[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17025-17027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8515]


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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 changes and 
extension for three-years to the Forms

[[Page 17026]]

EIA-851, ``Domestic Uranium Production Report,'' and EIA-858, ``Uranium 
Industry Annual Survey.''

DATES: Comments must be filed by June 9, 2003. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Douglas Bonnar. To ensure receipt of the 
comments by the due date, submission by FAX (202-287-1946) or e-mail 
([email protected]) is recommended. The mailing address is 
Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, EI-52/L'Enfant 
Plaza Building, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20585-1615.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Douglas 
Bonnar 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. 93-275, 15 
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 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) under Section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.
    The EIA-851 is a quarterly survey that collects monthly data on 
uranium production at conventional mills and nonconventional plants 
(byproduct recovery and in-situ leach plants). Published data appear in 
the EIA report, ``Domestic Uranium Production Report.'' The report is 
available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/qtr_upd/qupd.html
    The Form EIA-858 is an annual survey that collects data on uranium 
raw materials activities (Schedule A) and uranium marketing activities 
(Schedule B). Data collected on these forms provide a comprehensive 
statistical characterization of the domestic uranium industry. 
Published data from these surveys are used by Congress, Federal and 
State agencies, the uranium and nuclear-electric industries, and the 
general public. Published data appear in the EIA reports, ``Uranium 
Industry Annual,'' and the ``Annual Energy Review.''

II. Current Actions

    EIA will be requesting a three-year extension of approval to its 
uranium surveys with the following survey changes.
    [sbull] Propose putting the EIA-858 Schedule A: Uranium Raw 
Material Activities survey on standby due to the small size of the U.S. 
uranium producer industry. The Schedule A survey is mainly a property-
by-property form for about 30 U.S. companies that own/lease uranium 
reserves and mines, which almost all are not expected to be mined. The 
burden for each company to complete the Schedule A is approximately 10 
hours annually and since EIA is developing new internet data collection 
systems for its surveys, it is difficult to justify the expense for the 
Schedule A with currently few active producers.
    [sbull] Propose collecting annually the following data from 
potentially 8 U.S. uranium producers: Facility information, processing 
information, mine and/or other production and related information, 
drilling, expenditures, and employment using an EIA-851 (Annual) 
``Domestic Uranium Production Report'' survey along with its current 
quarterly survey collection of monthly production using the EIA-851 
(Quarterly) ``Domestic Uranium Production Report.'' The annual burden 
would be about 2 hours and the quarterly burden would remain 0.75 hours 
and each would be a 1-page form. Respondents would use EIA's secure 
file transfer system for these data collections.
    [sbull] Propose renaming the EIA-858 survey from ``Uranium Industry 
Annual Survey'' to ``Uranium Marketing Annual Survey'' with the 
following changes from the EIA-858 Schedule B, Uranium Marketing 
Activities survey:

--Delete Items 1.D.2 (Custody Transactions) and 1.D.3 (Matched Sales 
Transactions)
--Delete Items 1.F.4 (Imported From) and 1.F.5 (Exported To)
--In Item 1.F (Future Deliveries), report quantities (Min/Max) only
--Add enrichment price data ($ / SWU) to Item 2, (Enrichment Services 
Purchased)
--In Item 3 inventories, report only by material types 
(U3O8, Natural UF6, Enriched 
UF6, and fabricated fuel not inserted into a reactor)
--Delete Item 4 (Uranium Inventory Policy)
--Delete Item 6.E (U3O8 Equivalent of secondary 
SWU received in exchange)

    The annual burden would be about 14 hours (originally 24 hours for 
both Schedules A and B) and respondents would use an internet data 
collection system for this EIA-858 ``Uranium Marketing Annual Survey.''

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. (If the notice 
covers more than one form, add ``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 be made to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information

    A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be 
collected?
    B. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions need clarification?
    C. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
    D. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to 
average 14 hours per response for the EIA-858, 0.75 hours per response 
for the EIA-851 (Quarterly), and 2 hours per response for the EIA-851 
(Annual). The estimated burden includes the total time necessary

[[Page 17027]]

to provide the requested information. In your opinion, how accurate is 
this estimate?
    E. 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?
    F. 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.
    G. 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. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information 
disseminated?
    B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be 
collected?
    C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    D. 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. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2003.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-8515 Filed 4-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P