[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 91 (Monday, May 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25343-25347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11741]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 000202024-3109-03 I.D. 030303B]


Announcement of Funding Opportunity to submit proposals for the 
South Florida Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Program (SFP) FY04

AGENCY: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences/Center for 
Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research/Coastal Ocean Program (NCCOS/CSCOR/
COP), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability for financial assistance for 
project grants and cooperative agreements.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that NCCOS/
CSCOR/COP is soliciting 1-year and 2-year proposals to support coastal 
ecosystem studies in South Florida including Florida Bay, Florida Keys, 
the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), and adjacent 
coastal waters. It will provide support for the NOAA South Florida 
Program and the FKNMS. The overall goal of this Announcement is to fund 
high priority research and long term observational data collection 
needed to predict the impacts of Everglades restoration on the South 
Florida coastal ecosystem and to fulfill NOAA commitments to the South 
Florida Ecosystem Restoration effort and the Comprehensive Everglades 
Restoration Plan. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal 
Year 2004 and 2005 Federal appropriations. It is anticipated that 
projects funded under this announcement will have a March 1, 2004 start 
date.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of proposals at the COP office is 3 
p.m., local time July 16, 2003. (Note that late-arriving applications 
provided to a delivery service on or before July 16, 2003, with 
delivery guaranteed before 3 p.m., local time on July 16,2003, will be 
accepted for review if the applicant can document that the application 
was provided to the delivery service with delivery to the address 
listed below guaranteed by the specified closing date and time; and, in 
any event, the proposals are received in the NCCOS/CSCOR/COP office by 
3 p.m., local time, no later than 2 business days following the closing 
date.)

ADDRESSES: Submit the original and 15 copies of your proposal to Center 
for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research/Coastal Ocean Program (N/SCI 2), 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1305 East-West 
Highway, SSMC4, 8th Floor Station 8243, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 
attention SFP 2004.
    NOAA and Standard Form Applications with instructions are 
accessible on the following COP Internet Site: http://www.cop.noaa.gov 
under the COP Grants Information Section, Part D, Application Forms for 
Initial Proposal Submission.
    Forms may be viewed and, in most cases, filled in by computer. All 
forms must be printed, completed, and mailed to NCCOS/CSCOR/COP with 
original signatures. If you are unable to access this information, you 
may call COP at 301-713-3338 to leave a mailing request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Technical Information. Larry Pugh, SFP 
2004 Program Manager, NCCOS/CSCOR/COP, 301-713-3338/ext 160, Internet: 
[email protected].
    Business Management Information. Leslie McDonald, NCCOS/CSCOR/COP 
Grants Administrator, 301-713-3338/ext 155, Internet: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    Background information on the NOAA South Florida Program, including 
descriptions of presently funded projects, results, data management, 
and programmatic infrastructure (including small boat access and 
policy) can be found at http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/ocd/sferpm.
    Background information on the Florida Bay and Adjacent Marine 
Systems Interagency Science Program, including the Program Management 
Committee (PMC), Scientific Oversight Panel (SOP), copies of the annual 
science conference abstracts, workshop reports, and present Strategic 
Science Plan, can be found at http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/flbay.
    Background information regarding Florida Keys National Marine 
Sanctuary can be found at http://www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov.
    Background information regarding South Florida Ecosystem 
Restoration (SFER) in general can be found at http://www.sfrestore.org, 
while the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), Florida 
Bay/Florida Keys Feasibility Study, and RECOVER's South Estuaries 
Monitoring and Assessment Plan to which the projects funded herein are 
anticipated to contribute to can be found at http://www.evergladesplan.org.

[[Page 25344]]

Background

Program Description

    For complete program description and other requirements criteria 
for the NCCOS/CSCOR/Coastal Ocean Program, see the General Grant 
Administration Terms and Conditions for the Coastal Ocean Program 
annual notification in the Federal Register November 8, 2002(67 FR 
68103) and at the COP home page. Unless stated otherwise, in this 
notice, the requirements and procedures contained in the November 8, 
2002 annual notification are applicable to this solicitation.
    This program is one of the Federal and state programs contributing 
to the Florida Bay and Adjacent Marine Systems Interagency Science 
Program, which is designed to understand and predict the effects of 
South Florida ecosystem restoration.
    The activities conducted to restore the South Florida ecosystem 
occur predominantly upstream of Florida Bay, and restoration impacts 
may not be direct or immediate. Through funding of the research areas 
identified here, NCCOS/CSCOR/COP will fund an integrated suite of 
activities to better understand the coastal and marine ecosystem 
adjacent to the Everglades, comprising Florida Bay and the FKNMS. The 
Goal of the complete effort is to develop a capability to predict the 
impacts of proposed Everglades Restoration activities on the coastal 
system from the mangroves to the coral reefs.

Research Areas

    To address the goal of developing a capability to predict changes 
in coastal ecosystems resulting from Restoration activities, this 
announcement has five specific areas of interest: nutrient inputs and 
dynamics, water quality, circulation and physical oceanography, 
fisheries and protected resources, and Florida Keys habitat 
characterization and research.
    (A) Nutrient Inputs and Dynamics. Proposals are solicited to 
address nutrient cycles within the water column and between the water 
column and benthos. Priority consideration for selection in this area 
will be given to nutrient proposals that cover the biogeochemical 
processes (including the microbial loop) governing the bio-availability 
of the organic forms of plant nutrients.
    (B) Water Quality. The health of the coral reef community of the 
FKNMS depends upon the quality (temperature, salinity, nutrients, 
inorganic particulate load, light fields, and chemical contaminants) of 
the waters that flow over them. With Everglades restoration, water 
quality throughout South Florida coastal waters will be changed. 
Proposals are now solicited that address the chemical, biological, and 
optical characteristics of Bay waters that exit Keys passes and 
potentially reach the reef tract and protected areas in the FKNMS 
including the Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve. These should address 
timely dissemination of information to the Interagency SFER science 
community and the public. Priority consideration for selection in this 
area will be given to projects coordinated with and complementary to 
physical oceanographic field studies.
    (C) Circulation and Physical Oceanography. In the area of 
Circulation and Physical Oceanography, emphasis is placed on predicting 
the impacts of restoration scenarios and actions upstream and along the 
Keys, in the context of the physical variability of the natural system. 
Priority consideration for selection in this area will be given to 
proposals that address the following research topics:
    (1) Measuring oceanographic parameters needed to verify and 
initialize regional and interior Bay circulation models;
    (2) Determining the interconnections between the Gulf of Mexico 
loop and Florida currents and the Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve 
(e.g.,quantifying flows entering the Florida Bay interior along its 
western margin and those intermittently exiting through Keys passages 
and potentially reaching the reef tract);
    (3) Determining basin residence and turnover times, circulation, 
and flow within the Bay and across the banktops; or
    (4) Developing a hydrodynamic model of the coastal seas adjacent to 
Florida Bay and the Florida Keys for use in providing boundary 
conditions for coastal limited area models in the region and for 
evaluating simulations of restoration scenarios.
    (D) Fisheries and Protected Resources. Ecosystem changes caused by 
South Florida Ecosystem Restoration activities have ultimate impacts on 
the sustainability of higher trophic level (HTL) species, including 
fishery and protected resources, which have widely recognized 
importance.
    Proposals are solicited to build models and provide information to 
increase predictive capability in linking higher trophic levels to 
ecosystem restoration activities. Priority consideration for selection 
in this area will be given to proposals having a modeling component, or 
interdisciplinary emphasis directed at the following research problems:
    (1) Determining human (e.g., water management, fishing, excess 
nutrients, contaminants) and natural influences on biological processes 
affecting growth, survival, and recruitment of HTL species;
    (2) Determining and modeling the major factors that influence 
distribution and abundance patterns and community, ecosystem and 
trophic structure;
    (3) Identifying and modeling major pathways, mechanisms, and 
influencing factors in the transport of pre-settlement stages of 
offshore-spawning species onto nursery grounds; or
    (4) Determining the processes impacting early settlement stage 
larvae and recruitment of important game fishes such as red drum, 
snook, tarpon, bone fish, and other estuarine and euryhaline dependent 
fish and macro invertebrates.
    (E) Florida Keys Habitat Characterization and Research. Coral 
reefs, sea grass beds, and hard bottom communities comprise the 
submerged, biogenic habitats of the FKNMS that support diverse species 
assemblages. FKNMS management issues concerning these habitats cannot 
be fully addressed because of limited ecological research. Fully 
protected zones of the FKNMS, including the Dry Tortugas Ecological 
Reserve have been created to assist in the protection of biological 
diversity, disperse resource utilization in order to reduce user 
conflicts, and lessen the concentrated impact to marine organisms on 
heavily used reefs.
    Emphasis in this area is placed on monitoring and research on sea 
grass beds, coral reef, and hard bottom communities to provide a basis 
for detecting potential changes associated with Everglades restoration 
and other anthropogenic and natural factors and evaluating the 
ecological benefits of FKNMS fully protected zones. Priority 
consideration for selection in this area will be given to proposals 
directed at the following research topics:
    (1) Investigating the functional significance of hard bottom 
communities in the FKNMS ecosystem, particularly the roles of filter-
feeding organisms and biogenic habitat structure.
    (2) Monitoring and research on commercially important species (e.g. 
spiny lobster) and key depleted fishery species (e.g. queen conch);
    (3) Creating ecosystem models of reef fish communities to predict 
the effects of zoning on species diversity, abundance, and trophic 
structure;

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    (4) Investigating how key ecological processes may be modified by 
zoning; and
    (5) Measuring oceanographic processes impacting upon the Tortugas 
Ecological Reserve.

Other Participant Requirements

    As participants in the Interagency Science Program for Florida Bay 
and Adjacent Marine Systems, funded principal investigators will be 
expected to:
    (a) Participate in meetings for planning and coordination of the 
Program. This includes attending and contributing to the annual 
Interagency Science Conference, Research Team Meetings, and other 
relevant technical workshops.
    (b) Promptly quality control their data and make them readily 
available through the Coordinating Office in accordance with the data 
collection policy.
    (c) Assist the Coordinating Office in the synthesis and 
interpretation of research results and the development of products of 
value to restoration and resource.
    (d) Work with the Coordinating Office regarding small boat 
requirements (if any) to schedule access to the dedicated research 
vessel (description available on the SFERPM website earlier cited). If 
your project will have small boat needs that you cannot furnish, please 
provide description and schedule requirements in your proposal.
    (e) If your project uses/relies on data/information from research 
categories in this Announcement, other than the one you are proposing 
to study, please describe.

Part I: Schedule and Proposal Submission

    This document requests full proposals only. The provisions for 
proposal preparation provided here are mandatory. Proposals received 
after the published deadline (refer to DATES) or proposals that deviate 
from the prescribed format will be returned to the sender without 
further consideration. Information regarding this announcement, 
additional background information, and required Federal forms are 
available on the NCCOS/CSCOR/COP home page.

Full Proposals

    Applications submitted in response to this announcement require an 
original proposal and 15 proposal copies at time of submission. This 
includes color or high-resolution graphics, unusually sized materials, 
or otherwise unusual materials submitted as part of the proposal. For 
color graphics, submit either color originals or color copies. The 
stated requirements for the number of proposal copies provide for a 
timely review process and is cleared by OMB control number 0648-0384. 
(See Collection of information requirements.) Facsimile transmissions 
and electronic mail submission of full proposals will not be accepted.

Required Elements

    For clarity in the submission of proposals, the following 
definitions are provided for recipient use: (1) Funding and/or Budget 
Period - the period of time when Federal funding is available for 
obligation by the recipient. The funding period must always be 
specified in multi-year awards, using fixed year funds. This term may 
also be used to mean ``budget period''. A budget period is typically 12 
months. (2) Award and/or Project Period - the period established in the 
award document during which Federal sponsorship begins and ends. The 
term ``award period'' is also referred to as project period in 15 CFR 
14.2(cc). Each proposal must also include the following nine elements 
or it will be returned to sender without further consideration:
    (1) Standard Form 424. At time of proposal submission, all 
applicants anticipating direct funding shall submit the Standard Form, 
SF-424, ``Application for Federal Assistance,'' to indicate the total 
amount of funding proposed for the whole project period. This form is 
to be the cover page for the original proposal and all requested 
copies. Multi-institutional proposals must include signed SF-424 forms 
from all institutions requesting funding.
    (2) Signed Summary title page. The title page should be signed by 
the Principal Investigator (PI). The Summary Title page identifies the 
project's title starting with the acronym SFP 2004, a short title (less 
than 50 characters); and the PI's name and affiliation, complete 
address, phone, FAX and E-mail information. The requested budget for 
each fiscal year should be included on the Summary Title page. Multi-
institution proposals must also identify the lead investigator from 
each fiscal year for each institution and the requested funding for 
each fiscal year for each institution on the title page, but no 
signatures are required on the title page from the additional 
institutions. Lead investigator and separate budget information is not 
requested on the title page for institutions that are proposed to 
receive funds through a subcontractor to the lead institution; however, 
the COP Summary Proposal Budget Form and accompanying budget 
justification must be submitted for each contractor. For further 
details on budget information, please see Section (7) Budget of this 
Part.
    (3) One-page abstract/project summary. The Project Summary 
(Abstract) Form, which is to be submitted at time of application, shall 
include an introduction of the problem, rationale, scientific 
objectives and/or hypotheses to be tested, and a brief summary of work 
to be completed. The prescribed COP format for the Project Summary Form 
can be found on the NCCOS/CSCOR/COP Internet site under the COP Grants 
Information section, Part D.
    The summary should appear on a separate page, headed with the 
proposal title, institution(s), investigator(s), total proposed cost 
and budget period. It should be written in the third person. The 
summary is used to help compare proposals quickly and allows the 
respondents to summarize these key points in their own words.
    (4) Project description. The description of the proposed project 
must be complete and divided into annual increments of work that 
include: identification of the problem, scientific objectives, proposed 
methodology, relevance to the SFP 2004 program goal. The project 
description section (including relevant results from prior support) 
should not exceed 15 pages. Page limits are inclusive of figures, other 
visual materials, and letters of endorsement but exclusive of 
references, milestone chart, and letters regarding cooperation from 
unfunded collaborators.
    This section should clearly identify project management with a 
description of the functions of each PI within a team. It should 
provide a full scientific justification for the research rather than 
simply reiterating justifications presented in this document; and 
should also include:
    (a) The objective for the period of proposed work and its expected 
significance;
    (b) The relation to the present state of knowledge in the field and 
relation to previous work and work in progress by the proposing 
principal investigator(s);
    (c) A discussion of how the proposed project lends value to the 
program goal;
    (d) Potential coordination with other investigators.
    (5) References cited. Reference information is required. Each 
reference must include the name(s) of all authors in the same sequence 
in which they appear in the publications, the article title, volume 
number, page numbers and

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year of publications. While there is no established page limitation, 
this section should include bibliographic citations only and should not 
be used to provide parenthetical information outside the 15-page 
project description.
    (6) Milestone chart. Provide time lines of major tasks covering the 
12- to 24-month duration of the proposed project.
    (7) Budget. At time of proposal submission, all applicants are 
required to submit a COP Summary Proposal Budget Form for each fiscal 
year increment. Multi-institution proposals must include a COP Summary 
Proposal Budget Form for each institution, and multi-investigator 
proposals using a lead investigator with contractor's/subgrantee's 
approach must submit a COP Summary Proposal Budget Form for each 
contractor/subgrantee.
    Each contractor or subgrantee should be listed as a separate item. 
Describe products/services to be obtained and indicate the 
applicability or necessity of each to the project. Provide separate 
budgets for each subgrantee or contractor regardless of the dollar 
value and indicate the basis for the cost estimates. List all 
subgrantee or contractor costs under line item number 5--Subcontracts 
on the COP Summary Proposal Budget Form.
    The use of this budget form will provide for a detailed annual 
budget and for the level of detail required by the NCCOS/CSCOR/COP 
program staff to evaluate the effort to be invested by investigators 
and staff on a specific project. The COP budget form is compatible with 
forms in use by other agencies that participate in joint projects with 
NCCOS/CSCOR/COP and can be found on the CSCOR/COP home page under 
Grants Information section, Part D.
    All applications must include a budget narrative and a 
justification to support all proposed budget categories. The SF-424A, 
Budget Information (Non-Construction) Form, will be requested only from 
those applicants subsequently recommended for award.
    Ship time needs should be clearly identified in the proposed 
budget. The investigator is responsible for requesting ship time and 
for meeting all requirements to ensure the availability of requested 
ship time. Copies of relevant ship time request forms should be 
included with the proposal.
    (8) Biographical sketch. All principal and co-investigators must 
provide summaries of up to 2 pages that include the following:
    (a) A listing of professional and academic essentials and mailing 
address;
    (b) A list of up to five publications most closely related to the 
proposed project and five other significant publications.
    (c) A list of all persons (including their organizational 
affiliation) in alphabetical order, with whom the investigator has 
collaborated on a project or publication within the last 48 months, 
including collaborators on the proposal and persons listed in the 
publications. If no collaborators exist, this should be so indicated;
    (d) A list of persons (including their organizational affiliation) 
with whom the individual has had an association like thesis advisor or 
postdoctoral scholar sponsor;
    (e) A list of the names and institutions of the individual's own 
graduate and postgraduate advisors.
    The material presented in (c, d, and e) is used to assist in 
identifying potential conflicts or bias in the selection of reviewers.
    (9) Current and pending support. Describe all current and pending 
federal financial/funding support for all principal and co-
investigators, including subsequent funding in the case of continuing 
grants.
    (10) Proposal format and assembly. The original proposal should be 
clamped in the upper left-hand corner, but left unbound. The 15 
additional copies can be stapled in the upper left-hand corner or bound 
on the left edge. The page margin must be one inch (2.5 cm) margins at 
the top, bottom, left and right, and the typeface standard 12-points 
size must be clear and easily legible. Proposals should be single 
spaced.

Part II: Further Supplementary Information

    (1) Funding availability. Funding is contingent upon receipt of 
fiscal years 2004-2005 Federal appropriations. NOAA is committed to 
continual improvement of the grants process and accelerating the award 
of financial assistance to qualified recipients in accordance with the 
recommendations of the Program Review Team (Information available at 
www.noaa.gov). In order to fulfill these responsibilities, this 
solicitation announces that approximately $2.8 million per year is 
anticipated to be available for FY2004 and FY2005 for SFP projects, in 
award amounts to be determined by the proposals and available funds.
    Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been 
appropriated for this SFP program. In no event will NOAA or the 
Department of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs if 
this program fails to receive funding or is cancelled because of other 
agency priorities. For prior fiscal history, for Fiscal years 2002 and 
2003, NOAA had approximately $2.8 million available for this program, 
with approximately $2.1 million of these funds provided by NCCOS/CSCOR/
COP and approximately $0.6 million provided by NOAA/NMFS/SEFC.
    There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to 
make awards for all qualified projects. Publication of this notice does 
not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any 
available funds. If one incurs any costs prior to receiving an award 
agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, one would do so solely 
at one's own risk of these costs not being included under the award.
    Publication of this notice does not obligate any agency to any 
specific award or to obligate any part of the entire amount of funds 
available. Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws 
and agency policies, regulations and procedures applicable to Federal 
financial assistance awards.
    (2) Project/Award period. Full Proposals can cover a project period 
from 1 to 2 years, i.e. from date of award up to 24 consecutive months. 
Multi-year awards may be funded incrementally on an annual basis, but, 
once awarded, those awards will not compete for funding in subsequent 
years. Each annual award shall require an Implementation Plan and 
project description that can be easily divided into annual increments 
of meaningful work representing solid accomplishments (if prospective 
funding is not made available, or is discontinued).
    The following is a description of Multi-Year Awards for those 
applicants subsequently recommended for award. This information can 
also be found on the COP web site under Grants Information. Multi-Year 
Awards: Multi Year Awards are awards which have an award/project period 
of more than 12 months of activity. Multi Year Awards are partially 
funded when the awards are approved, and are subsequently funded in 
increments. One of the purposes of Multi Year Awards is to reduce the 
administrative burden on both the applicant and the operating unit. For 
example, with proper planning, one application can suffice for the 
entire multi year award period. Funding for each year's activity is 
contingent upon the availability of funds from Congress, satisfactory 
performance, and is at the sole discretion of the agency. Multi year 
funding is appropriate for projects to be

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funded for 2 to 5 years. Once approved, full applications are not 
required for the continuations into the out years.
    (3) Additional Evaluation Criteria. The Evaluation Criteria set out 
in section(12)(b) of the November 8, 2002 Federal Register Notice, 
under Research Performance Competence, is amended to include the 
following: The capability of the investigator and collaborators to 
complete the proposed work in light of present commitments to other 
projects. Therefore, please discuss the percentage of time 
investigators and collaborators have devoted to other Federal or non-
Federal projects, as compared to the time that will be devoted to the 
project solicited under this notice.
    (4) Other requirements. The Department of Commerce Pre-Award 
Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements 
contained in the Federal Register October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), as 
amended by the Federal Register notice published on October 30, 2002 
(67 FR 66109), are applicable to this solicitation.
    (5) Intergovernmental review. Applications under this program are 
not subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of 
Federal Programs.'' It has been determined that this notice is not 
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
553(a) (2), an opportunity for public notice and comment is not 
required for this notice relating to grants, benefits and contracts. 
Because this notice is exempt from the notice and comment provisions of 
the Administrative Procedure Act, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is 
not required, and none has been prepared. It has been determined that 
this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as 
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
    (6) Collection of information requirements. This notification 
involves collection-of-information requirements subject to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, has been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control 
numbers 0348-0043 and 0348-0044.
    The following requirements have been approved by OMB under control 
number 0648-0384; a Summary Proposal Budget Form (30 minutes per 
response), a Project Summary Form (30 minutes per response), a 
standardized format for the annual Performance Report (5 hours per 
response), a standardized format for the Final Report (10 hours per 
response), and the submission of up to 20 copies of proposals (10 
minutes per response). The response estimates include the time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding these requirements 
and the burden estimate, or any other aspect of this collection of 
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to 
[email protected]. Copies of these forms and formats can be 
found on the CSCOR/COP home page under Grant Information sections, 
Parts D and F.
    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 displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.

    Dated: May 7, 2003.
Ted. I. Lillestolen,
Captain, (NOAA) Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator, National 
Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service.
[FR Doc. 03-11741 Filed 5-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JS-S