FY25 NOAA Marine Debris Removal under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law | NOAA NOS ORR 2025 25974

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS ORR 2025 25974

The FY25 NOAA Marine Debris Removal under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law opportunity is a competitive NOAA grant program designed to fund large-scale marine debris removal projects that produce durable, “transformational” benefits for coastal and marine environments and the people and economies that depend on them. The program is run by NOAA's Marine Debris Program (MDP), housed within NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, and is authorized under the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.). For this competition, “marine debris” follows the federal regulatory definition: persistent manufactured or processed solid material that ends up, either intentionally or unintentionally, in the marine environment or the Great Lakes (15 C.F.R. 909.1). The main emphasis is on removing large debris in ways that measurably improve the resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems and protect NOAA trust resources.

This competition uses a two-step application process. First, a required Letter of Intent (LOI) must be emailed to grants.marinedebris@noaa.gov for competitive review, and it must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 27, 2024. Only applicants invited after the LOI stage may submit a full application. If invited, the full proposal must be submitted through Grants.gov and then validated by eRA (eRA Commons validation) by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 31, 2025. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally means NOAA expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination, oversight, or technical engagement consistent with the NOFO and award terms).

NOAA expects up to $47,000,000 total to be available under this solicitation and anticipates making around 10 awards, though both the number and size of awards ultimately depend on proposal quality and the results of pre-award negotiations. The minimum federal funding request is $1,000,000 and the maximum is $10,000,000. NOAA notes that typical requests will usually fall between $2,000,000 and $6,000,000. Proposals requesting more than $6,000,000 are generally expected to include a subaward competition in which the applicant runs a process for other organizations to compete for funding for localized removal activities. If an applicant instead seeks more than $6,000,000 primarily for removals directly organized by the applicant (without that kind of subaward competition), NOAA expects a detailed, credible justification explaining why that larger budget is necessary.

Eligible applicants must be based in the United States, its territories, or the Freely Associated States, and must fit within the eligible entity types described in the Marine Debris Act. Eligible applicants include state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments; federally and non-federally recognized Tribes and Native or Indigenous organizations; institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; and commercial (for-profit) organizations that have expertise in marine debris removal. Applications from federal agencies or federal employees are not eligible and will not be considered, although federal partners can collaborate with eligible applicants as non-funded collaborators. Likewise, foreign organizations and foreign public entities outside the Freely Associated States are not eligible to apply.

Project location and scope are important eligibility boundaries. NOAA makes clear that this opportunity is not meant for non-coastal states or inland areas outside the Great Lakes watershed. Projects must occur within the United States, its territories, or the Freely Associated States, and must benefit NOAA trust resources. International removals are not allowed under this competition, including proposals targeting debris in international waters such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The solicitation is aimed squarely at “large debris removal” efforts; projects that remove large debris and also pick up smaller debris along the way can be eligible, but the primary focus and the main benefits should be tied to large-scale debris removal outcomes.

NOAA also flags several activities that are either not a priority or are explicitly screened out. Proposals focused on microplastics or microfibers are not priorities for this solicitation and will be withdrawn from review, as will research and development proposals. NOAA also states it will not fund the development of new marine debris databases under this competition. Another key restriction is that activities eligible for removal and reimbursement under a Federal Disaster Declaration will not be supported with these federal dollars, meaning applicants should avoid proposing work that would effectively duplicate disaster-reimbursable cleanup funding streams.

From an administrative standpoint, applicants need to plan early for federal systems registration requirements. To apply and receive an award, organizations must complete and maintain active registrations in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. NOAA warns that completing all registrations can take 4 to 6 weeks, so organizations should start well ahead of deadlines. Since a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is obtained through SAM.gov, applicants may need to secure that first. eRA Commons registration also requires identifying at least one Signing Official (SO) and establishing at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account to support submission and validation. NOAA points applicants to Department of Commerce Applicant and Grantee Training materials for help avoiding common submission errors.

Finally, NOAA indicates it is committed to broadening participation, including encouraging applications from veterans, minority-serving institutions, Tribes, and organizations working in communities facing environmental, climate, and socioeconomic burdens. While prior NOAA awardees may apply to renew or supplement previously funded work, those applications receive no preference and must compete on equal footing. The NOFO (Funding Opportunity Number NOAA NOS ORR 2025 25974; CFDA listed as 11.999; category: discretionary) contains the detailed eligibility language, required proposal components, and the evaluation criteria NOAA will use to judge both LOIs and invited full applications.

• 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 Removal 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 2025-01-31. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for NOAA NOS ORR 2025 25974

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