[Federal Register: April 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 74)]
[Notices]
[Page 18974-18975]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ap03-59]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC03-539-001, FERC-539]
Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed
Collection; Comment Request; Submitted for OMB Review
April 10, 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 January 28, 2003 (68 FR 4183-84) and has made this notation in its
submission to OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by May 14,
2003.
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,
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. 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. IC03-539-001.
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 may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the
Internet through FERC's homepage using the FERRIS link. User assistance
for FERRIS is available at 202-502-8222, or by e-mail to
Webmaster@ferc.gov. or the Public Reference at (202)-8371 Press 0, TTY
(202) 502-8659 or by e-mail to public.reference.room@ferc.gov.
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-539 ``Gas Pipeline Certificates:
Import/Export''
2. Sponsor: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
3. Control No. 1902-0062.
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.
Requests for confidential treatment of the information are provided for
under Section 388.112 of the Commission's regulations.
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 3
of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), 15 U.S.C. 717-717w. Section 3 requires
prior authorization before exporting or importing natural gas from or
to the United States. Section 3 authorizes the Commission to grant an
application, in whole or in part, with modifications and upon terms and
conditions as the Commission may find necessary or appropriate. The
1992 amendments to Section 3 of the NGA concern the importation or
exportation from/to a nation which has a free trade agreement with the
United States. With the passage of both the North American Free Trade
Agreement and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the construction,
operation and sitting of import or export facilities are also the
subject of the Commission's regulatory focus.
In Order No. 608, 64 FR 51209-51222 (September 22, 1999), the
Commission created voluntary procedures whereby prospective applicants
could use a collaborative process to resolve significant issues prior
to filing an application. This collaborative process allows applicants
and interested parties to come together and come to mutual agreements
that may help to defuse some of the controversial issues which may
otherwise arise once an application has been filed with the Commission.
[[Page 18975]]
The pre-filing consultation process combines efforts to address NGA
issues with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process
into a single pre-filing collaborative process that also includes the
administrative processes associated with the Clean Water Act, the
National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act and
other relevant statutes. Combining the pre-filing consultation and
environmental review into a single pre-filing process simplifies and
expedites the authorization of gas facilities and services.
The Commission uses the information to determine the
appropriateness of the proposed facilities and their proposed location.
The determination involves among other things, an examination of
adequacy of design, cost, reliability, redundancy and environmental
acceptability. The information is necessary for the Commission to make
a determination that the facilities and location are consistent with
the public interest. The Commission implements these filing
requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part
153.
5. Respondent Description: The respondent universe currently
comprises 12 companies (on average) subject to the Commission's
jurisdiction
6. Estimated Burden: 2,886 total hours, 12 respondents(average), 1
response per respondent, 241 hours per response (average).
7. Estimated Cost Burden to respondents: 2,886 hours / 2080 hours
per years x $117,041 per year = $162,394. The cost per respondent is
equal to $13,533.00.
Statutory Authority: Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C.
717-717w.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-9522 Filed 4-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P