Notice2023-16163
Agency Information Collection 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
July 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentWestern Area Power Administration
Abstract
The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, intends to extend an information collection request with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 3 years with ministerial changes. The current OMB control number 1910- 5136 for WAPA's Applicant Profile Data (APD) form expires March 31, 2024. WAPA intends to extend the APD form under the OMB control number to March 31, 2027. WAPA is seeking comments on this proposed information collection extension.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 145 (Monday, July 31, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 145 (Monday, July 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49458-49459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16163]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
Agency Information Collection Extension
AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), pursuant to the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, intends to extend an information
collection request with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 3
years with ministerial changes. The current OMB control number 1910-
5136 for WAPA's Applicant Profile Data (APD) form expires March 31,
2024. WAPA intends to extend the APD form under the OMB control number
to March 31, 2027. WAPA is seeking comments on this proposed
information collection extension.
DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be
received on or before the end of the comment period that closes on
September 29, 2023. If you anticipate any difficulty in submitting
comments within that period, contact the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Mr. Christopher Magee,
Records and Information Management Program Manager, Western Area Power
Administration, P.O. Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228, or by email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#215344424e53455261564051400f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f785929498859384b780968796d9909881">[email protected]</span></a>. Please refer to ``Paperwork Reduction Act Information
Collection'' as the subject of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Mr. Christopher Magee,
Records and Information Management Program Manager, Western Area Power
Administration, PO Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228, telephone 720-962-
7139, or email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e3808e82848686a394829382cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4526282422202005322435246b222a33">[email protected]</span></a>. The proposed APD form is available on
WAPA's website at <a href="http://www.wapa.gov/PowerMarketing/Pages/applicant-profile-data.aspx">www.wapa.gov/PowerMarketing/Pages/applicant-profile-data.aspx</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the
extended collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility; (b) 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; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
This information collection request relates to: (1) OMB No.: 1910-
5136; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Western Area Power
Administration Applicant Profile Data; (3) Type of Review: Renewal; (4)
Purpose: The proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of WAPA's power marketing functions. WAPA markets a
limited amount of Federal hydropower and has discretion to determine
who will receive an allocation of Federal hydropower. Due to the
limited quantity and high demand for WAPA's hydropower available under
established marketing plans, WAPA may need to collect information using
the APD to evaluate the entities applying to receive allocations of
Federal hydropower; (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 33; (6)
Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 33; (7) Annual Estimated
Number of Burden Hours: 250; and (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $37,221.50.
I. Statutory Authority
The Reclamation Act of 1902 established the Federal reclamation
program.\1\ The basic principle of the Reclamation Act of 1902 was that
the United States, through the Secretary of the Interior, would build
and operate irrigation works from the proceeds of public land sales in
sixteen arid Western states (a seventeenth, Texas, was added in 1906).
The Reclamation Project Act of 1939 expanded the purposes of the
reclamation program and specified certain terms for contracts that the
Secretary of the Interior enters into to furnish water and power.\2\
Congress enacted the Reclamation Laws for purposes that include
enhancing navigation, protection from floods, reclaiming the arid lands
in the Western United States, and for fish and wildlife.\3\ Congress
intended that the production of power would be a supplemental feature
of the multi-purpose water projects authorized under the Reclamation
Laws.\4\ Section 9 of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 provides that
no contract entered into by the United States for power may, in the
judgment of the Secretary, ``impair the efficiency of the project for
irrigation purposes.'' \5\ Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944,
as amended,\6\ is read in pari materia with the Reclamation Laws with
respect to
[[Page 49459]]
WAPA.\7\ In 1977, section 302 of the Department of Energy Organization
Act transferred the power marketing functions of the Department of the
Interior to the Secretary of Energy, acting by and through a separate
Administrator for WAPA.\8\ Under this authority, WAPA markets Federal
hydropower. As part of WAPA's marketing authority, WAPA needs to obtain
information from interested entities who desire an allocation of
Federal power using the APD form. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
requires WAPA to obtain a clearance from OMB before collecting this
information through the APD form.\9\
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\1\ See Act of June 17, 1902, ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 388 (1902), as
amended and supplemented.
\2\ See Act of Aug. 4, 1939, ch. 418, 53 Stat. 1187 (1939), as
amended and supplemented.
\3\ See, e.g., Act of Oct. 26, 1937, ch. 832, 50 Stat. 844, 850
(1937), as amended and supplemented.
\4\ See id.
\5\ 43 U.S.C. 485h(c)(1).
\6\ 16 U.S.C. 825s.
\7\ See, e.g., United States v. Sacramento Mun. Util. Dist., 652
F.2d 1341, 1345 n.4 (9th Cir. 1981) (citing N. Cal. Power Agency v.
Morton, 396 F. Supp. 1187, 1189 (D.D.C. 1975). See also Disposition
of Surplus Power Generated at Clark Hill Reservoir Project, 41 Op.
Att'y Gen. 236, 245 (1955).
\8\ See 42 U.S.C. 7152(a)(1)(E).
\9\ See 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
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II. This Process Determines the Format of the APD and Is Not a Call for
Applications
This public process and the associated Federal Register notice only
determine the information that WAPA will collect from an entity
desiring to apply for a Federal power allocation. This public process
is a legal requirement that WAPA must fulfill before WAPA can request
information from potential preference customers.
This public process is not the process whereby interested parties
request an allocation of Federal power. The actual allocation of power
is outside the scope of this proceeding. Please do not submit a request
for Federal power in this process. Later, and as appropriate, WAPA will
issue calls for applications as part of project-specific marketing
plans. When WAPA issues a call for applications, the information WAPA
proposes to collect is voluntary. WAPA will use the information
collected, in conjunction with its project-specific marketing plans, to
determine an entity's eligibility, and ultimately which entities will
receive an allocation of Federal power.
III. Invitation for Comments
WAPA intends to extend and reuse the APD form approved under OMB
control number 1910-5136. The extension would continue use of the form
through March 31, 2027. WAPA is proposing some ministerial changes to
the APD. The proposed APD form, including a list of ministerial changes
and the reason for such changes, is available on WAPA's website at
<a href="http://www.wapa.gov/PowerMarketing/Pages/applicant-profile-data.aspx">http://www.wapa.gov/PowerMarketing/Pages/applicant-profile-data.aspx</a>.
Comments are invited on: (1) whether the extended collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall 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 applicants,
including the use of automated electronic, mechanical or other
collection techniques, or other forms of information technology. After
considering all public comments, WAPA will publish a second notice in
the Federal Register submitting the APD to OMB.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on July 24,
2023, by Tracey LeBeau, Administrator, pursuant to delegated authority
from the Secretary of Energy. That document, with the original
signature and date, is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes
only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this
document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-16163 Filed 7-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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