Notice2022-25464
Commission Information Collection Activities; (FERC-550); Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 23, 2022
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Abstract
In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved information collection, FERC-550 (Oil Pipeline Rates--Tariff Filings and Depreciation Studies), which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The Commission received no comments on the 60 Day Notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71608-71610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25464]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. IC22-34-000]
Commission Information Collection Activities; (FERC-550); Comment
Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of information collection and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or
FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved
information collection, FERC-550 (Oil Pipeline Rates--Tariff Filings
and Depreciation Studies), which will be submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The Commission received no
comments on the 60 Day Notice.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due December 23,
2022.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on FERC-550 to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) through <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>,
Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk Officer. Please
identify the OMB Control Number 1902-0089 (Oil Pipeline Rates--Tariff
Filings and Depreciation Studies) in the subject line. Your comments
should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register.
Please submit copies of your comments (identified by Docket No.
IC22-34-000 and FERC-550) to the Commission as noted below. Electronic
filing through <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a> is preferred.
<bullet> Electronic Filing: Documents must be filed in acceptable
native applications and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture
format.
<bullet> For those unable to file electronically, comments may be
filed by USPS mail or by hand (including courier) delivery:
[ssquf] Mail via U.S. Postal Service only, addressed to: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
[ssquf] Hand (including courier) delivery to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
Please reference the specific collection number(s) (FERC-550) and/
or title(s) (Oil Pipeline Rates--Tariff Filings and Depreciation
Studies) in your comments.
Instructions: OMB submissions must be formatted and filed in
accordance with submission guidelines at: <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Using the search function under the ``Currently Under Review
field,'' select ``Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,'' click
``submit,'' and select ``comment'' to the right of the subject
collection. FERC submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance
with submission guidelines at: <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a>. For user
assistance, contact FERC Online Support by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#21474453424e4f4d484f44525451514e535561474453420f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f5939087969a9b999c9b90868085859a8781b593908796db929a83">[email protected]</span></a>, or by phone at (866) 208-3676 (toll-free).
[[Page 71609]]
Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of
activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and
issuances in this docket may do so at <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bdf9dcc9dcfed1d8dccfdcd3ded8fdfbf8effe93dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e6a4f5a4f6d424b4f5c4f404d4b6e686b7c6d00494158">[email protected]</span></a> and telephone at (202) 502-8663.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC-550, Oil Pipeline Rates--Tariff Filings and
Depreciation Studies.
OMB Control No.: 1902-0089.
Type of Request: Three-year extension of the FERC-550 information
collection requirements with no revisions to the collection, but with
adjustments in the burden estimates.
Abstract: FERC-550 is required to assist the Commission in
implementing the duties and powers that were vested on October 1, 1977,
in the Interstate Commerce Commission (49 U.S.C. 60502). The
Commission's regulatory jurisdiction over oil pipelines includes:
<bullet> Regulation of rates and practices of oil pipeline
companies engaged in interstate transportation;
<bullet> Establishment of equal service conditions to provide
shippers with equal access to pipeline transportation; and
<bullet> Establishment of reasonable rates for transporting
petroleum and petroleum products by pipeline.
Oil Pipeline Tariffs and Rates
The filing requirements for oil pipeline tariffs and rates \1\ put
in place by the FERC-550 data collection provide the Commission with
the information it needs to analyze proposed tariffs, rates, fares, and
charges of oil pipelines and other carriers in connection with the
transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. Specifically, these
filings typically include indexing, market-based rates, or initial rate
filings. The Commission uses this information to determine whether the
proposed tariffs and rates are just and reasonable.
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\1\ 18 CFR parts 341 through 348.
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The Commission's regulations at 18 CFR parts 341 through 348
provide that letters of transmittal must describe the filings and
explain any changes to the carrier's rates, rules, terms or conditions
of service; state if a waiver is being requested, and specify the
statute, section, regulation, policy, or order requested to be waived;
and identify the tariffs supplemental numbers, or tariff sections and
the proposed effective date of the tariff publication. The letter of
transmittal must certify that the filing has been sent to each
subscriber of the tariff publication. A carrier may file to amend or
modify a tariff contained in a tariff filing at any time during the
pendency of the filing. Carriers must cancel tariffs when the service
or transportation movement is terminated. If the service in connection
with the tariff is no longer in interstate commerce, the tariff
publication must state so. Whenever the tariff of a carrier on file
with the Commission is to be adopted by another carrier as a result of
an acquisition, merger, or name change, the succeeding company must
file with the Commission, and post within 30 days after such
succession, the tariff, or portion thereof, that has been adopted in
the electronic format required by Sec. 341.1 bearing the name of the
successor company.
Oil Pipeline Depreciation Studies
The Commission's regulation at 18 CFR 347.1 provides that oil
pipelines must file material to support requests for newly established
or changed property account depreciation studies. It requires an
applicant to file electronically, and the transmittal letter must give
a general description of the change in depreciation rates, certify that
the transmittal also has been sent to each shipper and to each
subscriber, and state if there are no subscribers. The proposed
depreciation rates being established must be used until they are either
accepted or modified by the Commission. Rates in effect at the time of
the proposed revision must continue to be used until the proposed
revised rates are approved or modified by the Commission. The oil
pipeline must provide information in sufficient detail to fully explain
and justify the proposed rates. Modifications, additions, and deletions
to data elements should be made to reflect the individual circumstances
of the carrier's properties and operations.
Type of Respondent: Oil Pipelines.
Estimate of Annual Burden: \2\ The burden related to this
collection now includes a new line item, Depreciation Studies, which is
currently approved by OMB under the FERC collection FERC-550 (1902-
0089), but historically was combined with other requirements outlined
in 18 CFR parts 341 through 348. Depreciation studies are required if
an oil pipeline seeks to modify the depreciation rates they have in
their existing tariffs. Since these filings are submitted only for
pipelines seeking modification and are not as common (<10% of filings)
than other reporting requirements such as indexing. Staff is correcting
the estimates by adding a new line item specific to depreciation
studies. Based on recent experience with this collection, staff
estimates that approximately 22 respondents will file a depreciation
study each year. By separating depreciation studies from tariff
filings, this adjustment will allocate 880 total burden hours to the
depreciation studies line item now being added.
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\2\ ``Burden'' is the total time, effort, or financial resources
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal agency. For further
explanation of what is included in the information collection
burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3.
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In another adjustment, the number of hours for Oil Rates and Tariff
Filings will decrease from 7.8 hours to 7 hours per respondent due to
the hour allocation going to the second line (Depreciation Studies) in
the table below. Additionally, since the previous renewal, the number
of respondents to Oil Rates and Tariff filings also increased from 219
to 258 based on the number of filings received by the Commission. The
overall revised burden estimates result to an increase of 61
respondents from 219 to 280, 86 responses from 710 to 796, and 760
hours from 5,538 to 6,298.
The Commission estimates the annual public reporting burden and
cost \3\ for the FERC-550 information collection as follows:
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\3\ The Commission staff thinks that the hourly cost (for wages
and benefits) for industry staff completing the FERC-550 is similar
to the cost of FERC employees. FERC staff estimates that industry
costs for salary plus benefits are similar to Commission costs. The
cost figure is the FY2022 FERC average annual salary plus benefits
($188,992/year or $91/hour).
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FERC-550--Oil Pipeline Rates--Tariff Filings and Depreciation Studies
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Annual number Total number Total annual burden Cost per
Number of of responses of responses Average burden hrs. & hours & total annual respondent
respondents per respondent \4\ cost ($) per response cost ($) ($)
(1) (2) (1)* (2) = (3) (4)...................... (3) * (4) = (5)......... (5) / (1)
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Oil Rates and Tariff Filings.......... 258 3 774 7 hrs.; $637............. 5,418 hrs.; $493,038.... $1,911
Depreciation \5\ Studies.............. 22 1 22 40 hrs.; $3,640.......... 880 hrs.; $80,080....... 3,640
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Total............................. 280 .............. 796 ......................... 6,298 hrs.; $573,118.... ...........
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Comments: Comments are invited on: (1) whether the 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 and
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
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\4\ This figure is rounded.
\5\ Depreciation Studies previously was included under Oil Rates
and Tariff Filings in the OMB inventory under OMB Control No. 1902-
0089. However, for a more accurate estimate of burden a new row was
added for Depreciation Studies (18 CFR 347.1). This new row will
properly account for the differences in burden hours and type of
filing with the Oil Rates and Tariff filings (18 CFR Parts 341
through 348).
Dated: November 16, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-25464 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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