[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24959-24960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11201]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC17-5-000]


Commision Information Collection Activities (FERC-588); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) 
issued on March 23, 2017, a 60-day Notice in the Federal Register 
requesting public comments on FERC-588 (Emergency Natural Gas 
Transportation, Sale and Exchange Transactions). No comments were 
received.
    In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, the Commission is submitting the FERC-588 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.

DATES: Comments on the FERC-588, previously published March 23, 2017 at 
82 FR 14888 are due by June 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by the OMB Control No. 
1902-0144 (FERC-588), should be sent via email to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs at: [email protected], 
Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC17-5-000, 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.

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: FERC-588, Emergency Natural Gas Transportation, Sale and 
Exchange Transactions.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0144.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-588 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the reporting requirements.
    Abstract: The FERC-588 is used by the Commission to implement the 
statutory provisions of sections 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) 
(Pub. L. 75-688) (15 U.S.C. 717-717w) and provisions of the Natural Gas 
Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA), 15 U.S.C. 3301-3432. Under the NGA, a 
natural gas company must obtain Commission approval to engage in the 
transportation, sale or exchange of natural gas in interstate commerce. 
However, section 7(c) exempts from certificate requirements ``temporary 
acts or operations for which the issuance of a certificate will not be 
required in the public interest.'' The NGPA also provides for non-
certificated interstate transactions involving intrastate pipelines and 
local distribution companies.
    A temporary operation, or emergency, is defined as any situation in 
which an actual or expected shortage of gas supply would require an 
interstate pipeline company, intrastate pipeline, or local distribution 
company, or Hinshaw pipeline to curtail deliveries of gas or provide 
less than the projected level of service to the customer. The natural 
gas companies which provide the temporary assistance to the companies 
which are having the ``emergency'' must file the necessary information 
described in 18 CFR part 284, subpart I with the Commission, so that it 
may determine if their assisting transaction/operation qualifies for 
exemption. The assisting company may or may not be under the 
Commission's jurisdiction and if their assisting actions qualify for 
the exemption, they will not become subject to the Commission's 
jurisdiction for such actions.
    A report within forty-eight hours of the commencement of the 
transportation, sale or exchange, a request to extend the sixty-day 
term of the emergency transportation, if needed, and a termination 
report are required. The data required to be filed for the forty-eight 
hour report is specified by 18 CFR 284.270.
    Type of Respondents: Natural Gas Pipelines.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \1\ The Commission estimates the Public 
Reporting Burden for this information collection as:
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    \1\ Burden is defined 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, refer to 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.
    \2\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
2017 FERC average salary plus benefits of $158,754/year (or $76.50/
hour). Commission staff finds that the work done for this 
information collection is typically done by wage categories similar 
to those at FERC.

[[Page 24960]]



                                     FERC-588--Emergency Natural Gas Transportation, Sale and Exchange Transactions
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                                                  Annual  number
                                     Number of     of  responses   Total number     Average  burden & cost    Total annual  burden hours     Cost per
                                    respondents         per        of responses        per response \2\           & total annual  cost    respondent ($)
                                                    respondent
                                             (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).......................  (3) * (4) = (5)...........       (5) / (1)
                                                                             (3)
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Natural Gas Pipelines...........              10               3              30  10 hrs.; $765.00..........  300 hrs. $22,950.00.......       $2,295.00
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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: May 23, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-11201 Filed 5-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P