Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 19, 2018 / Proposed Rules 65111 

comment process. For example, a 

substantive response is required when: 

(a) The comment causes the NRC staff 

to reevaluate (or reconsider) its position 

or conduct additional analysis; 

(b) The comment raises an issue 

serious enough to warrant a substantive 

response to clarify or complete the 

record; or 

(c) The comment raises a relevant 

issue that was not previously addressed 

or considered by the NRC staff. 

(2) The comment proposes a change 

or an addition to the rule, and it is 

apparent that the rule would be 

ineffective or unacceptable without 

incorporation of the change or addition. 

(3) The comment causes the NRC staff 

to make a change (other than editorial) 

to the rule. 

For procedural information, see the 

direct final rule published in the Rules 

and Regulations section of this issue of 

the Federal Register. 

III. Background 

The FOIA provides that any person 

has a right to request and obtain access 

to federal agency records, except to the 

extent that any portions of those records 

are exempt from public disclosure. The 

FOIA also authorizes agencies to issue 

regulations specifying a schedule of fees 

for the processing of those requests (5 

U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)). These fees are 

limited to reasonable standard charges 

for document search, duplication, and 

review, which may be charged 

depending on the purpose for which the 

records are sought and the class of 

requestor. The NRC’s implementing 

FOIA regulations are found in part 9 of 

Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (10 CFR). 

The NRC charges fees for the search 

and review of agency records in 

accordance with § 9.37, ‘‘Fees for search 

and review of agency records by NRC 

personnel,’’ (although as specified in 

§ 9.39, ‘‘Search and duplication 

provided without charge,’’ the NRC will 

search for records in some instances 

without charge, and requests for waivers 

or reduction of fees can be sought as 

specified in § 9.41, ‘‘Requests for waiver 

or reduction of fees’’). Consistent with 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) guidelines on fee schedules (52 

FR 10012; March 27, 1987), the NRC 

recoups the direct costs of search and 

review by charging the hourly rates of 

the employees performing the task, plus 

16 percent for fringe benefits. These 

OMB guidelines also provide that, 

where a homogenous or single class of 

personnel is used, agencies may 

establish reasonable average rates for the 

range of salary grades typically 

involved. 

The NRC first established fees for 

search and review of agency records in 

1987 (52 FR 49350; December 31, 1987), 

and last updated these fees in 2010 (75 

FR 41368; July 16, 2010). Recently, as 

part of the agency’s biennial review of 

fees performed under the Chief 

Financial Officers Act of 1990 (31 U.S.C. 

902(a)(8)), the NRC determined that the 

search and review rates for agency 

clerical staff and for professional/ 

managerial staff needed to be increased 

in order to ensure the NRC continues to 

recover the direct costs of these 

activities. 

Thus, based on the results of this 

biennial review, § 9.37(a) will be 

changed from a GG–7/step 6 salary rate 

to a GG–9/step 7 salary rate; and 

§ 9.37(b) will be changed from a GG–13/ 

step 6 salary rate to a GG–14/step 7 

salary rate. 

IV. Plain Writing 

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. 

L. 111–274) requires Federal agencies to 

write documents in a clear, concise, 

well-organized manner that also follows 

other best practices appropriate to the 

subject or field and the intended 

audience. The NRC has written this 

document to be consistent with the 

Plain Writing Act as well as the 

Presidential Memorandum, ‘‘Plain 

Language in Government Writing,’’ 

published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31883). 

The NRC requests comment on the 

proposed rule with respect to clarity 

and effectiveness of the language used. 

V. Availability of Documents 

The NRC may post materials related 

to this document, including public 

comments, on the Federal Rulemaking 

website at http://www.regulations.gov 

under Docket ID NRC–2017–0144. The 

Federal Rulemaking website allows you 

to receive alerts when changes or 

additions occur in a docket folder. To 

subscribe: (1) Navigate to the docket 

folder (NRC–2017–0144); (2) click the 

‘‘Sign up for Email Alerts’’ link; and (3) 

enter your email address and select how 

frequently you would like to receive 

emails (daily, weekly, or monthly). 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 9 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Courts, Criminal penalties, 

Freedom of information, Government 

employees, Privacy, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Sunshine 

Act. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble and under the authority of the 

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; 

the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, 

as amended; the Nuclear Waste Policy 

Act of 1982, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 

552 and 553, the NRC is proposing the 

following amendments to 10 CFR part 9: 

PART 9—PUBLIC RECORDS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 9 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, sec. 

161 (42 U.S.C. 2201); Energy Reorganization 

Act of 1974, sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); 44 

U.S.C. 3504 note. 

Subpart A also issued under 31 U.S.C. 

9701. 

Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552a. 

Subpart C also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552b. 

■ 2. In § 9.37, revise paragraphs (a) and 

(b) to read as follows: 

§ 9.37 Fees for search and review of 

agency records by NRC personnel. 

* * * * * 

(a) Clerical search and review at a 

salary rate that is equivalent to a GG–9/ 

step 7, plus 16 percent fringe benefits; 

(b) Professional/managerial search 

and review at a salary rate that is 

equivalent to a GG–14/step 7, plus 16 

percent fringe benefits; and 

* * * * * 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day 

of December 2018. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Margaret M. Doane, 

Executive Director for Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27168 Filed 12–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 590 

Filing of Contracts and Purchase 

Agreements Associated With the 

Export of Natural Gas 

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Proposed interpretive rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE or the Department) is proposing 

an interpretive rule to clarify certain 

DOE regulations governing the export of 

natural gas, including liquefied natural 

gas (LNG), under the Natural Gas Act 

(NGA). Under DOE’s regulations, any 

person seeking authorization to export 

natural gas from the United States, or to 

amend an existing export authorization, 

must provide DOE’s Office of Fossil 

Energy (DOE/FE) with a copy of ‘‘all 

relevant contracts and purchase 

agreements.’’ DOE is proposing this 

interpretive rule to clarify the types of 

contracts and purchase agreements 

associated with the export of natural gas 

that DOE considers to be ‘‘relevant’’ for 

purposes of these regulations. DOE’s 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PROPOSALS1
65112 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 19, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

1Authority to regulate the imports and exports of 

natural gas, including LNG, under section 3 of the 

NGA (15 U.S.C. 717b) has been delegated to the 

Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy in 

Redelegation Order No. 00–006.02, issued on 

November 17, 2014. 

2 15 U.S.C. 717b(c). The United States currently 

has FTAs requiring national treatment for trade in 

natural gas with Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, 

Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, 

Guatemala, Honduras, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, 

Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Peru, Republic of Korea, 

and Singapore. FTAs with Israel and Costa Rica do 

not require national treatment for trade in natural 

gas. 

3See Sierra Club v. U.S. Dep’t of Energy, 867 F.3d 

189, 203 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (‘‘We have construed 

[NGA section 3(a)] as containing a ‘general 

presumption favoring [export] authorization.’ ’’) 

(quoting W. Va. Pub. Serv. Comm’n v. U.S. Dep’t 

of Energy, 681 F.2d 847, 856 (D.C. Cir. 1982)). 

4See id. (‘‘there must be ‘an affirmative showing 

of inconsistency with the public interest’ to deny 

the application’’ under NGA section 3(a)) (quoting 

Panhandle Procedures & Royalty Owners Ass’n v. 

Econ Regulatory Admin., 822 F.2d 1105, 1111 (D.C. 

Cir. 1987)). 

5 10 CFR 590.201(a). 

6 Id. at 590.202(c). 

7For purposes of this proposal, the terms 

‘‘authorization’’ and ‘‘order’’ are used 

interchangeably. 

8See, e.g., Eagle LNG Partners Jacksonville II LLC, 

DOE/FE Order No. 4078, FE Docket No. 17–79– 

LNG, Opinion and Order Granting Long-Term, 

Multi-Contract Authorization to Export Liquefied 

Natural Gas in ISO Containers Loaded at the Eagle 

Maxville Facility in Jacksonville, Florida, and 

Exported by Vessel to Free Trade Agreement and 

Non-Free Trade Agreement Nations (Sept. 15, 

2017), at 43 (Terms and Conditions Para. H). 

9See id. at 46–47 (Ordering Paras. I(i), (ii)). 

regulations also impose a ‘‘continuing 

obligation’’ on authorization holders to 

notify DOE/FE ‘‘as soon as practicable’’ 

of any prospective or actual changes to 

the information submitted during the 

application process upon which the 

authorization was issued, including 

‘‘the terms and conditions of any 

applicable contracts.’’ In this proposed 

interpretative rule, DOE is seeking to 

clarify the phrase ‘‘as soon as 

practicable’’ to mean within 30 days of 

the execution of the contracts. 

DATES: Public comment on this 

proposed interpretive rule will be 

accepted until January 18, 2019. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

using any of the following methods, 

although email is preferred: 

1. Email: Send email to fergas@

hq.doe.gov or regulations.gov. Include 

‘‘Natural Gas Contract Guidance’’ in the 

subject line of the email. Please include 

the full body of your comments in the 

text of the message or as an attachment. 

2. Regular Mail: U.S. Department of 

Energy (FE–34), Office of Regulation, 

Analysis, and Engagement, Office of 

Fossil Energy, P.O. Box 44375, 

Washington, DC 20026–4375. 

3. Hand Delivery or Private Delivery 

Services (e.g., FedEx, UPS, etc.): U.S. 

Department of Energy (FE–34), Office of 

Regulation, Analysis, and Engagement, 

Office of Fossil Energy, Forrestal 

Building, Room 3E–042, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586–9478. 

Due to potential delays in the delivery 

of postal mail, we encourage 

respondents to submit comments 

electronically to ensure timely receipt. 

PLEASE NOTE: If submitting a filing via 

email, please include all related 

documents and attachments (e.g., 

exhibits) in the original email 

correspondence. Please do not include 

any active hyperlinks or password 

protection in any of the documents or 

attachments related to the filing. All 

electronic filings submitted to DOE 

must follow these guidelines to ensure 

that all documents are filed in a timely 

manner. Any hardcopy filing submitted 

greater in length than 50 pages must 

also include, at the time of the filing, a 

digital copy on disk of the entire 

submission. 

Docket: This notice of proposed 

rulemaking and any comments that DOE 

receives will be made available on 

DOE’s website at: https://

www.energy.gov/fe/services/natural-gasregulation. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Sweeney, U.S. Department of 

Energy (FE–34), Office of Regulation, 

Analysis, and Engagement, Office of 

Fossil Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 

3E–042, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586– 

2627, Email: amy.sweeney@hq.doe.gov; 

or Cassandra Bernstein or Charles Park, 

U.S. Department of Energy (GC–76), 

Office of the Assistant General Counsel 

for Electricity and Fossil Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 6D–033, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585; (202) 586–9793 or (202) 287– 

6531, Email: cassandra.bernstein@

hq.doe.gov or charles.park@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Statutory Background 

II. Regulatory Background 

III. Proposed Regulatory Interpretations 

IV. Public Comment Procedures 

V. Approval of the Office of the Secretary 

I. Statutory Background 

The Department of Energy is 

responsible for authorizing exports of 

natural gas to foreign nations pursuant 

to section 3 of the NGA, 15 U.S.C. 

717b.1 Under section 3(c) of the NGA, 

exports of natural gas to countries with 

which the United States has entered 

into a free trade agreement (FTA) 

requiring national treatment for trade in 

natural gas and with which trade is not 

prohibited by U.S. law or policy (FTA 

countries) are ‘‘deemed to be consistent 

with the public interest.’’ Therefore, 

applications authorizing natural gas and 

LNG exports to FTA countries must be 

granted ‘‘without modification or 

delay.’’ 2 Section 3(a) of the NGA 

governs exports to any other country 

with which trade is not prohibited by 

U.S. law or policy (non-FTA countries). 

DOE has consistently interpreted 

section 3(a) of the NGA as creating a 

rebuttable presumption that a proposed 

export of natural gas to non-FTA 

countries is in the public interest.3

Accordingly, DOE conducts an informal 

adjudication and grants the application 

unless DOE finds that the proposed 

exportation will not be consistent with 

the public interest.4

II. Regulatory Background 

DOE’s regulations implementing 

section 3 of the NGA are codified in 10 

CFR part 590. Under those regulations, 

‘‘[a]ny person seeking authorization to 

. . . export natural gas . . . from the 

United States, [seeking] to amend an 

existing . . . export authorization, or 

seeking any other requested action’’ 5 is 

required to provide DOE/FE with, inter 

alia, ‘‘a copy of all relevant contracts 

and purchase agreements.’’ 6 DOE’s 

regulations do not specify what types of 

‘‘contracts and purchase agreements’’ 

associated with the export of natural gas 

are considered ‘‘relevant’’ for purposes 

of 10 CFR 590.202(c). 

DOE implements this regulatory 

authority as part of its long-term export 

authorizations for natural gas, including 

LNG.7 For example, in the ‘‘Terms and 

Conditions’’ section of DOE/FE’s longterm LNG export orders, DOE/FE states 

that authorization holders are required 

to file, or cause to be filed, ‘‘any relevant 

long-term commercial agreements’’ 

pursuant to which the authorization 

holder or LNG title-holder (i.e., 

Registrant) exports LNG ‘‘once those 

agreements have been executed.’’ 8

Similarly, in the ‘‘Order’’ section, DOE/ 

FE states that the authorization holder 

shall file, or cause others to file, ‘‘all 

executed long-term contracts’’ 

associated with both the long-term 

export of LNG and the long-term supply 

of natural gas to the export facility.9

DOE regulations also impose a 

‘‘continuing obligation’’ on 

authorization holders to give DOE/FE 

‘‘written notification, as soon as 

practicable, of any prospective or actual 

changes to the information submitted 

during the application process upon 

which the authorization was based, 

including, but not limited to, changes 

. . . to the terms and conditions of any 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 19, 2018 / Proposed Rules 65113 

10 10 CFR 590.407. 

11See, e.g., Eagle LNG Partners Jacksonville II 

LLC, DOE/FE Order No. 4078, at 43 (Terms and 

Conditions Para. H); see also id. at 46–47 (Ordering 

Paras. I(i), (ii), K, Q) (imposing 30-day reporting 

periods). 

12See id. at 48 (Ordering Para. L). 

13 ‘‘Executed’’ means that all parties to a longterm commercial agreement have signed the 

agreement, regardless of whether conditions 

precedent have been met, and that such an 

agreement is binding upon all parties to the 

transaction. 

14 ‘‘Long-term’’ means any Executed Agreement 

with a term of two years or longer. 

15 ‘‘Purchase and sale agreements’’ include longterm commercial agreements covering ‘‘free on 

board’’ sales subsequent to a terminal service 

agreement. 

16 ‘‘Any other natural gas export contractual 

agreements’’ may include, but are not limited to, 

heads of agreement, memoranda of understanding, 

letters of intent, and similar types of agreements if 

and when they become fully binding and effective 

in lieu of a definitive agreement. 

17An ‘‘export’’ occurs when the LNG is delivered 

to the flange of the LNG export vessel. See Freeport 

LNG Expansion, L.P., et al., DOE/FE Order No. 

3282, FE Docket No. 10–161–LNG, Order 

Conditionally Granting Long-Term, Multi-Contract 

Authorization to Export Liquefied Natural Gas by 

Vessel from the Freeport LNG Terminal on 

Quintana Island, Texas, to Non-Free Trade 

Agreement Nations, at 10 n.28 (May 17, 2003) 

(citation omitted). 

applicable contracts.’’ 10 DOE 

regulations do not specify when 

submission of such written notification 

must be made to constitute ‘‘as soon as 

practicable.’’ However, in DOE/FE’s 

long-term export orders, DOE/FE 

expressly ‘‘finds that the submission of 

all such [long-term commercial export] 

agreements or contracts within 30 days 

of their execution . . . will be 

consistent with the ‘to the extent 

practicable’ requirement of section 

590.202(b).’’ 11 Likewise, DOE/FE 

imposes a 30-day time period for an 

authorization holder to notify DOE/FE 

of a change in the company name, the 

term of any long-term contracts, and 

other relevant modifications.12

III. Proposed Regulatory 

Interpretations 

DOE proposes the following 

clarifications to provide specificity, and 

thereby to reduce potential confusion 

and regulatory burdens, concerning 

DOE/FE’s practice under the 

aforementioned regulations. As set forth 

above, these proposed clarifications are 

consistent with DOE/FE’s practice 

under its long-term export 

authorizations, and thus are intended to 

provide additional guidance for 

authorization holders in complying with 

existing and/or future orders. 

A. Proposed Interpretation of 10 CFR 

590.202(c) 

DOE proposes to clarify the types of 

‘‘contracts and purchase agreements’’ 

associated with the export of natural gas 

that are ‘‘relevant’’ for purposes of 10 

CFR 590.202(c). DOE proposes to 

interpret the term ‘‘relevant contracts 

and purchase agreements’’ to include 

the following types of executed,13 longterm 14 binding commercial agreements 

associated with the export of natural gas 

(collectively, Executed Agreements): 

i. Natural gas supply agreements; 

ii. Terminal service agreements; 

iii. Purchase and sale agreements; 15

iv. Liquefaction tolling agreements, 

liquefaction and regasification tolling 

capacity agreements, and similar types of 

agreements; and 

v. Any other natural gas export contractual 

agreements that are associated with the first 

sale or transfer of natural gas at the point of 

export and specify the volume of natural gas 

under contract.16

Under DOE’s proposed interpretation, 

Executed Agreements may be associated 

with the sale, transfer, and/or export of 

natural gas, including LNG, prior to 

export.17 For example, for export 

facilities that operate on a tolling model, 

if an off-taker that holds initial title to 

the LNG within the storage tank of an 

export facility (Party A) enters into an 

agreement to sell the LNG to another 

party (Party B) prior to the LNG being 

loaded onto a ship, both Party A’s and 

Party B’s contracts would be considered 

‘‘relevant’’ for purposes of 10 CFR 

590.202(c). 

B. Proposed Interpretation of 10 CFR 

590.407 

DOE proposes to interpret the phrase 

‘‘as soon as practicable’’ in 10 CFR 

590.407 with respect to the continuing 

obligation of authorization holders and 

Registrants to provide written 

notification to DOE/FE of any 

prospective or actual changes to the 

information submitted during the 

application process. Specifically, DOE/ 

FE will consider a written notification 

of any Executed Agreement(s) filed 

within 30 days of its execution to have 

been submitted ‘‘as soon as practicable’’ 

under this regulation. DOE/FE believes 

a 30-day timeframe, absent good cause 

for delay, will provide a reasonably 

sufficient time for authorization holders 

to prepare and file the written 

notifications with DOE/FE. 

C. Anticipated Administrative Benefits 

In this proposed interpretive rule, 

DOE/FE is not proposing any new 

requirements for applicants or 

authorization holders under 10 CFR part 

590. Rather, DOE’s intent is to reduce 

administrative uncertainty and 

minimize regulatory burdens associated 

with the application of 10 CFR 

590.202(c) and 10 CFR 509.407. 

IV. Public Comment Procedures 

Interested persons are invited to 

participate in this proceeding by 

submitting data, views, or arguments. 

Written comments should be submitted 

to the address, and in the form, 

indicated in the ADDRESSES section of 

this proposed rule. To help DOE review 

the comments, interested persons are 

asked to refer to specific proposed 

provisions, if possible. 

If you submit information that you 

believe to be exempt by law from public 

disclosure, you should submit one 

complete copy, as well as one copy from 

which the information claimed to be 

exempt by law from public disclosure 

has been deleted. DOE is responsible for 

the final determination with regard to 

disclosure or nondisclosure of the 

information and for treating it 

accordingly under the DOE Freedom of 

Information regulations at 10 CFR 

1004.11. 

V. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

publication of this proposed interpretive 

rule. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on December 

13, 2018. 

Steven E. Winberg, 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Fossil Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27450 Filed 12–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2018–0787; Airspace 

Docket No. 18–ASW–12] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Proposed Establishment of Class E 

Airspace; Coushatta, LA 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: This action proposes to 

establish Class E airspace extending 

upward from 700 feet above the surface 

at The Red River Airport, Coushatta, LA. 

Controlled airspace is necessary to 

accommodate new standard instrument 

approach procedures developed at The 

Red River Airport, for the safety and 

management of instrument flight rules 

(IFR) operations. 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PROPOSALS1