02-21385. Commission Information Collection Activities, Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension

August 16, 2002.

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described below.

DATES:

Comments on the collection of information are due by October 18, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Copies of the proposed collection of information can be obtained from Michael Miller, Office of the Chief Information Officer, CI-1, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Comments may be filed either in paper format or electronically. Those persons filing electronically do not need to make a paper filing. For paper filings, the original and 14 copies of such comments should be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE. Washington, DC 20426 and should refer to Docket No. IC02-520-000.

Documents filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To file the document, access the Commission's website at www.ferc.gov and click on “Make an E-filing,” and then follow the instructions for each screen. First time users will have to establish a user name and password. The Commission will send an automatic acknowledgment to the sender's E-mail address upon receipt of comments. User assistance for electronic filings is available at 202-208-0258 or by e-mail to [e-mail]. Comments should not be submitted to the e-mail address.

All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the Internet through FERC's homepage using the FERRIS link. User assistance for FERRIS is available at 202-502-2222, or by e-mail to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Miller may be reached by telephone at [phone], by fax at [phone], and by e-mail at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The information collected under the requirements of FERC-520 “Application for Authority to Hold Interlocking Directorate Positions”^[1] (OMB No. 1902-0083) is used by the Commission to implement the statutory provisions of Section 305(b) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), 16 U.S.C. 825d. Section 305(b) makes the holding of certain defined interlocking corporate positions unlawful unless the Commission has authorized the interlocks to be held, and requires the applicant to show in a form and manner as prescribed by the Commission, that neither public nor private interests will be adversely affected by the holding of the position. The Commission implements these filing requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR part 45.

Under part 45, each person that desires to hold interlocking positions must submit an application to the Commission for authorization, or if qualified, comply with the requirements for automatic authorization. The interlocking positions application requirements are set forth in Section 45.8; automatic authorization requirements are set forth in Section 45.9. In addition, a person already holding an existing authorized interlocking position, must apply for separate authorization under Section 45.4(a) when appointed to a new position within the same company. The information required under part 45 generally identifies the applicant, describes the various interlocking positions the applicant seeks authorization to hold, provides information on the applicant's financial interests, other officers and directors of the firms involved, and the nature of the business relationships among the firms.

Action: The Commission is requesting a three-year extension of the current expiration date, with no changes to the existing collection of data.

Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated as:

Number of respondents annually	Number of responses per respondent	Average burden hours per response	Total annual burden hours
(1)	(2)	(3)	(1)×(2)×(3)
28	1	51.8	1,450

Estimated cost burden to respondents is $81,591: (1,450 hours / 2,080 hours per year × $117,041 per year). The cost per respondent is equal to $ 2,914.

The reporting burden includes the total time, effort, or financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the information including: (1) Reviewing instructions; (2) developing, acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, verifying, processing, maintaining, disclosing and providing information; (3) adjusting the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; (4) training personnel to respond to a collection of information; (5) searching data sources; (6) completing and reviewing the collection of information; and (7) transmitting, or otherwise disclosing the information.

The estimate of cost for respondents is based upon salaries for professional and clerical support, as well as direct and indirect overhead costs. Direct costs include all costs directly attributable to providing this information, such as administrative costs and the cost for information technology. Indirect or overhead costs are costs incurred by an organization in support of its mission. These costs apply to activities which benefit the whole organization rather than any one particular function or activity.

Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed 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 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 those who are to respond.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Interlocking Directorates is defined as a number of separately organized and functioning corporations managed by the same or nearly the same group of directors; bringing about a community of interest between the companies.