[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 43 (Monday, March 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15569-15570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04412]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. IC24-11-000]


Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-576); Comment 
Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.

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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-576 (Report of Service Interruptions or 
Damage to Facilities) (OMB Control Number 1902-0004).

DATES: Comments on the collections of information are due May 3, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit copies of your comments (identified by Docket 
No. IC24-11-000 and the specific FERC collection number (FERC-576)) by 
one of the following methods:
    Electronic filing through https://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 other delivery services:
    [cir] Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    [cir] All other delivery services: 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: https://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 https://www.ferc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Sonneman may be reached by email 
at [email protected], telephone at (202) 502-6362.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FERC-576, Report of Service Interruptions or Damage to 
Facilities.
    OMB Control No.: 1902-0004.
    Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-576 information 
collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting 
requirements.
    Abstract: Per 18 CFR 260.9, natural gas pipeline companies must 
report (i) damage to any jurisdictional natural gas facilities other 
than liquefied natural gas facilities caused by a hurricane, earthquake 
or other natural disaster or terrorist activity that results in a loss 
of or reduction in pipeline throughput or storage deliverability; and 
(ii) serious interruptions of service to any shipper involving 
jurisdictional natural gas facilities other than liquefied natural gas 
facilities.
    The notifications, made to the Director, Division of Pipeline

[[Page 15570]]

Certificates via email or fax as soon as feasibly possible, must state: 
(1) The location of the service interruption or damage to natural gas 
pipeline or storage facilities; (2) The nature of any damage to 
pipeline or storage facilities; (3) Specific identification of the 
facilities damaged; (4) The time the service interruption or damage to 
the facilities occurred; (5) The customers affected by the service 
interruption or damage to the facilities; (6) Emergency actions taken 
to maintain service; and (7) Company contact and telephone number. The 
information provided by these notifications are kept by the Commission 
and are not made part of the public record.
    In addition, if the Department of Transportation requires an 
incident report \1\ under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act (49 
U.S.C. 60101 through 60143), a copy of such report shall be submitted 
to the Director of the Commission's Division of Pipeline Certificates, 
within 30 days of the reportable incident. Natural gas companies must 
also send a copy of submitted incident reports to each state commission 
for the state(s) in which the reported service interruption 
occurred.\2\ If the Commission did not collect this information, it 
would lose a data point that assists in the monitoring of transactions, 
operations, and reliability of interstate pipelines.
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    \1\ The Department of Transportation defines ``incident'' at 49 
CFR 191.3. The regulatory thresholds for an ``incident report'' 
include (1) A death, or personal injury necessitating in-patient 
hospitalization; (2) Estimated property damage of $122,000 or more; 
(3) Unintentional estimated gas loss of three million cubic feet or 
more; (4) Emergency shutdown of a facility; or (5) An event that is 
significant in the judgment of the operator.
    \2\ See 18 CFR 260.9(d) and 260.9(e).
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    Type of Respondents: Natural gas companies experiencing service 
interruptions or damage to facilities.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the average 
annual burden and cost \3\ for this information collection as follows.
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    \3\ The Commission staff estimates that the average respondent 
for FERC-576 is similarly situated to the Commission, in terms of 
salary plus benefits. Based on FERC's current annual average of 
$207,786 (for salary plus benefits), the average hourly cost is 
$100/hour.

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                                               Annual number
                                 Number of     of responses    Total number    Average burden hours and    Total annual burden hours and     Cost per
                                respondents   per respondent   of responses     cost ($) per  response           total annual cost        respondent ($)
                                         (1)             (2)     (1) * (2) =  (4).......................  (3) * (4) = (5)...............       (5) / (1)
                                                                         (3)
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Notification of Incident--                50               1              50  1 hr.; $100.00............  50 hrs.; $5,000.00............         $100.00
 Service Interruption.
Notification of Incident--                22               1              22  0.25 hrs.; $25.00.........  5.5 hrs.; $550.00.............           25.00
 Damage.
Submittal of DOT Incident                 10               1              10  0.25 hrs.; $25.00.........  2.5 hrs.; $250.00.............           25.00
 Report.
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    Total...................              82  ..............  ..............  ..........................  58 hrs.; $5,800...............  ..............
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    Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collections 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 \4\ 
and cost of the collections of information, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collections; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collections of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
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    \4\ Burden is defined as 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 
collections burden, reference 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.

    Dated: February 26, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-04412 Filed 3-1-24; 8:45 am]
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