[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 133 (Monday, July 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40050-40051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17052]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. AD15-2-000]
Billing Procedures for Annual Charges For the Costs of Other
Federal Agencies for Administering Part I of the Federal Power Act;
Notice Reporting Costs for Other Federal Agencies' Administrative
Annual Charges for Fiscal Year 2014
1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
required to determine the reasonableness of costs incurred by other
Federal agencies (OFAs) \1\ in connection with their participation in
the Commission's proceedings under the Federal Power Act (FPA) Part I
\2\ when those agencies seek to include such costs in the
administrative charges licensees must pay to reimburse the United
States for the cost of administering Part I.\3\ The Commission's Order
on Remand and Acting on Appeals of Annual Charge Bills \4\ determined
which costs are eligible to be included in the administrative annual
charges and it established a process for Commission review of future
OFA cost submittals. This order established a process whereby the
Commission would annually request each OFA to submit cost data, using a
form \5\ specifically designed for this purpose. In addition, the order
established requirements for detailed cost accounting reports and other
documented analyses, which explain the cost assumptions contained in
the OFAs' submissions.
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\1\ The OFAs include: The U.S. Department of the Interior
(Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of
Reclamation, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Office of the Solicitor, Office of Environmental Policy &
Compliance, Office of Hearings and Appeals and Office of Policy
Analysis); the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service);
the U.S. Department of Commerce (National Marine Fisheries Service);
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
\2\ 16 U.S.C. 794-823d (2006).
\3\ See id. Sec. 803(e)(1) and 42 U.S.C. 7178.
\4\ 107 FERC ] 61,277, order on reh'g, 109 FERC ] 61,040 (2004).
\5\ Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form, available at
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/forms.asp#ofa.
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2. The Commission has completed its review of the forms and
supporting documentation submitted by the U.S. Department of the
Interior (Interior), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Agriculture),
and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) for fiscal year 2014.
This notice reports the costs the Commission included in its
administrative annual charges for fiscal year 2015.
Scope of Eligible Costs
3. The basis for eligible costs that should be included in the
OFAs' administrative annual charges is prescribed by the Office of
Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-25--User Charges and the
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board's Statement of Federal
Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) Number 4--Managerial Cost
Accounting Concepts and Standards for the Federal Government. Circular
A-25 establishes Federal policy regarding fees assessed for government
services and provides specific information on the scope and type of
activities subject to user charges. SSFAS Number 4 provides a
conceptual framework for federal agencies to determine the full costs
of government goods and services.
4. Circular A-25 provides for user charges to be assessed against
recipients of special benefits derived from federal activities beyond
those received by the general public.\6\ With regard to licensees, the
special benefit derived from federal activities is the license to
operate a hydropower project. The guidance provides for the assessment
of sufficient user charges to recover the full costs of services
associated with these special benefits.\7\ SFFAS Number 4 defines full
costs as the costs of resources consumed by a specific governmental
unit that contribute directly or indirectly to a provided service.\8\
Thus, pursuant to OMB requirements and authoritative accounting
guidance, the Commission must base its OFA administrative annual charge
on all direct and indirect costs incurred by agencies in administering
Part I of the FPA. The special form the Commission designed for this
purpose, the ``Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form,'' captures
the full range of costs recoverable under the FPA and the referenced
accounting guidance.\9\
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\6\ OMB Circular A-25 Sec. 6.
\7\ OMB Circular A-25 Sec. 6. a. 2.
\8\ SFFAS Number 4 ] 7.
\9\ To avoid the possibility of confusion that has occurred in
prior years as to whether costs were being entered twice as ``Other
Direct Costs'' and ``Overhead,'' the form excluded ``Other Direct
Costs.''
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Commission Review of OFA Cost Submittals
5. The Commission received cost forms and other supporting
documentation from the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and
Commerce (OFAs). The Commission completed a review of each OFA's cost
submission forms and supporting reports. In its examination of the
OFAs' cost data, the Commission considered each agency's ability to
demonstrate a system or process which effectively captured, isolated,
and reported Part I costs as required by the ``Other Federal Agency
Cost Submission Form.''
6. The Commission held a Technical Conference on March 26, 2015 to
report its initial findings to licensees and OFAs. No OFA
representatives attended the conference. Following the technical
conference, licensees had the opportunity to submit comments \10\ to
the Commission regarding its initial review.
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\10\ See Letter from Charles R. Sensiba, Van Ness Feldman, to
the Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, FERC, Docket No. AD15-2-000 (filed
May 11, 2015).
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7. Written comments were filed by Idaho Falls Group (Idaho Falls).
Idaho Falls generally supported the Commission's analysis but raised
questions regarding certain various individual cost submissions. The
Commission will address the issues in the Appendix to this notice.
8. After additional reviews, full consideration of the comments
presented, and in accordance with the previously cited guidance, the
Commission accepted as reasonable any costs reported via the cost
submission forms that were clearly documented in the OFAs' accompanying
reports and/or analyses. These documented costs will be included in the
administrative annual charges for fiscal year 2015.
Summary of Reported & Accepted Costs for Fiscal Year 2014
[[Page 40051]]
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Municipal Non-Municipal Total
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Reported Accepted Reported Accepted Reported Accepted
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Department of Interior
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Bureau of Indian Affairs................................ 143,046 143,046 216,666 216,666 359,713 359,713
Bureau of Land Management............................... 98,020 96,140 1,494 2,212 99,514 98,352
Bureau of Reclamation................................... 141 141 39,044 39,044 39,185 39,185
National Park Service................................... 280,357 280,357 278,416 278,416 558,773 558,773
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.......................... 881,471 880,657 1,036,499 1,035,447 1,917,972 1,916,104
U.S. Geological Survey.................................. .............. .............. .............. .............. -- --
Office of the Solicitor................................. 13,599 13,599 111,186 108,414 124,785 122,013
Office of Environmental Policy & Compliance............. 55,825 55,825 132,834 132,834 188,658 188,658
Office of Hearings and Appeals.......................... 489 489 1,840 1,840 2,329 2,329
Office of Policy Analysis............................... .............. .............. 9,646 9,646 9,646 9,646
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Department of Agriculture
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U.S. Forest Service..................................... 493,060 378,925 1,550,580 1,594,016 2,043,640 1,572,941
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Department of Commerce
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National Marine Fisheries Service....................... 1,563,763 1,132,389 551,280 400,071 2,115,043 1,532,460
Total............................................... 3,529,771 2,981,588 3,929,485 3,418,606 7,459,258 6,400,174
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Figure 1
9. Figure 1 summarizes the total reported costs incurred by
Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce with respect to each OFA's
participation in administering Part I of the FPA. Additionally, Figure
1 summarizes the reported costs that the Commission determined were
clearly documented and accepted for inclusion in its FY 2015
administrative annual charges.
Summary Findings of Commission's Costs Review
10. As presented in the preceding table, the Commission determined
that $6,400,174 of the $7,459,258 in total reported costs were
determined to be reasonable and clearly documented in the OFAs'
accompanying reports and/or analyses. Based on these findings, 14% of
the total reported cost was determined to be unreasonable. The
Commission noted the most significant issues with regard to the
insufficiency of documentation provided by the OFAs was the lack of
supporting documentation to substantiate costs reported on the ``Other
Federal Agency Cost Submission Form'' as well as the inability to
segregate Municipal and Non-Municipal costs.
11. The cost reports that the Commission determined were clearly
documented and supported could be traced to detailed cost-accounting
reports, which reconciled to data provided from agency financial
systems or other pertinent source documentation. A further breakdown of
these costs is included in the Appendix to this notice, along with an
explanation of how the Commission determined their reasonableness.
Points of Contact
12. If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact
Norman Richardson at (202) 502-6219 or Raven Rodriquez at (202) 502-
6276.
Dated: July 7, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-17052 Filed 7-10-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P