[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 231 (Monday, December 2, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71536-71537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-30416]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Indirect Cost Rates for the Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Program for Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic Administration's (NOAA) Damage Assessment 
and Restoration Program (DARP) is announcing new indirect cost rates on 
the recovery of indirect costs for its component organizations involved 
in natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities for 
fiscal years (FY) 2000 and 2001. The indirect cost rates for these 
fiscal years and dates of implementation are provided in this notice. 
More information on these rates and the DARP policy can be found at the 
DARP Web site at: http://www.darp.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eli Reinharz, 301-713-3038, ext. 193; 
(FAX: 301-713-4387; e-mail: [email protected]), or Linda 
Burlington, 301-713-1217 (FAX: 301-713-1229; e-mail: 
[email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The mission of the DARP is to restore 
natural resource injuries caused by releases of hazardous substances or 
oil under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Oil Pollution Act 
of 1990 (OPA) (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), and support restoration of 
physical injuries to National Marine Sanctuary resources under the 
National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) The 
NOAA DARP consists of three component organizations: the Damage 
Assessment Center (DAC) within the National Ocean Service; the 
Restoration Center within the National Marine Fisheries Service; and 
the Office of the General Counsel for Natural Resources (GCNR). The 
DARP conducts Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs) as a basis 
for recovering damages from responsible parties, and uses the funds

[[Page 71537]]

recovered to restore injured natural resources.
    Consistent with Federal accounting requirements, the DARP is 
required to account for and report the full costs of its programs and 
activities. Further, the DARP is authorized by law to recover 
reasonable costs of damage assessment and restoration activities under 
CERCLA, OPA, and the NMSA. Within the constraints of these legal 
provisions and their regulatory applications, the DARP has the 
discretion to develop indirect cost rates for its component 
organizations and formulate policies on the recovery of indirect cost 
rates subject to its requirements.

The DARP's Indirect Cost Effort

    In December 1998, the DARP hired the public accounting firm Rubino 
& McGeehin, Chartered (R&M), to: evaluate the cost accounting system 
and allocation practices; recommend the appropriate indirect cost 
allocation methodology; and determine the indirect cost rates for the 
three organizations that comprise the DARP. A Federal Register notice 
on R&M's effort, their assessment of the DARP's cost accounting system 
and practice, and their determination respecting the most appropriate 
indirect cost methodology and rates for FYs 1993 through 1999 was 
published on December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76611). The notice and report by 
R&M can also be found on the DARP Web site at: http://www.darp.noaa.gov.
    R&M continued its assessment of DARP's indirect cost rate system 
and structure for FYs 2000 and 2001. As in the prior years, R&M 
concluded that the cost accounting system and allocation practices of 
the DARP component organizations are consistent with Federal accounting 
requirements. R&M also determined that the most appropriate indirect 
allocation method continues to be the Direct Labor Cost Base for all 
three DARP component organizations. The Direct Labor Cost Base is 
computed by allocating total indirect cost over the sum of direct labor 
dollars plus the application of NOAA's leave surcharge and benefits 
rates to direct labor. The indirect costs rates that R&M computed for 
each of the three DARP component organizations were further assessed as 
being fair and equitable. A report on R&M's recent assessment of the 
DARP's cost accounting system and recommended cost rate structure can 
also be found on the DARP Web site at: http://www.darp.noaa.gov.

The DARP's Indirect Cost Rates and Policies

    The DARP will apply the indirect cost rates for FY 2000 and 2001 as 
recommended by R&M for each of the DARP component organizations as 
provided in the following table:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Fiscal years
                                                            (percent)
              DARP Component organization              -----------------
                                                          2000     2001
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damage Assessment Center (DAC)........................   198.54   217.27
Restoration Center (RC)...............................   219.60   257.79
General Counsel for Natural Resources (GCNR...........   270.10   239.24
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These rates are based on the Direct Labor Cost Base allocation 
methodology.
    The FY 2000 and 2001 revised rates identified in the above table 
will be applied to all damage assessment and restoration case costs for 
the respective fiscal year periods. The FY 2000 rate is effective as of 
May 16, 2002. The FY 2001 rate is effective as of September 30, 2002. 
DARP will use FY 2001 indirect cost rates for future fiscal years until 
year-specific rates can be developed.
    For cases that have settled and for cost claims paid prior to the 
effective date of the fiscal year in question, the DARP will not re-
open any resolved matters for the purpose of applying the revised rates 
in this policy for these fiscal years. For cases not settled and cost 
claims not paid prior to the effective date of the fiscal year in 
question, costs will be recalculated using the revised rates in this 
policy for these fiscal years. Where a responsible party has agreed to 
pay costs using previous year's indirect rates, but has not yet made 
the payment because the settlement documents are not finalized, the 
costs will not be recalculated.
    The DARP indirect cost rate policies and procedures approved as of 
October 18, 2000 and published in the Federal Register on December 7, 
2000 (65 FR 76611) remain in effect except as updated by this notice.

    Dated: November 22, 2002.
Jamison S. Hawkins,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 02-30416 Filed 11-29-02; 8:45 am]
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