Office of Naval Research, 800 North Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22217-5660

A -- HARBOR PROCESSES PROGRAM SOL BAA 98-006 DUE 031698 POC Dr. Anna Palmisano, Code 335, Ballston Centre Tower One, Room 503, Arlington VA 22217-5660 BAA 98-006 The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving white papers for basic research to increase the fundamental understanding of processes that control the fate and effects of pollutants in estuarine and near-shore environments such as those used by the Navy. White papers may be either single or multi-investigator. Interdisciplinary projects are especially encouraged. The goal of the Harbor Process Program is to understand the potential impact of Navy operations in harbor areas. The Harbor Processes Program is to develop the science base for natural attenuation, remediation, monitoring, and risk assessment leading to cost-effective compliance with international, national, and local regulations. To understand the behavior and impact of pollutants, knowledge of the fate of pollutants and their effects must be developed. Pollutants of interest include Navy relevant heavy metals (such as copper, chromium, cadmium, lead, and mercury) and organic compounds (such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls). Categories for which white papers are sought include: 1. Biological/geochemical/physical sediment processes that examine the interplay between biological, chemical and physical processes affecting sediment diagenesis and the availability, distribution and transformation of Navy relevant pollutants in nearshore marine sediments. This includes characterization of the mechanisms by which microbial, plant and animal communities transform, complex, detoxify or cycle pollutants, abiotic mechanisms controlling adsorption, speciation and transformation of pollutants, and physical processes of sediment resuspension, transport and dispersal of pollutants. Proposed efforts that seek to examine interactions among these processes in a quantitative manner are also of interest. 2. Chemical Speciation/Transformation efforts to examine the factors affecting chemical speciation and complexation of Navy relevant pollutants in the water column, porewater, and sediments, and the impact of these processes on the environmental fate and bioavailability of pollutants in nearshore environments. For example, the distribution of copper among its various forms is essential to understanding its biogeochemical fate, toxicity and bioavailability. Factors affecting complexation, immobilization, sequestration, adsorption, transformation, removal and overall transport of pollutants to particulates are of interest. 3. Bioavailability efforts that address the availability of Navy relevant pollutants to marine organisms as a function of chemical speciation and complexation in the environment and life history/behavior of marine biota. The availability of pollutants to uptake by microorganisms, plants and animals that have the potential for biotransformation of pollutants is also of interest. Proposed efforts addressing single species toxicity or biomarker research will not be considered. 4. Ecosystem level effects that examine the impact of Navy relevant pollutants on distribution, abundance, and dynamics of multiple trophic levels within marine communities. Marine ecosystem studies that attempt to determine assimilative capacity or impact of pollutants on ecosystem structure/function are also desired. White papers are initially sought to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror in preparing a full proposal. White papers are due by 4 PM EST 16 March 1998. Offerors submitting the most promising white papers will be invited to submit a full technical and cost proposal on all or part of their white paper submission. However, any such invitation does not assure a subsequent award. It is anticipated that approximately 30 to 35 multiple contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions will be awarded after 01 October 1998. Awards under this announcement are planned to be funded within a range of $100,000 to $150,000 per year for up to three years. This BAA announcement does not preclude an offeror from submitting a full technical and cost proposal after 16 March 1998. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the white papers. White papers, plus six copies, should include the following items: (A) Cover page should be clearly labeled "WHITE PAPER", and include the Principal Investigator (and Co-Principal if applicable) name, telephone number, White Paper Title, Principal Investigator's title, organization, department/division, complete address, requested funding amount, and duration of the effort, (B) One page maximum should (1) describe the research objective and (2) its relevance to Navy interests in harbor processes, (C) One page maximum summary of the research budget including rough estimates of cost and time (by total, and broken down by year for multi-year efforts) and, (D) The curriculum vitae of the principal investigator(s) White papers will be evaluated using the following criteria which are listed in descending order of importance: (1) overall scientific and technical merit; for contracts only, socioeconomic merit criteria (see following paragraph); (2) relevance to ONR's mission in harbor processes; (3) qualifications and experience of the key personnel and and other personnel assigned to the proposed topic; (4) adequacy of facilities and equipment; (5) collaborative, interdisciplinary effort; (6) budgetary cost and availability of funds. Multi year efforts not exceeding three years are acceptable. White papers shall be submitted to Office of Naval Research, Biomolecular and Biosystems S&T Division, Code 335, Attention: Dr. Anna Palmisano, Ballston Centre Tower One, Room 503, Arlington, VA 22217-5660. White papers and full proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 15.413, applicable law, and DoD/DoN regulations. Technical questions are welcome, however, all initial questions should be addressed by E-Mail to Dr. Anna Palmisano @ (palmisa@onr.navy.mil). Business questions should be addressed by E-Mail to Terry Young @(youngt@onr.navy.mil). The Standard Industrial Classification code is 8731 with the small business standard of 500 employees. For awards made as contracts, evaluation of the socioeconomic merits will include the extent of commitment in providing meaningful subcontracting opportunities for small business, small disadvantaged businesses, woman-owned small business concerns, and historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions. Total funding available for 3-year efforts under this program is estimated to be $10 million dollars. This BAA provides no funding for white paper development purposes. It is expected that the Navy will award multiple contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions covering up to a 36 month period for research and development in the requested categories. Unsuccessful offerors of white papers will be acknowledged. White papers will not be returned after evaluation. This CBD notice itself constitutes the BAA as contemplated by FAR 6.102(d)(2). Unless otherwise stated herein, neither additional written information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for the same will be disregarded. No portion of this BAA has been set aside for HBCU and MI participants, though their participation is encouraged. (0028)

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