Notice2026-17931
Notice of Indirect Cost Rates
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
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 year (FY) 2021. The indirect cost rates for this fiscal year and date of implementation are provided in this notice. More information on these rates and the DARRP policy can be found at the DARRP website at https:/ /darrp.noaa.gov/.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 169 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56429-56430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17931]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Notice of Indirect Cost Rates
AGENCY: Office of Response and Restoration (ORR), National Ocean
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of indirect cost rates for the Damage Assessment,
Remediation, and Restoration Program for fiscal year 2021.
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SUMMARY: 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 year
(FY) 2021. The indirect cost rates for this fiscal year and date of
implementation are provided in this notice. More information on these
rates and the DARRP policy can be found at the DARRP website at <a href="https://darrp.noaa.gov/">https://darrp.noaa.gov/</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tony Penn, Acting Deputy Director,
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, by phone at 301-873-2537 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#84d0ebeafdaad4e1eaeac4eaebe5e5aae3ebf2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="44102b2a3d6a14212a2a042a2b25256a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>.
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.) and the Oil Pollution
Act of 1990 (OPA) (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), and to 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: ORR within the
National Ocean Service; the Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC) within
the National Marine Fisheries Service; and the Office of the General
Counsel Natural Resources Section (GCNRS). 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 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).
R&M continued its assessment of DARRP's indirect cost rate system
and structure for FYs 2000 and 2001. A second Federal Register 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
FY2002 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 ERT, Inc. (ERT),
Freestone Environmental Services, Inc. (Freestone), and Genwest
Systems, Inc. (Genwest) 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. ERT, Freestone, and
Genwest provided on-site support to the DARRP in the areas of injury
assessment, natural resource economics, restoration planning and
implementation, and policy analysis. Subsequent notices have been
published in the Federal Register as follows:
<bullet> FY 2002, published on October 6, 2003 (68 FR 57672)
<bullet> FY 2003, published on May 20, 2005 (70 FR 29280)
<bullet> FY 2004, published on March 16, 2006 (71 FR 13356)
<bullet> FY 2005, published on February 9, 2007 (72 FR 6221)
<bullet> FY 2006, published on June 3, 2008 (73 FR 31679)
<bullet> FY 2007 and FY 2008, published on November 16, 2009 (74 FR
58948)
<bullet> FY 2009 and FY 2010, published on October 20, 2011 (76 FR
65182)
<bullet> FY 2011, published on September 17, 2012 (77 FR 57074)
<bullet> FY 2012, published on August 29, 2013 (78 FR 53425)
<bullet> FY 2013, published on October 14, 2014 (79 FR 61617)
<bullet> FY 2014, published on December 17, 2015 (80 FR 78718)
<bullet> FY 2015, published on August 22, 2016 (81 FR 56580)
Empirical Concepts developed the DARRP indirect rates for FY2016
through FY 2020. Empirical reaffirmed that the Direct Labor Cost Base
is the most appropriate indirect allocation method for the development
of the FY 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 indirect cost rates. The
Federal Register notice for these rates can be found at the following:
<bullet> FY2016 and FY2017, published on October 16, 2019 (84 FR 55283)
[[Page 56430]]
<bullet> FY2018, published on August 5, 2020 (85 FR 47358)
<bullet> FY2019, published on August 24, 2021 (86 FR 47300)
<bullet> FY2020, published on April 28, 2023 (88 FR 26275)
Empirical Concepts developed the DARRP indirect rates for FY2021
and reaffirmed the Direct Labor Cost Base as the most appropriate
indirect allocation for the development of the FY2021 indirect cost
rates. Lynker replaced Freestone Environmental Services, Inc., but had
the same contract labor relationship with DARRP.
The DARRP's Indirect Cost Rates and Policies
The DARRP will apply the indirect cost rates for FY2021 as
recommended by Empirical Concepts for each of the DARRP component
organizations as provided in the following table:
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FY 2021
DARRP component organization indirect rate
(percent)
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Office of Response and Restoration (ORR)................ 118.24
Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC).................... 68.09
General Counsel......................................... 30.05
Natural Resources Section (GCNRS).......................
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The FY2021 rates will be applied to all damage assessment and
restoration case costs incurred between October 1, 2020 and September
30, 2021 effective October 1, 2026. DARRP will use the FY2021 indirect
cost rates for future fiscal years, beginning with FY2021, 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.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.; 16
U.S.C. 1431 et seq.
Sean Corson,
Acting Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-17931 Filed 9-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JS-P
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