33978 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 20, 2007 / Notices 

sockeye, that remains unlisted. In 

conjunction with this, the City also 

wishes to remove as covered activities 

the interim sockeye hatchery and the 

planned permanent sockeye hatchery, 

included in the HCP. 

NMFS believes that this proposed 

change could qualify as a minor 

modification, pursuant to section 12.1 of 

the IA, because it appears that none of 

the remaining operations covered by the 

Permit would change and the City 

would remain obligated to continue all 

of the Permit’s other mitigation 

measures. Further, NMFS believes that 

removal of the sockeye and the interim 

and planned hatcheries from the Permit 

will have no effect on operation of those 

hatcheries. Separate agreements, namely 

the Landsburg Mitigation Agreement 

signed by the City, NMFS and the State 

of Washington, as well a court 

settlement with the Muckleshoot Tribe, 

require that the City continue sockeye 

hatchery operations with the same 

mitigation measures and adaptive 

management that would be required 

under the Permit. 

However, NMFS wishes to ensure that 

the Permit, without the Cedar River 

sockeye as a covered species and the 

interim and planned hatcheries as 

covered activities, is still consistent 

with the statutory issuance criteria 

contained in section 10 of the ESA. 

Accordingly, NMFS will treat the 

requested change as if it were an 

amendment pursuant to 12.2 of the IA, 

including conducting any required 

environmental reviews. NMFS therefore 

seeks comment on Permit 1235 as it 

would operate without including the 

Cedar River sockeye and the interim and 

planned hatcheries. NMFS is 

particularly interested in information 

regarding whether this change would 

alter the operations that will still be 

covered by the Permit, and whether the 

mitigation measures for those remaining 

operations will need modification. 

Authority 

Under section 10(a)(1)(b) of the ESA, 

the Secretary of Commerce is authorized 

to issue permits for incidental take of 

ESA-listed species. The regulations that 

describe procedures for issuing these 

permits are found at 50 CFR 222.307. 

Dated: June 14, 2007. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–11963 Filed 6–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Indirect Cost Rates for the 

National Marine Sanctuary Program for 

Fiscal Year 2005 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of indirect cost rates for 

the National Marine Sanctuary Program 

for Fiscal Year 2005. 

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) 

2005. 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 recover 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 FY2002 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 Base for 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 for 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 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 20, 2007 / Notices 33979 

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 is the most appropriate 

indirect allocation method for the 

development of the FY 2005 indirect 

cost rates. 

The NMSP’s Indirect Cost Rates and 

Policies 

The NMSP will apply the indirect 

cost rates for FY 2005 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) ............ 247.63 

NMSP Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 

(FKNMS) ......................... 408.76 

The FY 2005 rates identified in this 

policy will be applied to all damage 

assessment and restoration case costs 

incurred between October 1, 2004 and 

September 30, 2005, 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 2005 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. 07–3017 Filed 06–19–07; 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 2004 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of indirect cost rates for 

the National Marine Sanctuary Program 

for fiscal year 2004. 

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) 

2004. 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; email: 

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 FY2002 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 Base for 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 for 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 

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 is the most appropriate 

indirect allocation method for the 

development of the FY 2004 indirect 

cost rates. 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES