[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 11, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25289-25294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11879]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 990408090-9090-01; I.D. 022399C]
RIN 0648-ZA63


Halibut and Sablefish Fisheries Quota-Share Loan Program; Final 
Program Notice and Announcement of Availability of Federal Financial 
Assistance

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

[[Page 25290]]

Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Announcement of availability of Federal financial assistance 
and request for public comment concerning future credit authority.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of long-term loans for 
financing or refinancing the purchase cost of quota share (QS) in the 
halibut and sablefish fisheries off Alaska. Only entry-level fishermen 
or fishermen who fish from small vessels are eligible for these loans.

DATES: NMFS will accept for processing only applications submitted, by 
first-class U.S. mail, during an application open season that begins 
May 25, 1999, through June 8, 1999, (precludes applications submitted 
either before May 25, 1999, or after June 8, 1999. All loan funds 
available for FY 1999 must be obligated before September 30, 1999. 
Comments must be received by June 8, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Applicants should send loan applications to the Northwest 
Financial Services Branch, National Marine Fisheries Service, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
7600 Sand Point Way, NE (BIN C15700), Building No. 1, Seattle, WA 
98115. Comments should be sent to Michael L. Grable, Chief, Financial 
Services Division, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 
20910.
    In addition, the application will be available to down load from 
the NMFS Home Page in the near future. It can be accessed through Adobe 
Acrobat Reader and will be located at:
    www.nmfs.gov/sfa.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Ott at
    (206) 526-6122 (voice) or (206) 526-6306 (facsimile) or kimberly. 
[email protected] (e-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

A. Background

     The Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) (Pub.L. 104-297) amended 
section 1104A(a)(7) of Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act (46 U.S.C. 
App. 1274) and section 303(d)(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 
et seq.) to authorize financing and refinancing the cost of loans 
available to entry-level fishermen and to fishermen who fish from small 
boats purchasing individual fishing quota (IFQ).
    Although the SFA indicates that loans are available for purchasing 
IFQ, the basic fishing permit for the halibut and sablefish fisheries 
is termed ``QS'' rather than ``IFQ.'' In these fisheries, IFQ is an 
annual allocation of the pounds of fish that each QS holder may 
harvest. Consequently, NMFS interprets the SFA to allow loans for the 
cost of purchasing basic fishing permits rather than annual harvest 
allocations under those permits. These loans will finance the purchase 
of halibut and sablefish QS rather than IFQ.
    Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 (Act) is the credit 
authority under which NMFS will make these loans. This authority is 
subject to the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) (2 U.S.C. 661). 
This Act requires estimated net loan losses (FCRA cost) to be 
appropriated in cash at the time Congress authorizes annual loan 
ceilings.
    Fiscal year (FY) 1999 appropriation for the U.S. Department of 
Commerce included a $100,000 advance to fund the FCRA cost of this loan 
program during its second year (October 1, 1998, through September 30, 
1999).
    The amount of annual FCRA credit authority available is a ratio of 
the FCRA cost rate and the FCRA cost appropriated. NMFS preliminarily 
estimates the FCRA cost rate of these loans to be 2 percent. 
Consequently, the loan cost of $100,000 appropriated for this FY 1999 
FCRA will preliminarily support a $5,000,000 credit authority 
($5,000,000 times 0.02 equals $100,000).
    This credit authority may be enough to fund only about 40 to 50 
loans. FY 1999 loan demand will, consequently, most likely exceed loan 
supply. For the credit authority available during FY 1999, NMFS will 
not accept FY 1999 applications submitted either before May 25, 1999, 
or after June 8, 1999.
    FY 1998 applicants whose applications were not processed during FY 
1998 do not have to reapply during FY 1999. NMFS will automatically 
treat these applications as if they had been resubmitted during the FY 
1999 application open season (but they will be subject to the random 
selection of all applications). NMFS will, one week before the FY 1999 
open season begins, send a confirmation of this to each FY 1998 
applicant involved.
    NMFS will, at least one week before the FY 1999 open season begins, 
send a new application form to everyone who (according to the NMFS 
database) has, since the FY 1998 open season ended, indicated an 
interest in applying for a loan.
    All applications that are not selected for processing during FY 
1999 will be held for processing during any subsequent year in which 
credit authority is available. Applications submitted during the FY 
1999 open season (including the FY 1998 applications considered as 
constructively submitted during the FY 1999 open season) will then have 
the same priority that NMFS assigned to them during FY 1999. The status 
of all applications may be effected by policy changes published in 
subsequent notices.
    All applications must be submitted by first-class U.S. mail. No 
other form of application submission is acceptable (including personal 
delivery, facsimile delivery, every form of express delivery, every 
other form of delivery other than U.S. mail, and every form of U.S. 
mail delivery other than first-class U.S. mail).
    To reduce the open-season paperwork burden, applicants need 
complete only a small portion (Section A) of the application form at 
the time of initial application. Once an application's priority allows 
it to be processed, NMFS will request the applicant to complete the 
rest of the application.
    These loans will, until further notice, continue to be available in 
any year for which adequate FCRA credit authority exists.
    SFA amendments to sections 303(d)(4) and 304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act authorize the FCRA cost of IFQ lending to be funded up to 
25 percent of the IFQ and Community Development Quota fee revenue from 
the IFQ fishery involved. Presumably, a portion of halibut and 
sablefish fees from this revenue source will, in the future, fund the 
annual FCRA cost of these loans for purchasing halibut and sablefish 
QS.
    NMFS requests public comments during the open season concerning 
NMFS' plan for using future credit authority. In FY 1998 and FY 1999, 
the processing priority of applications was, or will be, determined by 
random selection from a pool of applicants who applied during the open 
seasons. NMFS plans to retain the pool of applicants who were not 
selected for processing in FY 1998 and FY 1999 in the randomly selected 
processing priority determined at the end of the FY 1999 open season 
and will draw exclusively from those applicants until the waiting list 
of applicants is exhausted. NMFS will accept, for credit authority 
available during years after FY 1999, applications submitted at any 
time after June 8, 1999. Applications submitted after June 8, 1999, 
will be retained in date order for processing following those 
applications received during the FY 1998 and FY 1999 open seasons. NMFS 
does not,

[[Page 25291]]

after the FY 1999 open season ends, intend to have further open seasons 
for this type of loan application in this fishery.

B. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The Halibut and Sablefish Quota-Share Loan Program is part of the 
program listed in the ``Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance'' under 
number 11.415: Fisheries Finance Program.

II. Definitions

    Applicant means either an entry-level fisherman who applies for a 
loan or a fisherman who fishes from a small vessel who applies for a 
loan.
    Application means a submission for a loan from an applicant.
    Application form means NOAA Form 88-1 (bearing Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) approval No. 0648-0012 and expiring on January 31, 
2002).
    Base year means the year in which an applicant applies for a loan 
and the loan is accepted for processing.
    Entry-level fisherman means a fisherman who:
    (1) Does not own any QS;
    (2) Applies for a loan to purchase QS that involves an IFQ total 
not greater than 8,000 lb (3,628.7 kg) during the base year; and
    (3) Will be a crew member aboard the vessel that harvests the IFQ 
for the loan QS.
    Fisherman who fishes from a small vessel means a fisherman:
    (1) Who applies for a loan to purchase halibut or sablefish QS 
previously assigned under Sec. 676.20(c)(2), sablefish QS previously 
assigned under Sec. 676.20(c)(3), halibut QS previously assigned under 
Sec. 676.20(c)(4), and/or halibut QS previously assigned under 
Sec. 676.20(c)(5);
    (2) Whose aggregate ownership of QS (including the loan QS) will 
involve an IFQ not greater than 50,000 lb (22,679.6 kg) during the base 
year;
    (3) Who will be a crew member aboard the vessel that harvests the 
IFQ for the aggregate QS such fisherman owns (including the loan QS) at 
the time the loan QS transfers to such fisherman;
    (4) Who has, for at least a total of 150 days at any point in the 
past, been a crewman aboard any vessel in any U.S. commercial fishery; 
and
    (5) Who does not own, in whole or in part, any vessel of the type 
involved in the previous assignment of halibut or sablefish QS under 
Sec. 676.20(c)(1) or (c)(2).
    Halibut/sablefish means halibut, sablefish, or halibut and 
sablefish from the QS fishery off Alaska for halibut and/or the QS 
fishery off Alaska for sablefish.
    IFQ means the annual catch limit of halibut/sablefish that may be 
harvested by a person who is lawfully allocated a harvest privilege for 
a specific portion of the total allowable catch of halibut/sablefish.
    Loan means a program loan for financing or refinancing the cost of 
purchasing halibut/sablefish QS.
    Loan QS means the QS purchased with the proceeds of a loan.
    NMFS means the National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
    Notice date means the date this document is published in the 
Federal Register.
    NWFSB means the Northwest Financial Services Branch (F/SF23), 
Northwest Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Service, see 
ADDRESSES.
    Open season means the period beginning and ending on the dates 
specified under the DATES heading at the beginning of this document.
    Program means the halibut/sablefish loan program described in this 
document.
    QS means a halibut/sablefish permit, the face amount of which is 
used as a basis for the annual calculation of a person's IFQ.
    RAM Program means the Restricted Access Management activities in 
the Alaska Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Service.
    Section 676.20(c) means Sec. 676.20(c) of Title 50, Code of Federal 
Regulations (revised as of October 1, 1995).
    Title XI means Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (the 
statutory credit authority under which lending the purchase cost of IFQ 
is but one of the eligible fisheries loan purposes).

III. Eligible Applicants

    Any entry-level fisherman or fisherman who fishes from a small 
vessel and is a U.S. citizen is eligible to apply for a loan.

IV. Loan Purpose

    (1) General. The loan purpose is financing or refinancing the cost 
of purchasing QS.
    (2) Fishermen who fish from small vessels. The loan QS must be 
halibut or sablefish QS previously assigned under
    Sec. 676.20(c)(2), sablefish QS previously assigned under
    Sec. 676.20(c)(3), halibut QS previously assigned under
    Sec. 676.20(c)(4), and/or halibut QS previously assigned under
    Sec. 676.20(c)(5). Applicants must be eligible to receive (hold) 
the loan QS. The amount of QS any applicant will own at the time the 
loan QS transfers to the applicant may not have involved an aggregate 
IFQ greater than 50,000 lb (22,679.6 kg) during the base year. The IFQ 
for such QS during any year other than the base year is irrelevant.
    If, for example, an applicant who owns QS that involved a 20,000-lb 
(9,071.8-kg) IFQ during the base year wants a loan to finance the 
purchase of additional QS, the loan QS may not have involved more than 
an additional 30,000-lb (13,607.8-kg) IFQ during the base year.
    Applicants may not own, in whole or in part, any vessel of the type 
involved in the previous assignment of halibut or sablefish QS under 
Sec. 676.20(c)(1) or (c)(2).
    Although CFR part 676 is not the CFR part that presently regulates 
halibut/sablefish, Sec. 676.20(c) is the section that the SFA requires 
NMFS to use for the matters involved in this document. NWFSB can 
provide applicants copies of Sec. 676.20(c) and explain how this 
section controls the loan QS.
    Each applicant must be a crewman aboard the vessel that will 
harvest the total IFQ for all QS that the applicant owns at the time 
the loan QS transfers to applicant.
    (3) Entry-level fishermen. The loan QS may be of any type for which 
the RAM Program will issue a QS certificate in the purchaser's name. 
The loan QS may not have involved an IFQ greater than 8,000 lb (3,628.7 
kg) during the base year. The IFQ for such QS during any year other 
than the base year is irrelevant.
    (4) Applicants' indirect QS or vessel ownership interests. NMFS 
will count against the poundage ceilings in paragraphs IV(2) and (3) of 
this document of whatever portion of QS interests and of the base-year 
IFQ applicants indirectly own by virtue of owning corporations, 
partnerships, or other forms of business organizations that directly 
own QS. For example, if an applicant owns one-third of the stock in a 
corporation that owns QS with a base-year IFQ of 30,000-lb (13,607.8-
kg), NMFS will, for the purposes of the ceilings, regard the applicant 
as also owning QS with a base-year IFQ of 10,000 lb (4,535.9 kg).
    NMFS will also, for the purpose of the vessel ownership restriction 
in paragraph IV(2) of this document, consider that applicants 
indirectly have an ownership interest in vessels which are owned by 
corporations, partnerships, or other forms of business organizations in 
which applicants own

[[Page 25292]]

any corporate shares, partnership interests, or other interests. For 
example, if an applicant owns one share of stock in a corporation that 
owns a vessel of the type involved in the previous assignment of 
halibut or sablefish QS under Sec. 676.20(c)(1) or (c)(2), NMFS will 
consider the applicant to partly own such a vessel. Such an applicant 
will not be eligible for a loan.
    (5) Refinancing. Applicant may refinance with the proceeds of loans 
any existing debts that previously financed the purchase cost of QS, 
provided that the QS purchases would themselves have been eligible for 
program financing if the program had been available at the time of QS 
purchase. In the instance of refinancing only, NMFS will consider loans 
in amounts up to 80 percent of QS' current market value (rather than 
original purchase cost), provided that loans will, in no event, be for 
an amount greater than the amount required to fully repay the QS debt 
being refinanced.

V. Loan Terms and Conditions

    (1) Down payment. Applicants financing (rather than refinancing) QS 
purchase cost must fund 20 percent of the purchase cost from funds 
other than loan proceeds. If the current market value of QS whose 
purchase cost is being refinanced (rather than financed) is higher than 
its original purchase price, applicants may need less, or no, down 
payment. However, if the current value of QS whose purchase costs is 
being refinanced (rather than financed) is lower than its original 
purchase price, applicants may be required to provide additional down 
payment.
    (2) Loan amount. The amount of a loan that finances (rather than 
refinances) QS purchase cost may not exceed 80 percent of QS purchase 
cost. Loan amounts may, however, exceed 80 percent if the current 
market value of QS whose purchase cost is being refinanced (rather than 
financed) is higher than its original purchase price.
    (3) Interest rate. Each loan's annual interest rate will be 2 
percent higher than the U.S. Treasury's cost of borrowing public funds 
of an equivalent maturity. For example, the annual loan interest rate 
would, on February 17, 1999, have been approximately 7.65 percent for a 
20-year maturity. Interest is simple interest.
    (4) Maturity. Loan maturity may not exceed 25 years, but may be 
shorter depending on credit and other considerations.
    (5) Repayment. Repayment will be by equal quarterly installments of 
principal and interest.
    (6) Security. The loan QS will, in every case, be the primary 
security for the loan. NMFS may require additional collateral to ensure 
the security position of the primary collateral. NMFS may require all 
parties with significant ownership interests in corporate or 
partnership applicants to personally guarantee loan repayment. Some 
credit risks may require additional security.

VI. Application

    (1) Open Season. NMFS will accept for processing only those 
applications submitted during the open season. Applications previously 
filed, but not considered, in FY 1998 will automatically be considered 
to have been received during the open season (they need not be 
resubmitted to be included in the random selection process for the FY 
1999 credit authority).
    (2) Method of submission. NMFS will accept only those applications 
submitted by first-class U.S. mail. NMFS will not accept applications 
submitted by any other method (including, but not limited to any form 
of U.S. mail other than first class mail, any other delivery service, 
personal delivery, delivery by facsimile, etc.).
    (3) Submission address. NMFS will accept only those applications 
addressed directly to NWFSB at the mailing address listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this document.
    (4) Date of submission. The date of each application's submission 
will be the date on which the U.S. Postal Service postmarks the 
envelope containing the application or other evidence of date sent.
    (5) Processing Priority. Relative processing priority among 
applications submitted will be decided by random selection from among 
all applications submitted.
    Processing priority does not mean that applications will be 
approved. It merely means that NWFSB will process applications in the 
order of their assigned processing priority.
    (6) Application form. All applicants must use the application form. 
NMFS will not accept any other form of application. Open-season 
applicants need complete only Section A of the application. After the 
open season, NWFSB will contact each applicant whose processing 
priority makes the applicant's application eligible for processing as 
an FY 1999 loan and begin a standard due-diligence credit 
investigation. The application is available from NWFSB. NWFSB will send 
only Section A of the application to parties requesting the application 
for the purpose of submitting an open-season application. NWFSB can, 
upon request, do this by facsimile.
    (7) Notification of processing priority. NWFSB will, within 7 
working days after the last day of the open season, enumerate the 
processing priority of all open-season applications that NWFSB 
received. NWFSB will immediately thereafter notify each open-season 
applicant of the relative likelihood of its application being processed 
as an FY 1999 loan. NWFSB will then accomplish a due-diligence credit 
investigation for each application whose processing priority (and other 
factors) makes it eligible for processing as an FY 1999 loan.
    (8) Application fee. The application fee is 0.5 percent of the loan 
amount for which a successful open-season applicant applies. 
Application fees will be due only for those open-season applications 
that NWFSB actually accepts for processing as FY 1999 loans. No 
application fee is due for any open-season application that NWFSB does 
not accept for processing as an FY 1999 loan. Although the application 
fee is due when the application is submitted, it is not payable until 
NMFS requests payment. NMFS will not request payment of the application 
fee until after it has accepted an application for processing as an FY 
1999 loan. At that time an application review or interview will take 
place with the applicant and other necessary parties that affirms the 
applicant's compliance with basic loan eligibility and credit criteria. 
Half the application fee is fully earned at the time NMFS requests 
payment. NMFS will not return this half regardless of subsequent 
application disposition. The other half is fully earned only when NMFS 
issues an approval in a principle letter approving an application. Once 
it has issued an approval in a principle letter, NMFS will not return 
the second half of the application fee.
    (9) Crew member transfer eligibility certificate. Crew member 
transfer eligibility certificates certify that parties are eligible to 
receive (hold) QS. The RAM Program issues these certificates to 
prospective QS purchasers. If, at the time of application, an applicant 
does not already have a crew member transfer eligibility certificate, 
NWFSB will advise the applicant how to apply for one. If applicants 
cannot get transfer eligibility certificates for the QS they intend to 
purchase, pursuing the loan application process further is pointless. 
Applicants who do not obtain appropriate transfer eligibility 
certificates promptly may lose their processing priority to applicants 
who do.

[[Page 25293]]

VII. Loan Processing

    NMFS will, to the maximum extent possible, process loan 
applications in the order of their relative priority. If, however, 
applicants cannot, in NWFSB's discretion, promptly comply with 
application processing requirements, they may lose their processing 
priority to applicants who can. NWFSB will, from time to time, specify 
compliance time requirements that are responsive to the administrative 
need to have all credit authority fully obligated before the end of FY 
1999. Applicants must comply or lose their application priority to 
other applicants who will.
    NWFSB will conduct a standard due-diligence credit investigation. 
This should be a relatively simple and quick process. Once NMFS has 
made a due-diligence credit decision, loan approval requires certain 
internal clearances that will add some time to processing, but NMFS 
will try to accelerate processing as much as possible. Upon formal loan 
approval, NMFS will issue an approval in a principle letter for the 
applicant's acceptance. 

VIII. Loan Closing

    NMFS will establish all loan terms and conditions, prepare all 
closing documents, close all loans, and record all security interests. 
NMFS should generally have no need for applicants to hire attorneys for 
any loan purpose, but applicants may do so if they wish. Generally, the 
only closing costs owed by applicants will be the cost of doing title/
lien searches on, or of recording security interests in, loan QS. NWFSB 
may need to do title/lien searches, and to record security interest, in 
several different jurisdictions. Closing costs must be paid by 
applicants at the loan closing.

IX. Title XI and 50 CFR Part 253

    The general rules implementing Title XI are 50 CFR part 253, 
subpart B. Loans will be subject to so much of the other provisions of 
Title XI and of its implementing rules as can reasonably be applied to 
loans involving the purchase under this notice of QS (rather than the 
purchase of fishing vessels, fisheries shoreside facilities, or 
aquacultural facilities).

X. Administrative Requirements

    (1) In accordance with the provisions of the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996, a person may not obtain any Federal financial 
assistance in the form of a loan (other than a disaster loan) or loan 
guarantee if the person has an outstanding debt (other than a debt 
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) with any Federal agency which 
is in a delinquent status, as determined under standards prescribed by 
the Secretary of the Treasury.
    (2) 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 such 
criminal charges as fraud, theft, perjury, or other matters which 
significantly reflect on the applicant's management honesty or 
financial integrity.
    (3) A false statement on an 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.
    (4) 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:
    i. 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 applies;
    ii. 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 the certification form 
applies.
    (5) An applicant classified for tax purposes as an individual, 
partnership, proprietorship, corporation, or medical corporation is 
required to submit a taxpayer identification number (TIN) (either 
social security number, employer identification number as applicable, 
or registered foreign organization number) on Form W-9, ``Payer's 
Request for Taxpayer Identification Number.'' Tax-exempt organizations 
and corporations (with the exception of medical corporations) are 
excluded from this requirement. Form W-9 shall be submitted to the 
Finance Officer within 60 days of the award of assistance. The TIN will 
be provided to the IRS by DoC on Form 1099-G, ``Statement for 
Recipients of Certain Government Payments.'' Recipients who either fail 
to provide their TIN or provide an incorrect TIN may have funding 
suspended until the requirement is met.
    Disclosure of a Recipient's TIN is mandatory for Federal income tax 
reporting purposes under the authority of 26 USC, Section 6011 and 
6109(d), and 26 CFR, Section 301.6109-1. This is to ensure the accuracy 
of income computation by the IRS. This information will be used to 
identify an individual who is compensated with DoC funds or paid 
interest under the Prompt Payment Act.
    (6) Under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 
App. I, section 1 et seq., an audit of the award of assistance may be 
conducted at any time. The Inspector General of the DoC, or any of his 
or her duly authorized representatives, shall have access to any 
pertinent books, documents, papers and records of the Recipient, 
whether written, printed, recorded, produced or reproduced by any 
mechanical, magnetic or other process or medium, in order to make 
audits, inspections, excerpts, transcripts or other examinations as 
authorized by law. When the OIG requires an audit on a DoC award, the 
OIG will usually make the arrangements to audit the award, whether the 
audit is performed by OIG personnel, an independent accountant under 
contract with the DoC, or any other Federal, state or local audit 
entity.

Classification

    Neither the Administrative Procedure Act nor any other law requires 
prior notice and opportunity for public comment about this document 
(which concerns loans). Consequently, the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
does not require a regulatory flexibility analysis.
    This notice is not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
    This notice contains and refers to collection-of-information 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The application 
requirements contained in the Notice have been approved under OMB 
control number 0648-0012. The applications for the crew member 
eligibility certificate referred to have been approved under OMB 
control number 0648-0272.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any 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 currently valid OMB control number.


[[Page 25294]]


    Dated: May 5, 1999.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-11879 Filed 05-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F