[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51637-51638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19219]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 040812237-4237-01]


NOAA Five-Year Research Plan Draft and NOAA Twenty-Year Research 
Vision Draft

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Public Comment.

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[[Page 51638]]

SUMMARY: NOAA publishes this notice to announce the availability of the 
NOAA 5-Year Research Plan Draft and the NOAA 20-Year Research Vision 
Draft for public comment.

DATES: Comments on these draft documents must be submitted by September 
30, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The NOAA 5-Year Research Plan Draft will be available at the 
following location: ftp://www.oarhq.noaa.gov/review/5 and the NOAA 20-
Year Research Vision Draft will be available at: ftp://www.oarhq.noaa.gov/review/20.
    The public is encouraged to submit comments on the NOAA 5-Year 
Research Plan Draft electronically to: [email protected]. The 
public is encouraged to submit comments on the NOAA 20-Year Research 
Vision Draft electronically to: [email protected]. For commenters 
who do not have access to a computer, comments on both documents may be 
submitted in writing to: NOAA Research, c/o Dr. Terry Schaefer, Silver 
Spring Metro Center Bldg. 3, Room 11863, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, Maryland 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Terry Schaefer, Silver Spring 
Metro Center Bldg. 3, Room 11863, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, Maryland 20910 (phone (301) 713-2465 ext. 184), during normal 
business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, 
or visit the NOAA Research Council Web site at: http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/Reports.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA is publishing this notice to announce 
the availability of the NOAA 5-Year Research Plan Draft and the NOAA 
20-Year Research Vision Draft for public comment. The NOAA 5-Year 
Research Plan Draft and the NOAA 20-Year Research Vision Draft will be 
posted for public comment on August 20, 2004. The NOAA Research Council 
is seeking public comment from all interested parties. The NOAA 5-Year 
Research Plan Draft and the NOAA 20-Year Research Vision are being 
issued for comment only and are not intended for interim use. Suggested 
changes will be incorporated, where appropriate, in the final version.
    The NOAA 5-Year Research Plan and the NOAA 20-Year Research Vision 
are being developed by the NOAA Research Council in response to a 
January 2004 recommendation from the NOAA Science Advisory Board that 
NOAA take immediate steps to promulgate a NOAA-wide research plan that 
is consistent with NOAA's Strategic Plan.
    The NOAA 5-Year Research Plan Draft lays the path for how NOAA's 
research enterprise will begin to deliver, in the short-term, 
improvements to existing forecasting tools. This plan explicitly states 
outcomes for the short term and the milestones by which we intend to 
measure progress towards achieving those outcomes, framed within a 
vision of a future NOAA.
    In order to address the longer-term research goals of the agency, 
the Research Council has developed the NOAA 20-Year Research Vision 
Draft. This high-level document intends to outline some of the 
potential products and services that NOAA will provide in the future, 
and will further aid environmental forecasting and management over the 
next 20 years.
    NOAA welcomes all comments on the content of the NOAA 5-Year 
Research Plan Draft and the NOAA 20-Year Research Vision Draft. We also 
request comments on any inconsistencies perceived within the documents, 
and possible omissions of important topics or issues. For any 
shortcoming noted within the draft documents, please propose specific 
remedies.
    Please adhere to the instructions detailed herein for preparing and 
submitting your comments. Using the format guidance described below 
will facilitate the processing of reviewer comments and assure that all 
comments are appropriately considered. Please provide background 
information about yourself on the first page of your comments: Your 
name(s), organization(s), area(s) of expertise, mailing address(es), 
telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address(es). Overview comments should 
follow your background information and should be numbered. Comments 
that are specific to particular pages, paragraphs, or lines of the 
section should follow any overview comments and should identify the 
page numbers to which they apply. Please number and print identifying 
information at the top of all pages.
    Public comments may be submitted from August 20, 2004, through 
September 30, 2004.

    Dated: August 17, 2004.
Richard D. Rosen,
Chair, NOAA Research Council.
[FR Doc. 04-19219 Filed 8-19-04; 8:45 am]
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