39282 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 126 / Monday, July 1, 2013 / Notices 

GENERATION RATES 

Existing rates Proposed rates 

Rate Schedule P–11 

(System Peaking) 

Rate Schedule P–13 

(System Peaking) 

EXCESS ENERGY RATES Rate Schedule EE–11 

(Excess Energy) 

Rate Schedule EE–13 

(Excess Energy) 

Energy .......................................... $0.0091/kWh $0.0094/kWh. 

Southwestern’s customers and other 

interested parties may receive copies of 

the Integrated System Power Repayment 

Studies and/or Rate Design Study, by 

submitting a request to Mr. James K. 

McDonald (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

A Public Information and Comment 

Forum (Forum) is tentatively scheduled 

to be held on July 11, 2013, to explain 

to customers and interested parties the 

proposed rates and supporting studies 

and to allow for comment. A chairman, 

who will be responsible for orderly 

procedure, will conduct the Forum if a 

Forum is requested. Questions 

concerning the rates, studies, and 

information presented at the Forum will 

be answered, to the extent possible, at 

the Forum. Questions not answered at 

the Forum will be answered in writing. 

Questions involving voluminous data 

contained in Southwestern’s records 

may best be answered by consultation 

and review of pertinent records at 

Southwestern’s offices. 

Persons requesting that a Forum be 

held should indicate in writing to the 

Southwestern Vice President and Chief 

Operating Officer (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT) by letter, email, 

or facsimile transmission (918–595– 

6656) by July 8, 2013, their request for 

such a Forum. If no request is received, 

no such Forum will be held. Persons 

interested in speaking at the Forum, if 

held, should submit a request to Mr. 

James K. McDonald, Vice President and 

Chief Operating Officer, Southwestern, 

at least seven (7) calendar days prior to 

the Forum so that a list of forum 

participants can be developed. The 

chairman may allow others to speak if 

time permits. 

A transcript of the Forum, if held, will 

be made. Copies of the transcript and all 

documents introduced will be available 

for review at Southwestern’s offices (see 

ADDRESSES) during normal business 

hours. Copies of the transcript and all 

documents introduced may also be 

obtained, for a fee, from the transcribing 

service. 

All written comments or an electronic 

copy in MS Word on the proposed 

Integrated System Rates are due on or 

before August 30, 2013. Comments 

should be submitted to Mr. James K. 

McDonald, Vice President and Chief 

Operating Officer, Southwestern, (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Following review of the oral and 

written comments and the information 

gathered in the course of the 

proceeding, the Administrator will 

submit the finalized Integrated System 

Power Repayment Studies and Rate 

Design Study in support of the proposed 

rates to the Deputy Secretary of Energy 

for confirmation and approval on an 

interim basis, and subsequently to the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

for confirmation and approval on a final 

basis. The Commission will allow the 

public an opportunity to provide 

written comments on the proposed rate 

increase before making a final decision. 

Dated: June 24, 2013. 

Christopher M. Turner, 

Administrator . 

[FR Doc. 2013–15685 Filed 6–28–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–ORD–2013–0448; FRL—9825–4] 

Proposed Information Collection 

Request; Comment Request; 

Willingness to Pay Survey for Salmon 

Recovery in the Willamette Watershed 

(New) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency is planning to submit an 

information collection request (ICR), 

‘‘Willingness to Pay Survey for Salmon 

Recovery in the Willamette Watershed’’ 

(EPA ICR No. 2489.01, OMB Control No. 

2080–NEW) to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and approval in accordance with 

the Paperwork Reduction Act. Before 

doing so, EPA is soliciting public 

comments on specific aspects of the 

proposed information collection as 

described below. This is a request for 

approval of a new collection. 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 August 30, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

referencing Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

ORD–2013–0448 online using 

www.regulations.gov (our preferred 

method), 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: 

Michael Papenfus, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Western Ecology 

Division, 200 SW 35th St., Corvallis, 

OR, 97333; telephone number: 541– 

754–4703; fax number: 541–754–4799; 

email address: 

papenfus.michael@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, 

EPA 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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 126 / Monday, July 1, 2013 / Notices 39283 

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 

will then be submitted to OMB for 

review and approval. At that time, EPA 

will issue another Federal Register 

notice to announce the submission of 

the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 

submit additional comments to OMB. 

Abstract: 

The USEPA Office of Research and 

Development is investigating public 

values for Chinook salmon and Winter 

steelhead recovery in the Willamette 

basin of Oregon. These values will be 

estimated via a willingness to pay mail 

survey instrument. There are two 

effluent-dominated perennial reaches 

considered in the survey. The primary 

goal of conducting economic valuation 

studies should be to improve the way in 

which communities frame choices 

regarding the allocation of scarce 

resources and to clarify the trade-offs 

between alternative outcomes. This 

problem is particularly relevant to 

salmon conservation efforts in the 

Pacific Northwest. Despite the deep 

cultural importance of salmon to the 

citizens of the Pacific Northwest, there 

is a remarkable lack of valid empirical 

economic studies quantifying this 

importance to the general public. This 

survey will estimate the benefits of 

salmon and steelhead recovery in the 

Willamette basin as outlined in the 

Upper Willamette River Conservation 

and Recovery Plan. 

The public benefits associated with 

several recovery options will be 

estimated in this survey. The first 

option is labeled ’minimum recovery’ 

and represents a permanent increase in 

the number of wild origin Chinook 

salmon and steelhead that return 

annually to the Willamette basin 

watershed. The increase in fish 

abundance is also associated with a 

reduction in the risk of extinction that 

is great enough to ’de-list’ these species 

from the endangered species list. The 

second recovery status evaluated in the 

survey is labeled ’broadsense recovery’. 

This recovery option also represents a 

reduction in extinction risk great 

enough to remove both species form the 

endangered species list but also 

represents an even larger increase in 

wild origin fish than under the ‘minimal 

recovery’ option. In addition to the 

different recovery options, public 

preferences for the time to recovery will 

be evaluated. 

For the survey, a choice experiment 

framework is used with statistically 

designed tradeoff questions. Recovery 

options for wild origin Chinook salmon 

and steelhead and time to recovery are 

posed as increases in a yearly household 

tax for the next 25 years. Each choice 

question allows a zero cost ‘‘opt out’’ 

option. A few additional questions to 

further understand respondent choice 

motivations, their river-related 

recreation behavior, and their attitudes 

towards wild origin versus hatchery 

origin fish are also included. Several 

pages of background introduce the issue 

to respondents. A small number of 

sociodemographic questions are 

included to gauge how well the sample 

respondents represent the target 

population. A sample from across the 

state of Oregon will receive the survey. 

The survey will target three 

subpopulations of Oregon to be 

studied—the urban population of the 

Willamette valley, the rural population 

within the Willamette valley, and the 

population residing outside the 

Willamette valley. The primary reason 

for the survey is public value research. 

All survey responses will be kept 

confidential. 

Form Numbers: None. 

Respondents/affected entities: The 

target respondents for this survey are 

representatives 18 yrs or older of 

households across the state of Oregon. A 

sample of household representatives 18 

yrs or older will be contacted by mail 

following the multiple contact protocol 

in Dillman (2009). A response rate of 

30% will be targeted. To increase 

response rates from the sample, several 

contacts will be used, including a 

prenotice to all recipients, a reminder 

postcard, and follow-up mailing as 

needed. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Voluntary. 

Estimated number of respondents: 

The number of target responses from 

each subpopulation within Oregon is 

250 households each, or 750 households 

total. 

Frequency of response: One-time 

response. 

Total estimated burden: For a typical 

respondent, a conservative estimate of 

their time to review and respond to 

survey questions is 30 minutes. 

Assuming the target of 750 people total 

respond to the survey, the burden is 375 

hours. 

Total estimated cost: The Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reports average wage 

rates for Oregon for all occupations 

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). The 

average hourly wage for all occupations 

in Oregon was $21.75, or an average cost 

per participant of $10.88. Assuming 750 

participants fill out the survey, the total 

estimated respondent labor cost is 

$8,160. This would be a one-time 

expenditure of their time. 

Changes in Estimates: This is the first 

notice; there is no change in estimates 

at this time. 

Dated: June 10, 2013. 

Thomas D. Fontaine III, 

Western Ecology Division Director. 

[FR Doc. 2013–15754 Filed 6–28–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9829–9] 

Forum on Environmental 

Measurements Announcement of 

Competency Policy for Assistance 

Agreements—Implementation 

Extension 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. Announcement of 

Implementation Extension for 

Competency Policy for Assistance 

Agreements. 

SUMMARY: As published in the Federal 

Register on April 29, 2013, the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Forum on Environmental Measurements 

(FEM) is implementing a policy 

requiring organizations generating or 

using environmental data under certain 

Agency-funded assistance agreements to 

submit documentation of their 

competency prior to award of the 

agreement, or if that is not practicable, 

prior to beginning any work involving 

the generation or use of environmental 

data under the agreement. The Policy 

was originally approved on December 

12, 2012 by the Science Technology 

Policy Council (STPC). Because 

implementation tools are currently 

being developed by the Agency based 

on outreach with internal and external 

stakeholders, EPA is delaying the 

required effective date of the Policy to 

October 1, 2013. Webinars and materials 

to aid with implementation are available 

on the FEM Web site (http:// 

www.epa.gov/fem/lab_comp.htm). 

Accordingly, this revision means that 

the policy will apply to: 

• Awards made under competitive 

solicitations issued on or after October 

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