View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 1902-0060	ICR Reference No: 201808-1902-003
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201507-1902-003
Agency/Subagency: FERC	Agency Tracking No: FERC-537
Title: FERC-537, Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition and Abandonment
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 10/26/2018
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 09/06/2018
Terms of Clearance: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three years.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	10/31/2021	36 Months From Approved	10/31/2018
Responses	335	0	458
Time Burden (Hours)	50,935	0	66,538
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: Under the Natural Gas Act (NGA) a natural gas company must obtain FERC authorization to engage in the transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce, to undertake the construction or extension of any facilities, or to acquire or operate any such facilities or extensions in accordance with Section 7(c) of the NGA. A natural gas company must also obtain FERC approval under Section 7(b) of the NGA prior to abandoning any jurisdictional facility or service. Under the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) (Public Law 96-621) interstate pipelines must also obtain FERC authorization for certain transportation arrangements. If a certificate is granted, the natural gas company can engage in the interstate transportation of natural gas and construct, acquire, or operate facilities. Conversely, approval of an abandonment application permits the pipeline to cease service and discontinue the operation of such facilities. Authorization under NGPA Section 311(a) allows the interstate or intrastate pipeline applicants to render certain transportation services. The natural gas companies file the necessary information with FERC so that the Commission can determine from the data if the requested certificate should be authorized. The data required to be submitted in a normal certificate filing may include (depending on the circumstances and application): • identification of the company and responsible officials • factors considered in the location of the facilities and the impact on the area for environmental considerations • Flow diagrams showing the design capacity for engineering design verification and safety determination; • Cost of proposed facilities, plans for financing, and estimated revenues and expenses related to the proposed facility for accounting and financial evaluation. • Existing and proposed storage capacity and pressures and reservoir engineering studies for requests to increase storage capacity; • Engineering drawings; • An affidavit showing the consent of existing customers for abandonment of service requests. In addition, requests for an increase of pipeline capacity must include a statement that demonstrates compliance with the Commission’s Certificate Policy Statement by making a showing that the cost of the expansion will not be subsidized by existing customers and that there will not be adverse economic impacts to existing customers, competing pipelines or their customers, or to landowners and surrounding communities.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 15 USC 717-717w Name of Law: Natural Gas Act
US Code: 15 USC 3301-3432 Name of Law: Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	83 FR 23451	05/21/2018
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	83 FR 42282	08/21/2018
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Gas Pipeline Certificates: Construction, Acquisition and Abandonment

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	335	458	-123
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	50,935	66,538	-15,603
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Growth in the industry caused the number of respondents to increase from 204 to 214. This reflects the fact that more firms are doing business related to gas pipeline construction, acquisition, and abandonment. However, there was a reduction in number of responses annually from 458 to 335. This reduction was due to the type, size and scope of projects those firms initiated being different and/or less frequent because of saturated market conditions and the major development of infrastructure that had previously occurred in prior years.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $6,926,633

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Howard Wheeler 202 502-8688 howard.wheeler@ferc.gov

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion