Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 62428-62429 [E6-17856]

Download as PDF 62428 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 206 / Wednesday, October 25, 2006 / Notices Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1– 800–877–8339. [FR Doc. E6–17852 Filed 10–24–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Energy Information Administration Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Agency information collection activities: proposed collection; comment request. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed reinstatement of the Forms EIA– 871A,B,C,E,G, and H, ‘‘2007 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey’’. DATES: Comments must be filed by December 26, 2006. If you anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the person listed below as soon as possible. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Joelle Michaels. To ensure receipt of the comments by the due date, submission by fax (202–586–0018) or e-mail (joelle.michaels@eia.doe.gov) is recommended. The mailing address is Joelle Michaels, Survey Manager, EI–63, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, Ms. Michaels may be contacted by telephone at (202) 586– 8952. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Joelle Michaels at the address listed above. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: mstockstill on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES I. Background II. Current Actions III. Request for Comments I. Background The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93–275, 15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 95–91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to carry out a centralized, comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and related economic and statistical information. This information is used to assess the VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:12 Oct 24, 2006 Jkt 211001 adequacy of energy resources to meet near and longer-term domestic demands. The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected, and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public. Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) has been conducted eight times covering the years 1979, 1983 and 1986 under the name of the ‘‘Nonresidential Buildings Energy Consumption Survey,’’ and years 1989, 1992, 1995, 1999, and 2003 under the current name, ‘‘Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey.’’ CBECS collects baseline data on energy consumption and expenditures in commercial buildings, and on the energy-related characteristics of those buildings. To obtain this information, interviews are conducted for a sample of commercial buildings in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. For buildings in the survey, data are collected on the types, amount and cost of energy consumed in the building, how the energy is used, structural characteristics of the buildings, activities conducted inside the buildings that relate to energy use, building ownership and occupancy, energy conservation measures, and energy-using equipment. The information will be collected using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) for the 2007 CBECS. For those buildings that cannot provide energy consumption data for the building, the data will be obtained in a mail survey from the suppliers of electricity and natural gas to the building, after receiving permission from the building owner, manager or tenant. This mail survey to the energy suppliers is mandatory. The data obtained from the CBECS are available to the public in a variety of EIA electronic tables and reports at https:// www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs. Public use files that have been screened to protect the identity of the individual respondents are also available electronically at the above Web address. Selected data from the surveys are also PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 published in the Monthly Energy Review and the Annual Energy Review. II. Current Actions This will be a proposed reinstatement of a previously approved collection and three-year clearance request to OMB. The content of the 2007 CBECS will be largely unchanged from the 2003 CBECS. The sampling frame, which was redesigned for the 2003 CBECS, will be updated to account for new construction since 2003. Proposed changes include: Form EIA–871I—which collected information from college/university and hospital complexes on the inputs and outputs to their central physical plant, if present—will be discontinued. This form had been added for the 2003 CBECS, but upon review, it was determined that using a separate form was cumbersome and the data that were collected were not of high quality. However, a few questions from the form, such as the total square footage of the entire campus, may be incorporated into the computerized survey instrument for the 2007 CBECS. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has requested the inclusion of questions on the CBECS, relating to water consumption in commercial buildings. Pending funding from EPA and EIA and OMB approval, these questions will be used to gather some basic water use information to support a program to help consumers select more water efficient products. For the 2003 CBECS, EPA’s Energy Star program funded some supplemental sample cases and a few additional questions regarding the building activity. The purpose of their additional work was to help improve their publicly-available benchmarking models. We anticipate that a similar agreement will be put in place for the 2007 CBECS; discussions are currently underway. The CBECS no longer collects data from energy suppliers about fuel oil or district heat consumption (consumption information for these sources are collected only from the building respondents). Forms EIA–871D and F have been eliminated. Existing survey questions may be modified slightly based on knowledge gained from the 2003 CBECS and based on feedback from CBECS data users. III. Request for Comments Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are provided to assist in the preparation of comments. E:\FR\FM\25OCN1.SGM 25OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 206 / Wednesday, October 25, 2006 / Notices Please indicate to which form(s) your comments apply. General Issues A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the agency’s ability to process the information it collects. B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected? mstockstill on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be collected? B. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If not, which instructions need clarification? C. Can the information be submitted by the due date? D. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average approximately 45 minutes per interview for the building respondent (Form EIA– 871A) and approximately 30 minutes per energy supplier response in those cases where the data must be collected from the energy suppliers (Forms EIA– 871C and E). The estimated burden includes the total time necessary to provide the requested information. In your opinion, how accurate is this estimate? E. The agency estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for the time it will take to complete the collection. Will a respondent incur any start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual costs for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with the information collection? F. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. G. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the methods of collection. As a Potential User of the Information To Be Collected A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the quality, VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:12 Oct 24, 2006 Jkt 211001 objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information disseminated? B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be collected? C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific. D. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they useful? If so, what are their weaknesses and/or strengths? Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also will become a matter of public record. Statutory Authority: Section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Issued in Washington, DC, October 18, 2006. Jay H. Casselberry, Agency Clearance Officer, Energy Information Administration. [FR Doc. E6–17856 Filed 10–24–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OPP–2006–0616; FRL–8083–6] Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Submission of Unreasonable Adverse Effects Information Under FIFRA Section 6(a)(2); EPA ICR No. 1204.10, OMB Control No. 2070–0039 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR, entitled: ‘‘Submission of Unreasonable Adverse Effects Information Under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 6(a)(2)’’ and identified by EPA ICR No. 1204.10 and OMB Control No.2070–0039, is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2007. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection. Comments must be received on or before December 26, 2006. ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) DATES: PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 62429 number EPA–HQ–OPP–2006–0616, by one of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments. • Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001. • Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S–4400, One Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only accepted during the Docket’s normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The Docket telephone number is (703) 305– 5805. Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2006– 0616. EPA’s policy is that all comments received will be included in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at https:// www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or email. The Federal regulations.gov website is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other E:\FR\FM\25OCN1.SGM 25OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 25, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62428-62429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17856]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: proposed collection; 
comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed reinstatement 
of the Forms EIA-871A,B,C,E,G, and H, ``2007 Commercial Buildings 
Energy Consumption Survey''.

DATES: Comments must be filed by December 26, 2006. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Joelle Michaels. To ensure receipt of the 
comments by the due date, submission by fax (202-586-0018) or e-mail 
(joelle.michaels@eia.doe.gov) is recommended. The mailing address is 
Joelle Michaels, Survey Manager, EI-63, Forrestal Building, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, Ms. Michaels 
may be contacted by telephone at (202) 586-8952.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Joelle 
Michaels at the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments

I. Background

    The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-275, 15 
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 42 
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the EIA to carry out a centralized, 
comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program 
collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information 
on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and 
related economic and statistical information. This information is used 
to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet near and longer-term 
domestic demands.
    The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides 
the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to 
comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in 
conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare 
data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected, 
and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public. 
Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under Section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.
    The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) has been 
conducted eight times covering the years 1979, 1983 and 1986 under the 
name of the ``Nonresidential Buildings Energy Consumption Survey,'' and 
years 1989, 1992, 1995, 1999, and 2003 under the current name, 
``Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey.'' CBECS collects 
baseline data on energy consumption and expenditures in commercial 
buildings, and on the energy-related characteristics of those 
buildings. To obtain this information, interviews are conducted for a 
sample of commercial buildings in the 50 States and the District of 
Columbia. For buildings in the survey, data are collected on the types, 
amount and cost of energy consumed in the building, how the energy is 
used, structural characteristics of the buildings, activities conducted 
inside the buildings that relate to energy use, building ownership and 
occupancy, energy conservation measures, and energy-using equipment. 
The information will be collected using Computer Assisted Personal 
Interviewing (CAPI) for the 2007 CBECS. For those buildings that cannot 
provide energy consumption data for the building, the data will be 
obtained in a mail survey from the suppliers of electricity and natural 
gas to the building, after receiving permission from the building 
owner, manager or tenant. This mail survey to the energy suppliers is 
mandatory. The data obtained from the CBECS are available to the public 
in a variety of EIA electronic tables and reports at https://
www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs. Public use files that have been screened to 
protect the identity of the individual respondents are also available 
electronically at the above Web address. Selected data from the surveys 
are also published in the Monthly Energy Review and the Annual Energy 
Review.

II. Current Actions

    This will be a proposed reinstatement of a previously approved 
collection and three-year clearance request to OMB.
    The content of the 2007 CBECS will be largely unchanged from the 
2003 CBECS. The sampling frame, which was redesigned for the 2003 
CBECS, will be updated to account for new construction since 2003.
    Proposed changes include:
    Form EIA-871I--which collected information from college/university 
and hospital complexes on the inputs and outputs to their central 
physical plant, if present--will be discontinued. This form had been 
added for the 2003 CBECS, but upon review, it was determined that using 
a separate form was cumbersome and the data that were collected were 
not of high quality. However, a few questions from the form, such as 
the total square footage of the entire campus, may be incorporated into 
the computerized survey instrument for the 2007 CBECS.
    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has requested the 
inclusion of questions on the CBECS, relating to water consumption in 
commercial buildings. Pending funding from EPA and EIA and OMB 
approval, these questions will be used to gather some basic water use 
information to support a program to help consumers select more water 
efficient products.
    For the 2003 CBECS, EPA's Energy Star program funded some 
supplemental sample cases and a few additional questions regarding the 
building activity. The purpose of their additional work was to help 
improve their publicly-available benchmarking models. We anticipate 
that a similar agreement will be put in place for the 2007 CBECS; 
discussions are currently underway.
    The CBECS no longer collects data from energy suppliers about fuel 
oil or district heat consumption (consumption information for these 
sources are collected only from the building respondents). Forms EIA-
871D and F have been eliminated.
    Existing survey questions may be modified slightly based on 
knowledge gained from the 2003 CBECS and based on feedback from CBECS 
data users.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment 
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are 
provided to assist in the preparation of comments.

[[Page 62429]]

Please indicate to which form(s) your comments apply.

General Issues

    A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the 
actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into 
account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the 
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
    B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information

    A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be 
collected?
    B. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions need clarification?
    C. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
    D. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to 
average approximately 45 minutes per interview for the building 
respondent (Form EIA-871A) and approximately 30 minutes per energy 
supplier response in those cases where the data must be collected from 
the energy suppliers (Forms EIA-871C and E). The estimated burden 
includes the total time necessary to provide the requested information. 
In your opinion, how accurate is this estimate?
    E. The agency estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for 
the time it will take to complete the collection. Will a respondent 
incur any start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual costs 
for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with 
the information collection?
    F. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of 
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    G. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar 
information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the 
methods of collection.

As a Potential User of the Information To Be Collected

    A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information 
disseminated?
    B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be 
collected?
    C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    D. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they 
useful? If so, what are their weaknesses and/or strengths?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also 
will become a matter of public record.

    Statutory Authority: Section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

    Issued in Washington, DC, October 18, 2006.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-17856 Filed 10-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.