33980 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 20, 2007 / Notices 

The NMSP’s Indirect Cost Rates and 

Policies 

The NMSP will apply the indirect 

cost rates for FY 2004 as recommended 

by C&C for each of the NMSP 

component organizations as provided in 

the following table: 

NMSP component organization 

FY 2004 

indirect rate 

(percent) 

National Marine Sanctuary.

Program (NMSP) ...................... 125.40 

NMSP Florida Keys National.

Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) ..... 198.37 

The FY 2004 rates identified in this 

policy will be applied to all damage 

assessment and restoration case costs 

incurred between October 1, 2003 and 

September 30, 2004, using the Direct 

Labor Cost base allocation methodology. 

For cases that have settled and for costs 

claims paid prior to the effective date of 

the fiscal year in question, the NMSP 

will not re-open any resolved matters 

for the purpose of applying the rates in 

this policy. For cases not settled and 

cost claims not paid prior to the 

effective date of the fiscal year in 

question, costs will be recalculated 

using the rates in this policy. The NMSP 

will use the FY 2004 rates for future 

fiscal years until year-specific rates can 

be developed. 

Dated: June 11, 2007 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director, National Marine Sanctuary Program. 

[FR Doc. 07–3018 Filed 6–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Indirect Cost Rates for the 

National Marine Sanctuary Program for 

Fiscal Year 2003 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of indirect cost rates for 

the National Marine Sanctuary Program 

for fiscal year 2003. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration’s 

(NOAA’s) National Marine Sanctuary 

Program (NMSP) is announcing the 

establishment of new indirect cost rates 

on the recovery of indirect costs for its 

component organizations involved in 

natural resource damage assessment and 

restoration activities for fiscal year (FY) 

2003. The indirect cost rates for this 

fiscal year and dates of implementation 

are provided in this notice. More 

information on these rates and the 

NMSP policy can be obtained from the 

address provided below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Harriet Sopher, 301–713–3125, ext. 271; 

(FAX: 301–713–0404; e-mail: 

Harriet.Sopher@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

mission of the NMSP with respect to 

Natural Resource Damage Assessment is 

to restore injuries to sanctuary resources 

caused by releases of hazardous 

substances or oil under the 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C., 9601 et seq.) 

or the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) 

(33 U.S.C., 2701 et seq.), or physical 

injuries under the National Marine 

Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C., 

1431 et seq.). The NOAA NMSP consists 

of the following component 

organizations: Thirteen Marine 

Sanctuaries and one National 

Monument within NOAA’s National 

Ocean Service. The NMSP conducts 

Natural Resource Damage Assessments 

(NRDAs) as a basis for recovering 

damages from responsible parties and 

uses the funds recovered to restore 

injured sanctuary resources. 

When addressing NRDA incidents, 

the costs of the damage assessment are 

recoverable from responsible parties 

who are potentially liable for an 

incident. Costs include direct and 

indirect costs. Direct costs are costs for 

activities that are clearly and readily 

attributable to a specific output. In the 

context of the NMSP, outputs may be 

associated with damage assessment 

cases, or may be represented by other 

program products such as damage 

assessment regulations. In contrast, 

indirect costs reflect the costs for 

activities that collectively support the 

NMSP’s mission and operations. For 

example, indirect costs include general 

administrative support and traditional 

overheads. Although these costs may 

not be readily traced back to a specific 

direct activity, indirect costs may be 

allocated to direct activities using an 

indirect cost distribution rate. 

Consistent with standard Federal 

accounting requirements, the NMSP is 

required to account for and report the 

full costs of its programs and activities. 

Further, the NMSP is authorized by law 

to recover reasonable costs of damage 

assessment and restoration activities 

under CERCLA, OPA, and the NMSA. 

Within the constraints of these legal 

provisions and their regulatory 

applications, the NMSP has the 

discretion to develop indirect cost rates 

for its component organizations and 

formulate policies on the recovery of 

indirect cost rates subject to its 

requirements. 

The NMSP’s Indirect Cost Effort 

In October 2002, the NMSP hired the 

public accounting firm Cotton & 

Company (C&C) to: (1) Evaluate the cost 

accounting system and allocation 

practices; (2) recommend the 

appropriate indirect cost allocation 

methodology; and, (3) determine the 

indirect cost rates for the organizations 

that comprise the NMSP. 

The NMSP requested an analysis of its 

indirect costs for fiscal year 2002. The 

goal was to develop the most 

appropriate indirect cost rate allocation 

methodology and rates for the NMSP 

component organizations. C&C has 

continued its assessment of the NMSP’s 

indirect cost rate system and structure 

from FY 2002 to present. 

C&C concluded that the cost 

accounting system and allocation 

practices of the NMSP component 

organizations are consistent with 

Federal accounting requirements. C&C 

also determined that the most 

appropriate indirect allocation method 

was the Direct Labor Cost Basefor all 

NMSP component organizations. The 

Direct Labor Cost Base is computed by 

allocating total indirect costs over the 

sum of direct labor dollars plus the 

application of NOAA’s leave surcharge 

and benefits rates to direct labor. The 

indirect cost rates that C&C has 

computed to the NMSP component 

organizations were further assessed as 

being fair and equitable. A report on 

C&C’s effort, their assessment of the 

NMSP’s cost accounting system and 

practice, and their determination 

respecting the most appropriate indirect 

cost methodology and rates can be 

obtained from: Harriet Sopher, NMSP 

1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring, 

MD 20910. 

C&C reaffirmed that the Direct Labor 

Cost Base remained the most 

appropriate indirect allocation method 

for the development of the FY 2003 

indirect cost rates. 

The NMSP’s Indirect Cost Rates and 

Policies 

The NMSP will apply the indirect 

cost rates for FY 2003 as recommended 

by C&C for each of the NMSP 

component organizations as provided in 

the following table: 

NMSP component 

organization 

FY 2003 

indirect rate 

(percent) 

National Marine Sanctuary 

Program (NMSP) ............ 187.67 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 20, 2007 / Notices 33981 

NMSP component 

organization 

FY 2003 

indirect rate 

(percent) 

NMSP Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 

(FKNMS) ......................... 339.05 

The FY 2003 rates identified in this 

policy will be applied to all damage 

assessment and restoration case costs 

incurred between October 1, 2002 and 

September 30, 2003, using the Direct 

Labor Cost Base allocation methodology. 

For cases that have settled and for costs 

claims paid prior to the effective date of 

the fiscal year in question, the NMSP 

will not re-open any resolved matters 

for the purpose of applying the rates in 

this policy. For cases not settled and 

cost claims not paid prior to the 

effective date of the fiscal year in 

question, costs may be recalculated 

using the rates in this policy. The NMSP 

will use the FY 2003 rates for future 

fiscal years until year-specific rates can 

be developed. 

Dated: June 11, 2007. 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director, National Marine Sanctuary Program. 

[FR Doc. 07–3019 Filed 6–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA88 

Marine Mammals; File No.1034–1685 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. 

Markus Horning, Marine Mammal 

Institute, Oregon State University, 2030 

SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 

97365, has requested an amendment to 

scientific research Permit No. 1034–

1685–01 for research on marine 

mammals. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

July 20, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: The amendment request 

and related documents are available for 

review upon written request or by 

appointment in the following office(s): 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; and 

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West 

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 

CA 90802–4213; phone (562)980–4001; 

fax (562)980–4018. 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this request should be 

submitted to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 

individuals requesting a hearing should 

set forth the specific reasons why a 

hearing on this particular amendment 

request would be appropriate. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 1034–1685–02. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Sloan or Jaclyn Daly, (301)713–

2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject amendment to Permit No. 1034–

1685–01, issued on November 11, 2004 

(69 FR 69585), is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the regulations 

governing the taking and importing of 

marine mammals (50 CFR part 216). 

Permit No. 1034–1685–01 authorizes 

the permit holder to surgically implant 

dual satellite-linked life history 

transmitters; attach external satellite 

tags; collect blood, blubber, and fecal 

samples; and conduct bioelectrical 

impedance analysis, deuterium dilution 

determinations, and blubber ultrasound 

measurements on California sea lions 

(Zalophus californianus) at The Marine 

Mammal Center. The permit also 

authorizes anesthesia and 

adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) 

injections to measure adrenal stress 

levels in up to 6 California sea lions. 

Stress levels are measured through 

blood and fecal analysis. 

The permit holder requests 

authorization to increase the number of 

California sea lions that receive ACTH 

injections to 12 animals, and inject 6 

animals with a sterile saline solution as 

a control group. The permit holder also 

requests the addition of a co-investigator 

to the study. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: June 13, 2007. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–11956 Filed 6–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No. PTO–C–2007–0023] 

Public Advisory Committees 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, DOC. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

nominations. 

SUMMARY: On November 29, 1999, the 

President signed into law the Patent and 

Trademark Office Efficiency Act (the 

‘‘Act’’), Pub. L. 106–113, Appendix I, 

Title IV, Subtitle G, 113 Stat.1501A–

572, which, among other things, 

established two Public Advisory 

Committees to review the policies, 

goals, performance, budget and user fees 

of the United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) with respect 

to patents, in the case of the Patent 

Public Advisory Committee, and with 

respect to trademarks, in the case of the 

Trademark Public Advisory Committee, 

and to advise the Director on these 

matters. The USPTO is requesting 

nominations for three (3) members to 

each Public Advisory Committee for 

terms of three years that begin from date 

of appointment. 

DATES: Nominations must be 

postmarked or electronically 

transmitted on or beforeSeptember 1, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to submit 

nominations should send the nominee’s 

resume ́ to Chief of Staff, Office of the 

Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Intellectual Property and Director of the 

USPTO, Post Office Box 1450, 

Alexandria, Virginia 22313–1450; by 

electronic mail to: 

PPACnominations@uspto.gov for the 

Patent Public Advisory Committee or 

TPACnominations@uspto.gov for the 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES