[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 80 (Friday, April 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20150-20155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10770]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 970321061-7061-01; I.D. 042297B]
RIN: 0648-ZA28


Financial Assistance for Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessments to 
Encourage Research Projects for Improvement in the Stock Conditions of 
the Chesapeake Bay Fisheries

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: A total of $540,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 1997 funds is 
available through the NOAA/NMFS Chesapeake Bay Office to assist 
interested state fishery agencies, academic institutions, and other 
nonprofit organizations relating to cooperative research units, in 
carrying out research projects to provide information for Chesapeake 
Bay Stock Assessments through cooperative agreements. About $240,000 of 
the base amount is available to initiate new projects in FY 1997, as 
described in this announcement. NMFS issues this document describing 
the conditions under which eligible applications will be accepted and 
how NMFS will determine which applications will be selected for 
funding.

DATES: Applications for funding under this program will be accepted 
until 6 p.m. eastern standard time on May 27, 1997. Applications 
received after that time will not be considered for funding. No 
applications will be accepted by facsimile machine submission.
    Successful applicants generally will be selected approximately 90 
days from the date of publication in the Federal Register of this 
document. The earliest date for awards will be approximately 180 days 
after the date of publication in the Federal Register of this document.

ADDRESSES: Send applications to: M. Elizabeth Gillelan, Division Chief, 
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, NMFS, 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 107A, 
Annapolis, MD 21403.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: M. Elizabeth Gillelan, 410/267-5660.


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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction.

    A. Authority. The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, at 16 
U.S.C. 753 (a), authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), for 
the purpose of developing adequate, coordinated, cooperative research 
and training programs for fish and wildlife resources, to continue to 
enter into cooperative agreements with colleges and universities, with 
game and fish departments of the several states, and with non-profit 
organizations relating to cooperative research units. The Departments 
of Commerce (DOC), Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act of 1997 makes funds available to the Secretary 
(Public Law 104-208).
    B. Catalog of Federal assistance. The research to be funded is in 
support of the Chesapeake Bay Studies (CFDA 11.457), under the 
Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC).
    C. Program Description. CBSAC was established in 1985 to plan and 
review Bay-wide resource assessments, coordinate relevant actions of 
state and Federal agencies, report on fisheries status and trends, and 
determine, fund and review research projects. The program implements a 
Bay-wide plan for the assessment of commercially, recreationally, and 
selected ecologically important species in the Chesapeake Bay. In 1988, 
CBSAC developed a Bay-wide Stock Assessment Plan, in response to 
provisions in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1987. The plan identified 
that key obstacles to assessing Bay stocks was the lack of consistent, 
Bay-wide, fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data. Research 
projects funded since 1988 have focused on developing and improving 
fishery-independent surveys and catch statistics for key Bay species, 
such as striped bass, oysters, blue crabs and alosids. Stock assessment 
research is essential, given the recent declines in harvest and 
apparent stock condition for many of the important species of the 
Chesapeake Bay.

II. Areas of Special Emphasis

    A. Proposals should exhibit familiarity with related work that is 
completed or ongoing. Where appropriate, proposals should be 
multidisciplinary. Coordinated efforts involving multiple eligible 
applicants or persons are encouraged. Eligible women and minority owned 
and operated non-profit organizations are encouraged to apply.
    Consideration for funding will be given to applications that 
address one or more of the following stock assessment research and 
management priorities for the Chesapeake Bay. Proposals in other areas 
will be considered on a funds-available basis.
    1. Design and development of a method to age blue crabs in 
Chesapeake Bay using lipofuscin. Last year, a feasibility study was 
funded to evaluate whether metabolic products called lipofuscin are 
useful to estimate age and growth of blue crabs. It is understood that 
the chemical characteristics of lipofuscin and their accumulation rates 
over time are a function of tissue and metabolic rate. The priority 
this year is to further study lipofuscin accumulation rate dynamics 
temporally and spatially, and to test the use of lipofuscin data in 
blue crab growth models. At a minimum, proposals should define how the 
measurement of lipofuscin can be used in growth models that incorporate 
size, sex, salinity, and temperature to enable age determination.
    2. Development of a design for a Bay-wide recreational survey, 
directed primarily at blue crabs, but including other recreationally-
harvested species where opportunities arise. A major impediment to 
understanding the status of the blue crab fishery resource in the 
Chesapeake Bay is the lack of knowledge of the total removals of blue 
crabs by recreational crabbing. While estimates of commercial catches 
from both Maryland and Virginia are available based on state reporting 
requirements, estimates of recreational blue crab harvest are not 
available for most years.
    This study should provide not only estimates of harvest and 
associated effort but also biological sample data on size, sex, and 
length distribution of the recreational harvest of blue crabs. This 
could be designed as a stand-alone survey or as a supplement to the 
NMFS' Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey.
    3. Design and implementation of a Bay-wide blue crab tagging study, 
integrated with the aforementioned recreational survey. This study 
should be designed to produce additional age data, growth rates, 
migration rates, population rates, terminal molt estimates, commercial 
fishing mortality estimates, recreational fishing mortality estimates 
and natural mortality estimates.
    4. Design and development of a hard clam stock assessment which 
would provide abundance and mortality estimates for the entire 
Chesapeake Bay stock. The hard clam has become a valuable economic 
species in Chesapeake Bay with little associated assessment data. This 
study will integrate and compile fisheries harvest data and provide 
estimates of abundance and mortality rates.
    B. Applications addressing the priorities should build upon, or 
take into account, any related past or current work.

III. How to Apply

    A. Eligible applicants. Applications for cooperative agreements 
under the Chesapeake Bay Studies Program may be submitted, in 
accordance with the procedures set out in this document, by any state 
game and fish department, college or university, or other nonprofit 
organizations relating to cooperative research units. Other Federal 
agencies or institutions are not eligible to receive Federal assistance 
under this document.
    DOC/NOAA/NMFS employees, including full-time, part-time and 
intermittent personnel are not eligible to submit an application under 
this solicitation or aid in the preparation of an application, except 
to provide information on program goals, funding priorities, 
application procedures, and completion of application forms. Since this 
is a competitive program, assistance will not be provided in 
conceptualizing, developing, or structuring proposals.
    Eligible applicants outside the Chesapeake Bay region may submit 
proposals, as long as their objectives support the technical and 
management priorities of the Chesapeake Bay, as defined in section 
II.A. above. All solicited proposals received by the closing date will 
be considered by NMFS.
    B. Duration and terms of funding. Under this solicitation, NMFS 
will fund Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Research Projects for 1 year 
cooperative agreements. The cooperative agreement has been determined 
as the appropriate funding instrument because of the substantial 
involvement of NMFS in:
    1. Developing program research priorities;
    2. Evaluating the performance of the program for effectiveness in 
meeting regional goals for Chesapeake Bay stock assessments;
    3. Monitoring the progress of each funded project;
    4. Holding periodic workshops with investigators; and
    5. Working with recipients in preparation of annual reports 
summarizing current accomplishments of the Chesapeake Bay Stock 
Assessment Committee. Project dates should be scheduled to begin no 
later than 1 October 1997. Cooperative agreements are approved on an 
annual basis but may be considered eligible for continuation beyond the 
first project

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and budget period subject to the approved scope of work, satisfactory 
progress, and availability of funds at the total discretion of NMFS. 
However, there are no assurances for such continuation. Publication of 
this document does not obligate NMFS to award any specific cooperative 
agreement or to obligate any part of the entire amount of funds 
available.
    C. Cost-Sharing requirements. Applications must reflect the total 
budget necessary to accomplish the project, including contributions 
and/or donations. Cost-sharing is not required under the Chesapeake Bay 
Stock Assessment Research Program. However, cost sharing is encouraged 
to enhance the value of a project, and in case of a tie in considering 
proposals for funding, cost-sharing may affect the final decision. The 
appropriateness of all cost-sharing will be determined on the basis of 
guidance provided in applicable Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
Federal cost principles. If an applicant chooses to share cost, and if 
that application is selected for funding, the applicants will be bound 
by the percentage of cost-sharing reflected in the award documents.
    The non-Federal share may include funds received from private 
sources or from state or local governments or the value of in-kind 
contributions. Federal funds may not be used to meet the non-Federal 
share of matching funds, except as provided by Federal statute. In-kind 
contributions may be in the form of, but are not limited to, personal 
services rendered in carrying out functions related to the project, and 
permission to use real or personal property owned by others (for which 
consideration is not required) in carrying out the project. To support 
the budget, the applicant must describe briefly the basis for 
estimating the value of the non-Federal funds derived from in-kind 
contributions.
    The total cost of a project begins on the effective date of a 
cooperative agreement between the applicant and an authorized 
representative of the U.S. Government and ends on the date specified in 
the award. Accordingly, the time expended and costs incurred in either 
the development of a project or the financial assistance application, 
or in any subsequent discussions or negotiations prior to the award, 
are neither reimbursable nor recognizable as part of the recipient's 
cost share.
    D. Format. 1. Applications for project funding must be complete. 
Applicants must identify the specific research priority or priorities 
to which they are responding. For applications containing more than one 
project, each project component must be identified individually using 
the format specified in this section. If an application is not in 
response to a priority, it should be so stated. Applicants should not 
assume prior knowledge on the part of NMFS as to the relative merits of 
the project described in the application. Applications are not to be 
bound in any manner and should be one-sided. All incomplete 
applications will be returned to the applicant. Applicants must submit 
one signed original and two copies of the complete application. 
Required forms are provided in a NOAA Application Kit which applicants 
may obtain from the NOAA Grants Management Division or the NOAA 
Chesapeake Bay Office (see ADDRESSES).
    2. Applications must be submitted in the following format:
    a. Cover sheet: An applicant must use OMB Standard Form 424 
(revised 4/92) as the cover sheet for each project. Applicants may 
obtain copies of these forms from the NOAA Grants Management Division 
or the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (see ADDRESSES).
    b. Project summary: Each proposal must contain a summary of not 
more than one page that provides the following:
    (1) Project title.
    (2) Project status (new).
    (3) Project duration (beginning and ending dates).
    (4) Name, address, and telephone number of applicant.
    (5) Principal Investigator(s).
    (6) Project objectives.
    (7) Summary of work to be performed.
    (8) Total Federal funds requested.
    (9) Cost-sharing to be provided from non-Federal sources, if any. 
Specify whether contributions are project-related cash or in-kind.
    (10) Total project cost.
    c. Project description: Each project must be completely and 
accurately described. Each project description may be up to 15 pages in 
length. If an application is awarded, NMFS will make all portions of 
the project description available to the public for review; therefore, 
NMFS cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any information submitted 
as part of any project, nor will NMFS accept for consideration any 
project requesting confidentiality of any part of the project.
    Each project must be described as follows:
    (1) Identification of problem(s): Describe the specific priority/
problem to be addressed (see section II above).
    (2) Project objectives: This is one of the most important parts of 
the Project Proposal. Use the following guidelines for stating the 
objective of the project.
    (a) Keep it simple and easily understandable.
    (b) Be as specific and quantitative as possible.
    (c) Specify the ``what and when;'' avoid the ``how and why.''
    (d) Keep it attainable within the time, money, and human resources 
available.
    (e) Use action verbs that are accomplishment oriented.
    (3) Need for Government financial assistance: Demonstrate the need 
for assistance. Any appropriate database to substantiate or reinforce 
the need for the project should be included. Explain why other funding 
sources cannot fund all the proposed work. List all other sources of 
funding that are or have been sought for the project.
    (4) Benefits or results expected: Identify and document the results 
or benefits to be derived from the proposed activities.
    (5) Project statement of work: The Statement of Work is the 
scientific or technical action plan of activities that are to be 
accomplished during each budget period of the project. This description 
must include the specific methodologies, by project job activity, 
proposed for accomplishing the proposal's objective(s). If the work 
described in this section does not contain sufficient detail to allow 
for proper technical evaluation, NMFS will not consider the application 
for funding and will return it to the applicant.
    Investigators submitting proposals in response to this announcement 
are strongly encouraged to develop inter-institutional, inter-
disciplinary research teams in the form of single, integrated proposals 
or as individual proposals that are clearly linked together. Such 
collaborative efforts will be factored into the final funding decision 
by the Chief of the NOAA/NMFS Chesapeake Bay Office.
    Each Statement of Work must include the following information:
    (a) The applicant's name.
    (b) The inclusive dates of the budget period covered under the 
Statement of Work.
    (c) The title of the proposal.
    (d) The scientific or technical objectives and procedures that are 
to be accomplished during the budget period. Devise a detailed set of 
objectives and procedures to answer who, what, how, when, and where. 
The procedures must be of sufficient detail to enable competent workers 
to be able to follow them and to complete scheduled activities.
    (e) Location of the work.
    (f) A list of all project personnel and their responsibilities.
    (g) A milestone table, labeled with Month I, Month II, Month III, 
etc, that summarizes the procedures (from item

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III.D.c(5)(d)) that are to be attained in each month covered by the 
Statement of Work.
    (6) Participation by persons or groups other than the applicant: 
Describe the level of participation required in the project(s) by NOAA 
or other government and non-government entities. Specific NOAA 
employees should not be named in the initial proposal.
    (7) Federal, state and local government activities: List any 
programs (Federal, state, or local government or activities, including 
Sea Grant, state Coastal Zone Management Programs, NOAA Oyster Disease 
Research Program, the state/Federal Chesapeake Bay Program, etc.) this 
project would affect and describe the relationship between the project 
and those plans or activities.
    (8) Project management: Describe how the project will be organized 
and managed. Include resumes of principal investigators. List all 
persons directly employed by the applicant who will be involved with 
the project. If a consultant and/or subcontractor is selected prior to 
application submission, include the name and qualifications of the 
consultant and/or subcontractor and the process used for selection.
    (9) Monitoring of project performance: Identify who will 
participate in monitoring the project.
    (10) Project impacts: Describe how these products or services will 
be made available to the fisheries and management communities.
    (11) Evaluation of project: The applicant is required to provide an 
evaluation of project accomplishments at the end of each budget period 
and in the final report. The application must describe the methodology 
or procedures to be followed to determine technical feasibility, or to 
quantify the results of the project in promoting increased production, 
product quality and safety, management effectiveness, or other 
measurable factors.
    (12) Total project costs: Total project costs is the amount of 
funds required to accomplish what is proposed in the Statement of Work, 
and includes contributions and donations. All costs must be shown in a 
detailed budget. A standard budget form (SF-424A) is available from the 
offices listed (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will not consider fees or profits 
as allowable costs for grantees. Additional cost detail may be required 
prior to a final analysis of overall cost allowability, allocability, 
and reasonableness. The date, period covered, and findings for the most 
recent financial audit performed, as well as the name of the audit 
firm, the contact person, and phone number and address, must be also 
provided.
    d. Supporting documentation: Provide any required documents and any 
additional information necessary or useful to the description of the 
project. The amount of information given in this section will depend on 
the type of project proposed, but should be no more than 20 pages. The 
applicant should present any information that would emphasize the value 
of the project in terms of the significance of the problems addressed. 
Without such information, the merits of the project may not be fully 
understood, or the value of the project may be underestimated. The 
absence of adequate supporting documentation may cause reviewers to 
question assertions made in describing the project and may result in 
lower ranking of the project. Information presented in this section 
should be clearly referenced in the project description.

IV. Review Process and Criteria

    A. Initial Evaluation of Applications. Applications will be 
reviewed by NOAA to assure that they meet all requirements of this 
announcement, including eligibility and relevance to the Chesapeake Bay 
Stock Assessment Research Program.
    B. Consultation with Experts in the Field of Stock Assessment 
Research. For applications meeting the requirements of this 
solicitation, NMFS will conduct a technical evaluation of each project 
prior to any other review. This review normally will involve experts 
from non-NOAA as well as NOAA organizations. All comments submitted to 
NMFS will be taken into consideration in the technical evaluation of 
projects. Each reviewer will be asked to rate and provide comments 
based on the following evaluation criteria:
    1. Problem description and conceptual approach for resolution, 
especially the applicant's comprehension of the problem(s), familiarity 
with related work that is completed or ongoing, and the overall concept 
proposed to resolve the problem(s) (30 points).
    2. Soundness of project design/technical approach, especially 
whether the applicant provided sufficient information to technically 
evaluate the project and, if so, the strengths and weaknesses of the 
technical design proposed for problem resolution (35 points).
    3. Project management and experience and qualifications of 
personnel, including organization and management of the project, and 
the personnel experience and qualifications (15 points).
    4. Justification and allocation of the budget in terms of the work 
to be performed (20 points).
    C. Review panel. NMFS will convene a review panel consisting of at 
least three regionally recognized experts in the scientific and 
management aspects of stock assessment research who will conduct 
reviews as follows:
    1. Evaluate technical reviews.
    2. Provide independent review based on the same criteria as the 
technical review.
    3. Discuss all review comments as a panel.
    4. Provide individual panelist scores and suggestions for 
modifications (i.e., budget, personnel, technical approach, etc.).
    D. Funding decision. 1. Applications will be ranked by NMFS into 
two groups: (a) Recommended, and (b) not recommended. As previously 
stated (section III.A.1.), collaborative proposals and applications 
which proposed a cost share are strongly encouraged, and therefore will 
be given added weight in the selection process. The numeric ranking by 
the review panel will be the major consideration for deciding which of 
the ``recommended'' proposals will be selected for funding.
    2. After projects have been ranked for funding, the Chief of the 
NOAA/NMFS Chesapeake Bay Office, in consultation with the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, will determine the projects to be 
recommended for funding based upon the technical evaluations, panel 
review, numerical ranking and availability of funding. The Chief may 
also give greater consideration to those projects that best meet the 
objectives of the program. The exact amount of funds awarded to each 
project will be determined in preaward negotiations between the 
applicant, the Grants Office, and the NOAA/NMFS Chesapeake Bay Office 
staff.

V. Administrative Requirements

    A. Obligations of the applicant. 1. Deliverables--In addition to 
quarterly status and budget reports, and at the time of submission of 
the final report of results of funded projects, recipients must submit 
a four-to-five page summary of project work and results that will be 
compiled in a report of Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Research 
Program results.
    2. Periodic Workshops-Investigators will be expected to attend one 
or two workshops with other Stock Assessment Research Program 
researchers to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue and forge synthesis 
of results.

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    3. Primary applicant certifications--All primary applicants must 
submit a completed Form CD-511, ``Certifications Regarding Debarment, 
Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace 
Requirements and Lobbying,'' and the following explanations are hereby 
provided:
    a. Nonprocurement debarment and suspension--Prospective 
participants (as defined at 15 CFR 26.105) are subject to 15 CFR part 
26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension,'' and the related 
section of the certification form prescribed above applies;
    b. Drug-free workplace--Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 26.605) 
are subject to 15 CFR part 26, subpart F, ``Governmentwide Requirements 
for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants),'' and the related section of the 
certification form prescribed above applies;
    c. Anti-lobbying--Persons (as defined at 15 CFR 28.105) are subject 
to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352, ``Limitation on use of 
appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracting and 
financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of the certification 
form prescribed above applies to applications/bids for grants, 
cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than $100,000, and loans 
and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the single family 
maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever is greater; and
    d. Anti-lobbying disclosure--Any applicant who has paid or will pay 
for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of 
Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR part 28, appendix B.
    4. Lower Tier Certifications--Recipients shall require applicants/
bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier 
covered transactions at any tier under the award to submit, if 
applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding 
Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier 
Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and disclosure form SF-LLL, 
``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.'' Form CD-512 is intended for the 
use of recipients and should not be transmitted to DOC. SF-LLL 
submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be submitted to 
DOC in accordance with the instructions contained in the award 
document. B. Other requirements. 1. Federal policies and procedures--
Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and 
Federal and DOC policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to 
Federal financial assistance awards.
    2. Indirect cost rates--The total dollar amount of the indirect 
costs proposed in an application under this program must not exceed the 
indirect cost rate negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal 
agency. NOAA's acceptance of negotiated rates is subject to total 
indirect costs not to exceed 100 percent of total direct costs. This 
language is pursuant to the NOAA Grants and Cooperative Agreements 
Policy Manual, Chapter 3(B)(2).
    3. Past performance-Unsatisfactory performance under prior Federal 
awards may result in an application not being considered for funding. 
In addition, any recipient and/or researcher who is past due for 
submitting acceptable progress reports on any previous project funded 
under this program may be ineligible to be considered for new awards 
until the delinquent reports are received, reviewed and deemed 
acceptable by NMFS.
    4. Financial management certifications/preaward accounting survey--
Successful applicants, at the discretion of the NOAA Grants Officer, 
may be required to have their financial management systems certified by 
an independent public accountant as being in compliance with Federal 
standards specified in the applicable OMB Circulars prior to execution 
of the award. Any first-time applicant for Federal grant funds may be 
subject to a preaward accounting survey by the DOC prior to execution 
of the award.
    5. Delinquent Federal debts-No award of Federal funds shall be made 
to an applicant who has an outstanding delinquent Federal debt until 
either:
    a. The delinquent account is paid in full;
    b. A negotiated repayment schedule is established and at least one 
payment is received; or
    c. Other arrangements satisfactory to DOC are made.
    6. Name checks-Potential recipients may be required to submit an 
``Identification-Application for Funding Assistance''
    (Form CD-346), which is used to ascertain background information on 
key individuals associated with the potential recipient. All non-profit 
and for-profit applicants are subject to a name check review process. 
Name checks are intended to reveal if any key individuals associated 
with the applicant have been convicted of or are presently facing, 
criminal charges such as fraud, theft, perjury, or other matters that 
significantly reflect on the applicant's management honesty or 
financial integrity. Applicants will also be subject to credit check 
reviews.
    7. False statements--A false statement on the application is 
grounds for denial or termination of funds and grounds for possible 
punishment by a fine or imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001.
    8. Preaward activities--If applicants incur any costs prior to an 
award being made, they do so solely at their own risk of not being 
reimbursed by the Government. Notwithstanding any verbal or written 
assurance that may have been received, there is no obligation on the 
part of DOC to cover preaward costs.
    9. Purchase of American-made equipment and products--Applicants are 
hereby notified that they will be encouraged, to the greatest extent 
practible, to purchase American-made equipment and products with 
funding provided under this program.
    10. Other--If an application is selected for funding, DOC has no 
obligation to provide any additional funding in connection with that 
award. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of 
performance is at the total discretion of DOC.
    Cooperative agreements awarded pursuant to pertinent statutes shall 
be in accordance with the Fisheries Research Plan (comprehensive 
program of fisheries research) in effect on the date of the award.

Classification

    This action 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.''
    Prior document and an opportunity for public comment are not 
required by the Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for this 
notice concerning grants, benefits, and contracts. Therefore, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required for purposes of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to 
comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information 
displays a current valid OMB control number.
    This document contains collections of information subject to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, which have been approved by OMB under OMB 
control numbers 0348-0043 and 0605-0001.


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    Dated: April 21, 1997.
Nancy Foster,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-10770 Filed 4-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F