65454 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

‘‘Information on Employees (Veterans

and non-veterans).’’

[FR Doc. 01–31188 Filed 12–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–79–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 950616159–1292–06; I.D.

022601D]

RIN 0648–ZA16

Northeast Multispecies Fishery;

Fishing Capacity Reduction Program

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Interim final rule;

announcement of a fishing capacity

reduction program and solicitation for

bids from participants.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this interim

final rule to establish a voluntary fishing

capacity reduction program (FCRP) for

the Northeast multispecies fishery that

permanently removes multispecies

limited access fishing permits. Permit

holders who would like to participate

may submit bids, which will be ranked

based on the amount of the bid and an

estimate of the fishing capacity

represented by the permit. The intent of

this program is to obtain the maximum

sustained reduction in fishing capacity

at the least cost. As this is a limited

access fishery, the capacity removed by

the program cannot be replaced. It is

being implemented by an interim final

rule to allow public comments, in

particular on its related Environmental

Assessment and on the determination

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act that

this action will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

DATES: Effective January 18, 2002.

NMFS will accept bids through

February 19, 2002. Comments must be

received on or before January 18, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to National Marine Fisheries

Service, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester,

MA 01930, Attn: Jack Terrill. Comments

involving the reporting burden

estimates or any other aspects of the

collection-of-information requirements

contained in this interim final rule

should be sent to both Jack Terrill and

to the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget (OMB),

Washington, D.C. 20503 (ATTN: NOAA

Desk Officer). Copies of the

Environmental Assessment may be

obtained from Jack Terrill, Fishery

Administrator, National Marine

Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack

Terrill, Fishery Administrator,

(Jack.Terrill@noaa.gov) 978–281–9136

or Daniel Morris, Special Projects

Officer, (Daniel.Morris@noaa.gov) 978–

281–9237. This Federal Register

document is also accessible via the

Internet at the Office of the Federal

Register website at http://

www.access.gpo.gov/su—docs/aces/aces

140.tml.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On July 13, 2000, the President signed

the Military Construction

Appropriations Act for FY 2001 (Act)

(Pub.L. 106–246), which authorized a

$10 million emergency supplemental

appropriation for disaster assistance for

the Northeast multispecies fishery. The

funds are intended to compensate

industry permittees who choose to

participate in a program aimed at

reducing the permitted fishing capacity

in the multispecies fishery. NMFS

published a notice of the proposed

program, solicited comments on the

proposal, and announced nine public

meetings throughout New England at 66

FR 17668, April 3, 2001. NMFS received

21 written comments, one of which was

signed by 88 people. The nine public

meetings were attended by

approximately 130 people; NMFS

responds to the comments below.

Further background for this program is

provided in the April 3, 2001, Federal

Register notice and is not repeated here.

II. Summary of Comments and

Responses

In general, commenters expressed

support for the proposed program,

which would compensate holders of

limited access multispecies permits for

the voluntary surrender of their permits.

Separate from this FCRP, capacity

reduction in the multispecies fishery is

under consideration by the New

England Fishery Management Council

(Council) and is closely related to many

other initiatives, including gear and

time/area restrictions, aimed at

promoting the recovery of depressed

groundfish stocks. During the public

meetings related to the FCRP, NMFS

received many comments regarding

measures under consideration by the

Council. These comments have been

shared with Council staff. Except where

the comments are relevant to this FCRP,

issues related to the Council’s activities

are not addressed in the following

paragraphs.

Relation of the FCRP to Amendment

13. Among its many goals, Amendment

13 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery

Management Plan (FMP), which has

been under development by the Council

for about 2 years, aims to address issues

related to over-capacity in the fishery.

The Council developed an ad hoc

Capacity Committee to develop

management alternatives to reduce the

number of excess days-at-sea (DAS)

allocated in the fishery. Many

commenters expressed concern about

the timing of the FCRP with respect to

Amendment 13. Some suggested that

the FCRP should come after the

Council’s actions. They argued that

Amendment 13 could devalue and/or

invalidate latent permits, and if so, then

the FCRP could remove even more of

the permits or, as others suggested, the

FCRP would be irrelevant. Some

commenters insisted that the FCRP

should come before the implementation

of Amendment 13, suggesting that the

Council’s capacity reduction proposals

could be inappropriate or even rendered

moot, if the FCRP is very successful. In

either case, the uncertainty of the

ultimate proposed measures of

Amendment 13 and the timing of those

measures are confounding factors for

fishers who must decide whether or not

to participate in the FCRP.

The statutory language establishing

the FCRP requires that NMFS

implement the program in a timely

manner, and NMFS has attempted to do

that. NMFS acknowledges that the

uncertainty regarding the capacity

reduction measures in Amendment 13

and the timing thereof may make it

difficult for some permittees to

determine whether or not to participate

in the FCRP and at what level to set

their bids.

Tax implications. Several commenters

asked about the tax implications of

participating in the program, suggested

that the funds should be tax exempt, or

recommended that the payout be spread

across several years to reduce the tax

burden in any 1 year. Others claimed

that taxes could be deferred if the funds

are put in the Fishing Vessel Capital

Construction Fund (CCF)(46 U.S.C.

1177).

Funds received through participation

in the FCRP may be considered taxable

income. The type of income and the tax

rate would be determined by the

participant’s tax situation, and it would

be the responsibility of the program

participant to seek appropriate tax

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 65455

advice and to comply with local, state,

and Federal tax regulations. NMFS

cannot accommodate requests to

disburse funds under the FCRP over 2

tax years. To expedite the payments and

provide consistent service to all

applicants whose bids are accepted,

many of whom may not desire staged

disbursal, NMFS will only distribute

funds to FCRP participants through a

single payment. The CCF is available for

the deferral of taxes on capital gains

realized only through the sale of fishing

vessels, and not permits. The funds

received through the FCRP would not

qualify and could not be placed in the

CCF.

Re-entry of participants. Many

commenters addressed the issue of

FCRP participants possibly re-entering

the multispecies fishery. Some noted

that vessel buyout programs have been

criticized for allowing program

participants to use the proceeds of the

boat/permit sale to buy new boats, gain

new permits and re-enter the fishery.

Some claim that this practice is

unscrupulous and that it undercuts the

perceived benefits of the FCRP.

Commenters recommended prohibitions

on re-entry from several years, to 10

years, to a term based on the rebuilding

of fish stocks. Others recommended

disincentives to dissuade FCRP

participants from re-entering the fishery,

such as reducing their DAS by 50

percent on subsequent permits or

otherwise severely limiting the fishing

effort that could be exerted under the

new permit.

The purpose of the program is not to

remove individuals or corporations from

the fishery; it is to remove excess

capacity as it is represented by limitedaccess multispecies permits. Unlike

vessel buyout programs in the past, the

FCRP established by this rule will

compensate fishers for surrendering

only their limited access Northeast

multispecies permits. NMFS does not

intend to restrict FCRP participants

from working in the multispecies

fishery or any other fishery in the

future. Besides, restrictions on future

fishing by FCRP participants would be

extremely difficult to detect and

enforce. The variations are many and

would be very difficult to track. It is

clear, however, that the multispecies

fishing histories associated with the

permits surrendered under this FCRP

are prohibited from being used or

referenced for qualification in any

future multispecies permitting program.

Though at this time no such programs

are foreseen, NMFS will maintain

records of FCRP participants to enforce

this stipulation of the program. Whether

or not the FCRP participant resumes

working in the fishery, a permit and the

capacity it represents will have been

removed from the finite pool of capacity

forever; thus meeting the goal of the

FCRP.

Some commenters stated that Charter/

Party vessels should be excluded from

the program. Because there is an open

access category for Charter/Party

vessels, these vessels could surrender a

limited access permit, and then acquire

an open access permit and remain in the

fishery. Thus, the surrender of the

permit, they claimed, would have no net

effect on capacity.

The FCRP aims to reduce commercial

fishing capacity in the multispecies

fishery. A vessel owner may currently

hold both a multispecies limited access

permit and an open access Charter/Party

permit, and surrender of the former

would be consistent with the goals of

this program. Open access Charter/Party

vessels are restricted by gear (two hooks

per angler) and passenger capacity and

are prohibited from selling any catch.

While new fishing effort under the

Charter/Party permit category may

slightly confound the benefits of the

FCRP, the restrictions on the Charter/

Party category should minimize the net

effect of effort re-entry. NMFS does not

intend to restrict vessels with Charter/

Party permits from participation in the

FCRP, nor does NMFS intend to change

the access status of the Charter/Party

permit category.

Restrictions on the use of the awarded

funds. Several commenters were

concerned that the funds awarded under

the FCRP might be used to upgrade

fishing vessels and would lead to the

more effective prosecution of the

multispecies fishery or other fisheries.

Some suggested that the funds be

required to go into an Individual

Retirement Account or into some other

similarly restricted fund. Other

commenters stated that the funds

should come with no restrictions on

future use. FCRP participants, they said,

may want to buy a safer boat, pay crew,

or otherwise enhance their businesses.

NMFS concurs that the funds, once

awarded, should not be restricted in

how they are subsequently used. Vessel

upgrades are limited by existing

regulations.

Effort displacement. Comments were

received from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, a state marine

fisheries commissioner, and others

expressing concern over the possibility

that the FCRP will displace effort into

other fisheries. The Council suggested

that the FCRP give highest priority to

‘‘purchasing permits from vessels

possessing groundfish permits only or

those willing to give up their suite of

permits.’’ Another commenter worried

that the FCRP would result in vessel

abandonment and that communities

would be left with derelict vessels to

dispose of.

Though participation in the FCRP is

open to any limited-access multispecies

permit holder, the most likely

participants are those for whom the

permit represents little opportunity to

land regulated groundfish. The permits

of fishers who are working in other

fisheries or who have moved out of the

industry altogether are likely to

represent the least utility and are more

likely to be surrendered under the

FCRP. Because most FCRP participants

have already moved out of the

multispecies fishery and into other

activities, the program is not likely to

result in a measurable shift of fishing

effort. In the long term, the surrender of

the Federal multispecies permit limits

the FCRP participant’s future fishing

options, should the permittee someday

wish to alter or diversify his/her fishing

activity. Effort that might have returned

to the multispecies fishery will be

applied in another activity. The

likelihood and timing of such an

occurrence is impossible to predict.

Finally, because the program allows

participants to retain all state and

Federal permits other than the one

surrendered, it is likely vessels will

continue to be used. It remains the

responsibility of the vessel owners to

dispose of unused property in

accordance with local, state, and

Federal regulations; if a vessel has fallen

into disuse, it is conceivable that some

of the proceeds from the FCRP may

actually help a boat owner comply with

disposal regulations.

Concerns about the impacts on small

communities. A few commenters asked

that NMFS consider the potential

impacts the FCRP is likely to have on

communities that support mostly small

fishing boats. Many small fishing

businesses rely on a diversity of fishing

activities over the course of a year and/

or over a career to exploit changing

resource and market conditions and

many other factors. The surrender of a

Federal multispecies permit limits the

fisher’s options and may create a

dependence on one fishery.

Commenters suggested that the FCRP

should not result in disproportionate

acquisition of permits from certain

geographical regions.

Participation in the FCRP is strictly

voluntary. A community that wants to

maintain Federal multispecies permits

among its local fleet should consider

coordinating its members’ participation

(or non-participation) in the program. At

present, Federal multispecies permits in

65456 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

no way restrict the port or geographic

region within the United States from

which a permitted vessel may work.

Private sales or exchanges of permitted

vessels may be made across the region

and between ports. NMFS cannot

control where the permits accumulate or

decrease through private exchanges and

will not limit participation in the FCRP

to a certain percentage of permittees per

community or area.

Value with respect to recency of use.

NMFS received many comments

regarding the value and removal priority

that should be given to permits as a

function of their recency of use. Some

claimed that permits in a confirmation

of permit history (CPH) status (a permit

history held by a person who owned a

vessel with a fishing history that

qualified for a limited access permit, but

whose vessel has been sunk, destroyed,

or transferred (without permits) to

another person, and who has applied

and received a CPH) should be given the

highest priority for removal, as they

represented an unknown quantity;

others countered that the CPH permits

are the least likely to be activated and

should thus be given the lowest priority.

Some commenters called for mandatory

revocation of permits for which no

landings have been recorded; others

countered that recency of use should

have no bearing on the value of permits

and that fishers who have moved out of

the groundfish fishery at the

encouragement of NMFS and the

Council while the resources have been

at historically low levels should not be

penalized.

NMFS has considered alternatives to

the final FCRP that would take into

account recency of use in the

multispecies fishery or other fisheries.

NMFS considered bid-ranking processes

and bid-capping equations that gave

greater credit or value to permits that

have logged landings since 1994.

However, recency of use as it relates to

ease or likelihood of reactivation is a

variable that NMFS cannot quantify

with confidence and consistency

sufficiently enough to effectively inform

program priorities. This FCRP takes a

very long view of the fishery and

assumes that over time all the permits

will have a roughly equal probability of

being reactivated, and the value of

permits should not be weighted with

respect to recency of use.

Furthermore, NMFS believes that the

FCRP should be implemented without

any suggestion that fishers must either

use their permits, surrender them, or

have them withdrawn for non-use. Any

reliance by NMFS on recency of use as

a factor for valuing permits may be

perceived as contrary to this principle

and may even prompt permit holders to

reenter the fishery. Participation in the

FCRP is voluntary.

Remove DAS or otherwise reduce

portions of permits. Several comments

were received calling on NMFS to use

the FCRP funds to compensate fishers

for surrendering a percentage of their

authorized DAS, rather than forfeiting

the permit entirely. A few commenters

suggested that the funds be used to

compensate fishers who would stay out

of the fishery for some period, 10 years,

for example, but would be reauthorized

to work in the fishery thereafter.

The statutory language that

established the FCRP requires that

NMFS compensate fishers for the

permanent revocation of their limited

access multispecies fishing permits.

Establishing a fixed rate, bidding,

ranking bids. NMFS proposed that the

FCRP be implemented by soliciting bids

from permittees for the amount of

compensation they would like to receive

for voluntary surrender of their limitedaccess multispecies permits. NMFS

suggested that the bids be ranked by

dividing the bid amount by a factor

representing some measure of the

fishing capacity authorized under the

permit. Most commenters were

supportive of this process in general and

recognized it as a means of ensuring that

the most capacity is removed from the

fishery for the least amount of money.

(The ranking factors are addressed

under another sub-section of this

notice.) Some commenters, however,

recommended that NMFS set a fixed

rate for permits and make an offer to all

permit holders. They suggested that,

should the number of flat-rate

acceptances equate to an amount greater

than the authorized program ($10

million), then NMFS should use vessel

capacity to rank the permits and

prioritize payments.

NMFS has considered this idea, but

has declined to implement it for several

reasons. The baselines and DAS

associated with the permits range rather

widely and affect the value of the

permits accordingly. A fixed rate, set by

NMFS, would be an appropriate value

for only a small subset of the permits,

and either would be too small to interest

one segment of the fishery or would

overpay the other. Permit holders are

more likely than NMFS to have a good

idea of what their permit is worth to

them, and the reverse bid process as

exercised in the vessel buyout programs

of the past has been considered

successful.

Monkfish permits and the FCRP..

Several commenters noted that, to

qualify for two of the limited access

monkfish permit categories, applicants

were required to hold a valid limited

access multispecies or scallop permit

and have records of monkfish landings.

Commenters asked whether, if the

permit holder were to surrender a

multispecies permit under the FCRP,

the limited access monkfish permit

would be invalidated.

It is correct that to qualify for a

Category C or D limited access monkfish

permit vessel owners were required to

have a multispecies or scallop limited

access permit and certain levels of

monkfish landings. If a fisher (who does

not also hold a scallop permit)

surrenders the qualifying multispecies

permit under the FCRP, the monkfish

permit would not be invalidated, but

would be moved into a different limited

access category (C to A, and D to B), and

would be subject to the regulations of

the new category. Holders of monkfish

permits should be familiar with these

requirements when deciding whether to

participate in the FCRP.

III. Ranking Bids

The goal of the FCRP is to remove the

greatest amount of fishing capacity from

the Northeast multispecies fishery in the

most cost effective manner. In support

of this goal, and assuming that the bids

submitted to the FCRP will exceed the

funds that are available, NMFS must

rank the bids with respect to relative

vessel capacity. In other words, NMFS

must rank and accept bids based on the

least cost per unit of capacity.

NMFS considered two methods for

ranking bids under the proposed FCRP,

using capacity estimates derived

through data envelopment analysis

(DEA) or a simplified relative capacity

indicator based upon linear calculation

of permit baseline characteristics. Each

is described in detail in the April 3,

2001, Federal Register notice. An

important element of the FRCP public

meetings was to solicit public input on

the two ranking methods. Specifically,

NMFS sought input from the public

regarding the weighting factors (relative

importance) for each of the baseline

characteristics for use in the simplified

method.

NMFS received many comments

regarding the proposed bid ranking

methods. In general, the public

preferred the idea of the simplified

method, as it seemed more direct and

easier to understand than the DEA

method. However, commenters failed to

give consistent guidance about

weighting factors for the simplified

method and the relative importance of

the various baseline characteristics.

Vessel designs and fishing strategies

vary widely throughout the region and

no simple equation could be developed

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 65457

that would give consistent relative

capacity rankings. For example, while

horsepower may be a prime factor in the

capacity of large trawlers, gillnetters

may be less dependent on horsepower

and limited only by the volume of their

holds (as suggested by net tonnage), and

some small hook fishing boats may have

the least actual capacity, but may have

excess horsepower to accommodate

faster runs to the fishing grounds. Thus,

application of the simplified method

would not be simple.

For the FCRP, NMFS has elected to

employ the DEA model. Using DEA,

NMFS will prepare an estimate of all

potential bidders’ vessel capacity to

harvest multispecies. This estimate of

daily fishing capacity (EFC) would be an

inference, based on capacity estimates

for similarly configured vessels that are

actively working in the fishery. This is

the method that is gaining national and

international acceptance as the best

estimate of fishing capacity and is used

by NMFS in reports on fishing capacity

to Congress.

Applications to participate in the

FCRP will be scored by dividing the bid

by the product of the vessel’s daily

estimated capacity and its allocated

DAS [Score = bid ÷ (EFC x DAS)]. The

lowest score would represent the least

cost per unit capacity and would be

ranked highest. Scores would then be

listed and selected in ascending order.

Most of the limited access

multispecies permits are under a fleet

DAS management scheme and are

presently authorized 88 DAS. Less than

10 percent of the permits are in an

Individual DAS category and may be

authorized more than 88 DAS per year.

Multiplying the EFC by the allocated

DAS will reflect the additional fishing

opportunity represented by these

permits. Permits in limited access

Category C, Small Boat Exemptions, are

associated with vessels 30 ft (9.1 m) or

less in length overall (LOA) and have

unlimited DAS. To weight these bids

appropriately, NMFS will use the

category’s fleet average number of DAS

per year. If bids are received from

holders of permits in this category,

NMFS will analyze vessel trip reports to

determine the 3 consecutive years with

the highest used DAS per year per

vessel, and from these 3 years will

determine the average DAS per year for

Category C permits.

From the July of 1998 through June

1999, NMFS initiated the Baseline

Audit Program for multispecies and

scallop limited access permit categories.

NMFS contacted permittees who had

not undergone a vessel replacement and

asked them to verify and/or correct the

permit baseline information in NMFS’

records. For the purpose of the FCRP,

NMFS considers information on file to

be the final numbers used for vessel

baseline. The audit program did not

include all CPH status permits. Some

CPH baselines have been verified, but

some have not. If owners of CPH status

permits without verified baselines want

to participate in the FCRP, NMFS will

work with the applicant to establish or

verify the vessel baseline in a manner

consistent with the baseline audit

program. For all other FCRP

participants, NMFS intends to use the

baseline information on file on the date

of publication for the FCRP.

IV. Setting Limits on Bids

This FCRP allows permit holders to

set their bids at any dollar amount, and

a competitive bid ranking process will

be used to determine which bids

represent the better value for the

Government and thus will be accepted

first. The competitive nature of the

process is the first incentive for permit

holders to make reasonable bids. If bids

are received for permits from two

similarly configured vessels with equal

DAS allocation, the lower bid will be

the higher ranked of the two and will

have a greater chance of being accepted.

Therefore, permit holders should submit

bids that are reasonable.

Some participants at the public

meetings asked if NMFS intends to set

a maximum limit on bids and asked if

NMFS will award funds to permit

holders as long as funds are available,

even if the bids are unreasonably high.

Commenters noted that NMFS may

receive bids that greatly exceed

accepted values of permits and, if funds

remain available, NMFS may need to

justify acceptance or non-acceptance of

such bids.

The setting of bids should depend on

the value and risks the permit holder

associates with the business opportunity

represented by the permit. As one

suggestion of the reasonableness of bids,

NMFS has examined the classified

advertisements in industry magazines

and newspapers. While permits,

technically, are not transferable, in the

private sector Federal fishing permits

are commonly exchanged for money

through paper transactions for vessel

transfers. Over the last year, classified

listings in national and regional

publications reflected values for suites

of Federal permits including the limited

access Northeast multispecies permits

from $10,000 to $65,000. The amount

advertised varied with respect to the

vessel’s baseline and the number of

additional permits included in the sale.

While by no means a complete survey

of the value of limited access permits,

the examples from the industry

publications may assist permit holders

in the development of their bids and

may indicate to NMFS the

reasonableness of bids.

NMFS also has developed a method to

set a quantitative limit on the

bid:capacity ratio. While this method

will not set a maximum dollar amount

on bids, it should encourage FCRP

participants to set reasonable bids and

should help identify and disqualify

those bids that do not represent a good

value for the Government. As noted

above, applications will be ranked by

dividing the bid amount by the product

of EFC and the allocated (or average, for

Category C) DAS. The resulting scores

will be listed in ascending order. The

median value, 50th percentile of the

scores, will be multiplied by a capping

factor of 1.5 to establish the maximum

score value that NMFS will accept.

Because this quantitative limit is a

relative value determined by bids

received and the distribution of the

bid:capacity ratios, it cannot be

determined beforehand. The use of this

quantitative cap should further

influence FCRP participants to set bids

that are not unreasonably high.

The use of this relative cap has its

limits, and NMFS may use the

aforementioned qualitative measures of

reasonableness (private sector purchase

prices) to validate the results of the

capping method. As noted, for the

quantitative limit calculation, NMFS

intends to use the 50th percentile of the

scores and a capping factor of 1.5. These

values were developed through an

analysis of the results of the two

Northeast multispecies vessel buyout

programs during the late 1990’s. If the

distribution of scores in this FCRP is

significantly different from the

distribution of the vessel buyout ranking

factors, or if all the bids received are

exceptionally high, the quantitative

method will not be an appropriate

measure of reasonableness. NMFS

maintains the discretion to accept or

reject bids based on the combination of

these measures of reasonableness, as

well as the professional judgement of

NMFS’ staff and advisors.

V. How to Apply

A. Notification

This interim final rule serves as

notification of the program to all holders

of Northeast multispecies limited access

fishing permits. In addition to this

official notification, NMFS will send

letters to all holders of current limited

access multispecies permits and CPH

status announcing the program and

soliciting bids. The letter will include

65458 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

materials to be used for developing and

submitting bids and an EFC for the

permit as determined through the DEA.

Permit holders who do not receive a

letter may contact NMFS for their EFC

and FCRP bid submission details.

B. Eligibility

1. NMFS intends to consider

applications to the FCRP only from

holders of Federal multispecies permits

in a limited access category or CPH

status. Valid multispecies limited access

permits are those limited access permits

held by vessels meeting the eligibility

requirements and maintained by annual

renewal per 50 CFR 648.4(a)(1)(i). To be

valid for the purposes of the FCRP, a

permit must be free of all permit

sanctions, pending or otherwise, at the

time that the bid is submitted, and at the

time of closing.

2. A permit holder must be an

individual who is a citizen or national

of the United States; or a corporation,

partnership, association (non-profit or

otherwise), trust, or other

nongovernmental entity; if such an

entity is a citizen of the United States

within the meaning of section 802 of the

Shipping Act, 1916, as amended (46

U.S.C. App. 802).

a. Federal Government employees,

including full-time, part-time, and

intermittent personnel, and Fishery

Management Council employees and

members (or corporations owned by

members) are not eligible to participate

in the program.

b. Holders of permits that are the

subject of outstanding and/or pending

investigations, charges, and penalties

are not eligible to participate in the

program.

c. Vessel owners whose permitted

vessel exceeds the permit baseline and

authorized upgrades, per 50 CFR 648.4

(a)(i)(F), are not eligible to participate in

the program.

3. When two or more parties share

interest in the permit, the bidder must

affirm in writing that he/she represents

the other parties.

C. Submission of Bids

1. Permit holders are limited to one

bid per permit. Permit holders who

intend to participate in the FCRP must

submit their bids using the materials

provided by NMFS. Bids must be

postmarked before February 19, 2002.

NMFS will not accept bids received late,

or by fax or e-mail.

2. Bidders must ensure that all written

matter is legible. Bid amounts must be

written out numerically and in

longhand (as one would do on a bank

check).

3. Bidders must verify their Northeast

multispecies permits, and the histories

associated with the permits.

4. Bidders electing to offer permits in

addition to the Northeast multispecies

permit should identify the additional

permit in the space provided on the bid

submission form. Offering of additional

limited access permits will not affect a

bid’s ranking or the amount of the

compensation to be paid, but may be

used by NMFS as a tiebreaker.

VI. Bid Review and Scoring

After the bidding period closes,

NMFS will rank the bids, as follows:

Step A. Identify Bid

The bid is the dollar amount

submitted by the applicant on the

application materials.

Step B. Calculate the Bid Ranking Score

Each bid received will be divided by

the product of its respective EFC and

allocated DAS to get the bid ranking

score. For Category C permits, NMFS

will use an average DAS determined as

detailed in section III above. The lowest

score will represent the least cost to the

Government per unit of fishing capacity.

NMFS will accept bids by beginning

with the permit represented by the

lowest score and will proceed in

ascending order until all the funds are

committed or until the cap for FCRP

efficiency or other reasonableness

measures are met. See also Section IV.

In the event that the scoring results in

a tie, NMFS will give preference to the

permit that represents the greatest

fishing capacity. If the tie is between

two permits representing equal capacity,

NMFS will give preference to the

participant offering to surrender

additional limited access permits.

Step C. Disbursing Funds and Revoking

Permits

1. NMFS, Northeast Region, will

contact permit holders as soon as

possible with the results of the bid

ranking and will arrange for disbursal of

the funds. The method of payment used

will depend on the amount of the

awards.

2. Permits and associated permit

history will be considered invalid upon

the permit holder’s receipt of

notification that the bid has been

accepted in the FCRP. Such history will

be invalidated from use to qualify for

any future permitting programs in this

fishery.

3. Applicants whose bids are accepted

must complete and submit the following

forms, which will be provided by

NMFS, prior to disbursal of funds:

a. SF-3881, ‘‘ACH Vendor/

Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment

Form’’

b. W-9, ‘‘Request for Taxpayer

Identification Number and

Certification’’

c. CD-511, ‘‘Certification Regarding

Debarment, Suspension, and Other

Responsibility Matters: Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements and Lobbying’’

VII. Administrative Requirements

The Department of Commerce

(‘‘Department’’) Pre-Award Notification

Requirements for Grants and

Cooperative Agreements contained in

the Federal Register notice of October 1,

2001 (66 FR 49917) are applicable to

this solicitation. Some key requirements

are set forth below.

A. Federal Policies and Procedures.

Applicants whose bids are accepted are

subject to all Federal laws and Federal

and Department policies, regulations

and procedures applicable to financial

assistance awards or procurement of

goods and services.

B. False Statements. A false statement

on any application materials is grounds

for denial or termination of funds and

grounds for possible punishment by a

fine or imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001).

C. Delinquent Federal Debts. No

award of Federal funds shall be made to

an applicant who has an outstanding

Federal debt or fine until either:

1. The delinquent account is paid in

full;

2. A negotiated repayment schedule is

established and at least one payment is

received; or

3. Other arrangements satisfactory to

the Department are made.

D. Pre-award Activities. If applicants

incur any costs prior to an award being

made, they do so solely at their own

risk. Notwithstanding any verbal or

written assurance that may have been

received, there is no obligation on the

part of the Department to cover preaward costs.

E. Least Cost Provision. Through this

program, NMFS has been tasked ‘‘to

obtain the maximum sustained

reduction in fishing capacity at the least

cost.’’ If participation in this FCRP is

insufficient to use up all the allocated

funds, or if NMFS determines the bids

are too high to satisfy the letter and

intent of this ‘‘least cost’’ provision,

then NMFS retains the discretion to

reject bids, to close the FCRP, and to

restructure it using the remaining funds

to meet the statutory goals.

F. Additional Funds. If, before the end

of the bid closing date, additional funds

are appropriated by Congress for NMFS

to disburse under the same terms and

conditions as for this FCRP, then NMFS

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 65459

will expend the additional funds in

accordance with this program as

established.

G. Release of Public Information.

Information on the removed permits,

accepted bids, and associated vessel

may be released publicly after awards

are made.

Classification

The Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries (AA), NMFS, has determined

that this interim final rule is consistent

with the Military Construction

Appropriations Act for FY 2001 (Pub.L.

106–246) and the Interjurisdictional

Fisheries Act of 1986.

This interim final rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

Applications under this program are

subject to E.O. 12372,

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs’’.

NMFS prepared an environmental

assessment (EA) for this action and the

AA concluded that there will be no

significant impact on the human

environment as a result of this interim

final rule. A copy of the EA is available

from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

This interim final rule contains a

collection-of-information requirement

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

(PRA). The collection of this

information has been approved by OMB

under control number 0648-0376. Public

reporting burden for preparation of the

grant application is estimated to be one

hour per response including the time for

reviewing instructions, gathering and

maintaining records, and completing

and reviewing the collection of

information. An additional two hour

reporting burden is estimated for those

applicants who are accepted by NMFS

including time for submission of

invalidated permits. Send comments

regarding this burden estimate or any

other aspect of this collection of

information, including suggestions for

reducing this burden, to NMFS (See

ADDRESSES) and to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget,

Washington, D.C. 20503 (Attn: NOAA

Desk Officer).

Notwithstanding any other provision

of the law, no person is required to

respond to, and no person shall be

subject to a penalty for failure to comply

with, a collection of information subject

to the requirements of the PRA, unless

that collection of information displays a

currently valid OMB control number.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of

the Department of Commerce certified

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

interim final rule would not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(RFA). Although the economic impacts

on small entities are not immediately

quantifiable, as the mix of accepted bids

can only be determined after bidding is

complete, NMFS does not expect that

this action would have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. As

participation in the FCRP is voluntary,

it is unlikely that entities would

participate unless they accrued some

benefit. Moreover, the retirement of

permits, active and latent, is expected to

benefit those fishermen remaining in the

fishery, though the extent of that benefit

is unclear at this time. As a result, a

regulatory flexibility analysis was not

prepared.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 4107.

Dated: December 14, 2001.

William T. Hogarth,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–31262 Filed 12–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S