[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52941-52943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20789]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2013-0799]


Cooperative Research and Development Agreement: Next Generation 
Arctic Navigational Safety Information System

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) with Marine 
Exchange of Alaska (MXAK) to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate, in an 
operational setting, at least one promising technology approach to the 
``Next Generation Arctic Maritime Navigational Safety Information 
System,'' which provides important, time-critical, information to 
mariners, in order that they may better assess and manage their voyage 
risks, as they transit the remote and hostile waters of the U.S. Arctic 
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). While the Coast Guard is currently 
considering partnering with MXAK, it is soliciting public comment on 
the possible nature of and participation of other parties in the 
proposed CRADA. In addition, the Coast Guard also invites other 
potential non-Federal participants, who have the interest and 
capability to bring similar contributions to this type of research, to 
consider submitting proposals for consideration in similar CRADAs.

DATES: Comments and related material on the proposed CRADA must either 
be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or 
before September 26, 2013, or reach the Docket Management Facility by 
that date.
    Synopses of proposals regarding future, similar CRADAs must reach 
the Docket Management Facility on or before February 24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this notice identified by docket 
number USCG-2013-0799 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 
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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
contact Mr. James E. Fletcher, Project Official, U.S. Coast Guard 
Research and Development Center, 1 Chelsea Street, New London, CT 
06320, telephone 860-271-2659, email [email protected]. If you 
have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call 
Ms. Barbara Hairston, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 
202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments and related material on this 
notice. All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided.
    Do not submit detailed proposals for future CRADAs to the Docket 
Management Facility. Potential non-Federal CRADA participants should 
submit these documents directly to James E. Fletcher, U.S. Coast Guard 
Research and Development Center, 1 Chelsea Street, New London, CT 
06320, email [email protected].

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (USCG-2013-0799), 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 email 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 
locate this notice by using ``USCG-2013-0799'' as your search term. 
Click the ``Comment Now'' box opposite this notice and follow the 
instructions to submit your comment. If you submit your comments by 
mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 
8\1/2\ 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.

Viewing Comments and Related Material

    To view the comments and related material, go to http://www.regulations.gov and locate this notice by using ``USCG-2013-0799'' 
as your search term. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may 
view the docket online by visiting 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, system of 
records 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 are authorized by 
the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-502, codified 
at 15 U.S.C. 3710(a)). A CRADA

[[Page 52942]]

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. The Secretary of DHS 
delegated authority to the Commandant of the Coast Guard to carry out 
the functions vested in the Secretary by section 2 of the Federal 
Technology Transfer Act of 1986, which authorizes agencies to permit 
their laboratories to enter into CRADAs (see DHS Delegation No. 0160.1, 
para. 2.B(34)). The Commandant has delegated authority in this regard 
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 R&DC would collaborate with one or 
more non-Federal participants. Together, the R&DC and the non-Federal 
participants would define, develop, demonstrate, and evaluate, in an 
operational setting, at least one promising technology approach to the 
``Next Generation Arctic Maritime Navigational Safety Information 
System,'' which provides important, time-critical, information to 
mariners in order that they may better assess and manage their voyage 
risks as they transit the remote and hostile waters of the U.S. Arctic 
Exclusive Economic Zone.
    Increased maritime activity in the Arctic has raised the potential 
for maritime accidents and serious environmental harm to that region's 
fragile environment, warranting the need to implement enhanced maritime 
safety measures. Presently, the environmental and safety information 
needed by mariners to identify, assess and mitigate the risks of 
operating in the Arctic is not available due to a lack of 
infrastructure that exists in other maritime regions. The proposed 
CRADA strives to promote a public-private analysis and eventual 
solution to this problem.
    The R&DC, with the non-Federal participants, will mutually define 
the prototype system that will be developed, installed, utilized, and 
evaluated under this CRADA. It is anticipated that this system will be 
a to-be-determined combination of (a) AIS-Transmit, (b) SATCOM, (c) DSC 
VHF, and (d) other components/sub-systems such as the proposed 500 kHz, 
47,400 bits/sec, NAVTEX Replacement being considered by the 
International Telecommunications Union and the IMO's International 
NAVTEX Coordinating Panel. Arctic mariner navigational information 
requirements will drive the design of this prototype system. Care will 
be taken to (a) minimize and define any additional vessel equipment 
carriage requirements and (b) define the specific content and format of 
the information presented to the mariner.

Party Contributions

    We anticipate that the Coast Guard's contributions under the 
proposed CRADA will include the following:
    (1) Review and comment on non-Federal participant's preliminary 
functional design of the prototype system. After discussion and 
agreement between the CRADA collaborators, the R&DC will develop an 
Interim CRADA Report, which documents the mutually-agreed-upon design.
    (2) Support the non-Federal participant in the development of the 
AIS-Transmit, SATCOM, and DSC VHF components of the prototype system. 
It is anticipated that this support will include technology expertise 
and authorization to transmit on specific frequencies for the DSC VHF 
components. The R&DC will also provide the proposed 500 kHz, NAVTEX 
Replacement component, if it is mutually agreed by the collaborators to 
be part of the prototype system.
    (3) Support the non-Federal participant with the installation, 
testing, operation, and maintenance of the prototype system at 
specific, jointly-agreed-upon, field locations. The RD&C will develop 
the test plan and provide any test and network monitoring equipment/
capabilities needed, to ensure that the prototype system is ``Ready for 
Tech Demo Utilization'' and continues to meet the jointly-agreed-upon 
performance criteria through the duration of the Tech Demo.
    (4) Monitor the performance of the prototype system during the Tech 
Demo. This monitoring will be accomplished in accordance with the above 
mentioned test plan. The R&DC will also develop an appropriate CRADA 
Report, which documents the prototype system, its performance, and its 
utilization by mariners during the Tech Demo period.
    We anticipate that the non-Federal participant's contributions 
under the proposed CRADA will include the following:
    (1) Develop a preliminary functional design of the prototype system 
to be developed and evaluated under this CRADA. The non-Federal 
participant will collaborate with the RD&C on the final prototype 
system design and the Interim Report which the RD&C will develop to 
document said design.
    (2) Provide the AIS-Transmit, SATCOM, and DSC VHF components of the 
prototype system. The non-Federal participant will support the R&DC 
with the development of the proposed 500 kHz, NAVTEX Replacement, if it 
is mutually-agreed-upon to be part of the prototype system. It is 
anticipated that this support will include technical guidance/
assistance with any integration with other components of the prototype 
system, particularly at the planned field installation sites.
    (3) Install, test, operate, and maintain the prototype system at 
specific, mutually-agreed-upon, field locations. The non-Federal 
participant will provide site space, power, security, and back-haul 
communications capability for all system components, including the 500 
kHz NAVTEX Replacement, if it is mutually-agreed-upon to be part of the 
prototype system. The non-Federal participant will support the R&DC in 
test plans/system/components and conduct of the test plan to ensure 
that the prototype system is ``Ready for Tech Demo Utilization'' and 
continues to meet the mutually-agreed-upon performance criteria through 
the duration of the Tech Demo.
    (4) Support the R&DC in its monitoring of the performance of the 
prototype system during the Tech Demo. The non-Federal participant will 
also support the R&DC in the development of an appropriate CRADA 
report, which documents the prototype system, its performance, and its 
utilization by mariners during the Tech Demo period.

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

[[Page 52943]]

(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 MXAK for participation in 
this CRADA. This consideration is based on the fact that MXAK has 
demonstrated its expertise in providing mariners with important 
information for the voyage planning and safe navigation of their 
vessels, and has an established infrastructure within the Arctic for 
providing such information. However, we do not wish to exclude 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 an Arctic Navigation Safety 
Information System (ANSIS) capability. Since the goal of this CRADA is 
to identify and investigate the advantages, disadvantages, required 
technology enhancements, performance, costs, and other issues 
associated with the Next Generation ANSIS, non-Federal CRADA 
participants will not be excluded from any future Coast Guard 
procurements based solely on their participation in 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), 5 U.S.C. 552(a), 33 CFR 1.05-1 and DHS Delegation 
No. 0160.1.

    Dated: August 14, 2013.
Alan N. Arsenault,
USCG, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development 
Center.
[FR Doc. 2013-20789 Filed 8-26-13; 8:45 am]
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