Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2015 / Notices 6955 

1WAPA–150 was approved by the Deputy 

Secretary of Energy on September 16, 2010 (75 FR 

57912 (September 23, 2010)), and confirmed and 

approved by FERC on a final basis on December 9, 

2010, in Docket No. EF10–7–000 (133 FERC ¶ 

62,229). 

For more information about the 

technical conferences, please contact: 

Logistical Information, Sarah 

McKinley, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8368, 

sarah.mckinley@ferc.gov. 

Legal Information, Alan Rukin, 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 

20426, (202) 502–8502, alan.rukin@

ferc.gov. 

Technical Information, Matthew 

Jentgen, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8725, 

matthew.jentgen@ferc.gov. 

Technical Information, Michael 

Gildea, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–8420, 

michael.gildea@ferc.gov. 

Dated: February 2, 2015. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02431 Filed 2–6–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Western Area Power Administration 

Boulder Canyon Project—Rate Order 

No. WAPA–171 

AGENCY: Western Area Power 

Administration, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed extension of 

electric service rate-setting formula and 

adjustment to base charge and rates. 

SUMMARY: The Western Area Power 

Administration (Western) is proposing 

to extend the existing rate-setting 

formula for the Boulder Canyon Project 

(BCP) through September 30, 2020, and 

adjust the annual calculation for fiscal 

year (FY 2016) Base Charge and Rates 

under proposed Rate Schedule BCP–F9 

(Proposed Base Charge and Rates). The 

existing Rate Schedule BCP–F8 expires 

on September 30, 2015. This notice of 

proposed extension of the electric 

service rate-setting formula and 

adjustment of the base charge and rates 

is issued pursuant to 10 CFR part 

903.23(a) and 10 CFR part 904. 

Publication of this Federal Register 

notice begins the formal process for the 

proposed extension of the electric 

service rate-setting formula and the 

annual calculation of the base charge 

and rates. 

DATES: The consultation and comment 

period begins today and will end May 

11, 2015. Western will hold a public 

information forum on April 1, 2015, 

beginning at 10:30 a.m. MST, in 

Phoenix, Arizona. Western will accept 

oral and written comments at a public 

comment forum on April 29, 2015, 

beginning at 10:30 a.m. MST, in 

Phoenix, Arizona. Western will also 

accept written comments any time 

during the consultation and comment 

period. 

ADDRESSES: The public information 

forum and public comment forum will 

be held at the Desert Southwest 

Regional Customer Service Office, 

located at 615 South 43rd Avenue, 

Phoenix, Arizona, on the dates cited 

above. Written comments should be sent 

to Mr. Ronald E. Moulton, Desert 

Southwest Regional Manager, Desert 

Southwest Customer Service Region, 

Western Area Power Administration, 

P.O. Box 6457, Phoenix, AZ 85005– 

6457, email Moulton@wapa.gov. Written 

comments may also be faxed to (602) 

605–2490, attention: Jack Murray, Rates 

Manager. Western will post comments 

received via letter, fax, and email to its 

Web site at http://www.wapa.gov/dsw/

pwrmkt/BCP/RateAdjust.htm after the 

close of the comment period. Western 

must receive written comments by the 

end of the consultation and comment 

period to ensure they are considered in 

Western’s decision making process. For 

details regarding access to Western 

facilities, see the Attendance at the 

Forum section in SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jack Murray, Rates Manager, Desert 

Southwest Customer Service Region, 

Western Area Power Administration, 

P.O. Box 6457, Phoenix, AZ 85005– 

6457, (602) 605–2442, email jmurray@

wapa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

existing Rate Schedule BCP–F8, Rate 

Order No. WAPA–150 was approved by 

the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (FERC) for the period 

beginning October 1, 2010, and ending 

September 30, 2015.1 The existing rate 

schedule consists of a Base Charge and 

Rates for electric service. The base 

charge and rates provide adequate 

revenue to pay all annual costs, 

including interest expense, and repay 

investment within the allowable period. 

The base charge and rates are calculated 

annually to ensure repayment of the 

project within the cost recovery criteria 

set forth in DOE Order RA 6120.2. 

Western proposes to extend the 

existing electric service rate-setting 

formula through September 30, 2020, 

under Rate Order No. WAPA–171, and 

seek approval of the annual calculation 

for the FY 2016 Proposed Base Charge 

and Rates. Under Rate Schedule BCP– 

F9, Rate Order No. WAPA–171, the 

Proposed Base Charge and Rates for BCP 

electric service are expected to increase 

as a result of projected replacements 

costs and visitor center costs. The 

following table lists the Proposed Base 

Charge and Rates, however, these 

amounts will change based on actual 

data published in the FY 2014 financial 

statements, which are not yet available. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF ELECTRIC SERVICE BASE CHARGE AND RATES

Existing base 

charge & rates 

effective October 

1, 2014 

Proposed base 

charge & rates 

effective October 

1, 2015 

Percent change 

Composite (mills/kWh) ..................................................................................................... 16.28 19.77 21.43 

Base Charge ($) .............................................................................................................. $61,008,518 $69,276,468 13.55 

Energy Rate (mills/kWh) .................................................................................................. 8.14 9.89 21.43 

Capacity Rate ($/kWmonth) ............................................................................................ $1.61 $1.82 13.41 

Legal Authority 

Since the proposed rates constitute a 

major adjustment as defined by 10 CFR 

part 903, Western will hold both a 

public information forum and a public 

comment forum. Western will review all 

timely public comments and make 

amendments or adjustment to the 

proposal, as appropriate, consistent 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

6956 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2015 / Notices 

with 10 CFR 903.23(a) and 10 CFR part 

904. 

Western is establishing the electric 

service Base Charge and Rates for BCP 

under the Department of Energy 

Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7152); the 

Reclamation Act of 1902 (ch. 1093, 32 

Stat. 388), as amended and 

supplemented by subsequent laws, 

particularly section 9(c) of the 

Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 

U.S.C. 485h(c)); and other acts that 

specifically apply to the projects 

involved. 

By Delegation Order No. 00–037.00A, 

effective October 25, 2013, the Secretary 

of Energy delegated: (1) The authority to 

develop power and transmission rates to 

the Administrator of Western; (2) the 

authority to confirm, approve, and place 

such rates into effect on an interim basis 

to the Deputy Secretary of Energy; and 

(3) the authority to confirm, approve, 

and place into effect on a final basis, to 

remand, or to disapprove such rates to 

the FERC. Existing Department of 

Energy (DOE) procedures for public 

participation in power rate adjustments 

(10 CFR part 903) were published on 

September 18, 1985. 

Attendance at the Forum 

Access to Western facilities is 

controlled. If you are a U.S. citizen, 

please be sure to bring an official form 

of picture identification (that meets the 

requirement of the Real ID Act), such as 

a driver’s license, U.S. passport, U.S. 

Government ID, or U.S. Military ID, 

which you will be asked to show prior 

to signing in at Western. 

If you are a foreign national and plan 

to attend, please contact Mr. Jack 

Murray, Rates Manager, (602) 605–2442, 

email jmurray@wapa.gov, immediately 

to obtain the necessary form for 

admittance at Western. To allow time 

for background checks this form must be 

completed at least 30 days in advance 

for visitors from non-sensitive countries; 

and 45 days in advance for visitors from 

sensitive countries. Failure to complete 

this approval process may result in 

denial of visit. 

Availability of Information 

All brochures, studies, comments, 

letters, memorandums, and other 

documents that Western initiated or 

used to develop the proposed base 

charge and rates are available for 

inspection and copying at the Desert 

Southwest Customer Service Regional 

Office, located at 615 South 43rd 

Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. Many of 

these documents and supporting 

information are also available on 

Western’s Web site at: http://www.wapa.

gov/dsw/pwrmkt/BCP/RateAdjust.htm. 

Ratemaking Procedure Requirements 

Environmental Compliance 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347 et seq.); 

Council on Environmental Quality 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508); 

and DOE NEPA Regulations (10 CFR 

part 1021), Western is in the process of 

determining whether an environmental 

assessment or an environmental impact 

statement should be prepared or if this 

action can be categorically excluded 

from those requirements. 

Determination Under Executive Order 

12866 

Western has an exemption from 

centralized regulatory review under 

Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no 

clearance of this notice by the Office of 

Management and Budget is required. 

Dated: January 6, 2015. 

Mark A. Gabriel, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02559 Filed 2–6–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OARM–2014–0857; FRL–9922– 

64–OARM] 

Proposed Information Collection 

Request; Comment Request; 

Background Checks for Contractor 

Employees (Renewal) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an 

information collection request (ICR), 

‘‘Background Checks for Contractor 

Employees (Renewal)’’ (EPA ICR No. 

2159.06, OMB Control No. 2030–0043) 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 

seq.). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting 

public comments on specific aspects of 

the proposed information collection as 

described below. This is a proposed 

extension of the ICR, which is currently 

approved through April 30, 2015. An 

Agency may not conduct or sponsor and 

a person is not required to respond to 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before April 10, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

referencing Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OARM–2014–0857 online using 

www.regulations.gov (our preferred 

method), by email to oei.docket@

epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket 

Center, Environmental Protection 

Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460. 

EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes profanity, threats, 

information claimed to be Confidential 

Business Information (CBI) or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dianne Lyles, Policy Training and 

Oversight Division, Office of 

Acquisition Management (3802R), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 

564–6111; email address: lyles.dianne@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Supporting documents which explain in 

detail the information that the EPA will 

be collecting are available in the public 

docket for this ICR. The docket can be 

viewed online at www.regulations.gov 

or in person at the EPA Docket Center, 

WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC. The telephone number for the 

Docket Center is 202–566–1744. For 

additional information about EPA’s 

public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/ 

dockets. 

Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 

the PRA, EPA is soliciting comments 

and information to enable it to: (i) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the Agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (ii) evaluate 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; 

(iii) enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (iv) minimize the burden 

of the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including through 

the use of appropriate automated 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. EPA will consider the 

comments received and amend the ICR 

as appropriate. The final ICR package 

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