66200 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 218 / Monday, November 13, 2006 / Notices 

fulfill this responsibility by initiating 

and supporting merit-selected research 

and education projects in all the 

scientific and engineering disciplines. 

NSF receives more than 40,000 

proposals annually for new projects, 

and makes approximately 10,500 new 

awards. 

Support is made primarily through 

grants, contracts, and other agreements 

awarded to more than 2,800 colleges, 

universities, academic consortia, 

nonprofit institutions, and small 

businesses. The awards are based 

mainly on evaluations of proposal merit 

submitted to the Foundation (proposal 

review is currently cleared under OMB 

Control No. 3145–0060). 

The Foundation has a continuing 

commitment to monitor the operations 

of its information collection to identify 

and address excessive reporting burdens 

as well as to identify any real or 

apparent inequities based on gender, 

race, ethnicity, or disability of the 

proposed principal investigator(s)/ 

project director(s) or the co-principal 

investigator(s)/co-project director(s). 

Proposal Evaluation Process 

The Foundation relies heavily on the 

advice and assistance of external 

advisory committees, ad-hoc proposal 

reviewers, and to other experts to ensure 

that the Foundation is able to reach fair 

and knowledgeable judgments. These 

scientists and educators come from 

colleges and universities, nonprofit 

research and education organizations, 

industry, and other Government 

agencies. 

In making its decisions on proposals 

the counsel of these merit reviewers has 

proven invaluable to the Foundation 

both in the identification of meritorious 

projects and in providing sound basis 

for project restructuring. 

Review of proposals may involve 

large panel sessions, small groups, or 

use of a mail-review system. Proposals 

are reviewed carefully by scientists or 

engineers who are expert in the 

particular field represented by the 

proposal. About 54% are reviewed 

exclusively by panels of reviewers who 

gather, usually in Arlington, VA, to 

discuss their advice as well as to deliver 

it. About 33% are reviewed first by mail 

reviewers expert in the particular field, 

then by panels, usually of persons with 

more diverse expertise, who help the 

NSF decide among proposals from 

multiple fields or sub-fields. Finally, 

about 9% are reviewed exclusively by 

mail. 

Use of the Information 

The information collected is used to 

support grant programs of the 

Foundation. The information collected 

on the proposal evaluation forms is used 

by the Foundation to determine the 

following criteria when awarding or 

declining proposals submitted to the 

Agency: (1) What is the intellectual 

merit of the proposed activity? (2) What 

are the broader impacts of the proposed 

activity? 

The information collected on reviewer 

background questionnaire (NSF 428A) is 

used by managers to maintain an 

automated database of reviewers for the 

many disciplines represented by the 

proposals submitted to the Foundation. 

Information collected on gender, race, 

and ethnicity is used in meeting NSF 

needs for data to permit response to 

Congressional and other queries into 

equity issues. These data also are used 

in the design, implementation, and 

monitoring of NSF efforts to increase the 

participation of various groups in 

science, engineering, and education. 

Confidentiality 

When a decision has been made 

(whether an award or a declination), 

verbatim copies of reviews, excluding 

the names of the reviewers, and 

summaries of review panel 

deliberations, if any, are provided to the 

PI. A proposer also may request and 

obtain any other releasable material in 

NSF’s file on their proposal. Everything 

in the file except information that 

directly identifies either reviewers or 

other pending or declined proposals is 

usually releasable to the proposer. 

While a listing of panelists’ names is 

released annually, the names of 

individual reviewers, associated with 

individual proposals, are not released to 

anyone. 

Because the Foundation is committed 

to monitoring and identifying any real 

or apparent inequities based on gender, 

race, ethnicity, or disability of the 

proposed principal investigator(s)/ 

project director(s) or the co-principal 

investigator(s)/co-project director(s), the 

Foundation also collects information 

regarding race, ethnicity, disability, and 

gender. This information also is 

protected by the Privacy Act. 

Burden on the Public: For the Grant 

Proposal Guide, NSF estimates that an 

average of 120 hours is expended for 

each proposal submitted. An estimated 

45,000 proposals are expected during 

the course of one year for a total of 

5,400,000 public burden hours 

annually. 

For the proposal review process, NSF 

estimates that anywhere from one hour 

to twenty hours may be required to 

review a proposal. It is estimated that 

approximately five hours are required to 

review an average proposal. Each 

proposal receives an average of 6 

reviews, with a minimum requirement 

of three reviews for an estimated total of 

1,350,000 hours. The estimated burden 

for the Reviewer Background 

Information (NSF 428A) is estimated at 

5 minutes per respondent with up to 

10,000 potential new reviewers for a 

total of 83 hours. The estimated total is 

1,350,083 for the reviewer process and 

the reviewer background information. 

The estimated aggregated total for 

both the Grant Proposal Guide and the 

proposal review process is 6,750,083 

hours. 

Dated: November 7, 2006. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. E6–19104 Filed 11–9–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Proposal Review, Notice of Meetings 

In accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463, as amended), the National Science 

Foundation (NSF) announces its intent 

to hold proposal review meetings 

throughout the year. The purpose of 

these meetings is to provide advice and 

recommendations concerning proposals 

submitted to the NSF for financial 

support. The agenda for each of these 

meetings is to review and evaluate 

proposals as part of the selection 

process for awards. The review and 

evaluation may also include assessment 

of the progress of awarded proposals. 

The majority of these meetings will take 

place at NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Arlington, Virginia 22230. 

These meetings will be closed to the 

public. The proposals being reviewed 

include information of a proprietary or 

confidential nature, including technical 

information; financial data, such as 

salaries; and personal information 

concerning individuals associated with 

the proposals. These matters are exempt 

under 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), (4) and (6) of the 

Government in the Sunshine Act. NSF 

will continue to review the agenda and 

merits of each meeting for overall 

compliance of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act. 

These closed proposal review 

meetings will not be announced on an 

individual basis in the Federal Register. 

NSF intends to publish a notice similar 

to this on a quarterly basis. For an 

advance listing of the closed proposal 

review meetings that include the names 

of the proposal review panel and the 

time, date, place, and any information 

on changes, corrections, or 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 218 / Monday, November 13, 2006 / Notices 66201 

cancellations, please visit the NSF Web 

site: http://www.nsf.gov. This 

information may also be requested by 

telephoning, 703/292–8182. 

Dated: November 7, 2006. 

Susanne Bolton, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 06–9182 Filed 11–9–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Advisory Committee for International 

Science and Engineering; Notice of 

Meeting 

In accordance with Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463, as 

amended), the National Science 

Foundation announces the following 

meeting: 

Name: Advisory Committee for 

International Science and Engineering 

(25104). 

Date/Time: December 4, 2006; 8:30 a.m. to 

5 p.m. 

Place: National Science Foundation, 4201 

Wilson Boulevard, Room 1235, Arlington, 

VA. 

Type of Meeting: Open. 

Contact Person: Eduardo Feller, National 

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, 

(suite 935), Arlington, VA 22230 (703) 292–

8100. 

If you are attending the meeting and need 

access to the NSF, please contact the 

individual listed above so your name may be 

added to the building access list. 

Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice on 

the programs of the Office of International 

Science and Engineering. 

Agenda: Presentation of new Committee 

Members. 

Update on work of the Office. 

Briefings on Current International 

Initiatives. 

Discussion of International Program 

Initiatives. 

Dated: November 7, 2006. 

Susanne Bolton, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 06–9181 Filed 11–9–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 50–373 and 50–374] 

Exelon Generation Company, LLC; 

Notice of Denial of Amendment to 

Facility Operating License and 

Opportunity for Hearing 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC or the Commission) 

has denied a request by Exelon 

Generation Company, LLC (the licensee) 

for an amendment to Facility Operating 

Licenses NPF–11 and NPF–12, issued to 

the licensee for operation of the Lasalle 

County Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, 

located in LaSalle County, Illinois. 

Notice of Consideration of Issuance of 

this amendment was published in the 

Federal Register on March 28, 2006 (71 

FR 15483). 

The purpose of the licensee’s 

amendment request was to revise the 

technical specifications (TS) to change 

Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.7.3.1 

which verifies the cooling water 

temperature supplied to the plant from 

the core standby cooling system (CSCS) 

pond (i.e., ultimate heat sink (UHS)) is 

≤ 100 °F. Currently, if the temperature 

of the cooling water supplied to the 

plant from the CSCS pond is > 100 °F, 

the UHS must be declared inoperable in 

accordance with TS 3.7.3. The license 

amendment request proposed to 

increase the temperature limit of the 

cooling water supplied to the plant from 

the CSCS pond to ≤ 101.5 °F by 

reducing the temperature measurement 

uncertainty by replacing the existing 

thermocouples with higher precision 

temperature measuring equipment. 

Should the UHS indicated temperature 

exceed 101.5 °F, Required Action B.1 

would be entered and both units would 

be placed in Mode 3 within 12 hours 

and Mode 4 within 36 hours. 

The NRC staff has concluded that the 

licensee’s request cannot be granted. 

The licensee was notified of the 

Commission’s denial of the proposed 

change by telephone on November 2, 

2006. 

By 30 days from the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register, the licensee may demand a 

hearing with respect to the denial 

described above. Any person whose 

interest may be affected by this 

proceeding may file a written petition 

for leave to intervene pursuant to the 

requirements of 10 CFR 2.309. 

A request for a hearing or a petition 

for leave to intervene must be filed by: 

(1) First class mail addressed to the 

Office of the Secretary of the 

Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, Attention: Rulemaking and 

Adjudications Staff; (2) courier, express 

mail, and expedited delivery services: 

Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, 

One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, Attention: 

Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (3) 

E-mail addressed to the Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, 

HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV; or (4) 

facsimile transmission addressed to the 

Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001, Attention: Rulemakings 

and Adjudications Staff at (301) 415–

1101, verification number is (301) 415–

1966. A copy of the request for hearing 

and petition for leave to intervene 

should also be sent to the Office of the 

General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001, and it is requested that 

copies be transmitted either by means of 

facsimile transmission to (301) 415–

3725 or by e-mail to 

OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov . A copy of the 

request for hearing and petition for 

leave to intervene should also be sent to 

Mr. Bradley J. Fewell, Assistant General 

Counsel, Exelon Generation Company, 

LLC, 200 Exelon Way, Kennett Square, 

PA 19348, attorney for the licensee. For 

further details with respect to this 

action, see (1) the application for 

amendment dated March 13, 2006, as 

supplemented by letters dated July 13 

and August 4, 2006, and (2) the 

Commission’s letter to the licensee 

dated November 3, 2006. 

Documents may be examined, and/or 

copied for a fee, at the NRC’s Public 

Document Room (PDR), located at One 

White Flint North, Public File Area O1 

F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 

Rockville, Maryland, and will be 

accessible electronically through the 

Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System’s (ADAMS) Public 

Electronic Reading Room link at the 

NRC Web site http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who 

do not have access to ADAMS or who 

encounter problems in accessing 

documents located in ADAMS should 

contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 

telephone at 1–800–397–4209, (301) 

415–4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day 

of November 2006. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Catherine Haney, 

Director, Division of Operating Reactor 

Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. E6–19097 Filed 11–9–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 030–29319; License No. 42–

26838–01; EA–06–021] 

In the Matter of H&G Inspection 

Company, Inc., Houston, TX; 

Confirmatory Order (Effective 

Immediately) 

I 

H&G Inspection Company, Inc. (H&G), 

is the holder of Materials License No. 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES