2012-30995. Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC-607); Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved information collection, FERC-607: Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorization.

DATES:

Comments on the collection of information are due February 25, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. IC13-7-000) by either of the following methods:

• eFiling at Commission's Web Site: http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​efiling.asp.
• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.

Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at: http://www.ferc.gov/​help/​submission-guide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support by email at [e-mail], or by phone at: [phone] (toll-free), or [phone] for TTY.

Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and issuances in this docket may do so at http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​docs-filing.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Brown may be reached by email at [e-mail], telephone at [phone], and fax at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: FERC-607: Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorization.

OMB Control No.: 1902-0240.

Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-607 information collection requirements with no changes to the current reporting requirements.

Abstract: The FERC-607 information collection requires agencies (Federal agency or officer, or State agency or officer acting pursuant to delegated Federal authority, responsible for a Federal authorization) to submit to the Commission a copy of a decision or action on a request for Federal authorization and an accompanying index to the documents and materials relied on in reaching a conclusion. The Commission authorizes the construction and operation of proposed natural gas projects under Natural Gas Act Sections 3 and 7; however, the Commission does not have jurisdiction over every aspect of each natural gas project. Hence, for a natural gas project to go forward, in addition to Commission approval, several different agencies must typically reach favorable findings regarding other aspects of the project. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) modified FERC's role in order to better coordinate the activities of the separate agencies with varying responsibilities over proposed natural gas projects. Section 313 of EPAct 2005 ^[1] directs FERC to compile a record of each agency's decision along with the record of the Commission's decision. The Commission compiles this record in order to serve as a consolidated record for the purpose of appeal or review (including judicial review).

Estimate of Annual Burden^[2] : The Commission estimates the total Public Reporting Burden for this information collection as:

FERC-607 (IC13-7-000): Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorization

	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total number of responses	Average burden hours per response	Estimated total annual burden
	(A)	(B)	(A)x(B)=(C)	(D)	(C)x(D)
Natural Gas Pipelines	1	1	1	6	6

The total estimated annual cost burden to respondents is $414.06 [6 hours ÷ 2080 hours/year ^[3] * $143,540/year ^[4] = $414.06]

Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the 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 and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Dated: December 19, 2012.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Amended 15 USC 717n (Section 15)

2.  The Commission defines burden as the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. For further explanation of what is included in the information collection burden, reference 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3.

3.  2080 hours = 52 weeks * 40 hours per week (i.e. 1 year of full-time employment)

4.  Average salary plus benefits per full-time equivalent employee