Agency Information Collection Extension, 49770-49774 [2014-19960]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Western Area Power Administration

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 163 (Friday, August 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49770-49774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19960]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Submission for Office of Management and Budget review; Request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (Western), an agency within 
the Department of Energy (DOE), has submitted an extension to an 
existing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review, comment and approval, as 
required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The ICR seeks a 3-
year extension for Western's Applicant Profile Data form (APD), OMB 
Control No. 1910-5136. The ICR described below identifies the request, 
including the anticipated public burdens. The ICR is necessary for the 
proper performance of Western's functions. Western markets a limited 
amount of Federal power. Due to the high demand for Western's power and 
limited amount of available power, Western needs to be able to collect 
information under the ICR to evaluate who will receive an allocation. 
This public process only determines the information Western will 
collect in its ICR. The actual allocation of Federal power will be done 
through a separate process and is outside the scope of this notice.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this collection must 
be received on or before September 22, 2014. The Paperwork Reduction 
Act requires OMB to make a decision on the extension of the ICR within 
60 days after this publication or receipt of the proposed collection of 
information, whichever is later. If you anticipate that you will be 
submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period 
of time allowed by this notice, please advise the DOE Desk Officer at 
OMB of your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. You may 
phone the Desk at 202-395-4718.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: The DOE Desk Officer, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 735 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503.
    A copy of the comments should be sent to Western at 
PRAcomments@wapa.gov or Mr. Ronald Klinefelter, Assistant General 
Counsel, Western Area Power Administration, Corporate Services Office, 
12155 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80228-8213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the APD and instructions should be directed to Mr. Ronald 
Klinefelter at the above address or telephone (720) 962-7010. The APD 
is available on Western's Web page at ww2.wapa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 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 16 arid Western states (a 
17th 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

[[Page 49771]]

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, generally, 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, a separate and 
distinct administration within DOE.\8\
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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 (1902), 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)(D).
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II. Purpose of Proposed Collection

    Western is collecting and will continue to collect the data under 
its APD to properly perform its function of marketing a limited amount 
of Federal hydropower. The information Western collects is voluntary. 
Due to the high demand for Western's power and limited amount of 
available power, Western will use the information collected in the APD 
(and has used the information collected under the current OMB-approved 
control number), in conjunction with its marketing plans, to determine 
an entity's eligibility and, ultimately, who will receive an allocation 
of Federal power. As a result, the information Western collects is both 
necessary and useful.
    Western notes the Paperwork Reduction Act and associated Federal 
Register notice is a process whereby Western obtains approval from OMB 
to collect information from the public. It is a legal requirement 
Western must comply with before requesting potential preference 
customers to submit an application for power. The Paperwork Reduction 
Act process is not the process where interested parties request an 
allocation of Federal power. The allocation of power from Western is 
outside the scope of this process and is completed in a separate 
process by each Western region, when required.

III. Background to This Process and Responses to Comments

A. Background

    On April 2, 2014, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act,\9\ Western published a notice in the Federal Register inviting 
comments on extending Western's APD, OMB Control No. 1910-5136.\10\ 
Western provided a 60-day comment period. As part of that notice, 
Western also invited comments on: (1) Whether the proposed continued 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
burden, 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 through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Western 
is not proposing any significant changes in the content and format of 
the APD. As stated in the 60-day Federal Register notice, Western 
posted the changes and a description on why the changes were made on 
its Web page.\11\ Western also noted in its Invitation for Comments 
that there was an error made in 2011 entering the information into 
ROCIS.gov, the government's regulatory information clearing house.\12\ 
The ROCIS error identified Western as collecting 30 APDs on an average 
annual basis instead of 33.3. In the final Federal Register notices in 
both 2008 and 2011, Western determined, on average, it will collect 
33.3 APDs on an average annual basis.\13\ For the 2014-2017 period, 
Western will continue to collect 33.3 responses on an average annual 
basis. Western will have this error corrected when the information is 
inputted into ROCIS for the 2014-2017 period.
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    \9\ See 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.
    \10\ See 79 FR 18545 (2014).
    \11\ See 79 FR 18545 (2014); https://www.wapa.gov/sites/Western/Documents/APDcomments.pdf.
    \12\ See Extension of OMB No. 1910-5136, Invitation for Comments 
at p. 6 (2014).
    \13\ See 73 FR 31,463 (2008); 76 FR 49,764 (2011).
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    In April 2014, concurrent with the publication of the Federal 
Register notice, Western posted an Invitation for Comments on its Web 
page. Western emailed over 1,000 potentially interested entities and 
customer groups, informing them of the publication of the Federal 
Register notice and Invitation for Comments. The email went to 
stakeholders in Western's service territory, which includes, but is not 
limited to, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, 
Wyoming, Montana, Texas, North Dakota and South Dakota.

B. Response to Comments

    Western received no public comments.

IV. Information Collection Request: Applicant Profile Data, OMB Control 
No. 1910-5136

    Western has submitted to OMB the request to extend Western's APD. 
The APD and responses to the APD will not be part of a system of 
records covered by the Privacy Act \14\ and will be available under the 
Freedom of Information Act.\15\
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    \14\ See 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
    \15\ See 5 U.S.C. 552. Western reserves the right to redact 
information to protect confidential or sensitive information, as 
provided under FOIA.
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    A copy of the APD is available on Western's Web page at 
ww2.wapa.gov. As discussed, Western is not making any significant 
changes in the content and format of the APD. As of February 2014, 
applicants can complete the APD directly online at Western's Web page. 
The APD, the administrative record for the proposal justifying its 
continued use, and identifying burden hours are available for 
inspection and copying at Western's Corporate Services Office.
    As part of this process, Western has identified what it believes is 
the minimum amount of information Western needs for its regional 
offices to properly perform the functions of the agency. Due to the 
variations that may develop in each region, the region, through its 
marketing plan, may determine that it does not need to collect all of 
the information contained in the APD. As a result, Western will allow 
each region to use subsets of the form, where one region's APD may 
request less information than another region's APD. Also, to ensure 
equitable treatment of applications, when issuing a call for 
applications, Western may provide additional directions to clarify 
certain sections of the APD, e.g., identify the year or years to use in 
preparing the APD. Rather than over collect unnecessary information, 
Western seeks to collect only the minimal amount of information it 
needs. Western evaluated the possibility of using the same APD form, 
instructing applicants to fill out only certain sections; however, this 
approach could lead to an applicant ignoring or misunderstanding 
Western's

[[Page 49772]]

instructions and providing unnecessary information. Using a subset of 
information and providing clarifying directions will lead to a more 
consistent process and will minimize the time an applicant uses to 
complete the APD.
    To receive an allocation of Federal power from Western, the 
applicant must provide the information requested in the APD. If the 
requested information is not applicable or is not available, the 
applicant will note it on the APD. Western will request, in writing, 
additional information from any applicant whose application is 
deficient. Western will notify the applicant when the application is 
due. In the event an applicant fails to provide sufficient information 
to allow Western to make a determination regarding eligibility by the 
due date, the application will not be considered.

V. Paperwork Reduction Requirements

A. Introduction

    1. OMB Number: Western's existing OMB Number is 1910-5136. This 
number is displayed on the front page of the APD. It expires on 
September 30, 2014.
    2. Title: Applicant Profile Data.
    3. Type of Review: Western is seeking to extend its APD for 3 
years.
    4. Purpose: The APD 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. 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 to evaluate who will receive an allocation. As a 
result, the information Western collects is both necessary and useful. 
This public process only determines the information Western will 
collect in its application. The actual allocation of Federal power will 
be done through a separate process and is outside the scope of this 
proceeding.
    5. Respondent: The response is voluntary. However, if an entity 
seeks an allocation of Federal power, the applicant must submit an APD. 
Western has identified the following class of respondents as the most 
likely to apply: Municipalities, cooperatives, public utilities, 
irrigation districts, Native American Tribes, and Federal and State 
agencies. The respondents will be located in Arizona, California, 
Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New 
Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. The 
information submitted on the APD will not be part of a system of 
records covered by the Privacy Act \16\ and will be available under the 
Freedom of Information Act.\17\
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    \16\ See 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
    \17\ See 5 U.S.C. 552. Western reserves the right to redact 
information to protect confidential or sensitive information, as 
provided under FOIA.
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    6. Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: The responses will be 
periodic and occur when Western has power available under an allocation 
process. Based on historical data, Western anticipates it will receive 
approximately 100 requests for power during the 3-year period when the 
OMB Clearance Number is in effect. This results in an estimated annual 
average of 33.3 respondents.
    7. Number of Burden Hours and Estimated Reporting and Record 
Keeping Costs:
    a. Initial Application: Western anticipates that it will take less 
than 8 hours to complete the APD. Once the respondent completes the 
APD, it will submit the APD to Western for Western's review. After 
submitting the APD, provided the APD is complete and no clarification 
is required, Western does not anticipate requiring any further 
information for the APD from the applicant, unless the applicant is 
successful in obtaining a power allocation. The applicant submits only 
one APD. It does not submit an APD every year. If the applicant 
receives a power allocation, the applicant will need to complete a 
standard contract to receive its power allocation. Western's standard 
contract terms are outside the scope of this process.
    b. Recordkeeping: There is no mandatory recordkeeping requirement 
for the applicant if it does not receive an allocation of Federal 
power. In such case, any recordkeeping of the APD by a respondent is 
voluntary. For those entities that receive a Federal power allocation, 
Western requires the successful applicant to keep the information for 3 
years after the applicant signs its Federal power contract. The 3-year 
record retention policy will allow Western sufficient time to 
administer the contract and to ensure the applicant provided factual 
information in its application. A 3-year record retention policy will 
have little impact on most businesses in the electric utility industry. 
Western anticipates that it would take less than 1 hour per successful 
candidate, per year, for recordkeeping purposes. Western anticipates 
that in a 3-year period, Western will have approximately 30 successful 
applicants.
    c. Methodology: Based on the total number of burden hours and the 
total number of applications described above, Western expects that over 
a 3-year period, the total burden hours to complete the APD is 800 
hours (100 applicants over 3 years x 8 hours per applicant). This 
converts to an annual hourly burden of 266.667 hours. An entity will 
only complete the APD once. It is not required each year.
    Based on the above, Western anticipates that there will be 
additional cost burdens for recordkeeping of 1 hour per year for each 
applicant who receives a Federal power allocation. Western anticipates 
that over the course of 3 years there will be 30 successful applicants. 
The power may be allocated in year 1, year 2 or year 3. For the 
purposes of determining the cost burden, Western will presume all 30 
applicants received an allocation in year 1. As a result, the annual 
hourly burden for recordkeeping is 30 hours.
    For the purposes of this cost burden analysis, Western is assuming 
that a utility staff specialist will complete the APD. Western 
estimates a utility staff specialist rate, including administrative 
overhead, to be approximately $112/hour. For recordkeeping, Western 
estimates an administrative support rate of $56/hour. Based on the 
above, Western estimates the total annual cost as (266.667 hour/year x 
$112/hour) + (30 hour/year x $56/hour) = $31,546.67 per year.
    Using the above estimates, the cost to complete the APD is a one-
time cost of $896. In addition to the one-time cost, the applicant, if 
it successfully receives a power allocation, will incur an additional 
expense of 1 hour for recordkeeping per year x $56 per hour for a total 
recordkeeping cost of $168 for 3 years. Thus on a per applicant basis, 
assuming the applicant receives a Federal power allocation, the total 
cost for the applicant over a 3-year period is $1,064.
    d. Summary of Burdens:

[[Page 49773]]



                                      Table 1--Annual Hour Burden Estimates
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                                                                     Number of        Average
                    Activity                         Number of     responses per    burden hour      Sub-total
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response    burden  hours
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APD.............................................          33.333               1               8          266.67
Recordkeeping...................................              30               1               1           30.00
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Burden................................  ..............  ..............  ..............          296.67
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                                                          Table 2--Annual Cost Burden Estimate
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                                                                             Number of        Average
                       Instrument                            Number of     responses per  annual  burden     Cost  per       Cost per        Sub-total
                                                            respondents     respondent          hour       burden  hour      response          cost
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prepare APD.............................................          33.333               1               8            $112        $ 896.00      $29,866.67
Recordkeeping...........................................              30               1               1              56           56.00        1,680.00
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Cost..........................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............       31,546.67
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    The procedure and process for the allocation of power shall be the 
subject matter of a separate notice and is outside the scope of this 
process.

B. Does the collection of data avoid unnecessary duplication?

    To avoid unnecessary duplication, only entities that desire a new 
Western allocation are required to submit an APD.
    As it relates to each of the components of the APD, there is no 
duplication. Section 1 is information Western needs to determine who 
the applicant is, whether the applicant is a statutorily-defined 
preference entity,\18\ and whether the applicant is ready, willing, and 
able to receive and/or distribute Federal power. Section 2 identifies 
the amount of Federal power that the applicant requests. Section 3 
identifies the applicant's loads. Section 4 identifies the applicant's 
resources. Section 5 identifies the applicant's transmission delivery 
arrangements to receive Federal power. Section 6 is voluntary and 
provides the applicant with the ability to provide any additional 
information. Section 7 is an attestation that the information provided 
is true and accurate to the best of the applicant's knowledge.
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    \18\ See e.g., 43 U.S.C. 485h(c).
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C. Does the collection reduce the burden on the respondent, including 
small entities, to the extent practicable and appropriate?

    The information requested is the minimum amount of information 
needed to determine whether the applicant qualifies as a statutorily-
defined preference entity and is ready, willing, and able to receive an 
allocation of Federal power.\19\
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    \19\ See e.g., 43 U.S.C. 485h(c).
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D. Does the collection use plain, coherent, and unambiguous language 
that is understandable to the respondent?

    The collection uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that 
is understandable to the target audience. The terms are those used in 
the electric utility industry. Western does not market power to 
individual members of the public such as homeowners or shopkeepers. 
Preference entities are statutorily-designated potential customers who 
generally are involved in the power business. As a result, the language 
used in the application is understandable to the target audience.

E. Is the collection consistent with and compatible with the 
respondent's current reporting and recordkeeping practices to the 
maximum extent practicable?

    The information collection is voluntary. Western will use the 
information to determine whether an applicant qualifies as a preference 
entity to receive an allocation of Federal power. As discussed above, 
there is no mandatory recordkeeping requirement on the applicant if it 
does not receive an allocation of Federal power. For those entities 
that receive a Federal power allocation, Western requires that they 
keep the information for 3 years after Western grants the power 
allocation and the applicant signs a Federal power contract. The 3-year 
record retention policy for such applicants allows Western sufficient 
time to administer the contract and to ensure the applicant provided 
factual information in its application. Western anticipates that a 3-
year record retention policy will have little impact on most businesses 
in the power industry who will keep the APD as part of their normal 
business records. The procedure and process for the allocation of power 
shall be the subject matter of a separate notice and is outside the 
scope of this process.

F. Does the collection indicate the retention period for any 
recordkeeping requirements for the respondent?

    The APD identifies that there is no recordkeeping requirement for 
the respondent if it does not receive an allocation of Federal power. 
It also identifies that applicants who receive an allocation of Federal 
power must retain the records for 3 years.

G. Does the collection inform the public of the information the public 
needs to exercise scrutiny concerning the agency need to collect 
information (the reasons the information is collected, the way it is 
used, an estimate of the burden, whether the response is voluntary, 
required to obtain a benefit, or mandatory and a statement that no 
person is required to respond unless a valid OMB control number is 
displayed)?

    If an entity desires a Federal power allocation from Western, 
Western needs certain information to determine whether the entity is 
eligible to receive power. Western has a limited amount of power 
available and uses its discretion in allocating power. In order to use 
its discretion in allocating power, Western will use the information 
collected on the application. Western will not accept incomplete 
applications. Western will work with any entities that may need

[[Page 49774]]

assistance in completing the application. No person is required to 
submit any information unless a valid OMB control number is displayed. 
No person is required to submit any information unless they desire a 
Federal power allocation.

H. Is the collection developed by an office that has planned and 
allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use 
of the information collected?

    Western's power marketing offices will administer and evaluate the 
applications. Use and management of the collected information has been 
factored into each office's functions and resource requirements. 
Historically, Western has requested the same relative information from 
applicants and effectively used Western resources to utilize and manage 
the information in its determinations. Each power marketing office will 
make a recommendation to Western's Administrator on which applicant(s) 
should be awarded a Federal power allocation based on the information 
contained in the APD. Western's Administrator shall use his discretion 
in the final award of power allocations. The procedure and process for 
the allocation of power shall be the subject matter of a separate 
notice and is outside the scope of this process.

I. Does the collection use effective and efficient statistical survey 
methods?

    Since the information collected is used to determine whether an 
applicant receives an allocation of Federal power, this section is 
inapplicable.

J. Does the collection use information technology to the maximum extent 
practicable to reduce the burden and to improve data quality, agency 
efficiency, and responsiveness to the public?

    The APD will be accessible for downloading via Western's Web page. 
Western will accept email submission of the APD, as well as submission 
via fax or regular mail. Applicants also can enter the information on 
an electronic APD on Western's Web page.

VII. Invitation for Comments

    Western invites public comment on its request to extend its APD 
that Western submitted to OMB pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995. The Paperwork Reduction Act requires OMB to make a decision on 
the ICR within 60 days after this publication or receipt of the 
proposed collection of information, whichever is later.\20\ Comments 
should be sent directly to the addresses listed in the Addresses 
Section above.
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    \20\ See 5 CFR 1320.10(b).

    Dated: August 15, 2014.
Mark A. Gabriel,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-19960 Filed 8-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P