BOEM FY 2016 Environmental Studies Program (ESP) | M16AS00006

Opportunity Information: Apply for M16AS00006

The BOEM FY 2016 Environmental Studies Program (ESP) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number M16AS00006) funded a single cooperative agreement to create a practical, science-based index for evaluating and ranking human-caused disturbance in deep soft-sediment seafloor communities on the Southern California Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The focus is specifically on biological communities living in and on soft sediments on the outer shelf and upper slope in waters deeper than about 200 meters, particularly in areas around offshore platforms. BOEMs intent was to move beyond site-by-site observations and produce a regional tool that can consistently describe seafloor condition, compare locations, and support decisions where offshore activities may affect soft-bottom habitat.

At a high level, the grant was designed to help agencies understand what "normal" or minimally disturbed deep seafloor communities look like in the Southern California Bight, and then use that reference understanding to detect and interpret changes associated with human activities. BOEM emphasized that having a complete analysis and an operational tool would allow local governments, other federal agencies, and the State of California to compare deep-water conditions to the shallower habitats that have already been assessed more extensively. The resulting disturbance index was also positioned as a transferable framework that could be applied elsewhere on the Pacific OCS, including areas where offshore renewable energy development was (and remains) a growing interest.

The technical scope centers on macrobenthic infauna, meaning the larger bottom-dwelling organisms that live within seabed sediments (for example, many worms, small crustaceans, bivalves, and other invertebrates). These organisms are widely used as indicators because their community composition often responds in measurable ways to physical disturbance, changes in sediment characteristics, and contaminant exposure. BOEMs primary goal for the project was to formally characterize the natural, non-disturbed state of these deep-water infaunal communities in the region, then use that baseline to evaluate potential anthropogenic impacts near infrastructure and other stressors.

Three main objectives define what the awardee would be expected to deliver. First, the project would synthesize existing deep-water infaunal datasets along with relevant environmental datasets from across the Southern California Bight into a single, consolidated database. This implies substantial data integration work: assembling disparate surveys, standardizing taxonomy and sampling metadata, and aligning biological observations with environmental variables such as depth, sediment composition, and potentially other supporting parameters commonly used in benthic studies. Second, the project would analyze those compiled data to determine whether the region contains one infaunal community type or multiple distinct communities, and to identify the natural gradients that structure those communities. BOEM specifically highlighted gradients like depth, sediment composition, and biogeography, reflecting an expectation that the index must distinguish natural variation from human-caused change so that the tool does not mistakenly label naturally different habitats as "disturbed." Third, once a defensible reference condition is defined, the project would compare sites with potential anthropogenic influence to determine whether there are repeatable and predictable changes in community structure associated with disturbance. This step is essentially the foundation for building the disturbance index itself: identifying consistent biological signals that correlate with human influence and can be used to score or rank sites across the region.

The intended uses of the resulting index and supporting products were strongly tied to environmental planning and regulatory decision-making on the OCS. BOEM described applications ranging from ongoing biological assessments relevant to protected resources (including critical habitat considerations for species such as white abalone) to broader, regional decisions such as offshore platform decommissioning planning. By enabling consistent regional comparisons and status assessments of the soft-bottom seafloor, the tool would help decision-makers evaluate how proposed or existing projects might affect deep benthic habitats and how those effects compare among locations.

Administratively, the opportunity was a discretionary funding action under CFDA 15.423, using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which typically indicates BOEM expected substantial involvement or collaboration during the work rather than a completely hands-off grant. Eligible applicants included state and county governments and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education as stated in the eligibility list). BOEM anticipated making one award with a ceiling of $200,000. The opportunity was posted on March 24, 2016, with an original closing date of April 25, 2016, reflecting a relatively focused, single-project solicitation aimed at producing a concrete analytical product and usable assessment framework rather than supporting multiple independent research efforts.

• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BOEM FY 2016 Environmental Studies Program (ESP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.423.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-03-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-04-25. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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