See NOAA Recover Act Website for details.
Highlights - Proposed activities of interest supported by $230 million in the NOAA Operations, Research, and Facilities account:
- Hydrographic Survey Backlog ($40 million): $40 million to reduce the critical hydrographic survey backlog by approximately 1,700 square nautical miles. This funding will also support improved ingestion of significant increases of data so that nautical charts can be updated faster. Funds are expected to be awarded in 60 days.
- Marine and Coastal Habitat Restoration ($167 million): $167 million for mid- and large-scale restoration projects addressing coral reef conservation, restoring fish habitats and helping endangered species such as salmon and sea turtles. The projects will also contribute to the improvement of coastal resiliency in response to sea level rise and natural hazards. Funds are expected to be awarded in 60 days.
- ESA Section 7 Consultations ($3 million): $3 million to conduct any required environmental consultations associated with projects funded by the Recovery Act and to address the current backlog of Endangered Species Act consultations whereby other federal agencies ensure their actions will not jeopardize a listed species or destroy critical habitat. More than 800 additional consultations are expected to be conducted, which should in turn enable other economic activities and investments to move forward.
Also of interest may be proposed supported by the NOAA Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction account of :
- NOAA Climate Computing and Modeling ($170 million): $170 million to accelerate and enhance NOAA’s High Performance Computing capabilities to directly improve capabilities for weather and climate modeling and climate change research. NOAA will start two computing systems in separate locations that will improve the accuracy of seasonal climate and global climate change assessments. The two HPC sites will be selected by a competitive process and create jobs in manufacturing, construction, and software engineering.
