Office of General Counsel; Agency Information Collection Extension, 18545-18546 [2014-07365]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Western Area Power Administration

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18545-18546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07365]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Office of General Counsel; Agency Information Collection 
Extension

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), an element of 
the Department of Energy (DOE), pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, intends to extend for three years without change, an 
information collection request with the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Western's current OMB control number 1910-5136 for its Applicant 
Profile Data form (APD) expires on September 30, 2014.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before the end of the comment period that closes on June 
2, 2014. Western must receive comments by the end of the comment period 
to ensure consideration.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Mr. Ronald Klinefelter, 
Assistant General Counsel, Western Area Power Administration, 12155 W. 
Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80228 or by email to 
PRAComments@wapa.gov. Please refer to ``Paperwork Reduction Act 
Information Collection'' as the subject of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Mr. Ronald Klinefelter, 
Assistant General Counsel, Western Area Power Administration, 12155 W. 
Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80228, telephone (720) 962-7010, or email 
PRAComments@wapa.gov. Western's existing collection instrument, the 
APD, can be viewed in the Invitation for Public Comments on Western's 
Web page ww2.wapa.gov/sites/Western/Documents/APDcomments.pdf.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request relates 
to: (1) OMB No. 1910-5136; (2) Information Collection Request Title: 
Western Area Power Administration Applicant Profile Data; (3) Type of 
Review: renewal; (4) Purpose: The proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of Western's functions. Western 
markets a limited amount of Federal power. Western has discretion to 
determine who will receive an allocation of Federal power. Due to the 
high demand for Western's power and limited amount of available power 
under established marketing plans, Western needs to be able to collect 
information using the APD to evaluate the entities that apply to 
receive allocations of Federal power; (5) Annual Estimated Number of 
Respondents: 33.3; (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 
33.3; (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 266.7; (8) Annual 
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $31,564.37.

I. Statutory Authority

    Reclamation Laws are a series of laws arising from the Desert Land 
Act of 1872 and include but are not limited to: the Desert Land Act of 
1872, Reclamation Act of 1902, Reclamation Project Act of 1939, and the 
Acts authorizing each individual project such as the Central

[[Page 18546]]

Valley Project Authorizing Act of 1937.\1\ The Reclamation Act of 1902 
established the Federal reclamation program.\2\ The basic principle of 
the Reclamation Act of 1902 was that the United States, through the 
Secretary of the Interior, would build and operate irrigation works 
from the proceeds of public land sales in the sixteen arid Western 
states (a seventeenth was later added). The Reclamation Project Act of 
1939 expanded the purposes of the reclamation program and specified 
certain terms for contracts that the Secretary of the Interior enters 
into to furnish water and power.\3\ Congress enacted the Reclamation 
Laws for purposes that include enhancing navigation, protection from 
floods, reclaiming the arid lands in the Western United States, and for 
fish and wildlife.\4\ Congress intended the production of power would 
be a supplemental feature of the multi-purpose water projects 
authorized under the Reclamation Laws.\5\ No contract entered into by 
the United States for power may impair the efficiency of the project 
for irrigation purposes.\6\ Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944 
is read in pari materia with Reclamation Laws.\7\ In 1977, the 
Department of Energy Organization Act transferred the power marketing 
functions of the Department of the Interior to Western.\8\ Pursuant to 
this authority, Western markets Federal hydropower. As part of 
Western's marketing authority, Western needs to obtain information from 
interested entities who desire an allocation of Federal power. The 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires Western to obtain a clearance 
from OMB before collecting this information.\9\
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    \1\ See Ch. 107, 19 stat. 377 (1872), Ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 388 
(1902), Ch, 418, 53 Stat. 1187 (1939), ch. 832, 50 Stat. 844, 850 
(1937), all as amended and supplemented.
    \2\ See, Ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 388, as amended and supplemented.
    \3\ See, Ch. 418, 53 Stat. 1187 (1939), as amended and 
supplemented.
    \4\ See, e.g., Ch. 832, 50 Stat. 844, 850 (1937), as amended and 
supplemented.
    \5\ See, e.g., Ch. 832, 50 Stat. 844, 850 (1937), as amended and 
supplemented.
    \6\ See, 43 U.S.C. 485h(c).
    \7\ See Act of December 22, 1944, Ch. 665, 58 Stat. 887, as 
amended and supplemented.
    \8\ See, 42 U.S.C. 7152(a)(1)(E).
    \9\ See 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.
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II. This Process Determines the Format of the APD and Is Not a Call for 
Applications

    This public process and the associated Federal Register notice only 
determine the information that Western will collect from an entity 
desiring to apply for a Federal power allocation. This public process 
is a legal requirement that Western must comply with before Western can 
request information from potential preference customers. This public 
process is not the process whereby interested parties request an 
allocation of Federal power. The actual allocation of power is outside 
the scope of this proceeding. Please do not submit a request for 
Federal power in this process. At a later time, through a separate 
process, Western will issue a call for applications, as part of its 
project-specific marketing plans. When Western issues a call for 
applications, the information Western proposes to collect is voluntary. 
Western will use the information collected, in conjunction with its 
project-specific marketing plans, to determine an entity's eligibility 
and ultimately which entity will receive an allocation of Federal 
power.

III. Invitation for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the extended collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall 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 respondents, 
including the use of automated electronic, mechanical or other 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

    Dated: March 20, 2014.
Mark A. Gabriel,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-07365 Filed 4-1-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P