NERRS Habitat Protection and Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Competition | NOAA NOS OCM 2023 2008058

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS OCM 2023 2008058

The NERRS Habitat Protection and Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Competition is a NOAA Office for Coastal Management funding opportunity designed to invest in on-the-ground and pre-construction work that protects and restores coastal habitats within the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS). The program is aimed specifically at projects proposed by a Reserve's designated state lead agency or a university partner tied to the Reserve, and it focuses on three main project types: (1) coastal habitat restoration planning, engineering, and design; (2) implementation of coastal habitat restoration projects; and (3) coastal habitat conservation through land conservation transactions. All proposed work is expected to align with the goals and intent of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP), and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), which together emphasize resilient coasts, healthy estuaries, and long-term protection of priority coastal resources.

A key feature of this competition is that it supports both the "pipeline" stages of restoration (planning, engineering, and design) and full restoration implementation. Planning, engineering, and design awards are expected to be smaller and are intended to move projects toward being construction-ready, with typical federal requests anticipated in the roughly $200,000 to $350,000 range. Full habitat restoration projects are expected to be larger, typically around $2 million to $4 million, reflecting the scale and cost of construction, site work, materials, permitting, and associated monitoring and project management. The third category, land conservation, is defined in a very specific way for this opportunity: coastal habitat conservation means acquiring either fee simple interest in real property or conservation easements. In other words, the funding is meant for permanent or long-term protection of land through direct purchase or legally binding restrictions that prevent development and conserve habitat. Land conservation projects are expected to generally fall between about $500,000 and $1.5 million, although applicants are allowed to request amounts outside these typical ranges.

In total, NOAA anticipated awarding about $16 million through this competitive process, with an expectation of roughly 10 awards. Individual projects can request up to an award ceiling of $4,000,000 in federal funds. While NOAA provided typical project size ranges by category, it explicitly allows applicants to propose budgets below or above those benchmarks, as long as the request does not exceed the $4 million cap. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that NOAA expects to have substantial involvement during the period of performance compared with a standard grant (for example, coordination on technical approaches, progress milestones, compliance, or reporting).

This opportunity sits under the Department of Commerce, with the applicable CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) number 11.473, and it is categorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding activity area. The opportunity was posted June 13, 2023, and the original closing date was January 10, 2024. Eligibility information in the notice emphasizes that proposals are solicited from NERRS Reserves via their designated state lead agency or university, reflecting the structure of the Reserve System and how Reserves are managed and sponsored at the state level.

NOAA also highlights an expectation around how projects are developed and delivered, not just what gets built or conserved. The Office for Coastal Management encourages applicants to incorporate equity and inclusion principles into both proposal development and project implementation. In practice, that means designing projects with meaningful community engagement, co-development, and partnerships, especially with communities that have historically been left out of coastal decision-making or that face disproportionate climate and environmental risks. NOAA frames this as a way to improve project outcomes and strengthen the broader coastal management community, suggesting that competitive proposals should consider who benefits, who participates, and how the work supports inclusive and durable coastal stewardship.

• The Department of Commerce in the infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NERRS Habitat Protection and Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Competition" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.473.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 13, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 10, 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 $4,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for NOAA NOS OCM 2023 2008058

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