[NEW] National Ocean Service Releases New Five Year Strategic Plan
NOS is stepping into a larger role relative to filling our nation’s needs for data, products, and services that protect our ecosystems and enhance climate and economic resilience. The newly released NOS Strategic Plan focuses on four overarching goals: increase U.S. coastal resilience, make equity central to our mission, accelerate growth of the Ocean Enterprise and the Blue Economy, and conserve, restore, and connect healthy coastal and marine ecosystems. Read the plan here.
[NEW] FEMA Announces $2 Billion in Funding to Boost Climate Resilience Nationwide
FEMA announced 2023 funding opportunities for two Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs. For this grant cycle, $800 million is available for the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program and the $1 billion is available to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program.The application period closes on Thursday February 29, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET. Subapplicants are encouraged to contact the state, territory or tribal applicant as they may have earlier deadlines. Eligible applicants must apply via FEMA Grants Outcomes.
[NEW] BOEM Studies Plan Solicitation – Deadline Dec. 7
BOEM is beginning to formulate its Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Studies Development Plan covering all BOEM energy and minerals activities. BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program (ESP) develops annual two-year studies plans compiling brief project descriptions and evaluations. BOEM has solicited study ideas for consideration in Alaska, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific OCS areas. Study idea submissions may be submitted by email to BOEMEnviroStudies@BOEM.GOV until Thursday December 7, 2023.
[NEW] Virginia Sea Grant, USDA, and NOAA Launch Aquaculture Information Exchange Online Community Platform
The Aquaculture Information Exchange (AIE) online community platform website is now live and open for new user registrations. Launched Oct. 26, the AIE is an online community involving individuals from both the public and private sectors with interests in U.S. aquaculture and related topics. The AIE will serve as a communications platform, actively being moderated to facilitate discussions about current issues facing the industry, the latest research and developments in aquaculture, and will be a space where users from across the nation can connect with other members of the aquaculture community.
[NEW] Deep South Center for Environmental Justice to Offer Free Environmental Career Worker Training
The Deep South Center for Environmental (DSCEJ) is currently accepting applications for the 2024 Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP) which will begin on January 8th and conclude in mid-March 2024. This comprehensive 12-week program, funded by the NIEHS Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP), focuses on delivering environmental and construction training and offers certifications/accreditations in areas such as asbestos, lead, and mold remediation/restoration, hazardous materials/waste handling, and OSHA construction safety. Upon successful completion of the program, participants will be assisted with job placement. The DSCEJ ECWTP has an average job placement rate of 85-90% with average earnings of $17 - $20 per hour. Eligible participants must be unemployed or underemployed. Testing and interviewing will take place from November 1 through December 22, 2023. To apply, please visit www.dscej.org/ecwtp. For more information, please contact Jeremy Davis, Worker Training Program Manager, at jeremyd@dscej.org.
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Holds Hearing on Sackett Descion
The US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing this week on the implications of Sackett v. EPA for Clean Water Act protections of wetlands and streams. There was testimony from Dr. Mažeika Patricio Sulliván, Director of Clemson's Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science; Kourtney Revels a justice organizer from Bayou City Waterkeeper; and Susan Bodine a partner with Earth & Water Law. Watch the hearing and read written testimony here.
EPA Provides Toolkit to State and Local Governments on Community Engagement
The “Capacity Building Through Effective Meaningful Engagement Booklet” is a tool intended to help create or expand plans for engaging meaningfully with communities. No two approaches to meaningful engagement will be exactly alike. The EPA hope this tool helps spark ideas on how to build trust within communities through meaningful engagement.
Azul Publishes Article on Coastal Justice Lessons
Azul, a Latinx-led and serving grassroots environmental justice organization, has published an article entitled Coastal Justice: Lessons from the Frontlines. Co-authored by Marce Gutierrez-Graudiņš, the article highlights lessons learned from the frontlines of the movement for coastal justice. It provides guidance for federal and state programs to take advantage of unprecedented opportunities and pursue responsible governance that "avoids community erasure, accounts for variance in community formation and racialization, and ensures community ownership over process and systems." It calls for the necessary reversal of "historical injustices that are magnified by ongoing policies and practices," and the need to "re-articulate what it means to integrate environmental justice principles within state and federal policy.” Read the full article here. And learn more about Azul, the only U.S. ocean conservation organization in the nation to focus specifically in working with Latinx communities to protect the ocean and coasts, here.
NOAA Releases FY2024 Federal Opportunity for Effects of Sea Level Rise Program
For this opportunity, the ESLR Program is soliciting proposals to improve adaptation and planning in response to regional and local effects of sea level rise (SLR) and coastal inundation (storm surge, nuisance flooding, and/or wave actions) through targeted research on nature-based solutions (NBS), modeling of physical and biological processes, and testing mitigation strategies for implementation. The overall goal of the ESLR Program is to facilitate informed adaptation planning and coastal management decisions through funding multidisciplinary research that results in integrated models capable of evaluating vulnerability and resilience under multiple SLR, inundation, and management scenarios. The opportunity has two focal areas; General Coastal Resilience and Alaska Regional Coastal Resilience. A more detailed summary of the two focal areas can be found below. A letter of intent is required to submit a full proposal. The letter of intent (LOI) is due by Monday November 13, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET, while full proposals will be due by Wednesday January 24, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET. The LOI is for guidance purposes only, and all teams that submit a LOI may submit a full proposal. Please see the funding announcement for information on the requirements and process for submitting a LOI and full proposal. There will be an informational webinar at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on Friday, October 6. See registration link below. If you are not able to make the webinar, a recording will be available on the ESLR website after the event.
NOAA Marine Debris Program Releases Two New Funding Opportunities
The NOAA Marine Debris Program announced two Fiscal Year 2024 Notices of Funding Opportunity for both Marine Debris Removal and Interception Technologies under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These are two separate funding opportunities, and they have different application requirements. Applicants wishing to compete under both funding opportunities must submit separate letters of intent (LOI) for each. Applicants who submit successful LOIs will be invited to submit a full proposal following the LOI review period. The NOAA Marine Debris Program will award up to $28 million across the two funding opportunities. The Marine Debris Interception Technologies letters of intent deadline is Wednesday November 15, 2023, and an applicant webinar will be offered on September 13, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET (registration required).
NOAA Calls for Nominations to the Integrated Ocean Observing System Advisory Committee
NOAA is soliciting applications for membership on the United States Integrated Ocean Observing System Advisory Committee. The Committee provides advice on the planning, integrated design, operation, maintenance, enhancement, and expansion of the United States Integrated Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS). U.S. IOOS promotes research to develop, test, and deploy innovations and improvements in coastal and ocean observation technologies and modeling systems, addresses regional and national needs for ocean information, gathers data on key coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes variables and ensures timely and sustained dissemination and availability of these data for societal benefits. Nominations should be submitted by Tuesday January 2, 2024 via email. Read the full call for nominations here.
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