11444 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Energy Information Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Energy Information 

Administration (EIA), Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request. 

SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting 

comments on the proposed revision and 

3-year extension of the surveys in the 

Natural Gas Data Collection Program 

Package. The surveys covered by this 

request include: 

• Form EIA–176, ‘‘Annual Report of 

Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply 

and Disposition’’ 

• EIA–191M, ‘‘Monthly Underground 

Gas Storage Report’’ 

• EIA–191A, ‘‘Annual Underground 

Gas Storage Report’’ 

• EIA–757, ‘‘Natural Gas Processing 

Plant Survey’’ 

• EIA–857, ‘‘Monthly Report of 

Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to 

Consumers’’ 

• EIA–895, ‘‘Annual Quantity and 

Value of Natural Gas Production Report’’ 

• EIA–910M, ‘‘Monthly Natural Gas 

Marketer Survey’’ and EIA–910A, 

Annual Natural Gas Marketer Survey’’ 

• EIA–912, ‘‘Weekly Underground 

Natural Gas Storage Report’’ 

DATES: Comments must be filed by May 

2, 2011. If you anticipate difficulty in 

submitting comments within that 

period, contact the person listed below 

as soon as possible. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Ms. Amy 

Sweeney, Natural Gas Downstream 

Team, Office of Oil, Gas, and Coal 

Supply Statistics, Energy Information 

Administration. To ensure receipt of the 

comments by the due date, submission 

by fax (202–586–4420) or e-mail 

(amy.sweeney@eia.gov) is 

recommended. The mailing address is 

Ms. Amy Sweeney, Energy Information 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., 

EI–24, Washington, DC 20585. Also, Ms. 

Sweeney may be contacted by telephone 

at 202–586–2627. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of any forms and instructions 

should be directed to Ms. Sweeney at 

the address listed above. Also, the draft 

forms and instructions are available on 

the EIA Web site at http://www.eia.gov/ 

oil_gas/fwd/proposed.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Current Actions 

III. Request for Comments 

I. Background 

The Federal Energy Administration 

Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93–275, 15 U.S.C. 

761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization 

Act (Pub. L. 95–91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et 

seq.) require the EIA to carry out a 

centralized, comprehensive, and unified 

energy information program. This 

program collects, evaluates, assembles, 

analyzes, and disseminates information 

on energy resource reserves, production, 

demand, technology, and related 

economic statistics. This information is 

used to assess the adequacy of energy 

resources to meet both near- and longerterm domestic demands. 

The EIA, as part of its effort to comply 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 

35), provides the general public and 

other Federal agencies with 

opportunities to comment on the 

collection of energy information 

conducted by or in conjunction with the 

EIA. Any comments help the EIA 

prepare data requests that maximize the 

utility of the information collected and 

assess the impact of collection 

requirements on the public. As required 

by section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the EIA will 

later seek approval for this collection by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). 

The natural gas surveys included in 

the Natural Gas Data Collection Program 

Package collect information on natural 

gas production, underground storage, 

supply, processing, transmission, 

distribution, consumption by sector, 

and wellhead and consumer prices. This 

information is used to support public 

policy analyses of the natural gas 

industry and estimates generated from 

data collected on these surveys. The 

statistics generated from these surveys 

are posted to the EIA Web site (http:// 

www.eia.gov) in various EIA products, 

including the Weekly Natural Gas 

Storage Report (WNGSR), Natural Gas 

Monthly (NGM), Natural Gas Annual 

(NGA), Monthly Energy Review (MER), 

Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), 

Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), and 

Annual Energy Review (AER). 

Respondents to EIA natural gas surveys 

include State agencies, underground 

storage operators, transporters, 

marketers, and distributors. Each form 

included as part of this package is 

discussed in detail below. 

Please refer to the proposed forms and 

instructions for more information about 

the purpose, who must report, when to 

report, where to submit, the elements to 

be reported, detailed instructions, 

provisions for confidentiality, and uses 

(including possible nonstatistical uses) 

of the information. For instructions on 

obtaining materials, see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

II. Current Actions 

EIA is requesting a 3-year extension of 

the collection authority for each of the 

above-referenced surveys and will make 

minor changes to the forms and 

instructions to provide clarity. In 

addition, EIA proposes the changes 

outlined below. 

Form EIA–176, ‘‘Annual Report of 

Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply 

and Disposition’’ 

In Part 3 of the form, EIA is proposing 

to collect information on whether 

respondents, comprised primarily of 

natural gas utilities and municipal gas 

systems, have active customer choice 

programs for certain customer types and 

their rates of participation in order to 

gauge the extent to which customer 

choice programs are being perpetuated 

and utilized. This data would assist EIA 

in evaluating whether to reduce 

spending on monitoring customer 

choice programs. Also in Part 3 of the 

form, EIA proposes a question that asks 

companies to report whether their 

distribution service territory has 

changed via sale or merger in order to 

maintain the accuracy of the survey 

frame. 

Form EIA–191, ‘‘Monthly Underground 

Gas Storage Report’’ and Form EIA– 

191A, ‘‘Annual Natural Gas Storage 

Report’’ 

EIA proposes the elimination of Form 

EIA–191A and the addition of the 

elements it collects (storage field type, 

working and total capacity as well as 

maximum deliverability) to the monthly 

Form EIA–191. Adding data elements to 

the monthly Form EIA–191 will provide 

more timely data on changes in natural 

gas storage field capacities and will 

improve the quality of the monthly and 

related weekly estimates on natural gas 

storage activity. EIA will protect against 

the identifiability of reported values for 

monthly working, base gas levels, total 

gas in storage, and injections and 

withdrawals into storage, but will 

publish storage field name and type, 

reservoir name, location, capacity and 

maximum deliverability in company 

identifiable form. This is consistent 

with how EIA currently treats the 

information reported annually on Form 

EIA–191A. EIA proposes to publicly 

release the same variables that it 

currently publicly releases from Form 

EIA–191A. Information collected in 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 11445 

Parts 1 and 2 on Form EIA–191 will also 

be considered public information and 

may be publicly released in company 

identifiable form 

Form EIA–757, ‘‘Natural Gas Processing 

Plant Survey’’ 

EIA proposes to continue the 

collection of the same data elements on 

Form EIA–757 in its present form but 

proposes to remove the confidentiality 

protection for the reported values and to 

publicly release reported values in 

company identifiable form in order to 

meet increasing data user needs for 

more company level data. 

Form EIA–857, ‘‘Monthly Report of 

Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to 

Consumers’’ 

In 2010, a new question was added to 

Form EIA–857 that asked for monthly 

system sendout by responding 

companies. The data element was added 

to Form EIA–857 via a non-substantive 

change request approved by the Office 

of Management and Budget. EIA has 

been using these data to improve the 

calculation of monthly natural gas 

consumption so it better aligns with the 

calendar month. This is more 

compatible with respondents’ reporting 

records because consumer deliveries are 

reported according to billing cycles for 

some of the respondent population. To 

enhance the precision of monthly 

natural gas consumption, EIA proposes 

adding questions that ask companies for 

their monthly company-use gas as well 

as any deliveries to the vehicle fuel 

sector. These items are currently 

collected on an annual basis on Form 

EIA–176, Annual Report of Natural and 

Supplemental Gas Supply and 

Disposition, however, their inclusion on 

Form EIA–857 will facilitate more 

accurate consumption estimates on a 

monthly basis as they are seasonal in 

nature. 

In addition, EIA is proposing to 

reduce the sample size reporting on 

Form EIA–857 by approximately 25 

percent (400 to 300) by moving to a 

cutoff-based sample design that can 

achieve the same level of quality as the 

current sample design and estimation 

protocol. 

Form EIA–895, ‘‘Annual Quantity and 

Value of Natural Gas Production 

Report’’ 

Because of the difficulties in 

obtaining portions of the data from some 

States, EIA is considering discontinuing 

both the monthly and annual versions of 

Form EIA–895 and seeks comment on 

whether the publication of select data 

elements currently collected on this 

survey form continues to be relevant 

and necessary. Specifically, will data 

user needs be satisfied if data collection 

on natural gas marketed and dry 

production, vented and flared gas, gas 

used for repressuring, consumed on oil 

and gas leases, as well as wellhead 

prices, are eliminated and EIA only 

publishes data on gross production? 

Alternatively, if EIA needs to 

continue publishing data on natural gas 

wellhead prices, marketed and dry 

natural gas production, vented and 

flared gas, and gas used for repressuring 

or consumed on leases is to continue, 

EIA is considering the following options 

or a combination thereof: 

(a) Eliminate Form EIA–895 and 

collect the same data elements (gross 

production, gas used for repressuring, 

nonhydrocarbons removed, vented and 

flared gas, gas used to operate leases and 

the value of production) using existing 

EIA surveys of gas producers such as 

Forms EIA–914, EIA–23, EIA–64A, and 

EIA–816. 

(b) Reduce the scope of Form EIA–895 

by collecting only data elements that are 

available from the States, such as gross 

withdrawals and their source, and 

adding data elements on crude oil 

production and lease condensate to 

serve as benchmarks for similar data 

currently collected on existing EIA 

surveys of natural gas and oil producers. 

Form EIA–910M, ‘‘Monthly Natural Gas 

Marketer Survey’’ and EIA–910A, 

‘‘Annual Natural Gas Marketer Survey’’ 

EIA proposes to continue Form EIA– 

910 with no changes to the monthly 

data collection form and proposes to 

add an annual version using a new 

survey, Form EIA–910A, that will ask 

respondents to report the annual totals 

of all the existing elements on the 

monthly survey form. The EIA–910A 

will be due March 1 of each year and 

the annual totals it collects will be 

broken out for each local distribution 

company’s territory in which the 

respondent operates instead of at the 

State level, as is reported monthly. 

Having annual data would assist in the 

reconciliation of initial estimates of 

monthly gas sales many respondents 

submit against actual meter reads which 

are frequently not available from the 

utility that delivered the gas by the 

monthly form’s due date. The annual 

data will also enable EIA to resolve 

differences between marketer volumes 

and volumes transported on the account 

of marketers on Form EIA–176. 

Form EIA–176, ‘‘Annual Report of 

Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply 

and Disposition,’’ and resolve 

discrepancies between these two 

surveys. 

In addition, EIA proposes to change 

the data confidentiality protection status 

of the monthly Form EIA–910M from 

the Confidential Information Protection 

and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) 

to protecting the reported information 

using exemptions under the Freedom of 

Information Act and provisions in the 

Trade Secrets Act. The company level 

data would still be protected and 

withheld from public release but could 

be shared for nonstatistical purposes in 

limited circumstances. The demand for 

more natural gas data has grown over 

the past 5 years and EIA has statutory 

obligations to share energy data with 

other Federal agencies for informed 

policy decisions. EIA will continue its 

policy of not publicly releasing 

company level information reported on 

this survey even though EIA is 

proposing to use different Federal 

statutes to protect the information. EIA 

proposes to publish annual data 

collected on Form EIA–910A in 

company identifiable form 

approximately 9 months after the end of 

the calendar year. 

EIA–912, Weekly Underground Natural 

Gas Storage Report 

EIA proposes to continue the 

collection of the EIA–912 with no 

changes to the form but expand the 

sample size from 70 to 85 respondents 

in order to maintain the same level of 

survey coverage based on the increase in 

the number of natural gas storage fields 

in operation. 

III. Request for Comments 

Prospective respondents and other 

interested parties should comment on 

the actions discussed in items II and III. 

The following guidelines are provided 

to assist in the preparation of comments. 

Please indicate to which forms your 

comments apply. 

General Issues 

A. Is the proposed collection of 

information necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency and does the information have 

practical utility? Practical utility is 

defined as the actual usefulness of 

information to or for an agency, taking 

into account its accuracy, adequacy, 

reliability, timeliness, and the agency’s 

ability to process the information it 

collects. 

B. What enhancements can be made 

to the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected? 

As a Potential Respondent to the 

Request for Information 

A. What actions could be taken to 

help ensure and maximize the quality, 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
11446 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 

objectivity, utility, and integrity of the 

information to be collected? 

B. Are the instructions and definitions 

clear and sufficient? If not, which 

instructions need clarification? 

C. Can the information be submitted 

by the due date? 

D. Public reporting burden for the 

surveys included in the Natural Gas 

Data Collection Program Package is 

shown below as an average hour(s) per 

response. The estimated burden 

includes the total time necessary to 

provide the requested information. In 

your opinion, how accurate are these 

estimates for the proposed forms? 

(1) Form EIA–176, ‘‘Annual Report of 

Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply 

and Disposition,’’ 12 hours per response. 

(2) Form EIA–191, ‘‘Monthly 

Underground Gas Storage Report,’’ 2.6 

hours per response. 

(3) Form EIA–857, ‘‘Monthly Report of 

Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries to 

Consumers,’’ 3.7 hours per response. 

(4) Form EIA–895, ‘‘Annual Quantity 

and Value of Natural Gas Production 

Report,’’ 0.5 hours per response. 

(5) Form EIA–910M, ‘‘Monthly 

Natural Gas Marketer Survey,’’ 2 hours 

per response. 

(6) Form EIA–910A, ‘‘Annual Natural 

Gas Marketer Survey,’’ 4 hours per 

response. 

(7) Form EIA–912, ‘‘Weekly 

Underground Natural Gas Storage 

Report,’’ 0.5 hour per response. 

(8) Form EIA–757, ‘‘Natural Gas 

Processing Plant Survey,’’ Schedule A, 

0.5 hours per response; Schedule B, 1.5 

hours per response. 

E. The agency estimates that the only 

cost to a respondent is for the time it 

will take to complete the collection. 

Will a respondent incur any start-up 

costs for reporting, or any recurring 

annual costs for operation, maintenance, 

and purchase of services associated with 

the information collection? 

F. What additional actions could be 

taken to minimize the burden of this 

collection of information? Such actions 

may involve the use of automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

G. Does any other Federal, State, or 

local agency collect similar information? 

If so, specify the agency, the data 

element(s), and the methods of 

collection. 

As a Potential User of the Information 

To Be Collected 

A. What actions could be taken to 

help ensure and maximize the quality, 

objectivity, utility, and integrity of the 

information disseminated? 

B. Is the information useful at the 

levels of detail to be collected? 

C. For what purpose(s) would the 

information be used? Be specific. 

D. Are there alternate sources for the 

information and are they useful? If so, 

what are their weaknesses and/or 

strengths? 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of the form. They also will 

become a matter of public record. 

Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, 

Pub. L. 93–275, certified at 15 U.S.C. 772(b). 

Issued in Washington, DC, February 24, 

2011. 

Stephanie Brown, 

Director, Office of Survey Development and 

Statistical Integration, Energy Information 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4622 Filed 3–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 2047–049] 

Erie Boulevard Hydropower, LP; Notice 

of Application Accepted for Filing, 

Soliciting Motions to Intervene and 

Protests, Ready for Environmental 

Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, 

Recommendations, Terms and 

Conditions, and Fishway Prescriptions 

Take notice that the following 

hydroelectric application has been filed 

with the Commission and is available 

for public inspection: 

a. Application Type: Amendment of 

license to increase the installed 

capacity. 

b. Project No.: 2047–049. 

c. Date Filed: January 6, 2011. 

d. Applicant: Erie Boulevard 

Hydropower, LP. 

e. Name of Project: Stewarts Bridge 

Project. 

f. Location: The project is located on 

the Sacandaga River in the Town of 

Hadley, Saratoga County, New York. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a—825r. 

h. Applicant Contact: Timothy Lukas, 

Compliance Specialist, Erie Boulevard 

Hydropower, LP, Hudson River 

Operations, 399 Big Bay Road, 

Queensbury, NY 12804; telephone (518) 

743–2012. 

i. FERC Contact: John K. Novak, 

telephone: (202) 502–6067, and e-mail 

address: john.novak@ferc.gov. 

j. Deadline for filing motions to 

intervene and protests, comments, 

recommendations, terms and 

conditions, and fishway prescriptions is 

60 days from the issuance of this notice; 

reply comments are due 105 days from 

the issuance date of this notice. All 

documents (original and eight copies) 

should be filed with: Secretary, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

Please include the project number (P– 

2047–049) on any comments or motions 

filed. 

k. Description of Request: Erie 

Boulevard Hydropower, LP (licensee) 

proposes to construct a new 

powerhouse that will house a 2.55 

megawatt turbine-generator that will 

utilize the base flow required by Article 

405 of the project license. With the 

addition of this new unit the installed 

capacity for the project will increase 

from 30,000 kilowatts to 32,550 

kilowatts while the hydraulic capacity 

will increase from 4,000 cubic feet per 

second to 4,325 cubic feet per second. 

A penstock installed off of the existing 

penstock will convey flows to the new 

powerhouse. The proposed new 

powerhouse would be constructed 

immediately downstream of the existing 

powerhouse and near the project 

tailrace. 

l. Locations of the Application: A 

copy of the application is available for 

inspection and reproduction at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 

located at 888 First Street, NE., Room 

2A, Washington, DC 20426, or by calling 

(202) 502–8371. This filing may also be 

viewed on the Commission’s Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ 

link. Enter the docket number excluding 

the last three digits in the docket 

number field to access the document. 

You may also register online at http:// 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 

related to this or other pending projects. 

For assistance, call 1–866–208–3676 or 

e-mail FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, 

for TTY, call (202) 502–8659. A copy is 

also available for inspection and 

reproduction at the address in item (h) 

above. 

m. Individuals desiring to be included 

on the Commission’s mailing list should 

so indicate by writing to the Secretary 

of the Commission. 

n. Comments, Protests, or Motions to 

Intervene: Anyone may submit 

comments, a protest, or a motion to 

intervene in accordance with the 

requirements of Rules of Practice and 

Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, .214. 

In determining the appropriate action to 

take, the Commission will consider all 

protests or other comments filed, but 

only those who file a motion to 

intervene in accordance with the 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES