[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 237 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63687-63688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30445]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for 
emergency OMB Review; Comment Request

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

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Submission for 
Emergency OMB review; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The EIA has submitted the energy information collections 
listed at the end of this notice to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for emergency processing under section 3507(j)(1) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.). The DOE is requesting an emergency clearance from OMB for the 
Form EIA-417R by December 18, 2001. This form is used to collect 
information on emergency situations in U.S. electric power systems. 
Approval of the request will provide DOE with the time necessary to 
more thoroughly evaluate its information needs in light of the changed 
environment since September 11, 2001.
    DOE has responsibilities for tracking actual and potential 
emergency situations on the U.S. electric energy supply system so that 
Federal emergency response and national security measures can be 
implemented in a timely and effective manner, as necessary. DOE has had 
regulations in place since the 1980's requiring electric energy 
entities to report on systems' incidents and disturbances.
    In 1998, the DOE received OMB approval, under Form EIA-417R, to 
collect electric systems' emergency information through December 31, 
2001. DOE is requesting emergency approval to continue use of the 
existing Form EIA-417R while the revised form is being prepared for 
submittal to OMB.
    During the summer of 2001, DOE developed revised reporting 
requirements for the form and issued a request for public comments. The 
Federal Register notice (66 FR 47189) requesting public comments was 
published on September 11. Given the events of September 11, 2001, 
public comments received in response to the Federal Register notice, 
and consultations with affected groups, DOE is reassessing the 
information it will require on electric power systems' incidents and 
disturbances. DOE will not complete this reassessment prior to 
expiration of the EIA-417R's approval, and thus needs to request an 
emergency 6-month approval to continue collecting information under the 
existing regulations (10 CFR 205.350--353).

DATES: Comments must be filed with OMB by December 17, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Bryon Allen, OMB Desk Officer for DOE, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget. To ensure receipt of the comments by the due date, submission 
by FAX at 202-395-7285 or e-mail to [email protected] is recommended. 
The mailing address is 726 Jackson Place NW., Washington, DC 20503. The 
OMB DOE Desk Officer may be telephoned at (202) 395-7318. (A copy of 
your comments should also be provided to EIA's Statistics and Methods 
Group at the address below.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Herbert Miller,. To ensure receipt of the 
comments by the due date, submission by FAX at 202-287-1705 or e-mail 
to [email protected] is recommended. The mailing address is 
Statistics and Methods Group (EI-70), Forrestal Building, U.S. 
Department of

[[Page 63688]]

Energy, Washington, DC 20585-0670. Mr. Miller may be contacted by 
telephone at (202) 287-1711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This section contains the following 
information about the energy information collection submitted to OMB 
for review: (1) The collection number and title; (2) the sponsor (i.e., 
the Department of Energy component); (3) the current OMB docket number 
(if applicable); (4) the type of request (i.e, new, revision, 
extension, or reinstatement); (5) response obligation (i.e., mandatory, 
voluntary, or required to obtain or retain benefits); (6) a description 
of the need for and proposed use of the information; (7) a categorical 
description of the likely respondents; and (8) an estimate of the total 
annual reporting burden (i.e., the estimated number of likely 
respondents times the proposed frequency of response per year times the 
average hours per response).
    1. Form EIA-417R, ``Electric Power System Emergency Report''.
    2. Office of Emergency Management, Office of Security and Emergency 
Operations.
    3. OMB Number 1901-0288.
    4. Reinstatement (emergency clearance request).
    5. Mandatory.
    6. The Form EIA-417R serves the purpose of alerting the Federal 
government about actual or projected incidents that will impact the 
operational and/or reliability of the Nation's domestic electric power 
systems. Respondents are the owners and/or operators of the Nation's 
electric power systems. Data are used to examine the incidents and 
track recovery process, along with alerting the senior policy makers of 
the Executive branch.
    7. Businesses or other for-profit; Federal Government; Not-for-
profit institutions; and State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    8. 139 total burden hours; (48 respondents  x  1 report  x  2.89 
hours/report).

    Statutory Authority: Section 3507(j)(1) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13).

    Issued in Washington, D.C., December 4, 2001.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-30445 Filed 12-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P