[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 124 (Friday, June 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35049-35050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16933]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Extending the Coverage of Energy Statistical Programs under the 
Federal Statistical Confidentiality Order

AGENCY: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President.

ACTION: Notice of proposed amendment to appendix A of the Federal 
Statistical Confidentiality Order.

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SUMMARY: The final Federal Statistical Confidentiality Order announced 
in this issue of the Federal Register lists the Energy End Use and 
Integrated Statistics Division of the Energy Information Administration 
(EIA) as a unit determined by the Office of Management and Budget to be 
subject to the coverage of the order. While retaining that Division in 
Appendix A (as proposed) in the final order, we are today inviting 
further public comment on a proposal to amend Appendix A to include all 
of EIA (i.e., to determine, through the analyses prescribed in the 
order, which other EIA programs may conform to the confidentiality 
standards of that order).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 26, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please address all written comments to Katherine K. Wallman, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Washington, D.C. 
20503. Comments may be submitted via facsimile to 202/395-7245. 
Electronic mail comments may be submitted via SMTP to 
[email protected] or via X.400 to G=Katherine, S=Wallman, 
PRMD=gov+eop, ADMD+telemail, C=us. Comments submitted via electronic 
mail should include the commenter's name, affiliation, postal address, 
and email address in the text of the message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry L. Coffey, Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Washington, D.C. 20503. Inquiries may be 
submitted via facsimile to 202/395-7245. Electronic mail inquiries may 
be submitted via SMTP to [email protected] or via X.400 to G=Jerry, 
S=Coffey, PRMD=gov+eop, ADMD+telemail, C=us. Electronic mail inquiries 
should include the commenter's name, affiliation, postal address, and 
email address in the text of the message.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    The Federal Statistical Confidentiality Order issued by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) establishes policies to assure ``fair 
information practices'' (as advocated by the Privacy Protection Study 
Commission and the Commission on Federal Paperwork) for respondents and 
subjects of statistical inquiries, based on the concept of ``functional 
separation'' developed by the Privacy Protection Study Commission. The 
order permits functional separation to be achieved by two means--1) 
identifying an agency or unit that is purely statistical, or 2) 
distinguishing statistical from nonstatistical functions within a 
single agency or unit.
    By establishing a uniform policy for the principal statistical 
agencies, this order will reduce public confusion, uncertainty, and 
concern about the treatment of confidential statistical information by 
different agencies. By establishing consistent rational principles and 
processes to buttress confidentiality pledges, the order will eliminate 
unsupportable confidentiality claims and ambiguous decision processes 
that have created uncertainties under FOIA. Such consistent protection 
of confidential statistical information will, in turn, reduce the 
perceived risks of more efficient working relationships among 
statistical agencies, relationships that can reduce both the cost and 
reporting burden imposed by statistical programs.

B. Proposed Amendment to Appendix A

    Appendix A of the Federal Statistical Confidentiality Order 
contains a list of ``statistical agencies and units'' determined by OMB 
to be principally subject to that order and includes a unit of EIA 
whose functions are widely considered to be predominantly statistical, 
specifically, the Energy End Use and Integrated Statistics (EEUIS) 
Division. During review of comments on the proposed order, 
consideration was given to other agencies or units that should be 
included. In the case of EIA, other units within the agency collect 
statistics on petroleum supply and marketing, natural gas, reserves, 
coal, electric and renewable energy, and general information about 
energy markets. It is not clear that the EEUIS Division is the only 
unit in EIA that might operate some exclusively statistical programs.

[[Page 35050]]

    Many data collection programs within EIA were originally authorized 
to support energy regulation as well as EIA's statistical mission. 
However as regulatory programs were terminated, these data collections 
were restructured to support statistical priorities alone. While many 
of the original statutes were crafted to authorize regulatory data 
collections, Congress has repeatedly reauthorized and funded the 
restructured (statistical) programs that describe segments of the 
energy economy that are no longer regulated.
    Amending Appendix A of the Federal Statistical Confidentiality 
Order to include all of EIA will set in motion the analyses required by 
the order to determine which multiple uses of such programs still 
remain and conversely which programs are now justified by statistical 
priorities only.
    These analyses under Sections 6 and 7 of the order may also 
identify statutory provisions that are no longer needed or appropriate, 
and clarify the standards of review (e.g., the administrative or 
statistical test of practical utility) that should be applied to these 
programs under the Paperwork Reduction Act (see, for example, 5 C.F.R. 
1320.3(l)).
    Accordingly, OMB proposes to amend Appendix A of the Federal 
Statistical Confidentiality Order by inserting ``Energy Information 
Administration'' in lieu of ``Energy End Use and Integrated Statistics 
Division of the Energy Information Administration'' under the heading 
``Department of Energy''.
Sally Katzen,
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-16933 Filed 6-26-97; 8:45 am]
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