Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2001 / Notices 65939

more effectively elicit program-specific

information to be used for program

monitoring and Government

Performance and Results Act (GPRA)

reporting purposes. The Annual

Performance Report will be the

cornerstone of a new Performance

Measurement System tailored to

strengthen the Department of

Education’s program monitoring efforts,

streamline our processes, and enhance

our customer service.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request may be

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, or

should be addressed to Vivian Reese,

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW., Room 4050, Regional

Office Building 3, Washington, DC

20202–4651. Requests may also be

electronically mailed to the internet

address OCIO.RIMG@ed.gov or faxed to

202–708–9346. Please specify the

complete title of the information

collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the

collection activity requirements should

be directed to Joe Schubart at (202) 708–

9266 or via his internet address

Joe.Schubart@ed gov. Individuals who

use a telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.

[FR Doc. 01–31440 Filed 12–20–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed information

collection requests.

SUMMARY: The Leader, Regulatory

Information Management, Office of the

Chief Information Officer, invites

comments on the proposed information

collection requests as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: An emergency review has been

requested in accordance with the Act

(44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), since

public harm is reasonably likely to

result if normal clearance procedures

are followed. Approval by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) has

been requested by January 2, 2002. A

regular clearance process is also

beginning. Interested persons are

invited to submit comments on or before

February 19, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

regarding the emergency review should

be addressed to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Attention: Karen Lee, Desk Officer:

Department of Education, Office of

Management and Budget; 725 17th

Street, NW., Room 10235, New

Executive Office Building, Washington,

DC 20503 or should be electronically

mailed to the internet address

KFLee@omb.eop.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires

that the Director of OMB provide

interested Federal agencies and the

public an early opportunity to comment

on information collection requests. The

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) may amend or waive the

requirement for public consultation to

the extent that public participation in

the approval process would defeat the

purpose of the information collection,

violate State or Federal law, or

substantially interfere with any agency’s

ability to perform its statutory

obligations. The Leader, Information

Management Group, Office of the Chief

Information Officer, publishes this

notice containing proposed information

collection requests at the beginning of

the Departmental review of the

information collection. Each proposed

information collection, grouped by

office, contains the following: (1) Type

of review requested, e.g., new, revision,

extension, existing or reinstatement; (2)

Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4)

Description of the need for, and

proposed use of, the information; (5)

Respondents and frequency of

collection; and (6) Reporting and/or

Recordkeeping burden. ED invites

public comment. The Department of

Education is especially interested in

public comment addressing the

following issues: (1) Is this collection

necessary to the proper functions of the

Department; (2) will this information be

processed and used in a timely manner;

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;

(4) how might the Department enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (5) how

might the Department minimize the

burden of this collection on

respondents, including through the use

of information technology.

Dated: December 17, 2001.

John Tressler, Leader,

Regulatory Information Management, Office

of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Type of Review: New.

Title: Survey on Ensuring Equal

Opportunity for Applicants. Abstract: To ensure equal opportunity

for all applicants including small

community-based, faith-based and

religious groups, it is essential to collect

information that allows Federal agencies

to determine the level of participation of

such organizations in Federal grant

programs while ensuring that such

information is not used in grant-making

decisions.

Additional Information: The

Department requests emergency

processing for the ‘‘Survey on Ensuring

Equal Opportunity for Applicants’’

which tracks the participation level of

faith-based and community

organizations in grant programs. The

ability to utilize this form immediately

is critical to the implementation of

President’s Bush’s Faith-based and

Community Initiative established by an

Executive Order dated January 29, 2001

and to carry out the mandate of Section

3(b) of that order. As Congress may

enact authorizing and appropriating

legislation for the U.S. Department of

Education in mid December 2001, it will

be necessary to roll out grant

application materials as soon as possible

to expeditiously fund much needed

social programs in Fiscal Year 2002.

Since this form must be included in

grant application packages, delay in the

approval of this form could delay the

funding of grant programs. Since this

unanticipated event, the Department has

consulted with the Office of

Management and Budget, the White

House Office of Faith-based and

Community Initiatives as well as the

four Centers for Faith-based and

Community Initiatives at the

Department of Health and Human

Services, Department of Labor,

Department of Housing and Urban

Development, and the Department of

Justice. The Department requests

approval by January 2, 2002.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit

institutions; State, Local, or Tribal

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden: 

Responses: 17,000,

Burden Hours: 1,360.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request should be

addressed to Vivian Reese, Department

of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,

SW., Room 4050, Regional Office

Building 3, Washington, DC 20202–

4651, or should be electronically mailed

to the internet address

OCIO.RIMG@ed.gov, or should be faxed

to 202–708–9346.

Comments regarding burden and/or

the collection activity requirements,

contact Kathy Axt at (540) 776–7742 or

via her internet address

Kathy.Axt@ed.gov. Individuals who use

a telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

65940 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2001 / Notices

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.

[FR Doc. 01–31441 Filed 12–20–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Science Financial Assistance

Program Notice 02–11: Ocean Carbon

Sequestration Research Program

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice inviting grant

applications.

SUMMARY: The Office of Biological and

Environmental Research (OBER) of the

Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department

of Energy (DOE), hereby announces its

interest in receiving applications for

research on Carbon Sequestration in the

Oceans.

DATES: Applicants are strongly

encouraged to submit a brief

preapplication for programmatic review

no later than January 18, 2002.

The deadline for receipt of formal

applications is 4:30 p.m., E.S.T., March

26, 2002, to be accepted for merit review

and to permit timely consideration for

award in Fiscal Year 2002 and early

Fiscal Year 2003.

ADDRESSES: Preapplications should be

sent via E-mail to Dr. Anna Palmisano

at: anna.palmisano@science.doe.gov.

Formal applications, referencing

Program Notice 02–11, should be sent

to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of

Science, Grants and Contracts Division,

SC–64, 19901 Germantown Road,

Germantown, MD 20874–1290, ATTN:

Program Notice 02–11. This address

must also be used when submitting

applications by U.S. Postal Service

Express Mail or any other commercial

overnight delivery service, or when

hand-carried by the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Anna Palmisano, Environmental

Sciences Division, SC–74, Office of

Biological and Environmental Research,

Office of Science, U.S. Department of

Energy, 19901 Germantown Road,

Germantown, MD 20874–1290,

telephone: (301) 903–9963, E-mail:

anna.palmisano@science.doe.gov, fax:

(301) 903–8519. The full text of Program

Notice 02–11 is available via the

Internet using the following web site

address: http://www.sc.doe.gov/

production/grants/grants.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Predictions of global energy use in the

next century suggest a continued

increase in carbon emissions and rising

concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2)

in the atmosphere unless major changes

are made in the way we produce and

use energy—in particular, how we

manage carbon.

One way to manage carbon is to use

energy more efficiently to reduce our

need for a major energy and carbon

source—fossil fuel combustion. A

second way is to increase our use of

low-carbon and carbon-free fuels and

technologies, such as nuclear power and

renewable sources such as solar energy,

wind power, and biomass fuels.

A third way to manage is by ‘‘carbon

sequestration’’: The capture and long

term storage of carbon either from the

global energy system or directly from

the atmosphere in oceanic or terrestrial

ecosystems. Although many options

exist to capture and sequester carbon

dioxide, the focus of this solicitation is

on fundamental research that would

enable: (a) The enhancement of the

absorption and retention of atmospheric

carbon by ocean biota; and (b) the use

of the deep ocean to store carbon

dioxide that has been already separated,

captured, and transported.

Any viable system for sequestering

carbon must have a number of

characteristics. It must be effective and

cost-competitive with alternative means,

such as renewable energy. Unintended

environmental consequences must be

benign compared to alternative

solutions, including no action. A carbon

sequestration system must be able to be

monitored quantitatively and verified,

because contributions to carbon

sequestration almost certainly need to

be measured. Research sponsored by

this program could contribute to any of

these goals.

This solicitation invites applications

for basic research projects on carbon

sequestration in the oceans. The

proposed research should be

fundamental in nature. Applications

that test demonstrations of engineered

technologies are not relevant to this

solicitation.

Technical Areas of Interest

The ocean represents a large current

sink for the sequestration of

anthropogenic CO2 emissions as well as

a large potential for further

enhancement. Two strategies for

enhancing carbon sequestration in the

ocean are the focus of the DOE Ocean

Carbon Sequestration Research Program.

One strategy is the enhancement of the

net oceanic uptake from the atmosphere

by fertilization of phytoplankton with

micronutrients, such as iron. A second

strategy is the direct injection of a

relatively pure CO2 stream to ocean

depths greater than 1000 m. Sources of

CO2 for direct injection might include

power plants, industries or other

sources. This solicitation seeks

applications that specifically address

the long term effectiveness and potential

environmental consequences of ocean

sequestration by these two strategies.

Research projects currently being

funded under the DOE Ocean Carbon

Sequestration Research Program may be

accessed at: http://cdiac2.esd.ornl.gov/

ocean.html. The program currently

funds projects in a wide range of

scientific disciplines including marine

biology and ecology; biological,

physical, and chemical oceanography;

computational science and modeling;

and physical chemistry and engineering.

Iron Fertilization

Much has been learned about the

important role of iron in photosynthesis

over the past 15 years through both

laboratory and field iron enrichment

experiments. Iron deficiency has been

shown to limit the efficiency of

photosystem II in phytoplankton.

Evidence from paleoceanographic

samples also links iron supply with

marine primary production and carbon

flux. However, critical questions

remain: How does iron enrichment

accelerate carbon flux in high nutrient,

low chlorophyll (HNLC), low nutrient,

low chlorophyll (LNLC), sub-mixed

layer and coastal ecosystems? What are

the time scales of remineralization?

What are the long term ecological and

biogeochemical consequences of

fertilization on surface and midwater

processes? Basic research is needed on

the biogeochemistry of iron and carbon

in the ocean. The accurate measure of

carbon flux following iron fertilization

is critical to the objective evaluation of

this strategy for carbon sequestration.

We need to understand the regulation of

carbon fluxes and the role of mineral

ballast in export of organic carbon from

the surface to the deep ocean. Our

understanding of the concentrations,

sources, sinks and ligands of iron in

marine systems is also very limited. The

complexity of marine ecosystems

necessitates careful research on

potential environmental consequences

of iron fertilization. These consequences

may include the potential to impact key

oceanic biogeochemical cycles as well

as on populations of marine organisms

and their trophodynamic interactions.

Examples of relevant research areas

for enhancement of the biological pump

through iron fertilization include:

1. Environmental consequences of

long term ocean fertilization. Research

might focus on:

• Examining changes in structure and

function of marine ecosystems

including community structure of

phytoplankton and zooplankton, ocean