[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49489-49490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19659]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC13-20-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-515); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the 
currently approved information collection, FERC-515 (Rules of Practice 
and Procedure: Declaration of Intention).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due October 15, 
2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC13-20-
000) by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Web site: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in 
accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support 
by email at [email protected], or by phone at: (866) 208-3676 
(toll-free), or (202) 502-8659 for TTY.
    Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of 
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and 
issuances in this docket may do so at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.

[[Page 49490]]


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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Rules of Practice and Procedure: Declaration of Intention.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0079.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-515 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission uses the information collected under the 
requirements of FERC-515 to implement the statutory provisions of 
Section 23(b) of the Federal Power Act (FPA).\1\ Section 23(b) 
authorized the Commission to make a determination as to whether it has 
jurisdiction over a proposed water project \2\ not affecting navigable 
waters \3\ but across, along, over, or in waters over which Congress 
has jurisdiction under its authority to regulate commerce with foreign 
nations and among the several States. Section 23(b) requires that any 
person intending to construct project works on such waters must file a 
declaration of their intention with the Commission. If the Commission 
finds the proposed project will have an impact on interstate or foreign 
commerce, then the entity intending to construct the project must 
obtain a Commission license or exemption before starting 
construction.\4\ The information is collected in the form of a written 
application, containing sufficient details to allow the Commission 
staff to research the jurisdictional aspects of the project. This 
research includes examining maps and land ownership records to 
establish whether or not there is Federal jurisdiction over the lands 
and waters affected by the project. A finding of non-jurisdictional by 
the Commission eliminates a substantial paperwork burden for the 
applicant who might otherwise have to file for a license or exemption 
application. The Commission implements these filing requirements under 
18 CFR part 24.
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 817.
    \2\ Dams or other project works (see 16 U.S.C. 817).
    \3\ See 16 U.S.C. 796(8) for the definition of ``Navigable 
Waters''.
    \4\ Upon a finding of non-jurisdictional by the Commission, and 
if no public lands or reservations are affected, permission is 
granted upon compliance with State laws.
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    Type of Respondents: Persons intending to construct project works 
on certain waters described above.
    Estimate of Annual Burden \5\: The Commission estimates the total 
Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \5\ The Commission defines burden as the total time, effort, or 
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, 
retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal 
agency. For further explanation of what is included in the 
information collection burden, reference 5 Code of Federal 
Regulations 1320.3.

                       FERC-515: Rules of Practice and Procedure: Declaration of Intention
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                        Number of responses      Total number of      Average burden hours     Estimated total
Number of respondents      per respondent           responses             per response          annual burden
(A)                                  (B)            (A) x (B)=(C)                  (D)                      (C)
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               10                      1                     10                     80                    800
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    The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $56,000 
[800 hours * $70/hour \6\ = $56,000].
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    \6\ FY2013 Estimated Average Hourly Cost per FTE, including 
salary + benefits.
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    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the 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 and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

    Dated: August 7, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-19659 Filed 8-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P