40190 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

made as bilateral contracts rather than

purchase orders.

1813.003 Policy. (NASA supplements

paragraph (h))

(h) Acquisitions under these

simplified acquisition procedures shall

be fixed-price, except as provided under

the unpriced purchase order method in

FAR 13.302–2.

Subpart 1813.1—Procedures

1813.106 Soliciting competition,

evaluation of quotations or offers, award

and documentation.

1813.106–3 Award and documentation.

(NASA supplements paragraph (b))

(b)(3)(ii) For purchases up to $50,000,

documentation shall be limited to a

brief notation in the file indicating the

rationale for selecting other than the

lowest priced offer.

Subpart 1813.3—Simplified Acquisition

Methods

1813.301 Governmentwide commercial

purchase card. (NASA supplements

paragraphs (a), (b), and (c))

(a) The procurement officer shall

designate individual cardholders in

accordance with center procedures,

subject to the following limitations:

(i) Personnel other than contracting

officers may be designated as

cardholders for micro-purchases and for

individual orders under BPAs up to

$5,000 (see 1813.303–3(a)(4)), provided

they complete training adequate to

ensure appropriate use of the purchase

card. Training materials are available

from the NASA Procurement Library on

the Internet at http://ec.msfc.nasa.gov/

hq/library/library.html.

(ii) The procurement officer’s

designation shall be in writing and shall

specify the scope of the cardholder’s

authority.

(iii) The center shall establish and

maintain administrative procedures and

management controls required by the

General Services Administration (GSA).

Purchases made with the

Governmentwide commercial purchase

card shall comply with the instructions

and procedures issued by GSA as well

as applicable parts of the FAR and NFS.

(b) The Governmentwide commercial

purchase card may be used to order and

pay for purchases under contracts

established under FAR Part 8

procedures, up to the simplified

acquisition threshold (except see

paragraph (a)(i) of this section for dollar

limitations for personnel other than

contracting officers).

(c) The Governmentwide commercial

purchase card may be used to order and

pay for purchases in the circumstances

described in FAR 13.301(c) up to the

simplified acquisition threshold (except

see paragraph (a)(i) of this section for

limitations for personnel other than

contracting officers). Except as

authorized in paragraphs (b) and (c) of

this section, the Governmentwide

commercial purchase card may not be

used for purchases in excess of $25,000.

Purchases above the micro-purchase

threshold shall comply with all

applicable statutory and regulatory

requirements, including the following:

(i) Small business set-aside (see FAR

13.003(b)).

(ii) Representations and certifications.

The applicable items from the provision

at FAR 52.212–3, Offeror

Representations and Certifications—

Commercial Items, shall be obtained for

commercial or noncommercial

purchases. This information may be

obtained orally from vendors.

(iii) Maximum practicable

competition (see FAR 13.106–1).

(iv) Implementation of the applicable

contract clauses. This requirement may

be satisfied by forwarding a completed

SF 1449, appropriately modified to

reflect purchase card terms, to the

awardee after placing the order via the

card, provided that the awardee must be

notified of, and agree to, the

applicability of the SF 1449 clauses

when the order is placed.

1813.301–70 Purchase card

documentation.

Documentation of purchases shall be

minimized. For transactions below the

micro-purchase threshold, the card

holder shall maintain a brief log of

purchases and a file of monthly

purchase card statements indicating

whether item receipt has occurred. For

purchases above the micro-purchase

threshold, see 1813.106–3(b)(3)(ii).

1813.301–72 Approving official.

The approving official is the

individual who reviews and approves a

cardholder’s monthly statement of

purchases. The approving official shall

be the cardholder’s immediate or higher

level supervisor; in no case shall

cardholders approve their own

statement of purchases. Unless center

procedures otherwise provide for their

designation, the procurement officer

shall designate approving officials.

1813.301–73 Program officials.

(a) The Headquarters Office of

Procurement (Code HK) is the agency

program coordinator.

(b) The procurement officer shall

identify the center program coordinator

and the center billing office point of

contact, and provide their names to the

agency program coordinator.

1813.302 Purchase orders.

1813.302–1 General. (NASA supplements

paragraph (a))

(a) See 1813.003(h).

1813.302–70 Purchase orders under

section 8(a) of the Small Business Act.

Purchase orders made using

simplified acquisition procedures are

authorized for 8(a) acquisitions under

the simplified acquisition threshold.

1813.303 Blanket Purchase Agreements

(BPAs)

1813.303–3 Preparation of BPAs. (NASA

supplements paragraph (a))

(a)(4) Non-GS–1102 or –1105

personnel shall not be authorized to

place individual orders under a BPA in

an amount greater than $5,000. For sole

source orders above $2,500, a

contracting officer’s determination is

required in accordance with FAR

13.106–1(b)(1).

1813.307 Forms. (NASA supplements

paragraphs (b), (c), and (d))

(b) Installations may use locally

prescribed forms.

(c) Installations may use locally

prescribed forms.

(d) The SF 44 may be used for

purchases of aviation fuel and oil of

$10,000 or less.

[FR Doc. 98–20104 Filed 7–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7510–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 980414096–8173–02; I.D.

032698A]

RIN 0648-AJ99

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Gear Allocation of

Shortraker and Rougheye Rockfish in

the Aleutian Islands Subarea

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to

implement Amendment 53 to the

Fishery Management Plan for the

Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea

and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP). This

rule allocates shortraker rockfish and

rougheye rockfish (SR/RE) in the

Aleutian Islands subarea (AI) between

vessels using trawl gear and vessels
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 40191

using non-trawl gear. This action is

necessary to prevent the incidental

catch of SR/RE in trawl fisheries from

closing non-trawl fisheries and is

intended to further the objectives of the

FMP.

DATES: Effective July 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 53

and the Environmental Assessment/

Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR)

prepared for this action are available

from the Sustainable Fisheries Division,

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668,

Juneau AK 99802, Attn: Lori J. Gravel,

or by calling the Alaska Region, NMFS

at 907–586–7228.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alan Kinsolving, NMFS, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS

manages the domestic groundfish

fisheries in the exclusive economic zone

of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

management area (BSAI) under the

FMP. The North Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council)

prepared the FMP pursuant to the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). Regulations

governing the Alaska groundfish

fisheries appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and

679.

NMFS published a Notice of

Availability of Amendment 53 in the

Federal Register on April 2, 1998 (63 FR

16223), and invited comments through

June 1, 1998. On April 28, 1998, NMFS

published a proposed rule to implement

Amendment 53 (63 FR 23261) and

invited comments through June 12,

1998. NMFS did not receive comments

on either the rule or the FMP

amendment. The final rule text is

unchanged from the proposed rule.

In 1997, unanticipated high harvest

rates of SR/RE in the Pacific ocean

perch (POP) and Atka mackerel trawl

fisheries undermined the effectiveness

of inseason management and monitoring

of fisheries in the AI. These higher than

anticipated catch rates resulted in

harvest amounts that exceeded the

acceptable biological catch. Estimates of

SR/RE bycatch through mid-1997

indicated that the overfishing level

would be reached if all fisheries that

took these species were not closed. As

a result, NMFS prohibited the retention

of Atka mackerel, Pacific cod, and

rockfish by vessels using trawl gear and

retention of Pacific cod and Greenland

turbot by vessels using hook-and-line

gear in the AI. Thus, although

overfishing concerns stemmed primarily

from the bycatch of SR/RE in the POP

and Atka mackerel trawl fisheries,

lucrative non-trawl fisheries that also

take incidental amounts of SR/RE were

closed, or threatened with closure, to

prevent reaching the overfishing level

for SR/RE. These overfishing closures

disrupted fishing plans and created a

loss of economic opportunity for both

the trawl and non-trawl fishing

industry.

Concerns about the overall

management of the SR/RE total

allowable catch (TAC) have prompted

the Council to take two actions. Based

on Council’s recommendations, NMFS

published a final rule to reduce

maximum retainable bycatch

percentages for SR/RE on March 31,

1998 (63 FR 15334). This action should

reduce the incentive to ‘‘top off’’ target

catch with SR/RE and result in lower

catch rates for SR/RE. Nonetheless,

overall bycatch amounts still could pose

concerns because the TAC amounts

annually specified for SR/RE are small

in comparison to the high volume POP

and Atka mackerel trawl fisheries.

Consequently, representatives of the

trawl and non-trawl industry

recommended that SR/RE be allocated

among gear groups. At its February 1998

meeting, the Council adopted

Amendment 53 to the FMP. This

amendment allocates 30 percent of SR/

RE TAC to non-trawl gear and 70

percent of SR/RE TAC to trawl gear.

The industry-recommended allocation

of SR/RE TAC between trawl and nontrawl vessels is intended to provide an

allocation to non-trawl fisheries in

excess of actual relative harvest in

recent years, so that these operations

will have adequate opportunity to

harvest their full allocations of Pacific

cod and sablefish. Trawl industry

representatives endorsed this split,

recognizing that trawl bycatch rates

likely will decrease as a result of the

reduction in SR/RE MRB percentages,

and a gear specific allocation of SR/RE

will allow more effective management

of SR/RE bycatch in both the trawl and

non-trawl fisheries.

The preamble to the proposed rule

and the EA/RIR contain additional

information on this action (see

ADDRESSES). Upon reviewing

Amendment 53, the Administrator,

Alaska Region, NMFS, has determined

that Amendment 53 is necessary for the

conservation and management of the

groundfish fisheries of the BSAI, and is

consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens

Act and with other applicable laws.

Amendment to Final 1998 BSAI

Harvest Specifications

To implement this final rule in 1998,

this action also amends the final 1998

harvest specifications for groundfish of

the BSAI (63 FR 12689, March 16,

1998). Table 1 of the final specifications

sets the 1998 TAC for SR/RE in the AI

at 965 mt. After subtraction of reserves,

820 mt remains. Under this final rule,

the 1998 harvest specifications are

amended to allocate 574 mt to trawl gear

and 246 mt to non-trawl gear.

Classification

This action was developed and

supported by both the trawl and nontrawl sectors of the fishing industry and

does not significantly revise

management measures in a manner that

would require time to plan or prepare

for those revisions. Without immediate

effectiveness, it is possible that harvest

of SR/RE in trawl fisheries could result

in unnecessary closures and disruption

within the non-trawl sector of the

fishing industry. The immediate

effectiveness of this action is required to

provide consistent management and

conservation of fishery resources and to

give the fishing industry the earliest

possible opportunity to plan its fishing

operations. Accordingly, the Assistant

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,

finds there is good cause to waive the

30-day delayed effectiveness period

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).

The Assistant General Counsel for

Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce certified to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

rule would not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. The rationale

for this determination appeared in the

proposed rule. No comments were

received regarding this certification. As

a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis

was not prepared.

This final rule has been determined to

be not significant for the purposes of

E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and

reporting requirements.

Dated: July 22, 1998.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended

as follows:

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF

ALASKA

1. The authority citation for 50 CFR

part 679 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et

seq., and 3631 et seq.

2. In § 679.20, paragraph (a)(9) is

redesignated as paragraph (a)(10), and a
40192 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

new paragraph (a)(9) is added to read as

follows:

§ 679.20 General Limitations.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(9) BSAI shortraker rockfish and

rougheye rockfish. After subtraction of

reserves, the TAC of shortraker rockfish

and rougheye rockfish specified for the

Aleutian Islands subarea will be

allocated 30 percent to vessels using

non-trawl gear and 70 percent to vessels

using trawl gear.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 98–20027 Filed 7–22–98; 4:47pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F