Guidance Notice Clarifying Procedures for Submitting Non-Public Materials, 11939-11940 [E9-6069]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 53 (Friday, March 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11939-11940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6069]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Guidance Notice Clarifying Procedures for Submitting Non-Public 
Materials

March 12, 2009.
    Take notice that the Commission is hereby clarifying and explaining 
the importance of the procedures for submitting Non-Public material to 
the Commission via paper, (DVD/CD), or electronic filing. The 
procedures are designed to ensure that Non-Public information is 
properly designated, identified, and processed in order to minimize the 
risk of Public disclosure of sensitive information. Explained below are 
the categories of materials that are considered Non-Public and the 
applicable regulation that can be found in Title 18 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations.
    Non-public materials include:
    1. Privileged Material: Material for which Privileged Treatment is 
requested under 18 CFR 388.112 because of the confidential nature of 
the information.
    2. Critical Energy Infrastructure Information (CEII): Maps, 
drawings, and other information for which CEII treatment is requested 
under 18 CFR 388.112 because the information may be sensitive to the 
security of the nation's hydroelectric and natural gas pipeline 
infrastructure.
    3. Protected Material: Material filed under a Protective Order 
issued by an FERC Administrative Law Judge or the Commission, or 
material for which such treatment is requested along with a draft 
protective order. Protected material must be filed under seal. The 
material is indexed in eLibrary; however, the actual Protected material 
is not added to eLibrary because of the requirement to sign a non-
disclosure agreement for access.
    Because of the instantaneous nature of the Commission eFiling 
system, it is essential that every document be processed into eLibrary 
with the correct security designation. The security process for 
submissions begins with the filer of non-public materials. It is 
critical that documents submitted to the Commission be properly 
identified and patently and conspicuously marked when such documents 
are non-public materials. This helps ensure that Commission staff 
identify and correctly process each category of non-public material 
into eLibrary, and do so accurately and efficiently.
    In order to ensure that non-public material is processed into 
eLibrary correctly, the filer must observe the following procedures for 
paper filings information submitted via the Commission's electronic 
filing system and information included on DVD/CD(s).

Paper Filings

    Paper filings containing non-public material must include a cover 
letter identifying the filer, all applicable docket or project numbers 
(unless it's a new application), a description of the filing, and a 
clear indication on the first page of the cover letter that the filing 
contains Public, Privileged, CEII, and/or Protected versions, as 
applicable.
    Copies of a cover letter must be attached to each version, with the 
security designation in bold print in the top right portion of the 
first page. Use the applicable security designations ``PUBLIC 
VERSION,'' ``PRIVILEGED VERSION,'' or ``CEII MATERIAL.'' The first page 
of the underlying material should also contain the same designation. 
Ensure that Protected Material is filed ``under seal,'' with a copy of 
the cover letter attached to the sealed enclosure and ``PROTECTED 
MATERIAL'' in bold print in the upper right area of the cover letter.
    Large filings should be collated according to security. Where 
multiple binders are involved, the cover letter should list and clearly 
identify the security of each volume.
    Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in a document 
not being considered ``filed'' until issues pertaining to document 
security are resolved with the submitter.

eFILING

    The Commission's electronic filing system accepts Public, 
Privileged and CEII material. Protected material may not be efiled at 
this time. Every electronic submission must have at least one Public 
file (which may be a redacted version of the filing, or only be a cover 
letter, depending on the nature of the content of the document).
    The security of efiled documents must be clear to everyone involved 
in document preparation, submission, and processing of the filing. For 
example, the person submitting an efiling (e.g., a paralegal) is often 
someone other than the document preparer (e.g., an attorney) and could 
possibly be unaware of the security designation. Moreover, submissions 
may include files provided to the document preparer or submitter by 
other entities. All of these individuals should be aware of what 
security designation applies to the document that is being efiled. 
Persons preparing documents with non-public material are advised to 
organize files in folders by security level and/or with file names 
beginning with PUBLIC, PRIV, or CEII. This will help to ensure that 
when efiling the document submitter correctly uploads files under the 
appropriate security tab on the File Upload screen. Again, the 
designation of security begins with the filing party.
    Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in a document 
not being considered ``filed'' until issues pertaining to document 
security are resolved with the submitter.

DVD/CD Submissions

    The Commission receives numerous filings containing one or more 
DVDs or CDs. The Commission, in fact, allows a reduced number of paper 
copies of large filings to be submitted if the filer includes the 
entire filing on DVD/CD. In other cases, the information on DVD/CD 
supplements information in a paper filing, or contains only a portion 
of the material on paper.
    Each paper submission that includes information on DVD/CD must 
include a cover letter describing the content and security status of 
each DVD/CD and indicating whether the electronic media contains the 
entire filing, part of the filing, or is a supplement containing 
information not submitted on paper.
    The security for all files on each DVD/CD must be clear. For all 
filings, Public, Privileged, and CEII, files should be submitted on 
separate, clearly-labeled DVD/CDs (i.e., should be labeled PUBLIC, 
PRIVILEGED, or CEII in bold). Protected material included on electronic 
media must always be on a

[[Page 11940]]

separately labeled DVD/CD and included with the paper material ``under 
seal.''
    Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in a document 
not being considered ``filed'' until issues pertaining to document 
security are resolved with the submitter.
    In addition to security concerns, persons submitting information on 
DVD/CD must observe the following restrictions:
    1. The acceptable file formats for information on DVD/CD are 
included in the Submission Guidelines posted at: https://www.ferc.gov/
help/submission-guide/user-guide.pdf.
    2. The file size limit is 50 Mb per file. Submit maps in individual 
files if necessary to comply with this limit.
    3. The file name, including the extension, cannot exceed 60 
characters.

It is important that such restrictions be strictly followed, as a 
failure to comply could prohibit the Commission's access to the 
contents of that submission. Accordingly, the Commission reserves the 
right to not accept such submissions.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E9-6069 Filed 3-19-09; 8:45 am]
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