[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 137 (Thursday, July 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43234-43235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15353]


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

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due August 17, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to OMB through www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk 
Officer. Please identify OMB Control Number 1902-0197 in the subject 
line of your comments; comments should be sent within 30 days of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. OMB submissions 
must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Using the search function under the 
``Currently Under Review'' field, select Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission; click ``submit,'' and select ``comment'' to the right of 
the subject collection.
    A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Commission, in 
Docket No. IC20-13-000, by the following methods:
     eFiling at Commission's Website: http://www.ferc.govp.
     Mail by U.S. Postal Service: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426
     Deliveries other than by U.S. Postal Service: Health and 
Human Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    FERC submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with 
submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov. 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.

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, other than the signed statement from the 
requester attesting to the accuracy of the information provided in the 
request, which was inadvertently omitted from the prior version of the 
form.\1\
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    \1\ This requirement was inadvertently omitted from the previous 
form. See 18 CFR 388.113(g)(5)(i)(D).
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    Abstract: The Commission published a 60-day Notice \2\ in the 
Federal Register on March 27, 2020, requesting public comment. In 
addition, the Commission issued an Errata Notice on April 1, 2020, 
including the form.\3\ The Commission received one comment from the 
Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (EIPC) with 
recommendations for changes to the Form 603 and to the CEII process 
generally. EIPC states that the form does not adequately protect CEII, 
specifically the detailed grid information included in Parts 2, 3, and 
6 of FERC Form No. 715. EIPC urges the Commission to revamp the 
statement of need section to ``require a demonstration that 
dissemination of the

[[Page 43235]]

information would enhance the work of those entities charged with 
ensuring bulk power reliability of the electric grid.''
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    \2\ 85 FR 17326
    \3\ See https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=15501007 and https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/OpenNat.asp?fileID=15501008.
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    While the Commission acknowledges EIPC's comments and Commission 
staff will coordinate a meeting to hear EIPC's concerns, the purpose of 
the FERC-603 form review is to request comments on the burden on public 
requesters who need to complete the form to receive CEII. EIPC's 
comments do not address this issue and could result in additional 
burdens on CEII requesters. Accordingly, EIPC's concerns do not support 
modifying the CEII request form for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act. We emphasize and reiterate, however, that EIPC will have a 
subsequent opportunity to more fully express its concerns and to be 
heard in the appropriate forum and at the appropriate time.
    FERC-603 is used by the Commission to implement procedures for 
individuals (including federal and state agencies, consultants, and 
others) 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. Examples of the various non-disclosure 
agreements, and other agreements, that are used to ensure that the 
information is not improperly shared with individuals who have not been 
approved to receive the specific CEII by the Commission, are available 
at: https://www.ferc.gov/enforcement-legal/ceii/electronic-ceii-request-form.
    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.\4\ This 
collection was prepared as part of the implementation of the CEII 
request process.
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    \4\ 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.''
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    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.\5\ On November 17, 2016, in Order No. 833 
(in Docket No. RM16-15), the Commission adopted a Final Rule 
implementing the FAST Act by amending its regulations that pertain to 
the designation, protection, and sharing of CEII. The Final Rule became 
effective on February 19, 2017.
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    \5\ 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).
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    The FERC-603, Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information 
(CEII) request form, is largely unchanged from the previously approved 
versions. As in the previous versions, a person or entity 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).
    The Request Form \6\ is attached to this notice but will not be 
published in the Federal Register. It will be posted in the 
Commission's eLibrary system with this Notice.
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    \6\ The Request Form (and sample non-disclosure agreements) and 
additional information about the CEII program are posted at: https://www.ferc.gov/enforcement-legal/ceii/overview.
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    Type of Respondent: Persons and organizations seeking access to 
CEII.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: \7\ The Commission estimates the total 
annual burden and cost \8\ for this information collection as follows.
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    \7\ ``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.
    \8\ 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
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                  Annual  number                      Average burden hours  Total annual burden
   Number of      of  responses    Total number  of      and cost ($) per     hours  and total     Cost ($) per
  respondents    per  respondent       responses            response          annual cost ($)       respondent
(1)                         (2)     (1) * (2) = (3)   (4).................  (3) * (4) = (5)....       (5) / (1)
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           100                1                 100   0.3 hrs.; $24.......  30 hrs.; $2,400....             $24
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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: July 10, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-15353 Filed 7-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P