6574 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2000 / Proposed Rules

labeled with the name of the person

making the submission and, if

applicable, his or her title and

organization. Either the document itself

or a cover letter must also include the

name of the person making the

submission, his or her title and

organization (if the submission is on

behalf of an organization), mailing

address, telephone number, telefax

number (if any) and e-mail address (if

any). The document itself must be in a

single file in either (1) Adobe Portable

Document File (PDF) format (preferred);

(2) Microsoft Word Version 7.0 or

earlier; (3) WordPerfect Version 7 or

earlier; (4) ASCII text file format; or (5)

Rich Text File (RTF) format.

3. If by print only: Anyone who is

unable to submit a comment in

electronic form should submit an

original and fifteen paper copies by

hand or by mail to the appropriate

address listed above. It may not be

feasible for the Office to place these

comments on its website.

All written comments (in electronic or

nonelectronic form) should contain the

name of the person making the

submission, his or her title and

organization (if the submission is on

behalf of an organization), mailing

address, telephone number, telefax

number (if any) and e-mail address (if

any). All written comments must at a

minimum contain the name of the

person making the submission.

The Office has already received some

comments designated as ‘‘reply

comments.’’ Persons submitting

comments should note that a comment

should not be designated as a ‘‘reply

comment’’ unless submitted in response

to one or more initial comments made

by other persons. Moreover, reply

comments, which are now due on

March 20, 2000, should not be

submitted until after the February 17,

2000 deadline for submission of initial

comments.

Dated: February 8, 2000.

David O. Carson,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 00–3200 Filed 2–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 1410–30–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

48 CFR Part 215

Defense Federal Acquisition

Regulation Supplement; Profit Policy

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking and notice of public

meeting.

SUMMARY: The Acting Director of

Defense Procurement is soliciting

comments from both government and

industry personnel regarding potential

changes to the profit policy specified in

the Defense Federal Acquisition

Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The

changes would increase the emphasis

placed on technical risk as a factor in

developing objective profit amounts.

DoD will conduct a public meeting to

discuss the potential changes as well as

the comments received in response to

this notice.

DATES: Public Meeting: The public

meeting will be conducted at the

address shown below on February 23,

2000, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., local

time.

Submission of Names of Expected

Attendees: The names of individuals

expected to attend the public meeting

should be submitted to the point of

contact shown below no later than

February 18, 2000, 4:00 p.m., local time.

Submission of Comments: Written

comments on the potential DFARS

changes should be submitted to the

address shown below no later than

February 17, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Public Meeting: The public

meeting will be conducted at the

Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency,

Command Conference Room (Room

2419), 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Fort

Belvoir, Virginia.

Submission of Names of Expected

Attendees: The names of individuals

expected to attend the public meeting

should be submitted to Mr. Robert

Bemben, by telephone, FAX, mail, or email at the phone number or address

specified below. Walk-in attendance

will be accommodated. However, preregistration is desired, as the names of

pre-registrants will be provided to

building security to facilitate building

access.

Submission of Comments: Interested

parties should submit written comments

to: Mr. Robert Bemben, PDUSD (AT&L)

DP/CPF, 3060 Defense Pentagon,

Washington, DC 20301–3060. E-mail

comments should be sent to

bembenrj&acq.osd.mil. Comments

should be accompanied by supporting

rationale for any proposed changes.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Robert Bemben, by telephone at (703)

695–9764; by FAX at (703) 693–9616; or

by e-mail at bembenrj&acq.osd.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Draft Materials

The potential changes to the DFARS

are available in draft form electronically

in Microsoft Word 6.0 text format at the

Cost, Pricing, and Finance Office

Internet Home Page: http://

www.acq.osd.mil/dp/cpf.

Note: The draft changes do not reflect a

proposed rule; they are provided for

information and discussion purposes only.

Paper copies may be obtained from

the point of contact specified herein.

B. Background

Section 813 of the National Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000

(Public Law 106–65) directed the

Secretary of Defense to review the DoD

profit guidelines to consider whether

appropriate modifications, such as

placing increased emphasis on technical

risk as a factor for determining

appropriate profit margins, would

provide an increased profit incentive for

contractors to develop and produce

complex and innovative new

technologies.

Section 813 further required the

Secretary of Defense to make any

changes to the profit guidelines that the

Secretary determines to be necessary

and to report to Congress on the results

of the review.

A review of the DoD profit policy has

identified potential changes to the

DFARS that would increase the

emphasis placed on technical risk as a

factor in developing objective profit

amounts. The purpose of this notice is

to provide the public with a preliminary

indication of changes under

consideration, and to solicit comments

and suggestions on those changes. After

consideration of the comments

submitted in writing and those offered

at the public meeting, the Director of

Defense Procurement may submit a draft

proposed rule to the Defense

Acquisition Regulations (DAR) Council

for consideration. The DAR Council will

publish any resulting proposed rule for

additional public comments.

Michele P. Peterson,

Executive Editor, Defense Acquisition

Regulations Council.

[FR Doc. 00–3141 Filed 2–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

48 CFR Part 252

[DFARS Case 99–D025]

Defense Federal Acquisition

Regulation Supplement; Contract

Drawings, Maps, and Specifications

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Acting Director of

Defense Procurement is proposing to

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2000 / Proposed Rules 6575

amend the Defense Federal Acquisition

Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to

revise a clause used in construction

contracts. The revised clause would

explicitly allow the Government to

furnish drawings and specifications to

construction contractors in electronic

form and would require construction

contractors to reproduce and print

contract drawings and specifications as

needed.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule

should be submitted in writing to the

address shown below on or before April

10, 2000, to be considered in the

formation of the final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties should

submit written comments on the

proposed rule to: Defense Acquisition

Regulations Council, Attn: Ms. Amy

Williams, PDUSD (AT&L)DP(DAR), IMD

3D139, 3062 Defense Pentagon,

Washington, DC 20301–3062. Telefax

(703) 602–0350.

E-mail comments submitted via the

Internet should be addressed to:

dfars@acq.osd.mil

Please cite DFARS Case 99–D025 in

all correspondence related to this

proposed rule. E-mail correspondence

should cite DFARS Case 99–D025 in the

subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Amy Williams, (703) 602–0288.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

DoD uses the clause at DFARS

252.236–7001, Contract Drawings,

Maps, and Specifications, in fixed-price

construction contracts. The clause

presently states that the Government

will provide five sets (unless another

quantity is specified) of large-scale

drawings and specifications to the

contractor without charge; or, at the

Government’s option, may furnish the

contractor with one set of reproducibles,

or half-size drawings. This rule

proposes to revise the clause to specify

that the Government will provide one

set of large-scale drawings and

specifications to the contractor in

electronic or paper media, as chosen by

the contracting officer, and that the

contractor will reproduce and print

contract drawings and specifications as

needed.

This rule was not subject to Office of

Management and Budget review under

Executive Order 12866, dated

September 30, 1993.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The proposed rule is not expected to

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

within the meaning of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.,

because the reproduction and printing

of contract drawings and specifications

normally does not constitute a

significant cost, and the contractor can

include this cost in the contract price.

Therefore, DoD has not performed an

initial regulatory flexibility analysis.

DoD invites comments from small

businesses and other interested parties.

DoD also will consider comments from

small entities concerning the affected

DFARS subpart in accordance with 5

U.S.C. 610. Such comments should be

submitted separately and should cite

DFARS Case 99–D025.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act does

not apply because the rule does not

impose any information collection

requirements that require the approval

of the Office of Management and Budget

under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 252

Government procurement.

Michele P. Peterson,

Executive Editor, Defense Acquisition

Regulations Council.

Therefore, DoD proposes to amend 48

CFR Part 252 as follows:

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR

Part 252 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 421 and 48 CFR

Chapter 1.

PART 252—SOLICITATION

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT

CLAUSES

2. Section 252.236–7001 is revised to

read as follows:

252.236–7001 Contract Drawings, Maps,

and Specifications.

As prescribed in 236.570(a), use the

following clause:

Contract Drawings, Maps, and Specifications

(XXX 2000)

(a) The Government—

(1) Will provide to the Contractor, without

charge, one set of large-scale contract

drawings and specifications, except

publications incorporated into the technical

provisions by reference; and

(2) Will provide the drawings and

specifications in electronic or paper media,

as chosen by the Contracting Officer.

(b) The Contractor shall—

(1) Check all drawings furnished

immediately upon receipt;

(2) Compare all drawings and verify the

figures before laying out the work;

(3) Promptly notify the Contracting Officer

of any discrepancies;

(4) Be responsible for any errors that might

have been avoided by complying with this

paragraph (b); and

(5) Reproduce and print contract drawings

and specifications as needed.

(c) In general—

(1) Large-scale drawings shall govern

small-scale drawings; and

(2) The Contractor shall follow figures

marked on drawings in preference to scale

measurements.

(d) Omissions from the drawings or

specifications or the misdescription of details

of work that are manifestly necessary to carry

out the intent of the drawings and

specifications, or that are customarily

performed, shall not relieve the Contractor

from performing such omitted or

misdescribed details of the work. The

Contractor shall perform such details as if

fully and correctly set forth and described in

the drawings and specifications.

(e) The work shall conform to the

specifications and the contract drawings

identified on the following index of

drawings:

Title

File

Drawing No.

(End of clause)

[FR Doc. 00–2942 Filed 2–09–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 020200A]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Atlantic Herring Fishery;

Scoping Process

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a

supplemental environmental impact

statement (SEIS) and notice of scoping

process; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery

Management Council (Council)

announces its intent to prepare an

amendment to the Fishery Management

Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Herring (Clupea

harengus) and to prepare an SEIS, if

necessary, to analyze the impacts of any

proposed management measures. The

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission (Commission), under the

authority of the Atlantic Coastal

Fisheries Cooperative Management Act,

may also prepare an amendment to its

Interstate Fishery Management Plan for

Atlantic Sea Herring. The Council and

the Commission also formally announce

a public process to determine the scope

of alternatives to be addressed in the

SEIS. The purpose of this notification is

to alert the interested public of the

commencement of the scoping process