Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 /Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Notices 27571

(iii) To supplement review by

standing committees when the volume

of applications is usually large, and for

applications with special review

requirements.

(6) The regular use of ad hoc

committees does not preclude the use of

standing committees under the

following circumstances:

(i) When required by legislation,

(ii) When a sufficient number of

applications on a specific topic are

received regularly and there is a

sufficient number of qualified experts

willing to serve on the committee for a

prolonged tenure; and

(iii) When the legislative authority for

the particular program involved extends

for more than one year.

(7) Field readers may be used as an

adjunct to a review committee. Field

readers must be fully briefed by the

designated Contract Officer’s

Representative so as to understand the

process, including the review criteria,

the weight given each criterion, and the

fact that any criteria not specified in the

solicitation are not to be used to

evaluate the applications. The field

readers must sign a certificate of

confidentiality, as provided in 10 CFR

600.13(d). Field readers should follow,

as closely as possible, the procedures

that would have been used by a

standing committee.

(e) Conflict of Interest. Members of the

review committee must act in a manner

consistent with 10 CFR 1010.101.

Reviewers who do not meet these

requirements shall not review, discuss,

or make recommendations concerning

the application. Review committee

members with a conflict of interest shall

also absent themselves from all

meetings in which the application in

question is discussed.

(f) Authorized Uses of Information.

The review committee must act in a

manner consistent with 10 CFR 600.15

when dealing with applications

containing trade secrets, privileged,

confidential commercial, and/or

financial information, unless the

information is unrestricted information

available from other sources.

(g) Authority Beyond Evaluation. The

Selection Official may decide not to

accept a proposal that receives a

favorable recommendation from the

merit review committee due to policy or

program factors. The explanation for the

decision not to accept a

recommendation from the merit review

committee must be documented in

writing for the applicant’s file and must

be prepared and signed by the ASEE or

his/her designee.

(h) Written Evaluation Summary.

Upon request, applicants are to be

furnished a written summary of the

evaluation of their application.

V. Deviations

If an EE program office wants to

deviate from these procedures for merit

review of an application or a class of

applications, but will still follow the

rules of 10 CFR 600.13, that office must

obtain written permission from the

ASEE. Permission to use procedures

which deviate from 10 CFR 600 must be

requested in writing to the responsible

DOE Contracting Officer in accordance

with 10 CFR 600.4. The Head of

Contracting Activity has the authority to

approve such procedures for a single

case deviation, while the DAS for

Procurement and Assistance

Management has the authority to

approve a class deviation. A deviation

may be authorized only upon written

determination that the deviation is

necessary for any of the reasons set forth

in 10 CFR 600.4 (b).

VI. EE Selection Process

Selection of applications for

discretionary financial assistance will

be based on the Selection Officials’

acceptance of the merit review

committees’ recommendations and the

findings of a separate programmatic

review of program/policy factors

relevant to EE’s mission.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on May 13,

1998.

Dan W. Reicher,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 98–13244 Filed 5–18–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Research

Energy Research Financial Assistance

Program Notice 98–17; Innovations in

Magnetic Fusion Energy Diagnostic

Systems

AGENCY: Office of Energy Research, U.S.

Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice inviting grant

applications.

SUMMARY: The Office of Fusion Energy

Sciences (OFES) of the Office of Energy

Research, U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) announces its interest in

receiving grant applications for

innovative research in magnetic fusion

energy diagnostic systems. Research

projects are sought that are unique, first

of a kind, and provide new scientific

insights. Applications for

implementation of an established

diagnostic technique on existing or

planned facilities should not be

submitted in response to this Notice.

Successful applications will be funded

in FY 1999.

DATES: To permit timely consideration

for awards in Fiscal Year 1999,

applications submitted in response to

this notice must be received no later

than 4:30 p.m., August 4, 1998. No

electronic submissions of formal

applications will be accepted.

ADDRESSES: Completed formal

applications referencing Program Notice

98–17 should be forwarded to: U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of Energy

Research, Grants and Contracts

Division, ER–64, 19901 Germantown

Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874–

1290, ATTN: Program Notice 98–17.

The above address must also be used

when submitting applications by U.S.

Postal Service Express, any commercial

mail delivery service, or when hand

carried by the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Darlene Markevich, ER–55 GTN, U.S.

Department of Energy, 19901

Germantown Road, Germantown, MD

20874–1290, Telephone: (301) 903–4920

or 3287, or by Internet address,

darlene.markevich@mailgw.er.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Fusion Energy Sciences is interested

in receiving applications for innovative

diagnostic systems that have the

possibility of leading to improved

understanding of plasma behavior in

tokamaks, innovative confinement

concepts, and burning plasma

experiments. Research projects are

sought that are unique, first of a kind,

and provide new scientific insights.

Although the main thrust of this

initiative is for experimental work,

consideration will be given to

applications that are directed at a shortterm scientific assessment of new

diagnostic concepts that are not ready

for extensive experimental

investigation. Applications for the

implementation of an established

diagnostic technique on existing or

planned facilities should not be

submitted in response to this Notice.

Also, applications for theory/modeling

investigations or initiatives in Inertial

Fusion Energy should not be submitted

in response to this Notice.

In selecting applications for funding,

the DOE Office of Fusion Energy

Sciences will give priority to

applications that can produce

experimental results within three to five

years after grant initiation. Except for

assessment applications, the detailed

description of the proposed project

should contain the following items: (1)
27572 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 /Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Notices

A detailed experimental research plan;

(2) The specific results or deliverable

expected at the end of the grant period;

(3) The goal of the experiment; (4) A

synopsis of the experimental program

plan; (5) Adequacy of the facilities and

budget; and (6) A proposed outline on

how the diagnostic will be carried to a

proof-of-principle (POP) demonstration.

An estimated budget for POP

demonstration must be included if the

POP would be carried out after the end

of the normal 3-year project period for

a grant.

Applications concerned with

scientific assessment of new diagnostic

techniques that are not ready for

experimental investigation should have

a well-defined scope and a duration of

no more than six months. These

applications will be considered nonrenewable. The product of such an

assessment would be a clear scientific

description of the diagnostic concept,

the knowledge of fusion plasma

behavior that would be gained from the

diagnostic, and a critical analysis of

major difficulties to be overcome in

developing the concept.

Program Funding

It is anticipated that up to a total of

$600,000 of Fiscal Year 1999 Federal

funds will be available for new awards

resulting from this Notice. Multiple-year

funding of grant awards is anticipated,

contingent upon the availability of

funds. It is intended to support the

research through proof-of-principle

implementation on an existing fusion

facility, consistent with availability of

funds. However, future-year funding

will depend on suitable experimental

progress and the availability of funds.

Because of the total amount of

anticipated available funding and

because of the intent to have a broadly

based program, experimental

applications with an annual

requirement in any year in excess of

$300,000 are unlikely to be funded. The

cost-effectiveness of the application will

be considered when comparing

applications with different funding

requirements. Applications for scientific

assessment of new concepts will be

limited to a maximum of $50,000. DOE

reserves the right to fund in whole or

part any or none of the applications

received in response to this Notice.

A parallel request for Field Work

Proposals will be issued to DOE

Federally Funded Research and

Development Centers (FFRDCs). All

projects will be evaluated using the

same criteria, regardless of the

submitting institution.

Collaboration

Applicants to this Notice are

encouraged to collaborate with

researchers in other institutions, such as

universities, industry, non-profit

organizations, federal laboratories, and

FFRDCs, including the DOE National

Laboratories, where appropriate, and to

incorporate cost sharing and/or

consortia wherever feasible.

An individual may be named as

primary principal investigator on only

one application submitted in response

to this Notice. It is permissible,

however, for the same principal

investigator to be named as a coprincipal investigator on one other

application submitted in response to

either this Notice, or the corresponding

request for Field Work Proposals for this

initiative. Collaborative projects

involving several research groups at

more than one institution may receive

larger awards if merited. The program

will be competitive and offered to

investigators in universities or other

institutions of higher education, other

non-profit or for-profit organizations,

non-Federal agencies or entities, or

unaffiliated individuals.

Collaborative research applications

may be submitted in several ways:

(1) When multiple private sector or

academic organizations intend to

propose collaborative or joint research

projects, the lead organization may

submit a single application which

includes another organization as a

lower-tier participant (subcontract) who

will be responsible for a smaller portion

of the overall project. If approved for

funding, DOE may provide the total

project funds to the lead organization

who will provide funding to the other

participant via a subcontract

arrangement. The application should

clearly describe the role to be played by

each organization, specify the

managerial arrangements and explain

the advantages of the multiorganizational effort.

(2) Alternatively, multiple private

sector or academic organizations who

intend to propose collaborative or joint

research projects may each prepare a

portion of the application, then combine

each portion into a single, integrated

scientific application. A separate Face

Page and Budget Pages must be

included for each organization

participating in the collaborative

project. The joint application must be

submitted to DOE as one package. If

approved for funding, DOE will award

a separate grant to each collaborating

organization.

(3) Private sector or academic

applicants who wish to form a

collaborative project with a DOE FFRDC

may not include the DOE FFRDC in

their application as a lower-tier

participant (subcontract). Rather, each

collaborator may prepare a portion of

the proposal, then combine each portion

into a single, integrated scientific

proposal. The private sector or academic

organization must include a Face Page

and Budget Pages for their portion of the

project. The FFRDC must include

separate Budget Pages for their portion

of the project. The joint proposal must

be submitted to DOE as one package. If

approved for funding, DOE will award

a grant to the private sector or academic

organization. The FFRDC will be

funded, through existing DOE contracts,

from funds specifically designated for

new FFRDC projects. DOE FFRDCs will

not compete for funding already

designated for private sector or

academic organizations. Other Federal

laboratories who wish to form

collaborative projects may also follow

guidelines outlined in this section.

Application Format

To enable all reviewers to read all

applications, the application must be

limited to a maximum of twenty (20)

pages (including text and figures), plus

not more than one page each of

biographical information and

publications of the principal

investigator, plus any additional forms

required as a part of the standard grant

application.

An original and seven copies of each

application must be submitted. Due to

the anticipated number of reviewers, it

would be helpful for each applicant to

submit an additional five copies of each

application.

Applications will be subjected to

formal merit review and will be

evaluated against the following criteria,

which are listed in descending order of

importance as set forth in 10 CFR Part

605:

1. Scientific and/or technical merit of

the project;

2. Appropriateness of the proposed

method or approach;

3. Competency of the applicant’s

personnel and adequacy of the proposed

resources; and

4. Reasonableness and

appropriateness of the proposed budget.

In addition to peer review, funding

decisions will be based on program

policy factors, such as the relevance of

the proposed research to the terms of

the announcement and the agency’s

programmatic needs. General

information about development and

submission of applications, eligibility,

limitations, evaluations and selection

processes, and other policies and
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 /Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Notices 27573

procedures may be found in the

Application Guide for the Office of

Energy Research Financial Assistance

Program and 10 CFR Part 605.

Electronic access to the Application

Guide is possible via the Internet using

the following Web site address: http://

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

grants.html

References for Background Information

In order to assist the potential

applicant under this Notice, the

summary of a recent workshop that

addressed measurement needs in fusion

devices is provided on the World Wide

Web at: http://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/

more—html/pdffiles/diag.pdf The

summary is intended as background

information on measurement needs.

New diagnostic techniques that address

these measurements are the ones most

likely to be considered for funding

under this Notice. However, new

diagnostic techniques that address other

measurements in fusion plasmas will

also be considered for funding under

this Notice.

For those without access to the World

Wide Web, hard copies of the workshop

summary may be obtained by contacting

Mr. John Sauter at (phone) 301–903–

3287, (fax) 301–903–4716, or in writing

at U.S. Department of Energy, Office of

Energy Research, ER–55, 19901

Germantown Road, Germantown, MD

20874–1290.

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 May 8, 1998.

Ralph H. DeLorenzo,

Acting Associate Director for Resource

Management, Office of Energy Research.

[FR Doc. 98–13243 Filed 5–18–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. ER98–2645–000]

Alliant Services, Inc., IES Utilities Inc.,

et al.; Notice of Filing

May 13, 1998.

Take notice that on April 20, 1998,

Alliant Services, Inc. (Alliant), on its

own behalf and on behalf of IES Utilities

Inc., Interstate Power Company,

Wisconsin Power & Light Company,

South Beloit Water, Gas & Electric

Company, Heartland Energy Services

and Industrial Energy Applications, Inc.

(the IEC Operating Companies),

submitted as a compliance filing the

System Coordination and Operating

Agreement Among IES, IPC, WPL and

Alliant and Alliant’s Order No. 888–A

open access transmission tariff. The

filings were made in response to the

Commission’s Opinion No. 419

approving the merger of the companies.

The filings are proposed to take effect

on April 21, 1998.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

protest said filing should file a motion

to intervene or protests with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,

in accordance with rules 211 and 214 of

the Commission’s Rules of Practice and

Procedures (18 CFR 385.211 and 18 CFR

385.214). All such motions and protests

should be filed on or before May 22,

1998. Protests will be considered by the

Commission to determine the

appropriate action to be taken, but will

not serve to make protestants parties to

the proceedings. Any person wishing to

become a party must file a motion to

intervene. Copies of this filing are on

file with the Commission and are

available for public inspection.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–13199 Filed 5–18–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP98–512–000]

Destin Pipeline Company, L.L.C.;

Notice of Application

May 13, 1998.

Take notice that on May 4, 1998,

Destin Pipeline Company, L.L.C.

(Destin), Post Office Box 2563,

Birmingham, Alabama 35202–2563,

filed in Docket No. CP98–512–000 an

application pursuant to Section 7(c) of

the Natural Gas Act (NGA) for

authorization to construct and operate a

pipeline extension and appurtenant

facilities in the Mississippi Canyon area

of the Gulf of Mexico, to serve as gas

supply facilities, all as more fully set

forth in the application on file with the

Commission and open to public

inspection.

Destin proposes to install and operate

approximately 31 miles of 24-inch

lateral pipeline from Chevron USA

Inc.’s (Chevron) Viosca Knoll Block 900

Platform to a sub-sea tie-in to be located

near the Main Pass Block 279 Platform,

all in Federal Waters, Gulf of Mexico,

and appurtenant facilities including a

pig launcher and measurement

facilities. It is stated that the facilities

are designated the Gemini Expansion

Facilities and are being installed to gain

access to a supply of natural gas from

a new deep water prospect named

Gemini in Mississippi Canyon Area

Blocks 247, 291, and 292. It is asserted

that Texaco Exploration and Production

Inc. and Chevron have signed

agreements with Destin for the

transportation of up to 180 Mmcf of gas

per day from the Gemini gas supply

under Destin’s Rate Schedule F–2.

Destin proposes to own, operate and

maintain the facilities as part of its

pipeline system and to finance the cost

of $37.2 million. Destin requests rolledin rate treatment for the cost of the

facilities, asserting that they will be an

integral part of its system. Destin

requests Commission authorization by

July 31, 1998, in order to have the

proposed facilities placed in service by

March, 1999.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

make any protest with reference to said

application should on or before June 3,

1998, file with the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, a

motion to intervene or a protest in

accordance with the requirements of the

Commission’s Rules of Practice and

Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)

and the Regulations under the NGA (18

CFR 157.10). All protests filed with the

Commission will be considered by it in

determining the appropriate action to be

taken but will not serve to make the

protestants parties to the proceeding.

Any person wishing to become a party

to a proceeding or to participate as a

party in any hearing therein must file a

motion to intervene in accordance with

the Commission’s Rules.

Take further notice that, pursuant to

the authority contained in and subject to

the jurisdiction conferred upon the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

by Sections 7 and 15 of the NGA and the

Commission’s Rules of Practice and

Procedure, a hearing will be held

without further notice before the

Commission or its designee on this

application if no motion to intervene is

filed within the time required herein, if

the Commission on its own review of

the matter finds that a grant of the

certificate is required by the public

convenience and necessity. If a motion

for leave to intervene is timely filed, or

if the Commission on its own motion

believes that a formal hearing is

required, further notice of such hearing

will be duly given.

Under the procedure herein provided

for, unless otherwise advised, it will be