Oil Spill Recovery Institute
Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, November 24, 1998
The meeting was held via teleconference.
Board members present:
Barbara Moore, Dept. of Commerce
Doug Mutter, Dept of Interior
Cmdr. Ross Tuxhorn, Dept. of Transportation
Virginia Adams, Fishing industry representative
R.J. Kopchak, Fishing industry representative
Larry Dietrick, Alaska Dept of Environmental Conservation
Claudia Slater, Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game
Marilyn Leland, At-large representative
John Goering, non-voting representative, Institute of Marine Science, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks
Not present: Governor Steve Cowper, Kevin Meyers, Carol Fries, Grant Vidrine, Glenn Ujioka,
Gail Evanoff, and Mead Treadwell,.
Staff and visitors: Gary Thomas and Nancy Bird.
Advisory Board Chair Barbara Moore called the meeting to order at 10:15 a.m. A quorum was
established (8 of 14 voting members).
Approval of agenda
There being no objections, the agenda was approved as presented.
Approval of minutes
Motion by Leland to approve the minutes of August 12, 1998, seconded by Kopchak. No objections. Motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS ITEMS
Conflicts of interest
Several Board members said the background materials
included in the meeting packet on this topic were useful. It
was noted that action could not be taken on the proposed
amendment to the bylaws because 2/3 of the Board members
were not present. Some discussion ensued and several changes
to the proposed amendment were noted (write out
abbreviations "PI" and "AA"; delete "Executive" from OSRI
Director's title to be consistent with legislation; change the
reporting of conflicts from the Annual Report to meeting
minutes). Staff was directed to prepare a revised bylaws
amendment for consideration at the spring meeting.
Action was also deferred on the proposed amendments related to conflicts of interest included in the Grant Policy Manual.
Grant Policy Manual
Motion by Kopchak to approve the proposed amendment to Section 10.4, Program Income, of the Grant Policy Manual, seconded by Leland. Brief discussion. Motion passed without objection.
Staff was directed to get legal review of Sections 10.2
and 10.4 of the Grant Policy Manual.
Amended Section 10.4, as approved:
10.4.1 Background
The following provisions implement the applicable portions of
OMB Circular A-110
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OMB/html/circulars/a110/a110.html) on program income as well as the principle on income
from copyrightable material.
10.4.2 Definition
PROGRAM INCOME means gross income earned by the awardee
that is directly generated by a supported activity or earned as a
result of the grant. Program income includes, but is not limited to,
income from fees for services performed, the use or rental of
personal property acquired under the grant, the sale of commodities
or items fabricated under the grant, license fees for and royalties on,
and copyrights and interest on grant funds.
10.4.3 OSRI Policy
Standard Treatment
Unless otherwise specified in the grant or contract, program income received or accruing to the awardee during the period of the grant and totaling less than 10 percent of the OSRI award, is to be retained by the awardee, and added to the funds committed to the project by OSRI; the intent is that this program income be used to further project objectives. Program income totaling more than 10 percent of the OSRI award is to be reimbursed to OSRI unless additional objectives are identified and OSRI approves of expenditures to obtain those objectives.
Business Plan
Thomas summarized the revisions made to the Business Plan saying he received and incorporated comments from three Board members. Consensus was that the new version is easier to read and more straightforward. There was agreement that the Business Plan should reflect the longer-term operating plans and will not necessarily be updated on an annual basis. The Annual Plan will serve as the year-to-year operating plan. During discussion, it was suggested that parts of Section 2.1 of the Annual Plan replace the "Grants" section in the revised Business Plan as presented. The purpose of this change is to first present a broader description of the program activities and then go into the more descriptive details. Staff was directed to incorporate these changes and present a revised Business Plan for approval at the Board's spring meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Nowcast/forecast ocean
circulation proposal
As Chair of the Scientific and Technical Committee, Goering reported that all committee members except one concur with the following recommendation to the Advisory Board. The one exception was a member who did not respond to phone and e-mail messages. Goering noted that both the Scientific and Technical Committee and the three external peer reviewers agreed that the development of a nowcast/forecast (N/F) system for Prince William Sound (PWS) is an extremely worthy endeavor. The Committee recommends that the OSRI Board approve one-year of funding to initiate development of a PWS N/F system. The award should include the following stipulations:
1. Provide a revised, more detailed study plan for level 1-3 that addresses reviewers concerns of study approaches, methods, model scales and individual component scope of work.
2. Provide a plan that identifies potential N/F use and users.
3. Provide descriptions of individual work tasks, their costs and cost justification.
4. Provide a detailed plan to acquire the supplementary funding needed for levels 2 and 3.
5. Provide a project management plan that identifies
program leadership, sub-proposal interactions and
collaboration with other researchers and PWS N/F users.
The Committee also unanimously recommends that OSRI
develop an independent external N/F system review team
consisting of members with expertise in N/F circulation
modeling , oil spill and dispersant use, GLOBEC (of the
National Science Foundation) and the Princeton Ocean Model
(POM). The committee also recommends the establishment of
a group of potential N/F users.
The proposal submitted requests $400,000 for year one and a
total of $1.6 million over five years.
Motion by Kopchak to concur with the Scientific and Technical Committee's recommendation, seconded by Leland. Discussion followed regarding the products OSRI will receive by funding this project. Thomas stated that this award will provide support for the researchers to continue development of GIS maps and acquire other matching funds that will allow full development of a nowcast/forecast system. He noted that it will probably take 3-5 years to fully develop the project.
Motion passed without objection.
Update on search for a Technology Coordinator
Thomas said about 20 individuals have submitted applications and he would like to schedule an Executive Committee meeting to review the most qualified. After brief discussion, consensus reached to schedule that meeting during the week of December 7th via teleconference.
Spring meeting date
There was agreement to tentatively schedule the spring Board meeting Wednesday, April 21, 1999 with an alternate date of Friday, April 23rd. This meeting will be held at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.
Adjournment
Motion by Kopchak to adjourn, seconded by Mutter. Motion passed.
These minutes were reviewed and approved by the Advisory Board on
Doug Mutter, Secretary