39270 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 140 /Wednesday, July 22, 1998 / Notices

This notice also serves as a final

reminder to importers of their

responsibility under 19 CFR 353.26 to

file a certificate regarding the

reimbursement of antidumping duties

prior to liquidation of the relevant

entries during this review period.

Failure to comply with this requirement

could result in the Secretary’s

presumption that reimbursement of

antidumping duties occurred and the

subsequent assessment of doubled

antidumping duties.

This notice also serves as a reminder

to parties subject to administrative

protective orders (APO) of their

responsibility concerning the return or

destruction of proprietary information

disclosed under APO in accordance

with 19 CFR 353.34(d) or conversion to

judicial protective order is hereby

requested. Failure to comply with the

regulations and terms of an APO is a

violation which is subject to sanction.

We are issuing and publishing this

determination in accordance with

sections 751(h) and 777(i) of the Tariff

Act and 19 CFR 353.28(c).

Dated: July 15, 1998.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

[FR Doc. 98–19525 Filed 7–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Docket No. 980716181–8181–01]

Cooperative Agreement Program for

American Business Centers in Russia

and the New Independent States

AGENCY: International Trade

Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The International Trade

Administration (ITA) is soliciting

competitive applications to establish

and operate an American Business

Center (ABC) in the city of Khabarovsk,

Russia for a two (2) year multi-year

award period. The ABC will encourage

the export of U.S. goods and services

and stimulate trade and investment in

the Khabarovsk, Russia region. The

award resulting from this

announcement is contingent upon the

availability of appropriated funds.

The ABC will provide, on a user fee

basis, a broad range of business

development and facilitation services to

United States companies in the

Khabarovsk, Russia region. Services

provided by the ABC will be designed

to encourage more U.S. firms to explore

opportunities for trade and investment

in the Khabarovsk, Russia region and to

help them conduct business there more

effectively. The core services to be

provided by the ABC include:

international telephone, fax, and data

transmission; temporary office space;

space for meetings, small seminars, and

small product exhibitions or

demonstrations; secretarial support (e.g.

word processing, typing, message

taking); translator/interpreters;

photocopying; market research;

counseling on local business conditions;

and arranging appointments with

Russian business contacts. The Center

also will work closely with Russian

businesses to help them become more

attractive trading partners; identify and

report obstacles to trade and investment;

and serve as a link between financial

institutions, U.S. companies, and

Russian enterprises.

In addition to these core services, the

ABC will support U.S. Government

activities under the Regional Investment

Initiative (RII). This will include

providing, at cost, support for the

activities of the RII coordinator. Such

support may include office space,

computers, telecommunications

equipment and secretarial and

translation services.

DATES: ITA will accept only those

applications which are received at the

U.S. Department of Commerce, Room

1235, HCHB, no later than 3:00 pm

E.S.T. August 21, 1998. Late

applications will not be accepted and

will not be considered. On July 27, 1998

competitive application kits will be

available from the Department of

Commerce.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the

application kit, please send a written

request with a self-addressed mail label

to: Russia-NIS Program Office, U.S. &

Foreign Commercial Service, Room

1235, HCHB, U.S. Department of

Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230.

Requests for application kits also may

be faxed to 202–482–2456. Only one

application kit will be provided to each

organization requesting it, but the kit

may be reproduced by the requester. All

forms necessary to submit an

application will be included in the

application kit The kit will include

Standard Forms 424, Application for

Federal Assistance; 424A, Budget

Information—Non-Construction

Programs, and 424B, Assurances—NonConstruction Programs, Rev 4–88).

Completed applications should be

returned to the same address.

Applicants must submit a signed

original and two copies of the

application and supporting materials. It

is anticipated that it will take ten weeks

after the deadline for receipt of

applications to process applications and

make awards.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Applicants wishing further information

should contact Douglas Barry, RussiaNIS Program Office, U.S. & Foreign

Commercial Service, U.S. Department of

Commerce, room 1235, HCHB,

Washington, D.C. 20230, telephone:

(202) 482–2902, or Fax: (202) 482–2456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Program Authority

The American Business Center

program is authorized by Title III of the

‘‘Freedom for Russia and Emerging

Eurasian Democracies and Open

Markets Support Act of 1992’’ or the

‘‘FREEDOM Support Act’’, Pub. L. 102–

511. Funding for the program is

provided by the Agency for

International Development under

Section 632(a) of the Foreign Assistance

Act of 1961, as amended.

Eligible Applicants

United States for-profit firms, nonprofit organizations, non-Federal

government agencies, industry and trade

associations, and educational

institutions are eligible to apply. An

enterprise which includes or intends to

include participation of host country

citizens or entities will be considered an

eligible applicant so long as the

applicant is and will remain, throughout

the award period, controlled and

managed by citizens and/or entities of

the United States.

Funding Guidelines

Since it is anticipated that ITA will be

involved in the implementation of the

project for which an award is made, the

funding instrument for the program will

be a cooperative agreement. Examples of

ITA involvement include but are not

limited to the following: supplemental

marketing to promote the ABC,

guidance on eligibility of ABC clients,

and coordination with other U.S.

government assistance programs.

ITA anticipates $320,000 will be

available for the first year of funding for

one (1) multi-year cooperative

agreement award during FY 1999.

Applicants will be requested to submit

a work-plan and budget which cover a

one (1) year period for a total amount of

not more than $320,000 in Federal

funds. Applicants must supply at least

twenty-percent (20%) of total project

costs, with the Federal portion of total

project costs to be no more than eightypercent (80%). A minimum of one half

(1⁄2) of the support supplied by the

applicant must be in the form of cash.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 140 /Wednesday, July 22, 1998 / Notices 39271

The remaining portion of the applicant’s

support may consist of cash or in-kind

contributions (goods and services

contributed by a third party). Applicants

will be requested to submit a work-plan

and budget for a second year of

operation based on the level of funding

for the first year with the understanding

that funding levels may or may not be

the same as the first year.

Applicant receipt of future funding is

contingent upon the availability of

appropriated funds, and satisfactory

performance, and will be at the sole

discretion of ITA. Publication of this

notice does not constitute an obligation

by the Department of Commerce to enter

into a cooperative agreement with any

responding applicant.

Evaluation Criteria

Consideration for financial assistance

under the program will be based on the

following evaluation criteria:

(1) Quality of Work Plan: core

commercial activities, marketing

strategy, management/staffing,

cooperation with ITA and outreach

programs to NIS firms;

(2) Qualifications of Applicant:

financial history, personnel’s experience

in region and in delivering commercial

products/services;

(3) Market Knowledge of Locations:

applicant’s demonstrated familiarity

with the market conditions in the

proposed city and/or region;

(4) Project Timetable: ability of

applicant to complete major stages in

the scope of work quickly, particularly

bringing an ABC into the fullyoperational stage;

(5) U.S. Small Business Utility:

accessibility of services to small firms

and reasonableness of fees;

(6) Cost-Effectiveness: reasonableness,

allowability and allocability of costs.

For purpose of evaluation of the

applications, the above criteria will be

weighted as follows: criterion (1) will be

worth a maximum of 30 (thirty) percent;

criterion (2) will be worth a maximum

of 30 (thirty) percent; criterion (3) will

be worth a maximum of 20 (twenty)

percent; criterion (4) will be worth a

maximum of 10 (ten) percent; criterion

(5) and (6) will be worth a maximum of

5 (five) percent each.

Selection Procedure

Each application will be evaluated by

a panel of at least three independent

reviewers qualified to evaluate

applications submitted under the

program. Applications will be evaluated

on a competitive basis in accordance

with the evaluation criteria set forth

above. The award will be based on the

highest total accumulated score.

Notifications

All applicants are advised of the

following:

(1) Unsatisfactory performance under

prior Federal awards may result in an

application not being considered for

funding.

(2) If applicants incur any cost prior

to an award being made, they do so

solely at their own risk of not being

reimbursed by the Federal Government.

Notwithstanding any verbal assurance

that they may receive, there is no

obligation on the part of the Department

of Commerce to cover pre-award costs.

(3) If an application is selected for

funding, the Department of Commerce

has no obligation to provide any

additional future funding in connection

with the award. Renewal of an award to

increase funding or extend the period of

performance is at the total discretion of

the Department of Commerce.

(4) No award of Federal funds shall be

made to an applicant who has an

outstanding debt until either:

a. The delinquent account is paid in

full;

b. A negotiated repayment schedule is

established and at least one payment is

received; or

c. Other arrangements satisfactory to

the Department of Commerce are made.

(5) All primary applicants must

submit a completed Form CD–511,

‘‘Certification Regarding Debarment,

Suspension and other Responsibility

Matters; Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements and Lobbying’’.

Prospective participants (as defined at

15 CFR part 26, section 105) are subject

to 15 CFR part 26, ‘‘Nonprocurement

Debarment and Suspension’’ and the

related section of the certification form

prescribed above applies. Grantees (as

defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 605)

are subject to 15 CFR part 26, subpart

F ‘‘Government wide Requirement for

Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)’’ and the

related section of the certification form

prescribed above applies. Persons (as

defined at 15 CFR part 28, section 105)

are subject to the lobbying provisions of

31 U.S.C. 1352, ‘‘Limitation on the use

of appropriated funds to influence

certain Federal contracting and financial

transactions;’’ and the lobbying section

of the certification form prescribed

above applies to applications/bids for

grants, cooperative agreements, and

contracts for more than $100,000 and

loans and loan guarantees for more that

$150,000 or the single family maximum

mortgage limit for affected programs,

whichever is greater’’. Any applicant

that has paid or will pay for lobbying

using any funds must submit an SF–

LLL, ‘‘Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities,’’ as required under 15 CFR

part 28. Appendix B.

(6) Recipients shall require

applicants/bidders for subgrants,

contracts, subcontracts, or other lower

tier covered transactions at any tier

under the award to submit, if

applicable, a completed Form CD–512,

‘‘Certifications Regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion-Lower Tier Covered

Transaction and Lobbying’’ and

disclosure form, SF–LLL,’Disclosure of

Lobbying Activities.’’ Form CD–512 is

intended for the use of recipients and

should not be submitted by any tier

recipient or sub-recipient should be

submitted to the Department of

Commerce in accordance with

instructions contained in the award

document.

(7) A false statement on an

application is grounds for denial or

termination of funds and grounds for

possible punishment by a fine or

imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C.

1001.

(8) All recipients and sub-recipients

are subject to all applicable Federal laws

and Federal Department of Commerce

policies, regulations, and procedures

applicable to Federal assistance awards.

For-profit organizations shall be subject

to OMB Circular A–110.

(9) All non-profit and for-profit

applicants are subject to a name check

review process. Name checks are

intended to reveal if any key individuals

associated with the applicant have been

convicted of or are presently facing

criminal charges such as fraud, theft,

perjury, or other matters which

significantly reflect on the applicant’s

management honesty or financial

integrity.

(10) Recipients are subject to the Fly

America Act (49 U.S.C. 1517 as

implemented by 41 CFR 301–3.6).

(11) Executive Order 12372

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs’’ does not apply to this

program.

(12) The Paperwork Reduction Act

does apply to this program. This

document involves collections of

information subject to the Paperwork

Reduction Act, which have been

approved by the Office of Management

and Budget under OMB Control

Numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 0348–

0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–0001.

Notwithstanding any other provision of

law, no person is required to respond to,

nor shall a person be subject to, a

penalty for failure to comply with a

collection of information subject to the

requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act unless that collection of
39272 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 140 /Wednesday, July 22, 1998 / Notices

information displays a current valid

OMB control number.

(13) The total dollar amount of the

indirect costs proposed in an

application under this program must not

exceed the indirect cost rate negotiated

and approved by a cognizant Federal

agency prior to the proposed effective

date of the award or 100 percent of the

total proposed direct costs dollar

amount in the application, whichever is

less.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

number is 11.115.

Dated: July 20, 1998.

E. Vivian Spathopoulos,

Deputy Director, US&FCS/Russia—NIS

Program Office.

[FR Doc. 98–19620 Filed 7–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–FP–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 071598E]

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council will convene a

public meeting of the Reef Fish Stock

Assessment Panel (RFSAP).

DATES: This meeting will begin at 8:30

a.m. on Tuesday, August 4 and

conclude by 12:00 noon on Thursday,

August 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science

Center, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami,

FL.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven Atran, Population Dynamics

Statistician, Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council, 3018 U.S.

Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa,

FL 33619; telephone: 813–228–2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Reef

Fish Stock Assessment Panel members

will meet to review the NMFS Gulf of

Mexico gag stock assessment that was

prepared in October 1997. The RFSAP

conducted a preliminary review of this

assessment in October 1997, but was

unable to complete the review due to

insufficient time.

The RFSAP will also review a new

Gulf of Mexico vermilion snapper stock

assessment by NMFS, and will

recommend a range of allowable

biological catch (ABC) to prevent

overfishing from occurring. Vermilion

snapper in the Gulf of Mexico were

identified by NMFS in its September

1997 Report to Congress on the Status

of Fisheries of the United States as a

stock that is approaching an overfished

condition. A stock is considered to be

approaching an overfished condition if,

based on trends in fishing effort, fishery

resource size, and other appropriate

factors, NMFS estimates that the fishery

will become overfished within two

years. As a result of this designation, the

Council is required to take action within

one year to prevent overfishing from

occurring in the fishery.

In addition to reviewing the stock

assessments, the RFSAP may review

overfishing definitions and proxies for

maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for

gag and vermilion snapper, as required

under the Sustainable Fisheries Act of

1996.

Copies of the agenda can be obtained

by calling 813–228–2815.

Although other issues not contained

in this agenda may come before the

Panel/Committee for discussion, in

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act, those issues may not be the subject

of formal action during this meeting.

Action will be restricted to those issues

specifically identified in the agenda

listed in this notice.

Special Accommodations

This meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to

Anne Alford at the Council (see

ADDRESSES) by July 28, 1998.

Dated: July 16, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–19512 Filed 7–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

National Weather Service; Notice of

Opportunity for Public Comment on

the Strategic Network Plan

AGENCY: National Weather Service

(NWS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and Opportunity for

Public Comment on the Strategic

Network Plan.

SUMMARY: The NWS is announcing its

interest in obtaining public comments

on its future networking plans.

DATES: Comments will be accepted until

September 21, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the

Strategic Network Plan should be made

via the Internet at: http://

www.nws.noaa.gov/snp. The following

is the sequence of steps: access the

Internet at the above address; register

your organization as directed at the

Internet site; receive a password from

the NWS; review the Strategic Network

Plan; submit your comments via the

Internet to michael.sikorski@noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael T. Sikorski at 301–713–

1737x221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Systems Operations of the NWS has

recently completed a review of existing

and planned NWS data communication

networks and current and anticipated

data distribution requirements and has

developed a preliminary strategy for

accomplishing future integration of

these networks, including the central

collection of radar data. The NWS is

interested in obtaining outside

comments on its networking plans for

the future. Accordingly, interested

parties are invited to review preliminary

NWS plans and offer their views and

suggestions on future networking

directions that the NWS should

consider.

Dated: July 16, 1998.

John J. Kelly, Jr.,

Assistant Administrator for Weather Services.

[FR Doc. 98–19543 Filed 7–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–12–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 071498B]

Marine Mammals

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

Mr. Dan Engelhaupt, 9195 Jamaica

Beach, Galveston, TX 77554, has

applied in due form for a permit to take

several species of cetaceans for purposes

of scientific research.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments

must be received on or before August

21, 1998.