[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 643-644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-151]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC03-568-001, FERC-568]


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

December 24, 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 October 9, 2003 (68 FR 57680-82), and has made this notation in its 
submission to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by January 30, 
2004.

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. 
Comments to OMB should be filed electronically, c/o [email protected] and include the OMB Control No. as a point of 
reference. 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. IC03-568-001.
    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 are available for review at the Commission or may be 
viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov, using the 
``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the docket number field to access the document. For 
assistance, contact FERC Online

[[Page 644]]

Support at [email protected] or toll-free at (866) 208-3676, 
or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

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-568 ``Well Determinations''.
    2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
    3. Control No.: 1902-0112.
    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.
    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 
503 of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA), 15 U.S.C. 3413. In 
Order No. 616 (July 14, 2000), the Commission reinstated provisions for 
making well category determinations for NGPA section 107 high-cost gas 
wells. Natural gas wells with affirmative determinations under section 
503 of the NGPA are eligible for a tax credit. Specifically, section 29 
of the Internal Revenue Code allows natural gas producers to claim a 
credit for qualified fuels determined to be high-cost natural gas 
production. These include gas from geopressured brine, Devonian shale, 
coal seams, and tight formations from wells completed in a previously 
approved designated tight formation area.
    5. One of three applicability rules must be met for any one of the 
above gas well completions to qualify for the credit. The three 
applicability rules are as follows:
    i. A well where the surface drilling began after December 31, 1979, 
but before January 1, 1993; or
    ii. A recompletion commenced after January 1, 1993, in a well where 
the surface drilling began after December 31, 1979, but before January 
1, 1993; or
    iii. A recompletion commenced after December 31, 1979, but before 
January 1, 1993, where such gas could not have been produced from any 
completion location in existence in the well bore before January 1, 
1980.
    Jurisdictional agencies are State agencies that conduct the initial 
well determination and forward the completed application to the 
Commission. The general filing requirements for filing with a 
jurisdictional agency and the Commission are a FERC Form 121, all 
available well completion reports, well logs with their headings, a 
location plat, and an affidavit . These documents are the minimum 
requirements to support a request for determination. However, the 
jurisdictional agency may require additional documentation as it finds 
necessary. In addition, the Commission may request any other 
explanatory statement with factual findings and references or a copy of 
all other materials that the jurisdictional agency relied upon during 
the course of making the determination, in order to assist the 
Commission in its review of the initial determination.
    Review of an initial determination involves collating all of the 
information from the FERC Form No. 121 application and the completion 
reports, well logs, location plat, and affidavit. These latter 
documents make up the documents submitted under FERC-568. The 
completion interval on the FERC Form 121 application is identified in 
the completion report, which illustrates the type of natural gas 
production treatment (i.e., perforation, acidization, fracturing, 
etc.). Evidence of natural gas production is further supported by the 
well log(s), which explicitly distinguish the interval boundaries 
within the formation and identify natural gas characteristics. The 
location plat is a map that identifies the surface location of the well 
and the completion location in the well. Finally, the affidavit is a 
statement made by the applicant, under oath, that the natural gas is 
produced from one of three applicability rules identified above.
    The Commission's staff uses the information to review the initial 
determinations in order to ascertain if the submissions are eligible 
for the section 29 tax credit. In fiscal years 2001 and 2002 the 
Commission processed over 2,500 determinations. For fiscal year 2003, 
the Commission processed an additional 1,600 determinations for a total 
of over 4,100 determinations since the issuance of Order 616 and the 
implementation of the program in October 2000. The Commission 
implements these filing requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) under 18 CFR part 270.
    6. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently 
comprises 1,400 companies (on average per year) subject to the 
Commission's jurisdiction
    7. Estimated Burden: 8,414 total hours per year (25,242 hours for 3 
year period), 1,400 respondents (average per year), 1 response per 
respondent, and 6.01 hours per response (average).
    8. Estimated Cost Burden to Respondents: 8,414 hours/2,080 hours 
per year x $107,185 per year = $433,584. The cost per respondent is 
equal to $310.00.

    Statutory Authority: Section 503 of the Natural Gas Policy Act 
of 1978, 15 U.S.C. 3413.

Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-151 Filed 1-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P