Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 198 / Tuesday, October 14, 2014 / Notices 61617 

taking will have a negligible impact on 

the species or stock(s), will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

subsistence uses (where relevant), and if 

the permissible methods of taking and 

requirements pertaining to the 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting of 

such takings are set forth. NMFS has 

defined ‘‘negligible impact’’ in 50 CFR 

216.103 as ‘‘an impact resulting from 

the specified activity that cannot be 

reasonably expected to, and is not 

reasonably likely to, adversely affect the 

species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival.’’ 

Geographic Area To Be Considered 

For the purposes of this EIS, NMFS 

intends to analyze the effects on the 

human environment of issuing 

authorizations for the incidental take of 

marine mammals from activities 

occurring in both the state and Federal 

waters of Cook Inlet, AK, from Knik 

Arm in the northern part of the Inlet to 

the southern edge of Kachemak Bay on 

the southeastern part of the Inlet and to 

the southern edge of Cape Douglas on 

the southwestern part of the Inlet. 

Objectives of the EIS 

NMFS prepares environmental 

analyses under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to 

support the issuance of ITAs for specific 

activities under sections 101(a)(5)(A) 

and (D) of the MMPA. This 

programmatic EIS will analyze the 

potential effects on the human 

environment of issuing MMPA ITAs for 

various anthropogenic activities in Cook 

Inlet. An EIS that analyzes multiple 

activities over multiple years will 

provide a comprehensive decisionsupport tool for NMFS, allowing us to 

address cumulative effects over a longer 

time frame, consider a wider range of 

reasonable alternatives consistent with 

our statutory mandates, and analyze a 

wider range of practicable mitigation 

and monitoring measures for protecting 

marine mammals and the availability of 

marine mammals for subsistence uses. 

Anthropogenic activities are prevalent 

in Cook Inlet, and there are indications 

that the level of activities may increase 

in the coming years. Additionally, 

NMFS continues to be concerned about 

the lack of recovery of the small resident 

population of Cook Inlet beluga whales, 

which is both depleted under the 

MMPA and listed as endangered under 

the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

Preparation of an EIS, which will allow 

for a more comprehensive analysis of 

alternatives and mitigation and 

monitoring measures, will not only 

achieve greater administrative efficiency 

for NMFS’ ITA program but will 

increase NMFS’ options and flexibility 

for processing MMPA ITA requests in 

the region while ensuring compliance 

with MMPA, ESA, and NEPA mandates. 

NMFS has determined that the 

preparation of such an EIS will provide 

the best decision support tool for 

processing MMPA ITA requests in Cook 

Inlet. 

Types of Information Requested 

NMFS invites the participation of 

Federal agencies, State of Alaska, local, 

and tribal government entities, Native 

American and Native Alaskan 

organizations, environmental and fish 

and wildlife organizations, the oil and 

gas industry, non-energy industries, 

other interested organizations and 

entities, and the general public, for use 

in the preparation of this EIS. To help 

us determine the scope and the 

significant issues to be analyzed in 

depth in the EIS, NMFS is seeking a 

wide array of information about: (1) The 

ecological, social, and economic 

environments and values in Cook Inlet, 

Alaska; (2) the potential impact of 

various types of human activities in 

Cook Inlet (e.g., oil and gas exploration 

and development, construction, port 

redevelopment projects, etc.) on the 

marine, coastal and human 

environments; (3) subsistence activities 

and uses of marine mammals in Cook 

Inlet; (4) the acoustic environment in 

Cook Inlet; (5) proposed and upcoming 

projects within Cook Inlet; (6) ways to 

assess, mitigate, minimize, and monitor 

impacts of activities on marine 

mammals (especially beluga whales) 

and their habitats (including prey 

species); and (7) any other relevant 

information. 

Public Meetings 

We will hold a public scoping 

meeting in Anchorage, AK, on Monday, 

November 3, 2014, from 6:00 to 8:00 

p.m. at the Loussac Library’s Wilda 

Marston Theater located at 3600 Denali 

Street, Anchorage, AK 99503. Written 

and oral comments will be accepted at 

the public meeting. 

Dated: October 7, 2014. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24317 Filed 10–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Indirect Cost Rates for the 

Damage Assessment, Remediation, 

and Restoration Program for Fiscal 

Year 2013 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Indirect Cost Rates for 

the Damage Assessment, Remediation, 

and Restoration Program for Fiscal Year 

2013. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration’s 

(NOAA’s) Damage Assessment, 

Remediation, and Restoration Program 

(DARRP) is announcing new indirect 

cost rates on the recovery of indirect 

costs for its component organizations 

involved in natural resource damage 

assessment and restoration activities for 

fiscal year (FY) 2013 . The indirect cost 

rates for this fiscal year and date of 

implementation are provided in this 

notice. More information on these rates 

and the DARRP policy can be found at 

the DARRP Web site at 

www.darrp.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, contact LaTonya 

Burgess at 301–713–4248, ext. 211, by 

fax at 301–713–4389, or email at 

LaTonya.Burgess@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

mission of the DARRP is to restore 

natural resource injuries caused by 

releases of hazardous substances or oil 

under the Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, 

Compensation, and Liability Act 

(CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) and 

the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) (33 

U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), and to support 

restoration of physical injuries to 

National Marine Sanctuary resources 

under the National Marine Sanctuaries 

Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). 

The DARRP consists of three component 

organizations: the Office of Response 

and Restoration (ORR) within the 

National Ocean Service; the Restoration 

Center within the National Marine 

Fisheries Service; and the Office of the 

General Counsel Natural Resources 

Section (GCNRS). The DARRP conducts 

Natural Resource Damage Assessments 

(NRDAs) as a basis for recovering 

damages from responsible parties, and 

uses the funds recovered to restore 

injured natural resources. 

Consistent with federal accounting 

requirements, the DARRP is required to 

account for and report the full costs of 

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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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