[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52406-52410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20283]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Parts 375 and 390

[Docket No. RM02-10-000; Order No. 891]


Electronic Registration

Issued August 5, 2002.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

[[Page 52407]]


ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 
amending its regulations to establish a system of electronic 
registration (eRegistration) for persons and companies submitting 
documents to, and receiving documents from, the Commission. This system 
will enable the Commission to comply with paperwork elimination 
mandates and, combined with other rulemakings to take place in the near 
future, will result in cost savings to the Commission and the public 
while enhancing the accessibility of information relating to Commission 
programs and proceedings. The eRegistration system will become 
mandatory on January 7, 2003, but will be operated on a voluntary basis 
beginning in late August 2002.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The rule will become effective on January 7, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Cook (information 
technology advisor), Office of the Chief Information Officer, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426, (202) 208-1131.
    Wilbur Miller (legal advisor), Office of General Counsel, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426, (202) 208-0953.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Before Commissioners: Pat Wood, III, Chairman; William L. 
Massey, Linda Breathitt, and Nora Mead Brownell.

I. Introduction

    1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 
amending its regulations to establish a system of electronic 
registration for persons and companies wishing to submit documents to 
or receive documents from the Commission (collectively customers).

II. Background

    2. This order initiates a series of measures that will largely 
eliminate the transmission of paper documents between the Commission 
and its customers. Collectively, these measures will ensure the 
Commission's compliance with the Government Paperwork Elimination 
Act;\1\ result in cost savings, such as elimination of mailing costs 
and courier services, to the Commission and its customers; facilitate 
the Commission's management of information about the persons and 
entities that do business with it; and make information submitted to 
and issued by the Commission available more promptly and in more 
accessible formats.
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    \1\ 44 U.S.C. 3504 (2002).
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    3. This measure follows several initiatives undertaken by the 
Commission to begin the transition to an electronic environment. On May 
26, 1999, the Commission revised its rules to permit parties to 
Commission proceedings to serve documents upon one another 
electronically. Electronic Service of Documents, 64 FR 31493, FERC 
Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles para. 31,074 (June 11, 1999). On 
September 14, 2000, the Commission revised its rules to permit 
participants in Commission proceedings to begin, on a voluntary basis, 
filing submissions via the Internet (eFiling). Electronic Filing of 
Documents, 65 FR 57088, FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles 
para. 31,107 (Sept. 21, 2000). At first, the Commission applied this 
initiative only to a limited range of document types, but has gradually 
permitted other types of submissions to be made electronically. See 
www.ferc.gov/documents/makeanelectronicfiling/doorbell.htm. In 
addition, electronic submission and dissemination of structured data, 
including FERC Forms 1, 2, 6, and 423, are possible through the 
Commission's web page.
    4. This order will resolve difficulties the Commission has 
encountered in updating various lists that it maintains of customers to 
whom it sends various types of information. These include, for example, 
service lists of persons who are required to receive documents in 
connection with Commission proceedings \2\ and mailing lists of persons 
who receive informational copies of various documents. Many of the 
entries on the various lists that the Commission maintains are obsolete 
or duplicative, resulting, among other problems, in extensive waste in 
mailing out unneeded or unwanted copies of documents. The eRegistration 
system will allow the Commission to compile a comprehensive, more 
accurate list of its customers.
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    \2\ 18 CFR 385.2010(b)(2002).
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III. Discussion

A. General

    5. Electronic registration will serve as the gateway to a number of 
electronic services at the Commission that are designed to transmit 
documents electronically between the Commission and its customers. 
These services, some of which are already in use, will permit the 
electronic submission of information to the Commission, including 
tariffs, forms, and documents submitted in docketed proceedings. 
Electronic registration also will apply to services that the Commission 
will be instituting that will allow customers to sign up to receive 
information about or be notified of events in docketed proceedings. The 
registration system implemented pursuant to this rulemaking will enable 
customers to submit necessary information once, rather than having to 
register separately to use each system. A brief description of the 
services to which electronic registration will pertain is included in 
Section III. C.
    6. Electronic registration will apply only to specified 
applications; it will not be required for all submissions to the 
Commission. For example, it will not be required for correspondence 
that does not relate to docketed proceedings from members of Congress 
or the general public. It will not be required for a customer searching 
for documents on the Federal Energy Regulatory Records and Information 
System (FERRIS). It will not apply to requests under the Freedom of 
Information Act.\3\ It also will not apply to certain correspondence in 
docketed proceedings that the Office of the Secretary finds to qualify 
for an exemption because the submissions are from members of the public 
who likely are one-time submitters.
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    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 552 (2001).
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    7. The registration process will be brief and simple. Customers 
will input a few lines of information, generally a name, address, phone 
number and fax number. They will then input the information that the 
system will use to identify them: An e-mail address a password and a 
password hint. There will be a paper registration process for customers 
submitting paper documents to the Commission as the result of a waiver 
of electronic filing requirements for good cause shown. Customers will 
be able to access and manipulate their own data, thus keeping it 
current to ensure reliable service. Separate rulemakings will address 
other FERC information systems.

B. The Registration Process

    8. Customers wishing to transact business at the Commission through 
any of the electronic services described in section III. C. will 
register via the Internet at http://www.ferc.gov. It will be possible 
for multiple persons or entities to be associated with one another. 
Thus, for example, a company that is a participant in a proceeding at 
the Commission may be represented by one or more persons or entities, 
such as attorneys or law firms, so that Commission issuances will be

[[Page 52408]]

distributed to all the persons or entities representing that company.
    9. When a customer seeks to conduct an electronic transaction 
through the Commission's Web site, if that customer is not already 
registered, the customer will be automatically transferred to the 
eRegistration page. Alternately, the customer will be able to access 
the eRegistration page directly to register or to update registration 
information. The eRegistration page will contain data fields that must 
be filled in with specified identifying data.
    10. Generally speaking, an individual customer--as opposed to an 
entity like a company or law firm--will receive a user ID, which will 
be the customer's e-mail address. All electronic services will also 
require a password selected by the user. For services requiring a 
higher level of security and authentication, further security 
requirements may be necessary as well. The exact nature of this 
security will be described at a later time, when filing of sensitive 
information becomes functional.
    11. All customers also will receive a unique numeric identifier. 
This identifier may be used in identifying the customer in connection 
with electronic applications.
    12. When an individual customer registers, that customer will, if 
appropriate, designate the entity--again, such as a company or law 
firm--with which that customer is associated. The first time that 
eRegistration information is entered on behalf of an entity, that 
entity will be assigned its own unique numeric identifier. Other 
identifying information, such as a Dun & Bradstreet number, may also be 
entered. If the entity has already been registered, the individual 
customer may select it from an index. If the individual is not aware 
that the entity has already been registered and tries to enter 
information about the entity, the system will alert the individual to 
the possibility that the entity is already registered and make an index 
available from which he or she may choose.
    13. When an individual registers an entity with eRegistration, 
there will be an opportunity to list an additional contact for the 
entity--most likely another employee or official of the entity. This 
will ensure that the entity will receive necessary information should 
the individual who initially registers for the entity become 
unavailable. Customers will bear the responsibility of managing their 
own eRegistration information, just as a participant in a Commission 
proceeding is responsible for monitoring its affairs to ensure that the 
persons claiming to represent it are in fact authorized to do so.
    14. Upon successful eRegistration, the customer will receive an e-
mail containing the customer's user ID and numeric identifier, and any 
other identifying information that has been entered.
    15. The process of associating an individual customer with multiple 
entities will not be a part of the eRegistration system, but instead 
will take place in the individual electronic services. For example, an 
attorney will be able to represent several different clients in 
multiple proceedings, but the attorney need not ``register'' on behalf 
of every client or in connection with every proceeding. Instead, the 
attorney will register once as an individual, if appropriate also 
designating a law firm as the entity with which the attorney is 
associated. When the attorney submits a document for filing in a 
particular proceeding, he or she will designate the appropriate client 
as part of the eFiling process. The attorney will receive service 
through the functions of the eService and eList services (described 
below), which will be addressed in a later rulemaking. Customers using 
eRegistration to represent other persons or entities are subject to 
Rule 2005,\4\ and thus will be regarded as representing that they have 
the authority to undertake such representation.
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    \4\ 18 CFR 385.2005(2002).
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    16. The Commission understands that some customers will lack the 
means for submitting and receiving documents electronically and will 
provide for waiver of the mandatory aspects of electronic submissions 
and distribution. This rulemaking includes a delegation of authority to 
the Secretary to grant waivers of the eRegistration requirement. It 
will be possible for a customer to submit documents in hard copy by 
applying for a waiver for good cause shown. Registration, however, will 
still be required and will be accomplished by a paper process. Like 
electronic customers, customers registering through the paper process 
will receive a unique numeric identifier. This identifier must appear 
on paper submissions; without it, submissions will be rejected. Waivers 
of electronic registration will be valid for one year. It then will be 
necessary for a customer to register electronically or apply for 
another waiver. Customers registering by paper will be notified 
approximately three months prior to the expiration of their 
registration.
    17. In addition to the waiver provision, the Commission is 
exempting from the registration requirement certain situations where 
registration would not be practical for, or beneficial to, the 
customer. The Commission often receives letters and other 
communications from individual citizens who are not familiar with, and 
do not regularly participate in, Commission proceedings. When such 
communications pertain to a particular proceeding, they are accepted 
for filing in that proceeding, become part of the official record, and 
are considered by the Commission in making the ultimate decision in the 
case. Registration in such situations would be an unnecessary formality 
because the customer often is unlikely to participate further in 
Commission proceedings. In some such cases, however, the customer may 
have the capability to register electronically and thus might not 
qualify for a waiver. The rulemaking thus exempts such communications 
from the registration requirements.\5\
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    \5\ Customers found to be exempt from the eRegistration 
requirements will not be able to receive electronic issuances and 
notifications from the Commission or otherwise be included in 
electronic distribution lists, nor will they be able to intervene as 
they will not be able to employ eFiling. In other words, they will 
not have access to the FERC online services, which necessarily 
require individualized registration, including a specific e-mail 
address.
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    18. This rulemaking will become effective January 7, 2003. 
Electronic registration thus will not be required prior to that time. 
The eRegistration system will, however, become operational, and 
available for use on a voluntary basis in late August 2002. Customers 
should check the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov for 
information about when eRegistration will become operational. This 
period of voluntary use will give both the Commission and its customers 
the opportunity to observe the system's functions. The Commission 
strongly urges customers to register well in advance of the effective 
date so as to familiarize themselves with the system. In addition, the 
Commission invites informal comments and suggestions regarding the 
system prior to the effective date. Comments or suggestions may be sent 
to the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or to [email protected]. The 
Commission requests that informal comments and suggestions be submitted 
by October 1, 2002, so as to give Commission staff time to implement 
any needed changes before this rule takes effect.

[[Page 52409]]

C. Overview of Electronic Information Services

    19. The following is a brief summary of the services for which 
electronic registration will be required:
    20. eFiling. The Commission has instituted electronic filing of 
documents in its proceedings on a voluntary basis. Currently, many 
categories of documents may be submitted via the Internet, although 
some documents still may not.\6\ Some time prior to October 1, 2003, 
however, the Commission will extend electronic filing to all documents 
submitted in Commission proceedings and will require all participants 
in those proceedings to submit documents electronically. There will be 
a waiver for participants for whom electronic submissions are 
impractical.
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    \6\ See 18 CFR 385.2003(c)(2)(2002).
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    21. eForms. The Commission will establish an integrated interface 
for its customers to file structured data. The forms that will be filed 
electronically include, but may not be limited to, Forms 1, 2, 6 and 
423. Customers filing such forms will be required to register 
electronically.
    22. eReports. This system will provide an interface for customers 
submitting structured data in connection with Order No. 2001, issued by 
the Commission on April 25, 2002.\7\
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    \7\ See Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, FERC Stats. 
& Regs. para. 31,127 (April 25, 2002).
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    23. eTariffs. This system will provide an interface for customers 
filing tariffs with the Commission.\8\
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    \8\ Id.
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    24. eDistribution. Electronic distribution refers to documents 
being distributed by the Commission, or with the Commission's 
assistance, as opposed to electronic filing, forms, reports and 
tariffs, all of which refer to documents being submitted to the 
Commission. There are several sub-categories of electronic 
distribution:

    eService: Electronic service means the electronic distribution by 
the Commission of documents to participants in Commission proceedings, 
as required by 18 CFR 385.2010(b) (2001). After October 1, 2003, only 
electronic service will meet the Commission's legal service 
requirements under regulatory revisions that the Commission will 
implement prior to that time. The Commission will include a waiver 
provision for participants who show that it is impractical for them to 
receive service of documents electronically. With respect to legal 
service requirements among participants in Commission proceedings, the 
Commission's rules already allow participants to agree among themselves 
to serve documents electronically rather than serving paper copies.\9\
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    \9\ Id.
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    eList: The Commission will maintain a list of participants in each 
Commission proceeding that participants will use to serve documents 
upon one another as required by 18 CFR 385.2010(a) (2002). Electronic 
Registration will become a pre-requisite for addition to the Service 
List (eList) by the Secretary, sometime prior to October 1, 2003, 
although provision will be made for participants for whom sending and 
receiving electronic documents is impractical.
    eNotification: The Commission currently distributes issuances in 
Commission proceedings to various interested persons who are not 
participants. Such recipients include state and federal elected 
officials, state commissions, and other state and federal resource 
agencies. The Commission will take steps to ensure that these persons 
continue to receive such information.
    eSubscription: The Commission will establish a service that allows 
interested persons to subscribe to categories of documents published by 
FERC and receive e-mail stating when documents pertaining to 
subscribed-for categories are published. The first implementation of 
this service will permit customers to subscribe to individual FERC 
proceedings, i.e., dockets; access (FERRIS) online; and automatically 
receive documents published therein. Participation in this service is 
voluntary. A customer choosing to participate in eSubscription, 
however, will have to access the service through eRegistration. That 
customer will be required to supply eRegistration with an e-mail 
address and password, and may provide other registration information on 
a voluntary basis.

IV. Information Collection Statement

    25. The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) regulations 
require that OMB approve certain information collection requirements 
imposed by agency rule.\10\ OMB regulations provide an exemption where 
a person is required to provide only facts that are necessary for 
identification.\11\ This rulemaking requires only such information and 
thus OMB approval is not required.
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    \10\ 5 CFR Part 1320 (2002).
    \11\ 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(1).
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V. Environmental Analysis

    26. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may 
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\12\ This 
Final Rule will not have such an effect. Part 380 of the Commission's 
regulations lists a number of situations in which an Environmental 
Analysis or Environmental Impact Statement will not be done. Included 
are exemptions for procedural, ministerial or internal administrative 
actions, and for information gathering, analysis and dissemination.\13\ 
This rulemaking is exempt under those provisions.
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    \12\ Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & 
Regs. Preambles 1986-1990 para. 30,783 (1987).
    \13\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(1) and (5) (2002).
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VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    27. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)\14\ generally 
requires a description and analysis of final rules that will have 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The Commission finds that this rule will not have such an impact on 
small entities. The Commission anticipates that its customers will 
achieve savings from the elimination of paper documents. The large 
majority of the Commission's customers already employ the technology 
that will be necessary for compliance with this rulemaking. For 
customers for whom the use of such technology is impractical, 
registration by paper will be possible.
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    \14\ 5 U.S.C. 601-612 (2002).
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VII. Document Availability

    28. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's 
Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    29. From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is 
available in FERRIS. The full text of this document is available on 
FERRIS in PDF and WordPerfect format for viewing, printing, and/or 
downloading. To access this document in FERRIS, type the docket number 
excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket number 
field.
    30. User assistance is available for FERRIS and the FERC's Web site 
during normal business hours from our Help

[[Page 52410]]

line at (202) 208-2222 or the Public Reference Room at (202) 208-1371 
Press 0, TTY (202) 208-1659. E-Mail the Public Reference Room at 
[email protected].

VIII. Effective Date and Congressional Notification

    31. This Final Rule will take effect on January 7, 2003. Pursuant 
to 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(C) (2002), agencies are not required to notify 
Congress of any Final Rule that concerns matters of ``agency 
organization, procedure, or practice that does not substantially affect 
the rights or obligations of non-agency parties.'' This rulemaking 
falls within that provision. Furthermore, 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(A) exempts 
rules that provide for registration and permit new or improved 
applications of technology from the Congressional review requirements. 
Provisions governing Congressional review of agency rulemaking,\15\ 
therefore do not apply.
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    \15\ 5 U.S.C. 801-808 (2002).
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    32. The Commission is issuing this as a final rule without a period 
for public comment. Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) (2002), notice and comment 
procedures are unnecessary where a rulemaking concerns only agency 
procedure and practice, or where the agency finds that notice and 
comment is unnecessary. This rule concerns only matters of agency 
procedure and will not significantly affect regulated entities or the 
general public. In addition, the Commission is inviting informal 
comments about electronic registration during the voluntary period that 
will run from late August 2002, to January 7, 2003. Therefore, the 
Commission finds notice and comment procedures to be unnecessary.

List of Subjects

18 CFR Part 375

    Authority delegations (Government agencies), Seals and insignia, 
Sunshine Act.

18 CFR Part 390

    Administrative practice and procedure, Electronic filing, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

By the Commission.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission amends part 375 
and adds part 390, Chapter I, Title 18, of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 375--THE COMMISSION

    1. In part 375, the authority citation continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551-557; 15 U.S.C. 717-717w, 3301-3432; 16 
U.S.C. 791-825r, 2601-2645; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352.

    2. In Sec. 375.302, paragraph (x) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 375.302  Delegations to the Secretary.

* * * * *
    (x) Issue instructions for electronic registration pursuant to, 
grant applications for waivers of the requirements of, and make 
determinations regarding exemptions from 18 CFR part 390.

    3. Part 390 is added to read as follows:

PART 390--ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION

Sec.
390.1  Electronic registration.
390.2  Activities requiring registration.
390.3  Waiver applications.
390.4  Exemptions.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551-557; 15 U.S.C. 717-717z, 3301-3432; 16 
U.S.C. 791a-825r, 2601-2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352; 49 
U.S.C. 60502; 49 App. U.S.C. 1-85 (1988).


Sec. 390.1  Electronic registration.

    Any person who wishes to engage in any of the activities listed in 
Sec. 390.2 must register electronically through the Commission's web 
site, in compliance with instructions located on the Web site, at 
http://www.ferc.gov.


Sec. 390.2  Activities requiring registration.

    (a) Electronic registration is a requirement for the following 
activities:
    (1) Submission of all documents in proceedings governed by 18 CFR 
part 385;
    (2) Submission of Forms 1, 2, 6 and 423 pursuant to 18 CFR 141.1, 
141.61, 260.1, and 357.2.
    (3) Submission of reports in compliance with Order No. 2001.
    (4) Filing of tariffs pursuant to 18 CFR 385.205.
    (5) Receipt of service pursuant to 18 CFR 385.2010(a) or (b).
    (b) Any person who wishes to subscribe to the Commission's 
automated document delivery system may register electronically but is 
not required to do so.


Sec. 390.3  Waiver applications.

    (a) A person may satisfy the requirement of Sec. 390.1 by 
submitting a paper registration form to be prescribed by the Secretary, 
together with a written statement showing good cause why the person is 
unable to register electronically. The form and statement must be 
mailed to the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or hand delivered to Room 1A 
at the same address.
    (b) Persons who register using the paper form prescribed under 
paragraph (a) of this section will receive a unique numeric identifier 
that must appear on all paper submissions to the Commission. A 
submission that does not include the identifier will be rejected. 
Notification of such rejection will be sent to the submitter at the 
address indicated on the paper submission. A request for a waiver may 
be submitted simultaneously with a document submitted for filing. If 
the waiver is granted, the Secretary will add the assigned numeric 
identifier to the submitted document(s), but will not do so for 
subsequent submissions.
    (c) A waiver under paragraph (a) of this section will be valid for 
one year from the date of issuance by the Secretary. The Secretary will 
send notice of the pending expiration to the registered person's 
address of record approximately three months prior to the expiration of 
the waiver. After the waiver expires, a person wishing to engage in any 
of the activities listed in Sec. 390.2 must comply with Sec. 390.1, or 
must apply for another waiver under paragraph (a) of this section.


Sec. 390.4  Exemptions.

    In instances in which the Commission receives communications from 
persons who are not registered under this part that relate to docketed 
proceedings and in which it appears that registration under this part 
offers no value to the person submitting the communication, the 
Commission may accept the communication for filing without requiring 
the person to comply with Sec. 390.1 or Sec. 390.3.

[FR Doc. 02-20283 Filed 8-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P