The Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) program is expecting to publish a solicitation for new research about March 25, 1998. It is anticipated that up to $3 million will be available for multiple awards to be made in FY 1998 and early FY 1999 in the categories described below, contingent on availability of appropriated funds. For most scientific areas, applicants may request project support up to three years, with out-year support contingent on availability of funds, progress of the research, and programmatic needs. The solicitation is expected to be similar to the solicitation number 97-04 published in the Federal Register November 25, 1996, Vol. 61, No. 228, pages 59868-59872, and available at the website: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/fr97_04.html.

The deadline for submitting applications is expected to be approximately 6 weeks after the solicitation is published. We expect to ask applicants to submit a Notice of Intent to Apply, containing a title, a list of investigators, and a five-line summary of proposed research, due three weeks after the solicitation is published.

The solicitation will contain a call for research in the following scientific areas: Biotransformation and Biodegradation; Community Dynamics and Microbial Ecology; Assessment; System Integration, Prediction, and Optimization; and BASIC.

John C. Houghton
Environmental Sciences Division
Office of Biological and Environmental Research
Office of Energy Research