[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 59672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24763]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Change In IC Docket Numbering Policy

    Notice is hereby given that the Commission is modifying the 
numbering system for the docket prefix IC. These IC docket notices 
announce the Commission's efforts to have public involvement in its 
information collection requirements prior to requesting and obtaining 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 35) requires 
agencies to plan for the development of new collections of information 
and the extension of existing collections of information far in advance 
of sending them forward to OMB for approval. Advanced planning is 
necessary because agencies must incorporate public participation in the 
development of information collection requirements imposed on the 
public. To achieve this public participation, the Commission must 
``provide 60-day notice in the Federal Register, and otherwise consult 
with members of the public and affected agencies'' (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)). In these notices, the Commission must solicit comments 
on the need for the information, its practical utility, the accuracy of 
the Commission's burden estimate, and ways to minimize the burden, 
including through ``the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.''
    In addition, agencies must publish a notice in the Federal Register 
stating that the proposed collection of information has been submitted 
for OMB review. This is the second notice to appear in the Federal 
Register and provides the public with a second opportunity to comment. 
OMB must provide at least 30 days for public comment after receipt of 
the Commission's submission and prior to making a decision.
    On December 30, 1997, the Commission adopted the current IC docket 
prefix \1\ in order to properly track any comments it receives in 
response to Federal Register notices concerning the Commission's 
collections of information. In order to respond to current technical 
and tracking needs of its information collections, the Commission is 
revising the way the IC docket prefix is set up. Beginning on October 
1, 2011, IC dockets will continue to be set up as ICFY-NNN-NNN. 
However, the first ``NNN'' for new IC dockets will now be a sequential 
number (rather than the collection or form number), as notices are 
issued over the course of the fiscal year. In addition, the second 
``NNN'' will now be ``000'' for both 60-day and 30-day notices. For 
example, docket number IC12-1-000 would contain all material pursuant 
to the extension of a single collection of information (rather than 
material related to the FERC Form 1).
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    \1\ The Notice is available in eLibrary at http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/search/intermediate.asp?link_file=yes&doclist=3058091. The IC dockets were set up as ICFY-NNN-
NNN, where the FY stood for the fiscal year in which the notice was 
issued, the first NNN represented an identifier for the Commission's 
collection of information requirement, and the second NNN 
represented either the first or second notice, with 000 to designate 
a 60-day notice and 001 to designate a 30-day notice. For example, 
IC07-2-000 represented the 60-day notice for the Commission 
information collection FERC Form No. 2 during the fiscal year 2007.
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    The RM docket prefix will continue to be used for rulemakings that 
affect information collections.

    Dated: September 19, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-24763 Filed 9-26-11; 8:45 am]
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