Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Submitted for OMB Review, 42553-42555 [E8-16709]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 141 / Tuesday, July 22, 2008 / Notices
Puerto Rico. The EAC Board of Advisors
Virtual Meeting Room was established
to enable the Board of Advisors to
conduct business in an efficient manner
in a public forum, including being able
to review and discuss draft documents,
when it is not feasible for an in-person
board meeting. The Board of Advisors
will not take any votes or propose any
resolutions during the 5-day forum of
August 4–August 8, 2008. Members will
post comments about the draft
Alternative Voting Methods report.
This activity is open to the public.
The public may view the proceedings of
this special forum by visiting the EAC
Board of Advisors virtual meeting room
at https://www.eac.gov at any time
between Monday, August 4, 2008, 9 a.m.
EDT and Friday, August 8, 2008, 6 p.m.
EDT. The public also may view the draft
alternative voting methods report,
which will be posted on EAC’s Web site
beginning August 4, 2008. The public
may file written statements to the EAC
Board of Advisors at
boardofadvisors@eac.gov. Data on EAC’s
Web site is accessible to visitors with
disabilities and meets the requirements
of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bryan Whitener, Telephone: (202) 566–
3100.
Gracia M. Hillman,
Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance
Commission.
[FR Doc. 08–1457 Filed 7–18–08; 10:20 am]
BILLING CODE 6820–KF–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC08–600–001, FERC–600]
Commission Information Collection
Activities, Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Submitted for OMB
Review
July 14, 2008.
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
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 of this information collection
requirement. Any interested person may
file comments directly with OMB and
should address a copy of those
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19:47 Jul 21, 2008
Jkt 214001
comments to the Commission as
explained below. The Commission
received no comments in response to an
earlier Federal Register notice of
January 30, 2008 (73 FR 5529–5531) and
has made this notation in its submission
to OMB.
42553
The
information collected under the
requirements of FERC–600 Rules of
Practice and Procedure: Complaint
Procedures (OMB No. 1902–0180) is
used by the Commission to implement
the statutory provisions of the Federal
Power Act (FPA), 16 U.S.C. 791a–825r;
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due by August 21, 2008. the Natural Gas Act (NGA), 15 U.S.C.
717–717w; the Natural Gas Policy Act
ADDRESSES: Address comments on the
(NGPA), 15 U.S.C. 3301–3432; the
collection of information to the Office of Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of
Management and Budget, Office of
1978 (PURPA), 16 U.S.C. 2601–2645;
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.
Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory
App. § 1 et seq.; the Outer Continental
Commission Desk Officer. Comments to Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1301–1356
OMB should be filed electronically, c/o
and the Energy Policy Act of 2005, (Pub.
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov and
L. 109–58) 119 Stat. 594.
include the OMB Control No. (1902–
With respect to the natural gas
0180) as a point of reference. The Desk
industry, section 14(a) of the NGA
Officer may be reached by telephone at
provides: The Commission may permit
202–395–7345. A copy of the comments any person to file with it a statement in
should also be sent to the Federal
writing, under oath or otherwise, as it
Energy Regulatory Commission, Office
shall determine, as to any or all facts
of the Executive Director, ED–34,
and circumstances concerning a matter
Attention: Michael Miller, 888 First
which may be the subject of an
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
investigation.
Comments may be filed either in paper
For public utilities, section 205(e) of
format or electronically. Those persons
the FPA provides: Whenever any such
filing electronically do not need to make new schedule is filed, the Commission
a paper filing. For paper filings, such
shall have the authority, either upon
comments should be submitted to the
complaint or upon its own initiative
Secretary of the Commission, Federal
without complaint at once, and, if it so
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
orders, without answer or formal
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 pleading by the public utility, but upon
and should refer to Docket No. IC08–
reasonable notice to enter upon hearing
600–001. Documents filed electronically concerning the lawfulness of such rate,
via the Internet must be prepared in an
charge, classification, or service; and
acceptable filing format and in
pending such hearing and decision of
compliance with the Federal Energy
the Commission. * * *
Regulatory Commission submission
Section 215(d)(5) of the FPA provides:
guidelines. Complete filing instructions The Commission, upon its own motion
and acceptable filing formats are
or upon complaint, may order the
available at (https://www.ferc.gov/help/
Electric Reliability Organization to
submission-guide/electronic-media.asp). submit to the Commission a proposed
To file the document electronically,
reliability standard or a modification to
access the Commission’s Web site and
a reliability standard that addresses a
click on Documents & Filing, E-Filing
specific matter if the Commission
(https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
considers such a new or modified
efiling.asp), and then follow the
reliability standard appropriate to carry
instructions for each screen. First time
out this section. * * *
users will have to establish a user name
Concerning hydropower projects,
and password. The Commission will
section 19 of the FPA provides: * * * it
send an automatic acknowledgment to
is agreed as a condition of such license
the sender’s e-mail address upon receipt
that jurisdiction is hereby conferred
of comments.
upon the Commission, upon complaint
All comments may be viewed, printed of any person aggrieved or upon its own
or downloaded remotely via the Internet initiative, to exercise such regulation
through FERC’s homepage using the
and control until such time as the State
‘‘eLibrary’’ link. For user assistance,
shall have provided a commission or
contact ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov or
other authority for such regulation and
toll-free at (866) 208–3676 or for TTY,
control. * * *
contact (202) 502–8659.
For qualifying facilities, section
210(h)(2)(B) of PURPA provides: Any
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
electric utility, qualifying co-generator,
Michael Miller may be reached by
or qualifying small power producer may
telephone at (202) 502–8415, by fax at
petition the Commission to enforce the
(202) 273–0873, and by e-mail at
requirements of subsection (f) as
michael.miller@ferc.gov.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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42554
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 141 / Tuesday, July 22, 2008 / Notices
provided in subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph.
Likewise for oil pipelines, Part 1 of
the Interstate Commerce Act (ICA),
sections 1, 6 and 15 (re-codified by Pub.
L. 95–473 and found as an appendix to
Title 49 U.S.C.) the Commission is
authorized to investigate the rates
charged by oil pipeline companies
subject to its jurisdiction. If a proposed
oil rate has been filed and allowed by
the Commission to go into effect
without suspension and hearing, the
Commission can investigate the
effective rate on its own motion or by
complaint filed with the Commission.
Section 13 of the ICA provided that:
Any person, firm, corporation, company
or association, or any mercantile,
agricultural, or manufacturing society or
other organization, or any common
carrier subject to the provisions of this
chapter in contravention of the
provisions thereof, may apply to the
Commission by petition which shall
briefly state the facts: Whereupon a
statement of the complaint thus made
shall be forwarded by the Commission
to such common carrier, who shall be
called upon to satisfy the complaint, or
to answer the same in writing, within a
reasonable time, to be specified by the
Commission. * * *
In Order No. 602, 64 FR 17087 (April
8, 1999), the Commission revised its
regulations governing complaints filed
with the Commission under the above
statutes. Order No. 602 was designed to
encourage and support consensual
resolution of complaints, and to
organize the complaint procedures so
that all complaints are handled in a
timely and fair manner. In order to
achieve the latter, the Commission
revised Rule 206 of its Rules of Practice
and Procedure (18 CFR 385.206) to
require that a complaint satisfy certain
informational requirements, that
answers be filed in a shorter, 20-day
time frame, and that parties may employ
various types of alternative dispute
resolution procedures to resolve
complaints.
In Order No. 647, 69 FR 32436 (June
10, 2004), the Commission revised its
regulations to simplify the formats it
requires for various types of notices.
These revisions provide for a more
uniform formatting and make it easier
for the Commission to update the form
of notice formatting without the
necessity of initiating a rulemaking for
every change. A new subsection 18 CFR
385.203(d) replaced the former format
requirements. Among the provisions
that were affected by these revisions
was 18 CFR 385.206(b)(10).
On September 9, 2005, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approved the reporting requirements
contained in FERC–600 for a term of
three years, the maximum period
permissible under the Paperwork
Reduction Act 1 before an information
collection must be resubmitted for
approval. As noted above this notice
seeks public comments in order for the
Commission to submit a justification to
OMB to approve and extend the current
expiration date of the FERC–600
reporting requirements. The data in
complaints filed by interested/affected
parties regarding oil and natural gas
pipeline operations, electric and
hydropower facilities in their
applications for rate changes, service,
licensing or reliability are used by the
Commission in establishing a basis for
various investigations and to make an
initial determination regarding the
merits of the complaint.
Investigations may range from
whether there is undue discrimination
in rates or service to questions regarding
market power of regulated entities to
environmental concerns. In order to
make a better determination, it is
important to know the specifics of any
oil, gas, electric, and hydropower
complaint ‘‘upfront’’ in a timely manner
and in sufficient detail to allow the
Commission to act swiftly. In addition,
such complaint data will help the
Commission and interested parties to
monitor the market for exercises of
market power or undue discrimination.
The information is voluntarily
submitted with prescribed information.
The Commission implements these
filing requirements in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR
part 385, 385.206, 385.203 and 385.213.
Action: The Commission is requesting
a three-year extension of the current
expiration date, with no changes to the
existing collection of data.
Burden Statement: Public reporting
burden for this collection is estimated
as:
Number of
respondents annually
Number of responses per
respondent
Average
burden hours
per response
Total annual
burden hours
(1)
(2)
(3)
(1)×(2)×(3)
81*# ..............................................................................................................................................
1
14
1,134
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* Represents three year averages (2005–2007) #Rounded off.
Estimated cost burden to respondents
is $68,904. (1,134 hours/2,080 hours per
year times $126,384 per year average per
employee = $68,904). The cost per
respondent is $851. There is a
significant decrease in the number of
respondents and number of filings since
the last renewal request. However, the
cost per respondent has increased to
reflect adjustments due to inflationary
costs.
The reporting burden includes the
total time, effort, or financial resources
expended to generate, maintain, retain,
disclose, or provide the information
including: (1) Reviewing instructions;
(2) developing, acquiring, installing, and
utilizing technology and systems for the
purposes of collecting, validating,
verifying, processing, maintaining,
disclosing and providing information;
(3) adjusting the existing ways to
comply with any previously applicable
instructions and requirements; (4)
training personnel to respond to a
collection of information; (5) searching
data sources; (6) completing and
reviewing the collection of information;
and (7) transmitting, or otherwise
disclosing the information.
The estimate of cost for respondents
is based upon salaries for professional
and clerical support, as well as direct
and indirect overhead costs. Direct costs
include all costs directly attributable to
providing this information, such as
administrative costs and the cost for
information technology. Indirect or
overhead costs are costs incurred by an
organization in support of its mission.
These costs apply to activities which
benefit the whole organization rather
than any one particular function or
activity.
1 Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law
104–13, October 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.
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19:47 Jul 21, 2008
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 141 / Tuesday, July 22, 2008 / Notices
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether
the proposed collection 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 of
the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3)
ways to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, including
the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology
e.g. permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–16709 Filed 7–21–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP08–431–000; PF08–6–000]
Columbia Gas Transmission
Corporation; Notice of Application
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
July 11, 2008.
Take notice that on June 24, 2008,
Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation
(Columbia), 1700 MacCorkle Avenue,
SE., Charleston, West Virginia 25314,
filed in the above referenced docket an
application pursuant to section 7(c) and
7(b) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), for
an order granting a certificate of public
convenience to construct, own, and
operate natural gas storage facilities in
Ohio to provide storage services at
market-based rates (Ohio Storage
Expansion Project), all as more fully set
forth in the application which is on file
with the Commission and open to
public inspection. The filing is available
for review at the Commission in the
Public Reference Room or may be
viewed on the Commission’s Web site
web at https://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
at FERCOnlineSupport@gerc.gov or call
toll-free, (886) 208–3676 or TYY, (202)
502–8659.
Any questions concerning this
application may be directed to Fredric
J. George, Lead Counsel, Columbia Gas
Transmission Corporation, P.O. Box
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:47 Jul 21, 2008
Jkt 214001
1273, Charleston, West Virginia 25325–
1273; telephone: 304–357–2359; fax:
304–357–3206.
On December 27, 2007, the
Commission staff granted Columbia’s
request to utilize the Pre-Filing Process
and assigned Docket No. PF08–6–000 to
staff activities involved the Ohio Storage
Expansion Project. Now as of the filing
the June 24, 2008 application, the PreFiling Process for this project has ended.
From this time forward, this proceeding
will be conducted in Docket No. CP08–
431–000, as noted in the caption of this
Notice.
There are two ways to become
involved in the Commission’s review of
this project. First, any person wishing to
obtain legal status by becoming a party
to the proceedings for this project
should, on or before the comment date
stated below file with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,
a motion to intervene in accordance
with the requirements of the
Commission’s Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)
and the Regulations under the NGA (18
CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party
status will be placed on the service list
maintained by the Secretary of the
Commission and will receive copies of
all documents filed by the applicant and
by all other parties. A party must submit
14 copies of filings made in the
proceeding with the Commission and
must mail a copy to the applicant and
to every other party. Only parties to the
proceeding can ask for court review of
Commission orders in the proceeding.
However, a person does not have to
intervene in order to have comments
considered. The second way to
participate is by filing with the
Secretary of the Commission, as soon as
possible, an original and two copies of
comments in support of or in opposition
to this project. The Commission will
consider these comments in
determining the appropriate action to be
taken, but the filing of a comment alone
will not serve to make the filer a party
to the proceeding. The Commission’s
rules require that persons filing
comments in opposition to the project
provide copies of their protests only to
the party or parties directly involved in
the protest.
Persons who wish to comment only
on the environmental review of this
project should submit an original and
two copies of their comments to the
Secretary of the Commission.
Environmental commentors will be
placed on the Commission’s
environmental mailing list, will receive
copies of the environmental documents,
and will be notified of meetings
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42555
associated with the Commission’s
environmental review process.
Environmental commentors will not be
required to serve copies of filed
documents on all other parties.
However, the non-party commentors
will not receive copies of all documents
filed by other parties or issued by the
Commission (except for the mailing of
environmental documents issued by the
Commission) and will not have the right
to seek court review of the
Commission’s final order.
The Commission strongly encourages
electronic filings of comments, protests
and interventions in lieu of paper using
the ‘‘eFiling’’ link at https://
www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file
electronically should submit an original
and 14 copies of the protest or
intervention to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
This filing is accessible on-line at
https://www.ferc.gov, using the
‘‘eLibrary’’ link and is available for
review in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room in Washington, DC.
There is an ‘‘eSubscription’’ link on the
Web site that enables subscribers to
receive e-mail notification when a
document is added to a subscribed
docket(s). For assistance with any FERC
Online service, please e-mail
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or call
(866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202) 502–8659.
Comment Date: August 1, 2008.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–16695 Filed 7–21–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Project No. 13232–000]
Coastal Power, Inc.; Notice of
Preliminary Permit Application
Accepted for Filing and Soliciting
Comment, Motions To Intervene, and
Competing Applications
July 11, 2008.
On May 27, 2008, Coastal Power, Inc.
filed an application, pursuant to section
4(f) of the Federal Power Act, proposing
to study the feasibility of the Hell Gate
Tidal Project, to be located on the East
River in the Manhattan area of New
York.
The proposed project would consist
of: (1) Six Venturi Water Turbines,
dimensions approximately four feet by
twelve feet, anchored to the bottom of
E:\FR\FM\22JYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42553-42555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16709]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC08-600-001, FERC-600]
Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed
Collection; Comment Request; Submitted for OMB Review
July 14, 2008.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 of this information collection requirement. 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 30, 2008 (73 FR 5529-5531) and has made this notation in its
submission to OMB.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due by August 21,
2008.
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 oira_
submission@omb.eop.gov and include the OMB Control No. (1902-0180) as a
point of reference. The Desk Officer may be reached by telephone at
202-395-7345. A copy of the comments should also be sent to the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive Director, ED-34,
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 Secretary of
the Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street,
NE., Washington, DC 20426 and should refer to Docket No. IC08-600-001.
Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in an
acceptable filing format and in compliance with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission submission guidelines. Complete filing
instructions and acceptable filing formats are available at (https://
www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide/electronic-media.asp). To file the
document electronically, access the Commission's Web site and click on
Documents & Filing, E-Filing (https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
efiling.asp), 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.
All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the
Internet through FERC's homepage using the ``eLibrary'' link. For user
assistance, contact 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: The information collected under the
requirements of FERC-600 Rules of Practice and Procedure: Complaint
Procedures (OMB No. 1902-0180) is used by the Commission to implement
the statutory provisions of the Federal Power Act (FPA), 16 U.S.C.
791a-825r; the Natural Gas Act (NGA), 15 U.S.C. 717-717w; the Natural
Gas Policy Act (NGPA), 15 U.S.C. 3301-3432; the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), 16 U.S.C. 2601-2645; the
Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. App. Sec. 1 et seq.; the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1301-1356 and the Energy Policy
Act of 2005, (Pub. L. 109-58) 119 Stat. 594.
With respect to the natural gas industry, section 14(a) of the NGA
provides: The Commission may permit any person to file with it a
statement in writing, under oath or otherwise, as it shall determine,
as to any or all facts and circumstances concerning a matter which may
be the subject of an investigation.
For public utilities, section 205(e) of the FPA provides: Whenever
any such new schedule is filed, the Commission shall have the
authority, either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without
complaint at once, and, if it so orders, without answer or formal
pleading by the public utility, but upon reasonable notice to enter
upon hearing concerning the lawfulness of such rate, charge,
classification, or service; and pending such hearing and decision of
the Commission. * * *
Section 215(d)(5) of the FPA provides: The Commission, upon its own
motion or upon complaint, may order the Electric Reliability
Organization to submit to the Commission a proposed reliability
standard or a modification to a reliability standard that addresses a
specific matter if the Commission considers such a new or modified
reliability standard appropriate to carry out this section. * * *
Concerning hydropower projects, section 19 of the FPA provides: * *
* it is agreed as a condition of such license that jurisdiction is
hereby conferred upon the Commission, upon complaint of any person
aggrieved or upon its own initiative, to exercise such regulation and
control until such time as the State shall have provided a commission
or other authority for such regulation and control. * * *
For qualifying facilities, section 210(h)(2)(B) of PURPA provides:
Any electric utility, qualifying co-generator, or qualifying small
power producer may petition the Commission to enforce the requirements
of subsection (f) as
[[Page 42554]]
provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
Likewise for oil pipelines, Part 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act
(ICA), sections 1, 6 and 15 (re-codified by Pub. L. 95-473 and found as
an appendix to Title 49 U.S.C.) the Commission is authorized to
investigate the rates charged by oil pipeline companies subject to its
jurisdiction. If a proposed oil rate has been filed and allowed by the
Commission to go into effect without suspension and hearing, the
Commission can investigate the effective rate on its own motion or by
complaint filed with the Commission. Section 13 of the ICA provided
that: Any person, firm, corporation, company or association, or any
mercantile, agricultural, or manufacturing society or other
organization, or any common carrier subject to the provisions of this
chapter in contravention of the provisions thereof, may apply to the
Commission by petition which shall briefly state the facts: Whereupon a
statement of the complaint thus made shall be forwarded by the
Commission to such common carrier, who shall be called upon to satisfy
the complaint, or to answer the same in writing, within a reasonable
time, to be specified by the Commission. * * *
In Order No. 602, 64 FR 17087 (April 8, 1999), the Commission
revised its regulations governing complaints filed with the Commission
under the above statutes. Order No. 602 was designed to encourage and
support consensual resolution of complaints, and to organize the
complaint procedures so that all complaints are handled in a timely and
fair manner. In order to achieve the latter, the Commission revised
Rule 206 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.206) to
require that a complaint satisfy certain informational requirements,
that answers be filed in a shorter, 20-day time frame, and that parties
may employ various types of alternative dispute resolution procedures
to resolve complaints.
In Order No. 647, 69 FR 32436 (June 10, 2004), the Commission
revised its regulations to simplify the formats it requires for various
types of notices. These revisions provide for a more uniform formatting
and make it easier for the Commission to update the form of notice
formatting without the necessity of initiating a rulemaking for every
change. A new subsection 18 CFR 385.203(d) replaced the former format
requirements. Among the provisions that were affected by these
revisions was 18 CFR 385.206(b)(10).
On September 9, 2005, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
approved the reporting requirements contained in FERC-600 for a term of
three years, the maximum period permissible under the Paperwork
Reduction Act \1\ before an information collection must be resubmitted
for approval. As noted above this notice seeks public comments in order
for the Commission to submit a justification to OMB to approve and
extend the current expiration date of the FERC-600 reporting
requirements. The data in complaints filed by interested/affected
parties regarding oil and natural gas pipeline operations, electric and
hydropower facilities in their applications for rate changes, service,
licensing or reliability are used by the Commission in establishing a
basis for various investigations and to make an initial determination
regarding the merits of the complaint.
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\1\ Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October
1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
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Investigations may range from whether there is undue discrimination
in rates or service to questions regarding market power of regulated
entities to environmental concerns. In order to make a better
determination, it is important to know the specifics of any oil, gas,
electric, and hydropower complaint ``upfront'' in a timely manner and
in sufficient detail to allow the Commission to act swiftly. In
addition, such complaint data will help the Commission and interested
parties to monitor the market for exercises of market power or undue
discrimination. The information is voluntarily submitted with
prescribed information. The Commission implements these filing
requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part
385, 385.206, 385.203 and 385.213.
Action: The Commission is requesting a three-year extension of the
current expiration date, with no changes to the existing collection of
data.
Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection is
estimated as:
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Number of Average burden
Number of respondents annually responses per hours per Total annual
respondent response burden hours
(1) (2) (3) (1)x(2)x(3)
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81*................................................. 1 14 1,134
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* Represents three year averages (2005-2007) #Rounded off.
Estimated cost burden to respondents is $68,904. (1,134 hours/2,080
hours per year times $126,384 per year average per employee = $68,904).
The cost per respondent is $851. There is a significant decrease in the
number of respondents and number of filings since the last renewal
request. However, the cost per respondent has increased to reflect
adjustments due to inflationary costs.
The reporting burden includes the total time, effort, or financial
resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide
the information including: (1) Reviewing instructions; (2) developing,
acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems for the
purposes of collecting, validating, verifying, processing, maintaining,
disclosing and providing information; (3) adjusting the existing ways
to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements;
(4) training personnel to respond to a collection of information; (5)
searching data sources; (6) completing and reviewing the collection of
information; and (7) transmitting, or otherwise disclosing the
information.
The estimate of cost for respondents is based upon salaries for
professional and clerical support, as well as direct and indirect
overhead costs. Direct costs include all costs directly attributable to
providing this information, such as administrative costs and the cost
for information technology. Indirect or overhead costs are costs
incurred by an organization in support of its mission. These costs
apply to activities which benefit the whole organization rather than
any one particular function or activity.
[[Page 42555]]
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection 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 of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology e.g. permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-16709 Filed 7-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
