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Fisheries Finance
Program - Financial Assistance Availability
Please distribute this federal register announcement
to others who may have an interest in this Federal financial assistance program
with some specific reference to aquaculture as follows:
Priority lending
purposes. The priority lending purposes for this $23.7 million loan ceiling
include:
(d) Marine and closed system aquaculture. This excludes
land-based aquaculture not occurring in closed systems.
(2) Non-priority
lending purposes. The non-priority lending purposes for this $23.7 million loan
ceiling include:
(a) Land based aquaculture in open systems;
(3) Reserving
FY 2000 loan ceiling. (a) Before April 17, 2000. Before this date, NMFS will
reserve the entire $23.7 million loan ceiling for applications that involve the
priority lending purposes. (b) After April 17, 2000. If any of the $23.7 million
loan ceiling remains unreserved after this date, the unreserved amount will then
be available to reserve for applications involving any FFP lending
purpose.
Federal Register: March 27, 2000 (Volume 65, Number
59)
Notices
Page 16179-16181
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 000314073-0073-01;
I.D. 120399C]
RIN 0648-ZA83
Fisheries Finance Program; Program Notice
and Announcement of Federal Financial Assistance
Availability
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
ACTION:
Notice of Federal financial assistance availability.
SUMMARY: NMFS
announces the availability of $28.7 million in Fisheries Finance Program (FFP)
loans during fiscal year (FY) 2000. This notice establishes FY 2000 loan
application priorities.
DATES: Effective March 27,
2000.
ADDRESSES:
(1) Applicants in the Alaska, Northwest, and
Southwest Regions. Kimberly Ott, Northwest Financial Services Branch (F/SF23),
7600 Sand Point Way, NE (BIN C15700), Building 1, Seattle, WA 98115;
(2)
Applicants in the Northeast Region. Leo Erwin, Northeast Financial Services
Branch (F/SF21), One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; and
(3)
Applicants in the Southeast Region. Kell Freeman, Southeast Financial Services
Branch (F/SF22), 9721 Executive Center Drive North., St. Petersburg, FL
33702.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael L. Grable,
301-713-2390, fax
301-713-1306, E-mail Michael.Grable@noaa.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
(1) Notice purpose. The notice's
purpose is to:
(a) Announce that the FFP has a $28.7 loan ceiling for FY
2000;
(b) Establish loan application priorities for the $23.7 million loan
ceiling not dedicated to any specific loan purpose; and
(c) Establish an
application selection basis for the $5 million loan ceiling dedicated to
purchasing halibut and sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ).
(2) FFP
description. The FFP is a direct loan program under Title XI of the Merchant
Marine Act, 1936, as amended. Debt maturities can be up to 25 years, but not
longer than financed property's economically useful life. Interest rates, which
are fixed, are the U.S. Treasury's borrowing cost plus 2 percent. There are no
prepayment penalties. Loans may equal 80 percent of financed property's
depreciated cost, and may generally be either original financing or refinancing
of existing loans. FFP loans generally require experienced fisheries borrowers
with strong primary and secondary means of repayment, including personal
guarantees. FFP loans generally have longer maturities and lower interest rates
than private fisheries credit. This stretches the service of lower-cost FFP debt
over a longer repayment period more consistent with cyclical fisheries
economics. For further FFP details, see the FFP's operating rules at 50 CFR part
253, subpart B. (3) FFP lending purposes. These are the FFP's statutory lending
purposes: (a) Fishing vessel construction, reconstruction, reconditioning, and
acquisition. The FFP rules, however, prohibit loans that increase existing
harvesting capacity, as does the FY 2000 appropriations act. FFP loans may not,
consequently, originally finance either vessel construction or reconstruction
that increases vessel harvesting capacity. Nevertheless, FFP loans remain
available for refinancing existing vessel loans for all eligible purposes
because this does not increase harvesting capacity. Additionally, FFP loans
remain available for originally financing vessel purchase and/or reconditioning;
(b) Fisheries shoreside facilities construction, reconstruction, reconditioning,
and acquisition; (c) Aquacultural facilities construction, reconstruction,
reconditioning, and acquisition; (d) IFQ acquisition. So far, only entry level
or small boat fishermen in the halibut and sablefish fisheries are eligible for
these loans. Eligibility in additional fisheries depends on Fishery Management
Council requests; (e) Fishing capacity reduction under section 312(b)-(e) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Fishery Management
Councils must also request these loans; and (f) Acquiring pollock fishing
vessels or shoreside facilities. This dedicated use of FFP loan ceilings was
available in FY 1999 only to communities eligible to participate in the Western
Alaska Community Development Program. (4) Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA) cost
effect on loan ceilings. Congress annually authorizes FFP loan ceilings. Since
1972, Congress has done this by appropriating FCRA costs at rates projected in
the President's annual budgets. FCRA cost is the loan loss that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) projects for different Federal loan categories. A
loan ceiling is the amount that a stated FCRA cost appropriation produces at a
stated FCRA cost rate. The following table shows, for example, the loan ceiling
effect of different FCRA cost rates for a $0.1 million FCRA cost
appropriation:
FCRA Cost Appropriation FCRA Cost Rate
Loan
Ceiling
$0.1 million............................ 1%
$10 million
$0.1
million............................ 2%
$5 million
$0.1
million............................ 5%
$2 million
$0.1
million............................ 10%
$1 million
$0.1
million............................ 20%
$0.5 million
$0.1
million............................ 50%
$0.2 million
The FFP uses FCRA
cost appropriations as lending capital, borrowing the balance from the U.S.
Treasury. If, for example, the FFP had a $0.1 million FCRA cost appropriation at
a 1 percent FCRA cost rate, the FFP's lending capital would be the $0.1 million
FCRA cost appropriation plus $9.9 million borrowed from the U.S. Treasury. The
FFP would then make loans worth $10 million, using their repayment proceeds to
repay (with interest) the FFP's own loan from the Treasury. (5) FFP's FY 2000
loan ceiling. The President's FY 2000 budget established a 1 percent FCRA cost
rate for the FFP loan ceiling that the budget requested (which did not include
IFQ loans). Congress enacted a FY 2000 FCRA cost appropriation of $0.338 million
and dedicated $0.1 million of it to IFQ loans, leaving the undedicated $0.238
million balance available for the FFP's other lending purposes. OMB reduced the
apportioned FCRA cost to $0.337 million. The President's budgets have not,
through FY 2000, requested IFQ loan ceilings. OMB, however, established a 2-
percent FCRA cost rate for the first FCRA cost appropriation that Congress
dedicated to IFQ loans. This FCRA cost rate has since applied to all FCRA cost
appropriations that Congress dedicated to IFQ loans (fiscal years 1998 and
1999). Consequently, the FFP's apportioned loan ceiling for FY 2000 is as
follows:
FCRA Cost x FCRA = Loan
Loan
Purpose..................................................
Appropriation Cost
Rate
Ceiling
IFQ...........................................................
$0.1
million 2 percent $5 million
Other
Purposes................................................
$0.237 million 1
percent $23.7
million
Totals........................................................
$0.337
million - $28.7 million
(6) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. The
FFP is listed in the ``Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance'' under number
11.415: Fisheries Finance Program.
II. $5 Million Ceiling For IFQ Loans During FY
2000
Backlogged IFQ applications from FY 1999 far exceed this $5 million
loan ceiling. NMFS will not, consequently, accept new IFQ loan applications
during FY 2000. Instead, NMFS will select $5 million worth of backlogged
applications for processing. This accords with NMFS' previous Federal Register
notice (64 FR 25289, May 11, 1999). NMFS will use for FY 2000 selection the same
random process it used for FY 1999 selection. NMFS' previous Federal Register
notice requested, but did not receive, public comment about this.
III.
$23.7 Million Ceiling For Other Loan Purposes During FY 2000 (1) Priority
lending purposes. These are the priority lending purposes for this $23.7 million
loan ceiling: (a) Fishing Capacity Reduction. This is the highest priority
because harvesting overcapitalization is a major national fisheries problem. (b)
Supporting the existing FFP credit portfolio. This includes: refinancing loans,
assuming loans, and other loan servicing actions that protect the Government's
interest in the existing FFP portfolio and limit loan loss exposure; (c)
Backlogged FY 1999 loan applications. This includes about $10 million in FFP
loan applications backlogged from FY 1999; and (d) Marine and closed system
aquaculture. This excludes land-based aquaculture not occurring in closed
systems. (2) Non-priority lending purposes. These are the non-priority lending
purposes for this $23.7 million loan ceiling: (a) Land based aquaculture in open
systems; (b) Fisheries shoreside facilities; and (c) Fishing vessels. (3)
Reserving FY 2000 loan ceiling. (a) Before April 17, 2000. Before this date,
NMFS will reserve the entire $23.7 million loan ceiling for applications that
involve the priority lending purposes. (b) After April 17, 2000. If any of the
$23.7 million loan ceiling remains unreserved after this date, the unreserved
amount will then be available to reserve for applications involving any FFP
lending purpose. (c) Fishing Capacity Reduction Exclusion. Because this is the
highest FFP lending priority, NMFS may at any time during FY 2000 consider
reserving for this purpose any or all of the $23.7 FFP loan ceiling not
previously reserved for another purpose. NMFS will do so only for accepted
fishing capacity reduction requests whose further processing requires FY 2000
loan approval. (4) Application fee. NMFS will reserve loan ceiling for an
application only upon the applicant's payment of an application fee. Fifty
percent of this fee is non-refundable (NMFS earns the remainder upon loan
approval). (5) Losing loan ceiling reservations. NMFS intends to ensure that it
obligates this entire $23.7 million loan ceiling before October 1, 2000. If an
applicant with a loan ceiling reservation does not comply with NMFS' loan
processing requirements promptly enough for NMFS to prospectively achieve this
intention, NMFS may transfer the loan ceiling reservation to another applicant
who can and will comply. (6) Applications and waiting list. All potential
applicants must first discuss their loan projects with the appropriate NMFS
Regional Financial Services Branch. If a potential applicant appears to be
ineligible for an FFP loan or unable to meet the FFP's loan risk criteria, NMFS
will take no further action. If, however, a potential applicant prospectively
appears to be both eligible and able to meet the loan risk criteria, NMFS will
either then advise the applicant that it may submit an application and
application fee or add the applicant to a FFP waiting list for submitting future
applications when lending priorities and/or unreserved loan ceilings permit.
NMFS will reserve sufficient loan ceiling for every applicant that submits an
application and application fee after NMFS advises the applicant that it may do
so. Although NMFS advises a potential applicant that it may submit a loan
application and application fee, only subsequent loan investigation and analysis
will determine whether, and under what conditions, NMFS will approve a loan.
Subject to FY 2001 loan priorities and loan ceilings, NMFS will consider as FY
2001 application candidates all parties on the FY 2000 waiting list for whom
NMFS did not reserve FY 2000 loan ceiling. NMFS will do so in the chronological
order in which parties were added to the waiting list. All FFP loans are subject
to the FFP operating rules. Potential applicants should see these rules for
further eligibility and qualification details.
IV. Administrative Requirements
The Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 bars additional Federal loans (other than
disaster loans) to delinquent Federal borrowers (excluding debt under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986). Loan applicants are subject to name-check
reviews intended to reveal whether applicant principals have been convicted of,
or are facing, criminal charges for fraud, theft, perjury, or other matters
affecting the applicant's honesty, integrity, or creditworthiness. False
application statements can result in loan denial, loan termination, and possible
punishment by fines or imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001. Applicants
must complete a Form CD-511 because they are subject to 15 CFR part 26 (Federal
assistance debarment) and the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352 (using
appropriated funds to influence Federal financial transactions). NMFS will
furnish this form when it advises potential applicants to submit their
applications.
Classification
Neither the Administrative Procedure
Act nor any other law requires prior notice and opportunity for public comment
about this loan notice. Consequently, the Regulatory Flexibility Act does not
require a regulatory flexibility analysis. This notice is not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866. FFP applications are not subject to Executive
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.'' This notice
contains a collection-of-information requirement subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act. OMB approved the required collection of information under control
number 0648-0012. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the
Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Dated: March 16, 2000.
Penelope D.
Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 00-7503 Filed 3-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING
CODE 3510-22-F
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