Commission Collection Activities, Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13), 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 December 1, 2003.

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 on the proposed collection of information may be filed either in paper format or electronically. Those parties 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. IC03-577-000.

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 Web site at http://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.

All comments may be viewed, printed or downloaded remotely via the Internet through FERC's homepage using the eLibrary link. For user assistance contact FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact 202-502-8659.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Miller may be reached by telephone at (202) 502-8415, by fax at (202) 273-0873 and by E-mail at michael.miller@ferc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The information collected under the requirements of FERC-577, “Gas Pipeline Certificates: Environmental Impact Statement” (OMB No. 1902-0128) is a filing requirement of the environmental assessment of pipeline and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility construction projects. The filing collects information from all Natural Gas Act (NGA) jurisdictional pipeline companies as well as companies whose Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) are reviewed by the Commission.

The information collected under FERC-577 is used by the Commission to implement the statutory provisions of section 102 (2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (Pub. L. 91-190) (42 U.S.C. 4332). NEPA requires that all Federal agencies must include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of human environment, a detailed statement on: the environmental impact on the proposed actions; any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented; alternatives to the proposed action; the relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long term productivity; and any irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented. The Commission uses the pipeline's data to evaluate the environmental aspects of construction proposals and may be used in the Commission staff's independent preparation of Environmental Assessments or Environmental Impact Statements. The staff examines and projects potential effects on soils, geology, water resources, land use, recreation, aesthetics, air and noise quality, vegetation, wildlife, cultural resources and pipeline and liquefied natural gas safety. The Commission implements these filing requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under 18 CFR parts 2; 157; 284; 375 and 380.

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:

Estimated Burden: 233,226 total burden hours, 76 respondents, 1,259 responses annually, and 185.2 hours per response (average).

Estimated cost burden to respondents is $13,123,5620; (i.e., 233,226 hours divided by 2,080 hours per full time employee per year multiplied by $117,041 per year equals $13,123,560)(rounded off). The cost per respondent is equal to $172,678.

The reporting burden includes the total time, effort, or financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, or 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, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.