Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Notices 34687

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information

Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Agency information collection

activities: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Energy Information

Administration (EIA) is soliciting

comments on the proposed extension

with revisions to the Form EIA–886,

‘‘Alternative Transportation Fuels and

Alternative Fueled Vehicles Annual

Survey.’’

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before July 31, 2000. If

you anticipate difficulty in submitting

comments within that period, contact

the person listed below as soon as

possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Jorge

Luna-Camara, Energy Information

Administration, EI–52, Forrestal

Building, U.S. Department of Energy,

Washington, DC 20585. Mr LunaCamara may be reached by phone at

(202) 426–1170; by e-mail

jcluna@eia.doe.gov, or by FAX

(202)426–1929.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the form and instructions

should be directed to (name of contact

listed above) at the address listed above.

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 Department

of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. No.

95–91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require

the Energy Information Administration

(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.

This form is used to gather

information on the supply of

‘‘alternative fueled vehicles’’ (AFV’s).

Specifically, the Form EIA–886 collects

data annually on the number of AFV’s

which suppliers ‘‘made available’’ in the

previous calendar year, and the number

of AFV’s which suppliers plan to ‘‘make

available’’ in the following calendar

year. Additionally, the EIA collects data

from Federal Agencies, State and Local

Governments, Fuel Providers, Transit

Authorities, and School Districts; on the

number of AFV’s in use and their

‘‘alternate transportation fuel’’ (ATF)

consumption. These data will be

published annually in the Alternative to

Traditional Transportation Fuel

publication. The data will also be

available through the EIA home page at

http://www.eia.doe.gov.

II. Current Actions

The EIA requests a three-year

extension through April 30, 2004.

Changes to the form are mainly to

simplify and/or clarify the reporting of

data. No additional data items are

requested for collection. All voluntary

data, including the vehicle

identification number (VIN), will no

longer be collected.

III. Request for Comments

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.

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

A. Are the instructions and

definitions clear and sufficient? If not,

which instructions need clarification?

B. Can the information be submitted

by the due date?

C. With the proposed changes, public

reporting burden for this collection is

estimated to average approximately

three hours for the AFV providers part

of the form or the AFV users part of the

form. However, there may be some

respondents which would be both (AFV

providers as well as AFV users). For

these respondents, the EIA estimates an

average of approximately five hours per

response. Burden includes the total

time, effort, or financial resources

expended to generate, maintain, retain,

disclose, or provide the information.

Please comment on the accuracy of the

estimate.

D. The agency estimates that the only

costs to the respondents are for the time

it will take them to complete the

collection. Please comment if

respondents will incur start-up costs for

reporting, or any recurring annual costs

for operation, maintenance, and

purchase of services associated with the

information collection.

E. 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.

F. 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

A. Is the information useful at the

levels of detail indicated on the form?

B. For what purpose(s) would the

information be used? Be specific.

C. 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.

Authority: Sections 3507(h)(i) and 3506(c)

of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(Pub. L. No. 104–13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Issued in Washington, DC, May 24, 2000.

Jay H. Casselberry.

Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and

Methods Group.

[FR Doc. 00–13526 Filed 5–30–00; 8:45 am]

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