Grant Applications plus NEPA and SHPO documentation

MEMORANDUM FOR:

Reserve Managers and State Contacts

TO:

Dana Laster GH.1549928630 LASTER.DANA.LEIGH.1549928630
Date: 2020.03.13 16:54:36 -04'00'
Deputy Chief Financial Officer, National Ocean Service

THROUGH:

Joelle Gore
Division Chief, Stewardship Division

FROM:

Erica Seiden
Program Manager, Ecosystems Program

SUBJECT:

FY 2020 National Estuarine Research Reserve System
Funding Allocations and Guidance

LASTER.DANA.LEI Digitally signed by

This funding guidance is based on the funding levels contained in the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2020 which provided $27,500,000 for the National Estuarine Research
Reserve System (NERRS). NOAA deductions equal $46,453, and additions equal $49,000 from
FY19 carryover, leaving an allocation of $27,502,547. This memorandum provides guidance on
the allocation and use of these funds which are detailed in Tables 1 and 2.
Funding Facts
FY 2020 Appropriation

$27,500,000

Reduction

($46,453)

FY 2019 Carryover

$49,000

Total

$27,502,547

Total reflects the amount from the FY 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act less reductions
of $27,481 for the NOAA Hollings Scholarship program assessment and $18,972 for deobligation assessment, as well as the addition of $49,000 in FY19 carryover.

Overview
The FY 2020 appropriation of $27,500,000 minus reductions and carryover additions noted
above provide $27,502,547 for allocation. Each reserve will receive $728,214. The Centralized
Data Management Office (CDMO) will receive $631,482 for data management and
dissemination. The Office for Coastal Management will retain $15,696 to support the Systemwide Monitoring Program (SWMP) and associated Sentinel Site Application Module 1 (SSAM1)
equipment maintenance, shipping, training and supplies. The University of Michigan will receive
$3,908,163 to implement the second year of a five year cooperative agreement to implement a
collaborative science program. The National Estuarine Research Reserve Association will
receive $95,000 to support strategic partnerships, communications efforts to improve program
awareness, and support the friends and foundation network. Two states will be embarking on the
designation process including Wisconsin and Louisiana and will receive $60,000 and $50,000
respectively. NOAA will launch the first cohort of the Davidson Fellowship and will allocate
$1,827,000 to support student research, travel and indirect costs.
Reserve Operations, Research, Monitoring, Training, Education, and Stewardship
Each operations award requires a 30% state match to the 70% federal allocation. Reserve
operations awards are cooperative agreements and may be awarded for a period of 18 months.
Personnel costs should be limited to 12 months to avoid any overlap with future awards. The
core positions - manager, research coordinator, and education coordinator- should be fully
funded (with state funds as much as possible) without the need to raise additional salary money
from external sources. Please refer to the FY 2020 NERR Operations Award Guidance for
information to support development of the application.
The tasks outlined below should be distinct tasks within the award and supported adequately to
achieve the stated outcomes. The target amounts have been determined by the sectors responsible
for the following programs as a basis for implementation. Individual amounts per program may
vary based on needs to achieve the stated outcomes.
1. System-wide Monitoring Program
All reserves must allocate funds to fully implement the current components of the NERRS
SWMP including: operation of four water quality monitoring stations, a weather station, and
monitoring for estuarine nutrients, and chlorophyll a. Each reserve should continue to collect
continuous data from a weather station and at least four long-term water quality datalogger
stations, which should be calibrated, deployed, retrieved and operated in compliance with NERR
SWMP protocols. The monitoring program for nutrients and chlorophyll a should consist of (at
a minimum) monthly grab samples from the four SWMP datalogger stations and 24 hour
automated sampling from a single SWMP datalogger station. Monitoring under this task
includes data collection, quality control/quality assurance of all data, and timely data submission
to the NERRS CDMO. A special award condition will stipulate these SWMP requirements.

On average, it costs $120,000 to implement this task; however, reserves may allocate more or
less, but the requirements for SWMP monitoring must be met. These SWMP funds typically
should be used to support full-time and part-time SWMP technicians, pay for collection and
processing of nutrient samples, and provide support for equipment upgrades, repairs, and routine
maintenance. Reserves should replace and/or upgrade sondes to ensure continuity of operations.
Funding decisions regarding on-site operation of SWMP should be made in close consultation
with the reserve research coordinator and technician(s). Until additional funds are available,
reserves should focus on supporting the core elements of SWMP and only as they are able,
continue biological monitoring and/or add components towards building a sentinel site. These
efforts should follow the NERRS protocols and details should be included in the task description
and outcomes.
2. Coastal Training Program
All reserves must allocate funds to fully implement the Coastal Training Program (CTP). On
average it costs $90,000 to implement; however, reserves may allocate more or less funding, but
the performance requirements for CTP must be met. The task description should reflect CTP
program strategy direction and include services, products and programs to be implemented. A
Special Award Condition will stipulate that reserves implementing CTP will have a CTP
Coordinator, comply with the CTP guidance, and submit performance reports on progress,
programs, services, products, and performance monitoring data according to the agreed
performance metrics.
3. Teachers on the Estuary Program
All reserves must allocate funds to conduct a ‘Teachers on the Estuary’ (TOTE) Program. On
average it costs $15,000 to implement one TOTE workshop; however, reserves may allocate
more or less funding, but the performance requirements for TOTE must be met. Reserves with an
approved market analysis/needs assessment will implement one TOTE professional development
workshop of at least 15 contact hours that aligns to state or national curriculum framework and
includes an evaluation plan.
System-Wide Support Activities
System-wide activities are those that benefit the entire reserve system, and are funded with 100%
federal funds that do not require matching funds. The NERRS Centralized Data Management
Office housed at the University of South Carolina, Belle Baruch Lab will receive $ 631,482 to
provide data quality review, management, equipment support and dissemination/education via
the web for the System-wide Monitoring Program.
Davidson Fellowship Activities
NOAA will fund the first year of fellows participating in the Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship
Program. Students will be funded directly through their academic institutions. It is anticipated
that NOAA will fund 29 Fellowship awards totaling $1,189,000 with an indirect expenditure of
approximately $ 435,000. Additionally, each reserve will receive $7,000, totaling $203,000 for
29 reserves, to support student supply and equipment needs. These funds are captured above
within their reserve allocation of $728,214.

Other Reserve Projects
Table 1 reflects additional activities including support for the NERRS Collaborative Science
Program in the amount of $3,908,163 which will serve to assist the reserve system in meeting its
mission through administering the program and supporting collaborative research.
Applicable Regulations
Allocations for operations, management, education, monitoring, and research fall under Coastal
Zone Management Act (CZMA), Section 315(e), and the applicable regulations at 15 CFR Part
921 Subparts G, H, and I, including the 70:30 (federal:state) match requirement (except for
projects that benefit the entire system, which do not require match). Reserves wishing to
designate another entity to receive a portion of their allocation must meet the statutory and
regulatory requirements regarding the recipient (eligible recipients are state entities for education
and operations, and state entities or public or private persons for research and monitoring).
Agreements between the lead agency and the designated entity must be in place before
submitting an award application. The allocation of funds to each reserve is shown in Table 2.
Additionally, please see the Office of Management and Budget Uniform Grant Guidance which
will apply to all NERRS operations awards. For more information, visit
https://coast.noaa.gov/funding/_pdf/forms/budget-narrative-guidance-for-NOAA-grants.pdf
Application Procedures
Per this memo, the following application procedures are being distributed to eligible state
recipients. Please work closely with your program liaison to complete all requirements
associated with award development and submission. Recipients must find and apply for these
funds via grants.gov using search term NERR and CFDA number 11.420. Recipients must
download the application package and complete all forms including the SF424, SF424A,
SF424B and CD511. Recipients must complete their scope of work using the Coastal and Marine
Management Program (CAMMP) https://coast.noaa.gov/cammp/. The final CAMMP document
must be attached to the grants.gov application. Multi-year pilot programs will develop their
application outside of the CAMMP system. Please submit your application according to the
schedule below and apprise your program specialist of any administrative challenges.
Recipients with July award start dates should submit their applications to Grants.Gov by April 10
and for recipients with award start dates past July should submit their applications to Grants.Gov
by May 15. Multi-year pilots should submit applications using the same timeline as single-year
applicants, as described above (April 10 or May 15).
Eight reserves (ACE Basin, Delaware, Great Bay, Jacques Cousteau, Lake Superior, Mission
Aransas, Old Woman Creek, and Padilla) have participated in earlier multi-year award cycles
and are approved to develop a two-year multi-year award for the FY 2020 and FY 2021 award
cycles. Any additional reserves interested in developing a multi-year award for the FY 2020 and
FY 2021 award cycles, should consult with Erica Seiden ([email protected]) and Liz
Mountz ([email protected]) as soon as possible. This pilot is designed to test
whether multi-year awards result in increased efficiency and effectiveness in award
administration, in comparison to administering single year awards.

Multi-year pilot programs should develop two-year budgets based on the FY 2020 allocations.
This allows pilot programs to develop initial application budgets with up to a 10% increase in
Section 315 in base reserve operations funds during the second year in order to accommodate
possible between-year budget fluctuations and adjustments. The FY 2021 NERRS Final
Funding Guidance and Allocations will include the final allocations for the second year of the
multi-year award and OCM will work with pilot states to develop any necessary budget
revisions, based on FY 2021 appropriations.
cc: KKuipers, NOAA
AQuevedo, NOA
JLFree, NOAA
JKing, NOAA
KBaffoe-Harding, NOAA

JPayne, NOAA
ASPorter, NOAA
DPorter, CDMO
RRoth, NERRA

Table 1. FY 2020 NERRS Budget Overview and Allocation Summary

Budget Category
Reserve Program Operations ($728,214/reserve)
Centralized Data Management Office
Science Collaborative
SWMP/SSAM1 Maintenance
Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship
Pre-designation Funds for Wisconsin and Louisiana
National Estuarine Research Reserve Association
Total

Allocation
$21,118,206
$631,482
$3,908,163
$15,696
$1,624,000
$110,000
$95,000
$27,502,547

Budget Overview
FY 2020 ORF Appropriation

$27,500,000

NOAA Deductions

($46,453)

FY 2019 Carryover

$49,000

Total

$27,502,547

Table 2. FY 2020 National Estuarine Research Reserve Allocations
Recipient

Reserve

ORF
Allocation
$728,214

SC Dept of Natural Resources

ACE Basin

FL Dept of Environmental Protection

$312,092

Start
Date
1-Jul

Apalachicola

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

CA Coastal Conservancy

Elkhorn Slough

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

MS Dept of Marine Resources

Grand Bay

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

NH Dept of Fish and Game

Great Bay

$588,714

$252,306

1-Jul

University of New Hampshire

Great Bay

$139,500

$59,786

1-Jul

FL Dept of Environmental Protection

GTM

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

University of Hawai'i

He'eia

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

NY Dept of Environmental Conservation Hudson River

$658,773

$282,332

1-Jul

Greenway Conservancy

Hudson River

$69,441

$29,761

1-Jul

University of Alaska*

Kachemak Bay

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

University of South Carolina

N Inlet Winyah
Bay
North Carolina

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

WA Dept of Ecology

Old Woman
Creek
Padilla Bay

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

FL Dept of Environmental Protection

Rookery Bay

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

San Francisco State University

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

GA Dept of Natural Resources

San Francisco
Bay
Sapelo Island

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

OR Division of State Lands

South Slough

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

CA Dept of Parks and Recreation

Tijuana River

$371,389

$159,167

1-Jul

Southwest Interpretive Association

Tijuana River

$356,825

$152,925

1-Jul

MA Dept of Environmental Management Waquoit Bay

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

Wells Management Authority

Wells

$728,214

$312,092

1-Jul

VA College of William & Mary

Ches. Bay - VA

$728,214

$312,092

1-Sept

RI Dept of Environmental Management

Narragansett
Bay
Mission
Aransas

$728,214

$312,092

1-Sept

$728,214

$312,092

1-Sept

NC Dept Environmental Quality
OH Dept of Natural Resources

University of Texas

Match

MD Dept of Natural Resources

Ches. Bay - MD

$728,214

$312,092

1-Oct

DE Dept of Natural Resources & Env
Control
Rutgers University

Delaware

$728,214

$312,092

1-Oct

Jacques
Cousteau
Jobos Bay

$728,214

$312,092

1-Oct

$728,214

$312,092

1-Oct

Weeks Bay

$728,214

$312,092

1-Oct

Lake Superior

703,214

301,378

1-Nov

PR Dept of Natural and Environmental
Resources
AL Dept of Conservation and Natural
Resources
University of Wisconsin**
Total

$21,093,206 $9,039,955

* Administered through CESU ** OCM will transfer $25,000 from the $728,214 allocation for Lake Superior
to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab for mission support resulting in $703,214 allocation to the reserve.