FY25 NOAA Marine Debris Interception Technologies under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law | NOAA NOS ORR 2025 25572

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS ORR 2025 25572

The FY25 NOAA Marine Debris Interception Technologies grant is a competitive funding opportunity run by the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), which sits within NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration. Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding (Public Law 117-58), this program is aimed at reducing the harms of marine debris by supporting on-the-ground projects that remove debris before it spreads through coastal and Great Lakes environments. NOAA is specifically looking to fund the installation, monitoring, and maintenance of proven debris interception technologies that directly protect NOAA trust resources in marine and coastal areas.

A key feature of this opportunity is its two-step application process. Applicants must first submit a required Letter of Intent (LOI) by email to grants.marinedebris@noaa.gov for competitive review. The LOI deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 9, 2024. Only applicants who are invited after the LOI stage may submit a full proposal. If invited, full applications must be submitted through Grants.gov and must also be validated by eRA Commons no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 7, 2025. Because validation and registrations can take time, NOAA strongly signals that applicants should start early.

The purpose of the funding is tied to NOAA's statutory mandate under the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.). NOAA uses the regulatory definition of marine debris as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and ends up in the marine environment or the Great Lakes either intentionally or unintentionally (15 C.F.R. 909.1). In practical terms, NOAA is trying to stop debris from damaging coastal habitats, waterways, and marine and Great Lakes resources by supporting real-world interception and removal efforts rather than early-stage experimentation.

Funding is expected to total up to $7,000,000 for the solicitation, with about five awards anticipated. Awards will be made as cooperative agreements. The minimum federal request is $100,000 and the maximum is $1,000,000, with most proposals expected to fall in the $250,000 to $750,000 range. NOAA retains discretion over the final number of awards and exact award amounts, including adjustments after pre-award negotiations for proposals that score highly in the review process.

Eligibility is broad but clearly limited to non-federal applicants based in the United States, its territories, or the Freely Associated States. Eligible applicants include state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments; federally and non-federally recognized Tribes and Native or Indigenous organizations; colleges and universities; nonprofit organizations; and commercial (for-profit) organizations. Federal agencies and federal employees cannot apply and will not be considered for funding, although they may collaborate with eligible applicants. Foreign organizations and foreign public entities from outside the Freely Associated States are not eligible.

The solicitation also draws firm boundaries around what NOAA will and will not fund. The program is focused on coastal states and Great Lakes watershed locations; interception projects in non-coastal states or outside the Great Lakes watershed are not the intended target. Projects must occur within the United States, its territories, or the Freely Associated States and must directly benefit NOAA trust resources. Proposals that involve removals in international waters (including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch) are not eligible. NOAA also excludes funding for research and development or for deploying unproven devices, meaning technologies must already have been used successfully in the type of environment where they are being proposed. In addition, applications focused on microplastics or microfibers are explicitly not a priority and will be withdrawn from review, as will proposals centered on installing large-scale stormwater management infrastructure. NOAA also will not support activities that are eligible for removal and reimbursement under a Federal Disaster Declaration, to avoid duplicating disaster-related funding mechanisms.

On the administrative side, applicants must have active registrations in three systems: SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. NOAA cautions that completing these registrations can take 4 to 6 weeks, so organizations should plan well ahead of deadlines. A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) obtained through SAM.gov is required as part of this process. eRA Commons registration requires the organization to set up at least one Signing Official (SO) account and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account so the application can be submitted and validated without errors.

Finally, NOAA emphasizes an interest in broadening participation, including encouraging proposals from veterans, minority-serving institutions, Tribal entities, and organizations working in communities facing environmental or climate burdens and socioeconomic challenges. While prior NOAA awardees may apply to renew or supplement existing work, those proposals compete on equal footing and do not receive preferential treatment. For applicants looking to pursue this opportunity, the practical takeaway is to move quickly on registrations, treat the LOI as a true competitive gatekeeper, and design a project that deploys demonstrated interception technology in a coastal or Great Lakes context with clear benefits to NOAA trust resources.

• The DOC NOAA - ERA Production in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 NOAA Marine Debris Interception Technologies under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.999.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for NOAA NOS ORR 2025 25572

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