14894 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 1997 / Notices

Rosalind Carter (Program Office) 202–

586–7983 or Michael Skinker (Program

Attorney) 202–586–6667.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exports of

electricity from the United States to a

foreign country are regulated and

require authorization under section

202(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA)

(16 U.S.C. § 824a(e)).

On September 5, 1996, in Docket EA–

98–C, the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of

the Department of Energy (DOE)

authorized 42 ‘‘public utility’’ members

of the WSPP to export electric energy to

Canadian members, British Columbia

Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro),

or other future Canadian members. The

facilities to be utilized for these exports

are the international transmission

facilities owned and operated by the

Bonneville Power Administration

(BPA), also a WSPP member. The

facilities consist of two 500-kV

transmission lines at Blaine,

Washington, and one 230-kV

transmission line at Nelway, British

Columbia, that interconnect with

facilities of BC Hydro, and one 230-kV

line, also at Nelway, connecting to West

Kootenay Power, Limited. The

construction and operation of these

international transmission facilities was

previously authorized by Presidential

Permits PP–10, PP–46, and PP–36,

respectively.

On March 12, 1997, WSPP submitted

an application to amend the export

authorization by adding 8 new member

companies to the list of authorized

electricity exporters. The new members

are: Intercoast Power Marketing

Company, National Gas & Electric L.P.,

PowerEx, TransAlta Enterprises

Corporation, TransCanada Energy Ltd.,

Tucson Electric Power Company,

Western Power Services, Inc., and

Williams Energy Services Company.

Procedural Matters

Any persons desiring to become a

party to this proceeding or to be heard

by filing comments or protests to this

application should file a petition to

intervene, comment or protest at the

address provided above in accordance

with §§ 385.211 or 385.214 of the

FERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedures

(18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Fifteen

copies of such petitions and protests

should be filed with the DOE on or

before the date listed above.

Additional copies are to be filed

directly with: Michael E. Small, Esq.,

Wright & Talisman, P.C., 1200 G Street,

Suite 600, Washington, D.C.

A final decision will be made on this

application after the environmental

impacts have been evaluated pursuant

to the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 (NEPA), and a

determination is made by the DOE that

the proposed action will not adversely

impact on the reliability of the U.S.

electric power supply system.

Copies of this application will be

made available, upon request, for public

inspection and copying at the address

provided above.

Issued in Washington, DC on March 24,

1997.

Anthony J. Como,

Director, Electric Power Regulation, Office of

Coal & Power Systems, Office of Coal & Power

IM/EX, Office of Fossil Energy.

[FR Doc. 97–7935 Filed 3–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–M

Office of Energy Research

Energy Research Financial Assistance

Program Notice 97–13: Centers of

Excellence for Laser Applications in

Medicine

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice inviting grant

applications.

SUMMARY: The Office of Health and

Environmental Research (OHER) of the

Office of Energy Research (ER), U.S.

Department of Energy (DOE) announces

its interest in receiving research

applications from potential applicants

for funding of Centers of Excellence for

Laser Applications in Medicine

(Centers). These Centers are intended to

carry out research that will advance the

application of laser technology in the

clinical practice of medicine. A Center

must have existing advanced

capabilities for fundamental research in

the medical application of lasers, is to

be based in a hospital with a close tie

to a school of medicine, is to offer a

strong program of research that covers a

wide range both of scientific disciplines

and of fields of medicine, and is to place

emphasis on training and dissemination

of developments in this field of

research.

DATES: Preapplications should be

received by May 30, 1997. However,

earlier submissions will be gladly

accepted. Formal applications in

response to this notice must be received

by 4:30 p.m., E.D.T., August 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Preapplications referencing

Program Notice 97–13 should be

forwarded to: Dr. Roland F. Hirsch,

Medical Applications and Biophysical

Research Division, ER–73, U.S.

Department of Energy, 19901

Germantown Road, Germantown, MD

20874–1290, Attn: Program Notice 97–

13. Fax submissions are acceptable, fax

number (301) 903–0567.

Formal applications referencing

Program Notice 97–13 should be

forwarded to: U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Research,

Grants and Contracts Division, ER–64,

19901 Germantown Road, Germantown,

MD 20874–1290, Attn: Program Notice

97–13. This address also must be used

when submitting applications by U.S.

Postal Service Express Mail, or any

commercial mail delivery service, or

when hand-carried by the applicant. An

original and seven copies of the

application must be submitted.

Applicants are required to follow the

formal instructions given in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Section of

this Notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Roland F. Hirsch, Medical Applications

and Biophysical Research Division, ER–

73, 19901 Germantown Road,

Germantown, MD 20874–1290,

telephone (301) 903–3213; E-mail

roland.hirsch@oer.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Centers of Excellence for Laser

Applications in Medicine were

established in 1991 upon the

recommendation in the Conference

Report for the Fiscal Year 1991 Energy

and Water Development Appropriation

Act. There has been substantial progress

in the field since that time. Therefore,

potential applicants are encouraged to

propose Center programs that are

appropriate for the current state of the

art in fundamental areas of laser

research relevant to clinical research,

that will enable progress toward new

areas of clinical use of lasers, and that

will increase the application of lasers

through training and dissemination

activities. There is particular interest in

research leading to new laser

applications for non-invasive medicine

and, in general, to new medical

procedures that are consistent with the

national need to control the costs of

health care.

Applicants are encouraged to utilize

the extensive fundamental scientific

expertise that is available at the

National Laboratories supported by the

Department through formal and

informal arrangements for consultation

and collaboration. Applicants are also

encouraged to identify objectives of the

proposed research program that

complement the aims of other programs

which are supported by the Medical

Applications and Biophysical Research

Division such as research in

radiopharmaceuticals and molecular

nuclear medicine, biomedical imaging

instrumentation, Boron Neutron Capture
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 1997 / Notices 14895

Therapy (BNCT), structural biology,

analytical chemistry, and genome

instrumentation.

Organizations with existing Centers of

Excellence for Laser Applications in

Medicine grants must submit with their

renewal application the required

Progress Report, which should include

a section describing research

accomplishments that have been carried

over into clinical research and practice.

It is anticipated that up to $1,500,000

are expected to be available for grant

awards in FY 1998, contingent upon

availability of appropriated funds. The

actual magnitude of the funds available

and the number of awards which can be

made will however depend on the

budget process. It is anticipated that up

to four awards of up to $600,000 each

annually for a three year period will be

made, with out-year support contingent

on availability of funds, progress of the

research, and programmatic needs.

Potential applicants are encouraged to

submit a brief preapplication describing

the proposed Center and its major

activities. The intent in asking for a

preapplication is to save the time and

effort of applicants in preparing and

submitting a formal project application

that may be inappropriate for the

program. The preapplication should

consist of a three-to-five-page concept

paper on the program contemplated for

an application to the Centers of

Excellence for Laser Applications in

Medicine program. The concept paper

should focus on the scientific objectives

and significance of the proposed

research, including an outline of the

approaches planned, should briefly

describe the organization of the

proposed center and its setting, and

should provide information relating to

other aspects of the planned program,

including collaborations with the DOE

National Laboratories and other research

organizations. The preapplication gives

an opportunity to advise potential

applicants on the suitability of their

concept and research program to the

mission of the Centers of Excellence

program. A response to timely

preapplications indicating the

appropriateness of submitting a formal

application will be communicated by

June 20, 1997. Please note that

notification of a successful

preapplication is not an indication that

an award will be made in response to

the formal application. ER’s

preapplication policy for submitting

preapplications can be found on ER’s

Grants and Contracts Web Site at: http:/

/www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/

preapp.html.

Applications will be subjected to

formal merit review (peer review) and

will be evaluated against the following

evaluation criteria listed in descending

order of importance codified at 10 CFR

605.10(d):

1. Scientific and/or Technical Merit of

the Project;

2. Appropriateness of the Proposed

Method or Approach;

3. Competency of Applicant’s

personnel and Adequacy of Proposed

Resources;

4. Reasonableness and

Appropriateness of the Proposed

Budget.

The evaluation will include program

policy factors such as the relevance of

the proposed research to the terms of

the announcement and an agency’s

programmatic needs. Note, external peer

reviewers are selected with regard to

both their scientific expertise and the

absence of conflict-of-interest issues.

Non-federal reviewers will often be

used, and submission of an application

constitutes agreement that this is

acceptable to the investigator(s) and the

submitting institution.

Applicants are expected to use the

following format in addition to

following instructions in the Office of

Energy Research Application Guide.

• ER standard face page (DOE F4650.2)

• Table of Contents

• Project abstract (no more than one

page)

• Budgets for each year of the three-year

project period (using DOE F 4620.1)

• Written explanation of the budget

items

• Budgets and budget explanations for

each collaborative subproject, if any

• Project narrative (recommended

length is no more than 40 pages):

• Goals

• Research plan for each major

component of the research program

• Preliminary studies (if applicable)

• Research design and methodologies

• Plans for training

• Plans for dissemination of new

concepts and techniques

• Literature cited

• Description of existing facilities for

research into laser applications in

medicine (up to five pages)

• Description of hospital setting and

medical school ties for the proposed

Center, including support proposed

to be offered to the Center’s

program by these units (up to five

pages)

• Collaborative arrangements (if

applicable)

• Biographical sketches (limited to 2

pages for each senior investigator)

• Current and pending funding for each

senior investigator

• All required information for any

activities involving human subjects

(see ER Application Guide)

• All required information for any

activities involving vertebrate

animals (see ER Application Guide)

Information about development and

submission of applications, eligibility,

evaluations and selection processes, and

other policies and procedures may be

found in 10 CFR part 605 and the Office

of Energy Research Application Guide

for the Financial Assistance Program.

Access to ER’s Financial Assistance

Application Guide is possible via the

World Wide Web at: http://

www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/

grants.html. Printed copies of the Guide

are available from the Medical

Applications and Biophysical Research

Division for potential applicants who

are unable to access the Web version.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance number for this program is

81.049, and the solicitation control number is

ERFAP 10 CFR Part 605.

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 24,

1997.

John Rodney Clark,

Associate Director for Resource Management,

Office of Energy Research.

[FR Doc. 97–7934 Filed 3–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP97–262–000]

Ashland Exploration, Inc.; Notice of

Application

March 24, 1997.

Take notice that on March 21, 1997,

Ashland Exploration, Inc. (Ashland),

14701 Saint Mary’s Lane, Houston,

Texas 77079, completed the filing of an

application for abandonment pursuant

to Section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act

initially submitted on February 24,

1997. Ashland requests authorization to

abandon, by sale, its jurisdictional

facilities in the Martha Field to

Meridian Exploration Corp. and Abarta

Oil & Gas Company, Inc., all as more

fully set forth in the application which

is on file with the Commission and open

to the public for inspection.

The facilities to be abandoned consist

of approximately 29.6 miles of 6-inch

and 8-inch diameter pipeline extending

from the outlet of Ashland’s gas

processing plant in Lawrence County,

Kentucky to the point where those

facilities intersect with the facilities of

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company near

Burnaugh, Kentucky, and three

associated field taps.

Any persons desiring to be heard or

to make any protest with reference to

said application should, on or before