FY2024-2025 National Sea Grant BIL Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions | NOAA OAR SG 2024 23704

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA OAR SG 2024 23704

The FY2024-2025 National Sea Grant BIL Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions opportunity (NOAA OAR SG 2024 23704) is a discretionary federal funding program run by the Department of Commerce through NOAA and its National Sea Grant College Program. It is funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which directed Sea Grant to carry out $50 million over five years to support marine debris prevention and removal. For this particular competition, NOAA is focusing on the reality that marine debris is not only a global challenge but also a highly local one, shaped by everyday practices, local policies, and the decisions of residents, businesses, and institutions. NOAA is using this program to help communities organize and sustain practical, on-the-ground action by building coalitions and partnerships that can keep prevention and mitigation efforts going over time.

For purposes of this grant, marine debris is defined broadly as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and ends up in the marine environment or the Great Lakes, whether it gets there intentionally or unintentionally (15 C.F.R. 909.1). That includes a wide range of materials and sources, and the program is designed to be flexible enough to address different local debris pathways and community conditions. The emphasis is less on a single technical fix and more on coordinated community action: bringing together local governments, community organizations, Tribal entities, industry, educators, and other stakeholders to plan, implement, and sustain solutions that prevent debris, remove it, or reduce its impacts.

A central priority of the opportunity is equity and environmental justice. NOAA highlights that many communities have historically lacked the resources, access, or institutional support to invest in marine debris solutions, and it explicitly calls out Tribes and Indigenous Peoples as groups that can face additional barriers to addressing local debris and pollution. The program aligns with Executive Order 14096 (environmental justice), Executive Order 13985 (racial equity and support for underserved communities), and the Justice40 Initiative established under Executive Order 14008, which directs that disadvantaged communities receive a meaningful share of benefits from certain categories of federal investment. In practice, that means proposals that authentically center underserved communities, remove participation barriers, and deliver clear local benefits are strongly aligned with the intent of the funding.

Awards are expected to be made as grants and cooperative agreements, with an award ceiling of $300,000 and an anticipated 20 awards. The CFDA listing associated with the opportunity is 11.417. While the eligibility category is listed broadly as “Others,” applicants are directed to review the opportunity’s eligibility language for the specific allowable applicant types and conditions. The application window for the posted cycle opened September 13, 2023, with an original closing date of March 5, 2024, indicating this was a time-bound competition for that fiscal cycle.

The program is also structured to support continuity and growth. Applicants and awardees from the FY22 Sea Grant IIJA Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions competition are eligible to apply again. NOAA makes clear, though, that returning awardees need to explain how new funds would be additive rather than duplicative, and how the added funding would produce outcomes beyond what was already committed under the original award. That could include scaling an approach that has proven effective, expanding to additional neighborhoods or partner groups, or adding complementary activities that strengthen results. At the same time, NOAA encourages brand-new applicants and past applicants with new ideas to apply, signaling that the program is meant to broaden participation and not function as a closed continuation fund.

Finally, NOAA positions this funding opportunity within a larger BIL marine debris portfolio. This Sea Grant coalition-focused program is one of two Sea Grant BIL opportunities: it concentrates on community organizing, partnerships, and local action, while a separate Sea Grant “Marine Debris Challenge Competition” is intended to fund more original and transformational research and innovation tied to tangible outputs. NOAA also notes that these Sea Grant opportunities complement two NOAA Marine Debris Program funding streams aimed at larger-scale debris removal and interception technology projects. In other words, this specific NOFO is best understood as the community capacity-building and local coordination piece of a broader federal effort to prevent, remove, and intercept marine debris across the country.

• The Department of Commerce, DOC NOAA - ERA Production in the infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2024-2025 National Sea Grant BIL Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.417.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 13, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 05, 2024. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA OAR SG 2024 23704

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: