Integrated Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) prediction, prevention, and management strategies for Florida’s St. Lucie Estuary System | W81EWF 22 SOI 0018

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 22 SOI 0018

The grant opportunity titled "Integrated Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) prediction, prevention, and management strategies for Florida's St. Lucie Estuary System" is a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) research effort focused on improving how harmful algal blooms are predicted and managed in Florida's St. Lucie River and Estuary System (SLE). The rationale is that aquatic nuisance species, especially HABs, are causing growing environmental and public health problems and major economic losses, with the notice citing an estimated 1 billion dollars per year in lost tourism revenue alone. HABs are becoming more frequent and lasting longer, and the agency is looking for technologies and approaches that are innovative, cost-effective, scalable, and practical for real-world use, especially methods that can support early detection and proactive mitigation using physical, chemical, or biological interventions.

The project is designed as a collaborative, interdisciplinary partnership under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) framework, specifically involving USACE and a South Florida-Caribbean CESU network member located in Florida. A key theme is coordination rather than reinvention: the work is expected to build on and expand existing HAB research and monitoring already underway in Florida, not duplicate it. The St. Lucie system is emphasized because it receives and conveys water discharged from Lake Okeechobee toward the Atlantic Ocean, meaning lake water quality conditions and water management operations can strongly influence downstream estuary water quality and HAB risk. As a result, the opportunity places heavy emphasis on integrating data and models across connected water bodies and management decisions.

Technically, the goal is to develop and demonstrate scalable solutions that reduce both the frequency and impacts of HABs in the SLE, while also producing knowledge, tools, and deliverables that can be applied to water resource development projects beyond Florida. The planned work is organized by project year, with the first year focused on setting the project foundation. Year one includes establishing the project structure and work plan, improving water quality characterization in the St. Lucie system to address any critical data gaps, and pulling together existing research products, water quality datasets, and modeling tools that will serve as the baseline for building HAB predictive capabilities. A major year-one deliverable direction is the initial design of a user-friendly, integrated decision-support style tool that connects (a) Lake Okeechobee water quality and operational decisions to predicted downstream impacts on St. Lucie water quality and HAB risk, and (b) other existing or emerging HAB and water quality predictive tools being used or developed for Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary System (CES). In other words, the intent is not just to model the St. Lucie system in isolation, but to link it to upstream conditions and operational choices, and to align it with parallel predictive efforts in nearby connected systems.

Year two and year three are described as optional phases that depend on Congressional authorization and appropriations, but the announcement still lays out what those phases should accomplish if funded. In year two, the project would continue filling remaining characterization and monitoring gaps in the SLE, then calibrate the St. Lucie water quality and HAB risk predictive model, and then demonstrate the value of the integrated tool that ties Lake Okeechobee conditions and operations to both St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee water quality and HAB risk outcomes. In year three, the focus shifts to validating the predictive tools (both the SLE-specific model and the integrated cross-system tool), followed by practical adoption support such as workshops and trainings for end users so the tool can be used correctly and maintained over time. The final thrust is technology transfer, meaning the project should actively ensure that what is developed is accessible, usable, and transferable for Florida stakeholders and for similar USACE-related water management contexts nationwide.

From a proposal evaluation standpoint, the notice makes clear that competitive applications need to be structured around well-defined questions the project will answer (technical objectives), a clear explanation of what tasks and what data are required to answer those questions (data quality objectives), and a year-by-year description of deliverables tied to specific tasks. Applicants are expected to demonstrate relevant experience with HABs and aquatic nuisance species control techniques, and to show how they will maximize the use of existing federal and state HAB programs, datasets, and ongoing activities rather than starting from scratch. The announcement also encourages proposers to define measurable success criteria (quantitative and/or qualitative) for each task and objective, and to include go/no-go decision points at the end of each year to support disciplined project management and continuation decisions.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning substantial involvement and collaboration with the federal partner is typically expected. The opportunity number is W81EWF 22 SOI 0018, the agency is the Department of Defense (USACE ERDC), and the listed CFDA number is 12.630. The posting lists an award ceiling of $500,000 and anticipates a single award. The opportunity was created on June 2, 2022, with an original closing date of August 5, 2022. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement, and the work is explicitly aimed at a CESU network partner context tied to the South Florida-Caribbean region.

• The Department of Defense, Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Integrated Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) prediction, prevention, and management strategies for Florida’s St. Lucie Estuary System" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 02, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 05, 2022. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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