From SPiotrowicz@rdc.noaa.gov
Mon Dec 9 08:53:53 1996
Subject: re: FIC Agency Reports
Jack and Ken
It looks like I will not be able to attend the FIC meeting this coming week. I will not be getting back into the office until late on Wednesday and then I have a meeting on Thursday so I thought I had best bring you up to date on how we see our fleet issues evolving.
We have our 1998 and 1999 shiptime requests and we certainly have the requirements to maintain at least one-half of a shipyear being outsourced on UNOLS vessels. Even without transits we have over 2 1/2 shipyears of requests for large and medium vessels. We also have some increased requirements for smaller vessels, primarily Florida Bay. There are still program funding issues that will not be resolved for quite some time.
Depending on budgets, we should be able to maintain the one-half of a shipyear of Class I/II time we intend to obtain from UNOLS (at a minimum). Right now the present budget balancing guidelines indicate 5% across-the-board cuts in the Federal budget except for certain exempted areas like Presidential Priorities (of which Research is one). Whether the platform support that, in turn, goes to support research will be included in those "protected" areas will be publically known when the budget goes to Congress.
One rather dramatic shift we see in requests is a continuing decline in the areas of deep ocean research such as thermohaline circulation and the carbon cycle (including tracers) and an increase in the requests for support of atmospheric research programs. We have a total of four requests for the Doppler facility on BROWN in 1999. Friday we received the ECP costs for the Doppler on BROWN. Also, it looks like the vibration issue is not of concern.
The costs area reasonable so we should be going ahead with the installation of the platform. We are also working several routes to obtain a permanent radar since the two TOGA-COARE radars are not available as a permanent installation on BROWN. BROWN will have a permanent upper-air capability. Given the 1998 and 1999 requests we are now looking to see if we should install a wind profiler permanently on BROWN. It has been a low priority mission equipment item up to now. (This is why I'll be in Boulder tomorrow.)
As regards to Fisheries requirements, you are probably as familiar with the issues as I can relate in writing. We do not expect new construction money in the 1998 budget (the necessity to balance the budget issue) from the White House. We expect to retain the funds to design a vessel in our Fleet Modernization account. As you are aware, the real watershed year for NMFS is 1999. If we do not obtain funds to start construction of a new vessel in 1998 or 1999, and given the time to construct a new vessel, the increasing age and maintenance requirements of the Fisheries vessels will probably result in vessels coming off line before they can be replaced.
I am sorry that we won't have anyone from D.C. at the FIC meeting but Hugh Milburn will be there.
Steve