2022-11757. Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY:

Department of Energy.

ACTION:

Submission for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review; comment request.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted an information collection request to the OMB for extension under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection requests a three-year extension of its Contractor Legal Management Requirements, OMB Control Number 1910-5115. The proposed collection will require covered DOE contractors and subcontractors to submit to DOE counsel a legal management plan within 60 days following execution of a contract or request of the contracting officer. Covered contractors must also submit an annual legal budget that includes cost projections for matters defined as significant matters. The budget detail will depend on the nature of the activities and complexity of the matters included in the budget. The regulation further requires covered contractors to submit staffing and resource plans addressing matters defined as significant matters in litigation. The regulation requires covered contractors to submit certain information related to litigation initiated against the contractor before initiating defensive litigation, offensive litigation, or entering into a settlement agreement.

DATES:

Comments regarding this collection must be received on or before July 1, 2022. 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 OMB Desk Officer of your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. The Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202-881-8585.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Eric Mulch, [e-mail], [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This information collection request contains: (1) OMB No.: 1910-5115; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Contractor Legal Management Requirements; (3) Type of Review: extension; (4) Purpose: the information collection to be extended has been and will be used to form the basis for DOE actions on requests from the contractors for reimbursement of litigation and other legal expenses. The information collected related to annual legal budget, staffing and resource plans, and initiation or settlement of defensive or offensive litigation is and will be similarly used.; (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 45; (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 154; (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 1150; (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 0.

Statutory Authority: Section 161 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. 2201, the Department of Energy Organization Act, 42 U.S.C 7101, et seq., and the National Nuclear Security Administration Act, 50 U.S.C. 2401, et seq.

Signing Authority

This document of the Department of Energy was signed on May 26, 2022, by Brian J. Lally, Acting Deputy General Counsel for Transactions, Technology and Contractor Human Resources, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register .

Signed in Washington, DC, on May 26, 2022.

Treena V. Garrett,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.