Code of Federal Regulations: Containing a Codification of Documents of ...

(iii) The importance of public participation;

(iv) The need to encourage participation by segments of the public who, as individuals, may have little economic incentive to participate;

(v) The need for representation of a fair balance of interests; and

(2) The person demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Administrator that such person does not have sufficient resources available to participate effectively in the proceedings in the absence of compensation under § 904.1.

(b) In order to facilitate public participation, the Administrator shall make written determinations, giving reasons therefor, of the eligibility of an applicant for compensation under § 904.1, and the amount and computation of such compensation. The determinations required by this paragraph shall be made as soon as practicable after receipt of an application for compensation, unless the Administrator makes an express written finding that all or any part of the determination relating to the amount or computation of such compensation cannot practicably be made at the time the initial determination of eligibility is made. The Administrator shall make such determination after consideration of the maximum amounts payable for compensation under § 904.5 for the proceedings and requests or possible requests for compensation under § 904.1 by other eligible participants in the proceeding.

(c) The Administrator may require consolidation of duplicative presentations, select one or more effective representatives to participate, offer compensation only for certain categories of expenses, or jointly compensate persons representing identical or closely related viewpoints.

§ 904.4 Submission of applications by participants.

(a) A participant must submit a written application to the Administrator in order to be authorized to receive compensation. This application shall be submitted as soon as practicable after publication of notice of the proceeding in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Applications shall be addressed to: Office of General Counsel, National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20230. Each application shall contain, in a sworn statement, the following information in the form specified:

(1) The applicant's name and address, and in the case of an organization, the names, addresses, and titles of the members of its governing body and a description of the organization's general purposes, structure, and tax status;

(2) An identification of the proceeding for which funds are requested;

(3) A description of the applicant's economic, social, and other interests in the outcome of the proceeding for which funds are requested;

(4) A discussion of the reasons why the applicant is an appropriate representative of those interests, including the expertise and experience of the applicant in the matters involved in the proceeding for which funds are requested and in related matters;

(5) An explanation of how the applicant's participation would enhance the quality of the decisionmaking process and serve the public interest by contributing views and data which would not be presented by another participant;

(6) A statement of the total amount of funds requested;

(7) With respect to the proceeding for which funds are requested, an itemized statement of the expenses to be covered by the requested funds and of the expenses to be covered by the applicant's funds;

(8) A description of the evidence, activities, studies or other submissions that will be generated by each of those expenditures;

(9) An explanation of how the requested funds would result in enhancing the quality of the applicant's participation in the proceeding for which funds are requested;

(10) An explanation of why the applicant cannot use funds that it already possesses or expects to receive for the purpose for which funds are requested, including:

(i) A listing of the applicant's anticipated income and expenditures

-) If no determination of an appeal been sent to the requester within twenty day period or the last exsion thereof, the requester is med to have exhausted his adminative remedies with respect to such uest, giving rise to a right of judireview as specified in 5 U.S.C. (e)(4). When no determination can cent to the requester within the apable time limit, the Administrator Il nonetheless exercise due dilice in continuing to process the eal. When the time limit expires, requester shall be informed of the son for the delay, of the date when etermination may be expected to be He, and his right to seek judicial ew. The requester may be asked to ego judicial review until the appeal etermined.

OA determination on appeal shall n writing and, when it denies recs in whole or in part, the notice to requester shall include: (1) Notaof the specific exemption or exptions of the Act authorizing the holding, a brief explanation of the exemption applies, and when vant, a statement as to why a disionary release is not appropriate; a statement that the decision is 1; (3) advice that judicial review of denial is available in the district in ch the requester resides or has his cipal place of business, the district which the agency records are situ, or the District of Columbia, and che names and titles or positions of nofficial responsible for the denial he request.

) Final appeal decisions shall be ined and kept available for public intion and copying in the NOAA tral Public Reference Facility.

10 Fees and charges.

Fee schedule. Unless waived or red as provided in paragraph (b) of section, the following fees shall be ged in connection with requests ecords subject to this part.

Searches other than for computd records. $2.50 for each one-quarhour (or fraction thereof) per n for time spent in trying to find records requested. This includes me spent by clerical, professional supervisory personnel in examin

ing records in order to find records which are within the scope of the request, and transportation of personnel and records necessary to the search.

(2) Searches for computerized records. Actual direct cost of the computer time to NOAA to use the equipment involved in the search, not to exceed $270 per hour ($4.50 per minute). This fee includes both machine time, and that of related operator and clerical personnel. If programming is necessary to conduct the search, there will be an additional fee of $2.50 for each one-quarter hour (or fraction thereof) per person for programmer/analyst time. Computer printouts shall be 20 cents per page for the original and carbon copies concurrently printed.

(3) Copying of records. 7 cents per copy of each page up to 81⁄2" x 14", made by photocopy or similar process. Normally, only one copy will be provided. Added copies will be provided only upon a showing of demonstrated need.

(4) Copies of microfilm or microfiche.

16 mm (100 ft. roll)—$6.
35 mm (100 ft. roll)-$7.
105 mm fiche-$0.25 each.
Aperture cards-$0.25 each.

$0.25 per page for each microform frame printed on paper.

(5) Certification or authentication of records. $3 per certification or authentication.

(6) Forwarding records to requesting party. Actual cost of postage, insurance and special fees, if their total exceeds $1.

(7) Other costs. When other duplication costs not specifically identified in this paragraph (a) of this section are requested and provided, their direct cost to NOAA shall be charged. Other services and materials requested which are not covered by this part are chargeable at actual cost to NOAA.

(b) Waiver or reduction of fees. A fee shall be waived or alternatively reduced for a request for records under this part where:

(1) A search fee totals $10 or less. A copying fee totals $1 or less. In determining total fees, the fees for other contemporaneous requests made by the same or related requesters shall be aggregated.

cords requested by a Federal Federal court (excluding parngressional committee or subee, the General Accounting r the Library of Congress are e under the Act, and fees payer this part do not apply.

e records are requested by a local government, or intergoval agency, a foreign governublic international organizaany agency thereof, for purat are determined to be an ape courtesy or in the public ind will promote the objectives et and the agency.

s determined either upon petimitted by the requester, or by sible official on his own initiat waiver or reduction of the

the public interest because ng the information in the recquested can be considered as y benefiting the general Any such petition shall specify nded purpose to which the recuested will be put and why all are necessary, and any other factors in order to show how ormation furnished in all or he records will primarily beneeneral public.

is determined by NOAA, based petition therefor, that the reis indigent, that the request rds has a strong public interest tion, and that agency repermit a waiver of the fee. ɩyment of fees. The following ns for payment of fees I under this section shall apply.

search fee provided in paraa) of this section which exceeds hargeable even when no record ive to the request for records is or when the records requested ermined to be totally exempt sclosure.

the requester has stated in or is request that he is willing to amount sufficient to cover the ry search fee, a search may be or the records without further to the requester, unless the re- is delinquent in making past nts, or the estimated search fee ceed $100.

I the requester has stated in or is request that he is willing to

pay estimated fees up to a specified limit not exceeding $100, a search may be made for the records without further notice if the estimated fees are less than the specified limit unless the requesting party is delinquent in

making past payments.

(4) If the estimated fee (i) exceeds $100 for a request covered within paragraph (c)(2) of this section. (ii) exceeds the specified limits covered within paragraph (c)(3) of this section, or (iii) otherwise exceeds $50.00 and the requester has said nothing about payment or the requester is delinquent in past payments, the requester shall be notified immediately (by wire or confirmed telephone call) or the estimated total fee and shall be requested to prepay such fee before the search may be conducted or continued. The notice may advise the requester to confer with NOAA personnel so as to attempt to reformulate the request for records to reduce the fee.

(5) The administrative time deadlines prescribed in 5 USC 522(a)(6) shall be tolled from the time the notice described in paragraph (c)(4) of this section is sent to the requester until the time that payment of the estimated fee is received from the requester, unless the responsible official determines to postpone payment of the search fee until the search has proceeded further or has been completed.

(6) Where a specific fee is determined to be payable and notice thereof has been sent to the requester, the payment of such fee shall be received before the records requested, or any part thereof, are made available to the requester.

(7) Payments of fees shall be made preferably by check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of Commerce and, they shall be paid or sent to the unit stated in the billing notice or, if none, to the unit handling the request. Where appropriate, the responsible official may require that payment be made in the form of a certified check.

(8) If an advance payment of an estimated fee exceeds the actual total fee by $1 or more, the difference shall be refunded to the requester. If the estimated fee is less than the actual fee

- determined, any difference in -ss of $1 may be further billed to is payable by the requester.

.11 Officials authorized to make iniial denials.

he following officials of the Naal Oceanic and Atmospheric AdEstration have been delegated auity to initially deny requests for rds of their respective organizaal elements. (The listings are subto change because of organization-visions or new delegations.)

ciate Administrator, 6010 Executive ulevard, Rockville, Maryland 20852. tant Administrator for Administration, 0 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, ryland 20852.

ctor, National Weather Service, 8060 h Street, Silver Spring, Maryland 10.

ctor, National Ocean Survey, 6001 Extive Boulevard, Rockville, Maryland $52.

ctor, Environmental Data Service, Page ilding 2, 3300 Whitehaven Street, N.W., shington, D.C. 20235.

ctor, National Environmental Satellite vice, Federal Office Building 4, Washton, D.C. 20233.

ctor, Environmental Research Laboraies, Research Building 3, 3100 Marine eet, Boulder, Colorado 80302.

etor, National Marine Fisheries Service, şe Building 2, 3300 Whitehaven Street, V., Washington, D.C. 20235.

ciate Administrator for Environmental nitoring and Prediction, 6010 Executive ulevard, Rockville, Maryland 20852. ciate Administrator for Marine Rerces, 6010 Executive Boulevard, Rocke, Maryland 20852.

tant Administrator for Coastal Zone nagement, Page Building 2, 3300 Whiaven Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 35.

tor, NOAA Corps, 6010 Executive Bourd, Rockville, Maryland 20852. tor, Office of Sea Grant, Page Build2, 3300 Whitehaven Street, N.W., shington, D.C. 20235.

tor, Office of Programs and Budget, Executive Boulevard, Rockville, yland 20852.

904-FINANCIAL COMPENSAON OF PARTICIPANTS IN ADMINRATIVE PROCEEDINGS

Purpose. Definitions.

904.3 Criteria for financial compensation. 904.4 Submission of applications by participants.

904.5 Amount of financial compensation and procedures for payment.

AUTHORITY: Title III, Pub. L. 95-86, 91 Stat. 419, 431.

Source: 43 FR 17811, Apr. 26, 1978, unless otherwise noted.

§ 904.1 Purpose.

The Administrator may provide compensation for reasonable attorneys' fees, fees and costs of experts, and other costs of participation incurred by eligible participants in any NOAA proceeding involving hearing in which there may be public participation pursuant to statute, regulation, or agency practice, whenever the Administrator determines that public participation in such a proceeding promotes or can reasonably be expected to promote a full and fair determination of the issues involved in the proceeding. § 904.2 Definitions.

As used herein: (a) "NOAA" means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

(b) "Administrator" means the Administrator of NOAA;

(d) "Person" means any person as defined in section 551(2) of 5 U.S.C. and includes a group of individuals with similar interests.

§ 904.3 Criteria for Financial Compensation.

(a) Any person is eligible to receive compensation under this section for participation (whether or not as a party) in NOAA proceedings referred to in § 904.1 if:

(1) The person represents an interest the representation of which contributes or can reasonably be expected to contribute substantially to a fair determination of the proceeding, taking into account:

(i) Whether the person represents an interest which is not adequately represented by a participant other than the agency itself;

(ii) The number and complexity of the issues presented;

e importance of public par1;

e need to encourage participaegments of the public who, as ls, may have little economic to participate;

› need for representation of a ice of interests; and

è person demonstrates to the on of the Administrator that son does not have sufficient available to participate efin the proceedings in the abcompensation under § 904.1. order to facilitate public par1, the Administrator shall ritten determinations, giving therefor, of the eligibility of cant for compensation under nd the amount and computauch compensation. The deters required by this paragraph made as soon as practicable eipt of an application for comn, unless the Administrator n express written finding that y part of the determination to the amount or computation compensation cannot practicaade at the time the initial deion of eligibility is made. The trator shall make such deter1 after consideration of the m amounts payable for comn under § 904.5 for the proand requests or possible reor compensation under § 904.1 r eligible participants in the ng.

e Administrator may require ation of duplicative presentalect one or more effective repives to participate, offer comon only for certain categories enses, or jointly compensate representing identical or closeed viewpoints.

Submission of applications by parants.

participant must submit a writlication to the Administrator r to be authorized to receive sation. This application shall nitted as soon as practicable ablication of notice of the proin the FEDERAL REGISTER. APns shall be addressed to: Office eral Counsel, National Oceanic