[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 215 (Monday, November 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64735-64737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24814]


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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 Form EIA-1605, 
``Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases,'' (long form) and the Form 
EIA-1605EZ, ``Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases,'' (short form).

DATES: Comments must be submitted by January 7, 2005, to the addresses 
listed below.

ADDRESSES: Send all comments to the attention of Stephen E. Calopedis. 
To ensure receipt of the comments by the due date, submission by e-mail 
([email protected]) or FAX (202-586-3045) is recommended. 
Comments submitted by mail should be sent to Stephen E. Calopedis, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, EI-81, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. Questions on this 
action should be directed to Stephen E. Calopedis at 202-586-1156 or 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of existing reporting forms and instructions should be directed 
to Stephen E. Calopedis at 202-586-1156 or 
[email protected]. The existing forms and instructions can 
also be downloaded from the program's Web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/Forms.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments

[[Page 64736]]

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 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 Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program collections are 
conducted pursuant to Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 
(Pub. L. 102-486, 42 U.S.C. 13385) under General Guidelines issued by 
the DOE's Office of Policy and International Affairs. The EIA-1605 and 
EIA-1605EZ forms are designed to collect voluntarily reported data on 
greenhouse gas emissions, achieved reductions of these emissions, and 
increased carbon fixation, as well as information on commitments to 
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in future years. A 
summary of the results of the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases 
Program appear in the Program's annual report titled Voluntary 
Reporting of Greenhouse Gases (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/vrrpt/
). Additionally, EIA produces and makes publicly available, a ``public-
use'' database containing all the non-confidential information reported 
to EIA's Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program on the Forms 
EIA-1605 and EIA-1605EZ (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/databases.html).
    Please refer to the existing forms and instructions for more 
information about the purpose, who may report, when to report, where to 
submit, the elements to be reported, detailed instructions, provisions 
for confidentiality, and uses (including possible nonstatistical uses) 
of the information (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/Forms.html). For 
instructions on obtaining materials, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.

II. Current Actions

    EIA will be requesting OMB approval for a one-year extension with 
no changes to the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program, 
Forms EIA-1605 and EIA-1605EZ.
    This request for a one-year extension of the expiration date of the 
existing Forms EIA-1605 and EIA-1605EZ is being made to ensure that a 
data collection instrument is in place while the proposed revised 
Guidelines to the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program are 
in the process of being finalized (see discussion below describing this 
process). A one-year extension, rather than a three-year extension, is 
being proposed because EIA anticipates significant changes to the data 
collection forms and data elements to result from the revisions to the 
Program Guidelines.

Revised Guidelines for the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases 
Program

    On February 14, 2002, President Bush announced a series of programs 
and initiatives to address the issue of global climate change, 
including a greenhouse gas intensity reduction goal, energy technology 
research programs, targeted tax incentives to advance the development 
and adoption of new technologies, and voluntary programs to promote 
actions to reduce greenhouse gases. In addition, the President directed 
the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, to propose improvements to the current 
Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program required under section 
1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. These improvements are to 
enhance measurement accuracy, reliability, and verifiability, working 
with and taking into account emerging domestic and international 
approaches. The President also directed the Secretary of Energy to 
recommend reforms to ensure that businesses and individuals that 
register reductions are not penalized under a future climate policy and 
to give transferable credits to companies that can show real emissions 
reductions.
    The purposes of the proposed revised Guidelines are to: (1) 
Establish revised procedures and reporting requirements for filing 
voluntary reports, and (2) encourage corporations, government agencies, 
non-profit organizations, individuals and other private and public 
entities to submit annual reports of their total entity-wide greenhouse 
gas emissions, net emission reductions, and carbon sequestration 
activities that are complete, reliable and consistent.
    On May 6, 2002 (67 FR 30370), the Department of Energy solicited 
public comments on various issues relevant to its efforts to implement 
the President's directives. After consideration of these public 
comments, the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce and Agriculture, and the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency wrote the 
President on July 8, 2002, stating that improvements to the existing 
Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program should:
    1. Include fair, objective, and practical methods for reporting 
baselines, reporting boundaries, calculating real results, and awarding 
transferable credits for actions that lead to real reductions.
    2. Standardize widely accepted, transparent accounting methods.
    3. Support independent verification registry reports.
    4. Encourage reporters to report greenhouse gas intensity 
(emissions unit of output) as well as emissions reductions.
    5. Encourage corporate or entity-wide reporting.
    6. Provide credits for actions to remove carbon dioxide from the 
atmosphere as well as for actions to reduce emissions.
    7. Include a process for evaluating the extent to which past 
reductions may qualify for credits.
    8. Assure that the Voluntary Reporting Program is an effective tool 
for reaching the President's goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas 
intensity (greenhouse gas emissions per unit of real economic output) 
by 18 percent over the 2002 to 2012 time frame.
    9. Factor in international strategies as well as State-level 
efforts.
    10. Minimize transactions costs for reporters and administrative 
costs for the Government, where possible, without compromising the 
foregoing recommendations.
    The DOE also held four public workshops (67 FR 64106) in the fall 
of 2002 to enable interested persons to discuss and provide comments on 
possible improvements to the Program guidelines. Public comments 
submitted to DOE's Office of Policy and International Affairs on 
possible revisions to the Voluntary Reporting of

[[Page 64737]]

Greenhouse Gases Program Guidelines are available at http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/index.html.
    On December 5, 2003 (68 FR 68204), DOE released proposed Revised 
General Guidelines for the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gas 
Program. On January 12, 2004, DOE also held a public workshop to 
discuss the proposed guidelines and to receive comments. A transcript 
and audio recording of the proceedings of this workshop are available 
at http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/proposedguidelines/index.html. Written comments on the proposed revised General Guidelines 
are available on-line at http://ostiweb.osti.gov/pighg/ghgb0202.idc.

Process for Finalizing and Implementing Revised Program Guidelines

    DOE's Office of Policy and International Affairs plans to issue 
proposed revised General Guidelines for public comment during the Fall 
of 2004. In parallel with this effort, DOE's Office of Policy and 
International Affairs intends to issue for public comment proposed 
revised Technical Guidelines in the Fall of 2004. The Technical 
Guidelines will specify the methods and factors to be used in measuring 
and estimating greenhouse gas emissions and emission reductions under 
the revised General Guidelines. DOE plans to issue in final form all 
necessary guidelines in 2005. Upon finalization and issuance of the 
revised Guidelines, EIA plans to develop and issue new reporting forms 
and instructions for reporting under the revised Program Guidelines.
    Given the uncertainty, however, over whether the proposed revised 
Guidelines will be approved and issued in time to allow EIA to 
implement a new reporting system in calendar year 2005 to collect 
calendar year 2004 and earlier data, EIA has chosen to request this 
one-year extension of the expiration date on the existing forms as an 
option in the event that the finalization and issuance of the revised 
Guidelines take longer than expected. It is important to note here that 
it is not the intent of this notice to solicit comment on the Guideline 
revision and finalization process above, but rather to extend the 
expiration date on the existing data collection, Forms EIA-1605 and 
EIA-1605-EZ, so that EIA has a data collection instrument in place for 
calendar year 2004 data while the Guideline revision process is 
completed.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment 
on the actions discussed in item III. The following issues are provided 
to assist in the preparation of comments. 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 40 hours per response on Form EIA-1605 (long form) and 4 hours 
per response on Form EIA-1605EZ (short form). The estimated burden 
includes the total time necessary 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, November 2, 2004.
Nancy J. Kirkendall,
Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-24814 Filed 11-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P