Recovery.gov - Track the Money

The ARRA funding supports these activities for the following projects:
• NOAA Pacific Regional Center—Renovation and construction-related services required to construct the new Pacific Regional Center facility at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• NOAA Facility Maintenance and Repair—Critical facility repair issues at NOAA owned facilities including, but not limited to, asbestos abatement, repair and replacement of emergency light and power systems, repair and replacement of heating and cooling units, and repair and replacement of sanitary waste systems.
• NOAA Fairbanks Satellite Operations Facility—Renovation and construction-related services required to construct the new NOAA Fairbanks Satellite Operations Facility, Fairbanks, Alaska.
• Climate Computing and Modeling—Acquire two large-scale supercomputing systems and associated networking and storage, as well as installation services. ARRA funds will also be utilized to modify data centers to house these systems, which are expected to be in place by late FY 2010. In addition, funds will support improvements to the quality and access to Climate Data Records (CDRs). CDR improvements include development and implementation of a Long Term Stewardship system based on international metadata principles, development of a CDR processing system to compile, reformat, quality-assess and enhance raw satellite data for future reprocessings, and development of a satellite data Calibration and Validation System to ensure comprehensive capture and look-up capabilities to support CDR uncertainty analyses.
• Vessel Construction (FSV 6)—Award an FSV 6 contract for the design and construction of an FSV Class ship. The contractor’s activities will also include appropriate tests and trials to demonstrate compliance with the ship’s technical requirements, and later supply ship spares and outfitting to ready the FSV 6 for initial operations.
• Accelerate Satellite Observations —Performing NPOESS early development work that will reduce the risk to overall schedule on solar array deployment testing, fabrication of solar panels, and fixing spacecraft reaction wheel anomaly. In addition, funds will be used to build the electrical harness, engineering development units, and ground support equipment for the Electrical Engineering Model Test Bed (EEMTB), as well as restart development of procedures which allow for greater issue resolution time prior to start of Integration & Testing. In addition, funds will continue the procurement for CERES FM-6 and TSIS FM-1 instruments through the Memorandum of Agreement 1401-10-1AJ8 between NOAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• NEXRAD Radar Systems & Dual Polarization—Acquire 21 kits for NEXRAD antennae sites in FY10 and the contract obligation for the installation in early FY11.
• NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Laboratory—Support construction and related outfitting and relocation services required to construct, outfit, and occupy a replacement NOAA SWFSC facility in La Jolla, California.
• WFO Construction—Accelerate construction of two NWS and two OAR Staff Houses in Barrow, Alaska. In addition, funds will be used to fabricate, purchase, and install a radar and dome for the Upper Air Inflation Shelter (UAIS) at the Barrow, AK Weather Service Office. Last, funds will be used for the Nome Housing Renovation Design and Construction, to replace the roof on WFO Anchorage, AK, and to accelerate three heating, ventilation, and air conditioning projects in FY09 and one in FY10.

NOAA will use existing internal controls and processes to monitor and evaluate Recovery Act projects. For the grants and acquisitions financial processes, we will conduct separate testing (based on OMB circular A-123 Appendix A) on Recovery Act funds to determine if proper internal controls are in place and being followed. NOAA will also conduct a separate FFMIA program review on ARRA funded programs to determine if the awarding and monitoring of grants and acquisitions are in accordance with the Act and other legal requirements, and ensure good internal controls practices are being used.

NOAA Pacific Regional Center
NOAA and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command conduct monthly project status meetings, and quarterly Executive Committee meetings.

NOAA Facility Maintenance and Repair
Monthly project management status and performance reports are prepared and will be submitted to NOAA’s Chief Administrative Officer for review. Targeted assessments are conducted on specific facilities identified for repair based on the annual condition assessment.

NOAA Fairbanks Satellite Operations Facility
NOAA has established an integrated project team from both NOAA and United States Army Corps of Engineers. NOAA will also be conducting quarterly Executive Committee reviews chaired by the NOAA Chief Administrative Officer and senior official at the United State Army Corps of Engineers—Alaska.

Climate Computing and Modeling
The Contracting Officer’s Technical Representatives will measure contractor operation and maintenance of the system against specified criteria and review contractor progress and deliverables on a regular basis as specified in the Statements of Work, ensuring that each element of the contract has been met before certifying completion. In addition, a Risk Manager will be appointed to continually monitor identified risks for the entire project and immediately notify management of any new critical risks and report at least monthly on issues associated with risks and progress toward their mitigation.

Vessel Construction (FSV 6)
An on-site Government team and Construction Representative will provide monitoring and verification of the contractor’s performance, which will enable the assessment and reporting of the contractor’s progress directly to the FSV 6 project office, and is a mechanism to verify contractor invoices for monthly progress payments. Weekly and sometimes daily reporting is planned on shipyard work. Contract data will facilitate this reporting through integrated contract schedules, critical path analysis, contract problem identification reports, and numerous technical reports.

Accelerate Satellite Observations
The NPOESS program, with its prime contractor, will determine appropriate activities and milestones for performance measurement for each project, pending finalization of deliverables and schedules for the NPOESS ARRA projects. The contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a monthly report to include a Project Manager’s Assessment, Current Schedule, Program Risk Status, and Financial Status Report. The report shall include explanations for any cost or schedule variances exceeding 10%. For climate sensor development, NASA shall provide to NOAA a Contract Performance Report (CPR) for each sensor contractor as well as a monthly report for TSIS and CERES activities from the project offices.

NEXRAD Weather Radar Systems & Dual Polarization
The NEXRAD Dual Polarization Modification Program has specific performance milestones, as well as a risk management program.

NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Laboratory
NOAA has established an Integrated Project Team (IPT) to review progress, performance, and cost or schedule issues; and take appropriate action to address or mitigate risk.

Transparency
For the PAC projects receiving ARRA funding, NOAA’s Accountability and Oversight Review Board will review and analyze all project planning, milestones, and metrics to ensure approved Recovery Act projects can be appropriately executed within both the parameters of the Act and Administration. All acquisition announcements will be in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and ARRA requirements. In addition, NOAA is taking an active role in the development of systems to ensure compliance with the reporting requirements of the Act and OMB guidance.

To ensure compliance, the following projects are taking these additional steps:

NOAA Pacific Regional Center
NAVFAC submits to NOAA each month a project status (schedule, cost/budget, and performance) report that provides standard performance metrics on program performance. These reports are used as part of the monthly NOAA-NAVFAC project status reviews, and the quarterly NOAA-NAVFAC EXCOM reviews.

Climate Computing and Modeling
In addition, NOAA is taking an active role in the development of systems to ensure compliance with the reporting and requirements of the Act and OMB guidance.

Vessel Construction (FSV 6)
This FSV 6 project involves a shipbuilding contract that is scheduled to be advertised in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and ARRA requirements. Contract language will contain ARRA clauses for transparency to the public on how the contract award is decided and the resulting benefits. The award and shipbuilding process offers considerable employment opportunities for work.

Accelerate Satellite Observations
The ARRA funding will be isolated into a sub Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) to isolate ARRA costing from NPOESS appropriations. It is expected that an Information SubCLIN will be used as the contracting mechanism to ensure all reporting requirements can be met. For climate sensor development, NASA will provide current status on schedules, milestones, financial status on obligations and cost, project overview, and project manager’s assessment

Accountability
NOAA has established an ARRA Accountability and Oversight Review Board to ensure requirements of the ARRA and OMB Guidance are met. Members of the Board have a broad level of experience in management including satellite acquisitions, Information Technology, and grants management. This Board will review and guide all projects on a monthly basis, as well as focus on managing the risks associated with the expedited execution of recovery projects.

Government reviews of completed work are required for all contracts COTRs will be appointed to evaluate contractor progress and attainment of plans; they will review contractor progress and deliverables on a regular basis as specified in the Statement of Work for each contract. In addition, the program manager will be responsible for execution of the program’s risk management plan.

A NOAA engineer will be trained and certified as a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for contractor assessments. The COR will work with contractor and government employees to resolve technical problems, certify invoices for payment, and participate in other shipyard activity oversight roles.

All construction projects are being designed as an environmentally sustainable, state-of-the-art facility that will meet LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) Gold certification standards. Other projects include:

• NOAA Facility Maintenance and Repair—repair or replace aging building systems with more energy efficient systems, reducing operational costs for the facilities and reducing the agency’s environmental impact.
• Vessel Construction (FSV 6)—improve efficiency and reduce or eliminate environmental impacts when compared to the replaced vessel.
• NEXRAD Radar Systems & Dual Polarization—represents a significant step forward in environmental monitoring, providing key sensor data for water management, precipitation, and severe weather characteristics.
• WFO Construction—The new housing and facilities will be designed to current energy codes. Repaired HVAC systems provide the efficient and stable environmental conditions for WFO employees and forecasting computers. They will also reduce operating costs by improving the energy performance of these facilities.