[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 207 (Thursday, October 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55132-55133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27207]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No. 960322092-6284-03; I.D. 100796A]
RIN 0648-ZA19


Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Disaster Program; Revisions

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Revisions to program for financial assistance.

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SUMMARY: This notice serves the following purposes: To revise the 
definition of ``eligible causes'' to include the ``Storm of the 
Century,'' which occurred on March 12-14, 1993; to clarify that the 
definition of eligible gear or vessels includes gear and vessels lost 
or damaged from eligible causes while on land; to clarify that 
fishermen who have not yet repaired or replaced their eligible gear or 
vessels are eligible to apply; and to notify the public that NMFS will 
provide an additional 30 days for submission of applications.

DATES: Effective October 24, 1996. Applications must be postmarked 
November 25, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Applications should be sent to Charles L. Cooper, Program 
Leader, Financial Services Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles L. Cooper, Program Leader, 
(301) 713-2396.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    NMFS published the proposed and final program notice describing the 
Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Disaster Program (GOMFDP) on April 1, 1996, 
and June 10, 1996, respectively. (61 FR 14293; 61 FR 29350). The 
program description and background are included in those notices and 
are not repeated here.

Revisions to the program

    NMFS has determined that the revisions contained herein are 
necessary to clarify certain aspects of the program. NMFS believes that 
these revisions will expand the program to reach fishermen who suffered 
eligible losses during the disaster period. NMFS also believes that 
clarification is needed to indicate the intention to include certain 
fishermen who may believe they are not eligible.

Expansion of Eligible Causes

    Pursuant to the authority under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries 
Act (IFA), the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) may determine the 
extent, and the beginning and ending dates, of any fishery resource 
disaster. Accordingly, the Secretary limited the definition of disaster 
to those events that are of a magnitude foreseen by the IFA, and the 
final program notice defined disasters as hurricanes and the 
Mississippi river floods of 1993 and 1994 and their aftereffects. Since 
implementation of the program began, however, NMFS has received 
significant new data that suggest that the ``Storm of the Century,'' on 
March 12-14, 1993, was equal in magnitude to a hurricane. This storm 
was not deemed an official hurricane, since it occurred in the winter 
and was not cyclonic in nature, which is a defining characteristic of a 
hurricane. However, a National Climatic Data Center Technical Report 
(#93-01) and other reports state that this storm brought a 12-ft (3.7-
m) tidal surge along portions of Florida's west coast and hurricane 
strength winds of up to 109 mph, damaged or destroyed 18,000 homes, and 
caused over $500 million in damage to the Florida Gulf coast alone. 
Based on this new information, NMFS has determined that the ``Storm of 
the Century'' qualifies as a disaster of a magnitude of a hurricane. 
Therefore, any fisherman who suffered uninsured gear or vessel loss 
during the ``Storm of the Century'' on March 12-14, 1993, may now apply 
for a grant award under the program. Applications previously submitted 
that request compensation for damage suffered from this storm will be 
processed, if otherwise eligible.

Clarification of Eligible Loss

    Some fishermen have reported to NMFS that they believed that the 
GOMFDP limited grant awards to costs arising from the repair or 
replacement of eligible gear or vessels lost in eligible waters and 
excluded fishermen who had removed their gear or vessels from the water 
to a land site before a storm, where it was damaged or destroyed. The 
program was not designed to exclude these fishermen. The definition of 
eligible cause extends causation to any hurricane or flood, or its 
aftereffects, during a period from August 23, 1992, through December 
31, 1995, including, but not limited to, wind, waves, rising waters, 
and the debris or other obstructions caused by them or carried by them. 
This definition of ``eligible cause'' underscores that the attendant 
forces of a hurricane, such as the wind and rising waters, are eligible 
forces, the impact of which may cause eligible harm, even if the gear 
or vessel was not literally in the water at the time. Therefore, NMFS 
clarifies that fishermen who lost their fishing gear or vessels due to 
eligible causes while such gear or vessels were on land are eligible to 
apply for this program.
    In addition, the GOMFDP final program notice may be read to limit 
compensation to fishermen who had already repaired or replaced their 
gear or vessels. However, many fishermen may not have had sufficient 
funds at the time to repair or replace their lost gear or vessels. 
These fishermen were also

[[Page 55133]]

not intended to be excluded. Therefore, NMFS clarifies that fishermen 
who have not yet repaired or replaced their eligible gear or vessels 
may apply for the program. All estimated repair costs will be 
thoroughly verified by NMFS and assessed at the fair market value at 
the time that the loss or damage occurred.
    The final program notice required all applications to be submitted 
no later than October 7, 1996. This notice hereby extends the 
application deadline through a date 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice to allow enough time for applicants to 
consider these revisions and submit new or revised applications.

Classification

    This program has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of E.O. 12866.
     Applications under this program are subject to E.O. 12372, 
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
    This action is exempt from review under section 553 of the 
Administrative Procedure Act, since this notice only provides program 
clarifications and does not contain a general notice of proposed 
rulemaking. Concomitantly, no regulatory flexibility analysis under 5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq. is required. This program contains a collection-of-
information requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
collection of this information has been approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB control number 0648-0082).

    Authority: Public Law 99-659 (16 U.S.C. 4107 et seq.); Public 
Law 102-396.

    Dated: October 17, 1996.
Charles Karnella,
Acting Director, Office of Operations, Management and Information, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-27207 Filed 10-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F