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Notices Federal Register

78779 

Vol. 79, No. 250 

Wednesday, December 31, 2014 

GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM 

RESTORATION COUNCIL 

Announcement for Spill Impact 

Component Planning Grants Restore 

Council 

Agency: Gulf Coast Ecosystem 

Restoration Council. 

RFA Name: Spill Impact Component 

Planning Grants 

Announcement Type: Initial 

Funding Opportunity Number: GCC– 

GRANT–SEP–15–001 

Fiscal Year: FY 2015 and later 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 87.052 

Dates: Planning State Expenditure 

Plans will be accepted on a rolling basis. 

All administrative grant application 

materials are due 30 days after official 

written approval of the planning State 

Expenditure Plan. 

Additional information: 

This announcement provides 

guidance to the Gulf Coast States— 

defined as any of the States of Alabama, 

Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and 

Texas—or the Gulf Coast States’ 

administrative agents and the Gulf 

Consortium of Florida counties 

(collectively referred to in this 

announcement as ‘‘eligible entities’’) to 

apply for grants to fund planning 

activities to develop individual State 

Expenditure Plans (SEP) under the Spill 

Impact Component of the Resources and 

Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist 

Opportunities, and Revived Economies 

of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 

(RESTORE Act). The eligible entities 

may apply to the Council for a grant to 

use the minimum allocation available 

under the Spill Impact Component of 

the RESTORE Act for planning 

purposes. The submission process for 

this announcement is organized into 

two phases: (1) The submission of a 

planning SEP by a Gulf Coast State; and 

(2) the administrative application 

process, which includes the submission 

of all administrative grant application 

materials by the eligible entities. 

All planning activities proposed 

under this announcement are limited to 

the development of a comprehensive 

SEP, including conceptual design and 

feasibility studies related to specific 

projects. This announcement does not 

include engineering and environmental 

studies related to specific projects. It 

also does not include any pre-award 

costs incurred prior to August 22, 2014. 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

The RESTORE Act, Public Law 112– 

141 (July 6, 2012), codified at 33 U.S.C. 

1321(t) and note, makes funds available 

for the restoration and protection of the 

Gulf Coast Region through a new trust 

fund in the Treasury of the United 

States, known as the Gulf Coast 

Restoration Trust Fund (‘‘Trust Fund’’). 

The Trust Fund will contain 80 percent 

of the administrative and civil penalties 

paid by the responsible parties after July 

6, 2012, under the Federal Water 

Pollution Control Act in connection 

with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

These funds will be invested and made 

available through five components of 

the RESTORE Act. On August 15, 2014, 

the Department of Treasury (Treasury) 

issued regulations (79 FR 48039) 

applicable to all five components, and 

which generally describe the 

responsibilities of the Federal and State 

entities that administer RESTORE Act 

programs and carry out restoration 

activities in the Gulf Coast Region. 

Two of the five components, the 

Comprehensive Plan and Spill Impact 

Components, are administered by the 

Council, an independent federal entity 

created by the RESTORE Act. Under the 

Spill Impact Component (33 U.S.C. 

1321(t)(3)), 30 percent of funds in the 

Trust Fund will be disbursed to the five 

Gulf Coast States or their administrative 

agents based on an allocation formula 

established by the Council by regulation 

based on criteria in the RESTORE Act. 

The Council is currently developing 

another set of regulations to more fully 

implement the Spill Impact Component 

of the RESTORE Act. These regulations 

will be published in the Federal 

Register at a later date and will establish 

how funds made available from the 

Trust Fund will be allocated based on 

the formula between the five Gulf Coast 

States. It will also generally describe the 

responsibilities of the Gulf Coast States 

in applying for and administering the 

financial assistance awards made under 

the Spill Impact Component. 

A. Program Objective and Priorities 

The purpose of the announcement is 

to solicit applications for State 

Expenditure Plans (SEP) planning 

grants. All planning activities proposed 

under this announcement are limited to 

the development of a comprehensive 

SEP, including conceptual design and 

feasibility studies related to specific 

projects. This announcement does not 

cover applications that propose 

engineering and environmental studies 

related to specific projects. It also does 

not include any pre-award costs 

incurred prior to publication of the 

RESTORE Council’s RESTORE Act Spill 

Impact Component Planning Allocation 

Interim Final Rule (79 FR 49690) on 

August 22, 2014. Pre-award costs 

incurred after the date of publication 

will be evaluated pursuant to 2 CFR part 

200. Pre-award costs, as defined by 2 

CFR part 200.458, are those incurred 

prior to the effective date of the Federal 

award directly pursuant to the 

negotiation and in anticipation of the 

Federal award where such costs are 

necessary for efficient and timely 

performance of the scope of work. Such 

costs are allowable only to the extent 

that they would have been allowable if 

incurred after the date of the Federal 

award and only with the written 

approval of the Federal awarding 

agency. 

The submission process for this 

announcement is organized into two 

phases: (1) The submission of a 

planning SEP by a Gulf Coast State 

Council member which will be 

approved by the Chairperson of the 

RESTORE Council; and (2) the 

administrative application process for 

the planning grants, which includes the 

submission of all administrative grant 

application materials by the eligible 

entities. 

B. Program Authority 

33 U.S.C. 1321(t)(3), and 40 CFR part 

1800, the RESTORE Council’s RESTORE 

Act Spill Impact Component Planning 

Allocation (79 FR 49690, August 22, 

2014). 

II. Award Information 

A. Funding Availability 

For this planning grant 

announcement, an eligible entity cannot 

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apply for more than the five (5) percent 

statutory minimum of the current 

amount available. 

The amount currently available is 

$48,977,572.60 or $9,795,514.52 per 

eligible entity. 

B. Project/Award Period 

The award period for these grants 

should not exceed one year (12 months). 

C. Type of Funding Instrument 

The funds the Council disburses to 

the eligible entities will be in the form 

of grants. 

III. Eligibility Information 

A. Eligible Applicants 

Eligible applicants are the Gulf Coast 

States—defined in 33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(34) 

as any of the States of Alabama, Florida, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas—or 

their administrative agents and the Gulf 

Consortium of Florida counties 

(collectively referred to in this 

announcement as ‘‘eligible entities’’). 

No other entities are eligible to apply 

under this announcement. 

B. Cost-Sharing or Matching 

There is no cost share or match 

requirement. 

C. Other 

This announcement does not include 

any pre-award costs incurred prior to 

publication of the RESTORE Council’s 

RESTORE Act Spill Impact Component 

Planning Allocation Interim Final Rule 

(79 FR 49690) on August 22, 2014. Preaward costs incurred after the date of 

publication of the Interim Final Rule 

will be evaluated pursuant to 2 CFR part 

200. Pre-award costs, as defined by 2 

CFR part 200.458, are those incurred 

prior to the effective date of the Federal 

award directly pursuant to the 

negotiation and in anticipation of the 

Federal award where such costs are 

necessary for efficient and timely 

performance of the scope of work. Such 

costs are allowable only to the extent 

that they would have been allowable if 

incurred after the date of the Federal 

award and only with the written 

approval of the Federal awarding 

agency. Pre-award costs are subject to 

review and written approval by the 

RESTORE Council and are not 

guaranteed under this announcement. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

A. Address To Request Application 

Package 

Eligible entities can download 

application forms and other material 

necessary to apply for the Spill Impact 

Component planning grants through the 

RESTORE Council Web site at http://

www.restorethegulf.gov/ourwork/spillimpact. 

B. Content and Form of Application 

This is a two-phase application 

process. The first part of the application 

process is the submission of a planning 

State Expenditure Plan by a Gulf Coast 

State, which must be approved by the 

RESTORE Council Chairperson. The 

second part of the application process is 

the submission of all administrative 

grant application materials by the 

eligible entities. 

All planning activities authorized 

under this announcement must relate 

solely to the development of a 

comprehensive SEP. This includes 

conceptual design and feasibility 

studies related to specific projects. The 

intended outcome of awards funded 

under this announcement is the 

development of a SEP that meets the 

requirements listed in this 

announcement, is acceptable to the 

applicable Gulf Coast State and is 

approved by the Council Chairperson. 

Funds under this announcement cannot 

be used for the following: Engineering 

and environmental studies related to 

specific projects, or pre-award costs 

incurred prior to the date of publication 

of the RESTORE Council’s RESTORE 

Act Spill Impact Component Planning 

Allocation Interim Final Rule (79 FR 

49690) on August 22, 2014. For the 

purposes of this announcement, all 

activities included in the SEP must be 

eligible activities as defined by the 

RESTORE Act. 

The RESTORE Act establishes a 

statutory minimum under which each of 

the five Gulf Coast States is guaranteed 

five (5) percent of the funds made 

available in the Spill Impact Component 

in fiscal year 2015. 

The materials submitted under both 

the planning SEP phase and 

administrative grant application phase 

should include consecutively numbered 

pages and label all sections. 

Applications should be formatted to 

print on 8.5′′ x 11′′ paper, with 1′′ 

margins at the top, bottom, and both 

sides, and page numbers at the bottom 

of the page. Fonts should be legible, i.e., 

preferably 12 point Arial, Times New 

Roman, or other commonly used font. 

Applications for funding under this 

announcement must include all of the 

following listed under each phase: 

Phase I: Submission of Planning State 

Expenditure Plan: 

The Planning State Expenditure Plan 

(SEP) must include the following: 

1. Executive Summary: 

a. Entity name and name of Gulf Coast 

State. 

b. Contact information for the 

authorizing official—Include the name, 

title, organization, address, telephone 

number, fax number, and email address; 

if applicable, include contact 

information for additional points of 

contact. 

2. Planning SEP Narrative addressing 

the following: 

a. The planning activities proposed 

are limited to the development of a 

comprehensive SEP (defined as an 

eligible activity in 33 U.S.C. 

1321(t)(1)(B)(i)(III)), including 

conceptual design and feasibility 

studies related to specific projects; 

b. Contributes to the overall economic 

and ecological recovery of the Gulf 

Coast. 

c. Takes into consideration and is 

consistent with the goals and objectives 

of the Comprehensive Plan. 

d. Does not include costs for 

infrastructure or engineering and 

environmental studies related to 

specific projects. 

This planning SEP will be for the 

limited purpose of developing a 

comprehensive State Expenditure Plan 

which may include conceptual design 

and feasibility studies related to specific 

projects. Detailed budget and project 

narrative information is required as part 

of Phase II, see below. 

The planning SEP must be reviewed 

and approved by the RESTORE Council 

Chairperson prior to an eligible entity’s 

submission of Phase II application 

materials. 

Phase II: Submission of 

Administrative Grant Application 

Materials: 

1. Required Forms: 

a. Form SF–424, ‘‘Application for 

Federal Assistance.’’ 

b. Form SF–424A, ‘‘Budget 

Information—Non-Construction 

Programs.’’ 

c. Form SF–424B, ‘‘Assurances—NonConstruction Programs.’’ 

d. Form CD–511, ‘‘Certification 

Regarding Lobbying.’’ 

e. Form SF–LLL, ‘‘Disclosure of 

Lobbying Activities,’’ if applicable. 

2. Project Narrative: Include a concise 

project narrative that identifies and 

describes how the funds will be used to 

develop the SEP. 

3. Budget Narrative: Include a 

detailed narrative of how the funds will 

be spent on this planning grant. The 

budget narrative categories should 

match the line item budget categories on 

the SF–424A (listed directly below). 

Definitions of each line item follow: 

a. Personnel—This refers to salaries 

and wages paid to employees of the 

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1 If an applicant previously registered in the 

Central Contractor Registration (CCR), it will need 

to register with SAM. Note that a CCR username 

will not work in SAM; an applicant must create a 

new SAM User Account to renew or update its 

registration. Authorizations and credential 

corrections can take several days to establish. Please 

plan accordingly to avoid late submissions. For 

further information please visit the SAM web portal 

(https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/.) 

grantee organization who are directly 

involved in grant implementation. This 

line item does not include personnel 

hired by a sub-grantee; those costs are 

included in the ‘‘Contractual’’ line item. 

b. Fringe Benefits—This refers to the 

allowances and services provided by 

employers to their employees as 

compensation in addition to regular 

salaries and wages. Fringe benefits 

include, but are not limited to, the costs 

of leave (vacation, family-related, sick or 

military), employee insurance, 

pensions, and unemployment benefit 

plans. 

c. Travel—This refers to the expenses 

for transportation, lodging, subsistence, 

and related items incurred by 

employees who are in travel status on 

official business of the non-Federal 

entity. Such costs may be charged on an 

actual cost basis, on a per diem or 

mileage basis in lieu of actual costs 

incurred, or on a combination of the 

two, provided the method used is 

applied to an entire trip and not to 

selected days of the trip, and results in 

charges consistent with those normally 

allowed in like circumstances in the 

non-Federal entity’s non-federallyfunded activities and in accordance 

with non-Federal entity’s written travel 

reimbursement policies. This line item 

does not include travel expenses of a 

sub-grantee; those costs are included in 

the ‘‘Contractual’’ line item. 

d. Equipment—This refers to tangible 

personal property (including 

information technology systems) having 

a useful life of more than one year and 

a per-unit acquisition cost which equals 

or exceeds the lesser of the 

capitalization level established by the 

non-Federal entity for financial 

statement purposes, or $5,000. 

e. Supplies—This refers to all tangible 

personal property other equipment. A 

computing device is a supply if the 

acquisition cost is less than the lesser of 

the capitalization level established by 

the non-Federal entity for financial 

statement purposes or $5,000, regardless 

of the length of its useful life. 

f. Contractual—This refers to 

purchases of property or services 

needed to carry out the project or 

program under a Federal award. It is not 

specific to the legal instrument being 

used, so it may include both subawards 

and subcontracts. 

g. Construction—[not applicable] 

h. Other—This refers to Direct costs 

that do not fit any of the aforementioned 

categories, such as rent for buildings 

used to conduct grant activities, utilities 

and/or leased equipment, transportation 

expenses, tuition for training, etc. 

i. Indirect costs—This refers to costs 

incurred for a common or joint purpose 

benefitting more than one cost objective, 

and not readily assignable to the cost 

objectives specifically benefitted, 

without effort disproportionate to the 

results achieved. See Section VI.B.3. for 

details on the three percent cap on 

certain indirect costs. 

4. Certification and Documentation 

addressing the following: 

a. The applicant has a financial 

management system in place meeting 

the standards prescribed in 2 CFR part 

200 that tracks and records program 

expenditures; 

b. The applicant has an accounting 

system that identifies the receipts and 

expenditures of program funds 

separately for each award; 

c. The applicant’s history of 

performance in managing Federal 

awards (e.g. timeliness of compliance 

with reporting, conformance with terms 

and conditions); 

d. The results of applicant’s previous 

audits; and 

e. The applicant’s ability to effectively 

implement statutory, regulatory, or 

other requirements imposed on nonFederal entities. 

Based on the responses to this 

certification, the RESTORE Council will 

review the risk posed by applicants or 

when an applicant or recipient has a 

history of failure to comply with the 

general or specific terms and conditions 

of a Federal award, or failure to meet 

expected performance goals as 

described in 2 CFR part § 200.210 

contained in a Federal award, or is not 

otherwise responsible, the RESTORE 

Council may impose additional specific 

award conditions as needed. 

C. Dun and Bradstreet Universal 

Numbering System (DUNS) Number and 

System for Award Management (SAM). 

Each applicant is required to: (i) Be 

registered in the System for Award 

Management (SAM) before submitting 

its application (www.SAM.gov);1 (ii) 

provide a valid DUNS number in its 

application; and (iii) continue to 

maintain an active SAM registration 

with current information at all times 

during which it has an active Federal 

award or an application or plan under 

consideration by a Federal awarding 

agency. The RESTORE Council may not 

make a Federal award to an applicant 

until the applicant has complied with 

all applicable DUNS and SAM 

requirements and, if an applicant has 

not fully complied with the 

requirements by the time the RESTORE 

Council is ready to make a Federal 

award, the RESTORE Council may 

determine that the applicant is not 

qualified to receive a Federal award. 

D. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications must be submitted via 

email to the following address sepgrant_applications@restorethegulf.gov 

or hard copy submission to the 

following address: Gulf Coast Ecosystem 

Restoration Counsel Office, 500 Poydras 

Street, Suite 1117, New Orleans, LA 

70130. 

Planning State Expenditure Plans will 

be accepted on a rolling basis. 

All administrative grant application 

materials are due 30 days after official 

written approval of the planning State 

Expenditure Plan. 

E. Intergovernmental Review 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs,’’ was issued with the intent to 

foster the intergovernmental partnership 

and strengthen federalism by relying on 

State and local processes for the 

coordination and review of proposed 

Federal financial assistance and direct 

Federal development. Consistent with 

the RESTORE Act, the five Gulf States 

are voting members of the Council and 

all five States participated in the design 

and implementation of this grant 

program. 

F. Funding Restrictions: 

Of the amounts received by an eligible 

entity in a grant under this 

announcement, not more than three 

percent may be used for administrative 

costs. The three percent limit is applied 

to the total amount of funds received by 

a recipient under each grant. The three 

percent limit does not apply to the 

administrative costs of subrecipients. 

All subrecipient costs are subject to the 

cost principles in Federal law and 

policies on grants. Administrative costs 

are defined as those indirect costs for 

administration incurred by the Gulf 

Coast States, coastal political 

subdivisions, and coastal zone parishes 

that are allocable to activities authorized 

under the Act. Administrative costs may 

include costs for general management 

functions, general ledger accounting, 

budgeting, human resource services, 

general procurement services, and 

general legal services. Administrative 

costs do not include indirect costs that 

are identified specifically with, or 

readily assignable to: (1) Facilities; (2) 

Eligible projects, programs, or planning 

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activities; or (3) Activities relating to 

grant applications, awards, audit 

requirements, or post-award 

management, including payments and 

collections. See the http://www.restore

thegulf.gov/ourwork/spill-impact Web 

site for an example of administrative 

costs. 

All planning activities proposed 

under this announcement are limited to 

the development of a comprehensive 

SEP, including conceptual design and 

feasibility studies related to specific 

projects. This announcement does not 

cover applications that propose 

engineering and environmental studies 

related to specific projects. 

G. Other Submission Requirements: 

None. 

V. Application Review Information 

A. Evaluation Criteria 

Only eligible recipients (Section 

III.A.) may apply for Spill Impact 

planning grant funds. The critical 

components, information, and criteria 

necessary to be provided in an 

application for planning grant funds are 

identified in, but not limited to, Section 

IV. 

B. Review and Selection Process 

The Spill Impact component is noncompetitive with Congressionallyrequired authorized uses. Instead of a 

selection process, there is a review and 

approval process. The RESTORE 

Council may (1) review and approve an 

application, (2) work with eligible 

entities to revise applications and 

resubmit, or (3) rescind applications, as 

appropriate. All Spill Impact planning 

grant funding restrictions, as discussed 

above, must be met and applicants must 

adhere to the appropriate administrative 

requirements and cost principles prior 

to receipt of a grant award and 

throughout the grant period. 

Phase I: Review of Planning State 

Expenditure Plan: 

The RESTORE Council Chairperson 

will review each minimal State 

Expenditure Plan to ensure that it: 

1. The planning activities proposed 

are limited to the development of a 

comprehensive SEP (defined as an 

eligible activity in 33 U.S.C. 

1321(t)(1)(B)(i)(III)), including 

conceptual design and feasibility 

studies related to specific projects; 

2. Contributes to the overall economic 

and ecological recovery of the Gulf 

Coast. 

3. Takes into consideration and is 

consistent with the goals and objectives 

of the Comprehensive Plan. 

4. Does not include costs for 

infrastructure or engineering and 

environmental studies related to 

specific projects. 

After reviewing the planning SEP, the 

Chairperson will approve or disapprove 

the planning SEP. Once the planning 

SEP is approved, the applicant will 

submit materials required under Phase 

II, and the review process for Phase II 

will take place. In the event that a 

planning SEP is disapproved, the 

Council will provide, within 60 days of 

the receipt of the planning SEP, the 

reason(s) for disapproval in writing and 

consult with the applicant to address 

any deficiencies with the planning SEP. 

If the planning SEP is disapproved, the 

applicant may submit a revised 

planning SEP for review and approval. 

Phase II: Review of Administrative 

Grant Application Materials: 

The RESTORE Council will review 

the technical, best available science and 

environmental components of a project 

to ensure compliance with RESTORE 

Council program requirements. The 

technical reviews include evaluating the 

adequacy of the information submitted, 

including, but not limited to the 

following: 

1. The clear applicability to the 

authorized uses; 

2. Clear, concise goals; and 

3. Objectives with measurable 

planning outcome. 

All required forms and application 

components (Section IV) will be 

reviewed and approved before the 

award is made. 

D. Anticipated Award Dates 

After receipt of a compliant grant 

application, grant awards are 

anticipated to be made within 60 days. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

Payments will be on a reimbursement 

basis for these awards. Payments are 

made upon receipt and approval of an 

invoice from the grant recipient. 

Invoices must be sent directly to the 

Administrative Resource Center at the 

Department of the Treasury, the office 

that handles the RESTORE Council’s 

accounting, email Grants@

fiscal.treasury.gov. The RESTORE 

Council must be copied via email to 

sep-invoicepmts@restorethegulf.gov in 

the payment request invoice email. 

The required invoice information for 

a payment request is: 

• Vendor Name: Grantee name as 

entered in SAM (or the ‘‘Doing Business 

As’’ name in SAM) 

• Duns #: From SAM 

• Invoice # or Account # 

• PO#: Invoice should reference the 

PO#. (It can reference PO line and 

shipment or that can be specified by the 

invoice approver on the approval form) 

• Description: Similar to the PO 

description and includes prices, 

quantities, services provided, etc., as 

applicable. 

• Invoice date or service period 

• Dollar Amount 

Once an invoice request has been 

submitted through the system, invoices 

will be transmitted to the Council’s 

Invoice Approver for review and 

confirm that the request adheres to the 

terms and conditions of the grant award. 

After the Council Invoice Approver 

provides the Administrative Resource 

Center with approval, the payment will 

be made by electronic funds transfer, 

using the banking information that the 

recipient has provided in the System for 

Awards Management (SAM). 

A. Award Notices 

Successful applicants will receive 

official notification of funding signed by 

an authorizing Grants Officer. 

Notifications will be issued to the 

Authorizing Official either 

electronically or in hard copy. 

Unsuccessful applicants will be notified 

by the Council after successful 

applicants receive notification. 

B. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

1. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

Administrative and national policy 

requirements for all RESTORE Council 

awards apply to this competition. These 

requirements may be found in the 

Council Pre-Award Notification 

Requirements for Grants Agreements, 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 24, 2014 (79 FR 69822). This 

notice may be accessed at the 

Government Printing Office (GPO) Web 

site at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

browse/collection.action?collection

Code=FR. 

2. Limitation of Liability 

In no event will the RESTORE 

Council be responsible for proposal 

preparation costs if these projects or 

programs fail to receive funding or are 

cancelled because of other agency 

priorities. Publication of this 

announcement does not oblige the 

RESTORE Council to award any specific 

project or program, or to obligate any 

available funds. Recipients are subject 

to all Federal laws and agency policies, 

regulations, and procedures applicable 

to Federal financial assistance awards. 

3. Three Percent Cap on Indirect Costs 

The total allowable indirect costs are 

subject to the three (3) percent cap on 

administrative costs stated in 33 U.S.C. 

1321(t)(1)(iii). Pursuant to 31 CFR 34.2, 

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administrative costs means those 

indirect costs for administration 

incurred by the Gulf Coast States, 

coastal political subdivisions, and 

coastal zone parishes that are allocable 

to activities authorized under the Act. 

Administrative costs may include costs 

for general management functions, 

general ledger accounting, budgeting, 

human resource services, general 

procurement services, and general legal 

services. Administrative costs do not 

include indirect costs that are identified 

specifically with, or readily assignable 

to: (1) Facilities; (2) Eligible projects, 

programs, or planning activities; or (3) 

Activities relating to grant applications, 

awards, audit requirements, or postaward management, including payments 

and collections. 

C. Reporting 

Recipients will be required to submit 

financial and performance (technical) 

reports (also known as progress reports). 

All financial reports shall be submitted 

to Office of Finance and Budget, Chief 

Financial Officer/Director of 

Administration, RESTORE in 

accordance with the award conditions. 

Electronic submission of financial 

reports is preferred via email to sepfinancialrpts@restorethegulf.gov. 

Performance reports should be 

submitted to the Deputy Director/

Director of Programs. Performance 

reports must include the status of a SEP 

that meets the requirements listed in 

this announcement, specifically, that it 

is acceptable to the applicable Gulf 

Coast State and is approved by the 

Council Chairperson. Electronic 

submission of performance reports is 

preferred via email to sepperformancerpts@restorethegulf.gov. All 

reports will be submitted on a basis 

determined by the results of an 

applicant’s risk assessment. In any 

event, reports will be submitted no less 

frequently than annually, and no more 

frequently than quarterly, unless more 

frequent reporting is deemed necessary. 

Reports must be submitted no later than 

30 days following the end of each 

period, if reporting is less than 

annually, from the start date of the 

award. The comprehensive final report 

is due 90 days after the award 

expiration. 

The Federal Funding Accountability 

and Transparency Act of 2006 includes 

a requirement for awardees of 

applicable Federal grants to report 

information about first-tier sub-awards 

and executive compensation under 

Federal assistance awards issued in FY 

2011 or later. All awardees of applicable 

grants and cooperative agreements are 

required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) 

available at www.FSRS.gov on all subawards over $25,000. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

The contact for questions about this 

announcement is Mary Pleffner. Her 

email contact information is email: 

mary.pleffner@restorethegulf.gov; 

telephone number: 813–995–2025; and 

mailing address is Gulf Coast Ecosystem 

Restoration Counsel Office, 500 Poydras 

Street, Suite 1117, New Orleans, LA 

70130. 

VIII. Other Information 

A. New Program 

This is an announcement for a new 

Federal grant program authorized by the 

Oil Spill Restoration Impact Allocation 

Component of the Resources and 

Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist 

Opportunities, and Revived Economies 

of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 

(RESTORE Act), specifically, 33 U.S.C. 

1321(t)(3), and 40 CFR part 1800, 

RESTORE Council’s RESTORE Act Spill 

Impact Component Planning Allocation 

(79 FR 49690, August 22, 2014). 

B. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

Council adopts the requirements of 

the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

as 5 U.S.C. 552. This statute sets forth 

rules for the Council regarding making 

requested materials, information, and 

records publicly available under the 

FOIA. Applications submitted in 

response to this announcement may be 

subject to requests for release under the 

FOIA. In the event that an application 

contains information or data that the 

applicant deems to be confidential 

commercial information which is 

exempt from disclosure under FOIA, 

that information should be identified, 

bracketed, and marked as Privileged, 

Confidential, Commercial or Financial 

Information. Based on these markings, 

the confidentiality of the contents of 

those pages will be protected to the 

extent permitted by law. 

C. Uniform Administrative 

Requirements, Cost Principles, and 

Audit Requirements for Federal Awards 

On December 26, 2013, OMB 

published final guidance titled Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards (OMB Uniform 

Guidance) (https://www.Federalregister.

gov/articles/2013/12/26/2013-30465/

uniform-administrative-requirementscost-principles-and-audit-requirementsfor-Federal-awards), which streamlines 

the language from eight existing OMB 

circulars, including Cost Principles 

(OMB Circulars A–21, A–87, A–122) 

and administrative requirements (OMB 

Circulars A–102 and A–110), into one 

consolidated set of guidance applicable 

to Federal assistance awards. The OMB 

Uniform Guidance applies to awards 

made by the RESTORE Council. 

Applicants should familiarize 

themselves with the OMB Uniform 

Guidance. Additional information on 

the substance of and transition to the 

OMB Uniform Guidance may be found 

at https://cfo.gov/cofar/. 

Will D. Spoon, 

Program Analyst. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30566 Filed 12–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Census Employment Inquiry. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0139. 

Form Number(s): BC–170A, BC–170B, 

BC–170D. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

Previously Approved Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 65,000. 

Average Hours per Response: 15 

minutes. 

Burden Hours: 16,250. 

Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau 

proposed using a revised employment 

form, however based upon program 

needs we have decided not to use the 

revised form at this time. We will use 

the existing form for our recruitment 

needs in 2015 and explore revising the 

employment inquiry form in the future. 

Job applicants complete the BC–170 

(A, B, and D) before, or at the time, they 

are tested. Selecting officials will review 

the information shown on the form and 

determine the applicant’s employment 

suitability. Failure to collect this 

information could result in the hiring of 

unsuitable and/or unqualified workers. 

Information quality is an integral part 

of the pre-dissemination review of the 

information disseminated by the Census 

Bureau (fully described in the Census 

Bureau’s Information Quality 

Guidelines). Information quality is also 

integral to the information collections 

conducted by the Census Bureau and is 

incorporated into the clearance process 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. 

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