Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 245 / Friday, December 21, 2018 / Notices 65757 

OMB Number: 3137–TBD. 

Frequency: One-time collection 

anticipated. 

Affected Public: Community 

stakeholders at the county level, 

museum and library staff, local 

government officials. 

Number of Respondents: 520. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: 52.5 minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 484 

hours. 

Total Annualized Capital/Startup 

Costs: n/a. 

Total Annual Costs: $13,421. 

Dated: December 18, 2018. 

Kim Miller, 

Grants Management Specialist, Office of 

Grants Policy and Management. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27625 Filed 12–20–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7036–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

RIN 3145–AA58 

Notice on Penalty Inflation 

Adjustments for Civil Monetary 

Penalties 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice announcing updated 

penalty inflation adjustments for civil 

monetary penalties for 2019. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF or Foundation) is 

providing notice of its adjusted 

maximum civil monetary penalties, 

effective January 15, 2019. These 

adjustments are required by the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 

Act). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bijan Gilanshah, Assistant General 

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, 

National Science Foundation, 2415 

Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 

22314. Telephone: 703.292.5055. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 

27, 2016, NSF published an interim 

final rule amending its regulations to 

adjust, for inflation, the maximum civil 

monetary penalties that may be imposed 

for violations of the Antarctic 

Conservation Act of 1978 (ACA), as 

amended, 16 U.S.C. 2401 et seq., and 

the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act 

of 1986 (PFCRA), 31 U.S.C. 3801, et seq. 

These adjustments are required by the 

2015 Act (Sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114–74). 

The 2015 Act also requires agencies to 

make subsequent annual adjustments 

for inflation. Pursuant to OMB guidance 

dated December 14, 2018, the cost-ofliving adjustment multiplier for 2019 is 

1.02522. Accordingly, the 2019 annual 

inflation adjustments for the maximum 

penalties under the ACA are $17,278 

($16,853 × 1.02522) for violations and 

$29,239 ($28,520 × 1.02522) for 

knowing violations of the ACA. Finally, 

the 2019 annual inflation adjustment for 

the maximum penalty for violations 

under PFCRA is $11,463 ($11,181 × 

1.02522). 

Dated: December 18, 2018. 

Suzanne Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27659 Filed 12–20–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirement of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the National 

Science Foundation (NSF) is providing 

opportunity for public comment on the 

NSF Major Facilities Guide (MFG) and 

the accompanying NSF Financial Data 

Collection Tool for Major Facilities. The 

Major Facilities Guide was previously 

cleared under the title Large Facilities 

Manual. The primary purpose of this 

revision is to update the roles and 

responsibilities for NSF staff for 

oversight of Major Facilities, provide 

requirements for mid-scale projects, and 

provide content in previously reserved 

Sections as well as clarify existing 

content. The draft versions of the NSF 

MFG and the accompanying NSF 

Financial Data Collection Tool for Major 

Facilities are available on the NSF 

website at: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/ 

lfo_documents.jsp. 

To facilitate review, a Change Log 

with brief comment explanations of the 

changes is provided in the guide. NSF 

is particularly interested in public 

comment on the new content provided 

in Section 5 Guidance for Mid-Scale 

Research Infrastructure Projects and the 

previously reserved sections. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received by February 19, 2019 to be 

assured of consideration. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

regarding the information collection and 

requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request should be 

addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports 

Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 

1265, Arlington, VA 22230, or by email 

to splimpto@nsf.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Suzanne Plimpton on (703) 292–7556 or 

send email to splimpto@nsf.gov. 

Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877– 

8339, which is accessible 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year 

(including federal holidays). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments: In addition to the type of 

comments identified above, comments 

are also invited on: (a) Whether the 

proposed collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the Agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

Agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology; 

and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

After obtaining and considering public 

comment, NSF will prepare the 

submission requesting OMB clearance 

of this collection for no longer than 3 

years. 

Title of Collection: Major Facilities 

Guide. 

OMB Approval Number: 3145–0239. 

Expiration Date of Approval: 6/30/ 

2020. 

Type of Request: Intent to seek 

approval to extend with revision an 

information collection for three years. 

Proposed Project: The National 

Science Foundation Act of 1950 (Pub. L. 

81–507) set forth NSF’s mission and 

purpose: 

‘‘To promote the progress of science; 

to advance the national health, 

prosperity, and welfare; to secure the 

national defense. * * * 

The Act authorized and directed NSF 

to initiate and support: 

b Basic scientific research and 

research fundamental to the engineering 

process; 

b Programs to strengthen scientific 

and engineering research potential; 

b Science and engineering education 

programs at all levels and in all the 

various fields of science and 

engineering; 

b Programs that provide a source of 

information for policy formulation; and 


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65758 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 245 / Friday, December 21, 2018 / Notices 

b Other activities to promote these 

ends. 

Among Federal agencies, NSF is a 

leader in providing the academic 

community with advanced 

instrumentation needed to conduct 

state-of-the-art research and to educate 

the next generation of scientists, 

engineers and technical workers. The 

knowledge generated by these tools 

sustains U.S. leadership in science and 

engineering (S&E) to drive the U.S. 

economy and secure the future. NSF’s 

responsibility is to ensure that the 

research and education communities 

have access to these resources, and to 

provide the support needed to utilize 

them optimally, and implement timely 

upgrades. 

The scale of advanced 

instrumentation ranges from small 

research instruments to shared 

resources or facilities that can be used 

by entire communities. The demand for 

such instrumentation is very high, and 

is growing rapidly, along with the pace 

of discovery. For major facilities and 

shared infrastructure, the need is 

particularly high. This trend is expected 

to accelerate in the future as increasing 

numbers of researchers and educators 

rely on such large facilities, 

instruments, and databases to provide 

the reach to make the next intellectual 

leaps. 

NSF currently provides support for 

facility construction from two accounts: 

The Major Research Equipment and 

Facility Construction (MREFC) account, 

and the Research and Related Activities 

(R&RA) account. The MREFC account, 

established in FY 1995, is a separate 

budget line item that provides an 

agency-wide mechanism, permitting 

directorates to undertake large facility 

projects that exceed 10% of the 

Directorate’s annual budget; or roughly 

$70M or greater. Smaller projects 

continue to be supported from the 

R&RA Account. 

Facilities are defined as shared-use 

infrastructure, instrumentation and 

equipment that are accessible to a broad 

community of researchers and/or 

educators. Facilities may be centralized 

or may consist of distributed 

installations. They may incorporate 

large-scale networking or computational 

infrastructure, multi-user instruments or 

networks of such instruments, or other 

infrastructure, instrumentation and 

equipment having a major impact on a 

broad segment of a scientific or 

engineering discipline. Historically, 

awards have been made for such diverse 

projects as accelerators, telescopes, 

research vessels and aircraft, and 

geographically distributed but 

networked sensors and instrumentation. 

The growth and diversification of 

large facility projects require that NSF 

remain attentive to the ever-changing 

issues and challenges inherent in their 

planning, construction, operation, 

management and oversight. Most 

importantly, dedicated, competent NSF 

and awardee staff are needed to manage 

and oversee these projects; giving the 

attention and oversight that good 

practice dictates and that proper 

accountability to taxpayers and 

Congress demands. To this end, there is 

also a need for consistent, documented 

requirements and procedures to be 

understood and used by NSF program 

managers and awardees for all such 

major projects. 

Use of the Information: Facilities are 

an essential part of the science and 

engineering enterprise, and supporting 

them is one major responsibility of the 

National Science Foundation (NSF). 

NSF makes awards to external 

entities—primarily universities, 

consortia of universities or non-profit 

organizations—to undertake 

construction, management and 

operation of facilities. Such awards 

frequently take the form of cooperative 

agreements. NSF does not directly 

construct or operate the facilities it 

supports. However, NSF retains 

responsibility for overseeing their 

development, management and 

successful performance. The Major 

Facilities Guide is intended to: 

• Provide guidance for NSF staff and 

awardees to carry out effective project 

planning, management and oversight of 

major facilities while considering the 

varying requirements of a diverse 

portfolio; 

• Clearly state the policies, processes 

and procedures pertinent at each stage 

of a facility’s life cycle from 

development through design, 

construction, operations, and 

divestment; and 

• Document and disseminate ‘‘best 

practices’’ identified over time so that 

NSF and awardees can carry out their 

responsibilities more effectively. 

This version of the Major Facilities 

Guide adds a section for guidance on 

mid-scale research infrastructure 

projects; updates sections related to NSF 

policy on research infrastructure, roles 

and responsibilities for NSF staff, 

divestment stage, earned value 

management, cybersecurity, and 

property management; and clarifies cost 

estimating requirements, the 

construction stage total project costs 

including NSF policy on contingency 

and reporting requirements. As part of 

the implementation of incurred cost 

reporting, a NSF Financial Data 

Collection Tool for Major Facilities is 

referenced in the Guide and included in 

the request for comment. This version 

also reflects revisions to improve 

readability and facilitate period 

revision. The Guide does not replace 

existing formal procedures required for 

all NSF awards, which are described in 

the Grant Proposal Guide and The 

Award and Administration Guide. 

Instead, it draws upon and supplements 

them for the purpose of providing 

detailed guidance regarding NSF 

management and oversight of facilities 

projects. All facilities projects require 

merit and technical review, as well as 

approval of certain deliverables. The 

level of review and approval varies 

substantially from standard grants, as 

does the level of oversight needed to 

ensure appropriate and proper 

accountability for federal funds. The 

requirements, recommended procedures 

and best practices presented in the 

Guide apply to any facility significant 

enough to require close and substantial 

interaction with the Foundation and the 

National Science Board. 

This Guide will be updated 

periodically to reflect changes in 

requirements, policies and/or 

procedures. Award Recipients are 

expected to monitor and adopt the 

requirements and best practices 

included in the Guide which are aimed 

at improving management and oversight 

of major facilities projects and at 

enabling the most efficient and costeffective delivery of tools to the research 

and education communities. 

The submission of proposals and 

subsequent project documentation to 

the Foundation related to the design, 

construction and operations of Major 

Facilities is part of the collection of 

information. This information is used to 

help NSF fulfill this responsibility in 

supporting merit-based research and 

education projects in all the scientific 

and engineering disciplines. The 

Foundation also has a continuing 

commitment to provide oversight on 

facilities design and construction which 

must be balanced against monitoring its 

information collection so as to identify 

and address any excessive reporting 

burdens. 

NSF has approximately twenty-four 

(24) Major Facilities in various stages of 

design, construction, operations and 

divestment. Facilities undergoing a 

major upgrade may be classified in both 

design or construction and operations at 

the same time. Two to four (2 to 4) new 

construction awards are made 

approximately every five (5) years based 

on science community infrastructure 

needs and availability of funding. 

Among the twenty-four major facilities, 

there are approximately seven (7) 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 245 / Friday, December 21, 2018 / Notices 65759 

facilities that are either in design or 

construction. These stages require the 

highest level of reporting and 

management documentation per the 

Major Facilities Guide. NSF estimates 

there will be four (4) mid-scale projects 

in progress at a given time. 

Burden to the Public: The Foundation 

estimates that approximately five (5) 

Full Time Equivalents (FTE’s) are 

necessary for each major facility project 

in design or construction to respond to 

NSF performance and financial 

reporting and project management 

documentation requirements on an 

annual basis; or 10,400 hours per year. 

The Foundation estimates 

approximately one and half (1.5) FTE 

for a major facility in operations to 

respond to NSF performance and 

financial reporting on an annual basis; 

or 3,120 hours per year. For mid-scale 

projects, the Foundation estimates 

approximately one (1) Full Time 

Equivalent (FTE’s) is necessary for each 

mid-scale project to respond to NSF 

project management documentation 

requirements on an annual basis; or 

2,080 hours per year. With seven (7) 

major facilities in design or construction 

and twenty-one (21) in operations and 

four (4) mid-scale projects, this equates 

to roughly 150,000 public burden hours 

annually. 

Dated: December 17, 2018. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27622 Filed 12–20–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2018–0155] 

Instructions for Completing NRC’s 

Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste 

Manifest 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Draft NUREG; extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: On October 30, 2018, the U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

solicited comments on its draft guidance 

document, NUREG/BR–0204, Rev. 3, 

‘‘Instructions for Completing NRC’s 

Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste 

Manifest,’’ in the Federal Register. The 

public comment period was originally 

scheduled to close on December 31, 

2018. The NRC has decided to extend 

the public comment period until 

January 31, 2019, to allow more time for 

stakeholders to develop and submit 

their comments. 

DATES: The due date for comments 

requested in the document published on 

October 30, 2018 (83 FR 54620), is 

extended. Comments should be filed no 

later than January 31, 2019. Comments 

received after this date will be 

considered, if it is practical to do so, but 

the Commission is able to ensure 

consideration only for comments 

received on or before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2018–0155. Address 

questions about Docket IDs in 

Regulations.gov to Krupskaya Castellon; 

telephone: 301–287–9221; email: 

Krupskaya.Castellon@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• Mail comments to: May Ma, Office 

of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN–7– 

A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001. 

For additional direction on obtaining 

information and submitting comments, 

see ‘‘Obtaining Information and 

Submitting Comments’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lloyd Desotell, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–5969, email: Lloyd.Desotell@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and 

Submitting Comments 

A. Obtaining Information 

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2018– 

0155 when contacting the NRC about 

the availability of information for this 

action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this 

action by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2018–0155. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For 

problems with ADAMS, please contact 

the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) 

reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301– 

415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@

nrc.gov. The draft NUREG is available in 

ADAMS under Accession No. 

ML18261A002. 

• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and 

purchase copies of public documents at 

the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

B. Submitting Comments 

Please include Docket ID NRC–2018– 

0155 in your comment submission. 

The NRC cautions you not to include 

identifying or contact information that 

you do not want to be publicly 

disclosed in your comment submission. 

The NRC will post all comment 

submissions at http://

www.regulations.gov as well as enter the 

comment submissions into ADAMS. 

The NRC does not routinely edit 

comment submissions to remove 

identifying or contact information. 

If you are requesting or aggregating 

comments from other persons for 

submission to the NRC, then you should 

inform those persons not to include 

identifying or contact information that 

they do not want to be publicly 

disclosed in their comment submission. 

Your request should state that the NRC 

does not routinely edit comment 

submissions to remove such information 

before making the comment 

submissions available to the public or 

entering the comment into ADAMS. 

II. Discussion 

On October 30, 2018, the NRC 

solicited comments on its draft guidance 

document, NUREG/BR–0204, Rev. 3, 

‘‘Instructions for Completing NRC’s 

Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste 

Manifest.’’ This document provides 

instructions to prepare NRC Form 540 

(Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste 

Manifest (Shipping Paper)), NRC Form 

541 (Uniform Low-Level Radioactive 

Waste Manifest (Container and Waste 

Description)), and NRC Form 542 

(Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste 

Manifest (Manifest Index and Regional 

Compact Tabulation)). Pursuant to the 

requirements of part 20 of title 10 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 

part 20), ‘‘Standards for Protection 

Against Radiation,’’ Appendix G, 

‘‘Requirements for Transfers of LowLevel Radioactive Waste Intended for 

Disposal At Licensed Land Disposal 

Facilities and Manifests,’’ NRC Forms 

540 and 541 must be prepared for lowlevel radioactive waste intended for 

ultimate disposal at a licensed low-level 

radioactive waste land disposal facility. 

NRC Form 542 is required only if 

processors and collectors of low-level 


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