[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 145 (Monday, July 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49458-49459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16163]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, intends to extend an information 
collection request with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 3 
years with ministerial changes. The current OMB control number 1910-
5136 for WAPA's Applicant Profile Data (APD) form expires March 31, 
2024. WAPA intends to extend the APD form under the OMB control number 
to March 31, 2027. WAPA is seeking comments on this proposed 
information collection extension.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before the end of the comment period that closes on 
September 29, 2023. If you anticipate any difficulty in submitting 
comments within that period, contact the person listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Mr. Christopher Magee, 
Records and Information Management Program Manager, Western Area Power 
Administration, P.O. Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228, or by email to 
[email protected]. Please refer to ``Paperwork Reduction Act Information 
Collection'' as the subject of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Mr. Christopher Magee, 
Records and Information Management Program Manager, Western Area Power 
Administration, PO Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228, telephone 720-962-
7139, or email [email protected]. The proposed APD form is available on 
WAPA's website at www.wapa.gov/PowerMarketing/Pages/applicant-profile-data.aspx.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the 
extended collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have 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.
    This information collection request relates to: (1) OMB No.: 1910-
5136; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Western Area Power 
Administration Applicant Profile Data; (3) Type of Review: Renewal; (4) 
Purpose: The proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of WAPA's power marketing functions. WAPA markets a 
limited amount of Federal hydropower and has discretion to determine 
who will receive an allocation of Federal hydropower. Due to the 
limited quantity and high demand for WAPA's hydropower available under 
established marketing plans, WAPA may need to collect information using 
the APD to evaluate the entities applying to receive allocations of 
Federal hydropower; (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 33; (6) 
Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 33; (7) Annual Estimated 
Number of Burden Hours: 250; and (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and 
Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $37,221.50.

I. Statutory Authority

    The Reclamation Act of 1902 established the Federal reclamation 
program.\1\ The basic principle of the Reclamation Act of 1902 was that 
the United States, through the Secretary of the Interior, would build 
and operate irrigation works from the proceeds of public land sales in 
sixteen arid Western states (a seventeenth, Texas, was added in 1906). 
The Reclamation Project Act of 1939 expanded the purposes of the 
reclamation program and specified certain terms for contracts that the 
Secretary of the Interior enters into to furnish water and power.\2\ 
Congress enacted the Reclamation Laws for purposes that include 
enhancing navigation, protection from floods, reclaiming the arid lands 
in the Western United States, and for fish and wildlife.\3\ Congress 
intended that the production of power would be a supplemental feature 
of the multi-purpose water projects authorized under the Reclamation 
Laws.\4\ Section 9 of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 provides that 
no contract entered into by the United States for power may, in the 
judgment of the Secretary, ``impair the efficiency of the project for 
irrigation purposes.'' \5\ Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944, 
as amended,\6\ is read in pari materia with the Reclamation Laws with 
respect to

[[Page 49459]]

WAPA.\7\ In 1977, section 302 of the Department of Energy Organization 
Act transferred the power marketing functions of the Department of the 
Interior to the Secretary of Energy, acting by and through a separate 
Administrator for WAPA.\8\ Under this authority, WAPA markets Federal 
hydropower. As part of WAPA's marketing authority, WAPA needs to obtain 
information from interested entities who desire an allocation of 
Federal power using the APD form. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
requires WAPA to obtain a clearance from OMB before collecting this 
information through the APD form.\9\
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    \1\ See Act of June 17, 1902, ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 388 (1902), as 
amended and supplemented.
    \2\ See Act of Aug. 4, 1939, ch. 418, 53 Stat. 1187 (1939), as 
amended and supplemented.
    \3\ See, e.g., Act of Oct. 26, 1937, ch. 832, 50 Stat. 844, 850 
(1937), as amended and supplemented.
    \4\ See id.
    \5\ 43 U.S.C. 485h(c)(1).
    \6\ 16 U.S.C. 825s.
    \7\ See, e.g., United States v. Sacramento Mun. Util. Dist., 652 
F.2d 1341, 1345 n.4 (9th Cir. 1981) (citing N. Cal. Power Agency v. 
Morton, 396 F. Supp. 1187, 1189 (D.D.C. 1975). See also Disposition 
of Surplus Power Generated at Clark Hill Reservoir Project, 41 Op. 
Att'y Gen. 236, 245 (1955).
    \8\ See 42 U.S.C. 7152(a)(1)(E).
    \9\ See 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
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II. This Process Determines the Format of the APD and Is Not a Call for 
Applications

    This public process and the associated Federal Register notice only 
determine the information that WAPA will collect from an entity 
desiring to apply for a Federal power allocation. This public process 
is a legal requirement that WAPA must fulfill before WAPA can request 
information from potential preference customers.
    This public process is not the process whereby interested parties 
request an allocation of Federal power. The actual allocation of power 
is outside the scope of this proceeding. Please do not submit a request 
for Federal power in this process. Later, and as appropriate, WAPA will 
issue calls for applications as part of project-specific marketing 
plans. When WAPA issues a call for applications, the information WAPA 
proposes to collect is voluntary. WAPA will use the information 
collected, in conjunction with its project-specific marketing plans, to 
determine an entity's eligibility, and ultimately which entities will 
receive an allocation of Federal power.

III. Invitation for Comments

    WAPA intends to extend and reuse the APD form approved under OMB 
control number 1910-5136. The extension would continue use of the form 
through March 31, 2027. WAPA is proposing some ministerial changes to 
the APD. The proposed APD form, including a list of ministerial changes 
and the reason for such changes, is available on WAPA's website at 
http://www.wapa.gov/PowerMarketing/Pages/applicant-profile-data.aspx. 
Comments are invited on: (1) whether the extended collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on applicants, 
including the use of automated electronic, mechanical or other 
collection techniques, or other forms of information technology. After 
considering all public comments, WAPA will publish a second notice in 
the Federal Register submitting the APD to OMB.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on July 24, 
2023, by Tracey LeBeau, Administrator, 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.

Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-16163 Filed 7-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P