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CFR > Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries > CHAPTER VI—FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE > PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA > SUBPART C—Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program (§679.30 to §679.32) > 679.30—General CDQ regulations.

CFR

679.30—General CDQ regulations.

(a) Application procedure. The CDQ program is a voluntary program. Allocations of CDQ and PSQ are made to CDQ groups and not to vessels or processors fishing under contract with any CDQ group. Any vessel or processor harvesting or processing CDQ or PSQ on behalf of a CDQ group must comply with all other requirements of this part. Allocations of CDQ and PSQ are harvest privileges that expire upon the expiration of the CDP. When a CDP expires, further CDQ allocations are not implied or guaranteed, and a qualified applicant must re-apply for further allocations on a competitive basis with other qualified applicants. The CDQ allocations provide the means for CDQ groups to complete their CDQ projects. A qualified applicant may apply for CDQ and PSQ allocations by submitting a proposed CDP to the State during the CDQ application period that is announced by the State. A proposed CDP must include the following information:
(1) Community development information. Community development information includes:
(i) Project description. A detailed description of all proposed CDQ projects, including the short-and long-term benefits to the qualified applicant from the proposed CDQ projects. CDQ projects should not be designed with the expectation of CDQ allocations beyond those requested in the proposed CDP.
(ii) Project schedule. A schedule for the completion of each CDQ project with measurable milestones for determining the progress of each CDQ project.
(iii) Employment. The number of individuals to be employed through the CDP projects, and a description of the nature of the work and the career advancement potential for each type of work.
(iv) Community eligibility. A list of the participating communities. Each participating community must be listed in Table 7 to this part or meet the criteria for an eligible community under § 679.2.
(v) Community support. A demonstration of each participating community's support for the qualified applicant and the managing organization through an official letter approved by the governing body of each such community.
(2) Managing organization information. A proposed CDP must include the following information about the managing organization:
(i) Structure and personnel. A description of the management structure and key personnel of the managing organization, such as resumes and references, including the name, address, fax number, and telephone number of the qualified applicant's CDQ representative.
(ii) Management qualifications. A description of how the managing organization is qualified to carry out the CDP projects in the proposed CDP, and a demonstration that the managing organization has the management, technical expertise, and ability to manage CDQ allocations and prevent exceeding a CDQ or PSQ.
(iii) Legal relationship. Documentation of the legal relationship between the qualified applicant and the managing organization (if the managing organization is different from the qualified applicant) clearly describing the responsibilities and obligations of each party as demonstrated through a contract or other legally binding agreement.
(iv) Board of directors. The name, address, and telephone number of each member of the board of directors of the qualified applicant. If a qualified applicant represents more than one community, the board of directors of the qualified applicant must include at least one member from each of the communities represented.
(3) Business information. A proposed CDP must include the following business information:
(i) Business relationships. A description of all business relationships between the qualified applicant and all individuals who have a financial interest in a CDQ project or subsidiary venture, including, but not limited to, any arrangements for management and audit control and any joint venture arrangements, loans, or other partnership arrangements, including the distribution of proceeds among the parties.
(ii) Profit sharing. A description of all profit sharing arrangements.
(iii) Funding. A description of all funding and financing plans.
(iv) General budget for implementing the CDP. A general account of estimated income and expenditures for each CDQ project for the total number of calendar years that the CDP is in effect.
(v) Financial statement for the qualified applicant. The most recent audited income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, management letter, and agreed upon procedures report.
(vi) Organizational chart. A visual representation of the qualified applicant's entire organizational structure, including all divisions, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and partnerships. This chart must include the type of legal entity for all divisions, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and partnerships; state of registration of the legal entity; and percentage owned by the qualified applicant.
(4) Request for CDQ and PSQ allocations. A list of the percentage of each CDQ reserve and PSQ reserve, as described at § 679.31 that is being requested. The request for allocations of CDQ and PSQ must identify percentage allocations requested for CDQ fisheries identified by the primary target species of the fishery as defined by the qualified applicant and the gear types of the vessels that will be used to harvest the catch.
(5) Harvesting plans. A narrative description of how the CDQ group intends to harvest and process its CDQ allocations, including a description of the target fisheries, the types of vessels and processors that will be used, the locations and methods of processing, and the CDQ group's proposed partners.
(6) CDQ planning— (i) Transition plan. A proposed CDP must include an overall plan and schedule for transition from reliance on CDQ allocations to self-sufficiency in fisheries. The plan for transition to self-sufficiency must be based on the qualified applicant's long-term revenue stream without CDQs.
(ii) Post-allocation plan. [Reserved]
(b) Public hearings on CDQ application. When the CDQ application period has ended, the State must hold a public hearing to obtain comments on the proposed CDPs from all interested persons. The hearing must cover the substance and content of proposed CDPs so that the general public, particularly the affected parties, have a reasonable opportunity to understand the impact of the proposed CDPs. The State must provide reasonable public notification of hearing date and location. At the time of public notification of the hearing, the State must make available for public review all State materials pertinent to the hearing.
(c) Council consultation. Before the State sends its recommendations for approval of proposed CDPs to NMFS, the State must consult with the Council and make available, upon request, the proposed CDPs that are not part of the State's recommendations.
(d) Review and approval of proposed CDPs. The State must transmit the proposed CDPs and its recommendations for approval of each of the proposed CDPs to NMFS, along with the findings and the rationale for the recommendations, by October 15 of the year prior to the first year of the proposed CDP, except in 1998, when CDPs for the 1998 through 2000 multispecies groundfish CDQs must be submitted by July 6, 1998. The State shall determine in its recommendations for approval of the proposed CDPs that each proposed CDP meets all applicable requirements of this part. Upon receipt by NMFS of the proposed CDPs and the State's recommendations for approval, NMFS will review the proposed CDPs and approve those that it determines meet all applicable requirements. NMFS shall approve or disapprove the State's recommendations within 45 days of their receipt. In the event of approval of the CDP, NMFS will notify the State in writing that the proposed CDP is approved by NMFS and is consistent with all requirements for CDPs. If NMFS finds that a proposed CDP does not comply with the requirements of this part, NMFS must so advise the State in writing, including the reasons thereof. The State may submit a revised proposed CDP along with revised recommendations for approval to NMFS.
(e) Transfers— (1) Transfer of annual CDQ and PSQ. CDQ groups may request that NMFS transfer CDQ or PSQ from one group to another group by each group submitting a completed transfer request as described in § 679.5(n)(1). NMFS will approve the transfer request if the CDQ group transferring quota to another CDQ group has sufficient quota available for transfer. If NMFS approves the request, NMFS will make the requested transfer(s) by decreasing the account balance of the CDQ group from which the CDQ or PSQ species is transferred and by increasing the account balance of the CDQ group receiving the transferred CDQ or PSQ species. NMFS will not approve transfers to cover overages of CDQ or PSQ. The CDQ or PSQ will be transferred as of the date NMFS approves the transfer request and is effective only for the remainder of the calendar year in which the transfer occurs.
(2) Transfer of CDQ and PSQ allocation. CDQ groups may request that some or all of one group's CDQ or PSQ allocation, as defined at § 679.2, be transferred by NMFS to another group by each group filing an amendment to its respective CDP through the CDP substantial amendment process set forth at paragraph (g)(4) of this section. The CDQ or PSQ allocation will be transferred as of January 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year NMFS approves the amendments of both groups and is effective for the duration of the CDPs. Transfers of CDQ and PSQ allocations must be in whole integer percentages.
(f) CDQ group responsibilities. A CDQ group's responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Direct and supervise all activities of the managing organization;
(2) Maintain the capability to communicate with all vessels harvesting its CDQ and PSQ at all times;
(3) Monitor the catch of each CDQ or PSQ;
(4) Submit the CDQ catch report described at § 679.5(n)(2) ;
(5) Ensure that no CDQ, halibut PSQ, or crab PSQ is exceeded;
(6) Comply with all requirements of this part.
(g) Monitoring of CDPs— (1) Annual progress report. The State must submit to NMFS, by October 31 of each year, an annual progress report for the previous calendar year for each CDP.
(ii) Annual progress reports must be organized on a project-by-project basis and include information for each CDQ project in the CDP describing how each scheduled milestone in the CDP has been met, and an estimation by the State of whether each of the CDQ projects in the CDP is likely to be successful.
(iii) The annual report must include a description by the State of any problems or issues in the CDP that the State encountered during the annual report year.
(2) Annual budget report. (i) Each CDQ group must submit to NMFS an annual budget report by December 15 preceding the year for which the annual budget applies.
(ii) An annual budget report is a detailed estimate of the income from the CDQ project and of the expenditures for each subsidiary, division, joint venture, partnership, investment activity, or CDQ project as described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section for a calendar year. A CDQ group must identify the administrative costs for each CDQ project. The CDQ group's total administrative costs will be considered a separate CDQ project.
(iii) An annual budget report is approved upon receipt by NMFS, unless disapproved by NMFS in writing by December 31. If disapproved, the annual budget report will be returned to the CDQ group for revision and resubmittal to NMFS.
(3) Annual budget reconciliation report. A CDQ group must reconcile its annual budget by May 30 of the year following the year for which the annual budget applied. Reconciliation is an accounting of the annual budget's estimated income and expenditures with the actual income and expenditures, including the variance in dollars and variance in percentage for each CDQ project that is described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section.
(4) Substantial amendments. A CDP is a working business plan and must be kept up to date.
(i) Substantial amendments to a CDP require a written request by the CDQ group to the State and NMFS for approval of the amendment. The State must forward the amendment to NMFS with a recommendation as to whether it should be approved.
(ii) NMFS will notify the State in writing of the approval or disapproval of the amendment within 30 days of receipt of both the amendment and the State's recommendation. Once a substantial amendment is approved by NMFS, the amendment will be effective for the duration of the CDP.
(iii) If NMFS determines that the CDP, if changed, would no longer meet the requirements of this subpart, NMFS will notify the State in writing of the reasons why the amendment cannot be approved.
(iv) For the purposes of this section, substantial amendments are defined as changes in a CDP, including, but not limited to:
(A) Any change in the list of communities comprising the CDQ group or replacement of the managing organization.
(B) A change in the CDP applicant's harvesting or processing partner.
(C) Funding a CDP project in excess of $100,000 that is not part of an approved general budget.
(D) More than a 20-percent increase in the annual budget of an approved CDP project.
(E) More than a 20-percent increase in actual expenditures over the approved annual budget for administrative operations.
(F) A change in the contractual agreement(s) between the CDQ group and its harvesting or processing partner or a change in a CDP project, if such change is deemed by the State or NMFS to be a material change.
(G) Any transfer of a CDQ allocation or a PSQ allocation.
(v) The request for approval of a substantial amendment to a CDP shall include the following information:
(A) The background and justification for the amendment that explains why the proposed amendment is necessary and appropriate.
(B) An explanation of why the proposed change to the CDP is a substantial amendment.
(C) A description of the proposed amendment, explaining all changes to the CDP that result from the proposed amendment.
(D) A comparison of the original CDP text, with the text of the proposed changes to the CDP, and the revised pages of the CDP for replacement in the CDP binder. The revised pages must have the revision date noted, with the page number on all affected pages. The table of contents may also need to be revised to reflect any changes in pagination.
(E) Identification of any NMFS findings that would need to be modified if the amendment is approved, along with the proposed modified text.
(F) A description of how the proposed amendment meets the requirements of this subpart. Only those CDQ regulations that are affected by the proposed amendment need to be discussed.
(5) Technical amendments. Any change to a CDP that is not considered a substantial amendment under paragraph (g)(4)(iv) of this section is a technical amendment.
(i) The CDQ group must notify the State in writing of any technical amendment. Such notification must include a copy of the pages of the CDP that would be revised by the amendment, with the text highlighted to show the proposed deletions and additions, and a copy of the CDP pages as they would be revised by the proposed amendment for insertion into the CDP binder. All revised CDP pages must include the revision date, amendment identification number, and CDP page number. The table of contents may also need to be revised to reflect any changes in pagination.
(ii) The State must forward the technical amendment to NMFS with its recommendations for approval or disapproval of the amendment. A technical amendment is approved by NMFS and is effective when, after review, NMFS notifies the State in writing of the technical amendment's receipt and approval.
(h) Suspension or termination of a CDP. An annual progress report, required under paragraph (g)(1) of this section, will be used by the State to review each CDP to determine whether the CDP, CDQ, and PSQ allocations thereunder should be continued, decreased, partially suspended, suspended, or terminated under the following circumstances:
(1) If the State determines that the CDP will successfully meet its goals and objectives, the CDP may continue without any Secretarial action.
(2) If the State recommends to NMFS that an allocation be decreased, the State's recommendation for decrease will be deemed approved if NMFS does not notify the State in writing within 30 days of receipt of the State's recommendation.
(3) If the State determines that a CDP has not successfully met its goals and objectives or appears unlikely to become successful, the State may submit a recommendation to NMFS that the CDP be partially suspended, suspended, or terminated. The State must set out, in writing, the reasons for recommending suspension or termination of the CDP.
(4) After review of the State's recommendation and reasons thereof, NMFS will notify the Governor, in writing, of approval or disapproval of the recommendation within 30 days of its receipt. In the case of suspension or termination, NMFS will publish notification in the Federal Register, with reasons thereof.
[63 FR 30403, June 4, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 3882, Jan. 26, 1999; 64 FR 20214, Apr. 26, 1999; 65 FR 45318, July 21, 2000; 67 FR 4148, Jan. 28, 2002; 70 FR 15013, Mar. 24, 2005; 74 FR 62508, Nov. 30, 2009]
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