[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 60 (Friday, March 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17326-17327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06461]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC20-13-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-603); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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-603 (Critical Energy/Electric 
Infrastructure Information Data Request).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due May 26, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC20-13-
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).
    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], and telephone at (202) 502-8663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-603, Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure 
Information Data Request.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0197.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-603 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The CEII request form and five versions of the non-
disclosure agreement (General Non-Disclosure Agreement, Media Non-
Disclosure Agreement, Federal Agency Acknowledgement and Agreement, 
State Agency Employee Non-Disclosure Agreement, and Consultant Non-
Disclosure Agreement) are posted at https://www.ferc.gov/legal/ceii-foia/ceii.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Abstract: This collection is used by the Commission to implement 
procedures for individuals with a valid or legitimate need for access 
to Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information (CEII), which is 
exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 
552), subject to a non-disclosure agreement.
    On February, 21, 2003, the Commission issued Order No. 630 (66 FR 
52917) to address the appropriate treatment of CEII in the aftermath of 
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and to restrict access due to 
the ongoing terrorism threat. Given that such information would 
typically be exempt from mandatory disclosure pursuant to FOIA, the 
Commission determined that it was important to have a process for 
individuals with a valid or legitimate need to access certain sensitive 
energy infrastructure information. As such, the Commission's CEII 
process is designed to limit the distribution of sensitive 
infrastructure information to those individuals with a need to know in 
order to avoid having sensitive information fall into the hands of 
those who may use it to attack the Nation's infrastructure.\2\ This 
collection was prepared as part of the implementation of the CEII 
request process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The Commission defined CEII to include information about 
``existing or proposed critical infrastructure that: (i) relates to 
the production, generation, transportation, transmission, or 
distribution of energy; (ii) could be useful to a person planning an 
attack on critical infrastructure; (iii) is exempt from mandatory 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, and (iv) does not 
simply give the location of the critical infrastructure. Critical 
infrastructure means existing and proposed systems and assets, 
whether physical or virtual, the incapacity or destruction of which 
would negatively affect security, economic security, public health 
or safety, or any combination of those matters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On December 4, 2015, the President signed the Fixing America's 
Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) into law, which directed the 
Commission to issue regulations aimed at securing and sharing sensitive 
infrastructure information.\3\ On November 17, 2016, in Order No. 833 
(in Docket No. RM16-15), the Commission adopted a Final Rule 
implementing the FAST Act by

[[Page 17327]]

amending its regulations that pertain to the designation, protection, 
and sharing of CEII. The Final Rule became effective on February 19, 
2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, Public Law 114-
94, 61,003, 129 Stat. 1312, 1773-1779 (2015) (to be codified at 16 
U.S.C. 824 et seq.) (FAST Act).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FERC-603, Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information 
(CEII) request form is largely unchanged from the previously approved 
version. As in the previous version, a person seeking access to CEII 
must file a request for that information by providing information about 
their identity and the reason the individual needs the information. 
With that information, the Commission is able to assess the requester's 
need for the information against the sensitivity of the information. 
The updated form has been changed to include one additional 
requirement, a signed statement from the requester attesting to the 
accuracy of the information provided in the request. This requirement 
was inadvertently omitted from the previous form. See 18 CFR 
388.113(g)(5)(i)(D). A sample updated CEII request form is attached to 
this notice.
    Type of Respondents: Persons seeking access to CEII.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \4\ The Commission estimates the total 
annual burden and cost \5\ for this information collection as follows.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.
    \5\ The Commission staff thinks that the average respondent for 
this collection is similarly situated to the Commission, in terms of 
salary plus benefits. Based upon the FERC's 2019 average cost for 
salary plus benefits, the average hourly cost is $80/hour.

                                          FERC-603--Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information Request
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Annual number
          Number of respondents           of responses per   Total number of   Average burden & cost per   Total annual burden hours &      Cost per
                                             respondent         responses               response                total annual cost        respondent ($)
(1)                                                    (2)   (1) * (2) = (3)  (4)........................  (3) * (4) = (5)............         (5) / (1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
100.....................................                 1               100  0.3 hrs.; $24..............  30 hrs.; $2,400............               $24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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: March 23, 2020.
 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-06461 Filed 3-26-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P