[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 20 (Monday, February 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5063-5066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1979]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC10-729-001]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-729); Comment 
Request; Submitted for OMB Review

January 22, 2010.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

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 or FERC) has submitted the 
information collection described below to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. 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 twenty comments in response to the Federal 
Register notice (74 FR 52796, 10/14/2009). FERC has summarized and 
addressed the commenters' suggestions below and in its submission to 
OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by March 3, 
2010.

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 OMB Control Number 1902-0238 as a 
point of reference. The Desk Officer may be reached by telephone at 
202-395-4638. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission and should refer to Docket No. IC10-729-
001. Comments may be filed either electronically or in paper format. 
Those persons filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. 
Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in an 
acceptable filing format and in compliance with the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission submission guidelines. Complete filing 
instructions (including the required number of copies and acceptable 
filing formats) are available at http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide/electronic-media.asp. To file the document electronically, access 
the Commission's Web site and click on Documents & Filing, E-Filing 
(http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp), 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

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acknowledgement to the sender's e-mail address upon receipt of 
comments.
    All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the 
Internet through FERC's homepage using the ``eLibrary'' link. For user 
assistance, contact [email protected] or toll-free at (866) 
208-3676 or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by 
telephone at (202) 502-8663, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FERC-729 (``Electric Transmission 
Facilities,'' OMB Control No. 1902-0238) covers the reporting 
requirements \1\ of 18 CFR part 50, and, as relates to transmission 
facilities, 18 CFR 380.3(c)(3), 380.5(b) (14), 380.6(a)(5), 380.15(d), 
and 380.16.
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    \1\ These requirements were promulgated by Order 689, issued 
November 16, 2006, in Docket No. RM06-12, in accordance with section 
1221 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005: (a) to establish filing 
requirements and procedures for entities seeking to construct or to 
modify electric transmission facilities, and (b) to coordinate the 
processing of Federal authorizations and the environmental review of 
electric transmission facilities in designated national interest 
electric transmission corridors. (Order 689 is available in FERC's 
eLibrary at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/search/intermediate.asp?link_file=yes&doclist=4455911.)
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    The purpose of these regulations is to implement the Commission's 
mandates under Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) section 1221 
which authorizes the Commission to issue permits under Federal Power 
Act (FPA) section 216(b) for electric transmission facilities and the 
Commission's delegated responsibility to coordinate all other federal 
authorizations under FPA section 216(h). The related FERC regulations 
seek to develop a timely review process for siting of proposed electric 
transmission facilities. The regulations provide for, among other 
things, an extensive pre-application process that will facilitate 
maximum participation from all interested entities and individuals to 
provide them with a reasonable opportunity to present their views and 
recommendations, with respect to the need for and impact of the 
facilities, early in the planning stages of the proposed facilities as 
required under FPA section 216(d).
    Additionally, under FPA section 216(b)(1)(C), FERC has the 
authority to issue a permit to construct electric transmission 
facilities if a state has withheld approval for more than a year or has 
conditioned its approval in such a manner that it will not 
significantly reduce transmission congestion or is not economically 
feasible. FERC envisions that, under certain circumstances, the 
Commission's review of the proposed facilities may take place after one 
year of the state's review. Accordingly, under section 50.6(e)(3) the 
Commission will not accept applications until one year after the 
state's review and then from applicants who can demonstrate that a 
state may withhold or condition approval of proposed facilities to such 
an extent that the facilities will not be constructed.\2\ In cases 
where FERC's jurisdiction rests on FPA section 216(b)(1)(C),\3\ the 
pre-filing process should not commence until one year after the 
relevant State applications have been filed. This will give the States 
one full year to process an application without any intervening Federal 
proceedings, including both the pre-filing and application processes. 
Once that year is complete, an applicant may seek to commence FERC's 
pre-filing process. Thereafter, once the pre-filing process is 
complete, the applicant may submit its application for a construction 
permit.
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    \2\ However, the Commission will not issue a permit authorizing 
construction of the proposed facilities until, among other things, 
it finds that the state has, in fact, withheld approval for more 
than a year or had so conditioned its approval.
    \3\ In all other instances (i.e., where the state does not have 
jurisdiction to act or otherwise to consider interstate benefits, or 
the applicant does not qualify to apply for a permit with the State 
because it does not serve end use customers in the State), the pre-
filing process may be commenced at any time.
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    The environmental report includes information on areas such as: 
aquatic life, wildlife, and vegetation and the expected impacts on 
them; cultural resources; socioeconomics; geological resources; soils, 
land use, recreation, and aesthetics; alternatives; buildings; and 
reliability and safety.
    Public Comments and FERC Responses. A summary of the public 
comments filed on the FERC-729 reporting requirements, FERC's response, 
and proposed changes to the requirements follow.
    a. Comment: We received several public comments on the Commission's 
transmission siting policy and process, including FERC's jurisdiction, 
stakeholder participation, environmental impacts, health and safety 
issues, and alternatives. We also received comments in regard to the 
Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) Project, transmission 
planning, cost allocation, cyber security, physical and national 
security, and public access to documents.
    FERC Response: The purpose of Docket No. IC10-729 is to seek 
comment on the generic information collection requirements imposed on 
applicants for Electric Transmission Facilities. (The request for 
comments is described more fully in the last paragraph in both the 60-
day Notice (at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=12167427) and this Notice.) Docket No. IC10-729 does 
not address case-specific transmission applications; rather it 
addresses the information requirements the agency imposes on applicants 
in general. FERC's transmission siting process is detailed in Parts 50 
and 380 of the Commission's regulations, and further information is on 
our Web site at http://www.ferc.gov/for-citizens/citizen-guides/electric/guide-transmission.pdf. In addition, currently, there are no 
requests for the Commission to site transmission facilities in Maryland 
or in any other state, including the PATH Project. (Specific PATH 
Project information, including the status of applications in Maryland, 
Virginia, and West Virginia, can be found on the Project's Internet Web 
site at http://www.pathtransmission.com.)
    Docket No. IC10-729 is not an appropriate venue to address those 
comments, but the appropriate FERC offices have been made aware of 
those comments.
    b. Comment: Applicants should detail efforts undertaken to contact 
public and private organizations that actively engage in the protection 
of historic, cultural, natural, and scenic resources. Responses to 
these contacts should be included in the pre-filing process.
    FERC response: Section 50.5(c)(3)-(5) of the Commission's 
regulations requires the applicant to provide a list of the permitting 
entities responsible for conducting separate federal permitting and 
environmental reviews and authorizations, including how the applicant 
intends to account for each of the relevant entity's permitting and 
environmental review schedules and when the applicant proposes to file 
with these entities. The applicant must also provide a list of all 
other stakeholders that have been contacted, or have contacted the 
applicant, about the project and a description of what other work has 
already been completed, including contacting stakeholders and agency 
and Indian tribe consultations. FERC also requires communication 
between applicants and stakeholders to be documented throughout the 
pre-filing process. Section 50.5(e)(8) requires the applicant to file 
monthly status reports during the pre-filing process detailing project 
activities, including stakeholder communications.
    c. Comment: Applicants should include an explanation of which 
mitigation measure was chosen and why others were rejected.
    FERC response: FERC staff reviews the applicant's proposed 
mitigation

[[Page 5065]]

measures to ensure that they are appropriate and adequate for the 
corresponding environmental impact. The applicant is required to 
develop and propose mitigation measures in the resource reports 
tailored to a specific environmental impact. To the extent that FERC 
staff determines that a rejected mitigation measure warrants further 
evaluation, the applicant may be required to provide additional 
information to support its decision. If necessary, FERC staff can also 
require additional mitigation to address an impact. The applicant must 
follow all staff-recommended mitigation measures, included as specific 
conditions in the Commission's authorization.
    d. Comment: Commenters suggest that the applicant should address 
the range of potential environmental impacts (e.g., air pollution) 
associated with changes in electric generation levels and sources.
    FERC response: Section 380.16(b) of the Commission's regulations 
requires each of the applicant's resource reports to address conditions 
or resources that are likely to be directly or indirectly affected by 
the project, and identify cumulative effects resulting from existing or 
reasonably foreseeable projects. This would include environmental 
impacts associated with changes in electric generation levels and 
sources.
    e. Comment: More information is needed from electric utilities. 
Information collected during meetings with utilities should be shared 
with public stakeholders. Without full disclosure to the public, the 
permit process is not effective, efficient, or timely.
    FERC response: As indicated in the Commission's Notice, applicants 
are required to provide information on certain resource areas 
(including aquatic life; wildlife; vegetation; cultural resources, 
socioeconomics, geological resources, soils; land use; recreation; 
aesthetics; alternatives; buildings; and reliability and safety). This 
information is posted on FERC's eLibrary system (at http://www.ferc.gov) and is available for public review. FERC staff conducts 
reviews of an applicant's submission to determine compliance with the 
Commission's regulations. If the information is deemed deficient, 
Commission staff can seek additional information from an applicant. All 
information requests, subsequent responses, as well as discussions with 
the applicant, Federal, State, and local agencies and Indian tribes on 
matters related to the merits of an application are documented and 
placed on FERC's eLibrary for public access and review.
    f. Comment: What is FERC's estimate for the average cost and time 
required for FERC staff and expert consultants to evaluate the 
information collected for a single utility application? What is FERC's 
estimate for the average cost and time for a public stakeholder using 
industry experts to evaluate the information in a utility's 
application?
    FERC response: The Commission's estimates for the burden and cost 
imposed on industry address the annual averages for all of the 
applications FERC expects to receive. The figures are estimated annual 
averages for industry and include the cost and burden for staff and 
expert consultants, as well as other needed resources (such as 
information technology; administrative, legal, and management 
resources). The estimated average annual industry burden appears below, 
in the section titled ``Burden Statement.'' Additional details on the 
industry burden and cost are included in the supporting statement, that 
FERC is submitting to OMB, in Questions 12 and 13. After publication of 
this Notice in the Federal Register, the supporting statement will be 
submitted to OMB.\4\ FERC's estimates for the government's average 
annual cost for FERC-729 include the staff and other resources (such as 
consultants, administrative, legal, management, and information 
technology resources) for the review and processing of the filings, and 
the OMB clearance for the filing requirements. Additional details on 
the government cost are included in the supporting statement that FERC 
is submitting to OMB in Question 14.\4\
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    \4\ The supporting statement will then be available at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain by selecting ``Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission'' from the drop-down picklist under 
``Currently under Review.'' Then go to the entry for FERC-729 (OMB 
Control No. 1902-0238) and click on the link to the ``ICR Reference 
Number''. Then click on the link labeled ``View Supporting Statement 
and Other Documents,'' and the link under ``Supporting Statement 
A''.
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    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and the related guidance 
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), `` `burden' means time, 
effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, 
maintain, or provide information to or for a Federal agency'' [44 
U.S.C. 3502(2)]. The burden and cost estimates include the time and 
effort required to plan, develop, prepare, and fulfill an information 
collection, and to respond to the agency's requirement. The PRA does 
not require burden estimates for the cost and time for a public 
stakeholder to evaluate a particular utility's application to the 
agency.
    g. Comment: FERC must require utilities to provide reasonable 
alternatives instead of allowing utilities to submit a single 
monolithic proposal.
    FERC response: FERC requires utilities to provide and analyze 
reasonable alternatives at multiple points in the pre-filing process. 
Section 50.5(e)(5) of the Commission's regulations requires the 
applicant to file a summary of the project alternatives considered or 
under consideration within 30 days of initiating the pre-filing 
process. Section 380.16(k) requires the applicant to submit an entire 
resource report dedicated to alternatives and the associated 
environmental impacts. This resource report would describe a variety of 
alternatives, including, where appropriate, alternatives other than new 
transmission lines.
    h. Comment: Utilities currently lack commitment to work with public 
stakeholders, do not maintain open communication with public 
stakeholders or respond to public stakeholder questions, do not plan 
for public stakeholder input, do not adequately explain mitigation, 
benefits, and alternatives. The proper preparation and stakeholder 
involvement in the pre-filing process can make the entire process 
easier, quicker, and ultimately less expensive.
    FERC response: The Commission's regulations require an applicant to 
develop and implement a Project Participation Plan to ensure 
stakeholders have access to accurate and timely information on the 
proposed project and to provide a forum for resolving issues. This plan 
identifies specific tools and actions to facilitate stakeholder 
communications, including a single point of contact within the company 
and a description and schedule explaining how the applicant intends to 
respond to requests for information from the public as well as federal, 
state, and tribal permitting agencies. Public stakeholders also have 
the opportunity to interact directly with an applicant at open houses.
    Action: The Commission is requesting a three-year extension of the 
current expiration date for the FERC-729, with no changes.
    Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection is 
estimated as follows.

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                                                 Number of        Number of      Average burden
            FERC data collection                respondents     responses per      hours per       Total annual
                                                  annually        respondent        response       burden hours
                                                         (1)              (2)              (3)   (1) x (2) x (3)
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FERC-729....................................              10                1            9,600           96,000
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Note: These figures may not be exact, due to rounding.

    The total estimated annual cost burden \5\ to respondents is 
$7,680,000 (96,000 hours x $80 per hour \5\).
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    \5\ Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics ``Occupational 
Outlook Handbook (OOH), 2008-09 Edition,'' Occupational Employment 
Statistics (Occupational Employment and Wages, for May 2008, for 
Lawyers (23-1011), posted at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes231011.htm), FERC is using $80 per hour. Other professions (such 
as engineers and administrators) are involved in preparing the 
filing. We are using $80 per hour as a high-end figure to include 
all of the professions involved with preparation of the filing.
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    The reporting burden includes the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide 
the information including: (1) Reviewing instructions; (2) developing, 
acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems for the 
purposes of collecting, validating, verifying, processing, maintaining, 
disclosing and providing information; (3) adjusting the existing ways 
to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
(4) training personnel to respond to a collection of information; (5) 
searching data sources; (6) completing and reviewing the collection of 
information; and (7) transmitting, or otherwise disclosing the 
information.
    The estimate of cost for respondents is based upon salaries for 
professional and clerical support, as well as direct and indirect 
overhead costs. Direct costs include all costs directly attributable to 
providing this information, such as administrative costs and the cost 
for information technology. Indirect or overhead costs are costs 
incurred by an organization in support of its mission. These costs 
apply to activities which benefit the whole organization rather than 
any one particular function or activity.
    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of 
responses.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-1979 Filed 1-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P