FY25 NOAA Marine Debris Removal under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

closed

This funding opportunity requires a Letter of Intent (LOI) to be submitted to grants.marinedebris@noaa.gov for competitive review before a full proposal can be submitted. LOIs must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, September 27, 2024. If invited, full proposals must then be submitted in Grants.gov ( http://www.grants.gov ) and validated by eRA on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, January 31, 2025. The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) is a division of the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration. Authorized in the Marine Debris Act, codified at 33 U.S.C. § 1951 et seq., the NOAA MDP supports the development and implementation of marine debris assessment, removal, and prevention projects that benefit coastal habitat, waterways, and marine and Great Lake resources. Marine debris is defined as "any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes" (15 C.F.R. § 909.1). The mission of the NOAA MDP is to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris. Through this solicitation, NOAA seeks to support large marine debris removal projects with funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (PL 117-58). The overall objective of this funding opportunity is to support impactful, large marine debris removal projects that will improve the resilience of the coastal and marine environment. This competition considers impactful projects to be those that will have long-lasting, transformational benefits to marine and coastal NOAA Trust Resources, coastal communities, and/or local economies. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) describes the types of projects that are eligible for funding, as well as the proposal requirements and how applications will be evaluated. NOAA anticipates up to $47,000,000 will be available for this grant solicitation. The minimum federal request for this solicitation is $1,000,000. The maximum federal request is $10,000,000. The typical funding request will range from $2,000,000 to $6,000,000. Proposals requesting over $6,000,000 are expected to be proposals including a subaward competition for other organizations to identify and apply for funding for localized removal activities. Proposals requesting over $6,000,000 solely identifying marine debris targets for direct removal organized by the applicant should provide a detailed justification for why this amount of funding is needed. The exact amount of funds to be awarded and the number of awards made will be at the discretion of NOAA following pre-award negotiations with highly meritorious applicants.