[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35946-35948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17172]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: proposed collection; 
comment request.

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SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed revision, and 
three-year extension of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
expiration date of the form RW-859, ``Nuclear Fuel Data Survey''.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before September 10, 2001. If you 
anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, 
contact the person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESS: Send comments to Jim Finucane, Office of Coal, Nuclear, 
Electric and Alternate Fuels, EI-52, Forrestal Building, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585-0650,

[[Page 35947]]

telephone: (202) 287-1966, e-mail: [email protected], and fax 
(202)-287-1934.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments

I. Background

    The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-275, 
15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 95-91, 
42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to carry out a centralized, 
comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program 
collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information 
on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and 
related economic and statistical information. This information is used 
to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet near and longer term 
domestic demands.
    The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides 
the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to 
comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in 
conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare 
data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected, 
and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public. 
Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) of the collections under section 3507(a) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995.
    This data collection will provide the Office of Civilian 
Radioactive Waste Management of DOE with detailed information 
concerning the spent nuclear fuel generated by the respondents 
(commercial utility generators of spent nuclear fuel within the U.S. 
are respondents to this survey). The DOE will take possession of this 
spent fuel and will need this data to properly design the spent fuel 
repository (spent fuel receiving systems, spent fuel handling systems, 
etc.) which will be the final disposal site for all of the spent fuel 
and high level radioactive waste materials.

II. Current Actions

    The current proposed action is: a revision of and a three-year 
extension of an existing data collection, RW-859. As before, all data 
will be collected once. Only changes in the specific previously 
reported data element will require updating. Other changes to the Form 
RW-859 Nuclear Fuel Data survey are as follows:

--The requirement to enter each individual assembly identifier for all 
assemblies stored in a pool has been deleted from Section 4.3.1 
``Storage Inventory''. It has been replaced with a single number 
indicating the number of assemblies in that pool.
--A column to the table has been added to Section 3 ``Permanently 
Discharged Fuel'' to indicate the pool in which an assembly is stored. 
This column replaces the requirement to re-enter all assembly 
identifiers in Section 4.3.1.
--Respondents may now enter either cycle number or cycle date in 
Section 3 ``Permanently Discharged Fuel''. Only cycle date was 
previously accepted.
--Only data on permanently discharged fuel are collected in Section 3 
``Permanently Discharged Fuel''.
--Respondents may now designate between Operating License Date and 
Possession Only License Date in Section 2.1 ``Reactor License Data''.
--Burnup data may be submitted in gigawattdays thermal per metric ton 
of uranium instead of megawattdays thermal per metric ton of uranium.
--Section 4.6.4 ``Canister Closure'' has been simplified.
--Clarification has been provided on whether certain data should be 
entered in Section 4.6 ``Canistered Material'' or Section 4.7 
``Uncanistered Fuel and Non-Fuel Components.''
--The requirement to enter each individual assembly identifier for all 
assemblies stored in dry storage has been deleted from Section 5.3 
``Assemblies in Dry Storage''. It has been replaced with a single 
number indicating the number of assemblies in each module
--Footnotes have been modified to provide additional information.
--Instructions have been clarified and modified where appropriate. 
Specific changes have been made to the instructions regarding the 
transmittal of data to DOE, failed fuel status codes, reporting of 
midcycle fuel outages, license dates, required degrees of precision, 
and data on canistered fuel and non-fuel components.

    The DOE will provide each respondent with a file which contains a 
copy of previously provided data with which to update. This revision 
will also facilitate the streamlining of data elements, which will be 
collected. Although this survey is planned for use in 2003, its 
extension at this time is being carried out to avoid its expiration at 
the end of 2001.

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 comments.

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 be made to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information

    A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions need clarification?
    B. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
    C. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to 
average 40 hours per response. The estimated burden includes the total 
time necessary to provide the requested information. In your opinion, 
how accurate is this estimate?
    D. The agency estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for 
the time it will take to complete the collection. Will a respondent 
incur any start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual costs 
for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with 
the information collection?
    E. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of 
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    F. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar 
information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the 
methods of collection.

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As a Potential User of the Information To Be Collected:

    A. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be 
collected?
    B. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    C. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they 
useful? If so, what are their weaknesses 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) and Section 
3507(h)(i) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-
13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

    Issued in Washington, DC, July 2, 2001.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-17172 Filed 7-9-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P