[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 72 (Monday, April 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15209-15210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07420]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC19-8-000]


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

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, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved 
information collection 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) and 
submitting the information collections 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 February 8, 2019, the Commission 
published a Notice in the Federal Register in Docket No. IC19-8-000 
requesting public comments. The Commission received no public comments 
and is noting that in the related submittal to OMB.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due May 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Comments filed with OMB, identified by OMB Control No. 1902-
0241, 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. 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.
    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 
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:

[[Page 15210]]

     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                                                 Total annual burden
                                     Number of       of responses    Total number of    Average burden hours &    hours & total annual       Cost per
                                    respondents     per respondent      responses         cost per response               cost           respondent  ($)
                                              (1)              (2)    (1) * (2) = (3)  (4)....................  (3) * (4) = (5)........  (5) / (1) x (2)
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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.

    Dated: April 9, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-07420 Filed 4-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P