[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 168 (Thursday, August 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50101-50103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17209]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Deadline for Submission of Donation Applications for 
the ex-TICONDEROGA (CG 47)

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy (DON) hereby gives notice of a 
requirement to submit donation applications to obtain the guided 
missile cruiser ex-TICONDEROGA (CG 47) for use as a static museum/
memorial for public display under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 7306. The 
ex-TICONDEROGA was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on August 12, 
2004 and is located at the NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-Site Maintenance 
Office, Philadelphia, PA. Eligible recipients include: (1) Any State, 
Commonwealth, or possession of the United States or any municipal 
corporation or political subdivision thereof; (2) the District of 
Columbia; or (3) any not-for-profit or non-profit entity.
    The transfer of a vessel for donation under 10 U.S.C. 7306 shall be 
at no cost to the United States Government.
    The donee will be required to maintain the vessel as a static 
display in a condition that is satisfactory to the Secretary of the 
Navy.
    A letter of intent will be required within 45 days from the date of 
this notice and all donation applications must be received by January 
31, 2008. The DON will foreclose consideration of donation of ex-
TICONDEROGA to any entity that does not submit a letter of intent to 
the DON within 45 days of the date of this notice.
    Prospective applicants must submit a letter of intent to the Navy 
Inactive Ships Program office within 45 days of this Federal Register 
notice. The letter of intent must:
    a. Identify the specific vessel sought for donation;
    b. Include a statement of the proposed use for the vessel;
    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;

[[Page 50102]]

    e. If the applicant asserts that it is a corporation or association 
whose Charter and/or Articles of Incorporation denies it the right to 
operate for profit, provide a properly authenticated copy of the 
Charter, Articles 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 applicant can 
submit a complete ship donation application to the DON, compliant with 
the DON's application requirements, by January 31, 2008.
    Upon receipt of the letter of intent, the DON will contact the 
prospective applicant(s) to ensure a full understanding of the 
application requirements, which will be available early September 2007, 
on the DON Ship Donation Web site located at: http://peoships.crane.navy.mil/donation/. This information was previously 
available for several years at http://navsea.navy.mil/NDP and is being 
transitioned to a new server.
    Qualified organizations who submit a letter of intent for the ex-
TICONDEROGA (CG 47) must submit a complete application to the DON by 
January 31, 2008, comprised of a Business/Financial Plan, Mooring Plan, 
Towing Plan, Maintenance Plan, Environmental Plan, Curatorial/Museum 
Plan, and a Community Support Plan. These plans must include the 
following information:
    1. 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), 
vessel restoration, museum development, and meeting environmental 
requirements (including permitting fees and expenses) etc. Operating 
costs are those costs 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.
    2. Mooring Plan: The Mooring Plan describes how the vessel 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 vessel, its mooring system, the pier, and surrounding facilities. 
Provide evidence of availability of a facility for permanent mooring of 
the vessel, 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 
DON and not obstruct or interfere with navigation.
    3. Towing Plan: The Towing Plan describes how the vessel 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.
    4. Environmental Plan: 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 describe how it will address the possibility of invasive 
species on the underwater hull and measures to protect the marine 
environment of the proposed berthing location from invasive species. 
The applicant also should provide information necessary for the DON to 
complete an environmental assessment of the donation as required by the 
National Environmental Policy Act, 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.
    5. Maintenance Plan: The Maintenance Plan must describe plans for 
long-term and short-term 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.
    6. Curatorial/Museum Plan: The Curatorial/Museum Plan includes 
three parts: Staff qualifications, a Collection Management Plan and 
Historical Management Plan. The Curatorial/Museum Plan must describe 
the qualifications and responsibilities for a professional curator and 
supporting staff. The Collection Management Plan must define the 
museum's scope of artifact collection, and the collection management 
activity (documentation, accession and deaccession policies, risk 
management and insurance, collections care and control, loans, etc.). 
The Historical Management Plan must provide a description of the 
historical context in which the vessel will be displayed. The plan 
should also describe proposed exhibits, as well as vessel restoration 
plans. The applicant must conform to standard ethical codes of conduct 
for museum organizations.
    7. 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 and/or States. Also describe how the location of the vessel will 
encourage public visitation and tourism, become an integral part of the 
community, and how the vessel will enhance community development. The 
Community Support Plan must also describe the benefit to the DON, 
including, but not limited to, addressing how the prospective donee may 
support DON recruiting efforts, the connection between the DON 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 Mooring 
Plan are the most important criteria and are equal in importance. The 
Towing Plan, Maintenance Plan and Environmental Plan are individually 
of equal importance but of lesser importance than the Business/
Financial and Mooring Plans. 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 DON to 
ensure the application(s) are compliant with the minimum acceptable 
application criterion and requirements. In the event of multiple 
compliant applications for the same vessel, the DON will perform a 
comparative evaluation of the

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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 will be available early September 2007, on the DON Ship 
Donation Web site located at http://peoships.crane.navy.mil/donation/. 
This information was previously available for several years at http://navsea.navy.mil/NDP and is being transitioned to a new server.
    The complete application must be submitted in hard copy and 
electronically on a CD to the Navy Inactive Ships Program Office by 
January 31, 2008. In the absence of a viable donation application, the 
DON reserves the right to remove ex-TICONDEROGA from donation 
consideration and proceed with disposal of the vessel.
    For Further Information and Submission of Ship Donation 
Applications, Contact: Ms. Gloria Carvalho of the Naval Sea Systems 
Command, Navy Inactive Ships Program (PMS 333), telephone number 202-
781-0485. Mailed correspondence should be addressed to: The Columbia 
Group, 1201 M Street, SE., Suite 010, Washington, DC 20003; marked for 
Ms. Gloria Carvalho (PMS 333).

    Dated: August 23, 2007.
T.M. Cruz,
Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 
Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E7-17209 Filed 8-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P