[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34332-34333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9264]


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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 reinstatement, 
and three-year approval to the Form RW-859, ``Nuclear Fuel Data 
Survey.'' The previous version of the Form RW-859 survey was 
discontinued on February 28, 2005.

DATES: Comments must be filed by August 14, 2006. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Jim Finucane. To ensure receipt of the 
comments by the due date, submission by fax (202-287-1934) or e-mail 
[email protected] is recommended. The mailing address is Office 
of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, EI-52, 950 L'Enfant 
Plaza, SW., U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585-0650. 
Alternatively, Jim Finucane may be contacted by telephone at 202-287-
1966.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Jim Finucane 
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. No. 93-275, 
15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 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.
    This data collection will provide the Office of Civilian 
Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) of DOE with detailed information 
concerning the spent nuclear fuel generated by the respondents 
(commercial utility generators of spent nuclear fuel within the U.S. 
are respondents to this survey). The DOE will take possession of this 
spent fuel and will need this data to properly design the spent fuel 
repository (spent fuel receiving systems, spent fuel handling systems, 
etc.), which will be the final disposal site for the spent fuel and 
high-level radioactive waste materials.

II. Current Actions

    EIA will be requesting a reinstatement with revisions and a three-
year approval of its form RW-859, ``Nuclear Fuel Data Survey.'' As in 
previous surveys, all data will be collected once. Only changes in the 
specific previously reported data elements will require updating.
    The current Form RW-859 redesign effort and associated changes has 
several fundamental goals and objectives:

--Maintain the fidelity of collection of the information required by 
OCRWM, by continuing to collect quality data on reactors, historical 
spent fuel discharges, projections of spent fuel discharges, pool 
capacities and inventories, and special fuel and non-fuel forms 
relevant to OCRWM needs;
--Simplify the process of data collection and validation, by enhancing 
the ability of respondents to provide data through electronic data 
transfer in any available format (spreadsheet, database, etc.);
--Minimize the impacts of changes to the supporting database and 
associated software by maintaining the look and feel of previous 
systems and by providing incremental improvements without the need for 
outside programming support; and
--Enhance internal reports to improve the quality of submitted data by 
enhancing existing procedures through the use of internal reporting 
tools to standardize and automate data quality and consistency checks.

    The major changes to the Form RW-859 survey include the following:
    The EIA is proposing to modify the structure of the Form RW-859 
survey form to organize the data into separate utility, reactor, 
discharged fuel, storage facility, non-fuel, and comments schedules. 
The seven sections from the 2002 version of the survey would be 
replaced with the six schedules. The redesign increases the visibility 
of storage facilities as individual entities.
    The collection of all discharged fuel data in a single survey 
section thus consolidates all basic fuel data (enrichment, weight, 
burnup, discharge date) for all fuel, including special forms to ensure 
consistent, non-repetitive data. This would involve the inclusion of 
data on special fuel forms (consolidated fuel, fuel in canisters, fuel 
rods, fuel pieces) as a supplement to the basic fuel data survey 
section, rather than being collected in separate sections as in 
previous surveys.
    The revised form eliminates the collection of duplicative 
information. Previous surveys collected contact information separately 
for each reactor; the new survey methodology collects and stores 
information once for an

[[Page 34333]]

individual that may report for multiple reactors or storage facilities. 
The survey instructions have been clarified and modified in response to 
comments made by respondents on previous surveys.
    The Appendices to the survey form have been updated. Included as an 
Appendix are updated tables incorporating new fuel types and a revised 
simplified methodology for classifying fuel types. Fuel type codes from 
previous surveys have not changed, so there is no need for a revision 
to previously submitted data.
    The DOE last collected the Form RW-859 survey containing data as of 
December 31, 2002. Current respondents will be provided with this 2002 
survey data to update. A three-year clearance is being requested for 
this survey since no definitive plans have been made on when the next 
Form RW-859 survey will be collected. Respondents will be notified 
prior to the next data collection.

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.

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. 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, June 7, 2006.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-9264 Filed 6-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P