Action Kit: Regional Ocean Partnerships Reauthorization Act of 2026

Event Type: Legislation | Severity: INFO | Last Updated: 2026

The Regional Ocean Partnerships Reauthorization Act of 2026 extends funding and programmatic authority for regional ocean partnerships, creating sustained contracting opportunities in marine science, environmental monitoring, and coastal management. This legislation signals multi-year funding stability for contractors positioned in oceanographic research, environmental consulting, and data collection services across NOAA, EPA, DOI, and Navy programs.

---

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Review your current ocean/marine-related past performance — Identify completed projects under NOAA, EPA, DOI/USGS, or Navy that demonstrate capabilities in environmental monitoring, oceanographic data collection, or coastal management
• [ ] Audit your NAICS code registrations in SAM.gov (System for Award Management) — Ensure your entity is registered under relevant codes (541330, 541360, 541370, 541620, 541690, 541712, 541990) to appear in agency market research for upcoming solicitations
• [ ] Check your active contract vehicle eligibility — Verify your company holds or can access OASIS+, POLARIS, GSA (General Services Administration) MAS, or SeaPort-NxG, as these are primary vehicles for ocean partnership work
• [ ] Monitor SAM.gov for pre-solicitation notices — Search for keywords: "regional ocean partnership," "marine monitoring," "coastal resilience," "oceanographic data," filtered by NOAA and EPA
• [ ] Assign a capture lead — Designate someone to track this legislation through committee markup, floor votes, and appropriations to anticipate funding release timelines

---

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Develop capability statements tailored to ocean partnerships — Create 2-page capability briefs highlighting your environmental monitoring technology, data management platforms, coastal assessment methodologies, and relevant certifications (ISO 14001, NELAC, etc.)
• [ ] Initiate agency relationship building — Schedule introductory meetings with NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, EPA Office of Water, and Navy Oceanographer program offices; attend industry days for regional ocean partnership programs
• [ ] Conduct competitive intelligence — Identify incumbent contractors on existing regional ocean partnership contracts (check USAspending.gov for awards to Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Northeast Regional Ocean Council, etc.) and analyze their technical approaches
• [ ] Review compliance posture for marine science work — Ensure your organization meets NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) requirements if handling CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) related to sensitive environmental data; verify NEPA compliance experience is documented in your past performance narratives
• [ ] Build teaming partnerships — Identify complementary firms with oceanographic vessel operations, remote sensing capabilities, or regional coastal presence; execute teaming agreements before RFPs drop
• [ ] Update your proposal content library — Add win themes around multi-year program stability, regional stakeholder engagement, and data interoperability standards (IOOS, DMAC) relevant to ocean partnerships

---

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• ] **Pursue relevant certifications and accreditations** — Obtain NELAC laboratory accreditation if offering water quality testing; pursue ISO 17025 for environmental testing labs; consider CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) Level 2 if targeting Navy oceanographic work (see our [CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide))
• [ ] Invest in differentiated technical capabilities — Develop proprietary data visualization platforms, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) integration, or AI-driven marine species identification tools that align with partnership priorities
• [ ] Establish regional presence — Open satellite offices or partner with local universities/research institutions in regions covered by ocean partnerships (Gulf of Mexico, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, West Coast, Caribbean, Great Lakes)
• [ ] Track appropriations and budget execution — Monitor FY2027 and FY2028 appropriations bills to identify specific funding levels for regional ocean partnerships; anticipate 6-12 month lag between authorization and contract awards
• [ ] Develop thought leadership — Publish white papers on ocean data standardization, coastal resilience metrics, or ecosystem-based management; present at Marine Technology Society or Coastal Zone Management conferences to build brand recognition
• [ ] Prepare for IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) recompetes — If SeaPort-NxG or other relevant IDIQs approach recompete cycles, ensure your proposal reflects ocean partnership experience and regional collaboration capabilities

---

Compliance Checklist

This legislation doesn't impose new regulatory requirements, but contractors pursuing ocean partnership work must maintain compliance with existing frameworks:

• [ ] FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) Part 23 (Environment, Energy and Water Efficiency, Renewable Energy Technologies, Occupational Safety, and Drug-Free Workplace) — Ensure subpart 23.9 (Contractor Compliance with Environmental Management Systems) is addressed in proposals
• [ ] NIST SP 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) Rev 2 (or Rev 3 when finalized) — Implement all 110 security controls if handling CUI related to sensitive marine species data, critical infrastructure locations, or pre-decisional environmental assessments
• [ ] NEPA Compliance Documentation — Demonstrate experience preparing Environmental Assessments (EAs) or Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for coastal projects; maintain staff with NEPA training certifications
• [ ] Data Management and Accessibility — Ensure compliance with NOAA Data Sharing Directive, EPA Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs), and Federal Data Strategy requirements for open data
• [ ] Scientific Integrity Policies — Implement procedures aligned with agency scientific integrity policies (NOAA SAO, EPA Scientific Integrity Policy) to ensure research independence
• [ ] Vessel Safety and Operations — If operating research vessels, maintain USCG certification, SOLAS compliance, and crew training records per UNOLS standards
• ] **CUI Handling Procedures** — Establish CUI registry, marking protocols, and secure storage for controlled environmental data (reference our [CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide) for system requirements)

---

Resources

• Legislative Text: Congress.gov - Regional Ocean Partnerships Reauthorization Act of 2026 (https://www.congress.gov) (search by bill number when assigned)
• NOAA Regional Ocean Partnerships: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/regional-ocean-partnerships.html (https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/regional-ocean-partnerships.html)
• EPA Ocean and Coastal Management: https://www.epa.gov/ocean-coastal-protection (https://www.epa.gov/ocean-coastal-protection)
• SAM.gov Contract Opportunities: Filter by NAICS 541330, 541360, 541370, 541620 and agencies NOAA, EPA, DOI
• USAspending.gov: Search historical awards to regional ocean partnerships to identify incumbents and award patterns
• NIST SP 800-171 Resources: https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final (https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final)
• Winning Federal Contracts Guide: Complete resource for capture and proposal strategy (/insights/winning-federal-contracts)

---

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

Cabrillo Signals War Room has already detected this legislative event by monitoring congressional bill introductions, committee hearings, and agency budget justifications. Within minutes of the bill's introduction, the War Room parsed the legislative text, identified affected agencies (NOAA, EPA, DOI, Navy), mapped relevant NAICS codes, and cross-referenced historical contract vehicles used for ocean partnership work. This briefing was automatically generated and delivered to your dashboard, eliminating manual monitoring of THOMAS, FedScout, and agency websites. The War Room continues tracking this bill through markup, floor votes, and appropriations, sending alerts at each milestone so you can time your capture activities precisely.

Cabrillo Signals Match Engine automatically rescored your entire opportunity pipeline the moment this event was detected. If you're tracking open solicitations for environmental monitoring or oceanographic services, their match scores increased based on keyword alignment with "regional ocean partnerships," agency fit with NOAA/EPA, and NAICS code overlap. Opportunities that previously scored 72% may now score 85% because this legislation signals increased funding likelihood. The Match Engine also flagged dormant opportunities in your CRM that should be reactivated—such as past NOAA teaming discussions or EPA pre-RFP engagements—because the reauthorization changes their probability of award.

Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub enables you to configure saved searches that trigger alerts when follow-on solicitations appear. Set up a search for: `(NAICS: 541330 OR 541360 OR 541370) AND (Agency: NOAA OR EPA) AND (Keywords: "ocean partnership" OR "coastal management" OR "marine monitoring")`. When new opportunities matching this profile hit SAM.gov, you'll receive instant notifications with AI-generated summaries of technical requirements, incumbent analysis, and teaming recommendations. The Intelligence Hub also tracks which contract vehicles (OASIS+, POLARIS, SeaPort-NxG) are being used for similar work, so you know where to position your company.

Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) accelerates your response when ocean partnership RFPs are released. The AI-powered compliance matrix generator automatically maps your past performance to solicitation requirements—if the RFP asks for "coastal resilience assessment experience," Proposal OS pulls your relevant EPA Chesapeake Bay project and NOAA Gulf of Mexico work into the compliance matrix. The win theme library maintains your differentiation messages around data interoperability, regional stakeholder engagement, and multi-year program management, which you can instantly adapt to each proposal. When you're drafting technical approaches, Proposal OS generates first-draft sections using your historical proposals, past performance data, and the specific requirements of the new RFP, reducing writing time by 60-70%.

Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker manages the entire capture process from initial opportunity identification through post-submission. When this legislation triggers a new capture effort, the Workflow Tracker automatically initiates your 9-gate process: Gate 1 (Opportunity Identification) logs the legislative event and assigns the capture lead; Gate 2 (Qualification) routes the bid/no-bid decision to your executive team with auto-populated win probability based on past performance alignment; Gates 3-5 (Capture Planning, Solution Development, Proposal Planning) track teaming agreements, compliance reviews, and pricing coordination; Gates 6-8 (Proposal Development, Review, Submission) manage color team reviews and generate audit-ready documentation packages. If the RFP requires NIST 800-171 compliance, the Workflow Tracker automatically routes the security assessment to your contracts team and tracks certification status, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Ready to activate these capabilities? Log into your Cabrillo Club dashboard to configure Intelligence Hub alerts for ocean partnership opportunities, review your Match Engine scores for affected solicitations, and explore Proposal Studio's win theme library for marine science differentiators. If you're new to these features, schedule a walkthrough with your account team to optimize your automation settings for this legislative event.

---