by DOC Office of the Inspector
General auditors, or an independent public accountant, and are
subject to the Audit Act of 1984, 312 U.S.C. 7501-7507. Recipients
that are subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133,
"Audit of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations,"
and that expend $300,000 or more in Federal awards shall have
an audit performed in accordance with the requirements contained
in OMB Circular No. A-133. In accordance with 15 CFR Part 14.26,
for-profit recipients shall have a project audit performed no
less than once every two years in accordance with the Generally
Accepted Government Auditing Standards. See OMB Circular No. A-133,
Federal Register, Vol. 62, No. 125, dated June 30, 1997 (Audits
of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations and
Information Collection Under OMB Review).
Records:
All financial and programmatic records, supporting documents,
statistical reports, and other records of grantees or subgrantees
are required to be maintained by the terms of the agreement. The
grantee must retain records for 3 years from the date when the
final financial status report is submitted unless otherwise directed
by DOC/NOAA pursuant to the exception or 15 CFR Part 24, as applicable.
In cases where litigation, claim or an audit is initiated prior
to expiration of the three-year period, records must be retained
until the action and resolution of any issues associated with
it are complete or until the end of the three-year retention period;
whichever is latest.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 13-1450-0-1-306.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $33,191,898; FY 02 est $7,000,000; and FY 03 est
$0.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
$343,500 to $7,000,000. Average: $2,781,167.
Alaska: Funded Bristol Bay Salmon disaster which included 18 separate
studies analyzing Salmon escapement, production, genetics, habitat,
juveniles and forcasting. Southeast Region: Funded brown shrimp
habitat restoration in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana - $1,000,000.
In Mississippi, $1,000,000 was used to study the effects of changing
hydrological conditions on brown shrimp survival. $4,800,000 in
disaster relief to Florida Keys lobster and stone crab trap fishermen.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Grants administration will be in accordance with provisions of 15
CFR Part 24 for State and Local Governments. For other projects
developed to provide assistance to universities, nonprofits, and
individuals, grants administration will be in accordance with 15
CFR Part 14 and costs will be determined in accordance with OMB
Circular No. A-21 for Institutions of Higher Education, Circular
No. A-122 for Nonprofit Organizations, and for Commercial Organizations
48 CFR Part 31.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: Alaska: Peter Jones, Alaska
Regional Office, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668. Telephone:
(907) 586-7280, Fax: (907) 586-7255. Use the same numbers for FTS.
Email: peter.d.jones@noaa.gov. Northeast: Harold C. Mears, Director,
State, Federal, and Constituent Programs Office, National Marine
Fisheries Service; Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Telephone: (978)281-9243. Fax: (978)
281-9117. Email: Grants.Information@noaa.gov. Northwest: Steve Freese,
Northwest Regional Office, NMFS, Sustainable Fisheries Division,
7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. Telephone: (206) 526-6113.
Fax: (206) 526- 4461. Email: steve.freese@noaa.gov. Southeast: Jeffrey
Brown, State/Federal Liaison Staff, Southeast Regional Office, 9721
Executive Center Drive, North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432. Telephone:
(727) 570-5324. Fax: (727) 570-5364. Email: jeff.brown@noaa.gov.
Southwest: Patricia J. Donley, Federal Program Officer, Southwest
Regional Office, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
Telephone: (562) 980- 4033. Fax: (562) 980-4047. Email: pat.donley@noaa.gov.
Web
Site Address: Alaska:
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/omi/grants/default.htm
Southeast:
http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/grants/programs/disaste
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Northeast: Assessment and Monitoring of the American Lobster Resource
and Fishery in Long Island Sound - $1,300,000. Lobster Fishery Disaster
Assistance - $3,650,000. Distribution, Movement, and Health of American
Lobster in New York Waters with Emphasis on Western Long Island
Sound - $1,300,000. Long Island Sound Fishery Disaster Relief -
$3,650,000. Northwest: West Coast groundfish fishermen and their
communities received assistance to provide job retraining stipends,
cooperative research projects, and community diversification projects.
Southeast: Provide financial assistance to lobster and crab trap
fishermen in the Florida Keys; provide financial assistance to North
Carolina seafood dealers, charter boat and head boat operators,
and pier operators; determine the effects of hurricanes on near
shore fish populations.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Proposals may be selected from several sources, e.g., unsolicited
and solicited proposals, Congressionally-mandated projects, and
applications received as a result of notices published in the Federal
Register. All proposals must undergo rigorous technical and merit
review. Recipients, subrecipients and their proposals are subject
to all applicable Federal laws and Federal and departmental policies,
regulations, and procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance
awards.
