[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44068-44069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15733]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD20-3-000]


Billing Procedures for Annual Charges for the Costs of Other 
Federal Agencies for Administering Part I of the Federal Power Act; 
Notice Reporting Costs for Other Federal Agencies' Administrative 
Annual Charges for Fiscal Year 2019

    1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is 
required to determine the reasonableness of costs incurred by other 
Federal agencies (OFAs) \1\ in connection with their participation in 
the Commission's proceedings under the Federal Power Act (FPA) Part I 
\2\ when those agencies seek to include such costs in the 
administrative charges licensees must pay to reimburse the United 
States for the cost of administering Part I.\3\ The Commission's Order 
on Remand and Acting on Appeals of Annual Charge Bills \4\ determined 
which costs are eligible to be included in the administrative annual 
charges. This order also established a process whereby the Commission 
would annually request each OFA to submit cost data, using a form \5\ 
specifically designed for this purpose. In addition, the order 
established requirements for detailed cost accounting reports and other 
documented analyses to explain the cost assumptions contained in the 
OFAs' submissions.
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    \1\ The OFAs include: The U.S. Department of the Interior 
(Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of 
Reclamation, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Office of the Solicitor, Office of Environmental Policy & 
Compliance, Office of Hearings and Appeals, and Office of Policy 
Analysis); the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service); 
the U.S. Department of Commerce (National Marine Fisheries Service); 
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    \2\ 16 U.S.C. 791a-823d (2018).
    \3\ See id. 803(e)(1) and 42 U.S.C. 7178 (2018).
    \4\ 107 FERC 61,277, order on reh'g, 109 FERC 61,040 (2004).
    \5\ Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form, available at 
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/forms.asp#ofa.
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    2. The Commission has completed its review of the forms and 
supporting documentation submitted by the U.S. Department of the 
Interior (Interior), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Agriculture), 
and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) for fiscal year (FY) 
2019. This notice reports the costs the Commission included in its 
administrative annual charges for FY 2020.

Scope of Eligible Costs

    3. The basis for eligible costs that should be included in the 
OFAs' administrative annual charges is prescribed by the Office of 
Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-25--User Charges and the 
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board's Statement of Federal 
Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) Number 4--Managerial Cost 
Accounting Concepts and Standards for the Federal Government. Circular 
A-25 establishes Federal policy regarding fees assessed for government 
services and provides specific information on the scope and type of 
activities subject to user charges. SFFAS Number 4 provides a 
conceptual framework for federal agencies to determine the full costs 
of government goods and services.
    4. Circular A-25 provides for user charges to be assessed against 
recipients of special benefits derived from federal activities beyond 
those received by the general public.\6\ With regard to licensees, the 
special benefit derived from federal activities is the license to 
operate a hydropower project. The guidance provides for the assessment 
of sufficient user charges to recover the full costs of services 
associated with these special benefits.\7\ SFFAS Number 4 defines full 
costs as the costs of resources consumed by a specific governmental 
unit that contribute directly or indirectly to a provided service.\8\ 
Thus, pursuant to OMB requirements and authoritative accounting 
guidance, the Commission must base its OFA administrative annual charge 
on all direct and indirect costs incurred by agencies in administering 
Part I of the FPA. The special form the Commission designed for this 
purpose, the Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form, captures the 
full range of costs recoverable under the FPA and the referenced 
accounting guidance.\9\
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    \6\ OMB Circular A-25 6.
    \7\ OMB Circular A-25 6.a.2.
    \8\ SFFAS Number 4 7.
    \9\ For the past few years, the form has excluded Other Direct 
Costs to avoid the possibility of confusion that occurred in earlier 
years as to whether costs were being entered twice as Other Direct 
Costs and Overhead.
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Commission Review of OFA Cost Submittals

    5. The Commission received cost forms and other supporting 
documentation from the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and 
Commerce. The Commission completed a review of each OFA's cost 
submission forms and supporting reports. In its examination of the 
OFAs' cost data, the

[[Page 44069]]

Commission considered each agency's ability to demonstrate a system or 
process which effectively captured, isolated, and reported FPA Part I 
costs as required by the Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form.
    6. The Commission held a Technical Conference on March 26, 2020 to 
report its initial findings to licensees and OFAs. Representatives for 
several licensees and most of the OFAs attended the conference. 
Following the technical conference, a transcript was posted, and 
licensees had the opportunity to submit comments to the Commission 
regarding its initial review.
    7. Idaho Falls Group (Idaho Falls) filed written comments,\10\ 
stating its general support of the Commission's analysis but raising a 
question regarding U.S. Department of Commerce's National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) individual cost submission. The issue is 
addressed in the Appendix to this notice.
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    \10\ See Letter from Sharon L. White, Van Ness Feldman, to the 
Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, FERC, Docket No. AD20-3-000 (filed May 
8, 2020).
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    8. After additional review, full consideration of the comments 
presented, and in accordance with the previously cited guidance, the 
Commission accepted as reasonable any costs reported via the cost 
submission forms that were clearly documented in the OFAs' accompanying 
reports and/or analyses. These documented costs will be included in the 
administrative annual charges for FY 2020.

Summary of Reported & Accepted Costs for Fiscal Year 2019
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN21JY20.002

    9. Figure 1 summarizes the total reported costs incurred by 
Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce with respect to their participation 
in administering Part I of the FPA. Additionally, Figure 1 summarizes 
the reported costs that the Commission determined were clearly 
documented and accepted for inclusion in its FY 2020 administrative 
annual charges.

Summary Findings of Commission's Costs Review

    10. As presented in Figure 1, the Commission has determined that 
$6,121,081 of the $6,180,128 in total reported costs were reasonable 
and clearly documented in the OFAs' accompanying reports and/or 
analyses. Based on this finding, 1% of the total reported cost was 
determined to be unreasonable. The Commission notes the most 
significant issue with the documentation provided by the OFAs was the 
lack of supporting documentation to substantiate costs reported on the 
Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form.
    11. The cost reports that the Commission determined were clearly 
documented and supported could be traced to detailed cost-accounting 
reports, which reconciled to data provided from agency financial 
systems or other pertinent source documentation. A further breakdown of 
these costs is included in the Appendix to this notice, along with an 
explanation of how the Commission determined their reasonableness.

Points of Contact

    12. If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact 
Raven Rodriguez at (202) 502-6276.

    Dated: July 15, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2020-15733 Filed 7-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P