Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices 34425

will result in the investigation being

terminated; otherwise, the investigation

will proceed according to statutory and

regulatory time limits.

This notice is issued and published

pursuant to section 777(i) of the Act.

Dated: June 20, 2001.

Faryar Shirzad,

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–16297 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Guidance for Fiscal Year 2001 Coral

Reef Management Funding

AGENCY: National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Announcement of funding

opportunity for financial assistance for

Island coral reef conservation and

management cooperative agreements.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is

to advise the public that the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) and the U.S.

Department of the Interior (DOI) are

soliciting proposals from the U.S. Flag

Island jurisdiction of American Samoa,

the Commonwealth of the Northern

Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto

Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for the

purpose of coral reef conservation and

management.

DATES: NOAA and DOI must receive

Applications for cooperative agreements

according to the following schedule:

Draft applications received by NOAA

and DOI: June 29, 2001

NOAA and DOI comments back to

Islands: July 20, 2001

Final complete application received by

NOAA and DOI: August 3, 2001

Cooperative agreements awarded on or

before: October 1, 2001

ADDRESSES: Applications should be sent

to: John King, Acting Chief, CPD/OCRM,

N/ORM–3, National Ocean Service,

1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,

MD 20910, and Karen Koltes, Coral Reef

Program Manager, Office of Insular

Affairs, MS 4328 Department of the

Interior, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

NOAA: Bill Millhouser, Pacific Regional

Manager, CPD/OCRM, N–ORM–3,

National Ocean Service, 1305 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910;

301–713–3155 x 189; Internet:

bill.millhouser@noaa.gov.

For DOI: Karen Koltes, Coral Reef

Program Manager, Office of Insular

Affairs, MS 4328, Department of the

Interior, Washington, DC 20240; 202–

208–5345; Internet:

karen_koltes@ios.doi.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: (1)

Program Authorities: Specific authority

for this Announcement is found in 16

U.S.C. 1442, Executive Order 13089

(June 11, 1998), Coral Reef Protection,

for NOAA.

(2) Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Numbers: 11.419 for NOAA

Coastal Zone Management Program

Administration.

(3) Program Description: This notice

provides guidance for applying for

funding appropriated by Congress to the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) and the

Department of the Interior (DOI) in

Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 to support the

conservation and management of coral

reefs and associated fisheries by the

island jurisdictions of Puerto Rico, the

U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Guam, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, and American Samoa.

Congress appropriated $26,941,000 in

FY 2001 funding to NOAA in support of

the Administration’s budget request for

Coral Reef Conservation activities. The

Department of the Interior Office of

Insular Affairs (OIA) also received

funding in FY 2001 to enhance coral

reef protection and management.

Among the top coral reef conservation

priorities for both agencies is support

for State and Territorial coral reef

conservation activities as envisioned in

the 1999, U.S. All Islands Coral Reef

Initiative Strategy, and subsequent

locally generated management

strategies. NOAA and DOI will jointly

award $2,435,000 in FY 2001 to support

priority island coral reef ecosystem

conservation efforts. Of this total,

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal

Ocean Science (NCCOS) will award

$350,000 to support Monitoring and

Assessment cooperative agreements

with the Islands. As was the case last

year, NCCOS will award a separate

Monitoring and Assessment award to

each jurisdiction. NOAA’s Office of

Ocean and Coastal Resource

Management (OCRM), the National

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office

of Protected Resources (PR), and Office

of Insular Affairs (OIA/DOI) will

provide an additional $1,885,000 in

funding for cooperative agreements to

support Island coral reef and coral reef

fishery management and conservation

activities as listed below.

Program purpose Agency Amount

(in millions)

Coral reef management.OCRM

OIA/DOI

$1.200

.350

Coral reef fishery management.PR/NMFS .335

Total .......... 1.885

OCRM, PR/NMFS and OIA/DOI will

coordinate their funding such that each

Island will need to develop only one

coral reef and coral reef fishery

management application. The Federal

agencies will coordinate their review of

both cooperative agreements to ensure

comparability and continuity between

the two processes. It is anticipated

OCRM will make awards to three of the

six jurisdictions and that DOI will make

awards to the remaining three

jurisdictions.

To allow each Island the ability to

continue projects initiated with last

year’s awards, each jurisdiction is

eligible to receive an award ranging

from a minimum of $225,000 to a

maximum of approximately $400,000.

To be eligible for the award, the

jurisdiction must have made reasonable

progress in completing tasks under their

FY 1999 and FY 2000 coral management

awards, as evidenced in the required

performance and financial reports.

(4) Funding Availability: Funding is

contingent upon the availability of

Federal appropriations. It is estimated

that approximately $1,885,000 in FY

2001 funding is available for Coral Reef

and Coral Reef Fishery Management

cooperative agreements. Support in

outyears after FY 2001 is contingent

upon the availability of funds and the

requirements of the agency supporting

the project.

(5) Matching Requirements: None.

(6) Type of Funding Instrument:

Cooperative agreements.

(7) Eligibility Criteria: Eligible

applicants are government jurisdictions

of American Samoa, the Commonwealth

of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam,

Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin

Islands.

(8) Award Period: Full Proposals

should cover a project period of 12 to

18 months with an anticipated start date

of October 1, 2001.

(9) Indirect Costs: If indirect costs are

proposed, the total dollar amount of the

indirect costs proposed in an

application must not exceed the indirect

cost rate negotiated and approved by a

cognizant Federal agency prior to the

proposed effective date of the award.

(10) Application Forms: Applications

should reflect the strategy developed in

34426 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices

the 1999, U.S. All Islands Coral Reef

Initiative Strategy, as modified by the

events and activities of the last three

years, and support the U.S. Coral Reef

Task Force National Action Plan to

Conserve Coral Reefs. In addition,

proposed activities should be

coordinated, where appropriate, with

ongoing and proposed NOAA mapping,

monitoring, and fishery management

initiatives, and DOI Fish and Wildlife

Service and National Park Service coral

reef activities.

States and territories must consult

with all relevant local governmental and

non-governmental entities involved in

coral reef activities in developing the

application. Local government agencies

that must be consulted include coastal

zone management, water quality, and

wildlife and/or marine resource

agencies.

Applicants should also include in

their award, anticipated travel costs

associated with attendance and

participation at U.S. Coral Reef Task

Force and other relevant meetings and

conferences. In the past, NOAA and/or

DOI have funded much of this travel on

an invitational basis. However, Federal

staff and travel funding limitations will

not allow for the continuation of such

arrangements. Applicants may submit

applications covering up to an eighteenmonth period, and must meet all

applicable DOC or DOI grant

requirements, and submit, with the final

application package, all required

Federal financial assistance forms. One

copy of the jurisdiction’s award

application should be submitted to

OCRM and one copy to OIA.

(a) Application Format. There is a

need for improved accountability

relative to the objectives established for

this program, as well as under the

National Action Plan. Therefore, to track

each applicant’s progress in managing

its coral reef and fishery resources this

year’s applications should be structured

as follows:

First, in developing the proposal, the

applicant should organize proposed

tasks into the following ten (10)

categories, which are based on those

found in the National Action Plan:

(i) Mapping, Aerial Photography, and

Digital/Satellite Imagery for reef

conservation, e.g. developing benthic

habitat maps or other Geographic

Information System (GIS) data layers,

etc

(ii) Monitoring and Assessment of

coral reefs or reef resources; e.g.

baseline characterizations of reef

ecosystems, workshops to standardize

methods, database system development,

purchase of eequipment, training, etc

(Note: most, if not all of proposed

monitoring projects, should be funded

out of the NCCOS Coral Reef Monitoring

Award.

(iii) Research, e.g., nutrient input

modeling, coral recruitment studies,

coral culturing, etc.

(iv) Socio-economic and Resource

Valuation, e.g., community surveys,

economic valuations, alternatiave

income generation workshops, etc.

(v) Marine Protected Areas and

associated management activities, e.g.,

Marine Protected Area (MPA) or Marine

Management Area (MMA) planning and

implementation, peresonnel training,

equipment procurement, signage,

enforcement, etc.

(vi) Coral Reef Fisheries Management

and Enforcement, e.g., resources

assessments, colleciton of fishery

information, im,plementation of fishery

regulations and reserves, enforcement

personnel training and equipment

procurement, etc.

(vii) Reducing Habitat Destruction,

e.g., coastal zone management, vessel

grounding prevention and management,

mooring buoy installation, etc.

(viii) Reducing Pollution:

• Oil-spill prevention and response,

e.g., developing response plans,

personnel training, interagency

coordination, etc.

• Marine debris prevention and

removal, e.g., developing prevention

policies, collection and disposal of

debris, etc

• Reducing inspects from land-based

watershed pollution source, e.g.,

developing prevention policies,

collection and disposal of debris, etc

• Reducing impacts from land-based/

watershed pollution source, e.g., BMP

planning and implementation,

watershed restoration projects, etc.

• Invasive alien species management,

e.g., policy development, mitigation

projects, etc.

(ix) Coral Reef Restoration, e.g.,

damage mitigation, coral

transplantation, monitoring of

restoration sites, etc.

(x) Public Education and Outreach,

e.g., brochures and other informational

materials, public meetings and

workshops, etc.

Second, for each category in which a

project is proposed, the applicant

should include an introduction that

describes: The status and magnitude of

the issues in your jurisdiction; recent

actions undertaken to address the

issues, with a focus on federally-funded

tasks; and the jurisdiction’s strategy to

address critical needs over the medium

term (the next two to three years). This

introduction should not exceed one

page for each category project.

Finally, the description of each

proposed task should include:

• Clear identification of the work to

be completed, who will perform the

work, and how the project fits into the

jurisdiction’s strategy for addressing the

larger issue;

• How the project coordinates with

relevant local governmental and nongovernmental agencies and, if

applicable, NOAA or DOI regional

activities;

• Summary budget;

• Task timetable with interim

benchmarks and clearly-defined work

products; and,

• Project priority as compared to all

other proposed projects.

(b) Special Guidance for Coral Reef

Fishery Management Proposals Funded

by the National Marine Fisheries Service

(NMFS). The mandate of NMFS is to

build sustainable fisheries, recover

protected species, and sustain healthy

habitats for these species.

In FY 2001, NMFS has identified

$335,000 to fund priority Island coral

reef projects in these substantive areas.

Examples of eligible projects include:

• Assessment and monitoring of fish

and fishery resources, collection of

fishery information;

• Analysis of fishery impacts on reefs

and support for the implementation of

fishery gear restrictions or other priority

regulations;

• Development of fishery reserves;

• Activities to improve management

of ornamental reef species for the

aquarium industry;

• Hiring or training of enforcement

officers; and,

• Outreach and education on fishery

and endangered species issues.

Proposals for coral reef fisheries

management projects should range from

$40,000 to $60,000 per jurisdiction.

(11) Evaluation Criteria: The objective

of this funding is to support systematic

coral reef management and conservation

programs in the U.S. Flag Islands aimed

at maintaining and/or improving the

health of coral reef ecosystems. OCRM,

NMFS, and DOI will allocate the

$1,885,000 designated as Coral Reef

Management and Coral Reef Fishery

Management funds based on of the

following equally weighted evaluation

criteria:

(a) The need for coral reef

management activities in the

jurisdiction;

(b) The quality of the application

submitted; and,

(c) The past performance of the

jurisdiction in completing work in FY

1999 and FY 2000 NOAA and DOI coral

awards.

(12) Selection Procedures: A Federal

agency team of representatives from

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices 34427

OCRM, NMFS, and DOI will make the

final funding allocations for each

jurisdiction. The Federal agency team

will review the draft applications and

will provide comments to each

applicant. These comments will include

input from individuals with coral reef

and fisheries management experience.

The Federal agency team will then

review the final complete applications

and make final decisions on the funding

to be awarded to each jurisdiction based

on the score that each application

receives as a result of the application of

the criteria listed in subsection (11)

above.

If one or more jurisdictions are

ineligible to receive an award, NOAA

and DOI will consult with the

individual members of the All Islands

Group on the use of those residual

funds. NOAA and DOI will work with

each jurisdiction to ensure the greatest

degree of success in meeting that

island’s objectives.

Other Requirements

(1) Federal Policies and Procedures—

Recipients and sub recipients are

subject to all Federal laws and Federal

and DOC policies, regulations and

procedures applicable to Federal

financial assistance awards. Applicants

must use the standard NOAA grants

application package, available from

OCRM or the NOAA Grants

Management Division, with the

exception of draft applications, which

should, at a minimum, include basic

information on task descriptions and

costs. Final complete applications must

meet all requirements contained in this

notice.

(2) Past Performance—Unsatisfactory

performance under prior Federal awards

may result in an application not being

considered for funding.

(3) Pre-award Activities—If applicants

incur any costs prior to an award being

made, they do so at their own risk of not

being reimbursed by the Government.

Notwithstanding any verbal or written

assurance that may have been received,

there is no obligation on the part of DOC

to cover pre-award costs.

(4) No Obligation for Future

Funding—If an application is selected

for funding, DOC has no obligation to

provide any additional future funding in

connection with that award. Renewal of

an award to increase funding or extend

the period of performance is at the total

discretion of DOC.

(5) Delinquent Federal Debts—No

award of Federal funds shall be made to

an applicant who has an outstanding

delinquent Federal 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

DOC are made.

(6) Primary Applicant Certifications—

All primary applicants must submit a

completed form CD–511, ‘‘Certifications

Regarding Debarment, Suspension and

Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements and

Lobbying,’’ and the following

explanations hereby provided:

(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 Requirements

for Drug-Free Workplace (Cooperative

agreements),’’ and the related section of

certification form prescribed above

applies;

(c) Anti-Lobbying—Persons (as

defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 105)

are subject to the lobbying provisions of

31 U.S.C. 1352, ‘‘Limitations 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

cooperative agreements, cooperative

agreements, and contracts for more than

$100,000, and loans and loan guarantees

for more than $150,000, or the single

family maximum mortgage limit for

affected programs, whichever is greater;

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.

(7) Lower Tier Certifications—

Recipients shall require applicants/

bidders for sub awards, 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 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 sub recipient should be

submitted to DOC in accordance with

the instructions contained in the award

document.

(8) False Statements—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.

(9) This notice has been determined to

be not significant for purposes of

Executive Order 12866.

(10) This notice does not involve

collection-of-information requirements

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

(11) This rule does not contain

policies with Federalism impacts as that

term is defined in Executive Order

13132.

Dated: June 21, 2001.

Ted Lillestolen,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean

Services and Coastal Zone Management,

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–16228 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 061901C]

International Whaling Commission;

Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: NOAA makes use of a public

Interagency Committee to assist in

preparing for meetings of the

International Whaling Commission

(IWC). This notice defines guidelines for

participating on the Committee and

provides a tentative schedule of

meetings and of important dates.

DATES: The July 6, 2001, Interagency

Meeting will be held at 2 p.m. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the

schedule for the 2001 IWC annual

meeting.

ADDRESSES: The July 6, 2001, meeting

will be held in Room B841–A, Herbert

C. Hoover Building, Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cathy Campbell, (301) 713–2322

Extension 141.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of the July 6, 2001, Interagency

Committee meeting is to review recent

events relating to the IWC and to