[Federal Register: January 6, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 3)]
[Notices]
[Page 643-644]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06ja04-77]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC03-568-001, FERC-568]
Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed
Collection; Comment Request; Submitted for OMB Review
December 24, 2003.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of section 3507 of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission) has submitted the information
collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review and extension of the current expiration date. Any interested
person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of
those comments to the Commission as explained below. The Commission
received no comments in response to an earlier Federal Register notice
of October 9, 2003 (68 FR 57680-82), and has made this notation in its
submission to OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by January 30,
2004.
ADDRESSES: Address comments on the collection of information to the
Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer.
Comments to OMB should be filed electronically, c/o Pamela--L.--
Beverly@omb.eop.gov and include the OMB Control No. as a point of
reference. The Desk Officer may be reached by telephone at 202-395-
7856. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, ED-30,
Attention: Michael Miller, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Comments may be filed either in paper format or electronically. Those
persons filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. For
paper filings, such comments should be submitted to the Office of the
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426 and should refer to Docket No. IC03-568-001.
Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in
WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To
file the document, access the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov
and click on ``Make an E-filing,'' and then follow the
instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a
user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic
acknowledgment to the sender's e-mail address upon receipt of comments.
User assistance for electronic filings is available at 202-502-8258 or
by e-mail to efiling@ferc.gov. Comments should not be submitted to the
e-mail address.
All comments are available for review at the Commission or may be
viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov, using the
``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three
digits in the docket number field to access the document. For
assistance, contact FERC Online
[[Page 644]]
Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at (866) 208-3676,
or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Miller may be reached by
telephone at (202) 502-8415, by fax at (202) 273-0873, and by e-mail at
michael.miller@ferc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description
The information collection submitted for OMB review contains the
following:
1. Collection of Information: FERC-568 ``Well Determinations''.
2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
3. Control No.: 1902-0112.
The Commission is now requesting that OMB approve a three-year
extension of the expiration date, with no changes to the existing
collection. The information filed with the Commission is mandatory.
4. Necessity of the Collection of Information: Submission of the
information is necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its
responsibilities in implementing the statutory provisions of section
503 of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA), 15 U.S.C. 3413. In
Order No. 616 (July 14, 2000), the Commission reinstated provisions for
making well category determinations for NGPA section 107 high-cost gas
wells. Natural gas wells with affirmative determinations under section
503 of the NGPA are eligible for a tax credit. Specifically, section 29
of the Internal Revenue Code allows natural gas producers to claim a
credit for qualified fuels determined to be high-cost natural gas
production. These include gas from geopressured brine, Devonian shale,
coal seams, and tight formations from wells completed in a previously
approved designated tight formation area.
5. One of three applicability rules must be met for any one of the
above gas well completions to qualify for the credit. The three
applicability rules are as follows:
i. A well where the surface drilling began after December 31, 1979,
but before January 1, 1993; or
ii. A recompletion commenced after January 1, 1993, in a well where
the surface drilling began after December 31, 1979, but before January
1, 1993; or
iii. A recompletion commenced after December 31, 1979, but before
January 1, 1993, where such gas could not have been produced from any
completion location in existence in the well bore before January 1,
1980.
Jurisdictional agencies are State agencies that conduct the initial
well determination and forward the completed application to the
Commission. The general filing requirements for filing with a
jurisdictional agency and the Commission are a FERC Form 121, all
available well completion reports, well logs with their headings, a
location plat, and an affidavit . These documents are the minimum
requirements to support a request for determination. However, the
jurisdictional agency may require additional documentation as it finds
necessary. In addition, the Commission may request any other
explanatory statement with factual findings and references or a copy of
all other materials that the jurisdictional agency relied upon during
the course of making the determination, in order to assist the
Commission in its review of the initial determination.
Review of an initial determination involves collating all of the
information from the FERC Form No. 121 application and the completion
reports, well logs, location plat, and affidavit. These latter
documents make up the documents submitted under FERC-568. The
completion interval on the FERC Form 121 application is identified in
the completion report, which illustrates the type of natural gas
production treatment (i.e., perforation, acidization, fracturing,
etc.). Evidence of natural gas production is further supported by the
well log(s), which explicitly distinguish the interval boundaries
within the formation and identify natural gas characteristics. The
location plat is a map that identifies the surface location of the well
and the completion location in the well. Finally, the affidavit is a
statement made by the applicant, under oath, that the natural gas is
produced from one of three applicability rules identified above.
The Commission's staff uses the information to review the initial
determinations in order to ascertain if the submissions are eligible
for the section 29 tax credit. In fiscal years 2001 and 2002 the
Commission processed over 2,500 determinations. For fiscal year 2003,
the Commission processed an additional 1,600 determinations for a total
of over 4,100 determinations since the issuance of Order 616 and the
implementation of the program in October 2000. The Commission
implements these filing requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) under 18 CFR part 270.
6. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently
comprises 1,400 companies (on average per year) subject to the
Commission's jurisdiction
7. Estimated Burden: 8,414 total hours per year (25,242 hours for 3
year period), 1,400 respondents (average per year), 1 response per
respondent, and 6.01 hours per response (average).
8. Estimated Cost Burden to Respondents: 8,414 hours/2,080 hours
per year x $107,185 per year = $433,584. The cost per respondent is
equal to $310.00.
Statutory Authority: Section 503 of the Natural Gas Policy Act
of 1978, 15 U.S.C. 3413.
Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-151 Filed 1-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P