27718 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Program Interest—

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

Research and Development Program

AGENCY: Albuquerque Operations Office

(AL). The U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE).

ACTION: Notice of program interest—to

fund unsolicited applications/proposals

for financial assistance awards

contributing to the mission of the

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

Research and Development Program.

SUMMARY: The DOE is interested in

receiving for consideration applications

for Federal Financial Assistance Awards

pursuant to the financial assistance

rules contained in Title 10 Code of

Federal Regulations Part 600 (10 CFR

600), specifically 10 CFR 600.9). On

behalf of the DOE CTBT R&D Program,

DOE/AL invites Unsolicited

Applications/Proposals from interested

and qualified Nonprofit Organizations,

Institutions of Higher Education, and

Commercial Organizations to pursue

research that supports the CTBT R&D

program mission.

The CTBT R&D Program mission is:

‘‘to carry out research and development

necessary to provide U.S. government

agencies, that are responsible for

monitoring and/or verifying CTBT

compliance, with technologies,

algorithms, hardware and software for

integrated systems to detect, locate,

identify and characterize nuclear

explosions at the thresholds and

confidence levels that meet U.S.

requirements in a cost-effective

manner.’’ Program priorities focus on

the advancement of seismic, infrasound,

radionuclide, and hydroacoustic

knowledge and capabilities. This Notice

of Program Interest is intended to

encourage the participation of Nonprofit

Organizations, Institutions of Higher

Education, and Commercial

Organizations in furthering these

program mission interests.

DATES: This Notice of Program Interest

expires September 30, 1998. This date

does not represent a common deadline

for applications but rather that

applications may be submitted at any

time before the notice expires.

ADDRESSES: Applicants seeking funding

consideration by the CTBT R&D

Program under this Notice of Program

Interest are requested to mark and

submit their Unsolicited Applications/

Proposals, eight (8) total, as follows:

Original and Copies #1–6: Leslie A.

Casey, Treaty Monitoring Program

Manager, c/o CTBT R&D Program—

Notice of Program Interest—NN–20,

U.S. Department of Energy, 1000

Independence, Ave., SW, Washington,

DC 20585–0420. DOE/NN–20 will

initiate the objective merit review

process.

Copy #7: John N. Augustine,

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals

Manager, c/o CTBT R&D Program—

Notice of Program Interest—NN–20,

U.S. Department of Energy, Federal

Energy Technology Office (FETC), 626

Cochrans Mill Road, PO Box 10940,

Pittsburgh, PA 15236–0940. DOE

FETC—Pittsburgh will assign a DOE

identification number and acknowledge

receipt of the proposal.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S.

Department of Energy, Albuquerque

Operations Office, P.O. Box 5400,

Albuquerque, NM 87185–5400, Attn:

Mr. Michael G. Loera, Contracts and

Procurement Division, Telephone

Number: (505) 845–4302, Fax Number:

(505) 845–4004.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Responses

to this Notice of Program Interest must

explain how the proposed work furthers

the CTBT R&D Program mission and

research issues. These are summarized

on the Web Page: ‘‘http://

www.ctbt.rnd.doe.gov/coordination/’’,

under the heading ‘‘R&D Issues and

Metrics’’. Successful applications will:

demonstrate a knowledge of the ongoing

CTBT R&D Program; offer novel or

innovative approaches leading to

performance improvements and cost

reductions; respond to ground truth data

deficiencies; and, follow the guidance

provided in the ‘‘Guide for the

Submission of Unsolicited Applications/

Proposals’’, which is available on the

Web Page: ‘‘http://www.pr.doe.gov/

gdtoc.html’’. Applicants are, thereby,

encouraged to review and acquaint

themselves with 10 CFR 600.10, ‘‘Form

and contents of applications’’, and with

work that has already been performed as

represented in the bibliography located

at the Program’s web site.

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals

will be evaluated against many factors.

Some of the criteria that are likely to

apply include: technical merit;

applicant’s familiarity with other

ongoing work; the relevance and quality

of the applicant’s prior work;

effectiveness of the proposed technical

approach; timeliness; cost; and the

period of performance. Applicants are,

therefore, encouraged to include

information in their proposals that

facilitate evaluation against these

criteria and as a minimum should

address the requirements listed below.

Cost sharing is not required, but highly

encouraged. It is anticipated that

Cooperative Agreements will be favored

over Grants. The resulting Cooperative

Agreement or Grant will be

administered by the DOE Albuquerque

Operations Office, or possibly by other

CTBT Program Office designees.

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals

are to be comprised of both technical

and cost proposal elements. Unsolicited

Proposal requirements and format are as

follow:

(1) Project Description: (Provide a

comprehensive, but succinct [350

character] description of the proposed

research project. It should convey the

project objective, application, method,

product and value to U.S. government

agencies and other users).

(2) Objective(s): (State research

objectives).

(3) Application: (Describe the product

and how it is to be used. Discuss the

product’s merits over the current

baseline and operational risk

considerations).

(4) User(s): (List potential users and

indicate whether they have expressed

interest in the product).

(5) Prior Work: (Summarize the

current state-of-the-art for the stated

field of endeavor. Provide credentials of

key participants and describe their

previous relevant work. Cite applicable

bibliographic references).

(6) Collaborators: (Identify other

participants and describe their role and

contribution).

(7) Proposed Work & Scientific Basis:

(Specify the technical approach to

manage the project; describe specific

tasks and subtask activities to be

conducted by Work Breakdown

Structure (WBS) to achieve the research

objectives; and identify key decision

points [milestones]. Relate these

elements to how they further the stated

research objectives and advance the

state-of-the-art).

(8) Research Issues: (Identify the

technical issues that will be addressed

by the project; list potential barriers and

explain how they will be overcome).

(9) Tasks: (By WBS element, list the

tasks, associated subtasks, and

associated costs. Differentiate the cost

for fully burdened labor, equipment,

materials, other (such as travel, taxes,

fee (if applicable), etc.) [Once

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals are

selected for funding, a complete breakdown by cost element will be required.]

(10) Milestones: (List milestones and

scheduled completion dates by task/

subtask).

(11) Deliverables: (List deliverables

and scheduled completion dates by

task/subtask).
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Notices 27719

Funding Considerations

Financial Assistance Awards are

anticipated to be funded for project

duration’s of 1–3 years and awards will

generally range from $100,000 to

$500,000. Total program funds for

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals in

Fiscal Year (FY) 1998 are not likely to

exceed $1,000,000. Unsolicited

Applications/Proposals received may be

considered for funding at any time

following receipt. Unsolicited

Applications/Proposals not selected in

FY 1998 may be reconsidered for

funding in the following year.

Submission, Withdrawal, and

Unsuccessful Applications

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals

will be accepted on an ongoing basis.

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals

must state an acceptance period of 180

days; however, Unsolicited

Applications/Proposals may be

withdrawn by the Applicant at any time

by written notification to the DOE

Contracting Officer identified below.

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals not

funded and not withheld for

reconsideration will be destroyed and

the Applicant will be notified

accordingly. A Federal Financial

Assistance Award (Grant and

Cooperative Agreements) application

package which includes a sample award

can be obtained from the DOE

Contracting Officer identified below or

can be down-loaded from the DOE AL

Web Page: ‘‘http://www.doeal.gov/cpd/

’’ under the heading ‘‘Solicitations’’.

It is DOE policy to exercise extreme

care to ensure that the proposal

information is not duplicated, used or

disclosed in whole or in part for any

purpose other than to evaluate the

proposal, without written permission of

the Applicant. Furthermore, with

respect to the Unsolicited Proposal

evaluation, the Applicant is hereby

informed that it is standard practice of

the CTBT R&D program officials to

include review by DOE laboratory

managers and experts in the topic area

of the proposal. If you are an expert and

are willing to serve as a reviewer on a

non-remunerative basis, the CTBT R&D

Program would like to be notified of

your interest. Serving as a technical

reviewer could encompass these

Unsolicited Applications/Proposals,

subject to non-disclosure agreements, as

well as other proposals related to the

CTBT R&D Program. Interested

individuals are requested to forward

their resume and cover letter expressing

their interest to: Manager, Treaty

Monitoring Programs (NN–20), U.S.

Department of Energy, 1000

Independence Avenue SW, Washington,

DC, 20585–0420. Finally, proposal

evaluation may include coordination

with other government agencies or their

designated contractors, primarily to

check for duplication of effort and end

user interest. This is an important

integration practice appropriate to a

full-scope, ongoing and mature program

such as the CTBT R&D program.

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

1998.

Leslie A. Casey,

Treaty Monitoring Program Manager, NN–20.

[FR Doc. 98–13412 Filed 5–19–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Environmental Management Advisory

Board

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(Pub. L. 92–463, 86 Stat. 770), notice is

hereby given of the following Advisory

Committee meeting:

NAME: Environmental Management

Advisory Board.

DATE AND TIMES: Wednesday, June 10,

1998; 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

PLACE: U.S. Department of Energy,

Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW.; Room 1E–245,

Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James T. Melillo, Special Assistant to

the Assistant Secretary for

Environmental Management;

Environmental Management Advisory

Board (EMAB), EM–22, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–4400.

The Internet address is:

James.Melillo@em.doe.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose of the Board

The purpose of the Board is to

provide the Assistant Secretary for

Environmental Management (EM) with

advice and recommendations on issues

confronting the Environmental

Management program from the

perspectives of affected groups and

state, local, and tribal governments. The

Board will help to improve the

Environmental Management Program by

assisting in the process of securing

consensus recommendations, and

providing the Department’s numerous

publics with opportunities to express

their opinions regarding the

Environmental Management Program.

Tentative Agenda

Wednesday, June 10, 1998

8:30 a.m. Co-Chairmen Open Public

Meeting

8:45 a.m. EM–1 Opening Remarks

9:15 a.m. Technology Development &

Transfer Committee Report

9:45 a.m. Science Committee Report

10:30 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m. Privatization Committee Report

11:00 a.m. Long Term Stewardship

Committee Report

11:15 a.m. 2006 Strategic Planning

Committee Reports

12:00 p.m. Working Lunch

12:30 p.m. 2006 Strategic Plan Status

1:00 p.m. Board Discussion

1:45 p.m. Public Comment Period

2:00 p.m. Board Business

2:30 p.m. Public Comment Period

3:00 p.m. Meeting Adjourns

A final agenda will be available at the

meeting.

Public Participation: The meeting is

open to the public. Written statements

may be filed with the Board either

before or after the meeting. Members of

the public who wish to make oral

statements pertaining to agenda items

should either contact James T. Melillo at

the address or telephone number listed

above, or call 1–(800) 736–3282, the

Center for Environ mental Management

Information and register to speak during

the public comment session of the

meeting. Individuals may also register

on June 10, 1998 at the meeting site.

Every effort will be made to hear all

those wishing to speak to the Board, on

a first come, first serve basis. Those who

call in and reserve time will be given

the opportunity to speak first. The

Board Co-Chairs are empowered to

conduct the meeting in a fashion that

will facilitate the orderly conduct of

business.

Transcripts and Minutes: A meeting

transcript and minutes will be available

for public review and copying at the

Freedom of Information Public Reading

Room, 1E–190, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m.

and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays.

Issued at Washington, DC on May 14, 1998.

Rachel M. Samuel,

Deputy Advisory Committee Management

Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–14311 Filed 5–19–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P