[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2846-2847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-01656]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-8-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-606, and FERC-
607); Consolidated Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of information collections 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 following information 
collections: FERC-606, Notification of Request for Federal 
Authorization and Requests for Further Information, and FERC-607, 
Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorization.

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due April 9, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC19-8-
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.
    Please reference the specific collection number and/or title in 
your comments.
    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-606, Notification of Request for Federal Authorization 
and Requests for Further Information; FERC-607, Report on Decision or

[[Page 2847]]

Action on Request for Federal Authorization.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0241.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of these information 
collection requirements for all collections described below with no 
changes to the current reporting requirements. Please note that each 
collection is distinct from the other.
    Abstract: FERC-606 requires agencies and officials responsible for 
issuing, conditioning, or denying requests for federal authorizations 
necessary for a proposed natural gas project to report to the 
Commission regarding the status of an authorization request. This 
reporting requirement is intended to allow agencies to assist the 
Commission to make better informed decisions in establishing due dates 
for agencies' decisions.
    FERC-607 requires agencies or officials to submit to the Commission 
a copy of a decision or action on a request for federal authorization 
and an accompanying index to the documents and materials relied on in 
reaching a conclusion.
    The information collections can neither be discontinued nor 
collected less frequently because of statutory requirements. The 
consequences of not collecting this information are that the Commission 
would be unable to fulfill its statutory mandate under the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 to:
     Establish a schedule for agencies to review requests for 
federal authorizations required for a project, and
     Compile a record of each agency's decision, together with 
the record of the Commission's decision, to serve as a consolidated 
record for the purpose of appeal or review, including judicial review.
    Type of Respondent: Agencies with federal authorization 
responsibilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 1 The Commission estimates 
the annual public reporting burden and cost \2\ (rounded) for the 
information collection as follows:
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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 CFR 1320.3.
    \2\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the 
formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * 79.00 per hour = 
Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure comes from the 
FERC average salary plus benefits of $164,820 per year (or $79.00/
hour). These estimates were updated in May 2018. This figure is 
being used because the staff thinks industry is similarly situated 
in terms of average hourly cost.

FERC-606 (Notification of Request for Federal Authorization and Requests for Further Information), and FERC-607 (Report on Decision or Action on Request
                                                               for Federal Authorization)
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                                               Annual number
                                 Number of     of responses    Total number     Average burden hours & cost    Total annual burden hours     Cost per
                                respondents   per respondent   of responses            per response               & total annual cost     respondent ($)
                                         (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4)...........................  (3) * (4) = (5)...........       (5) / (1)
                                                                         (3)
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FERC-606....................               6               1               6  4 hrs.; $316..................  24 hrs.; $1,896...........            $316
FERC-607....................               1               1               1  1 hr.; $79....................  1 hr.; $79................              79
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    Total...................               7  ..............               7  ..............................  25 hrs.; $1,975...........  ..............
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    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collections of 
information are 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 estimates of the 
burden and cost of the collections of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility and clarity of the information collections; and 
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

    Issued: February 1, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-01656 Filed 2-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P