Stewardship Investments

Stewardship investments are substantial investments made by the federal government for the benefit of the nation, but are not physical assets owned by the federal government. Though treated as expenses when incurred to determine the Department’s Net Cost of Operations, these items merit special treatment so that users of federal financial reports know the extent of investments that are made for the long-term benefit of the nation.

Investments in Non-federal Physical Property:

Non-federal physical property investments are expenses included in the Department’s Net Cost of Operations for the purchase, construction, or major renovation of physical property owned by state and local governments. Based on a review of the Department’s programs, NOAA and EDA have significant investments in non-federal physical property.

NOAA:

National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR): The NERR system consists of 26 estuarine reserves protected by federal, state, and local partnerships that work to preserve and protect the nation’s estuaries. The NERR system helps to fulfill NOAA’s stewardship mission to sustain healthy coasts by improving the nation’s understanding and stewardship of estuaries. Estuarine reserves are the areas where freshwater from rivers meet the ocean. These areas are known as bays, swamps, sloughs, and sounds. These important coastal habitats are used as spawning grounds and nurseries for at least two-thirds of the nation’s commercial fish and shellfish. Estuaries filter much of the polluted runoff from rivers and streams that would otherwise contaminate oceans. The reserves were created with the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and, as of September 30, 2005, encompassed approximately 1.1 million acres of estuarine waters, wetlands, and uplands. Most of the reserves are state-operated and managed in cooperation with NOAA. Two additional reserves are in the process of development: St. Lawrence River Reserve in New York, and a proposed NERR in Texas. The NOAA’s investments in non-federal physical property are for the acquisition of lands and development or construction of facilities, auxiliary structures, and public access routes for any NERR site.

Coastal Zone Management Fund: The Coastal Zone Management Program (CZMP) is authorized by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 and administered at the federal level by NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. The investments in non-federal physical property include incidental expenses of land acquisition, and low-cost construction on behalf of various state and local governments for the purpose of preservation or restoration of coastal resources and habitats. The NOAA’s financing supports various coastal states in their redevelopment of deteriorating and urbanized waterfronts and ports, as well as providing for public access to beaches and coastal areas. The investments in non-federal physical property include incidental expenses of land acquisition, and low-cost construction on behalf of various state and local governments, for the purpose of preservation or restoration of coastal resources and habitats. The state and local governments receive funding for these investments through NOAA grant expenditures, and these grant expenditures also include funding for purposes other than the investments in non-federal physical property. There is currently not in place a mechanism for the state and local governments to determine and report to NOAA the amount of monies they expend for the investments in non-federal physical property. The Department, accordingly, cannot report the amount of investments in non-federal physical property for the Coastal Zone Management Fund.

Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program: This program was established under the Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations Act of 2002, “for the purpose of protecting important coastal and estuarine areas that have significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from their natural or recreational state to other uses.” The investments in non-federal physical property include matching grants awarded to state and local governments for land acquisition in coastal and estuarine areas. Since FY 2002, matching grants have been directed to 101 such projects.

The NOAA’s investments in non-federal physical property for FY 2001 through FY 2005 were as follows:

Economic Development Administration (EDA):

Public Works: The Public Works program promotes long-range economic development in distressed areas by providing investments for vital public infrastructure and development facilities. These critical investments enable communities to attract new, or support existing, businesses that will generate new jobs and income for unemployed and underemployed residents. Among the types of projects funded are water, sewer, fiber optics, access roads, and facilities such as industrial and business parks, business incubator and skill training facilities, and port improvements.

Economic and Defense Adjustments: The Economic and Defense Adjustments program provides flexible investments for communities facing sudden or severe economic distress to diversify and stabilize its economy. Factors that seriously threaten the economic survival of local communities include essential plant closures, military base closures or realignments, defense laboratory or contractor downsizings, natural resource depletion, out-migration, under-employment, and destructive impacts of foreign trade.

Disaster Recovery: The Disaster Recovery program awards grants for the repair of infrastructure and economic development related facilities damaged by floods and other natural disasters. Funding for the Disaster Recovery program is generally through supplemental funding from Congress for recovery efforts to save, sustain, and preserve private enterprise and job creation in economically distressed communities.

EDA’s investments in non-federal physical property for FY 2001 through FY 2005 were as follows:

The above investments require matching funds by state and local governments of 20 to 50 percent.

Investments in Human Capital:

Human capital investments are expenses, included in the Department’s Net Cost of Operations, for education and training programs that are intended to increase or maintain national economic productive capacity and produce outputs and outcomes that provide evidence of the constant or increasing national productive capacity. These investments exclude education and training expenses for federal civilian and military personnel. Based on a review of the Department’s programs, the most significant dollar investments in human capital are by NOAA.

NOAA:

National Sea Grant College Program: Sea Grant is a nationwide network, administered through NOAA of 30 university-based programs that work with coastal communities. With the adoption in 1966 of the National Sea Grant College Act, Congress established an academic/industry/government partnership that would enhance the nation’s education, economy, and environment into the 21st century. The program supports activities designed to increase public awareness of coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes issues, to provide information to improve management decisions in coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes policy, and to train graduate students in marine and Great Lakes science. The Knauss Fellowship Program offers qualified masters and doctoral students the opportunity to spend a year working on Marine and Great Lakes policy issues with the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. There is also a Graduate Fellowship Program for Ph.D. candidates in the specialized areas of population dynamics and marine resource economics. Participants in this program can receive up to three years of funding.

National Estuarine Research Reserve Program: This program supports activities designed to increase public awareness of estuary issues, provide information to improve management decisions in estuarine areas, and train graduate students in estuarine science. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System’s Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Program offers qualified masters and doctoral students the opportunity to address scientific questions of local, regional and national significance. The result is high-quality research focused on improving coastal management issues. All GRF projects must be conducted in a National Estuarine Research Reserve and enhance the scientific understanding of the reserve’s ecosystem. In FY 2005, 46 Graduate Research Fellowships have been awarded.

Educational Partnership Program: This program provides formal education and internship training opportunities for students attending minority-serving institutions. These funds also support field research and conference attendance where students present their research findings. The Undergraduate Scholarship Program is designed to increase the number of students who undertake course work and graduate with degrees in the targeted areas integral to NOAA’s mission. Appointments are for two years, and are made to students who have recently declared or are about to declare a major in atmospheric, oceanic, or environmental science. The students participate in research, training, and development activities at NOAA offices and facilities during two summer internships. There were 28 students that started the program in FY 2005.

Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program: This program was established in 2005 to 1) increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, and education, and foster multidisciplinary training opportunities; 2) increase public understanding and support for stewardship of the ocean and atmosphere and improve environmental literacy; 3) recruit and prepare students for public service careers with NOAA and other agencies at the federal, state, and local levels of government; and 4) recruit and prepare students for careers as teachers and educators in oceanic and atmospheric science and to improve scientific and environmental education in the U.S. There were 110 students starting the program in 2005, and the first scholarship recipients are expected to complete the program in May 2007.

The following table summarizes NOAA’s investments in human capital for FY 2001 through FY 2005:

The following table further summarizes NOAA’s human capital investments for FY 2004 and FY 2005 by performance goal:

Investments in Research and Development (R&D):

Investments in R&D are expenses that are included in the Department’s Net Cost of Operations. The investments are divided into three categories: 1) basic research, the systematic study to gain knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications toward processes or products in mind; 2) applied research, the systematic study to gain knowledge or understanding necessary for determining the means by which a recognized and specific need may be met; and 3) development, the systematic use of the knowledge and understanding gained from research for the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including the design and development of prototypes and processes. The investments are made with the expectation of maintaining or increasing national economic productive capacity, or yielding other future economic and societal benefits. Based on a review of the Department’s programs, the only significant investments in R&D are by NIST and NOAA.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST):

NIST Laboratories Program: The NIST Laboratories have been the stewards of the U.S.’s measurement infrastructure since their inception in 1901 as the National Bureau of Standards. In fulfilling the Constitutional responsibility to fix the standards of weights and measures, these laboratories provide measurement methods, reference materials, test procedures, instrument calibrations, fundamental data, and standards that comprise essential tools for research, production, and buyer-seller transactions. The laboratories focus on two strategic goals: 1) provide technical leadership for the nation’s measurement and standards infrastructure; and 2) assure the availability and efficient transfer of measurement and standards capabilities essential to established industries.

Advanced Technology Program (ATP): This program is a collaborative effort with industry to identify and promote investment in technologies with significant potential for broad-based economic benefits but inadequate levels of private investment.

ATP uses joint ventures and informal teaming arrangements to combine private investment and the best available scientific and technological talent in industry, universities, and government. Cost-shared research is funded through an annual competitive awards process. Awards are made only after rigorous examination of the technical and business merits of each proposal and of the potential benefits to the U.S. economy and quality of life. In FY 2005, ATP has not issued any new industrial research projects. The awards target a broad array of technologies, including pharmaceutical design, tissue engineering, industrial catalysts, energy generation and storage, manufacturing technologies, electronics manufacturing, computer software, and electro-optics.

The following table summarizes NIST’s R&D investments for FY 2001 through FY 2005 by R&D Category:

The following tables further summarize NIST's R&D investments for FY 2004 and FY 2005 by performance goal:

NOAA:

The NOAA conducts a substantial program of environmental R&D in support of its mission, much of which is performed to improve the U.S.’s understanding of and ability to predict environmental phenomena. The scope of research includes:

• Improving predictions and warnings associated with the weather, on time scales ranging from minutes to weeks
• Improving predictions of climate, on time scales ranging from months to centuries
• Improving understanding of natural relationships to better predict and manage renewable marine resources and coastal and ocean ecosystems

The NOAA also conducts research that is intended to provide a solid scientific basis for environmental policy-making in government. Examples of this research include determining the stratospheric ozone-depleting potential of proposed substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and identifying the causes of the episodic high rural ozone levels that significantly damage crops and forests.

The NOAA conducts most R&D in-house; however, contractors to NOAA undertake most systems R&D. External R&D work supported by NOAA includes that undertaken through federal-academic partnerships such as the National Sea Grant College Program, the Cooperative Institutes of the Environmental Research Laboratories, the Climate and Global Change Program, and the Coastal Ocean Program.

Here is a brief description of the major R&D programs of NOAA:

Environmental and Climate: The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research is NOAA’s primary research and development office. This office conducts research in three major areas: climate research, weather and air quality research, and ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes research. The NOAA’s research laboratories, Office of Global Programs, and research partners conduct a wide range of research into complex climate systems, including the exploration and investigation of ocean habitats and resources. The NOAA’s research organizations conduct applied research on the upper and lower atmosphere as well as the space environment.

Fisheries: The NOAA’s NMFS is responsible for the collection and analysis of information on the status of fishery resources and protected species, and for conducting programs that develop fisheries for economic growth. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Act) mandates strong action to conserve and manage fishery resources that contribute to the food supply, economy, and health of the nation. The Act’s provisions require NMFS to end over-fishing, rebuild all over-fished stocks, and conserve essential fish habitat through research and consultations on Federal and state actions that may adversely affect habitats. The NMFS’s four major research priorities include research to support fishery conservation and management, conservation engineering research, research on the fisheries, and information management research.

Marine Operations and Maintenance and Aircraft Services: These expenditures support NOAA’s programs requiring operating days and flight hours to collect data at sea and in the air. The NOAA’s Marine and Aviation Operations manage a wide variety of specialized aircraft and ships to complete NOAA’s environmental and scientific missions. The aircraft collect the environmental and geographic data essential to NOAA hurricane and other weather and atmospheric research, conduct aerial surveys for hydrologic research to help predict flooding potential from snowmelt, and provide support to NOAA’s fishery research and marine mammal assessment programs. The NOAA’s ship fleet provides oceanographic and atmospheric research and fisheries research vessels to support NOAA’s strategic plan elements and mission.

Weather Service: The National Weather Service conducts applied research and development, building upon research conducted by NOAA laboratories and the academic community. Applied meteorological and hydrological research is integral to providing more timely and accurate weather, water, and climate services to the public.

Other Programs: As a national lead for coastal stewardship, National Ocean Service promotes a wide range of research activities to create the strong science foundation required to advance the sustainable use of our precious coastal systems. Our understanding of the coastal environment is enhanced through coastal ocean activities that support science and resource management programs. National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, through its Office of Research and Applications, conducts atmospheric, climatological, and oceanic research into the use of satellite data for monitoring environmental characteristics and their change. It also provides guidance for the development and evolution of spacecraft and sensors to meet future needs.

The NOAA's R&D investments by program for FY 2001 through FY 2005 were as follows:

The following table summarizes NOAA’s R&D investments for FY 2001 through FY 2005 by R&D category:

The following tables further summarize NOAA’s R&D investments for FY 2004 and FY 2005 by performance goal: