[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 144 (Thursday, July 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39032-39034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18638]


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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 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,

[[Page 39033]]

``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: Comments must be filed on or before September 24, 2001. If you 
anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, 
contact the person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to William Watson, Coal, Nuclear, and 
Renewables Division, EI-52, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, Mr. Watson may be reached 
at [email protected] (e-mail), 202-287-1971 (telephone), or 
202-287-1934 (FAX).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the forms and instructions should be directed to William 
Watson 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.
    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, the Monthly 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 Form EIA-3, Form EIA-3A, Form 
EIA-5, Form EIA-5A, and Form EIA-7A.

Form EIA-3, ``Quarterly Coal Consumption Report--Manufacturing 
Plants;'' and Form EIA-3A, ``Annual Coal Quality Report--Manufacturing 
Plants''

    Currently, EIA surveys manufacturing plants to collect coal 
consumption and coal stocks data on a quarterly basis (Form EIA-3), and 
coal quality data and coal origin on an annual basis (Form EIA-3A). EIA 
proposes to eliminate the EIA-3A survey and instead modify the EIA-3 
quarterly survey to include questions on coal quality and origin, but 
eliminate reporting the basis of coal quality data. EIA proposes to 
also add mode of coal transport to the EIA-3 quarterly survey. EIA 
believes that the proposed changes would make it easier for the 
respondents to complete the surveys.
    EIA proposes to change the title of the EIA-3 survey form from 
``Quarterly Coal Consumption Report--Manufacturing Plants'' to 
``Quarterly Coal Consumption and Quality Report, Manufacturing 
Plants.''
    The instructions in Form EIA-3, in Section B, Who Must Submit, will 
be amended to state that synfuel facilities using coal as an input are 
among the facilities required to complete form EIA-3.
    EIA proposes to delete the question asking for the basis for coal 
quality information, in section III. Basis of Coal Quality, now 
included on the EIA-3A form. EIA believes that the information is not 
needed because it is not published, disseminated on the internet, nor 
used within EIA for analysis.

Form EIA-5, ``Quarterly Coal Consumption Report--Coke Plants;'' and 
Form EIA-5A, ``Annual Coal Quality Report--Coke Plants''

    Currently, EIA surveys coke plants to collect consumption and 
stocks data for coal and production and stocks data for coke on a 
quarterly basis (Form EIA-5), and coal quality data and coal origin on 
an annual basis (Form EIA-5A). EIA proposes to eliminate the EIA-5A 
survey and to modify the EIA-5 quarterly survey to include questions on 
coal quality and origin, but eliminate reporting the basis of coal 
quality data. EIA proposes to also add mode of coal transport to the 
EIA-5 quarterly survey. EIA believes that the proposed changes would 
make it easier for the respondents to complete the surveys.
    EIA proposes to delete the question asking for the basis for coal 
quality information, in section III. Basis of Coal Quality, now 
included on the EIA-5A form. EIA believes that the information is not 
needed because it is not published, disseminated on the internet, nor 
used within EIA for analysis.

Form EIA-7A, ``Coal Production Report''

    EIA proposes to add an additional data element to section J. Mining 
Location. EIA proposes to ask the respondents to identify the datum 
(geospatial referencing system) that was used in determining the 
latitude and longitude locations. EIA is proposing this change to meet 
OMB directives for standardizing geospatial data.
    To help respondents, EIA proposes to add instructions on methods 
that can be used to determine the geographic location of coal mines and 
the datum of the location.
    EIA also proposes to clarify section H. Disclosure of Information, 
Instructions for Completing Form EIA-7A. The instructions in section H 
will be modified to state that mine location (latitude and longitude) 
and datum will not be treated as confidential information. Currently, 
EIA releases other mine location information, such as State and county. 
EIA believes that the release of latitude and longitude locations and 
datums would not result in competitive harm to respondents.

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.

[[Page 39034]]

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 each of the surveys included in the 
Coal Program Package is shown below as an average hour(s) per response. 
The estimated burden includes the total time necessary to provide the 
requested information. In your opinion, how accurate is this estimate?

--Form EIA-1, ``Weekly Coal Monitoring Report--General Industries and 
Blast Furnaces'' (Standby); 1.0 hour per response (previous estimate 
was 1 hour)
--Form EIA-3, ``Quarterly Coal Consumption Report--Manufacturing 
Plants;'' 1 hour per response (previous estimate was .4 hours)
--EIA-3A, ``Annual Coal Quality Report--Manufacturing Plants;'' 0 hours 
per response (previous estimate was 1 hour) EIA is proposing 
elimination of Form EIA-3A.
--Form EIA-4, ``Weekly Coal Monitoring Report--Coke Plants'' (Standby); 
1.0 hour per response (previous estimate was 1 hour)
--Form EIA-5, ``Quarterly Coal Consumption Report--Coke Plants;'' 1.5 
hours per response (previous estimate was .9 hours)
--Form EIA-5A, ``Annual Coal Quality Report--Coke Plants;'' 0 hours per 
response (previous estimate was 1 hour) EIA is proposing elimination of 
Form EIA-5A.
--Form EIA-6, ``Coal Distribution Report;'' 5.0 hours per response 
(previous estimate was 5.0 hours)
--Form EIA-6 (Schedule Q), ``Quarterly Coal Report'' (Standby); 1 hour 
per response (previous estimate was 1 hour)
--Form EIA-7A, ``Coal Production Report;'' .75 hours per response 
(previous estimate was .8 hours)
--Form EIA-20, ``Weekly Telephone Survey of Coal Burning Utilities'' 
(Standby) 1 hour per response (previous estimate was 1 hour)

    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.
    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.

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 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

    Issued in Washington, DC, July 19, 2001.
Stanley R. Freedman,
Acting Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-18638 Filed 7-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P