61618 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 198 / Tuesday, October 14, 2014 / Notices 

its programs and activities. Further, the 

DARRP is authorized by law to recover 

reasonable costs of damage assessment 

and restoration activities under 

CERCLA, OPA, and the NMSA. Within 

the constraints of these legal provisions 

and their regulatory applications, the 

DARRP has the discretion to develop 

indirect cost rates for its component 

organizations and formulate policies on 

the recovery of indirect cost rates 

subject to its requirements. 

The DARRP’s Indirect Cost Effort 

In December 1998, the DARRP hired 

the public accounting firm Rubino & 

McGeehin, Chartered (R&M) to: evaluate 

the DARRP cost accounting system and 

allocation practices; recommend the 

appropriate indirect cost allocation 

methodology; and determine the 

indirect cost rates for the three 

organizations that comprise the DARRP. 

A Federal Register notice on R&M’s 

effort, their assessment of the DARRP’s 

cost accounting system and practice, 

and their determination regarding the 

most appropriate indirect cost 

methodology and rates for FYs 1993 

through 1999 was published on 

December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76611). The 

notice and report by R&M can also be 

found on the DARRP Web site at 

www.darrp.noaa.gov. 

R&M continued its assessment of 

DARRP’s indirect cost rate system and 

structure for FYs 2000 and 2001. A 

second federal notice specifying the 

DARRP indirect rates for FYs 2000 and 

2001 was published on December 2, 

2002 (67 FR 71537). 

In October 2002, DARRP hired the 

accounting firm of Cotton and Company 

LLP (Cotton) to review and certify 

DARRP costs incurred on cases for 

purposes of cost recovery and to 

develop indirect rates for FY 2002 and 

subsequent years. As in the prior years, 

Cotton concluded that the cost 

accounting system and allocation 

practices of the DARRP component 

organizations are consistent with federal 

accounting requirements. Consistent 

with R&M’s previous analyses, Cotton 

also determined that the most 

appropriate indirect allocation method 

continues to be the Direct Labor Cost 

Base for all three DARRP component 

organizations. The Direct Labor Cost 

Base is computed by allocating total 

indirect cost over the sum of direct labor 

dollars, plus the application of NOAA’s 

leave surcharge and benefits rates to 

direct labor. Direct labor costs for 

contractors from I.M. Systems Group 

(IMSG) were included in the direct labor 

base because Cotton determined that 

these costs have the same relationship 

to the indirect cost pool as NOAA direct 

labor costs. IMSG provided on-site 

support to the DARRP in the areas of 

injury assessment, natural resource 

economics, restoration planning and 

implementation, and policy analysis. 

IMSG continues to provide on-site 

support to the DARRP. Starting in FY 

2010, contractors from Genwest provide 

on-site support for cost documentation. 

Subsequent federal notices have been 

published in the Federal Register as 

follows: 

• FY 2002, published on October 6, 

2003 (68 FR 57672) 

• FY 2003, published on May 20, 

2005 (70 FR 29280) 

• FY 2004, published on March 16, 

2006 (71 Fed Reg. 13356) 

• FY 2005, published on February 9, 

2007 (72 FR 6221) 

• FY 2006, published on June 3, 2008 

(73 FR 31679) 

• FY 2007 and FY 2008, published on 

November 16, 2009 (74 FR 58948) 

• FY 2009 and FY 2010, published on 

October 20, 2011 (76 FR 65182) 

• FY 2011, published on September 

17, 2012 (77 FR 57074) 

• FY 2012, published on August 29, 

2013 (78 FR 53425) 

Cotton’s reports on these indirect 

rates can also be found on the DARRP 

Web site at www.darrp.noaa.gov. 

Cotton reaffirmed that the Direct 

Labor Cost Base is the most appropriate 

indirect allocation method for the 

development of the FY 2013 indirect 

cost rates. 

The DARRP’s Indirect Cost Rates and 

Policies 

The DARRP will apply the indirect 

cost rates for FY 2013 as recommended 

by Cotton for each of the DARRP 

component organizations as provided in 

the following table: 

DARRP 

component organization 

FY 2013 

indirect 

rate 

(percent) 

Office of Response and Restoration (ORR) ................... 131.43 

Restoration Center (RC) ....... 79.94 

General Counsel ...................

Natural Resources Section 

(GCNRS) ........................... 29.01 

These rates are based on the Direct 

Labor Cost Base allocation methodology. 

The FY 2013 rates will be applied to 

all damage assessment and restoration 

case costs incurred between October 1, 

2012 and September 30, 2013. DARRP 

will use the FY 2013 indirect cost rates 

for future fiscal years, beginning with 

FY 2014, until subsequent year-specific 

rates can be developed. 

For cases that have settled and for 

cost claims paid prior to the effective 

date of the fiscal year in question, the 

DARRP will not re-open any resolved 

matters for the purpose of applying the 

revised rates in this policy for these 

fiscal years. For cases not settled and 

cost claims not paid prior to the 

effective date of the fiscal year in 

question, costs will be recalculated 

using the revised rates in this policy for 

these fiscal years. Where a responsible 

party has agreed to pay costs using 

previous year’s indirect rates, but has 

not yet made the payment because the 

settlement documents are not finalized, 

the costs will not be recalculated. 

Dated: September 22, 2014. 

David Westerholm, 

Director, Office of Response and Restoration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24112 Filed 10–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JE–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XC100 

Marine Mammals; File No. 17115 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a 

major amendment to Permit No. 17115– 

02 has been issued to James LloydSmith, Ph.D., Department of Ecology 

and Evolutionary Biology, University of 

California, Los Angeles, 610 Charles E. 

Young Dr. South, Box 723905, Los 

Angeles, CA 90095–7239. 

ADDRESSES: The permit amendment and 

related documents are available for 

review upon written request or by 

appointment in the following office: 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone: (301) 

427–8401; fax: (301)713–0376. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Sloan, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

16, 2014, notice was published in the 

Federal Register (79 FR 41538) that a 

request for an amendment Permit No. 

17115–02 to conduct research on 

California sea lions (Zalophus 

californianus) had been submitted by 

the above-named applicant. The 

requested permit amendment has been 

issued under the authority of the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 198 / Tuesday, October 14, 2014 / Notices 61619 

the regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216). 

Permit No. 17115–03 authorizes the 

permit holder to study the prevalence of 

leptospirosis in wild California sea lions 

in California. The amendment 

authorizes the permit holder to expand 

the sampling season to any time of year 

excluding peak pupping season on 

rookeries, change the project location 

from An ̃ o Nuevo Island and Monterey 

Bay as separate locations to a combined 

coastal California area including 

offshore islands, increase the number of 

sea lions sampled, add captures of pups, 

add water captures and use of injectable 

drugs, increase incidental disturbance of 

California sea lions and add incidental 

disturbance of eastern Steller sea lions 

(Eumetopias jubatus) and northern fur 

seals (Callorhinus ursinus), and take 

additional samples in the event of an 

unusual mortality event or disease 

outbreak. The permit expires September 

30, 2017. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Dated: October 8, 2014. 

Julia Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24332 Filed 10–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XC136 

Marine Mammals; File No. 17152 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

permit amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Point Blue Conservation Science, 

formerly PRBO Conservation Science, 

3820 Cypress Drive, #11, Petaluma, CA 

94954 (Responsible Party: Russ 

Bradley), has applied for an amendment 

to Scientific Research Permit No. 17152. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

November 13, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the Features box on the 

Applications and Permits for Protected 

Species home page, https://apps.nmfs.

noaa.gov, and then selecting File No. 

17152 from the list of available 

applications. 

These documents are also available 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone: 

(301) 427–8401; fax: (301) 713–0376. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted to the Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, at 

the address listed above. Comments may 

also be submitted by facsimile to 

(301)713–0376, or by email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include the File No. in the subject line 

of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division at the address listed above. The 

request should set forth the specific 

reasons why a hearing on this 

application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brendan Hurley or Amy Sloan, (301) 

427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject amendment to Permit No. 17152 

is requested under the authority of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216). 

Permit No. 17152, issued on 

November 28, 2012 (77 FR 73988), 

authorizes the permit holder to monitor 

population trends, health, and ecology 

of pinnipeds in California over a 5-year 

period. To accomplish this, researchers 

are authorized to capture, sedate, 

sample, mark, instrument, photoidentify and incidentally harass harbor 

seals (Phoca vitulina richardii). Ten 

mortalities of harbor seals over the 

duration of the permit are authorized. 

Researchers are authorized to capture, 

mark, weigh, and sample (swabs and 

blood) northern elephant seals 

(Mirounga angustirostris); and 

incidentally harass elephant seals 

during captures and ground monitoring/ 

photo-identification. Researchers are 

authorized to harass California sea lions 

(Zalophus californianus) and northern 

fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) during 

ground surveys and photoidentification. The permit holder is 

requesting the permit be amended to 

include authorization for increased 

incidental disturbance takes for 

California sea lions at the South 

Farallon Islands (SFI) from the current 

level of 1,500 animals to 2,500 animals 

per year; increased incidental 

disturbance takes for Northern fur seals 

at SFI from the current level of 75 

animals, with 2 takes per individual, to 

250 animals, with one take per animal; 

add incidental disturbance takes for 

Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) at 

SFI of 250 takes annually; and to add a 

new project to assess diet of California 

sea lions at SFI via scat collection. The 

amendment would be valid for the 

duration of the permit, which expires on 

November 30, 2017. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: October 8, 2014. 

Julia Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24331 Filed 10–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD247 

Marine Mammals; File No. 18691 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a 

permit has been issued to Terrie M. 

Williams, Ph.D., Department of Ecology 

and Evolutionary Biology, Center for 

Ocean Health, Long Marine Laboratory, 

University of California Santa Cruz, 100 

Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, to 

conduct research on Weddell seals 

(Leptonycotes weddellii). 

ADDRESSES: The permit and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the Permits and Conservation 

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