[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59518-59520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20870]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: EIA invites public comment on the proposed three-year 
extension, with changes, to the Uranium Data Program (UDP) as required 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The UDP consists of three 
surveys: Form EIA-851A Domestic Uranium Production Report (Annual), 
which collects annual data from the U.S. uranium industry on uranium 
milling and processing, uranium feed sources, uranium mining, 
employment, drilling, expenditures, and uranium reserves; Form EIA-851Q 
Domestic Uranium Production Report (Quarterly), which collects monthly 
data that is reported on a quarterly basis, on uranium production on a 
quarterly basis; and Form EIA-858 Uranium Marketing Annual Survey, 
which collects annual

[[Page 59519]]

data from the U.S. uranium market on uranium contracts and deliveries, 
inventories, enrichment services purchased, uranium in fuel assemblies, 
feed deliveries to enrichers, and unfilled market requirements for the 
current year and the following ten years.

DATES: EIA must receive all comments on this proposed information 
collection no later than November 23, 2020. If you anticipate any 
difficulties in submitting your comments by the deadline, contact the 
person listed in ADDRESSES section of this notice as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Tim Shear by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Shear, U.S. Energy Information 
Administration, telephone (202) 586-0403, email [email protected]. The 
draft forms and instructions are available at https://www.eia.gov/survey/changes/uranium/2020/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains:
    (1) OMB No.: 1905-0160;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Uranium Data Program;
    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
    (4) Purpose: Uranium Data Program collects data on domestic uranium 
supply and demand activities, including production, exploration and 
development, trade, purchases and sales available to the U.S. The users 
of these data include Congress, Executive Branch agencies, the nuclear 
and uranium industry, electric power industry, and the public. Form 
EIA-851A data is published in EIA's Domestic Uranium Production 
Report--Annual, at http://www.eia.gov/uranium/production/annual/. Form 
EIA-851Q data is published in EIA's Domestic Uranium Production 
Report--Quarterly at http://www.eia.gov/uranium/production/quarterly/. 
Form EIA-858 data is published in EIA's Uranium Marketing Annual Report 
at http://www.eia.gov/uranium/marketing/ and Domestic Uranium 
Production Report--Annual at http://www.eia.gov/uranium/production/annual/;
    (4a) Proposed change to information collection: EIA will no longer 
protect information reported on Form EIA-851A and EIA-851Q under the 
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 
2018 (CIPSEA). Information reported on Form EIA-858 will continue to be 
protected under CIPSEA.
    EIA proposes to apply exemptions under the Freedom of Information 
Act (FOIA) to protect information reported on Forms EIA-851A and EIA-
851Q except for production data. Production data will be considered 
public and may be publicly released in an identifiable form. For the 
past six years, the items ``Respondent and Contact Identification'', 
``Company Name'', and all of ``Item 1: Facility Information'' on Forms 
EIA-851Q and EIA-851A are considered public information and are 
publicly released in company or individually identifiable form on EIA's 
website. Data protection methods will continue to be applied to the 
statistical information reported on Forms EIA-851A and EIA-851Q, except 
for production data.
    The data protection statement in the instructions to Forms EIA-851A 
and EIA-851Q will state:

    The `Respondent and Contact Identification' (Company Name), 
`Item 1: Facility Information', and production data reported on Form 
EIA-851Q/A are considered public information and may be released in 
company identifiable form. Additional information reported on this 
form may be protected and may not be disclosed to the public to the 
extent that it satisfies the criteria for exemption under the 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, the Department of 
Energy (DOE) regulations, 10 CFR 1004, implementing the FOIA, and 
the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905.
    The Federal Energy Administration Act requires EIA to provide 
company-specific data to other Federal agencies when requested for 
official use. The information reported on this form may also be made 
available, upon request, to another component of the Department of 
Energy (DOE); to any Committee of Congress, the Government 
Accountability Office, or other Federal agencies authorized by law 
to receive such information. A court of competent jurisdiction may 
obtain this information in response to an order. The information may 
be used for any non-statistical purposes such as administrative, 
regulatory, law enforcement, or adjudicatory purposes.
    Data protection methods are applied to the statistical 
information reported on Forms EIA-851A and EIA-851Q, except for 
production data.

    The reason EIA is proposing this change in the data protection for 
Forms EIA-851A and EIA-851Q is due to a material change in 
circumstances that occurred over the past 15 years in the domestic 
uranium production markets that was unforeseen when EIA initially 
placed these surveys under CIPSEA protection in 2004. Domestic uranium 
production has significantly decreased from a recent high of 4,891 
thousand pounds U3O8 in 2014 to 174 thousand pounds U3O8 in 2019. Over 
90% of the uranium purchased by owners and operators of U.S. civilian 
nuclear power reactors in 2018 and 2019 was from uranium imports of 
foreign origin. The number of respondents reporting domestic production 
has steadily declined over the past 15 years as imports of uranium 
dominate U.S. uranium markets and domestic firms either cease 
operations or merge with other companies. As fewer respondents 
contribute to the published aggregates, EIA needs to withhold from 
publication all of the data at the state and regional level. The 
practical utility of the information collected is undermined by EIA 
withholding most of the data it collects on these survey forms. 
Cognitive research showed that the majority of the respondents to Forms 
EIA-851A and EIA-851Q are not concerned if informed users infer 
reported values from published statistical aggregates in data tables. 
The main reason survey respondents provided was that the information 
reported on Forms EIA-851A and EIA-851Q is already publicly available. 
In addition, since 2016, the current instructions to Forms EIA-851A and 
EIA-851Q have stated the name and address of the respondent are 
considered public information.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 102;
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 135;
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 1098;
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: EIA 
estimates that there are no capital and start-up costs associated with 
this data collection. The information is maintained during the normal 
course of business. The cost of the burden hours is estimated to be 
$87,993.72 (1,098 burden hours times $80.14 per hour). Other than the 
cost of burden hours, EIA estimates that there are no additional costs 
for generating, maintaining, and providing this information.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; 
(b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

    Statutory Authority:  Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-275, codified as 15 U.S.C. 
772(b) and the DOE Organization Act of 1977, Pub. L. 95-91, codified 
at 42 U.S.C. 7101.


[[Page 59520]]


    Signed in Washington, DC, on September 16, 2020.
Thomas Leckey,
Assistant Administrator for Energy Statistics, U.S. Energy Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-20870 Filed 9-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P