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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26419-26422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10571]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Agency Information Collection Extension With Changes

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department 
of Energy.

ACTION: Notice and Request for OMB review and comment.

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SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed revision and 
three-year extension of the surveys in the Natural Gas Data Collection 
Program Package under OMB Control No. 1905-0175.
    The surveys covered by this request include:
     Form EIA-176, ``Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental 
Gas Supply and Disposition''
     EIA-191, ``Monthly Underground Gas Storage Report''
     EIA-757, ``Natural Gas Processing Plant Survey''
     EIA-857, ``Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and 
Deliveries to Consumers''
     EIA-910, ``Monthly Natural Gas Marketer Survey''
     EIA-912, ``Weekly Underground Natural Gas Storage Report''
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) 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; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before July 7, 2014. If you anticipate difficulty in 
submitting comments within that period, contact the person listed in 
ADDRESSES as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Ms. Amy Sweeney, Natural Gas Downstream 
Team, Office of Oil, Gas, and Coal Supply Statistics, Energy 
Information Administration. To ensure receipt of the comments by the 
due date, submission by fax (202-586-1076) or email 
(amy.sweeney@eia.gov) is recommended. The mailing address is Ms. Amy 
Sweeney, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Ave. SW., EI-24, Washington, DC 20585. Also, Ms. 
Sweeney may be contacted by telephone at 202-586-2627.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Ms. Sweeney 
at the address listed above. Also, the draft forms and instructions are 
available on the EIA Web site at http://www.eia.gov/survey/notice/ngdownstreamforms2015.cfm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Energy Administration Act of 
1974 (Pub. L. 93-275, 15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization 
Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require 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 statistics. This information is used 
to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet both near- and 
longer-term domestic demands.
    EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), provides the 
general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to comment 
on the collection of energy information conducted by or in conjunction 
with EIA. Comments help EIA prepare data requests that maximize the 
utility of the information collected and assess the impact of 
collection requirements on the public. As required by section 
3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, EIA will later seek 
approval for this collection by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB).
    The natural gas surveys included in the Natural Gas Data Collection 
Program Package collect information on natural gas production, 
underground storage, supply, processing, transmission, distribution, 
consumption by sector, and consumer prices. This information is used to 
support public policy analyses of the natural gas industry and 
estimates generated from data collected on these surveys. The 
statistics generated from these surveys are posted to the EIA Web site 
(http://www.eia.gov) and in various EIA products, including the Weekly 
Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR), Natural Gas Monthly (NGM), Natural 
Gas Annual (NGA), Monthly Energy Review (MER), Short-Term Energy 
Outlook (STEO), Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), and Annual Energy Review 
(AER). Respondents to EIA natural gas surveys include underground 
storage operators, transporters, marketers, and distributors. Each form 
included as part of this package is discussed in detail below.
    Please refer to the proposed forms and instructions for more 
information about the purpose, who must report, when to report, where 
to submit, the elements to be reported, detailed instructions, 
provisions for confidentiality, and uses (including possible 
nonstatistical uses) of the information. For instructions on obtaining 
materials, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    EIA is requesting a three-year extension of collection authority 
for each of the above-referenced surveys and will make minor changes to 
the forms and instructions to provide clarity. Data confidentiality 
procedures for protecting the identifiability of submitted data remain 
unchanged for all forms with the exception of a portion of Form EIA-191 
as referenced below. In addition, EIA is proposing the following 
changes:

[[Page 26420]]

Form EIA-176, ``Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply 
and Disposition''

    (1) Type of Request: Extension, with changes, of a currently 
approved collection.
    (2) Purpose: Form EIA-176, ``Annual Report of Natural and 
Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition,'' collects data on natural, 
synthetic, and other supplemental gas supplies, disposition, and 
certain revenues by state. The data appear in the EIA publications, 
Monthly Energy Review, Natural Gas Annual, and Natural Gas Monthly. The 
proposed changes include:
     In Part 3, EIA is proposing to collect information on the 
price of compressed natural gas (CNG) for natural gas local 
distribution companies that sell CNG to the public. This information 
will provide information on retail prices of CNG. CNG is a growing 
segment of the natural gas industry that is not represented in EIA's 
natural gas retail price series.
     In Parts 4 and 6, which address sources of natural gas 
supply and disposition, respectively, EIA is proposing to add daily 
capacity, in million cubic feet per day, of underground storage 
injections and withdrawals (i.e., maximum daily injection rates and 
maximum daily withdrawal rates).
     EIA is also proposing to add capacity of interstate 
pipeline receipt and delivery points at state and U.S. borders, and the 
maximum daily injection and withdrawal rates of above-ground natural 
gas storage. Currently, EIA collects volumetric data for each of these 
data elements but would like to collect the related maximum daily rates 
for each. This will allow for a better understanding of to what extent 
natural gas injection and withdrawal rates at storage sites as well as 
movements at interstate and U.S. border points can potentially 
constrain the natural gas market's ability to supply gas at various 
locations during peak usage periods.
     Finally, in Part 5, EIA is proposing to collect the 
capacity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine terminals to gain a 
better understanding of the extent to which these storage assets are 
being utilized and are able to supply the market during periods of peak 
natural gas demand.
    (3) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: 2,012 respondents.
    (4) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: The annual number 
of total responses is 2,012.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: The annual estimated 
burden is 24,144 hours.
    (6) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours.

Form EIA-191, ``Monthly Underground Gas Storage Report''

    (1) Type of Request: Extension, with changes, of a currently 
approved collection.
    (2) Purpose: Form EIA-191, ``Monthly Underground Gas Storage 
Report,'' collects data on the operations of all active underground 
storage facilities. The data appear in the EIA publications Monthly 
Energy Review, Natural Gas Annual, and Natural Gas Monthly. EIA is 
proposing to make the following changes to the form:
     EIA is proposing to add maximum daily injection rate to 
Part 3 of the monthly Form EIA-191. Data on the maximum rate that 
natural gas can be injected into storage facilities will provide 
information on how quickly storage assets can be refilled. This has 
become increasingly important for assessing market supply conditions 
given the increasing reliance on underground storage to balance daily 
supply and demand during the peaks of both the heating and refill 
season.
     EIA is also proposing to collect the quantities of natural 
gas consumed for compression at storage sites each month. This will 
allow for more accurate estimates of the fuel used at underground 
storage sites which may not be adequately represented in EIA's monthly 
and annual data depicting the supply and demand balance of natural gas 
in the United States.
     To reduce reporting burden EIA is proposing to discontinue 
two categories regarding Field Status: ``Depleting;'' and ``Other.'' 
EIA will use only two categories, ``Active'' and ``Inactive.'' The 
category ``Inactive'' is more descriptive and replaces the Field Status 
category label of ``Abandoned.'' The ``Depleting'' and ``Other'' 
categories are rarely used by reporting companies and collapsing these 
categories into ``Inactive'' will not cause a loss in data utility, as 
the same data will still be reported, albeit in a single category.
     Finally, EIA is proposing to make public reported values 
for monthly base gas levels reported in Part 4. This information will 
enhance the utility of the underground storage information already 
available to the public pertaining to capacity and working gas capacity 
and also indicate another source of supply during times of sustained 
high demand. The current confidentiality protection covering the other 
information reported in Part 4, including monthly working gas, total 
gas in storage, and injections and withdrawals into storage, will be 
retained. EIA will continue to publish, in disaggregated form, 
information collected in Part 3 of Form EIA-191, including storage 
field name and type, reservoir name, location, working gas and total 
storage field capacity, maximum deliverability and the newly proposed 
maximum injection rate. On its Web site, EIA currently releases this 
information at the field level through its Natural Gas Annual 
Respondent Query System. EIA is seeking comment on whether the proposal 
to include field-level base gas with the currently available 
information on field-level working gas and total gas field capacity 
will cause competitive harm to storage operators.
    (3) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: There are approximately 
122 respondents.
    (4) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: The annual 
estimated number of total responses is 1,464.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: The annual estimated 
burden is 3,806 hours.
    (6) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours.

Form EIA-757, ``Natural Gas Processing Plant Survey''

    (1) Type of Request: Extension, with changes, of a currently 
approved collection.
    (2) Purpose: Form EIA-757, ``Natural Gas Processing Plant Survey,'' 
collects information on the capacity, status, and operations of natural 
gas processing plants, and monitors constraints of natural gas 
processing plants during periods of supply disruption in areas affected 
by an emergency, such as a hurricane. Schedule A of the EIA-757 is 
collected no more than every three years to collect baseline operating 
and capacity information from all respondents and Schedule B is 
activated as needed and collected from a sample of respondents in 
affected areas as needed. Schedule A was most recently conducted in 
2012 and Schedule B was most recently activated in 2012 for Hurricane 
Isaac with a sample of approximately 20 plants. EIA is proposing to 
continue the collection of the same data elements on Form EIA-757 
Schedules A and B in their present form with the following change to:
     EIA is proposing to eliminate two elements from Schedule 
A, annual average total plant capacity and annual average natural gas 
flow at plant inlet,

[[Page 26421]]

as this information will be duplicative of information to be collected 
on a proposed new survey of natural gas processing plants, Form EIA-
915, to be submitted under a separate OMB Control Number.
    (3) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: Schedule A: 500; 
Schedule B: 20.
    (4) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: Schedule A is used 
to collect information once every three years. Therefore, the annual 
estimated number of total responses for Schedule A is 167. The annual 
estimated number of total responses for Schedule B is 7. Annual 
Estimated Number of Burden Hours: The annual estimated burden for 
Schedule A is 84 hours. The annual estimated burden for Schedule B is 
105 hours.
    (5) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours.

Form EIA-857, ``Monthly Report of Natural Gas Purchases and Deliveries 
to Consumers''

    (1) Type of Request: Extension, with change, of a currently 
approved collection.
    (2) Purpose: Form EIA-857, ``Monthly Report of Natural Gas 
Purchases and Deliveries to Consumers,'' collects data on the quantity 
and cost of natural gas delivered to distribution systems and the 
quantity and revenue of natural gas delivered to end-use consumers by 
market sector, on a monthly basis by state. The data appear in the EIA 
publications, Monthly Energy Review, Natural Gas Annual, and Natural 
Gas Monthly. EIA is proposing the following change:
     EIA is proposing to add a new question to the form that 
asks whether the reporting company is including any adjustments to 
prior periods in their current monthly reporting. Reporting companies 
frequently make adjustments to correct data previously submitted in 
prior periods that skew the current month's reporting and EIA would 
like to propose this mechanism to more easily identify this phenomenon 
and address it proactively with the reporting companies.
    (3) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: 310 respondents each 
month.
    (4) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: The annual 
estimated number of total responses is 3,720.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: The annual estimated 
burden is 13,020 hours.
    (6) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours.

Form EIA-910, ``Monthly Natural Gas Marketer Survey''

    (1) Type of Request: Extension, with changes, of a currently 
approved collection.
    (2) Purpose: Form EIA-910, ``Monthly Natural Gas Marketer Survey,'' 
collects information on natural gas sales from marketers in selected 
states that have active customer choice programs. EIA is requesting 
information on the volume and revenue for natural gas commodity sales 
and any receipts for distribution charges and taxes associated with the 
sale of natural gas. EIA is proposing to continue Form EIA-910 in its 
present form with no changes to the elements collected or geographic 
coverage.
    (3) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: There are approximately 
210 respondents each month.
    (4) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: The annual 
estimated number of total responses is 2,520.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: The annual estimated 
burden is 5,040 hours.
    (6) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours.

Form EIA-912, ``Weekly Underground Natural Gas Storage Report''

    (1) Type of Request: Extension, with changes, of a currently 
approved collection.
    (2) Purpose: Form EIA-912, ``Weekly Underground Natural Gas Storage 
Report,'' collects information on weekly inventories of natural gas in 
underground storage facilities. The proposed changes include an 
additional data element as well as expanded geographic categories for 
working gas collection and publication in the Lower 48 states:
     Instead of dividing the states into three regions, the 
East, West and Producing Regions, EIA is proposing to collect data in 
five regions by further breaking out the current regions. The states 
currently included in the Producing region will remain unchanged but 
the region will now be referred to as the South Central region. The 
South Central region will continue to have two subcategories for the 
different storage technologies prevalent in the region, salt and non-
salt facilities. Four additional regions that further break out the 
current East and West regions will be added in order to enhance the 
analysis and usability of the data. The new geographic regions are 
defined in the following table:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Current EIA-912 regions              Proposed EIA-912 regions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Producing Region: Alabama, Arkansas,     South Central Region: Alabama,
 Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New      Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana,
 Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.             Mississippi, New Mexico,
                                          Oklahoma, and Texas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Region: Connecticut, Delaware,      East Region: Connecticut,
 District of Columbia, Florida,           Delaware, District of
 Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,        Columbia, Florida, Georgia,
 Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland,       Kentucky, Massachusetts,
 Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska,     Maryland, Maine, New
 New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,     Hampshire, New Jersey, New
 North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,      York, North Carolina, Ohio,
 Rhode Island, South Carolina,            Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
 Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia,            South Carolina, Tennessee,
 Wisconsin, and West Virginia.            Vermont, Virginia, and West
                                          Virginia.
                                         Midwest Region: Illinois,
                                          Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,
                                          Missouri, and Wisconsin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Region: Arizona, California,        Mountain Region: Arizona,
 Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana,     Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota,
 Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South      Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
 Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.   North Dakota, South Dakota,
                                          Utah, and Wyoming.
                                         Pacific Region: California,
                                          Oregon, and Washington.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 26422]]

     EIA is also proposing a new data element, Net Withdrawals 
of Working Gas into and out of Storage, which will be reported as 
weekly withdrawals of working gas in excess of injections. This new 
element will directly collect the net flow of working gas into or out 
of storage inventory on a weekly basis, a statistic of great interest 
by the natural gas industry. Currently, the Weekly Natural Gas Storage 
Report reports a proxy for weekly net withdrawals by calculating the 
net change of working gas levels from week to week. However, collecting 
the net flow or Net Withdrawals of Working Gas into and out of Storage 
will make weekly movements explicit instead of derived by the 
difference between inventory levels. Further, direct collection of the 
weekly net flow into or out of working gas inventories will supplement 
the information on working gas inventories currently collected by 
making a clearer distinction between net flows and reclassifications 
between base and working gas.
     Finally, EIA is proposing two changes to its current 
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report revision policy. The first proposed 
change would reduce the threshold for published revisions from 7 
billion cubic feet (Bcf) to 4 Bcf. Under the proposed revision policy, 
revisions will be announced in the regularly scheduled release, when 
the sum of reported changes is at least 4 Bcf at either a regional or 
national level. Second, EIA is also proposing to amend the policy 
addressing the unscheduled release of revisions. Under the current 
policy, an unscheduled release of revised data will occur when the 
cumulative effect of respondent submitted data changes or corrections 
is at least 10 Bcf for the current or prior report week. Under the 
proposed policy, the unscheduled release of revisions to weekly 
estimates of working gas held in underground storage will occur when 
the cumulative sum of data changes or corrections to working gas and 
the net change between the two most recent report weeks is at least 10 
Bcf. The proposed change leaves the 10-Bcf threshold, as well as the 
current out-of-cycle release procedures intact but will further require 
that the revision have an impact of 10 Bcf or more on the reported net 
change between the two most recent reports weeks. For example, if one 
or more respondents submits changes totaling 10 Bcf to previously 
submitted data but the changes are the result of errors that have been 
accumulating over several weeks and do not affect flows of working 
natural gas into or out of storage in the most recent two reported 
weekly periods by more than 10 Bcf, the unscheduled data release will 
not occur and the revisions will be published with the next regularly 
scheduled release.
    (3) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: There are approximately 
85 respondents every week.
    (4) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: The annual 
estimated number of total responses is 4,420.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: The annual estimated 
burden is 4,420 hours.
    (6) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours.

    Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy Administration 
Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-275, codified at 15 U.S.C. 772(b).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 2, 2014.
Stephen J. Harvey,
Assistant Administrator for Energy Statistics, U.S. Energy Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-10571 Filed 5-7-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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