[Federal Register: December 2, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 231)]
[Notices]
[Page 71536-71537]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02de02-60]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Notice of Indirect Cost Rates for the Damage Assessment and
Restoration Program for Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic Administration's (NOAA) Damage Assessment
and Restoration Program (DARP) is announcing new indirect cost rates on
the recovery of indirect costs for its component organizations involved
in natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities for
fiscal years (FY) 2000 and 2001. The indirect cost rates for these
fiscal years and dates of implementation are provided in this notice.
More information on these rates and the DARP policy can be found at the
DARP Web site at: http://www.darp.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eli Reinharz, 301-713-3038, ext. 193;
(FAX: 301-713-4387; e-mail: Eli.Reinharz@noaa.gov), or Linda
Burlington, 301-713-1217 (FAX: 301-713-1229; e-mail:
Linda.B.Burlington@noaa.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The mission of the DARP is to restore
natural resource injuries caused by releases of hazardous substances or
oil under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Oil Pollution Act
of 1990 (OPA) (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), and support restoration of
physical injuries to National Marine Sanctuary resources under the
National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) The
NOAA DARP consists of three component organizations: the Damage
Assessment Center (DAC) within the National Ocean Service; the
Restoration Center within the National Marine Fisheries Service; and
the Office of the General Counsel for Natural Resources (GCNR). The
DARP conducts Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs) as a basis
for recovering damages from responsible parties, and uses the funds
[[Page 71537]]
recovered to restore injured natural resources.
Consistent with Federal accounting requirements, the DARP is
required to account for and report the full costs of its programs and
activities. Further, the DARP is authorized by law to recover
reasonable costs of damage assessment and restoration activities under
CERCLA, OPA, and the NMSA. Within the constraints of these legal
provisions and their regulatory applications, the DARP has the
discretion to develop indirect cost rates for its component
organizations and formulate policies on the recovery of indirect cost
rates subject to its requirements.
The DARP's Indirect Cost Effort
In December 1998, the DARP hired the public accounting firm Rubino
& McGeehin, Chartered (R&M), to: evaluate the cost accounting system
and allocation practices; recommend the appropriate indirect cost
allocation methodology; and determine the indirect cost rates for the
three organizations that comprise the DARP. A Federal Register notice
on R&M's effort, their assessment of the DARP's cost accounting system
and practice, and their determination respecting the most appropriate
indirect cost methodology and rates for FYs 1993 through 1999 was
published on December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76611). The notice and report by
R&M can also be found on the DARP Web site at: http://www.darp.noaa.gov
.
R&M continued its assessment of DARP's indirect cost rate system
and structure for FYs 2000 and 2001. As in the prior years, R&M
concluded that the cost accounting system and allocation practices of
the DARP component organizations are consistent with Federal accounting
requirements. R&M also determined that the most appropriate indirect
allocation method continues to be the Direct Labor Cost Base for all
three DARP component organizations. The Direct Labor Cost Base is
computed by allocating total indirect cost over the sum of direct labor
dollars plus the application of NOAA's leave surcharge and benefits
rates to direct labor. The indirect costs rates that R&M computed for
each of the three DARP component organizations were further assessed as
being fair and equitable. A report on R&M's recent assessment of the
DARP's cost accounting system and recommended cost rate structure can
also be found on the DARP Web site at: http://www.darp.noaa.gov.
The DARP's Indirect Cost Rates and Policies
The DARP will apply the indirect cost rates for FY 2000 and 2001 as
recommended by R&M for each of the DARP component organizations as
provided in the following table:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal years
(percent)
DARP Component organization -----------------
2000 2001
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Damage Assessment Center (DAC)........................ 198.54 217.27
Restoration Center (RC)............................... 219.60 257.79
General Counsel for Natural Resources (GCNR........... 270.10 239.24
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These rates are based on the Direct Labor Cost Base allocation
methodology.
The FY 2000 and 2001 revised rates identified in the above table
will be applied to all damage assessment and restoration case costs for
the respective fiscal year periods. The FY 2000 rate is effective as of
May 16, 2002. The FY 2001 rate is effective as of September 30, 2002.
DARP will use FY 2001 indirect cost rates for future fiscal years until
year-specific rates can be developed.
For cases that have settled and for cost claims paid prior to the
effective date of the fiscal year in question, the DARP will not re-
open any resolved matters for the purpose of applying the revised rates
in this policy for these fiscal years. For cases not settled and cost
claims not paid prior to the effective date of the fiscal year in
question, costs will be recalculated using the revised rates in this
policy for these fiscal years. Where a responsible party has agreed to
pay costs using previous year's indirect rates, but has not yet made
the payment because the settlement documents are not finalized, the
costs will not be recalculated.
The DARP indirect cost rate policies and procedures approved as of
October 18, 2000 and published in the Federal Register on December 7,
2000 (65 FR 76611) remain in effect except as updated by this notice.
Dated: November 22, 2002.
Jamison S. Hawkins,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone
Management.
[FR Doc. 02-30416 Filed 11-29-02; 8:45 am]