27070 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Notices

managed in accordance with a Tribal

Plan that has been approved by NMFS.

As specified in the 4(d) Rule, before the

Secretary makes a decision on the Tribal

Plan, the public must have an

opportunity to review and comment on

the pending determination.

Authority

Under section 4 of the ESA, the

Secretary is required to adopt such

regulations as he deems necessary and

advisable for the conservation of the

species listed as threatened. The ESA

Tribal 4(d) Rule (65 FR 42481, July 10,

2000) states that the ESA section 9 take

prohibitions will not apply to Tribal

Plans that will not appreciably reduce

the likelihood of survival and recovery

for the listed species.

Dated: May 10, 2001.

Phil Williams,

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–12360 Filed 5–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[Docket No. 000616180–1115–03]

RIN 0648–ZA91

NOAA Climate and Global Change

Program, Program Announcement

AGENCY: Office of Global Programs,

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric

Research, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration,

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Climate and Global

Change Program represents a National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) contribution to

evolving national and international

programs designed to improve our

ability to observe, understand, predict,

and respond to changes in the global

environment. This program builds on

NOAA’s mission requirements and longstanding capabilities in global change

research and prediction. The NOAA

Program is a key contributing element of

the U.S. Global Change Research

Program (USGCRP), which is

coordinated by the interagency

Committee on Environmental and

Natural Resources. NOAA’s program is

designed to complement other agencies’

contributions to that national effort.

All proposals must be submitted in

accordance with the requirements

below. Failure to heed these guidelines

will result in proposals being returned

without review.

DATES: Unless otherwise noted, strict

deadlines for submission to the FY 2002

process are: Letters of intent must be

received at the Office of Global

Programs (OGP) no later than July 2,

2001. Applicants who have not received

a response to their letter of intent within

four weeks should contact the Program

Manager. Full proposals must be

received at OGP no later than August

27, 2001. The time from receipt of

proposals to grant award varies by

program area. We anticipate that review

of full proposals will occur during

October and November 2001, and

funding should begin during spring of

2002 for most approved projects.

Applicants should be notified of their

status within six months. April 1, 2002,

should be used as the proposed start

date on proposals, unless otherwise

directed by the appropriate Program

Manager.

ADDRESSES: Letters of Intent and

Proposals should be submitted to: Office

of Global Programs; National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration; 1100

Wayne Avenue, Suite 1210; Silver

Spring, MD 20910–5603

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irma

duPree at the above address, or at (301)

427–2089 ext. 107, fax: (301) 427–2222,

Internet: irma.duPree@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Funding Availability

NOAA believes that the Climate and

Global Change Program will benefit

significantly from a strong partnership

with outside investigators. Current

Program plans assume that over 50% of

the total resources provided through

this announcement will support

extramural efforts, particularly those

involving the broad academic

community. However, please be advised

that actual funding levels will depend

upon the final FY 2002 budget

appropriations. This Program

Announcement is for projects to be

conducted by investigators both inside

and outside of NOAA, primarily over a

one, two or three year period. The

NOAA Climate and Global Change

Program has been approved for multiyear funding up to a three year duration.

The funding instrument for extramural

awards will be a grant unless it is

anticipated that NOAA will be

substantially involved in the

implementation of the project, in which

case the funding instrument should be

a cooperative agreement. Examples of

substantial involvement may include

but are not limited to proposals for

collaboration between NOAA or NOAA

scientists and a recipient scientist or

technician and/or contemplation by

NOAA of detailing Federal personnel to

work on proposed projects. NOAA will

make decisions regarding the use of a

cooperative agreement on a case-by-case

basis. Funding for contractual

arrangements for services and products

for delivery to NOAA is not available

under this announcement. Matching

share is not required by this program.

2. Program Authority

49 U.S.C. 44720(b); 33 U.S.C. 883d; 15

U.S.C. 2904; 15 U.S.C. 2931 et seq.;

(CFDA No. 11.431)—CLIMATE AND

ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

3. Program Objectives

The long-term objective of the Climate

and Global Change Program is to

provide reliable predictions of climate

variability and change with associated

regional implications on time scales

ranging from seasons to a century or

more. NOAA believes that climate

variability across these time scales can

be modeled with an acceptable

probability of success and are the most

relevant for fundamental social

concerns. Predicting the behavior of the

coupled ocean-atmosphere-land surface

system will be NOAA’s primary

contribution to a successful national

effort to deal with observed or

anticipated changes in the global

environment. NOAA has a range of

unique facilities and capabilities that

can be applied to Climate and Global

Change investigations. Proposals that

seek to exploit these resources in

collaborative efforts between NOAA and

extramural investigators are encouraged.

4. Program Priorities

In FY 2002, NOAA will give priority

attention to individual proposals in the

Main Program Elements listed below.

The names, affiliations and phone

numbers of relevant Climate and Global

Change Program Managers are provided.

Funding for some programs may be

limited to ongoing projects or may be

used to fund projects proposed in FY

2001 that were unable to be funded due

to budgetary circumstances. Prospective

investigators are urged to check the

Climate & Global Change Program web

page (http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/) for

general program information, and more

specifically for current funding status

and priorities prior to submitting letters

or proposals. Prospective applicants

may also communicate with Program

Managers for information on priorities

within program elements and prospects

for funding.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Notices 27071

(A) Aerosols

This program element focuses on field

measurements and modeling of aerosol

properties and distributions, with an

emphasis on improving the predictive

understanding of the role of aerosols in

climate forcing. Due to budgetary

limitations, funding may not be

available for new grants in FY 2002;

prospective investigators are urged to

check the Climate and Global Change

Program web page for current funding

status and priorities prior to submitting

letters or proposals. For further

information contact: Joel M. Levy,

NOAA/Office of Global Programs, 301–

427–2089 ext. 111, Internet:

joel.levy@noaa.gov.

(B) Atmospheric Chemistry

The Atmospheric Chemistry Project

focuses on global monitoring, processoriented laboratory and field studies,

and theoretical modeling to improve the

predictive understanding of the

atmospheric trace species that influence

the earth’s chemical and radiative

balance and the variation of the

concentration of these trace species

regionally and seasonally. For an

information sheet containing further

details and current priorities, please

contact: Joel M. Levy, NOAA/Office of

Global Programs, 301–427–2089 ext.

111, Internet: joel.levy@noaa.gov; or

Fred C. Fehsenfeld, NOAA/Aeronomy

Laboratory, Boulder, CO, 303–497–5819,

Internet: fcf@al.noaa.gov.

(C) Climate Observation

The goal of this element is to build

and sustain the global climate observing

system that is needed to satisfy the longterm requirements of the operational

forecast centers, international research

programs, and major scientific

assessments. The element supports in

situ ocean and atmospheric components

that contribute to global networks for

understanding the Earth’s climate

system, the global water cycle, and the

global carbon cycle, and looks for

efficiencies to be gained by utilizing

common platforms/sites/data

infrastructure for several objectives.

This program element will not accept

applications for new projects in FY

2002. For more information contact:

Michael Johnson, NOAA Office of

Global Programs, 301–427–2089 ext.

169, Internet: johnson@ogp.noaa.gov.

(D) Climate and Societal Interactions

(CSI)

Research on Vulnerability,

Opportunities, and Response Options.

Variability, change, and surprise results

from a wide variety of climatological,

social, economic and ecological

circumstances and interactions. The

purpose of this program is to increase

understanding of the impacts of climate

variability and change as conditioned by

ongoing processes of decision-making

and socio-economic transformation. The

suite of efforts is intended to further

research-based integration between

studies of the whole of the climate

system, including human components,

such as health, and evolving

informational and educational needs of

decision-makers in climate sensitive

sectors around the world. The goal is to

provide the basis for more effective

application of climate information,

including climate forecasts, for purposes

of adaptation. The intent of this program

is to encourage overlapping research

approaches to integrate knowledge for

problem solving. The CSI is a chapeau

for a suite of activities; prospective

applicants must apply to one of the

following program elements:

Human Dimensions of Global Change

Research (HDGCR): The HDGCR

program is aimed at understanding and

analyzing the decision process as it

relates to information about a dynamic

climate system. This year, the program

is specifically interested in building on

lessons learned from cases of climate

forecast use to reveal how information

can be best communicated and

disseminated to groups otherwise

unlikely to benefit from climate

information. Research would consider

how forecast use is influenced by

perceptions and human judgment, as

well as public policy, and the most

effective means of designing forecast

information and its delivery to improve

its usability. For more information and

an information sheet on program

objectives, contact: Caitlin Simpson,

NOAA/Office of Global Programs, 301–

427–2089 ext. 152,

simpson@ogp.noaa.gov; or Claudia

Nierenberg, NOAA/Office of Global

Programs, 301–427–2089 ext. 151,

nierenberg@ogp.noaa.gov.

Health and Climate Variability: A

joint interagency announcement is

anticipated on Climate and Health. (For

more information on this future

announcement contact Juli Trtanj,

NOAA/Office of Global Programs, 301–

427–2089 ext. 134, Internet:

trtanj@ogp.noaa.gov.)

Regional Integrated Sciences and

Assessments: This Program Element was

formerly titled Regional Assessments.

NOAA’s present program of Regional

Integrated Sciences and Assessments

possesses three distinct qualities:

(1) Interdisciplinary, integration and

synthesis;

(2) Bridging the gap between climatic,

environmental and societal interactions

on different temporal and spatial scales;

and (3) Decision support and services. It

requires innovative partnerships among

a spectrum of interests (Federal, State,

local and private) to enable regional

organizational capacity to develop

accurate (i.e., identifying risks,

uncertainties, and/or indeterminacies),

balanced syntheses and services on an

ongoing basis. As such, the program

relies heavily on consolidating the

results and data from ongoing NOAA–

OGP disciplinary program elements,

already funded in a region, into an

integrated framework. This program will

not accept applications to initiate new

activities, but will accept renewal

applications for ongoing efforts or as

part of ongoing negotiations. For more

information and a detailed information

sheet, contact: Roger Pulwarty, NOAA/

Office of Global Programs, 301–427–

2089 ext. 103, Internet:

pulwarty@ogp.noaa.gov.

(E) Climate Change Data and Detection

The scientific goals of this element

include efforts to: (1) Provide data and

information management support

activities needed to assure the

availability of critical data sets from a

variety of national and international

programs of primary interest to NOAA’s

Climate and Global Change Program,

e.g., the CLIVAR (Climate Variability

and Predictability) Program, GEWEX

(Global Energy & Water Cycle

Experiment), GCOS (Global Climate

Observing System), National and

International Assessments, the WCRP

(World Climate Research Program)

CLIVAR/PAGES (Past Global Changes)

Research Initiative etc.; (2) provide data

and information management support

related to crosscutting science efforts

necessary to assess seasonal,

interannual, decadal, and longer climate

variations and changes; (3) document

and quantitative character of observed

climate variations and changes; (4)

attribute changes in the observed

climate record to specific climate

forcings; and (5) establish linkages

between the paleoclimatological record

and the modern instrumental record,

with a focus on interannual variability,

extremes, and spatial completeness for

the Northern and Southern

Hemispheres.

During FY 2002, the Climate Change

Data and Detection program element

expects to include the following three

major interagency activities:

—Enhanced Data Sets: NOAA and the

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) will co-sponsor

a project that supports research in the

areas of data fusion and enhancement of

climate data sets through the use of

27072 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Notices

space and/or ground based observations.

Preference will be given to those

proposals that use more than one

observing system to develop a blended

data set.

—Climate Change Detection and

Attribution: NOAA and the Department

of Energy (DOE) will co-sponsor a

project that addresses all aspects of

Climate Change Detection and

Attribution.

—Paleoclimatology: NOAA and the

National Science Foundation (NSF) will

co-sponsor a Paleoclimatology project

that will entertain proposals that

support the joint WCRP CLIVAR/IGBP

PAGES Research Initiative. This

initiative is jointly supported by NOAA

and the NSF through the Earth System

History (ESH) Program at NSF.

Prospective investigators are urged to

check the Climate and Global Change

web page for current funding status and

priorities prior to submitting proposals.

For further information contact: Bill

Murray, NOAA, 301–427–2089 ext. 133,

Internet: murray@ogp.noaa.gov; Chris

Miller, NOAA, 301–427–2089 ext. 143,

Internet: miller@ogp.noaa.gov; Martha

Maiden, NASA, 202/358–1078, Internet:

maiden@hq.nasa.gov; Rick Petty, DOE;

301–903–5548, Internet:

rick.petty@oer.doe.gov; or David

Verardo, NSF, 703–292–8527, Internet:

dverardo@nsf.gov.

(F) Climate Dynamics and Experimental

Prediction

This program will not accept

applications to initiate centers at new

institutions, but will accept renewal

applications for ongoing efforts or as

part of ongoing negotiations. Qualified

applications for this program may be

submitted throughout the year. For

further information contact: Phil Arkin,

NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring,

MD; telephone: 301–427–2089 ext. 116,

Internet: arkin@ogp.noaa.gov.

(G) Climate Variability and

Predictability (CLIVAR)

The U.S. CLIVAR program seeks to

observe, model and understand natural

variability on seasonal to decadal time

scales and to assess the predictability of

such climate variability. The ultimate

goal of NOAA’s participation in CLIVAR

is to develop skillful predictions of

climate variability on seasonal-tointerdecadal time scales and regional

space scales for optimal use in resource

planning. The program is designed to

understand global climate variability; to

determine the spatial and temporal

extent to which this variability is

predictable, to develop the

observational, theoretical, and

computational means to predict

variability; and to make enhanced

predictions, where feasible. NOAA’s

research focuses on large-scale recurrent

patterns of variability that influence

climate on the regional scale,

particularly over the US. Among these

patterns are the El Nin ̃ o-Southern

Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal

Oscillation (PDO), Tropical Atlantic

Variability (TAV), the North Atlantic

Oscillation (NAO), and the American

monsoon systems. NOAA has structured

its CLIVAR program to focus on

variability and predictability within

three regions: the Atlantic, the Pacific,

and Pan America. For an information

sheet containing further details and

current priorities for research in each of

these regions, visit the NOAA CLIVAR

website at http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/

mpe/clivar/index.htm. For further

information on CLIVAR–Atlantic, please

contact James Todd, NOAA/Global

Programs, 301/427–2089 ext. 139,

Internet: james.todd@noaa.gov. For the

CLIVAR–Pacific and the Pan American

Climate Studies (PACS) efforts, please

contact, Michael Patterson, NOAA/

Global Programs, 301–427–2089 ext.

102, Internet:

michael.patterson@noaa.gov.

(H) Economics and Human Dimensions

of Climate Fluctuations

Please see Climate and Societal

Interactions (CSI) above.

(I) GEWEX Americas Prediction Project

(GAPP)

GAPP is jointly supported by NOAA

and NASA. Details about GAPP are

available through the GAPP Science

Plan and Implementation Strategy

available on the OGP Home Page or

from the NOAA GAPP Program

Manager. Initiatives are solicited which

have a geographical focus on the

western USA or the Mississippi River

Basin, and address the following GAPP

priorities:

(1) Land memory processes and their

spatial and temporal variability: GAPP

seeks to better understand the

contributions of orography (including

features such as the low level jet), soil

moisture, vegetation and snow and

other cold land processes to the

predictability of the water cycle.

(2) Model transferability studies,

enriched data set production and

assimilation of remotely-sensed data to

support the US contribution to the

GEWEX Coordinated Enhanced

Observing Period.

(3) Scientific Investigations to

examine the application of climate

forecasts and GAPP products in water

resources management.

It is possible that a joint call with

CLIVAR–PACS will be issued to deal

with GAPP interests in monsoonal

systems. Questions regarding this call

should be addressed to Rick Lawford

_(lawford@ogp.noaa.gov) or 301–427–

2089 Ex. 146 or to Michael Jasinski

(mjasinsk@mail.hq.nasa.gov) or 202–

358–1847.

(J) Global Carbon Cycle (GCC)

GCC focuses on global observations,

process-oriented field studies and

modeling to improve our ability to

predict the fate of anthropogenic carbon

dioxide (CO2) and future atmospheric

CO2 concentrations. A separate program

announcement for GCC will be issued

later this year. Investigators interested

in the GCC program area are encouraged

to respond to this later announcement.

For further information, please contact:

Lisa Dilling, NOAA/Office of Global

Programs, 301–427–2089 ext. 106,

Internet: dilling@ogp.noaa.gov or see the

web at: http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/mpe/

gcc/index/html.

(K) Paleoclimatology

Please see Climate Change Data and

Detection above.

5. Eligibility

Eligible applicants are institutions of

higher education, other nonprofits,

commercial organizations, international

organizations, state, local and Indian

tribal governments. Applications from

non-Federal and Federal applicants will

be competed against each other.

Proposals selected for funding from

non-Federal applicants will be funded

through a project grant or cooperative

agreement under the terms of this

notice. Proposals selected for funding

from NOAA scientists shall be effected

by an intra-agency fund transfer.

Proposals selected for funding from a

non-NOAA Federal agency will be

funded through an inter-agency transfer.

Please Note: Before non-NOAA Federal

applicants may be funded, they must

demonstrate that they have legal authority to

receive funds from another Federal agency in

excess of their appropriation. The only

exception to this is ‘‘governmental research

facilities’’ for awards issued under the

authority of 49 U.S.C. 44720. Because this

announcement is not proposing to procure

goods or services from applicants, the

Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535) is not an

appropriate legal basis.

6. Letters of Intent (LOI)

The purpose of the LOI process is to

provide information to potential

applicants on the relevance of their

proposed project to the Climate and

Global Program and the likelihood of it

being funded in advance of preparing a

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Notices 27073

full proposal. Full proposals will be

encouraged only for LOIs deemed

relevant, therefore, it is in the best

interest of the applicants and their

institutions to submit an LOI; however,

it is not a requirement. The LOI should

provide a concise description of the

proposed work and its relevance to the

targeted program element. the LOI must

include the components listed below. If

these components are not included, the

LOI risks a delayed response and may

not be considered by the program

reviewers. (A) Investigators must

identify the program element that is

being targeted in the LOI. (B)

Investigators must specify a tentative

project title in the LOI. (C) LOIs must

include the name and institution of all

principal investigator(s), and specify

which individual is the Lead principal

investigator. (D) LOIs should be no more

than two pages in length and must

include a statement of the problem, brief

summary of work to be completed,

methodology to be used, and

approximate cost of the project.

Facsimile and electronic mail are

acceptable for LOIs (but not for full

proposals).

A panel of program managers will

review each LOI to determine whether

the LOI is responsive to the program

goals as advertised in this notice. An

LOI response (e-mail or letter) will be

sent back to the investigator

encouraging or discouraging a full

proposal. The final decision to submit a

full proposal will be made by the

investigator.

7. Evaluation Criteria

Consideration for financial assistance

will be given to those proposals that

address one of the Program Elements

listed and meet the following evaluation

criteria:

(A) Scientific Merit: Intrinsic

scientific value of the subject and the

study proposed, including methodology

and readiness.

(B) Relevance: Importance and

relevance to the goals of the selected

Program Element(s). (See Program

Objectives above).

8. Selection Procedures

Proposals, including those submitted

by NOAA employees, will be evaluated

in accordance with the above evaluation

criteria by (A) independent peer mail

review, and/or (B) independent peer

panel review, and a rating will be

calculated based on these evaluations;

both NOAA and non-NOAA experts in

the field may be used in this process.

The Program Manager will not be a

voting member of an independent peer

panel. The recommendations and

evaluations of the panel members will

be considered by the Program Manager

in final selections. Proposals are usually

awarded in the numerical order they are

ranked based on the independent peer

mail review or the independent peer

panel review. However, the Program

Manager will ascertain which proposals

do not substantially duplicate other

projects that are currently funded by

NOAA or are approved for funding by

other federal agencies, and fall within

remaining funds available.

Unsatisfactory performance by a

recipient under prior Federal awards

may result in an application not being

considered for funding. As a result of

this review, the Program Manager may

decide to select an award out of order.

The Program Manager will also

determine the total duration of funding

and the amount of funding for each

selected proposal.

Pursuant to Executive Orders 12876,

12900, and 13021, the Department of

Commerce, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (DOC/

NOAA) is strongly committed to

broadening the participation of

Historically Black Colleges and

Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving

Institutions (HIS), and Tribal Colleges

and Universities (TCU) in its

educational and research programs. The

DOC/NOAA vision, mission, and goals

are to achieve full participation by

Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) in

order to advance the development of

human potential, to strengthen the

nation’s capacity to provide high-quality

education, and to increase opportunities

for MSIs to participate in and benefit

from Federal Financial Assistance

programs. DOC/NOAA encourages all

applicants to include meaningful

participation of MISs. Institutions

eligible to be considered MSIs are listed

at the following Internet website: http:/

/www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/

99minin.html.

9. Proposal Submission

The following forms are required in

each application, with original

signatures on each federal form. Failure

to comply will result in proposal

application being returned.

(A) Full Proposals

(1) Proposals submitted to the NOAA

Climate and Global Change Program

must include the original and two

unbound copies of the proposal. (2)

Investigators are required to submit 3

copies of the proposal, however, the

normal review process requires 20

copies. For an optimal review,

investigators are encouraged to submit

sufficient proposal copies, especially

color or unusually sized (not 8.5′′ × 11′′),

or otherwise unusual materials

submitted as part of the proposal. Only

three original copies of the Federallyrequired forms are needed. (3) Proposals

must be limited to 30 pages (numbered),

including budget, investigators vitae,

and all appendices, and should be

limited to funding requests for one to

three year duration. Appended

information may not be used to

circumvent the page length limit.

Federally-mandated forms are not

included within the page count. (4)

Proposals should be sent to the NOAA

Office of Global Programs at the above

address. (5) Facsimile transmissions and

electronic mail submission of full

proposals will not be accepted.

(B) Required Elements

All proposals must include the

following elements: (1) Signed title

page: The title page should be signed by

the Principal Investigator (PI) and the

institutional representative and should

clearly indicate which program element

is being addressed. If more than one

investigator is listed on the title page,

please identify the lead investigator.

The PI and institutional representative

should be identified by full name, title,

organization, telephone number and

address. The total amount of Federal

funds being requested should be listed

for each budget period. (2) Abstract: An

abstract must be included and should

contain an introduction of the problem,

rationale and a brief summary of work

to be completed. The abstract should

appear on a separate page, headed with

the proposal title, institution(s),

investigator(s), total proposed cost and

budget period. (3) Results from prior

research: The results of each prior

research project (during the last 3 years)

relevant to the proposed effort should be

summarized in brief paragraphs. This

section should not exceed two pages. (4)

Statement of work: The proposed

project must be completely described,

including identification of the problem,

scientific objectives, proposed

methodology, relevance to the goal of

the Climate and Global Change Program

priorities listed above. Benefits of the

proposed project to the general public

and the scientific community should be

discussed. The statement of work,

including references but excluding

figures and other visual materials, must

not exceed 15 pages of text.

Investigators wishing to submit group

proposals that exceed the 15-page limit

should discuss this possibility with the

appropriate Program Manager prior to

submission. Proposals from 3 or more

investigator may include a statement of

work containing up to 15 pages of

27074 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Notices

overall project description plus up to 5

additional pages for individual project

descriptions. (5) Budget Justification: A

brief description of the expenses listed

on the budget and how they address the

proposed work. Item justifications must

include salaries, equipment,

publications, supplies, tuition, travel,

etc. (6) Budget: The proposal must

include total and annual itemized

budgets corresponding with the

descriptions provided in the statement

of work. Non-Federal Applicants must

submit a Standard Form 424 (4–92)

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance,’’

including a detailed budget using the

Standard Form 424a (4–92), ‘‘Budget

Information—Non-Construction

Programs.’’ Travel must be itemized to

include destination, airfare, per diem,

lodging and ground travel. The from is

included in the standard NOAA

application kit. (7) Vitae: Abbreviated

curriculum vitae are sought with each

proposal. Reference lists should be

limited to all publications in the last

three years with up to five other

relevant papers. (8) Current and pending

support: For each investigator, submit a

list that includes project title,

supporting agency with grant number,

investigator months per year, dollar

value and duration. Requested values

should be listed for pending support.

(C) Other Requirements

Applicants may obtain a standard

NOAA application kit from Internet:

http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/.

10. Primary Applicant Certification

All primary applicants must submit a

completed Form CD–511, ‘‘Certification

Regarding Debarment, Suspension and

Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements and

Lobbying’’. Applicants are also hereby

notified of the following:

(A) Nonprocurement Debarment and

Suspension

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;

(B) Drug-Free Workplace

Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part

26, section 605) are subject to 15 CFR

Part 26, Subpart F, ‘‘Government-wide

Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace

(Grants)’’ and the related section of the

certification form prescribed above

applies;

(C) Anti-Lobbying

Persons (as defined at 15 CFR Part 28,

section 105) are subject to the lobbying

provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352,

‘‘Limitation on 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

(D) Anti-Lobbying Disclosures

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.

11. Lower Tier Certifications

(A) Recipients must require

applicants/bidders for subgrants,

contracts, subcontracts, or 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

Transactions 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 transmitted to DOC. SF–

LLL submitted by any tier recipient or

subrecipient should be submitted to

DOC in accordance with the

instructions contained in the award

document.

(B) Recipients and subrecipients are

subject to all applicable Federal laws

and Federal and Department of

Commerce policies, regulations, and

procedures applicable to Federal

financial assistance awards.

(C) Preaward Activities—If applicants

incur any costs prior to an award being

made, they do so solely at their own risk

of not being reimbursed by the

Government. Notwithstanding any

verbal assurance that may have been

received, there is no obligation to the

applicant on the part of Department of

Commerce to cover pre-award costs.

(D) Financial assistance recipients

funded by this program are subject to

the applicable administrative

requirements found in 15 CFR Part 14,

‘‘Uniform Administrative Requirements

for Grants and Agreements with

Institutions of Higher Education,

Hospitals, and other Non-Profit and

Commercial Organizations, or 15 CFR

Part 24, ‘‘Uniform Administrative

Requirements for Grants and

Agreements to State and Local

Governments’’ as applicable.

Applications under this program are not

subject to Executive Order 12372,

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs.’’

(E) 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.

(F) 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.

(G) No award of Federal funds shall

be made to an applicant who has an

outstanding delinquent Federal debt

until either: (i) The delinquent account

is paid in full, (ii) A negotiated

repayment schedule is established and

at least one payment is received, or (iii)

Other arrangements satisfactory to the

Department of Commerce are made.

(H) Buy American-Made Equipment

or Products—Applicants are encouraged

that any equipment or products

authorized to be purchased with

funding provided under this program be

American-made to the maximum extent

feasible.

(I) 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 cost dollar amount

in the application, whichever is less.

(J) 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.

(K) In accordance with Federal

statutes and regulations, no person on

grounds of race, color, age, sex, national

origin or disability shall be excluded

from participation in, denied benefits of,

or be subjected to discrimination under

any program or activity receiving

financial assistance from the NOAA

Climate and Global Change Program.

The NOAA Climate and Global Change

Program does not have direct TDD

(Telephonic Device for the Deaf)

capabilities, but can be reached through

the State of Maryland supplied TDD

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Notices 27075

contact number, 800–735–2258,

between the hours of 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

12. Classification

This notice contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the

Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of

Standard Forms 424, 424A, and SF–LLL

have been approved by OMB under the

respective control numbers 0348–0043,

0348–0044, and 0348–0046.

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

information displays a currently valid

OMB control number. This notice has

been determined to be not significant for

purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Dated: May 10, 2001.

Louisa Koch,

Deputy Assistant Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–12347 Filed 5–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–KP–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 050901D]

New England Fishery Management

Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery

Management Council (Council) is

scheduling a public meeting of its

Research Steering Committee and

Herring Oversight Committee and

Advisory Panel (joint with the Atlantic

States Marine Fisheries Commission

(ASMFC) Herring Section Panel) in May

and June 2001 to consider actions

affecting New England fisheries in the

exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Recommendations from these groups

will be brought to the full Council for

formal consideration and action, if

appropriate.

DATES: The meetings will be held on

May 31, 2001, and June 6, 2001. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific

dates and times.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held

in Wakefield and Peabody, MA. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific

locations.

Council address: New England

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950;

telephone: (978) 465–0492.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

J. Howard, Executive Director, New

England Fishery Management Council;

(978) 465–0492. Requests for special

accommodations should be addressed to

the Council (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Meeting Dates and Agendas

Thursday, May 31, 2001, 9:30 a.m.—

Research Steering Committee Meeting.

Location: Sheraton Colonial, One

Audubon Road, Wakefield, MA 01880;

telephone: (781) 245–9300.

The agenda will include an update on

the April 2001 workshop held to discuss

industry-based surveys/study fleets and

NMFS follow-up activities. The

committee will discuss and evaluate

recommendations in a report prepared

by the New England Aquarium on codtagging. There will also be a discussion

of the committee’s role in long-term

research programs in New England. The

committee will have a follow-up

discussion about future research

planning over the next 3 to 5 years.

Wednesday, June 6, 2001, 10 a.m.—

Joint Herring Oversight Committee,

Advisory Panel and ASMFC Meeting.

The committee and advisors will

review the annual Stock Assessment

and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report

for the 2000 fishing year, and

recommendations from the Herring Plan

Development Team for 2002 fishing year

specifications for optimum yield from

the fishery, total allowable level of

foreign fishing, joint venture processing

and total allowable catch for each

management area. The committee and

advisors will develop recommendations

to the Council on specifications for the

2002 fishing year. The meeting will be

held jointly with the ASMFC Herring

Section who will be discussing

proposals for herring spawning area

closures tolerance provisions. Following

that discussion, time permitting, the

committee will finalize its list of

questions to the advisors on controlled

access/limited entry in the herring

fishery.

Although non-emergency issues not

contained in this agenda may come

before this group for discussion, those

issues may not be the subject of formal

action during this meeting. Action will

be restricted to those issues specifically

listed in this notice and any issues

arising after publication of this notice

that require emergency action under

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens

Act, provided the public has been

notified of the Council’s intent to take

final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

These meetings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Paul J. Howard

(see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days prior to

the meeting dates.

Dated: May 11, 2001.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–12367 Filed 5– 15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 050701C]

Pacific 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 Pacific Fishery

Management Council’s (Council)

Groundfish Management Team (GMT)

will hold a working meeting which is

open to the public.

DATES: The GMT working meeting will

begin Monday, June 4, 2001 at 1 p.m.

and may go into the evening until

business for the day is completed. The

meeting will reconvene from 8 a.m. to

5 p.m. Tuesday, June 5 through

Thursday, June 7.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at

NMFS Northwest Regional Office, 7600

Sand Point Way NE., Building 1,

Director’s Conference Room, Seattle,

WA; telephone: (206) 526–6120.

Council address: Pacific Fishery

Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth

Avenue, Suite 224, Portland, OR 97201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Jim Glock, Groundfish Fishery

Management Coordinator, (503) 326–

6352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of the GMT meeting is to

prepare reports and technical advice for

the upcoming Council meeting and in

support of Council decisions. The GMT

will discuss, receive reports, and/or

prepare reports on the following topics

during this working session, (1)

inseason adjustments to 2001 trip limits

and other management measures; (2)