[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 91 (Friday, May 10, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27370-27372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11153]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

U.S. Energy Information Administration


Proposed Change to Data Protection

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department 
of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice and Request for Review and Comment.

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SUMMARY: This notice pertains to Forms EIA-3, the Quarterly Coal 
Consumption and Quality Report-Manufacturing and Transformation/
Processing Coal Plants and Commercial and Institutional Coal Users; 
EIA-5, the Quarterly Coal Consumption and Quality Report-Coke Plants; 
EIA-7A, the Coal Production and Preparation Report--Coal Mines and 
Preparation Plants; and EIA-8A, the Coal Stocks Report-Traders and 
Brokers. EIA proposes to change and strengthen the data protection 
provisions on Forms EIA-3, EIA-5, EIA-7A, and EIA-8A.
    No changes are proposed for the standby surveys Forms: EIA-1, 
Weekly Coal Monitoring Report-General Industries and Blast Furnaces; 
EIA-4, Weekly Coal Monitoring Report-Coke

[[Page 27371]]

Plants; EIA-6Q, Quarterly Coal Report-Coal Producers and Distributors; 
and EIA-20, Weekly Coal Monitoring Report of Coal Burning Utilities and 
Independent Power Producers.
    EIA's initial action was a request for comment(s) from interested 
parties and those who might be affected by changes in the EIA 
confidentiality procedure regarding these coal survey forms. The 
request for comments was widely publicized through a Federal Register 
Notice (FRN), emails to respondents and trade groups, and announcements 
on the Internet. (Refer to Federal Register: November 27, 2012 (Volume 
77, No. 228) [pp 70745-70746]. Also, on December 19, 2012, EIA held a 
webinar with stakeholders, including members of the National Lime 
Association and National Mining Association, to explain the proposed 
change in the confidentiality protections and solicit comments. The 
comments received from the members of the National Lime Association and 
National Mining Association supported the proposed changes.
    In this notice, EIA proposes to protect and withhold from public 
release company level information reported on Forms EIA-3, EIA-5, EIA-
7A, and EIA-8A. Currently, data reported on these forms are not 
protected except for certain selected cost and revenue data elements. 
For Forms EIA-3, EIA-5, and EIA-8A, EIA proposes to protect company 
information reported on these forms from public release in identifiable 
form to the extent it satisfies exemption criteria under the Freedom of 
Information Act and the Trade Secrets Act. However, disclosure 
limitation procedures will not be applied to the State- and regional-
level, statistical, and quantity data published from these surveys. 
Thus, there may be some statistics that are based on data from fewer 
than three respondents that may affect the identifiability of reported 
data. Disclosure limitation procedures will be applied to cost data 
reported on Forms EIA-3 and EIA-5 and revenue data reported on Forms 
EIA-7A and EIA-8A. With regards to Form EIA-7A only, the name and 
address of the responding company, the mine or plant type, and location 
will continue to be considered public information. These data elements 
will continue to be released in EIA's public use files and will not be 
protected from disclosure in identifiable form when releasing 
statistical aggregate (State-level) information. These data elements 
are currently released on the EIA Web site in the Form EIA-7A public 
use file, along with company identifiable Mine Safety and Health 
Administration (MSHA) data, which are also not protected. All other 
information reported on Form EIA-7A will be protected from public 
release in identifiable form to the extent it satisfies exemption 
criteria under the Freedom of Information Act and the Trade Secrets 
Act. All proposed changes to the data protection provisions for Forms 
EIA-3, EIA-5, EIA-7A, and EIA-8A will be retroactive and apply to data 
reported for calendar years 2011 and 2012. Applying this change 
retroactively to data reported for 2011 preserves the continuity of 
certain data series and provides continuity for the main components of 
EIA's pre-2011 data protection policy. Responses to EIA-3, EIA-5, EIA-
7A, and EIA-8A are mandatory.

DATES: Comments regarding this collection must be received on or before 
June 10, 2013. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, 
but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by 
this notice, please advise the OMB Desk Officer of your intention to 
make a submission as soon as possible. The Desk Officer may be 
telephoned at 202-395-4718 or contacted by email at [email protected].

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Desk Officer for the 
Department of Energy Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget New Executive Office Building Room 
10102, 735 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503.
    And to: Attn: Tejasvi Raghuveer, EIA-3 Survey Manager, U.S. Energy 
Information Administration, EI-24, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tejasvi Raghuveer at the address 
listed above in ADDRESSES.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    EIA-3: (1) OMB No.: 1905-0167; (2) Information Collection Request 
Title: Quarterly Coal Consumption and Quality Report-Manufacturing and 
Transformation/Processing Coal Plants and Commercial and Institutional 
Coal Users; (3) Type of Request: change to respondent-level protection 
policy and disclosure limitation procedures; (4) Purpose: to collect 
all data elements from Form EIA-3 respondents, to release or publish 
data that is not company identifiable, and does not satisfy the 
criteria for an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act or 
satisfy the requirements of the Trade Secrets Act; (5) Estimated Number 
of Respondents Quarterly: 498; (6) Estimated Number of Responses 
Annually: 1992; (7) Estimated Number of Burden Hours Annually: 2490 
hours; (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$170,116.80.
    EIA-5: (1) OMB No.: 1905-0167; (2) Information Collection Request 
Title: Quarterly Coal Consumption and Quality Report-Coke Plants; (3) 
Type of Request: change to respondent-level protection policy and 
disclosure limitation procedures; (4) Purpose: to collect all data 
elements from Form EIA-5 respondents, to release or publish data that 
is not company identifiable, and does not satisfy the criteria for an 
exemption under the Freedom of Information Act or satisfy the 
requirements of the Trade Secrets Act; (5) Estimated Number of 
Respondents Quarterly: 19; (6) Estimated Number of Responses Annually: 
76; (7) Estimated Number of Burden Hours Annually: 114 hours; (8) 
Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $7,788.48.
    EIA-7A: (1) OMB No.: 1905-0167; (2) Information Collection Request 
Title: Coal Production and Preparation Report-Coal Mines and 
Preparation Plants; (3) Type of Request: change to respondent-level 
protection policy and disclosure limitation procedures; (4) Purpose: to 
collect all data elements from Form EIA-7A respondents, to release or 
publish data considered public information (name and address of the 
responding company, the mine or plant type, and location), and does not 
satisfy the criteria for an exemption under the Freedom of Information 
Act or satisfy the requirements of the Trade Secrets Act; (5) Estimated 
Number of Respondents Annually: 1306; (6) Estimated Number of Responses 
Annually: 1306; (7) Estimated Number of Burden Hours Annually: 2350.8; 
(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$160,606.66.
    EIA-8A: (1) OMB No.: 1905-0167; (2) Information Collection Request 
Title: Coal Stocks Report-Traders and Brokers; (3) Type of Request: 
change to respondent-level protection policy and disclosure limitation 
procedures; (4) Purpose: to collect all data elements from Form EIA-8A 
respondents, to release or publish data that is not company 
identifiable, and does not satisfy the criteria for an exemption under 
the Freedom of Information Act or satisfy the requirements of the Trade 
Secrets Act; (5) Estimated Number of Respondents Annually: 89; (6) 
Estimated Number of Responses Annually: 89; (7) Estimated Number of 
Burden Hours Annually: 89 hours; (8)

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Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $6,080.48.

    Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b), Section 13(b) of the 
Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (FEA Act), Public Law 93-
275.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2013.
Renee Miller,
Acting Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical 
Integration, U.S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-11153 Filed 5-9-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P