[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 74 (Thursday, April 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18974-18975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9522]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC03-539-001, FERC-539]


Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request; Submitted for OMB Review

April 10, 2003.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of section 3507 of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) has submitted the information 
collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and extension of the current expiration date. Any interested 
person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of 
those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission 
received no comments in response to an earlier Federal Register notice 
of January 28, 2003 (68 FR 4183-84) and has made this notation in its 
submission to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by May 14, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the collection of information to the 
Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer, 
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. The Desk Officer may be 
reached by telephone at 202-395-7856. A copy of the comments should 
also be sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the 
Executive Director, ED-30, Attention: Michael Miller, 888 First Street 
NE., Washington, DC 20426. Comments may be filed either in paper format 
or electronically. Those persons filing electronically do not need to 
make a paper filing. For paper filings, such comments should be 
submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 and should 
refer to Docket No. IC03-539-001.
    Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in 
WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To 
file the document, access the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov and click on ``Make an E-filing,'' and then follow the 
instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a 
user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic 
acknowledgment to the sender's e-mail address upon receipt of comments. 
User assistance for electronic filings is available at 202-502-8258 or 
by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments should not be submitted to the 
e-mail address.
    All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the 
Internet through FERC's homepage using the FERRIS link. User assistance 
for FERRIS is available at 202-502-8222, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. or the Public Reference at (202)-8371 Press 0, TTY 
(202) 502-8659 or by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Miller may be reached by 
telephone at (202)502-8415, by fax at (202)273-0873, and by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description

    The information collection submitted for OMB review contains the 
following:
    1. Collection of Information: FERC-539 ``Gas Pipeline Certificates: 
Import/Export''
    2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
    3. Control No. 1902-0062.
    The Commission is now requesting that OMB approve a three-year 
extension of the expiration date, with no changes to the existing 
collection. The information filed with the Commission is mandatory. 
Requests for confidential treatment of the information are provided for 
under Section 388.112 of the Commission's regulations.
    4. Necessity of the Collection of Information: Submission of the 
information is necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its 
responsibilities in implementing the statutory provisions of Section 3 
of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), 15 U.S.C. 717-717w. Section 3 requires 
prior authorization before exporting or importing natural gas from or 
to the United States. Section 3 authorizes the Commission to grant an 
application, in whole or in part, with modifications and upon terms and 
conditions as the Commission may find necessary or appropriate. The 
1992 amendments to Section 3 of the NGA concern the importation or 
exportation from/to a nation which has a free trade agreement with the 
United States. With the passage of both the North American Free Trade 
Agreement and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the construction, 
operation and sitting of import or export facilities are also the 
subject of the Commission's regulatory focus.
    In Order No. 608, 64 FR 51209-51222 (September 22, 1999), the 
Commission created voluntary procedures whereby prospective applicants 
could use a collaborative process to resolve significant issues prior 
to filing an application. This collaborative process allows applicants 
and interested parties to come together and come to mutual agreements 
that may help to defuse some of the controversial issues which may 
otherwise arise once an application has been filed with the Commission.

[[Page 18975]]

The pre-filing consultation process combines efforts to address NGA 
issues with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process 
into a single pre-filing collaborative process that also includes the 
administrative processes associated with the Clean Water Act, the 
National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act and 
other relevant statutes. Combining the pre-filing consultation and 
environmental review into a single pre-filing process simplifies and 
expedites the authorization of gas facilities and services.
    The Commission uses the information to determine the 
appropriateness of the proposed facilities and their proposed location. 
The determination involves among other things, an examination of 
adequacy of design, cost, reliability, redundancy and environmental 
acceptability. The information is necessary for the Commission to make 
a determination that the facilities and location are consistent with 
the public interest. The Commission implements these filing 
requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 
153.
    5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently 
comprises 12 companies (on average) subject to the Commission's 
jurisdiction
    6. Estimated Burden: 2,886 total hours, 12 respondents(average), 1 
response per respondent, 241 hours per response (average).
    7. Estimated Cost Burden to respondents: 2,886 hours / 2080 hours 
per years x $117,041 per year = $162,394. The cost per respondent is 
equal to $13,533.00.

    Statutory Authority: Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. 
717-717w.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-9522 Filed 4-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P