Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices 34149

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

[Docket Number: 000505126–0126–01

RIN 0693–ZA37

Materials Science and Engineering

Laboratory, NIST Center for Neutron

Research Supplemental Grants

Program—Availability of Funds

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards

and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is

to inform potential applicants that the

National Institute of Standards and

Technology Center for Neutron Research

(NCNR) is establishing a supplemental

program within the Materials Science

and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL)

Grants Program, offering financial

assistance in the field of Neutron

Scattering Research and Spectroscopy.

DATES: Proposals for the NCNR

Supplemental Grants Program must be

received no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern

Standard Time (June 26, 2000).

Applications received after the closing

time and date will not be accepted, and

they will be returned to the sender.

ADDRESSES: Each applicant must submit

one signed original and two paper

copies of a proposal with a Grant

Application (Standard Form 424, Rev.

7/97 series and other required forms) to

Denise Sullivan, National Institute of

Standards and Technology, NIST Center

for Neutron Research, STOP 8560,

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899–8560,

Phone (301) 975–5831. Facsimile,

electronic mail, and other forms of

electronic application submissions will

not be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Denise Sullivan (301) 975–5831.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Name and Number:

Measurement and Engineering Research

and Standards—11.609.

Authority: As authorized under 15 U.S.C.

272(b)(7) and (c)(16), the MSEL conducts a

basic and applied research program directly

and through grants and cooperative

agreements to eligible recipients.

Program Description/Objectives

The primary objective of the

supplemental program in Neutron

Research is to develop new areas of

neutron instrumentation with emphasis

on cold neutrons; to explore and

develop new areas of neutron scattering

science, with emphasis on

macromolecular science, condensed

matter physics, and chemistry; to assist

and train facility users in their research,

and to conduct other outreach and

educational activities that advance the

use of neutrons by U.S. university and

industrial scientists.

Eligibility

The NCNR Supplemental Grants

Program will be open to colleges and

universities in the United States.

Funding Instrument

The funding instrument will be a

cooperative agreement, to allow

substantial NIST involvement in

directing and collaborating on the scope

of work.

Funding Availability

Proposals will be considered for

research projects with durations up to

five years, subject to the availability of

funds, satisfactory progress, and

continuing relevance to the objectives of

the NIST Center for Neutron Research.

The anticipated level of funding for the

supplemental program in Neutron

Research in the MSEL Grants Program is

for one ward of up to $2,000,000 per

year.

Proposal Review and Evaluation

Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed in a twostep process. First, an independent,

objective panel of at least three

individuals knowledgeable about

neutron scattering research and

spectroscopy will conduct a technical

review of proposals, based on the

evaluation criteria. Second, the Center

Director will make the final award

selection. In making the final award

selection, the Center Director will take

into consideration the results of the

panel’s evaluations, including rank, the

compatibility of the applicant’s proposal

with the program objectives of the

NCNR, and the Center Director’s

judgment as to which application, when

the slate is taken as a whole, is likely

to best further the objectives of the

NCNR Supplemental Grants Program,

described above in the ‘‘Program

Description/Objectives’’ section. If an

award is made to an applicant

inconsistent with the ranking by

technical reviewers, the Center Director

shall justify the selection in writing. The

final approval of the selected

application and award of a cooperative

agreement will be made by the NIST

Grants Officer based on compliance

with program requirements and whether

the recommended applicants appear

competently managed, responsible, and

committed to achieving project

objectives. The decision of the Grants

Officer is final.

For the NCNR Supplemental Grants

Program, the evaluation criteria the

technical reviewers will use in

evaluating the proposals are a follows:

1. Qualifications and experience of

the Principle Investigator in neutron

scattering research, as demonstrated by

extensive publications and invited

lectures in condensed matter physics,

chemistry, material science,

macromolecular science or ralted fields.

(15%)

2. Qualifications and experience of

the proposed staff of the university in

neutron scattering research or in related

scientific or engineering areas that are

key to the activities contained in the

proposal, as demonstrated by resumes of

staff proposed for this program. (25%)

3. Quality of the proposed research

and development plan and its potential

impact on neutron scattering science,

particularly in the areas of

macromolecular science, condensed

matter physics, and chemistry. (30%)

4. Quality of the plan in the terms of

providing research assistance to U.S.

neutron researchers using the NCNR

facilities and related training, education,

and outreach plan. (20%)

5. Quality of the plan for special

engagement and outreach to minority or

female students, professional scientists,

or institutions. (10%)

Award Period

Proposals will be considered for

research projects with a duration of up

to five years. When a proposal for a

multi-year award is approved, funding

will generally be provided for only the

first year of the program. If an

application is selected for funding, NIST

has no obligation to provide any

additional funding in connection with

that award. Renewal of an award to

increase funding or extend the period of

performance is at the total discretion of

NIST. Funding for each subsequent year

of a multi-year proposal will be

contingent upon satisfactory progress,

continued relevance to the mission of

the NCNR program, and the availability

of funds.

Matching Funds

This program does not require the

recipient to provide any matching

funds.

Application Kit

An application kit, containing all

required application forms and

certifications is available by contacting

Ms. Denise Sullivan, (301) 975-5831.

The application kit includes the

following:

34150 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices

SF 424 (Rev 7/97)—APPLICATION FOR

FEDERAL ASSISTANCE

SF 424A (Rev 7/97)—BUDGET

INFORMATION—Non-Construction

Programs

SF 424B (Rev 7/97)—ASSURANCES—

Non-Construction Programs

CD 511 (7/91)—CERTIFICATION

REGARDING DEBARMENT,

SUSPENSION, AND OTHER

RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS; DRUGFREE WORKPLACE REQUIREMENTS

AND LOBBYING

CD 512 (7/91)—CERTIFICATION

REGARDING DEBARMENT,

SUSPENSION, INELIGIBILITY AND

VOLUNTARY EXCLUSION—LOWER

TIER COVERED TRANSACTIONS

AND LOBBYING

SF–LLL—DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING

ACTIVITIES

CD–346—APPLICANT FOR FUNDING

ASSISTANCE

Paperwork Reduction Act

The Standard Form 424 and other

Standard Forms in the application kit

are subject to the requirements of the

Paperwork Reduction Act and have

been approved by OMB under Control

No. 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 0348–0040,

0348–0046, and 0605–0001.

Notwithstanding any other provision

of the law, no person is required to

respond to, nor shall any person be

subject to a penalty for failure to comply

with a collection, subject to the

requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act, unless that collection of

information displays a currently valid

OMB Control Number.

Additional Requirements

Primary Application Certifications:

All primary applicant institutions must

submit a completed form CD–511,

‘‘Certifications Regarding Debarment,

Suspension and Other Responsibility

Matters; Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements and Lobbying’’ and the

following explanations must be

provided:

1. Nonprocurement Debarment and

Suspension. Prospective participants (as

defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 105)

are subject to 15 CFR part 26,

‘‘Nonprocurement Debarment and

Suspension’’ and the related section of

the certification form prescribed above

applies;

2. Drug-Free Workplace. Grantees (as

defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 605)

are subject to 15 CFR part 26, subpart

F, ‘‘Government wide Requirements for

Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)’’ and the

related section of the certification form

prescribed above applies;

3. Anti-Lobbying. Persons (as defined

at 15 CFR part 28, section 105) are

subject to the lobbying provisions of 31

U.S.C. 1352, ‘‘Limitation on use of

appropriated funds to influence certain

Federal contacting and financial

transactions,’’ and the lobbying section

of the certification form prescribed

above applies to applications/bids for

grants, cooperative agreements, and

contracts for more than $100,000, and

loans and loan guarantees for more than

$150,000, or the single family maximum

mortgage limit for affected programs,

whichever is greater.

4. Anti-Lobbying Disclosure. Any

applicant institution that has paid or

will pay for lobbying using any funds

must submit an SF—LL, ‘‘Disclosure of

Lobbying Activities,’’ as required under

15 CFR part 28, appendix B.

5. Lower-Tier Certifications.

Recipients shall require applicant/

bidder institutions for subgrants,

contracts, subcontracts, or other lower

tier covered transactions at any tier

under the award to submit, if

applicable, a completed Form CD–512,

‘‘Certifications Regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion—Lower Tier Covered

Transactions and Lobbying’’ and

disclosure form, SF—LLL, ‘‘Disclosure

of Lobbying Activities.’’ Form CD–512 is

intended for the use of recipients and

should not be transmitted to NIST. SF—

LLL submitted by any tier recipient or

subrecipient should be submitted to

NIST in accordance with the

instructions contained in the award

document.

Name Check Reviews

All for-profit and non-profit

applicants will be subject to a name

check review process. Name checks are

intended to reveal if any key individuals

associated with the applicant have been

convicted of or are presently facing,

criminal charges such as fraud, theft,

perjury, or other matters which

significantly reflect on the applicant’s

management honesty or financial

integrity. Form CD–346 must be

completed for all personnel with key

programmatic or fiduciary

responsibilities.

Preaward Activities

Applicants (or their institutions) who

incur any costs prior to an award being

made do so solely at their own risk of

not being reimbursed by the

Government. Notwithstanding any

verbal assurance that may have been

provided, there is no obligation on the

part of NIST to cover pre-award costs.

No Obligation for Future Funding

If an application is accepted for

funding, DOC has no obligation to

provide any additional future funding in

connection with that award. Renewal of

an award to increase funding or extend

the period of performance is at the total

discretion of NIST.

Past Performance

Unsatisfactory performance under

prior Federal awards may result in an

application not being considered for

funding.

False Statements

A false statement on an application is

grounds for denial or termination of

funds, and grounds for possible

punishment by a fine or imprisonment

as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

Delinquent Federal Debts

No award of Federal funds shall be

made to an applicant who has an

outstanding delinquent Federal debt

until either:

1. The delinquent account is paid in

full,

2. A negotiated repayment schedule is

established and at least one payment is

received, or

3. Other arrangements satisfactory to

DoC are made.

Indirect Costs

Regardless of any approved indirect

cost rate applicable to the award, the

maximum dollar amount of allocable

indirect costs for which the DoC will

reimburse the Recipient shall be the

lesser of:

(a) the Federal Share of the total

allocable indirect costs of the award

based on the negotiated rate with the

cognizant Federal agency as established

by audit or negotiation; or

(b) the line item amount for the

Federal share of indirect costs contained

in the approved budget of the award.

Purchase of American-Made Equipment

and Products

Applicants are hereby notified that

they are encouraged, to the greatest

practicable extent, to purchase

American-made equipment and

products with funding provided under

this program.

Federal Policies and Procedures

Recipients and subrecipients under

each of the above grant programs shall

be subject to all Federal laws and

Federal and Departmental regulations,

policies, and procedures applicable to

financial assistance awards.

Each of the above grant programs does

not directly affect any state or local

government.

Applications under these programs

are not subject to Executive Order

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices 34151

12372, ‘‘Intergovernmental Review of

Federal Programs.’’

Executive Order Statement

This funding notice was determined

to be ‘‘not significant’’ for purposes of

Executive Order 12866.

Dated: May 22, 2000.

Karen H. Brown,

Deputy Director, NIST.

[FR Doc. 00–13299 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Solicitation of Public Comments on

Establishing a Review Process for

Mandatory Conditions Developed by

the Departments of the Interior and

Commerce in the Context of

Hydropower Licensing

AGENCIES: Office of the Secretary,

Interior; National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation of public

comments.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Interior and the Department of

Commerce (Departments) have

committed to establishing a review

process for the mandatory conditions

and prescriptions the Departments

develop as part of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission’s hydropower

licensing proceedings under part I of the

Federal Power Act. The Departments

have convened a joint drafting

committee to develop such a process

and, with the input of the public and

agency field staffs, will be exploring a

variety of options in the coming months.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by

June 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please submit all comments

to Liz Birnbaum, U.S. Department of the

Interior, Solicitor’s Office, MS–6352,

1849 C Street, NW 20240, or by email:

<MARP@ios.doi.gov>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liz

Birnbaum, U.S. Department of the

Interior, 202–208–4423, or Stephen

Waste, U.S. Department of Commerce,

301–713–2325, extension 182.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Pursuant to Part I of the Federal

Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq., the

Department of the Interior and

Department of Commerce possess

certain authorities in the process for

licensing non-federal hydroelectric

generating facilities. Although the final

licensing decision lies with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission

(Commission), various bureaus of the

Departments provide input to the

Commission on a number of issues

related to the license application.

Among others, the Departments’

authorities include the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service’s and National Marine

Fisheries Service’s authority to

prescribe fishways under section 18 of

the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 811,

and the Secretary of the Interior’s

authority with respect to land

‘‘reservations’’ that may contain nonfederal hydropower project works, to

establish conditions ‘‘necessary for the

adequate protection and utilization of

such reservations’’ under section 4(e) of

the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 797(e).

These reservations may include lands

managed principally by the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, the National Park

Service, the Bureau of Land

Management, the Bureau of Reclamation

and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Federal Power Act states that

both section 18 prescriptions and

section 4(e) conditions must be

included in any license issued by the

Commission. The mandatory nature of

these prescriptions and conditions has

been upheld by Federal courts,

including the Supreme Court.

Escondido Mutual Water Co. v. La Jolla

Band of Mission Indians, 466 U.S. 765

(1984); Bangor Hydroelectric Co. v.

FERC, 78 F.3d 659 (D.C. Cir. 1996);

American Rivers v. FERC, 129 F.3d 99

(2d Cir. 1997); American Rivers v. FERC,

187 F.3d 1007 (9th Cir. 1999). After

incorporation into a license, the

prescriptions and conditions are subject

to judicial review under the appeal

procedures of the Federal Power Act,

which places exclusive jurisdiction in

the Federal courts of appeals (16 U.S.C.

8251(b)).

Currently, the Departments try to

work closely with the license applicant

in developing mandatory prescriptions

and conditions. However, the

Departments understand the interest of

licensees and others in having a more

formal opportunity to provide input on

the Departments’ mandatory conditions

before FERC issues a license. Such a

review process mechanism would

provide an opportunity for the

Departments and interested parties to

work together to improve prescriptions

and conditions in advance of license

issuance. While it is generally thought

that this process would only be

appropriate in a traditional process

licensing, the Departments will also

evaluate whether such a mechanism

should be available for prescriptions

and conditions developed during

negotiations under the Commission’s

alternative licensing procedure, or other

settlement negotiations.

Before the Departments can establish

a review process, a number of issues

must be considered and addressed. The

Departments do not wish to institute a

review process that causes significant

delays in developing prescriptions and

conditions, or creates unnecessary

procedural burdens on the Commission,

licensees, or on to balance the need to

obtain timely, meaningful input with

their legal obligation to support

conditions and prescriptions with

substantial evidence in the record.

Furthermore, in consideration of

increasingly significant resource

constraints, the Departments must adopt

a procedure that is not too burdensome.

Timing will be a particularly

important consideration in establishing

a review process. While the

Departments often have an opportunity

to review and comment on draft

hydropower licensing applications

before the applications are due, they

typically do not see the final license

application until it is submitted to the

Commission. The Departments therefore

have very little time to analyze the

application and develop appropriate

prescriptions and conditions. In

addition, they often must wait to receive

additional environmental information

before being able to develop section 18

prescriptions or Section 4(e) conditions.

Commission rules ask that the

Departments submit prescriptions and

conditions within 60 days after the

Commission determines that the

application is complete and ready for

environmental review. Where there is

sufficient information to support a

preliminary prescription or condition,

the Departments normally take this time

to develop prescriptions and conditions

that address the application as written,

leaving little time for any kind of review

process. Once the prescriptions and

conditions have bean submitted, the

Commission’s regulations provide a

narrow 45-day comment period for

public comments. Therefore, in

developing a review process, the

Departments must consider whether to

delay their submissions to the

Commission in order to accommodate

the new process, use the time period

already contemplated under the

Commission’s regulations, or take

otherstreps to integrate this new process

into the licensing procedure.