Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / Notices 11147 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Intent To Grant Exclusive 

Patent License; Distilled Solutions, 

LLC 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy 

hereby gives notice of its intent to grant 

to Distilled Solutions, LLC a revocable, 

nonassignable, exclusive license to 

practice in the United States, the 

Government-owned invention described 

in U.S. Patent No. 6,893,540, entitled 

‘‘High Temperature Peltier Effect Water 

Distiller,’’ issued May 17, 2005, Navy 

Case No. 82,363. 

DATES: Anyone wishing to object to the 

grant of this license must file written 

objections along with supporting 

evidence, if any, not later than March 

25, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written objections are to be 

filed with the Naval Surface Warfare 

Center Panama City, 110 Vernon Ave., 

Code CDL, Panama City, FL 32407– 

7001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

James Shepherd, Patent Counsel, Naval 

Surface Warfare Center Panama City, 

110 Vernon Ave., Panama City, FL 

32407–7001, telephone 850–234–4646, 

fax 850–235–5497, or 

james.t.shepherd@navy.mil. 

Authority: 35 U.S.C. 207, 37 CFR part 404. 

Dated: March 2, 2010. 

A.M. Vallandingam, 

Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge 

Advocate General, U.S. Navy, Federal 

Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5089 Filed 3–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Process for Requesting a Variance 

From Vegetation Standards for Levees 

and Floodwalls 

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

DoD. 

ACTION: Extension of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: In the February 9, 2010 issue 

of the Federal Register (75 FR 6364), the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), 

published its proposed update to its 

current process for requesting a variance 

from vegetation standards for levees and 

floodwalls for public comment. In that 

notice, the Corps stated that written 

comments must be submitted on or 

before March 11, 2010. Instructions for 

submitting comments are provided in 

the February 9, 2010, Federal Register 

notice. In response to several requests, 

the Corps has decided to extend the 

public comment period to April 25, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas J. Wade, Headquarters, 

Engineering and Construction 

Community of Practice, Washington, 

DC, at 202–761–4668. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: None. 

Dated: March 5, 2010. 

John W. Hunter, 

Engineering and Construction, Headquarters, 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5126 Filed 3–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional 

Natural Gas and Other Petroleum 

Resources Research and Development 

Program 2010 Annual Plan 

AGENCY: Department of Energy, Office of 

Fossil Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of report availability. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy 

announces the availability of the 2010 

Annual Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater 

and Unconventional Natural Gas and 

Other Petroleum Resources Research 

and Development Program on the DOE 

Web site at http:// 

management.energy.gov/FOIA/1480.htm 

or in print form (see ‘‘Contact’’ below). 

The 2010 Annual Plan is in 

compliance with the Energy Policy Act 

of 2005, Subtitle J, Section 999B(e)(3) 

which requires the publication of this 

plan and all written comments in the 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elena Melchert, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, 

Mail Stop FE–30, 1000 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585 or 

phone: 202–586–5600 or e-mail to 

UltraDeepwater@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary [Excerpted From 

the 2010 Annual Plan p. 3] 

This document is the 2010 Annual 

Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater and 

Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

Petroleum Resources Research and 

Development Program established 

pursuant to Title IX, Subtitle J (Subtitle 

J) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

(EPAct). Subtitle J is reproduced in 

Appendix A. 

As required by Subtitle J, the 

Department of Energy (DOE) contracted 

with a consortium (Program 

Consortium) to administer three 

program elements identified in EPAct: 

ultra-deepwater architecture and 

technology, unconventional natural gas 

and other petroleum resources 

exploration and production technology, 

and technology challenges of small 

producers. A fourth program element of 

complementary research identified in 

EPAct is being conducted by the 

National Energy Technology Laboratory 

(NETL). NETL is also responsible for 

review and oversight of the Program 

Consortium. 

In 2006, NETL awarded a contract to 

the Research Partnership to Secure 

Energy for America (RPSEA) to function 

as the Program Consortium. 

The 2007 Annual Plan, the first 

annual plan, resulted in a total of 15 

solicitations from which 43 projects 

were selected. The 2008 Annual Plan 

resulted in the selection of 29 projects. 

Implementation of the 2009 Annual 

Plan includes 7 solicitations issued by 

the Program Consortium in October 

2009, with selections anticipated in 

early 2010. 

As further required by Subtitle J, in 

September 2009, two Federal advisory 

committees, the Ultra-Deepwater 

Advisory Committee and the 

Unconventional Resources Technology 

Advisory Committee, began their 

respective reviews of the draft 2010 

Annual Plan. In October 2009, the two 

advisory committees provided their 

recommendations. 

Section 999B(e)(3) of EPAct requires 

DOE to publish all written comments 

received regarding the annual plan. 

Accordingly, the Program Consortium’s 

2010 draft Annual Plan is included here 

as Appendix B, and the comments and 

recommendations provided by the two 

Federal advisory committees are 

included here as Appendix C. No other 

written comments were received. 

The 2010 Annual Plan provides a 

comprehensive outline of the research 

activities planned for 2010. The primary 

focus of these activities is to fill in any 

technology gaps not adequately 

addressed by the projects and 

solicitations to date. A highlight of 2010 

Annual Plan is the attention that is 

being given to technology transfer. 

Technology transfer is important to 

the success of this research program. 

Subtitle J requires 2.5% of the amount 

of each award to be designated for 

technology transfer activities. The 

Federal advisory committees have 

recommended that more information on 


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11148 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / Notices 

technology transfer be included in 

future annual plans. In response, the 

2010 Annual Plan describes the 

structure for the overall technology 

transfer program. 

Subtitle J provides that the UltraDeepwater and Unconventional Natural 

Gas and Other Petroleum Research Fund 

be funded at $50-million-per-year, with 

funds generated from Federal lease 

royalties, rents, and bonuses paid by oil 

and gas companies. Seventy-five percent 

of these funds are obligated to the 

Program Consortium’s contract to 

execute the three program elements. 

After allocations for contract 

management by NETL and program 

administration by the Program 

Consortium, the amount to be invested 

in research activities by the Program 

Consortium totals $31.88 million per 

year. 

Under the Stage-Gate approach 

applied to prior years’ activities, all 

Program Consortium administered 

projects are fully funded to the 

completion of the appropriate decision 

point identified in each contract, which 

may include multiple stages. If a 

decision is made to move to the next 

stage or decision point or to gather 

additional data, additional funding will 

be provided from available funds. 

The NETL Strategic Center for Natural 

Gas and Oil is responsible for 

management of the consortium’s 

contract as part of its review and 

oversight function. Complementary 

research and development (R&D) is 

being carried out by NETL’s Office of 

Research and Development. Planning 

and analysis related to the Program, 

including benefits assessment and 

technology impacts analysis, is being 

carried out by NETL’s Office of Systems, 

Analysis, and Planning. 

Subtitle J contains a general sunset 

provision for Title IX, Subtitle J, of 

September 30, 2014. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22, 

2010. 

Christopher A. Smith, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Oil and 

Natural Gas, Office of Fossil Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5083 Filed 3–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

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 three-year 

extension of EIA Form EIA–914 

Monthly Natural Gas Production Report. 

DATES: Comments must be filed by May 

10, 2010. If you anticipate difficulty in 

submitting comments within that 

period, contact the person listed below 

as soon as possible. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Ms. 

Rhonda Green at Department of Energy, 

Energy Information Administration, 

Reserves and Production Division, 1999 

Bryan Street, Suite 1110, Dallas, Texas 

75201–6801. To ensure receipt of the 

comments by the due date, submission 

by e-mail (rhonda.green@eia.doe.gov) or 

FAX 214–720–6155 is recommended. 

Alternatively, Ms. Green may be 

contacted by telephone at 214–720– 

6161. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of any forms and instructions 

should be directed to Ms. Rhonda Green 

at the contact information listed above. 

The proposed forms and instructions are 

also available on the Internet at: http:// 

www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/ 

survey_forms/nat_survey_forms.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Current Actions 

III. Request for Comments 

I. Background 

The Federal Energy Administration 

Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93–275, 15 

U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE 

Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 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 and 

statistical information. This information 

is used to assess the adequacy of energy 

resources to meet near and longer-term 

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 collections 

of energy information conducted by or 

in conjunction with the EIA. Any 

comments received help the EIA to 

prepare data requests that maximize the 

utility of the information collected, and 

to assess the impact of collection 

requirements on the public. Also, the 

EIA will later seek approval by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under section 3507(a) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

Currently a sample of operators of 

natural gas wells report on the Form 

EIA–914. From a universe of about 

9,300 active operators, a cut-off sample 

is selected of 243 largest natural gas 

producers by state or area, known to 

have produced at least 20 million cubic 

feet (10 million cubic feet in Oklahoma) 

of natural gas per day in 2009. Using 

information collected on Form EIA–914, 

EIA estimates and disseminates timely 

and reliable monthly natural gas 

production data for Texas (onshore and 

offshore) and Louisiana (onshore and 

offshore), New Mexico, Oklahoma, 

Wyoming, the Federal Offshore Gulf of 

Mexico, Other States (onshore and 

offshore for the remaining gas producing 

States with Alaska excluded), and the 

lower 48 States. This collection is 

essential to the mission of the DOE in 

general and the EIA in particular 

because of the increasing demand for 

natural gas in the United States and the 

requirement for accurate and timely 

natural gas production information 

necessary to monitor the United States 

natural gas supply and demand balance. 

These estimates are essential to the 

development, implementation, and 

evaluation of energy policy and 

legislation. Data are disseminated 

through the EIA Natural Gas Monthly 

and EIA Natural Gas Annual Web site. 

Secondary publications that use the data 

include EIA’s Short-Term Energy 

Outlook, Annual Energy Outlook, 

Monthly Energy Review, and Annual 

Energy Review. 

II. Current Actions 

Currently EIA asks operators to 

resubmit if actual or corrected data vary 

more than plus or minus four percent 

(4%) from the data previously reported. 

The proposed change would ask that 

operators resubmit any change in 

previously reported data. This will 

make the instructions consistent with 

the way operators actually report now, 

i.e., without regard to a four percent 

difference threshold on revision 

submissions. 

III. Request for Comment 

Prospective respondents and other 

interested parties should comment on 

the actions discussed in item II. The 

following guidelines are provided to 

assist in the preparation of comments. 


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