[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 146 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40706-40707]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20377]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Agency information collection activities; Proposed collection; 
comment request concerning the proposed revision and extension of the 
coal data collections included in the Coal Program Package.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting 
comments concerning the proposed revision and extension of the surveys 
included in the Coal Program Package. The surveys covered by this 
action are the Form EIA-1, ``Weekly Coal Monitoring Report--General 
Industries and Blast Furnaces'' (Standby); Form EIA-3, ``Quarterly Coal 
Consumption Report--Manufacturing Plants;'' Form EIA-3A, ``Annual Coal 
Quality Report--Manufacturing Plants;'' Form EIA-4, ``Weekly Coal 
Monitoring Report--Coke Plants'' (Standby); Form EIA-5, ``Quarterly 
Coal Consumption Report--Coke Plants;'' Form EIA-5A, ``Annual Coal 
Quality Report--Coke Plants;'' Form EIA-6, ``Coal Distribution 
Report;'' Form EIA-6 (Schedule Q), ``Quarterly Coal Report'' (Standby); 
Form EIA-7A, ``Coal Production Report;'' and Form EIA-20, ``Weekly 
Telephone Survey of Coal Burning Utilities'' (Standby). The Standby 
forms are designed to be utilized under certain conditions.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted within 60 days of the 
publication of this notice. If you anticipate that you will be 
submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period 
of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the contact listed 
below of your intention to do so as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Thomas Murphy, Coal, Nuclear, and 
Renewables Division, EI-52, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, Mr. Murphy can be reached 
at [email protected] (Internet e-mail), 202-426-1151 (voice), or 202-
426-1311 (facsimile).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or copies of the forms and 
instructions should be directed to Thomas Murphy at the address listed 
above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments

I. Background

    In order to fulfill its responsibilities under the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-275) and the Department of 
Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91), the Energy Information 
Administration (EIA) is obliged to carry out a central, comprehensive, 
and unified energy data and information program. As part of this 
program, EIA collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates 
data and information related to energy resource reserves, production, 
demand, and technology, and related economic and statistical 
information relevant to the adequacy of energy resources to meet 
demands in the near and longer term future for the Nation's economic 
and social needs.
    The EIA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden (required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(Pub. L. 104-13)), conducts a presurvey consultation program to provide 
the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and/or continuing reporting forms. This program 
helps to prepare data requests in the desired format, minimize 
reporting burden, develop clearly understandable reporting forms, and 
assess the impact of collection requirements on respondents. Also, EIA 
will later seek approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for the collections under Section 3507(h) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, Title 44, U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    The coal surveys included in the Coal Program Package collect 
information on coal production, distribution, receipts, consumption, 
quality, stocks, and prices. This information is used to support public 
policy analyses of the coal industry and is published in various EIA 
publications, including the Coal Industry Annual, the Annual Energy 
Review, and the Quarterly Coal Report. Respondents to the surveys 
include coal producers, coal distributors, and coal consumers.

II. Current Actions

    The EIA will request a 3-year extension of the collection authority 
for each of the above-referenced surveys. Additionally, the EIA 
proposes the following changes affecting the Form EIA-6 (Schedule Q), 
the Form EIA-7A, and Form EIA-20.

Form EIA-6 (Schedule Q) and Form EIA-7A

    Over the past three years, the EIA has worked closely with the U.S. 
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to identify opportunities 
for reducing respondent reporting burden and survey operating costs by 
sharing some of the information each agency currently collects from 
coal producers and operators of coal processing facilities. By 
Memorandum of Understanding, dated March 19, 1996, the EIA and MSHA 
initiated a cooperative program providing for real-time comparison of 
coal production information collected quarterly on MSHA Form 7000-2 
with similar information collected quarterly on Schedule Q of Form EIA-
6 and annually on the Form EIA-7A. Concurrently, MSHA Form 7000-2 
information on employment at coal mines was compared with similar 
information collected on the EIA-7A. This initiative, which was 
undertaken in consultation with the National Mining Association, (NMA), 
and other coal data users, was aimed at establishing a basis for 
agreeing upon a single source of high quality information to satisfy 
the requirements of MSHA, the EIA, and NMA customers.
    After evaluating the results of this program, the EIA has concluded 
that the MSHA Form 7000-2 information can be used in place of the 
corresponding information collected on the EIA surveys. Accordingly, 
the EIA has suspended the quarterly collection of coal production and 
coal stocks information on the EIA-6, Schedule Q, and now proposes to 
re-classify the Schedule Q as a Standby survey available for use in the 
event of a change in the availability of the MSHA data. The quarterly 
coal production information previously obtained from this survey will 
be obtained from MSHA. The first, second and third quarter ending coal 
stocks will be estimated by the EIA, and the fourth quarter ending coal 
stocks will be based on information reported annually on Form EIA-6.
    Additionally, the EIA proposes to revise the Form EIA-7A by 
eliminating or modifying most of the survey data elements currently 
collected to calculate coal production, and by deleting entirely the 
portion of the survey pertaining to employment and productivity at coal 
mines and coal preparation plants. Instead, EIA-7A respondents will be 
asked to report on the EIA-7A the same coal production value they 
report to MSHA, and the EIA will obtain employment and

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productivity information directly from MSHA. The EIA will evaluate the 
accuracy of the data reported to EIA for MSHA production versus the 
data reported directly to MSHA at the end of the first annual 
collection cycle. If the EIA deems the data to be comparable, in 
subsequent years data will come directly from MSHA.
    The collection of coal price information on the Form EIA-7A, which 
is currently accomplished using the same data elements gathered to 
calculate coal production, will be preserved by reformatting the survey 
to request information on open market coal sales and revenues, as well 
as information on captive market coal sales and transfers, and 
corresponding value. Information on the amount of coal consumed at the 
reporting facility will also be retained as a separate data element. 
The collection of data on projected production during the next year 
will be eliminated.
    The EIA also proposes to modify the reporting requirements for the 
Form EIA-7A. For Calendar Years beginning after 1997, mines producing 
less than 10,000 short tons annually, and stand-along preparation 
plants recording fewer than 5,000 person hours annually, will no longer 
be required to submit the Form EIA-7A. Firms in the coal industry are 
sent the survey materials and those meeting the thresholds must file.

Form EIA-20

    The Form EIA-20 is a Standby survey that was developed to collect 
weekly information on electric utility coal consumption and coal stocks 
in the event of a coal supply disruption. The Instructions for this 
Survey currently include an Appendix specifying a formula for 
estimating the number of days the reporting facility could continue to 
operate by burning the coal on hand at the end of the reporting period 
(i.e., burn days). The EIA proposes to delete this Appendix and to 
amend the Instructions to request that respondents calculate burn days 
in accordance with their customary operating practices.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment 
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are 
provided to assist in the preparation of responses. Please indicate to 
which form(s) your comments apply.

General issues

    A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the 
actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into 
account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the 
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
    B. What enhancements can EIA make to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?

As a potential respondent

    A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions require clarification?
    B. Can data be submitted by the due date?
    C. The estimated public reporting burden for each of the surveys 
included in the Coal Program Package is shown in the following Table.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Estimated hours per 
                                                          response      
                    Survey(s)                     ----------------------
                                                    Current    Proposed 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EIA-1, EIA-4, and EIA-20.........................        1.0        1.0 
EIA-3............................................         .4         .4 
EIA-5............................................         .9         .9 
EIA-3A and EIA-5A................................        1.0        1.0 
EIA-6A...........................................        5.0        5.0 
EIA-6, Schedule Q................................         .5         .5 
EIA-7A...........................................        1.0         .75
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Burden includes the total time, effort, or financial resources 
expended to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide the 
information. The Forms EIA-1, 4, 6 (Schedule Q), and 20 are Standby 
surveys. The above estimates reflect the anticipated burden per 
response in the event these surveys are implemented.
    Please comment on (1) the accuracy of our estimate and (2) how the 
agency could minimize the burden of the collection of information, 
including the use of information technology.
    D. EIA estimates that respondents will incur no additional costs 
for reporting other than the hours required to complete the collection. 
What is the estimated: (1) total dollar amount annualized for capital 
and start-up costs, and (2) recurring annual costs of operation and 
maintenance, and purchase of services associated with this data 
collection?
    E. Do you know of any other Federal, State, or local agency that 
collects similar data? If you do, specify the agency, the data 
element(s), and the methods of collection.

As a potential user

    A. Can you use data at the levels of detail indicated on the form?
    B. For what purpose would you use the data? Be specific.
    C. Are there alternate sources of data and do you use them? If so, 
what are their deficiencies and/or strengths?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also 
will become a matter of public record.

    Statutory Authority: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13).

    Issued in Washington, D.C. July 24, 1998.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-20377 Filed 7-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P