[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15708-15710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4557]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Availability for Donation as a Museum/Memorial, the 
Battleships ex-IOWA (BB 61) and ex-WISCONSIN (BB 64)

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of the 
availability for donation as a museum/memorial the battleship ex-IOWA 
(BB 61), located at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Benecia, CA, and 
battleship ex-WISCONSIN (BB 64) located adjacent to the Nauticus 
National Maritime Center/Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, VA. The 
availability of these battleships for donation is in compliance with 
Public Law 109-163, the FY06 National Defense Authorization Act, and 
under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 7306. The Secretary of the Navy 
requires, as a condition of transfer, that the donee locate ex-IOWA 
within the State of California and ex-WISCONSIN within the Commonwealth 
of Virginia.
    The transfer of ships for donation under 10 U.S.C. 7306 shall be 
made at no cost to the United States Government. The donee will be 
required to maintain the ship as a static display

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in a condition that is satisfactory to the Secretary of the Navy.
    In accordance with Public Law 109-163, the 30-day Congressional 
notification of donation was waived for ex-IOWA and ex-WISCONSIN. It is 
in the best interests of the Navy to donate these ships as soon as 
possible. Therefore, a letter of intent will be required within 45 days 
from the date of this notice and all ship donation applications must be 
received within six months from the date of this notice.
    Prospective donees must submit a letter of intent to the Navy 
Inactive Ship Program Office within 45 days of this Federal Register 
notice. The letter of intent must:
    a. Identify the specific ship sought for donation;
    b. Include a statement of the proposed use for the ship;
    c. Identify the proposed berthing location;
    d. If the applicant is not a state, territory or possession of the 
United States, or a political subdivision or municipal corporation 
thereof, or the District of Columbia, provide a copy of a determination 
letter by the Internal Revenue Service that the applicant is exempt 
from tax under the Internal Revenue Code, or submit evidence that the 
applicant has filed the appropriate documentation in order to obtain 
tax exempt status;
    e. If the applicant asserts that it is a corporation or association 
whose charter or articles of agreement denies it the right to operate 
for profit, provide a properly authenticated copy of the charter, 
certificate of incorporation, and a copy of the organization's by-laws;
    f. Provide a notarized copy of the resolution or other action of 
the applicant's governing board authorizing the person signing the 
application to represent the organization and to sign on its behalf for 
the purpose of obtaining a vessel; and
    g. Provide written affirmation that the prospective donee can 
submit a complete ship donation application to the Navy, compliant with 
the Navy's application requirements, within six months of this Federal 
Register notice. If the applicant is incapable of meeting this 
deadline, specific rationale must be provided along with identification 
of the events that must be achieved and the timeline necessary in order 
to submit a complete ship donation application to the Navy. The Navy 
reserves the right to provide a reasonable extension for receipt of 
applications, or to reject a request for extension and to proceed with 
other applications received within the six-month deadline.
    Upon receipt of the letter of intent, the Navy will contact the 
prospective donees to ensure a full understanding of the application 
requirements.
    Qualified organizations in the state of California wishing to apply 
for ex-IOWA, and qualified organizations in the Commonwealth of 
Virginia wishing to apply for ex-WISCONSIN, must submit a complete 
application to the Navy within six months of this notice, comprised of 
a business/financial plan, a technical plan (includes a towing plan, 
mooring plan, maintenance plan and environmental plan), a curatorial/
museum plan, and a community support plan (includes information 
concerning support from the community and benefit to the Navy). The 
application must address the following areas:
    a. Business/Financial Plan: The Business/Financial Plan must detail 
the estimated start-up and operating costs, and provide detailed 
evidence of firm financing adequate to cover these costs. Start-up 
costs include towing, mooring (this includes but not limited to the 
cost of acquiring and improving facilities, and dredging if required), 
ship restoration, museum development, and meeting environmental 
requirements (including permitting fees and expenses). Operating costs 
are those associated with operating and maintaining the vessel as a 
museum/memorial, including rent, utilities, personnel, insurance, 
periodic dry-docking, etc. Firm financing means available funding to 
ensure the first five years of operation and future stability for long-
term operation. This can include pledges, loans, gifts, bonds (except 
revenue bonds), funds on deposit at a financial institution, or any 
combination of the above. The applicant must also provide income 
projections from sources such as individual and group admissions, 
facility rental fees and gift shop revenues sufficient to cover the 
estimated operating expenses.
    b. Technical: The technical plan is comprised of a Towing Plan, 
Mooring Plan, Maintenance Plan, and Environmental Plan.
    The Towing Plan describes how the ship will be prepared for tow and 
safely towed from its present location to the permanent display site 
proposed by the applicant. The Towing Plan must comply with all U.S. 
Navy Tow Manual requirements, which can be found at http://www.supsalv.org/pdf/towman.pdf.
    The Mooring Plan describes how the ship will be secured at its 
permanent display site during normal and extreme weather conditions 
(including the 100-year storm event) to prevent damage to the ship, its 
mooring system, the pier, and surrounding facilities. Provide evidence 
of availability of a facility for permanent mooring of the ship, either 
by ownership, existing lease, or by letter from the facility owners 
indicating a statement of intent to utilize such facilities. Address 
any requirement to obtain site-specific permits and/or municipality 
approvals required for the facility, to include but not limited to, 
Port Authority and Army Corps of Engineers approvals/permits, where 
required. The mooring location must be acceptable to the Navy and not 
obstruct or interfere with navigation.
    The Environmental Plan describes how the applicant will comply with 
all Federal, state and local environmental and public health & safety 
regulations and permit requirements. The applicant must also provide 
information necessary for the Navy to complete an environmental 
assessment of the donation as required by the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), including the impact of the donation on the natural 
and man-made environment, local infrastructure, and evaluation of the 
socio-economic consequences of the donation.
    The Maintenance Plan must describe plans for long-term, short-term, 
and daily maintenance of the vessel, including preservation and 
maintenance schedule, underwater hull inspections, emergency response 
and fire/flood/intrusion control, pest control, security, periodic dry-
docking, and qualifications of the maintenance team.
    c. The Curatorial/Museum Plan includes two parts: A Curatorial Plan 
and a Historic Management Plan. The Curatorial Plan must describe the 
qualifications for a professional curator (and curator staff, if 
necessary). The plan must also describe how the museum will collect and 
manage artifacts, including a statement of purpose and description of 
access, authority, and collection management responsibilities. The 
Historic Management Plan must describe how the museum will display the 
vessel and exhibits, including a description of the historical context 
of the ship, vessel restoration plans, historical subject matter that 
will be displayed with the ship, and exhibit display plans.
    d. The Community Support Plan must include evidence of local 
support. Evidence of regional support should also be provided. This 
includes letters of endorsement from adjacent communities and counties, 
cities or states. Also describe how the location of the ship will 
encourage public visitation and tourism, become an integral part of the 
community, and how the ship will

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enhance community development. The Community Support Plan must also 
describe the benefit to the Navy, including, but not limited to, 
addressing how the prospective donee may support Navy recruiting 
efforts, the connection between the Navy and the proposed berthing 
location, how veterans associations in the area are willing to support 
the vessel, how the prospective donee will honor veterans' 
contributions to the United States, and how the exhibit will 
commemorate those contributions and showcase Naval traditions.
    The relative importance of each area that must be addressed in the 
donation application is as follows: Business/Financial Plan and 
Technical Plan are the most important criteria and are equal in 
importance. Within the Technical Plan, the Mooring Plan is of greatest 
importance, and the Towing Plan, Maintenance Plan and Environmental 
Plan are individually of equal importance but of lesser importance to 
the Mooring Plan. The Curatorial/Museum Plan and Community Support Plan 
are of equal importance, but of lesser importance than the 
aforementioned plans.
    Evaluation of the application(s) will be performed by the Navy to 
ensure the application(s) are compliant with the minimum acceptable 
application criteria and requirements. In the event of multiple 
compliant applications for the same battleship, the Navy will perform a 
comparative evaluation of the applications to determine the best-
qualified applicant. The adjectival ratings to be used for each 
criterion include: Outstanding, Good, Satisfactory, Marginal and 
Unsatisfactory. The Secretary of the Navy or his designee will make the 
final donation decision.
    Additional information concerning the application process and 
requirements are found on the Navy's Ship Donation Web site, http://www.navsea.navy.mil/ndp. The complete application must be submitted in 
hard copy and electronically on a CD to the Navy Inactive Ship Program 
Office within six months of this Federal Register notice. As stated 
above, the Navy Reserves the right to provide a reasonable extension 
for receipt of applications, or to reject a request for extension and 
to proceed with other applications received within the 6-month 
deadline.
    For Further Information and Submission of Ship Donation 
Applications, Contact: Commander, Program Executive Office Ships (PEO 
SHIPS), PMS333, Navy Inactive Ship Program Office, Ship Donation 
Program, ATTN: Ms. Gloria Carvalho (PMS 333G), 300 M Street, SE., Suite 
500, Washington, DC 20003, telephone number 202-781-0485.

    Dated: March 23, 2006.
Eric McDonald,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-4557 Filed 3-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P