Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2018 / Notices 3461 

2See National Science Foundation/Division of 

Science Resources Statistics, Business Research and 

Development and Innovation Survey: 2013 (results 

published August 2, 2016). 

3 In the event of changed circumstances, the 

Commission believes that the board resolution and 

investment guidelines will be amended and 

recorded in the ordinary course of business and 

would not create additional time burdens. 

4 In order for these companies to raise sufficient 

capital to fund their product development stage, 

Commission staff believes that they will need to 

present potential investors with investment 

guidelines. Investors generally want to be assured 

that the company’s funds are invested consistent 

with the goals of capital preservation and liquidity. 

records must be maintained in 

accordance with state law. 

Rule 3a–8 contains an additional 

requirement that is also a collection of 

information within the meaning of the 

PRA. The board of directors of a 

company that relies on the safe harbor 

under rule 3a–8 must adopt a written 

policy with respect to the company’s 

capital preservation investments. We 

expect that the board of directors will 

base its decision to adopt the resolution 

discussed above, in part, on investment 

guidelines that the company will follow 

to ensure its investment portfolio is in 

compliance with the rule’s 

requirements. 

The collection of information 

imposed by rule 3a–8 is voluntary 

because the rule is an exemptive safe 

harbor, and therefore, R&D companies 

may choose whether or not to rely on it. 

The purposes of the information 

collection requirements in rule 3a–8 are 

to ensure that: (i) The board of directors 

of an R&D company is involved in 

determining whether the company 

should be considered an investment 

company and subject to regulation 

under the Act, and (ii) adequate records 

are available for Commission review, if 

necessary. Rule 3a–8 would not require 

the reporting of any information or the 

filing of any documents with the 

Commission. 

Commission staff estimates that there 

is no annual recordkeeping burden 

associated with the rule’s requirements. 

Nevertheless, the Commission requests 

authorization to maintain an inventory 

of one burden hour for administrative 

purposes. 

Commission staff estimates that 

approximately 65,139 R&D companies 

may take advantage of rule 3a–8.2 Given 

that the board resolutions and 

investment guidelines will generally 

need to be adopted only once (unless 

relevant circumstances change),3 the 

Commission believes that all the R&D 

companies that existed prior to the 

adoption of rule 3a–8 adopted their 

board resolutions and established 

written investment guidelines in 2003 

when the rule was adopted. We expect 

that R&D companies formed subsequent 

to the adoption of rule 3a–8 would 

adopt the board resolution and 

investment guidelines simultaneously 

with their formation documents in the 

ordinary course of business.4 Therefore, 

we estimate that rule 3a–8 does not 

impose additional burdens. 

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 

control number. 

The public may view the background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following website, 

www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be 

directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, Room 10102, New Executive 

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, 

or by sending an email to: Shagufta_

Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela 

Dyson, Director/Chief Information 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 

or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@

sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to 

OMB within 30 days of this notice. 

Dated: January 19, 2018. 

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01340 Filed 1–24–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

Sunshine Act Meetings; Unified Carrier 

Registration Plan Board of Directors 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Unified Carrier 

Registration Plan Board of Directors 

Meeting. 

TIME AND DATE: The meeting will be held 

on January 30, 2018, from 1:00 p.m. to 

5:00 p.m., Central Standard Time. 

PLACE: The meeting will be open to the 

public at the; Royal Sonesta New 

Orleans, 300 Bourbon Street, New 

Orleans, LA 70130, and via conference 

call. Those not attending the meeting in 

person may call toll-free; 1–877–422– 

1931, passcode 2855443940, to listen 

and participate in the meeting. 

STATUS: Open to the public. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The Unified 

Carrier Registration Plan Board of 

Directors (the Board) will continue its 

work in developing and implementing 

the Unified Carrier Registration Plan 

and Agreement and to that end, may 

consider matters properly before the 

Board. An agenda for this meeting is 

available at: https://ucrplan.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Avelino Gutierrez, Chair, Unified 

Carrier Registration Board of Directors at 

(505) 827–4565. 

Issued on: January 22, 2018. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01454 Filed 1–23–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2017–0082] 

Pipeline Safety: Information Collection 

Activities 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: On October 18, 2017, in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the Pipeline and 

Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration (PHMSA) published a 

notice in the Federal Register to invite 

comments on an information collection 

under Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Control No. 2137–0629 to revise 

Form PHMSA F 7100.1–1 Annual 

Report—Gas Distribution System, and 

the instructions associated with this 

Form. 

During the 60-day comment period, 

PHMSA received five comments in 

response to this information collection 

from the stakeholders. PHMSA is 

publishing this notice to respond to the 

comments received and to announce 

that the information collection will be 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before February 26, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding 

the burden estimate, including 

suggestions for reducing the burden, to 

OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the 

Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation, 725 17th Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20503. You may also 

send comments by email to OIRAsubmission@omb.eop.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Angela Dow by telephone at 202–366– 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
3462 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2018 / Notices 

1246, by fax at 202–366–4566, or by 

mail at U.S. Department of 

Transportation, PHMSA, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, PHP–30, Washington, 

DC 20590–0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of 

Federal Regulations, requires PHMSA to 

provide interested members of the 

public and affected entities an 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection and recordkeeping requests. 

This notice identifies the proposed 

changes to the information collection 

that PHMSA will submit to OMB for 

approval. In order to improve the data 

collection processes, PHMSA is revising 

the Gas Distribution Annual Report 

Form PHMSA F 7100.1–1, and the 

instructions associated with this Form. 

PHMSA will remove ‘‘Other’’ as a 

selection for Operator Type in Part A7 

and add guidance for the proper 

selection to the instructions. By 

eliminating ‘‘Other’’ as a selection, 

PHMSA will obtain more accurate data 

about the types of gas distribution 

operators. 

PHMSA is also changing the 

instructions for PHMSA Form 7100.1–1, 

Gas Distribution System Annual Report, 

related to calculating the percent of lost 

and unaccounted for (LAUF) gas and 

negative percent values. PHMSA will 

calculate the percent of LAUF gas by 

dividing the LAUF volume by the gas 

consumption volume. PHMSA will 

allow a negative value to be reported for 

the percent of LAUF gas. These changes 

will harmonize the PHMSA and Energy 

Information Administration (EIA) 

methodologies for calculating the 

percent of LAUF gas. 

PHMSA received five comments in 

response to the revision of this 

information collection. Four comments 

came from anonymous sources and one 

comment came from The American 

Public Gas Association (APGA). 

A. Summary of Comment 

PHMSA has proposed changing the 

denominator from ‘‘volume of input’’ to 

‘‘volume consumed’’ when calculating 

the percent of lost and unaccounted for 

gas. This change would match the 

methodology used by the EIA. APGA 

recommends no change to the 

methodology for calculating the percent 

of lost and unaccounted for gas since a 

percent is not reported to the EIA. Also, 

changing the denominator for 

calculating percent would make 

analysis of multi-year trends more 

difficult. 

B. PHMSA Response 

Each year, EIA publishes volume data 

in a document titled: Natural Gas 

Annual. In Table A1 of the calendar 

year 2016 Natural Gas Annual, the EIA 

calculates ‘‘Losses and Unaccounted as 

a percent of Total Consumption.’’ 

PHMSA’s proposal aligns with the EIA 

methodology in the Natural Gas 

Annual. Regarding the impact of the 

methodology change on the analysis of 

multi-year trends, the impact would be 

minimal. For example, using calendar 

year 2016 EIA data for Massachusetts, 

the percent using the current PHMSA 

methodology yields a value of 3.2 

percent. When using the EIA 

methodology, the value is 3.3 percent. 

II. Summary of Impacted Collection 

Section 1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of 

Federal Regulations, requires PHMSA to 

provide interested members of the 

public and affected agencies an 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection and recordkeeping requests. 

This notice identifies an information 

collection request that PHMSA will 

submit to OMB for revision. The 

changes proposed by PHMSA would 

have no effect on the calendar year 2017 

data collection now in progress. The 

changes would be implemented when 

operators submit calendar year 2018 

data early in calendar year 2019. 

The following information is provided 

for this information collection: (1) Title 

of the information collection; (2) OMB 

control number; (3) Current expiration 

date; (4) Type of request; (5) Abstract of 

the information collection activity; (6) 

Description of affected public; (7) 

Estimate of total annual reporting and 

recordkeeping burden; and (8) 

Frequency of collection. PHMSA will 

request a three-year term of approval for 

this information collection activity. 

PHMSA requests comments on the 

following information collection: 

1. Title: Annual Report for Gas 

Distribution Pipeline Operators. 

OMB Control Number: 2137–0629. 

Current Expiration Date: 1/31/2018. 

Type of Request: Revision. 

Abstract: PHMSA intends to revise 

the form and instructions for the gas 

distribution annual report PHMSA F 

7100.1–1. 

Affected Public: Gas distribution 

pipeline operators. 

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Burden: 

Total Annual Responses: 1,446. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 24,582. 

Frequency of Collection: Annually. 

Comments are invited on: 

(a) The need for the renewal and 

revision of these collections of 

information for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will 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 those 

who are to respond, including the use 

of appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 18, 

2018, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

1.97. 

Alan K. Mayberry, 

Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01324 Filed 1–24–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Senior Executive Service; 

Departmental Performance Review 

Board 

AGENCY: Treasury Department. 

ACTION: Notice of members of the 

Departmental Performance Review 

Board (PRB). 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

appointment of members of the 

Departmental PRB. The purpose of this 

PRB is to review and make 

recommendations concerning proposed 

performance appraisals, ratings, bonuses 

and other appropriate personnel actions 

for incumbents of SES positions for 

which the Secretary or Deputy Secretary 

is the appointing authority. These 

positions include SES bureau heads, 

deputy bureau heads and certain other 

positions. The Board will perform PRB 

functions for other key bureau positions 

if requested. 

DATES: Membership is effective on the 

date of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia 

J. Markham, Director, Office of 

Executive Resources, 1500 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW, ATTN: 1722 Eye Street, 

9th Floor, Washington, DC 20220, 

Telephone: (202) 927–4370. 

Composition of Departmental PRB: 

The Board shall consist of at least three 

members. In the case of an appraisal of 

a career appointee, more than half the 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES