View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 1902-0241	ICR Reference No: 201303-1902-002
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201003-1902-003
Agency/Subagency: FERC	Agency Tracking No: FERC-606 & FERC-607
Title: FERC-606 & FERC-607, Notification of Request for Federal Authorization and Requests for Further Information & Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorizations
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 with change	Conclusion Date: 05/23/2013
	Date Received in OIRA: 04/19/2013
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	05/31/2016	36 Months From Approved	05/31/2013
Responses	2	0	1,702
Time Burden (Hours)	10	0	7,489
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	496,399

Abstract: 18 CFR 385.2013 directs the agency or official to forward that initial assessment of federal authorizations (e.g. permits, special use authorizations, certifications, concurrences, or other approvals) to the Commission. If in the course of processing a federal authorization request, an agency or official finds additional information from the applicant is needed, 18 CFR 385.2013 directs the agency or official to forward to the Commission a copy of any data request sent to the applicant. With respect to 18 CFR 385.2014, the Commission assumes that in considering a request for a federal authorization for natural gas projects, agencies compile and title the documents and materials they rely upon in reaching a decision. The Commission does not require a specific format for the index of documents and materials that is to be submitted to FERC. An agency's in-house recordkeeping may be presented as an index, as long as it functions as a table of contents to the documents and materials. FERC-606 requires agencies and officials responsible for issuing, conditioning, or denying requests for federal authorizations necessary for a proposed natural gas project to report to the Commission regarding the status of an authorization request. This reporting requirement is intended to allow agencies to assist the Commission to make better informed decisions in establishing due dates for agencies' decisions. FERC-607 requires agencies or officials 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 information collections cannot be discontinued nor collected less frequently because of statutory requirements. The consequences of not collecting this information are that the Commission would be unable to fulfill its statutory mandate under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to: Establish a schedule for agencies to review requests for federal authorizations required for a project, and Compile a record of each agency's decision, together with the record of the Commission's decision, to serve as a consolidated record for the purpose of appeal or review, including judicial review.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 15 USC 717n-717o Name of Law: Natural Gas Act
PL: Pub.L. 109 - 58 313 Name of Law: Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005)

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:
	77 FR 76016	12/26/2012
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	78 FR 16486	03/15/2013
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	2	1,702	-1,700
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	10	7,489	-7,479
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	496,399	-496,399

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: The change in burden is not due to any change in recordkeeping or reporting requirements. These decreases are due to the following: 1) a reduction in the number of estimated respondents and 2) reduction in the estimated time needed to respond to this collection. FERC has reduced the estimated burden related to FERC-606 and FERC-607 based on recent trends. As a result of the requirements in EPAct 2005 (that FERC coordinates), the issuance of all federal authorizations needed for natural gas facilities, and to maintain a consolidated record for the purpose of legal appeals, FERC issued regulations requiring agencies that issue federal authorizations to provide information related to their permits. However, neither EPAct 2005 nor FERC's regulations give FERC the ability to compel those state and federal agencies to report to us on the status of authorization requests or decisions. We cannot speculate on why the agencies are not providing the required information. FERC does require applicants to provide documentation that they have received all necessary federal authorizations before permitting construction. For FERC-607, the consolidated records and index provisions were established to facilitate appeals of agency decisions by project sponsors (applicants). However, applicants are not availing themselves of this provision of EPAct 2005. As a result of these factors, the anticipated number of responses and burden hours per response going forward has been decreased. Commission staff based previous burden estimates on the fact that these filings are required and expected of agencies involved in authorizing federal requests or decisions. However, Commission staff is now reducing the burden estimates due to the repeated lack of filings.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $1,588

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

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? 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: Sheila Lampitoc 202 502-6193

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion