Modification of Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund Guidelines, 34340-34343 [05-11532]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations
PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A,
CLASS B, CLASS C, CLASS D, AND
CLASS E AIRSPACE AREAS; ROUTES;
AND REPORTING POINTS.
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR
part 71 continues to read as follows:
I
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113,
40120; E. O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959–
1963 Comp., p. 389.
§ 71.1
[Amended]
2. The incorporation by reference in 14
CFR part 71.1 of the Federal Aviation
Administration Order 7400.9M,
Airspace Designations and Reporting
Points, dated August 30, 2004, and
effective September 16, 2004, is
amended as follows:
I
Paragraph 6005. Class E Airspace area
extending upward from 700 feet or more
above the surface of the earth.
*
*
*
*
*
ANM CO E5 Wray, CO [Revised]
Wray Municipal Airport
(Lat. 40°06′01″N., long. 102°14′27″W.)
That airspace extending upward from 700
feet above the surface within a 6.5 mile
radius of the Wray Municipal Airport; that
airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet
above the surface bounded by a line
beginning at airway V80 and long.
102°00′00″W.; thence south via long.
102°00′00″W.; thence west via V4; thence
north via V169; thence east via V80; thence
to the point of origin; excluding that airspace
within Federal airways.
*
*
*
*
*
Issued in Seattle, Washington on May 24,
2005.
Danial T. Mawhorter,
Acting Area Director, Western En Route and
Oceanic Operations.
[FR Doc. 05–11671 Filed 6–13–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–M
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
guidelines to remove the requirement
that the financial report that public
utilities furnish to the Commission each
year must show all purchases and sales
of investments and substitute a
requirement that public utilities must
include in their report a summary
amount for purchases of fund
investments and a summary amount for
sales of fund investments. All other
reporting requirements in the special
provisions that relate to Fund reports
remain in place; e.g., records of
individual purchases and sales of
investments must still be maintained
even if such individual transactions are
not routinely reported. These
modifications are the result of a review
conducted by the Commission’s
Information Assessment Team (FIAT),
identifying the Commission’s current
information collections, evaluating their
original purposes and current uses, and
proposing ways to reduce the reporting
burden on industry through the
elimination, reduction, streamlining or
reformatting of current collections.
These changes in the Commission’s
regulations will reduce the reporting
burden on the electric industry while
simultaneously simplifying Fund
reports and making it easier for the
Commission to review them.
DATES: Effective Date: The rule will
become effective upon July 14, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William O. Blome (Legal information),
Office of the General Counsel, Division
of Energy Projects, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
(202) 502–8426.
Joseph C. Lynch (Legal information),
Office of the General Counsel, Division
of Market Tariffs and Rates, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
(202) 502–8497.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
Before Commissioners: Pat Wood, III,
Chairman; Nora Mead Brownell, Joseph T.
Kelliher, and Suedeen G. Kelly.
18 CFR Part 35
Introduction
[Docket No. RM05–15–000; Order No. 658]
1. This Final Rule deletes from the
Commission’s regulations the
requirement that the nuclear plant
decommissioning trust fund report that
public utilities furnish to the
Commission each year must show all
purchases and sales of trust fund
investments. This Final Rule instead
requires that public utilities must
include in their annual trust fund
report, only a summary amount for
purchases of fund investments and a
summary amount for sales of fund
investments. All other requirements in
Modification of Nuclear Plant
Decommissioning Trust Fund
Guidelines
Issued May 27, 2005.
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
amending its nuclear plant
decommissioning trust fund (Fund)
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the regulations pertaining to nuclear
plant decommissioning trust funds
remain in place, including maintaining
records of each purchase or sale of a
trust fund investment so that, as
appropriate, the Commission may
review them. These changes in the
Commission’s nuclear plant
decommissioning trust fund regulations
resulted from a review of the
Commission’s regulations conducted by
the Commission’s Information
Assessment Team (FIAT) that was
tasked to assess the Commission’s
information needs. The tasks identified
to meet this mission included
identifying all of the Commission’s
current information collections, through
forms and filing requirements (electric,
hydropower, natural gas, oil and
general) and evaluating their original
purposes and current uses, and
proposing ways to reduce the reporting
burden on industry through elimination,
reduction, streamlining or reformatting
of current collections. The
modifications to the Commission’s
nuclear plant decommissioning trust
fund regulations contained in this final
rule will reduce the reporting burden on
the electric industry, while
simultaneously simplifying reports filed
with and reviewed by the Commission.
Background
2. On June 16, 1995, the Commission
issued Order No. 580,1 establishing
requirements for the formation,
organization, and operation of nuclear
plant decommissioning trust funds
(Fund) and for Fund investments. Order
No. 580 established requirements for the
organization and operation of the Fund,
and for the particular investments
which the Fund may make.
3. Order No. 580 provided, among
other things, that a Fund must be an
external Fund and that a Fund Trustee
must be independent of the public
utility, have a net worth of at least $100
million, exercise the care that a
reasonable person would exercise in the
same circumstances, keep accurate and
detailed records, and open the Fund to
inspection and audit.
4. Order No. 580 further provided that
the Trustee may not invest in any
securities of the public utility that owns
the nuclear plant or in that public
utility’s affiliates, associates, successors
or assigns and may only use the Fund
to decommission the nuclear plant to
1 Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund
Guidelines, Order No. 580, 60 FR 34109 (June 30,
1995), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles
1991–1996 ¶ 31,023 (1995), order on reh’g, Order
No. 580–A, 62 FR 33342 (June 12, 1997), FERC
Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles 1996–2000
¶ 31,055 (1997) (Order No. 580).
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations
which the Fund relates and to pay the
administrative and other expenses of the
Fund, including taxes. Public utilities
are to deposit all decommissioning
collections into the Fund at least
quarterly and to refund all excess
collections to customers in the manner
that the Commission prescribes.
5. As relevant here, the public utility
must submit to the Commission, by
March 31 of each year, one original and
three conformed copies of a financial
report that shows for the previous
calendar year: (a) The activity of the
Fund during the period, including
amounts received from the public
utility, purchases and sales of
investments, gains and losses from
investment activity, disbursements from
the Fund for decommissioning activity,
and payment of Fund expenses,
including taxes; and (b) Fund assets and
liabilities at the beginning and end of
the period (excluding the liability for
decommissioning).
Discussion
6. The intent of this Final Rule is to
clarify exactly what information should
be submitted in the annual financial
report to the Commission. Many public
utilities include in their yearly reports
of Fund activity every purchase and sale
transaction that the Fund engaged in
over the course of the year. This practice
results in trust fund reports that are
hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of
pages long. It is difficult, and sometimes
impossible, to find pertinent
information. Some of the computerized
files that the public utilities are
forwarding to the Commission from
their Trustees are so large that the
Commission cannot open them, or they
take an inordinately long time to access.
While it is important for public utilities
(and the Trustees) to maintain complete
records, it is not necessary that the
Commission routinely receive this
volume of information each year for
each Fund.
7. The difficulty arises from the
inclusion of the phrase ‘‘purchases and
sales of investments’’ in 18 CFR
35.33(d)(2). What the Commission needs
is typically not information on every
individual transaction, but summaries
of purchases and sales transactions of
Fund investments. When describing the
activity of the Fund during the reporting
period, public utilities with nuclear
plants should only report to the
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Commission the amounts that the Fund
received from the public utility, the
gains and losses from overall investment
activity, disbursements from the Fund
for decommissioning activity, payment
of Fund expenses, including taxes, and
the Fund assets and liabilities
(excluding the liability for
decommissioning) at the beginning and
end of the reporting period. This is the
information that the Commission
routinely needs.
8. Accordingly, the Commission is
deleting the phrase ‘‘purchases and
sales of investments’’ from 18 CFR
35.33(d)(2) and substituting the
requirement that public utilities must
include in their filing a summary
amount for purchases of Fund
investments and a summary amount for
sales of Fund investments.
9. The Commission is also adding an
express requirement that, consistent
with section 35.32(a)(7) of the
Commission’s regulations,2 public
utilities owning nuclear plants must
maintain records of individual
purchases and sales transactions until
after decommissioning has been
completed and any excess jurisdictional
amounts have been returned to
ratepayers in a manner that the
Commission determines. Public utilities
need not include these records in the
yearly report furnished to the
Commission. It was understood in Order
No. 580 that the public utilities would
maintain records of purchases and sales
of Fund investments.3 They must do
this to administer the Fund prudently.
The Commission is now expressly
incorporating this requirement into its
regulations. That is, the Commission
will now expressly require that public
utilities continue to maintain records of
individual purchases and sales of
investments. At any time, of course, the
Commission can review these records to
ensure that the Fund is conforming to
the Commission’s nuclear plant
decommissioning trust fund
guidelines.4
Information Collection Statement
10. Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) regulations require OMB to
approve certain information collection
PO 00000
2 18
CFR 35.32(a)(7).
18 CFR 35.32(a)(5).
3 See
4 Id.
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requirements imposed by agency rule.5
Comments are solicited on the
Commission’s need for this information,
whether the information will have
practical utility, the accuracy of
provided burden estimates, ways to
enhance the quality, utility and clarity
of the information to be collected, and
any suggested methods for minimizing
respondents’ burden, including the use
of automated information techniques.
The information collection requirements
for this final rule are contained in
FERC–516, ‘‘Electric Rate Filings’’
(1902–0096).
Estimated Annual Burden
11. This final rule clarifies the
Commission’s requirements regarding
the organization and operation of Funds
and the investment of Fund assets. The
Commission estimates that the public
reporting requirements for the
information collection requirements at
issue contained in this rule average two
hours per response. Public utilities
submit this information to the
Commission on an annual basis. The
Commission estimates that the number
of respondents is 53. As there are an
average of two responses per year by
each affected public utility (a separate
annual report is filed for each nuclear
plant, and some respondents have
interests in more than one nuclear
plant), the annual burden associated
with this information requirement is
212 hours. The burden estimate
includes the time required to implement
the revised standards, search existing
data sources, gather and maintain the
data needed, and complete and review
the information.
12. As noted immediately above, the
Commission currently receives reports
from 53 companies.6 The Commission
estimates that, under its current rules, it
takes four hours to prepare and submit
a report. By reducing the content of the
report from filing each purchase and
sales transaction to filing summary
amounts for purchases and sales of fund
investments, this final rule reduces the
amount of time necessary to prepare and
submit a report from four to two hours.
The estimates shown in the table below
reflect the total burden that the final
rule will impose.
55
CFR 1320.11.
is a decrease from the 72 companies
estimated in Order No. 580.
6 This
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations
Data collection
Number of
respondents
Number of
hours
Average
number of
responses
per year
Total annual
hours
FERC–516 .......................................................................................................
53
2
2
212
Title: Nuclear Plant Decommissioning
Trust Fund Guidelines (FERC–516
[Electric Rate Filings]).
Action: Modification of collection.
OMB Control No. 1902–0096.
Respondents: Public utilities owning
nuclear power plants.
Frequency of Responses: Annually.
Necessity of Information: The
Commission uses the data collected in
these information requirements to carry
out its regulatory responsibilities under
the Federal Power Act (FPA). The
Commission’s Office of Markets, Tariffs,
and Rates uses the data for evaluating
electric rate filings submitted by the
industry. The Division of Financial
Audits of the Office of Market Oversight
and Investigations uses the data in
assessing whether jurisdictional
companies are complying with the
requirements of the Uniform System of
Accounts and the Commission’s
regulations.
Internal Review: The Commission has
reviewed this amendment to its
regulations to eliminate the necessity of
reporting annually every individual
purchase and sale of investments that
the Fund has transacted during the year,
and has determined that this
modification of its regulations is
necessary to facilitate its review of Fund
activities. The modification, moreover,
conforms to the Commission’s plan for
efficient information collection,
communication, and management
within the electric utility industry. The
Commission has assured itself, by
means of internal review, that there is
specific, objective support for the
burden estimates associated with the
information/data retention
requirements.
13. Interested parties may file
comments regarding these burden
estimates or any other aspect of this
information collection requirement,
including suggestions for reducing this
burden, with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426
[Attention: Michael Miller, Office of
Executive Director, Phone: (202) 502–
8415, FAX (202) 273–0873, e-mail:
michael.miller@ferc.gov]. Comments on
the requirements of this rule may also
be sent to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, Washington,
DC 20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for
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the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission—(202) 395–4650.]
Environmental Analysis
14. The Commission is required to
prepare an Environmental Assessment
or an Environmental Impact Statement
for any action that may have a
significant adverse effect on the human
environment.7 The Commission has
categorically excluded certain actions
from this requirement as not having a
significant effect on the human
environment—such as rules relating to
information gathering, analysis, and
dissemination and rules relating to
electric rate filings under sections 205
and 206 of the FPA and the
establishment of just and reasonable
rates.8 This Final Rule involves
information gathering and analysis, and
the collection and subsequent
investment of money to fund nuclear
plant decommissioning affects the rates
that public utilities charge under
sections 205 and 206 of the FPA, and
whether those rates are just and
reasonable. Accordingly, no
environmental consideration is
necessary.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
15. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of
1980 (RFA) requires rulemakings to
contain either a description and analysis
of the effect that the rule will have on
small entities or to contain a
certification that the rule will not have
a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.9
Most public utilities to which the Final
Rule would apply do not fall within the
RFA’s definition of small entity.10
Consequently, the Commission certifies
7 Regulations Implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR
47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs.
Regulations Preambles 1986–1990 ¶ 30,783 (1987).
8 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5), (15).
9 5 U.S.C. 601–12.
10 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small
Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. Section 3 of the Small
Business Act defines a ‘‘small business concern’’ as
a business that is independently owned and
operated and that is not dominant in its field of
operation. 15 U.S.C. 632. The Small Business Size
Standards component of the North American
Industry Classification System defines a small
electric utility as one that, including its affiliates,
is primarily engaged in the generation,
transmission, and/or distribution of electric energy
for sale and whose total electric output for the
preceding fiscal year did not exceed four million
MWh. 13 CFR 121.201.
PO 00000
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that this Final Rule will not have ‘‘a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.’’
Document Availability
16. In addition to publishing the full
text of this document in the Federal
Register, the Commission provides all
interested persons an opportunity to
view and print the contents of this
document via the Internet through the
Commission’s Home Page (https://
www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission’s
Public Reference Room during normal
business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE.,
Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
17. From the Commission’s Home
Page on the Internet, this information is
available in its eLibrary. The full text of
this document is available in the
eLibrary both in PDF and Microsoft
Word format for viewing, printing, and
downloading. To access this document
in eLibrary, type the docket number
excluding the last three digits of this
document in the docket number field.
18. User assistance is available for
eLibrary and the Commission’s Web site
during normal business hours. For
assistance contact FERC Online Support
at FERCOnlineSupport@FERC.gov or
toll-free at (800) 208–3676, or for TTY,
contact (202) 502–8659. Or you may email the Public Reference Room at
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
Administrative Findings and Effective
Date
19. The Administrative Procedure Act
(APA) 11 requires rulemakings to be
published in the Federal Register. The
APA also mandates that an opportunity
for comment be provided when an
agency promulgates regulations.
However, notice and comment are not
required under the APA when the
agency for good cause finds that notice
and public procedure thereon are
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary
to the public interest.12 The
Commission finds that notice and
comment are unnecessary to this
rulemaking. As explained above, the
Commission is merely clarifying the
proper scope of an annual report
required by its regulations regarding the
reporting of information on nuclear
11 5
12 5
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U.S.C. 551–559.
U.S.C. 553b(3)(B).
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 14, 2005 / Rules and Regulations
34343
plant trust funds. This clarification does
not change existing law or policy. It
substantially reduces a reporting
requirement and reduces the reporting
burden on the electric industry.
Accordingly, this rule is effective 30
days following publication in the
Federal Register.
and any excess jurisdictional amounts
have been returned to ratepayers in a
manner that the Commission
determines. The public utility need not
include these records in the financial
report that it furnishes to the
Commission by March 31 of each year.
*
*
*
*
*
Andrew L. Lyon (Legal Information),
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426, (202) 502–8637.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Congressional Notification
20. The Commission has determined,
with the concurrence of the
Administrator, Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of
Management and Budget, that this rule
is not a ‘‘major rule’’ within the
meaning of section 251 of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996.13 The Commission
will submit this Final Rule to both
houses of Congress and the General
Accounting Office.14
[FR Doc. 05–11532 Filed 6–13–05; 8:45 am]
Introduction
1. The Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission or FERC) is
revising the ‘‘FERC Form No. 73, Oil
Pipeline Service Life Data’’ which is
used to collect service life depreciation
data from oil pipeline companies.1 This
final rule will allow for filing in an
Excel spreadsheet, eliminate the filing
requirement for utility codes, which are
no longer used by the Commission, and
update the filing instructions to delete
references to outdated filing formats.
These modifications resulted from a
review conducted by the Commission’s
FERC Information Assessment Team
(FIAT) of the Commission’s current
reporting and information collections to
evaluate their original purposes and
current uses and to propose ways to
reduce the reporting burden on industry
through the elimination, reduction,
streamlining or reformatting of current
collections. The Commission’s
objectives in issuing this rule are to
reduce the reporting burden on oil
pipeline companies and to make it
easier for the Commission to process the
data used in the analysis of oil pipeline
depreciation rates and service lives.
List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 35
Electric power rates, Electric utilities,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
By the Commission.
Linda Mitry,
Deputy Secretary.
In consideration of the foregoing, the
Commission amends Part 35, Chapter I,
Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as
follows:
I
PART 35—FILING OF RATE
SCHEDULES AND TARIFFS
1.The authority citation for Part 35
continues to read as follows:
I
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791a–825r, 2601–
2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352.
2. Section 35.33 is amended by
revising paragraph (d)(2) and adding
paragraph (d)(4) to read as follows:
I
§ 35.33
Specific provisions.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) * * *
(2) Activity of the Fund during the
period, including amounts received
from the utility, a summary amount for
purchases of fund investments and a
summary amount for sales of fund
investments, gains and losses from
investment activity, disbursements from
the Fund for decommissioning activity
and payment of Fund expenses,
including taxes; and
*
*
*
*
*
(4) Public utilities owning nuclear
plants must maintain records of
individual purchase and sales
transactions until after
decommissioning has been completed
13 5
14 5
U.S.C. 804(2).
U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
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BILLING CODE 6717–01–U
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
18 CFR Parts 347 and 357
[Docket No. RM05–14–000; Order No. 656]
Revision of FERC Form No. 73, Oil
Pipeline Data Filing Instructions
Issued May 27, 2005.
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
amending the FERC Form No. 73, Oil
Pipeline Service Life Data to allow for
filing in an Excel spreadsheet, eliminate
the filing requirement for utility codes,
which are no longer used by the
Commission, and update the filing
instructions to delete references to
outdated filing formats. These
modifications resulted from a review
conducted by the Commission’s FERC
Information Assessment Team (FIAT) of
the Commission’s current reporting and
information collection requirements to
evaluate their original purposes and
current uses and to propose ways to
reduce the reporting burden on industry
through the elimination, reduction,
streamlining or reformatting of current
collections. The information collected
on FERC Form No. 73 assists the
Commission in the selection of
appropriate oil pipeline service lives
and book depreciation rates. Some oil
pipeline companies use the book
depreciation rates to compute their
operating expenses for accounting and
cost of service purposes.
DATES: Effective: The rule will become
effective August 15, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Edward J. Fowlkes (Technical
Information), Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8772.
Joseph C. Athey (Technical
Information), Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8138.
PO 00000
Frm 00041
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Before Commissioners: Pat Wood, III,
Chairman; Nora Mead Brownell, Joseph T.
Kelliher, and Suedeen G. Kelly.
Background
2. Commission jurisdiction over oil
pipelines was transferred from the
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
pursuant to sections 305 and 402 of the
Department of Energy Organization Act
(DOE Act) 2 and Executive Order No.
12,009.3 The scope of this Commission’s
jurisdiction over oil pipelines includes
the authority to regulate their rates and
charges for the transportation of oil in
interstate commerce, and the authority
to establish valuations. Section 705(a) of
the DOE Act provides that the rules and
regulations relating to functions
transferred to this Commission will
continue in effect until modified by the
Commission. Commission regulations
1 The revised format for FERC Form No. 73 will
not be printed in the Federal Register or the Code
of Federal Regualtions. A copy of the revised form,
including all instructions to the form, is available
for request and review at the Public Reference
Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to
5 p.m. Eastern Time), Room 2A, 888 First Street
NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8371.
2 42 U.S.C. 7155 nad 7172 (2000).
3 Providing for the Effectuation of the Department
of Energy Organization Act, 42 FR 46267 (Sept. 13,
1977).
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34340-34343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11532]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
18 CFR Part 35
[Docket No. RM05-15-000; Order No. 658]
Modification of Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund
Guidelines
Issued May 27, 2005.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
amending its nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund (Fund) guidelines
to remove the requirement that the financial report that public
utilities furnish to the Commission each year must show all purchases
and sales of investments and substitute a requirement that public
utilities must include in their report a summary amount for purchases
of fund investments and a summary amount for sales of fund investments.
All other reporting requirements in the special provisions that relate
to Fund reports remain in place; e.g., records of individual purchases
and sales of investments must still be maintained even if such
individual transactions are not routinely reported. These modifications
are the result of a review conducted by the Commission's Information
Assessment Team (FIAT), identifying the Commission's current
information collections, evaluating their original purposes and current
uses, and proposing ways to reduce the reporting burden on industry
through the elimination, reduction, streamlining or reformatting of
current collections. These changes in the Commission's regulations will
reduce the reporting burden on the electric industry while
simultaneously simplifying Fund reports and making it easier for the
Commission to review them.
DATES: Effective Date: The rule will become effective upon July 14,
2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William O. Blome (Legal information),
Office of the General Counsel, Division of Energy Projects, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC
20426. (202) 502-8426.
Joseph C. Lynch (Legal information), Office of the General Counsel,
Division of Market Tariffs and Rates, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. (202) 502-
8497.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Before Commissioners: Pat Wood, III, Chairman; Nora Mead Brownell,
Joseph T. Kelliher, and Suedeen G. Kelly.
Introduction
1. This Final Rule deletes from the Commission's regulations the
requirement that the nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund report
that public utilities furnish to the Commission each year must show all
purchases and sales of trust fund investments. This Final Rule instead
requires that public utilities must include in their annual trust fund
report, only a summary amount for purchases of fund investments and a
summary amount for sales of fund investments. All other requirements in
the regulations pertaining to nuclear plant decommissioning trust funds
remain in place, including maintaining records of each purchase or sale
of a trust fund investment so that, as appropriate, the Commission may
review them. These changes in the Commission's nuclear plant
decommissioning trust fund regulations resulted from a review of the
Commission's regulations conducted by the Commission's Information
Assessment Team (FIAT) that was tasked to assess the Commission's
information needs. The tasks identified to meet this mission included
identifying all of the Commission's current information collections,
through forms and filing requirements (electric, hydropower, natural
gas, oil and general) and evaluating their original purposes and
current uses, and proposing ways to reduce the reporting burden on
industry through elimination, reduction, streamlining or reformatting
of current collections. The modifications to the Commission's nuclear
plant decommissioning trust fund regulations contained in this final
rule will reduce the reporting burden on the electric industry, while
simultaneously simplifying reports filed with and reviewed by the
Commission.
Background
2. On June 16, 1995, the Commission issued Order No. 580,\1\
establishing requirements for the formation, organization, and
operation of nuclear plant decommissioning trust funds (Fund) and for
Fund investments. Order No. 580 established requirements for the
organization and operation of the Fund, and for the particular
investments which the Fund may make.
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\1\ Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund Guidelines, Order
No. 580, 60 FR 34109 (June 30, 1995), FERC Stats. & Regs.,
Regulations Preambles 1991-1996 ] 31,023 (1995), order on reh'g,
Order No. 580-A, 62 FR 33342 (June 12, 1997), FERC Stats. & Regs.,
Regulations Preambles 1996-2000 ] 31,055 (1997) (Order No. 580).
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3. Order No. 580 provided, among other things, that a Fund must be
an external Fund and that a Fund Trustee must be independent of the
public utility, have a net worth of at least $100 million, exercise the
care that a reasonable person would exercise in the same circumstances,
keep accurate and detailed records, and open the Fund to inspection and
audit.
4. Order No. 580 further provided that the Trustee may not invest
in any securities of the public utility that owns the nuclear plant or
in that public utility's affiliates, associates, successors or assigns
and may only use the Fund to decommission the nuclear plant to
[[Page 34341]]
which the Fund relates and to pay the administrative and other expenses
of the Fund, including taxes. Public utilities are to deposit all
decommissioning collections into the Fund at least quarterly and to
refund all excess collections to customers in the manner that the
Commission prescribes.
5. As relevant here, the public utility must submit to the
Commission, by March 31 of each year, one original and three conformed
copies of a financial report that shows for the previous calendar year:
(a) The activity of the Fund during the period, including amounts
received from the public utility, purchases and sales of investments,
gains and losses from investment activity, disbursements from the Fund
for decommissioning activity, and payment of Fund expenses, including
taxes; and (b) Fund assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of
the period (excluding the liability for decommissioning).
Discussion
6. The intent of this Final Rule is to clarify exactly what
information should be submitted in the annual financial report to the
Commission. Many public utilities include in their yearly reports of
Fund activity every purchase and sale transaction that the Fund engaged
in over the course of the year. This practice results in trust fund
reports that are hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of pages long. It
is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to find pertinent information.
Some of the computerized files that the public utilities are forwarding
to the Commission from their Trustees are so large that the Commission
cannot open them, or they take an inordinately long time to access.
While it is important for public utilities (and the Trustees) to
maintain complete records, it is not necessary that the Commission
routinely receive this volume of information each year for each Fund.
7. The difficulty arises from the inclusion of the phrase
``purchases and sales of investments'' in 18 CFR 35.33(d)(2). What the
Commission needs is typically not information on every individual
transaction, but summaries of purchases and sales transactions of Fund
investments. When describing the activity of the Fund during the
reporting period, public utilities with nuclear plants should only
report to the Commission the amounts that the Fund received from the
public utility, the gains and losses from overall investment activity,
disbursements from the Fund for decommissioning activity, payment of
Fund expenses, including taxes, and the Fund assets and liabilities
(excluding the liability for decommissioning) at the beginning and end
of the reporting period. This is the information that the Commission
routinely needs.
8. Accordingly, the Commission is deleting the phrase ``purchases
and sales of investments'' from 18 CFR 35.33(d)(2) and substituting the
requirement that public utilities must include in their filing a
summary amount for purchases of Fund investments and a summary amount
for sales of Fund investments.
9. The Commission is also adding an express requirement that,
consistent with section 35.32(a)(7) of the Commission's regulations,\2\
public utilities owning nuclear plants must maintain records of
individual purchases and sales transactions until after decommissioning
has been completed and any excess jurisdictional amounts have been
returned to ratepayers in a manner that the Commission determines.
Public utilities need not include these records in the yearly report
furnished to the Commission. It was understood in Order No. 580 that
the public utilities would maintain records of purchases and sales of
Fund investments.\3\ They must do this to administer the Fund
prudently. The Commission is now expressly incorporating this
requirement into its regulations. That is, the Commission will now
expressly require that public utilities continue to maintain records of
individual purchases and sales of investments. At any time, of course,
the Commission can review these records to ensure that the Fund is
conforming to the Commission's nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund
guidelines.\4\
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\2\ 18 CFR 35.32(a)(7).
\3\ See 18 CFR 35.32(a)(5).
\4\ Id.
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Information Collection Statement
10. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require OMB
to approve certain information collection requirements imposed by
agency rule.\5\ Comments are solicited on the Commission's need for
this information, whether the information will have practical utility,
the accuracy of provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected, and any
suggested methods for minimizing respondents' burden, including the use
of automated information techniques. The information collection
requirements for this final rule are contained in FERC-516, ``Electric
Rate Filings'' (1902-0096).
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\5\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
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Estimated Annual Burden
11. This final rule clarifies the Commission's requirements
regarding the organization and operation of Funds and the investment of
Fund assets. The Commission estimates that the public reporting
requirements for the information collection requirements at issue
contained in this rule average two hours per response. Public utilities
submit this information to the Commission on an annual basis. The
Commission estimates that the number of respondents is 53. As there are
an average of two responses per year by each affected public utility (a
separate annual report is filed for each nuclear plant, and some
respondents have interests in more than one nuclear plant), the annual
burden associated with this information requirement is 212 hours. The
burden estimate includes the time required to implement the revised
standards, search existing data sources, gather and maintain the data
needed, and complete and review the information.
12. As noted immediately above, the Commission currently receives
reports from 53 companies.\6\ The Commission estimates that, under its
current rules, it takes four hours to prepare and submit a report. By
reducing the content of the report from filing each purchase and sales
transaction to filing summary amounts for purchases and sales of fund
investments, this final rule reduces the amount of time necessary to
prepare and submit a report from four to two hours. The estimates shown
in the table below reflect the total burden that the final rule will
impose.
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\6\ This is a decrease from the 72 companies estimated in Order
No. 580.
[[Page 34342]]
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Average number
Data collection Number of Number of hours of responses Total annual
respondents per year hours
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FERC-516.................................... 53 2 2 212
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Title: Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund Guidelines (FERC-
516 [Electric Rate Filings]).
Action: Modification of collection.
OMB Control No. 1902-0096.
Respondents: Public utilities owning nuclear power plants.
Frequency of Responses: Annually.
Necessity of Information: The Commission uses the data collected in
these information requirements to carry out its regulatory
responsibilities under the Federal Power Act (FPA). The Commission's
Office of Markets, Tariffs, and Rates uses the data for evaluating
electric rate filings submitted by the industry. The Division of
Financial Audits of the Office of Market Oversight and Investigations
uses the data in assessing whether jurisdictional companies are
complying with the requirements of the Uniform System of Accounts and
the Commission's regulations.
Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed this amendment to its
regulations to eliminate the necessity of reporting annually every
individual purchase and sale of investments that the Fund has
transacted during the year, and has determined that this modification
of its regulations is necessary to facilitate its review of Fund
activities. The modification, moreover, conforms to the Commission's
plan for efficient information collection, communication, and
management within the electric utility industry. The Commission has
assured itself, by means of internal review, that there is specific,
objective support for the burden estimates associated with the
information/data retention requirements.
13. Interested parties may file comments regarding these burden
estimates or any other aspect of this information collection
requirement, including suggestions for reducing this burden, with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Michael Miller, Office of Executive
Director, Phone: (202) 502-8415, FAX (202) 273-0873, e-mail:
michael.miller@ferc.gov]. Comments on the requirements of this rule may
also be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 [Attention: Desk
Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission--(202) 395-4650.]
Environmental Analysis
14. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\7\ The
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from this
requirement as not having a significant effect on the human
environment--such as rules relating to information gathering, analysis,
and dissemination and rules relating to electric rate filings under
sections 205 and 206 of the FPA and the establishment of just and
reasonable rates.\8\ This Final Rule involves information gathering and
analysis, and the collection and subsequent investment of money to fund
nuclear plant decommissioning affects the rates that public utilities
charge under sections 205 and 206 of the FPA, and whether those rates
are just and reasonable. Accordingly, no environmental consideration is
necessary.
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\7\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy
Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs.
Regulations Preambles 1986-1990 ] 30,783 (1987).
\8\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5), (15).
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Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
15. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) requires
rulemakings to contain either a description and analysis of the effect
that the rule will have on small entities or to contain a certification
that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.\9\ Most public utilities to which
the Final Rule would apply do not fall within the RFA's definition of
small entity.\10\ Consequently, the Commission certifies that this
Final Rule will not have ``a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.''
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\9\ 5 U.S.C. 601-12.
\10\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small Business
Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. Section 3 of the Small Business Act defines a
``small business concern'' as a business that is independently owned
and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation. 15
U.S.C. 632. The Small Business Size Standards component of the North
American Industry Classification System defines a small electric
utility as one that, including its affiliates, is primarily engaged
in the generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electric
energy for sale and whose total electric output for the preceding
fiscal year did not exceed four million MWh. 13 CFR 121.201.
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Document Availability
16. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and print the contents of this document via the
Internet through the Commission's Home Page (https://www.ferc.gov) and
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A,
Washington, DC 20426.
17. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this
information is available in its eLibrary. The full text of this
document is available in the eLibrary both in PDF and Microsoft Word
format for viewing, printing, and downloading. To access this document
in eLibrary, type the docket number excluding the last three digits of
this document in the docket number field.
18. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's
Web site during normal business hours. For assistance contact FERC
Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@FERC.gov or toll-free at (800) 208-
3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. Or you may e-mail the Public
Reference Room at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
Administrative Findings and Effective Date
19. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) \11\ requires
rulemakings to be published in the Federal Register. The APA also
mandates that an opportunity for comment be provided when an agency
promulgates regulations. However, notice and comment are not required
under the APA when the agency for good cause finds that notice and
public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to
the public interest.\12\ The Commission finds that notice and comment
are unnecessary to this rulemaking. As explained above, the Commission
is merely clarifying the proper scope of an annual report required by
its regulations regarding the reporting of information on nuclear
[[Page 34343]]
plant trust funds. This clarification does not change existing law or
policy. It substantially reduces a reporting requirement and reduces
the reporting burden on the electric industry. Accordingly, this rule
is effective 30 days following publication in the Federal Register.
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\11\ 5 U.S.C. 551-559.
\12\ 5 U.S.C. 553b(3)(B).
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Congressional Notification
20. The Commission has determined, with the concurrence of the
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the
Office of Management and Budget, that this rule is not a ``major rule''
within the meaning of section 251 of the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.\13\ The Commission will submit this
Final Rule to both houses of Congress and the General Accounting
Office.\14\
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\13\ 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
\14\ 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
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List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 35
Electric power rates, Electric utilities, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
By the Commission.
Linda Mitry,
Deputy Secretary.
0
In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission amends Part 35,
Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:
PART 35--FILING OF RATE SCHEDULES AND TARIFFS
0
1.The authority citation for Part 35 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791a-825r, 2601-2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42
U.S.C. 7101-7352.
0
2. Section 35.33 is amended by revising paragraph (d)(2) and adding
paragraph (d)(4) to read as follows:
Sec. 35.33 Specific provisions.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(2) Activity of the Fund during the period, including amounts
received from the utility, a summary amount for purchases of fund
investments and a summary amount for sales of fund investments, gains
and losses from investment activity, disbursements from the Fund for
decommissioning activity and payment of Fund expenses, including taxes;
and
* * * * *
(4) Public utilities owning nuclear plants must maintain records of
individual purchase and sales transactions until after decommissioning
has been completed and any excess jurisdictional amounts have been
returned to ratepayers in a manner that the Commission determines. The
public utility need not include these records in the financial report
that it furnishes to the Commission by March 31 of each year.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-11532 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-U
