[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25362-25364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10801]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2011-0157]


Cooperative Research and Development Agreement: Butanol Fuel 
Blend Usage With Marine Outboard Engines

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is announcing its intent to enter into a 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to identify and 
investigate the use of butanol fuel blends within marine outboard 
engines, with the overarching goal of reducing the engines' Greenhouse 
Gas (GHG) emissions. While the Coast Guard is currently considering 
partnering with Honda R&D Americas, Inc, we are soliciting public 
comment on the nature of and participation of other parties in the 
proposed CRADA. In addition, the Coast Guard also invites other 
potential participants to submit proposals for consideration in similar 
CRADAs.

DATES: Comments and related material on the proposed CRADA must reach 
the Docket Management Facility on or before June 3, 2011. Synopses of 
proposals regarding future, similar CRADAs must reach the Docket 
Management Facility on or before October 31, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2011-0157 using any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of

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Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9329.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on 
submitting comments.
    Do not submit detailed proposals for future CRADAs to the Docket 
Management Facility. Potential, non-Federal CRADA participants should 
submit these documents to James W. Gynther, U.S. Coast Guard Research 
and Development Center, 1 Chelsea Street, New London, CT 06320 (e-mail: 
[email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
contact James W. Gynther, U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development 
Center, 1 Chelsea Street, New London, CT 06320, telephone 860-271-2858, 
e-mail: [email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided.

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking (USCG-2011-0157), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each 
suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material 
online (via http://www.regulations.gov) or by fax, mail, or hand 
delivery, but please use only one of these means. If you submit a 
comment online via http://www.regulations.gov, it will be considered 
received by the Coast Guard when you successfully transmit the comment. 
If you fax, hand deliver, or mail your comment, it will be considered 
as having been received by the Coast Guard when it is received at the 
Docket Management Facility. We recommend that you include your name and 
a mailing address, an e-mail address, or a telephone number in the body 
of your document so that we can contact you if we have questions 
regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
type ``USCG-2011-0157'' in the ``Keyword'' box. If you submit your 
comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no 
larger than 8[frac12] by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic 
filing. If you submit comments by mail and would like to know that they 
reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard 
or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during 
the comment period and may change the rule based on your comments.

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
click on the ``read comments'' box, which will then become highlighted 
in blue. In the ``Keyword'' box insert ``USCG-2011-0157'' and click 
``Search.'' Click the ``Open Docket Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column. 
You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on 
the ground floor of the Department of Transportation West Building, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. We have an 
agreement with the Department of Transportation to use the Docket 
Management Facility.

Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of comments received into any 
of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review a Privacy Act notice 
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the 
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Cooperative Research and Development Agreements

    Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), are 
authorized by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-
502, codified at 15 U.S.C. 3710(a)). A CRADA promotes the transfer of 
technology to the private sector for commercial use as well as 
specified research or development efforts that are consistent with the 
mission of the Federal parties to the CRADA. The Federal party or 
parties agree with one or more non-Federal parties to share research 
resources, but the Federal party does not contribute funding. The 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as an executive agency under 5 
U.S.C. 105, is a Federal agency for purposes of 15 U.S.C. 3710(a) and 
may enter into a CRADA. DHS delegated its authority to the Commandant 
of the Coast Guard (see DHS Delegation No. 0160.1, para. 2.B(34)) and 
the Commandant has delegated his authority to the Coast Guard's 
Research and Development Center (R&DC).
    CRADAs are not procurement contracts. Care is taken to ensure that 
CRADAs are not used to circumvent the contracting process. CRADAs have 
a specific purpose and should not be confused with other types of 
agreements such as procurement contracts, grants, and cooperative 
agreements.

Goal of Proposed CRADA

    Under the proposed CRADA, the Coast Guard's R&DC would collaborate 
with non-Federal participants. Together, the R&DC and the non-Federal 
participants would identify and investigate the advantages, 
disadvantages, required technology enhancements, performance, costs, 
and other issues associated with using butanol fuel blends with marine 
outboard engines, with the overarching goal of reducing their 
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions (i.e. lower carbon footprints).
    The R&DC, with the non-Federal participants, will create and employ 
a structured and collaborative test protocol to better understand the 
potential of butanol fuel blends within marine outboard engines. The 
non-Federal participants will investigate the use of at least one 
mutually agreed upon butanol fuel blend in representative outboard 
engines, via a sequential process that involves first fuel-materials 
compatibility analysis, then bench-testing, followed by controlled 
field tests, and finally longer-duration operational testing on actual 
Coast Guard vessels.

Party Contributions

    We anticipate that the Coast Guard's contributions under the 
proposed CRADA will include the following:
    (1) Obtain, transport, and provide temporary storage for the 
mutually-selected butanol fuel blend required for the work to be 
accomplished under the CRADA;

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    (2) Lead the development of the test objectives and test plan for 
the specific work to be accomplished under the CRADA;
    (3) Provide all required resources, and conduct the ``field 
testing'' analysis of the mutually-agreeable representative outboard 
engines using the specified butanol fuel blend, in accordance with 
CRADA test plan;
    (4) Provide all required resources, and conduct the ``operational 
testing'' analysis of the mutually-agreeable representative outboard 
engines using the specified butanol fuel blend, in accordance with the 
CRADA test plan; and
    (5) Develop the CRADA Final Report, which documents the 
methodologies, findings, conclusions, and recommendations of this CRADA 
work.
    We anticipate that the non-Federal participants' contributions 
under the proposed CRADA will include the following:
    (1) Provide input into the Coast Guard selection of the butanol 
fuel blend to be used during this CRADA investigation;
    (2) Provide input into the Coast Guard-developed, CRADA test 
objectives and CRADA test plan;
    (3) Provide all required resources, and conduct the ``materials-
compatibility testing'' analysis of the mutually-agreeable 
representative outboard engines using the specified butanol fuel blend, 
in accordance with the CRADA test plan;
    (4) Provide all required resources, and conduct the ``bench-
testing'' analysis of the mutually-agreeable representative outboard 
engines using the specified butanol fuel blend, in accordance with the 
CRADA test plan;
    (5) Provide outboard engine operation and performance monitoring 
support to the Coast Guard during the ``field testing'' analysis;
    (6)Provide butanol fuel-specific training, along with mutually 
agreed upon technical support, to those Coast Guard personnel who will 
be maintaining the CRADA outboard engines during the operational 
testing, which is anticipated to be one year in duration; and
    (7) Provide input into the Coast Guard-developed, CRADA Final 
Report.

Selection Criteria

    The Coast Guard reserves the right to select for CRADA participants 
all, some, or none of the proposals in response to this notice. The 
Coast Guard will provide no funding for reimbursement of proposal 
development costs. Proposals (or any other material) submitted in 
response to this notice will not be returned. Proposals submitted are 
expected to be unclassified and have no more than four single-sided 
pages (excluding cover page and resumes). The Coast Guard will select 
proposals at its sole discretion on the basis of:
    (1) How well they communicate an understanding of, and ability to 
meet, the proposed CRADA's goal; and
    (2) How well they address the following criteria:
    (a) Technical capability to support the non-Federal party 
contributions described; and
    (b) Resources available for supporting the non-Federal party 
contributions described.
    Currently, the Coast Guard is considering Honda R&D Americas, Inc., 
for participation in this CRADA. This is based on the fact that many 
Coast Guard vessels presently have Honda outboard engines, which are 
the subject of this alternative fuel investigation. However, we do not 
wish to exclude other outboard engine manufacturers or other viable 
participants from this or future similar CRADAs.
    This is a technology transfer/development effort. Presently, the 
Coast Guard has no plan to procure outboard engines, which operate on 
butanol fuel blends. Since the goal of this CRADA is to identify and 
investigate the advantages, disadvantageous, required technology 
enhancements, performance, costs, and other issues associated with 
using butanol fuel blends within marine outboard engines, with the 
overarching goal of reducing their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions (i.e. 
lower carbon footprints), and not to set future CG acquisition 
requirements for same, non-Federal CRADA partners will not be excluded 
from any future Coast Guard procurements based solely on their 
participation within this CRADA.
    Special consideration will be given to small business firms/
consortia, and preference will be given to business units located in 
the U.S.

Authority

    This notice is issued under the authority of 15 U.S.C. 3710(a) and 
5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: April 19, 2011.
Matthew J. Sisson,
Commanding Officer, Research and Development Center.
[FR Doc. 2011-10801 Filed 5-3-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P