Proposed Agency Information Collection, 18799-18801 [2012-7424]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2012 / Notices
and Director, Office of Science and
Technology Policy, Executive Office of
the President, The White House; and Dr.
Eric S. Lander, President, Broad
Institute of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and Harvard.
Type of Meeting: Open.
Proposed Schedule and Agenda: The
President’s Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology (PCAST) is
scheduled to hold a conference call in
open session on April 16, 2012, from
4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. (EST)
During the conference call, PCAST
will discuss its Advanced
Manufacturing Partnership report.
Additional information and the agenda,
including any changes that arise, will be
posted at the PCAST Web site at:
https://whitehouse.gov/ostp/pcast.
Public Comments: It is the policy of
the PCAST to accept written public
comments of any length, and to
accommodate oral public comments,
whenever possible. The PCAST expects
that public statements presented at its
meetings will not be repetitive of
previously submitted oral or written
statements.
The public comment period for this
meeting will take place on April 16,
2012, at a time specified in the meeting
agenda posted on the PCAST Web site
at https://whitehouse.gov/ostp/pcast.
This public comment period is designed
only for substantive commentary on
PCAST’s work, not for business
marketing purposes.
Oral Comments: To be considered for
the public speaker list at the meeting,
interested parties should register to
speak at https://whitehouse.gov/ostp/
pcast, no later than 12 p.m. (EST) on
April 12, 2012. Phone or email
reservations to be considered for the
public speaker list will not be accepted.
To accommodate as many speakers as
possible, the time for public comments
will be limited to two (2) minutes per
person, with a total public comment
period of 15 minutes. If more speakers
register than there is space available on
the agenda, PCAST will randomly select
speakers from among those who
applied. Those not selected to present
oral comments may always file written
comments with the committee, as
described below.
Written Comments: Although written
comments are accepted until the date of
the meeting, written comments should
be submitted to PCAST no later than 12
p.m. (EST) on April 12, 2012, so that the
comments may be made available to the
PCAST members prior to the meeting
for their consideration. Information
regarding how to submit comments and
documents to PCAST is available at
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:29 Mar 27, 2012
Jkt 226001
https://whitehouse.gov/ostp/pcast in the
section entitled ‘‘Connect with PCAST.’’
Please note that because PCAST
operates under the provisions of FACA,
all public comments and/or
presentations will be treated as public
documents and will be made available
for public inspection, including being
posted on the PCAST Web site.
Meeting Accommodations:
Individuals requiring special
accommodation to access this public
meeting should contact Dr. Stine at least
ten business days prior to the meeting
so that appropriate arrangements can be
made.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 22,
2012.
LaTanya R. Butler,
Acting Deputy Committee Management
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012–7433 Filed 3–27–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
U.S. Energy Information
Administration
Proposed Agency Information
Collection
U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA), Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Information
Collection; Notice and Request for
Comments.
AGENCY:
The EIA invites public
comment on a proposed collection of
information that EIA is developing for
submission to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The
EIA is soliciting comments on the
proposed reinstatement of the Forms
EIA–871A–J, ‘‘2012 Commercial
Buildings Energy Consumption
Survey.’’
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.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
18799
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 nine times covering the years
1979, 1983 and 1986 under the name of
the ‘‘Nonresidential Buildings Energy
Consumption Survey,’’ and years 1989,
1992, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007 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
representing 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 interviewing for the
2012 CBECS; interviews will be
conducted both in-person and by
telephone. For those buildings that
cannot provide energy consumption
data for the building, the data will be
obtained in a follow-up survey
(historically a mail survey) from the
suppliers of electricity, natural gas, fuel
oil and/or district heat to the building,
after receiving permission from the
building owner, manager or tenant. This
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.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
E:\FR\FM\28MRN1.SGM
28MRN1
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
18800
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2012 / Notices
are also published in the Annual Energy
Review.
DATES: Comments regarding this
proposed information collection must
be received on or before May 29, 2012.
If you anticipate difficulty in submitting
comments within that period, contact
the person listed in ADDRESSES below as
soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Joelle
Michaels. To ensure receipt of the
comments by the due date, submission
by email is recommended
(joelle.michaels@eia.gov). Comments
may also be submitted by mail to Joelle
Michaels, Survey Manager, EI–22,
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 the forms and instructions
should be directed to Ms. Michaels at
the contact information given above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
information collection contains:
(1) OMB No. 1905–0145.
(2) Information Collection Request
Title: EIA–871A–J, ‘‘Commercial
Building Energy Consumption Survey’’.
(3) Type of Request: Reinstatement
with change, of a previously approved
collection for which approval has
discontinued.
(4) Purpose: Need for and proposed
use of the information: The EIA–871A–
J is used to collect data on energy
consumption by commercial buildings
and the characteristics of these
buildings. The surveys fulfill planning,
analyses and decision-making needs of
DOE, other Federal agencies, State
governments, and the private sector.
Respondents are owners/managers of
selected commercial buildings and their
energy suppliers. Response obligations
are Voluntary (buildings) and
Mandatory (energy suppliers).
This will be a proposed reinstatement
of a previously approved collection and
three-year clearance request to OMB.
The content of the 2012 CBECS will be
largely unchanged from the 2007
CBECS. The sampling frame, which was
redesigned for the 2003 CBECS, will be
updated to account for new construction
since 2003.
The EIA proposes the following
changes to EIA–871A–J, ‘‘Commercial
Building Energy Consumption Survey’’:
a. The sample size for the 2012
CBECS will be 50 percent larger relative
to the previous CBECS. The increase in
sample size will allow for fewer cell
suppressions in published tables, better
capture of emerging energy phenomena,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:29 Mar 27, 2012
Jkt 226001
lower relative standard errors (RSEs) for
key statistics for publishable sample
domains, more publishable data for
more principal building activities, and
more releasable microdata on the public
use dataset.
b. Previous CBECS designs have
relied on in-person personal interviews
for data collection. In 2007, field
interviewers needed an average of six
contacts to complete a building
interview; this process can be timeconsuming and costly when done inperson. For 2012, certain respondents
(large buildings for which contact
information is usually available) will be
initially contacted by telephone. All
respondents will be given the option to
complete the interview by phone. The
balance of interviews will remain
personal interviews.
c. Water usage questions introduced
in the 2007 will be revised and remain
in the 2012 CBECS. The Office of
Wastewater Management within the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) sponsored questions related to
water use on the 2007 CBECS. The
water-energy use connections are strong,
and there is limited data about how
water is actually used in commercial
buildings. Getting better information on
how water is used by commercial
buildings is the first step toward
understanding commercial water use
and the energy impact of that use. The
revisions to the water questions are
based on extensive review by EIA on the
data that were collected in 2007. The
proposed changes will make the
interview proceed more smoothly
through the water questions and result
in cleaner data.
d. Based upon a recommendation
from the National Academy of Sciences,
approximately 200 buildings will
receive an ‘‘energy audit.’’ The main
objective will be to support a cost and
data quality comparison between data
collected by field interviewers and
professional energy auditors.
e. Based on review of the 2007 CBECS
and consultation with data users,
refining and reformatting of the
Building Questionnaire (Form EIA–
871A), Mall Building Questionnaire
(EIA–871I) and the Mall Establishment
Questionnaire (EIA–871J) is occurring.
Some changes have been made already,
and more are expected. For the 2012
CBECS questionnaire, wording changes
will be made, clarifying definitions will
be added, and response categories will
be refined. Edits will be added to the
survey instrument to help preclude callbacks to respondents.
(5) Annual Estimated Number of
Respondents: 5,142.
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(6) Annual Estimated Number of
Total Responses: 5,142.
(7) Annual Estimated Number of
Burden Hours: 3,759.
(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0. There
are no additional costs to respondents
associated with the survey other than
the costs associated with the burden
hours.
Request for Comments
Prospective respondents and other
interested parties should comment on
the actions discussed in item (4). The
following guidelines are provided to
assist in the preparation of comments.
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 55 minutes per interview
for the building respondent (Form EIA–
871A), 25 minutes per interview for the
mall building respondent (Form EIA–
871I), 45 minutes per interview for the
mall establishment 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–F). 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
E:\FR\FM\28MRN1.SGM
28MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2012 / Notices
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 will also
become a matter of public record.
Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the
Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974,
Public Law 93–275, codified at 15 U.S.C.
772(b).
Issued in Washington, DC, March 22, 2012.
Renee Miller,
Acting Director, Office of Survey Development
and Statistical Integration, U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012–7424 Filed 3–27–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Project No. 2216–079]
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Notice of Application for Non-Capacity
Amendment of License and Soliciting
Comments, Motions To Intervene, and
Protests: Power Authority of the State
of New York
Take notice that the following
application has been filed with the
Commission and is available for public
inspection:
a. Application Type: Non-Capacity
Amendment of License.
b. Project No.: 2216–079.
c. Date Filed: December 15, 2011 and
supplemented on February 15, 2012.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:29 Mar 27, 2012
Jkt 226001
d. Applicant: Power Authority of the
State of New York.
e. Name of Project: Niagara Power
Project.
f. Location: On the Niagara River, in
the City of Niagara Falls and the Towns
of Niagara and Lewiston in Niagara
County, New York.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power
Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a–825r.
h. Applicant Contact: Mr. John J.
Suloway, Vice President, Licensing,
Acquisition and Project Development,
New York Power Authority, 123 Main
Street, 9th Floor, White Plains, New
York 10601, (914) 287–3971.
i. FERC Contact: Jake Tung, (202)
502–8757, email at hong.tung@ferc.gov.
j. Deadline for filing comments,
motions to intervene, and protest: April
4, 2012.
Comments, motions to intervene, and
protests may be filed electronically via
the Internet. See 18 CFR
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions
on the Commission’s Web site under the
‘‘eFiling’’ link. If unable to be filed
electronically, documents may be paperfiled. To paper-file, an original and
seven copies should be mailed to:
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
For more information on how to submit
these types of filings, please go to the
Commission’s Web site located at https://
www.ferc.gov/filing-comments.asp.
k. Description of Request: The
applicant proposes to rehabilitate the
twelve 50-year-old, 20 MW pumpturbine/motor generator units at the
Lewiston Pumped Storage Development
by: (1) Installing new high efficiency
turbine runners, replacing runner seals,
replacing or modifying head covers; (2)
conducting non-destructive examination
and possible rehabilitation and
modification of shafts; (3) overhauling
the operating mechanism, replacing
wicket gates, and inspection and
rehabilitation of stay rings; and (4)
planning major maintenance for the
motor/generators, replacing main
transformers and exciters, circuit
breakers, unit control boards and
governors. The applicant proposed
timelines for rehabilitating the 12
turbine units will start in December
2012 for the first unit and complete the
last (12th) unit in November 2020. The
proposed rehabilitation would increase
the turbine hydraulic capacity by
approximately 300 cfs per unit and the
generating capacity by approximately 2
MW per unit.
l. Locations of the Application: A
copy of the application is available for
inspection and reproduction at the
Commission’s Public Reference Room,
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
18801
located at 888 First Street NE., Room
2A, Washington, DC 20426, or by calling
(202) 502–8371. This filing may also be
viewed on the Commission’s Web site 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. You may also register online
at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
esubscription.asp to be notified via
email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects.
For assistance, call 1–866–208–3676 or
email FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, for
TTY, call (202) 502–8659. A copy is also
available for inspection and
reproduction at the address in item (h)
above.
m. Individuals desiring to be included
on the Commission’s mailing list should
so indicate by writing to the Secretary
of the Commission.
n. Comments, Protests, or Motions to
Intervene: Anyone may submit
comments, a protest, or a motion to
intervene in accordance with the
requirements of Rules of Practice and
Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, .214.
In determining the appropriate action to
take, the Commission will consider all
protests or other comments filed, but
only those who file a motion to
intervene in accordance with the
Commission’s Rules may become a
party to the proceeding. Any comments,
protests, or motions to intervene must
be received on or before the specified
comment date for the particular
application.
o. Filing and Service of Responsive
Documents—All filings must bear in all
capital letters the title ‘‘COMMENTS’’,
‘‘PROTEST’’, or ‘‘MOTION TO
INTERVENE’’, as applicable, and the
Project Number of the particular
application to which the filing refers.
p. Agency Comments: Federal, state,
and local agencies are invited to file
comments on the described application.
A copy of the application may be
obtained by agencies directly from the
Applicant. If an agency does not file
comments within the time specified for
filing comments, it will be presumed to
have no comments. One copy of an
agency’s comments must also be sent to
the Applicant’s representatives.
Dated: March 21, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012–7381 Filed 3–27–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
E:\FR\FM\28MRN1.SGM
28MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18799-18801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7424]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
U.S. Energy Information Administration
Proposed Agency Information Collection
AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Information
Collection; Notice and Request for Comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EIA invites public comment on a proposed collection of
information that EIA is developing for submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995. The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed reinstatement of
the Forms EIA-871A-J, ``2012 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption
Survey.''
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 nine times covering the years 1979, 1983 and 1986 under the
name of the ``Nonresidential Buildings Energy Consumption Survey,'' and
years 1989, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007 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 representing 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 interviewing for the 2012 CBECS; interviews will be
conducted both in-person and by telephone. For those buildings that
cannot provide energy consumption data for the building, the data will
be obtained in a follow-up survey (historically a mail survey) from the
suppliers of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and/or district heat to
the building, after receiving permission from the building owner,
manager or tenant. This 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.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
[[Page 18800]]
are also published in the Annual Energy Review.
DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be
received on or before May 29, 2012. If you anticipate difficulty in
submitting comments within that period, contact the person listed in
ADDRESSES below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Joelle Michaels. To ensure receipt of the
comments by the due date, submission by email is recommended
(joelle.michaels@eia.gov). Comments may also be submitted by mail to
Joelle Michaels, Survey Manager, EI-22, 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 the forms and instructions should be directed to Ms. Michaels
at the contact information given above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection contains:
(1) OMB No. 1905-0145.
(2) Information Collection Request Title: EIA-871A-J, ``Commercial
Building Energy Consumption Survey''.
(3) Type of Request: Reinstatement with change, of a previously
approved collection for which approval has discontinued.
(4) Purpose: Need for and proposed use of the information: The EIA-
871A-J is used to collect data on energy consumption by commercial
buildings and the characteristics of these buildings. The surveys
fulfill planning, analyses and decision-making needs of DOE, other
Federal agencies, State governments, and the private sector.
Respondents are owners/managers of selected commercial buildings and
their energy suppliers. Response obligations are Voluntary (buildings)
and Mandatory (energy suppliers).
This will be a proposed reinstatement of a previously approved
collection and three-year clearance request to OMB. The content of the
2012 CBECS will be largely unchanged from the 2007 CBECS. The sampling
frame, which was redesigned for the 2003 CBECS, will be updated to
account for new construction since 2003.
The EIA proposes the following changes to EIA-871A-J, ``Commercial
Building Energy Consumption Survey'':
a. The sample size for the 2012 CBECS will be 50 percent larger
relative to the previous CBECS. The increase in sample size will allow
for fewer cell suppressions in published tables, better capture of
emerging energy phenomena, lower relative standard errors (RSEs) for
key statistics for publishable sample domains, more publishable data
for more principal building activities, and more releasable microdata
on the public use dataset.
b. Previous CBECS designs have relied on in-person personal
interviews for data collection. In 2007, field interviewers needed an
average of six contacts to complete a building interview; this process
can be time-consuming and costly when done in-person. For 2012, certain
respondents (large buildings for which contact information is usually
available) will be initially contacted by telephone. All respondents
will be given the option to complete the interview by phone. The
balance of interviews will remain personal interviews.
c. Water usage questions introduced in the 2007 will be revised and
remain in the 2012 CBECS. The Office of Wastewater Management within
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsored questions
related to water use on the 2007 CBECS. The water-energy use
connections are strong, and there is limited data about how water is
actually used in commercial buildings. Getting better information on
how water is used by commercial buildings is the first step toward
understanding commercial water use and the energy impact of that use.
The revisions to the water questions are based on extensive review by
EIA on the data that were collected in 2007. The proposed changes will
make the interview proceed more smoothly through the water questions
and result in cleaner data.
d. Based upon a recommendation from the National Academy of
Sciences, approximately 200 buildings will receive an ``energy audit.''
The main objective will be to support a cost and data quality
comparison between data collected by field interviewers and
professional energy auditors.
e. Based on review of the 2007 CBECS and consultation with data
users, refining and reformatting of the Building Questionnaire (Form
EIA-871A), Mall Building Questionnaire (EIA-871I) and the Mall
Establishment Questionnaire (EIA-871J) is occurring. Some changes have
been made already, and more are expected. For the 2012 CBECS
questionnaire, wording changes will be made, clarifying definitions
will be added, and response categories will be refined. Edits will be
added to the survey instrument to help preclude call-backs to
respondents.
(5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,142.
(6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 5,142.
(7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 3,759.
(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.
There are no additional costs to respondents associated with the survey
other than the costs associated with the burden hours.
Request for Comments
Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment
on the actions discussed in item (4). The following guidelines are
provided to assist in the preparation of comments. 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 55 minutes per interview for the building
respondent (Form EIA-871A), 25 minutes per interview for the mall
building respondent (Form EIA-871I), 45 minutes per interview for the
mall establishment 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-F). 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
[[Page 18801]]
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 will
also become a matter of public record.
Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy
Administration Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275, codified at 15 U.S.C.
772(b).
Issued in Washington, DC, March 22, 2012.
Renee Miller,
Acting Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical
Integration, U.S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-7424 Filed 3-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
