[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 73 (Friday, April 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22524-22525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08124]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC22-12-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (Ferc-729); 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-729 (Electric Transmission Facilities).

DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due June 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments (identified by Docket No. IC22-
12-000) by one of the following methods:

[[Page 22525]]

    Electronic filing through http://www.ferc.gov, is preferred.
     Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable 
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture 
format.
     For those unable to file electronically, comments may be 
filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery:
    [cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    [cir] Hand (including courier) delivery: Addressed to: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 12225 
Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Instructions: All 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], telephone at (202) 502-8663, and fax at: 
(202) 273-0873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-729, Electric Transmission Facilities.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0238.
    Type of Request: Three year extension of the existing information 
collection.
    Abstract: This information collection consists of the filing 
requirements for entities seeking to construct electric transmission 
facilities pursuant to the Commission's authority under section 216 of 
the Federal Power Act (FPA). Specifically, section 216(b) of the FPA 
authorizes the Commission, under certain circumstances, to issue 
permits for the construction of electric transmission facilities within 
national interest electric transmission corridors designated by the 
Secretary of Energy.
    The purpose of the Commission's part 50 regulations (18 CFR part 
50) is to provide for efficient and timely review of requests for 
permits for the siting of proposed electric transmission facilities 
under section 216 of the FPA. The regulations include filing 
requirements associated with the Commission's pre-filing and 
application review processes. For the Commission's pre-filing process, 
the regulations require applicants to file a pre-filing request 
(50.5(c)) and subsequent information after the commencement of the pre-
filing process (50.5(e)), including a finalized Project Participation 
Plan, a summary of project alternatives, draft resource reports, and 
monthly status reports. After the conclusion of the pre-filing process, 
the regulations require applicants to file an application consisting of 
general project information (50.6) and ten exhibits (50.7), including 
project maps, an environmental report, engineering data, and system 
analysis data.
    Type of Respondent: Entities proposing to construct electric 
transmission facilities pursuant to the Commission's authority under 
section 216 of the FPA.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the annual 
public reporting burden \1\ for the information collection as:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ ``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 5 CFR 1320.3.
    \2\ FERC staff estimates that industry costs for salary plus 
benefits are similar to Commission costs. The cost figure is the 
FY2021 FERC average annual salary plus benefits ($180,702/year or 
$87/hour).

                                         FERC-729 (OMB Control No. 1902-0238): Electric Transmission Facilities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Annual number
                                         Number of      of responses    Total number      Average burden &  cost per       Total annual burden  hours &
                                        respondents    per respondent   of responses             response \2\                   total annual cost
                                                 (1)              (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).............................  (3) * (4) = (5)
                                                                                  (3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Transmission Facilities....               1                1               1  9,600, $835,200.................  9,600, $835,200.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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: April 11, 2022.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-08124 Filed 4-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P