[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 184 (Friday, September 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47915-47917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20622]



[[Page 47915]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC18-15-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC Form No. 587); 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

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, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection, FERC Form No. 587 (Land Description (Public 
Land States/Non-Public Land States [Rectangular or Non-Rectangular 
Survey System Lands in Public Land States])) and submitting the 
information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and 
should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained 
below. On July 3, 2018, the Commission published a Notice in the 
Federal Register in Docket No. IC18-15-000 requesting public comments. 
The Commission did not receive any comments.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due October 22, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by OMB Control No. 1902-
0145, should be sent via email to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs: [email protected]. Attention: Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC18-15-000, by either of the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's website: 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 Form No. 587, Land Description (Public Land States/Non-
Public Land States [Rectangular or Non-Rectangular Survey System Lands 
in Public Land States]).
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0145.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC Form No. 587 
information collection reporting requirements.
    Abstract: The Commission requires the FERC Form No. 587 information 
collection to satisfy the requirements of section 24 of the Federal 
Power Act (FPA). The Federal Power Act grants the Commission authority 
to issue licenses for the development and improvement of navigation and 
for the development, transmission, and utilization of power across, 
along, from or in any of the steams or other bodies of water over which 
Congress has jurisdiction.\1\ The Electric Consumers Protection Act 
(ECPA) amends the FPA to allow the Commission the responsibility of 
issuing licenses for nonfederal hydroelectric plants.\2\
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 797d (2010).
    \2\ Public Law 99-495, 100 Stat. 1243 (1996).
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    Section 24 of the FPA requires that applicants proposing hydropower 
projects on (or changes to existing projects located within) lands 
owned by the United States to provide a description of the applicable 
U.S. land. Additionally, the FPA requires the notification of the 
Commission and Secretary of the Interior of the hydropower proposal. 
FERC Form No. 587 consolidates the information required and identifies 
hydropower project boundary maps associated with the applicable U.S. 
land.
    The information on FERC Form No. 587 is used to identify those 
project boundary maps associated with federal lands. There are two 
versions of the form to account for the two different ways land is 
surveyed in the United States. Completed forms must be included in 
applications for preliminary permits with a copy sent to the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) and the Department of the Interior (DOI). 
Moreover, this information ensures that U.S. lands can be reserved as 
hydropower sites and withdrawn from other uses.
    The Commission is also making the following changes to the FERC 
Form No. 587 instructions.\3\ FERC is not changing the reporting 
requirements of the information collection:
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    \3\ Any references to ``microfilm'' and ``aperture cards'' 
within 18 CFR part 4.39 were removed by the Final Rule in RM14-20-
000 (issued 7/17/2014, published in the Federal Register at 79 FR 
42973 on 7/24/2014).
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Paragraph 3

    --Revise Paragraph 3 as follows:

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                  From                                  To
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Microfilm copies of the project          Electronic file format copies
 boundary maps must be submitted with     of the project boundary
 the land description forms as directed   map(s), also referred to as
 by FERC. Each map must be reproduced     Exhibit G drawing(s), must be
 on silver or gelatin 35 mm microfilm     submitted with the land
 mounted on type D (3\1/4\ x   description form(s) as
 7\3/8\) aperture cards. The   directed by FERC.
 project number followed by a hyphen
 and sheet number or letter must be
 typed on the front of each card in the
 upper right corner.
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Paragraph 4

    --Revise Paragraph 4 as follows:

[[Page 47916]]



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                  From                                  To
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Mail a copy of the completed land        Mail a copy of the completed
 description forms and aperture cards     land description form(s) and
 to:                                      the electronic file format
                                          drawing(s) to:
    Secretary, Routing Code PJ-12,       Secretary, Federal Energy
     Federal Energy Regulatory            Regulatory Commission, ATTN:
     Commission, 888 First Street NE,     OEP/DHAC, 888 First Street NE,
     Washington, DC 20426.                Washington, DC 20426.
    Another copy of the form FERC-587    Another copy of the form FERC-
     must be filed with the Bureau of     587 and electronic file format
     Land Management state office(s)      drawings must be filed with
     involved using the format below.     the Bureau of Land Management
     Go to the following internet         state office(s) involved using
     address to get mailing address for   the format below. Go to the
     a particular State Office (http://   following internet address to
     www.blm.gov/nhp/directory/           get mailing address for a
     index.htm).                          particular State Office
                                          (https://www.blm.gov/programs/lands-and-realty/land-tenure).
    State Director, Bureau of Land       State Director, Bureau of Land
     Management City, State Zip, ATTN:    Management, City, State Zip,
     FERC Withdrawal Recordation.         ATTN: FERC Withdrawal
                                          Recordation.
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Paragraph 5

    --Revise Paragraph 5 as follows:

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                  From                                  To
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Keep the land description forms and      Keep the land description forms
 project boundary drawings up-to-date.    and project boundary drawings
 If the project boundary changes,         up-to-date. If the project
 revised land description forms and       boundary changes, revised land
 drawings must be provided to the         description forms and drawings
 Commission immediately. The revised      must be provided to the
 land description forms must be fully     Commission immediately. The
 completed so as to supersede (not        revised land description forms
 supplement) earlier forms. Mail          must be fully completed so as
 updates in accordance with instruction   to supersede (not supplement)
 4.                                       earlier forms. Mail updates in
                                          accordance with instruction 4.
If there are any questions, please       If there are any questions,
 contact the FERC at (202) 502-8872.      please contact the FERC at 844-
                                          434-0053 or
                                          [email protected].
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    Access to the Revised Materials: There is one attachment 
(Attachment A) that contains a version of FERC Form No. 587 that 
incorporates all of the aforementioned changes within this Notice. 
Attachment A will be attached to this Notice within Docket No. IC18-15-
000, but will not be published in the Federal Register. Interested 
parties can see this attachment electronically as part of this Notice 
in FERC's eLibrary (http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp) by 
searching for Docket No. IC18-15-000.
    Type of Respondents: Applicants proposing hydropower projects on 
(or changes to existing projects located within) lands owned by the 
United States.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \4\ The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden and cost \5\ for the information collection as 
follows.
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    \4\ ``Burden'' is 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 Title 5 CFR 1320.3.
    \5\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $79 per Hour 
= Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure of $79 is the 
Fiscal Year 2018 average FERC hourly cost for wages plus benefits. 
The staff assumes for FERC-587 that respondents earn at a similar 
rate to the Commission.

                                                           FERC Form No. 587: Land Description
                  [Public land states/non-public land states [rectangular or non-rectangular survey system lands in public land states]
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                                                                      Annual  number                        Average
                                                         Number of     of  responses  Total  number of   burden  hours    Total annual     Annual  cost
                                                        respondents         per           responses      and cost ($)     burden hours          per
                                                                        respondent                       per response     and cost  ($)   respondent ($)
                                                                 (1)             (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)             (4)   (3) * (4) = (5)       (5) / (1)
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Hydropower Project Applicants.......................             137               1               137      1 hr.; $79         137 hrs.;             $79
                                                                                                                                 $10,823
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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: September 18, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

Attachment

    The attachment (proposed revision to the instructions on FERC Form 
No. 587) will not be published in the Federal Register. The attachment 
is labeled as ``FERC Form No. 587--Attachment A.''

[[Page 47917]]

    The attachment will be available in the Commission's eLibrary

[FR Doc. 2018-20622 Filed 9-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P