National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 13, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The purpose of this document is to advise eligible state, local, territory and tribal governments, regional ocean partnerships, institutions of higher learning, and non-profit and for-profit organizations (requirements described in full announcement) that NOAA is soliciting proposals for competitive funding for Regional Ocean Partnerships that include or emphasize regional Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) efforts. This competition is focused on advancing effective coastal and ocean management through regional ocean governance and the goals for national ocean policy set out in the July 2010 Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, which includes a national CMSP Framework. The Regional Ocean Partnership Funding Program (ROPFP) will support two categories of activities: (1) Implementation of activities that contribute to achieving the priorities identified by Regional Ocean Partnerships (ROPs) while also advancing CMSP as envisioned in the national CMSP Framework; and (2) ROP Development and Governance Support for administration and operations of existing ROPs, and for start-up costs of those regions beginning ROPs. Eligible entities must submit to NOAA full proposals on or before December 10, 2010, in order to participate in this Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 funding opportunity. Total anticipated funding is approximately $20,000,000 and is subject to the availability of FY 2011 appropriations. Additional funds of approximately $10,000,000 from NOAA or other Federal agencies may be used for FY 2011 or multi-year awards from this competition. The start date on proposals should be the first day of July, August or September, but no later than October 1, of 2011. Statutory authority for this program is provided under Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1456c (Technical Assistance).