[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 73 (Monday, April 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 23416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08026]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Proposed Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. 
Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy's (DOE, Office of Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy (EERE)), pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, intends to extend for three years with the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), the EERE Environmental Questionnaire (OMB 
No. 1910-5175).

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection 
extension must be received on or before June 16, 2023. If you 
anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, 
contact the person listed in ADDRESSES as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Lisa Jorgensen at: U.S. 
Department of Energy, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, or 
by email at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the EERE Environmental Questionnaire should be directed to 
Lisa Jorgensen at [email protected] or at (720) 356-1569. The 
EERE Environmental Questionnaire also is available for viewing in the 
Golden Field Office Public Reading Room at: www.energy.gov/node/2299401. If you have difficulty accessing this document, please contact 
Casey Strickland at (720) 356-1575.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on: (a) whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of DOE, including whether the information 
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of DOE'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.
    This information collection request contains:
    (1) OMB No.: 1910-5175;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Environmental Questionnaire;
    (3) Type of Request: Revision;
    (4) Purpose: The DOE's EERE provides federal funding through 
federal assistance programs to businesses, industries, universities, 
and other groups for renewable energy and energy efficiency research 
and development and demonstration projects. The National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires that an 
environmental analysis be completed for all major Federal actions 
significantly affecting the environment including projects entirely or 
partly financed by federal agencies. To effectively perform 
environmental analyses for these projects, the DOE's EERE needs to 
collect project-specific information from federal financial assistance 
awardees. DOE's EERE has developed its Environmental Questionnaire to 
obtain the required information and ensure that its decision-making 
processes are consistent with NEPA as it relates to renewable energy 
and energy efficiency research and development and demonstration 
projects. Minor changes have been made to the Environmental 
Questionnaire to standardize the process for collecting places of 
performance associated with a financial assistance project in an 
extractable and reportable format to better understand what communities 
are directly impacted by the projects being funded. Most of the changes 
only separated and created discrete data entry fields for information 
that was already being collected within the existing Environmental 
Questionnaire. One new data field was added for foreign location 
identification. The average hours per response and annual estimated 
number of burden hours remain the same.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 300;
    (6) Average Hours per Response: 1.5;
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 433; and
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: There 
is no cost associated with reporting and recordkeeping.
    Statutory Authority: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on April 11, 
2023, by Mathew Blevins, Director, Environment, Safety, and Health 
Office, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. 
That document with the original signature and date is maintained by 
DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with 
requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE 
Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit 
the document in electronic format for publication, as an official 
document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no 
way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-08026 Filed 4-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P