[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 219 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58948-58949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27236]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Notice of Indirect Cost Rates for the Damage Assessment,
Remediation, and Restoration Program for Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of indirect cost rates for the Damage Assessment,
Remediation, and Restoration Program for Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008.
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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's)
Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) 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) 2007 and
2008. The indirect cost rates for these fiscal years and dates of
implementation are provided in this notice. More information on these
rates and the DARRP policy can be found at the DARRP Web site at http://www.darrp.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact
LaTonya Burgess at 301-713-4248, ext. 211, by fax at 301-713-4389, or
e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The mission of the DARRP 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
DARRP consists of three component organizations: the Office of Response
and Restoration (ORR) 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
DARRP conducts Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs) as a basis
for recovering damages from responsible parties, and uses the funds
recovered to restore injured natural resources.
Consistent with Federal accounting requirements, the DARRP is
required to account for and report the full costs of its programs and
activities. Further, the DARRP 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 DARRP 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 DARRP's Indirect Cost Effort
In December 1998, the DARRP hired the public accounting firm Rubino
& McGeehin, Chartered (R&M) to: Evaluate the DARRP cost accounting
system and
[[Page 58949]]
allocation practices; recommend the appropriate indirect cost
allocation methodology; and determine the indirect cost rates for the
three organizations that comprise the DARRP. A Federal Register notice
on R&M's effort, their assessment of the DARRP's cost accounting system
and practice, and their determination regarding 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 DARRP Web site at
http:[sol][sol]www.darrp.noaa.gov.
R&M continued its assessment of DARRP's indirect cost rate system
and structure for FYs 2000 and 2001. A second federal notice specifying
the DARRP indirect rates for FYs 2000 and 2001 was published on
December 2, 2002 (67 FR 71537).
In October 2002, DARRP hired the accounting firm of Cotton and
Company LLP (Cotton) to review and certify DARRP costs incurred on
cases for purposes of cost recovery and to develop indirect rates for
FY 2002 and subsequent years. As in the prior years, Cotton concluded
that the cost accounting system and allocation practices of the DARRP
component organizations are consistent with Federal accounting
requirements. Consistent with R&M's previous analyses, Cotton also
determined that the most appropriate indirect allocation method
continues to be the Direct Labor Cost Base for all three DARRP
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. Direct labor costs for contractors from I.M. Systems
Group (IMSG) were included in the direct labor base because Cotton
determined that these costs have the same relationship to the indirect
cost pool as NOAA direct labor costs. IMSG provided on-site support to
the DARRP in the areas of injury assessment, natural resource
economics, restoration planning and implementation, and policy
analysis. IMSG continues to provide on-site support to the DARRP. A
third federal notice specifying the DARRP indirect rates for FY 2002
was published on October 6, 2003 (68 FR 57672), a fourth notice for the
FY 2003 indirect cost rates appeared on May 20, 2005 (70 FR 29280), and
a fifth notice for the FY 2004 indirect cost rates was published on
March 16, 2006 (71 FR 13356). The notice for the FY 2005 indirect cost
rates was published on February 9, 2007 (72 FR 6221). The last notice
for the FY 2006 rates was published on June 3, 2008 (73 FR 31679).
Cotton's reports on these indirect rates can also be found on the DARRP
Web site at http://www.darrp.noaa.gov.
Cotton reaffirmed that the Direct Labor Cost Base is the most
appropriate indirect allocation method for the development of the FY
2007 and FY 2008 indirect cost rates.
The DARRP's Indirect Cost Rates and Policies
The DARRP will apply the indirect cost rates for FY 2007 and FY
2008 as recommended by Cotton for each of the DARRP component
organizations as provided in the following table:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY2007 indirect FY2008 indirect
DARRP component organization rate (percent) rate (percent)
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Office of Response and Restoration 154.72 122.31
(ORR)..............................
Restoration Center (RC)............. 130.78 133.87
General Counsel for Natural 156.68 94.08
Resources (GCNR)...................
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These rates are based on the Direct Labor Cost Base allocation
methodology.
The FY 2007 rates will be applied to all damage assessment and
restoration case costs incurred between October 1, 2006 and September
30, 2007. The FY 2008 rates will be applied to all damage assessment
and restoration case costs incurred between October 1, 2007 and
September 30, 2008. DARRP will use the FY 2008 indirect cost rates for
future fiscal years, beginning with FY 2009, until subsequent 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 DARRP 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 DARRP indirect cost rate policies and procedures published in
the Federal Register on December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76611), on December 2,
2002 (67 FR 71537), October 6, 2003 (68 FR 57672), May 20, 2005 (70 FR
29280), March 16, 2006 (71 FR 13356), February 9, 2007 (72 FR 6221),
and June 3, 2008 (73 FR 31679), remain in effect except as updated by
this notice.
Dated: October 30, 2009.
David Westerholm,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration.
[FR Doc. E9-27236 Filed 11-13-09; 8:45 am]
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