Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2009 / Proposed Rules 30027 

1Requests for interchange service are also called 

‘‘RFI.’’ The NERC glossary defines ‘‘Interchange’’ as, 

‘‘Energy transfers that cross balancing authority 

boundaries.’’ NERC Glossary of Terms Used in 

Reliability Standards (as revised) (glossary), 

originally filed with NERC’s April 4, 2006 Request 

for Approval of Reliability Standards, Docket No. 

RM06–16–000, and affirmed by Mandatory 

Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, 

Order No. 693, FERC Stats. and Regs. ¶ 31,242 

(2007), order on reh’g, Order No. 693–A, 120 FERC 

¶ 61,053 (2007). The glossary is appended to the 

Reliability Standards and is available on the NERC 

Web site, http://www.nerc.com. 

2See Modification of Interchange and 

Transmission Loading Relief Reliability Standards; 

and Electric Reliability Organization Interpretation 

of Specific Requirements of Four Reliability 

Standards, Order No. 713, 73 FR 43613 (Jul. 28, 

2008), 124 FERC ¶ 61,071, at P 67 (2008). Under 

NERC procedures, changes developed pursuant to 

an urgent action request must be reviewed under 

the normal Reliability Standards development 

process, by a panel having the appropriate 

expertise, and balloted for final approval, with any 

modifications, within one year, if no substantive 

changes are made, or else within two years. NERC 

states that the current revisions are not substantial 

enough to change the intent, scope or purpose of 

the prior versions of the Reliability Standards. 

3The Commission is not proposing any new or 

modified text to its regulations. Rather, as set forth 

in 18 CFR Part 40, a proposed Reliability Standard 

will not become effective until approved by the 

Commission, and the Electric Reliability 

Organization (ERO) must post on its Web site each 

effective Reliability Standard. 

4Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109–58, 

Title XII, Subtitle A, 119 Stat. 594, 941 (2005), 16 

U.S.C. 824o (2006). 

5 16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(3). 

6Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric 

Reliability Organization; and Procedures for the 

Establishment, Approval, and Enforcement of 

Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC 

Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,204, order on reh’g, Order No. 

672–A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,212 (2006). 

7North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 

FERC ¶ 61,062, order on reh’g & compliance, 117 

FERC ¶ 61,126 (2006). 

Issued in Seattle, Washington, on June 12, 

2009. 

William Buck, 

Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, 

Western Service Center. 

[FR Doc. E9–14819 Filed 6–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 40 

[Docket No. RM09–8–000] 

Revised Mandatory Reliability 

Standards for Interchange Scheduling 

and Coordination 

June 18, 2009. 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 215 of the 

Federal Power Act, the Commission 

proposes to approve three updated 

Interchange Scheduling and 

Coordination (INT) Reliability 

Standards developed by the North 

American Electric Reliability 

Corporation. The proposed INT 

Reliability Standards specify times for 

entities in the Western Interconnection 

to review and respond to requests for 

interchange service, specifically, ontime requests for service and requests 

for emergency interchange and 

reliability adjustment interchange 

service. In addition, the revisions set 

forth appropriate response times for all 

requests for on-time, emergency and 

reliability adjustment interchange 

service. 

DATES: Comments are due July 24, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number by any of 

the following methods: 

• Agency Web Site: http://ferc.gov. 

Documents created electronically using 

word processing software should be 

filed in native applications or print-toPDF format and not in a scanned format. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters 

unable to file comments electronically 

must mail or hand deliver an original 

and 14 copies of their comments to: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Danny Johnson (Technical Information), 

Office of Electric Reliability, Division 

of Reliability Standards, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426. (202) 502–8892. 

Rheta Johnson (Technical Information), 

Office of Electric Reliability, Division 

of Reliability Standards, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426. (202) 502–6503. 

Richard M. Wartchow (Legal 

Information), Office of the General 

Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426. (202) 502– 

8744. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Pursuant to section 215 of the 

Federal Power Act (FPA), the 

Commission proposes to approve three 

updated Interchange Scheduling and 

Coordination (INT) Reliability 

Standards developed by the North 

American Electric Reliability 

Corporation (NERC): INT–005–3, 

Interchange Authority Distributes 

Arranged Interchange; INT–006–3, 

Response to Interchange Authority; and 

INT–008–3, Interchange Authority 

Distributes Status. The proposed INT 

Reliability Standards specify response 

times for entities in the Western 

Interconnection to review and respond 

to requests for interchange service. In 

addition, the revisions set forth 

appropriate response times for all 

requests for on-time, emergency and 

reliability adjustment interchange 

service.1

2. The revised INT Reliability 

Standards update and replace version 2 

of the INT Reliability Standards. NERC 

adopted these standards pursuant to an 

urgent action request under NERC 

procedures, which require that the 

standards be resubmitted for processing 

through NERC’s normal Reliability 

Standards development procedures.2

The proposed rule would benefit the 

reliable operation of the Bulk-Power 

System by clarifying how long the 

relevant entities have to respond to 

requests for interchange service and 

providing entities in the Western 

Interconnection with sufficient time to 

assess and respond to requests for 

interchange service.3

I. Background 

A. EPAct 2005 and Mandatory 

Reliability Standards 

3. On August 8, 2005, the Electricity 

Modernization Act of 2005 was enacted 

as Title XII, Subtitle A, of the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).4 EPAct 

2005 added section 215 to the FPA, 

requiring the Commission-certified 

Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) 

to develop mandatory and enforceable 

Reliability Standards to provide for the 

reliable operation of the Bulk-Power 

System, subject to Commission review 

and approval. Once approved, the 

Reliability Standards may be enforced 

by the ERO, subject to Commission 

oversight, or by the Commission 

independently.5

4. On February 3, 2006, the 

Commission issued Order No. 672, 

implementing section 215.6 Pursuant to 

Order No. 672, the Commission certified 

NERC as the ERO.7 The ERO is required 

to develop Reliability Standards, subject 

to Commission review and approval, 

applicable to users, owners and 

operators of the Bulk-Power System, as 

set forth in each Reliability Standard. 

5. Section 215(d)(2) of the FPA states 

that the Commission may approve, by 

rule or order, a proposed Reliability 

Standard or modification to a Reliability 

Standard if it determines that the 

Standard is just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in 

30028 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

8 16 U.S.C. 824o(d)(2). 

9 16 U.S.C. 824o(d)(4). 

10The INT Reliability Standards apply to 

interchange authorities, balancing authorities, and 

transmission service providers. 

11Order No. 713, 124 FERC ¶ 61,071 at P 67. 

12Upon expiration of the assessment time, the 

related e-Tags are denied and must be resubmitted. 

In industry parlance, this is called ‘‘passive denial.’’ 

Order No. 713, 124 FERC ¶ 61,071 at P 62–63. 

13The revised INT Reliability Standards are 

provided in the petition and are available on the 

Commission’s eLibrary document retrieval system 

in Docket No. RM09–8–000 and also on NERC’s 

Web site, http://www.nerc.com. 

14Electronic Tagging, or e-Tag, is a request to 

implement a new interchange transaction as a 

physical energy flow, i.e., an RFI. The e-Tag 

documents the requested physical interchange 

transaction and identifies participants. E-Tags 

include expected flows, and the information 

provided may be used in mitigating constraints, 

when needed. See NERC’s Joint Interchange 

Scheduling Work Group, Electronic Tagging 

Functional Specification Version 1.8.0 (Nov. 7, 

2007). 

15As with Reliability Standards, the Commission 

also reviews and approves revisions to the NERC 

glossary pursuant to FPA section 215(d)(2). Further, 

the Commission may direct a modification to 

address a specific matter identified by the 

Commission pursuant to section 215(d)(5). See, e.g., 

Order No. 693, FERC Stats. and Regs. ¶ 31,242 at 

P 1893–98. 

16 INT–006–003, Requirement R1. 

17The petition makes no modification to the 

violation risk factors or violation severity levels for 

the revised INT Reliability Standards. Therefore, 

the currently effective violation risk factors and 

violation severity levels will continue to apply. 

the public interest.8 If the Commission 

disapproves of the proposed Standard in 

whole or in part, it must remand the 

proposed Standard to the ERO for 

further consideration.9 Section 215(d)(5) 

grants the Commission authority, upon 

its own motion or upon complaint, to 

order the ERO to submit to the 

Commission a proposed Reliability 

Standard or a modification to a 

Reliability Standard that addresses a 

specific matter if the Commission 

considers such a modified Reliability 

Standard appropriate to carry out 

section 215. 

B. Order No. 713 

6. In Order No. 713, the Commission 

accepted a prior NERC proposal to 

provide additional time for entities in 

the Western Interconnection to assess 

requests for interchange service needed 

in less than an hour.10 The resulting 

changes were incorporated into the 

prior INT Reliability Standards, 

designated INT–005–2, INT–006–2 and 

INT–008–2, which were accepted by the 

Commission.11 The Commission found 

that, due to the limited assessment time 

available, some requested transactions 

were being denied because they were 

not reviewed and acted upon in the 

allotted time.12 NERC’s proposal was 

developed in response to an urgent 

action request from the Western 

Electricity Coordinating Council 

(WECC) to reinstate a ten-minute 

assessment period, consistent with 

WECC’s historical practice. 

7. In its current petition, NERC 

finalizes the revisions that were initially 

developed pursuant to the urgent action 

request. 

C. NERC’s Proposed INT Reliability 

Standard Revisions 

8. On February 5, 2009, NERC filed its 

petition for Commission approval of the 

revised INT Reliability Standards, 

designated INT–005–3; INT–006–3 and 

INT–008–3.13 In the revised INT 

Reliability Standards, NERC proposes to 

establish separate timing tables for the 

Western Interconnection and the 

Eastern Interconnection, including 

Electric Reliability Council of Texas and 

Hydro-Quebec; affirm and clarify the 

increase in the reliability assessment 

times for WECC from five minutes to ten 

minutes for requests submitted more 

than 60 minutes and no less than 15 

minutes prior to ramp start time, and 

also permit on-time submittal of eTags 14 up to 20 minutes prior to the 

operating hour; specify the timing for 

responses to requests for the Western 

Interconnection; and modify 

Requirement R1 of INT–006–002 to 

clarify that balancing authorities and 

transmission service providers in all 

Interconnections must respond to ‘‘ontime’’ requests for interchange service, 

as well as to requests for emergency and 

reliability adjustment interchange 

services. NERC also proposes to add 

three related definitions to its glossary: 

‘‘After the Fact,’’ ‘‘Emergency Request 

for Interchange (RFI),’’ and ‘‘Reliability 

Adjustment RFI,’’ and specifies 

appropriate responses for ‘‘Late,’’ ‘‘Ontime’’ and ‘‘After the Fact’’ requests for 

service to the timing tables. 

9. NERC states that the revised INT 

Reliability Standards (INT–005–3, INT– 

006–3, and INT–008–3) ensure the safe 

and reliable operation of the Bulk-Power 

System. According to NERC, the 

Reliability Standards improve BulkPower System reliability by providing 

WECC entities sufficient time to assess 

and respond to requests for interchange 

service. Establishing a separate timing 

table for WECC will clarify the timing 

requirements for the Western 

Interconnection. The timing 

requirements for the Eastern 

Interconnections, including ERCOT and 

Hydro-Quebec, are also modified by 

adopting the on-time, late and after-thefact classifications. NERC reports that 

the new terms incorporated in the 

timing tables are consistent with 

existing industry e-Tag specifications 

used to request and arrange interchange 

service, and use of these terms will 

ensure uniform treatment for all entities 

subject to the INT Reliability Standards. 

1. Proposed NERC Glossary Definitions 

10. To implement the revisions to the 

INT Reliability Standards, NERC 

proposes to add three terms to its 

glossary: 15

After the Fact: A time classification 

assigned to a Request for Interchange (RFI) 

when the submittal time is greater than one 

hour after the start time of the RFI. 

Emergency Request for Interchange: RFI to 

be initiated [for] Emergency or Energy 

Emergency conditions. 

Reliability Adjustment RFI: Request to 

modify an Implemented Interchange 

Schedule for reliability purposes. 

2. Revised INT Reliability Standard 

Requirements 

11. NERC proposes a separate 

interchange response timing table for 

WECC, while responsible entities in the 

Eastern Interconnections, including 

ERCOT and Hydro-Quebec, will 

continue to follow a table largely based 

on the prior versions. The tables set 

forth the response times for various 

requests for interchange service 

according to priority and time of 

submittal. The WECC-specific table 

reflects the increased reliability 

assessment time that was approved in 

Order No. 713. The expanded review 

time provides WECC entities ten 

minutes to respond to requests for 

interchange service submitted more 

than 60 minutes and no less than 15 

minutes prior to ramp start time and 

also permits on-time submittal of e-Tags 

up to 20 minutes prior to the operating 

hour. NERC also makes minor textual 

modifications to clarify that all entities 

subject to the INT Reliability Standards 

must respond to ‘‘on-time’’ requests, as 

well as to all requests for emergency and 

reliability adjustment interchange 

service,16 revises the tables to 

accommodate regions in which a 

response to arranged interchange is 

required, and clarifies INT–006–3, 

Measure M1 to correspond more closely 

to Requirement R1. 

12. NERC requests that the revised 

INT Reliability Standards be effective on 

the first day of the quarter three months 

after regulatory approval is granted.17

3. Revised INT Reliability Standard 

Development 

13. In response to WECC’s February 7, 

2007 urgent action request, NERC 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2009 / Proposed Rules 30029 

18North American Energy Standards Board. 

19See INT–005–3, Requirement R1; INT–006–3, 

Requirement R1 (Response to Interchange 

Authority). 20See INT–006–3, Measure M1. 

21Order No. 713, 124 FERC ¶ 61,071 at P 67 

(citing Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242 

at P 866). 

22 5 CFR 1320.11. 

23 44 U.S.C. 3501–20. 

24 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A)(i), 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(3). 

25 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A). 

developed the version 2 INT Reliability 

Standards that were approved by the 

Commission in Order No. 713. Shortly 

after receiving the urgent action request, 

WECC and a joint NERC/NAESB18 work 

group submitted a Standards 

Authorization Request to NERC seeking 

permanent revisions to the INT 

Reliability Standards to accommodate 

the expanded WECC timing 

requirements. In developing the 

permanent revision, the version 2 INT 

Reliability Standard proposal was 

modified to incorporate the changes 

discussed above and the proposed 

glossary terms. After those revisions 

were made, the proposed INT Reliability 

Standards were approved by industry 

ballot and the NERC Board. 

II. Discussion 

14. The Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standards INT–005– 

3, INT–006–3 and INT–008–3 and 

related glossary terms, effective as 

proposed by NERC, as discussed below. 

INT–006–3, Requirement R1 requires 

communication between balancing 

authorities, transmission service 

providers and interchange authority 

regarding when to respond to a request 

for interchange service: 

Requirement R1: Prior to the expiration of 

the reliability assessment period defined in 

the timing requirements tables in this 

standard, Column B, the Balancing Authority 

and the Transmission Service Provider shall 

respond to each On-time Request for 

Interchange (RFI), and to each Emergency RFI 

and Reliability Adjustment RFI from an 

Interchange Authority to transition an 

Arranged Interchange to a Confirmed 

Interchange. 

15. INT–006–3 Requirement R1 cited 

above explicitly requires balancing 

authorities and transmission service 

providers to coordinate with 

interchange authorities concerning 

requests for interchange service. 

Balancing authorities and transmission 

operators must review proposed 

interchange transactions to ensure that 

transmission service is available and 

system limits will not be violated and 

inform the interchange authority 

whether a request may be confirmed.19

Reliability coordinators and 

transmission service providers must 

review composite energy interchange 

transaction information to ensure that 

their systems can accommodate the 

energy, generation is available based on 

start-up characteristics, and the 

scheduling path is available on both the 

local and adjacent systems. 

16. The revised INT Reliability 

Standards facilitate the reliable 

operation of the Bulk-Power System by 

providing WECC entities sufficient time 

to assess and respond to requests for 

interchange service and by clarifying 

timing requirements for all affected 

entities. The revisions finalize and 

improve upon the version 2 changes 

approved in Order No. 713. The 

Commission agrees that separating the 

WECC- and Eastern-Interconnection/ 

ERCOT requirements in the timing 

tables adds clarity for entities operating 

in the WECC system. NERC’s proposal 

retains slightly modified versions of the 

prior tables containing timing 

requirements for the Eastern 

Interconnection and ERCOT. 

17. NERC’s proposal incorporates one 

important change from the version 2 

requirements. As written, INT–006–002, 

Requirement R1 requires responsible 

entities to ‘‘respond to a request from an 

Interchange Authority to transition an 

Arranged Interchange to a Confirmed 

Interchange,’’ suggesting that a response 

is required for all requests within the 

designated time periods. In version 3, 

the requirement clarifies that the 

applicable entity must respond to ‘‘ontime’’ requests for interchange service 

within a given time period, and also to 

all requests for Emergency interchange 

service and Reliability Adjustment 

interchange service.20 Entities are 

required to respond to each of these 

latter two requests regardless of the 

timelines identified in the timing tables, 

with paperwork to follow later. Time 

classifications and deadlines apply to 

both initial arranged interchange 

submittals and any subsequent 

modifications to the arranged 

interchange. 

18. In light of the fact that the revised 

INT Reliability Standards were 

developed to address the problem that 

it was impossible for WECC entities to 

respond to certain requests for 

interchange service in the given time 

frame, and that the underlying e-Tags 

for these requests would expire, the 

Commission finds the clarification 

acceptable. Responsible entities are still 

required to respond to all on-time 

requests for interchange service, as well 

as all requests for Emergency 

interchange service and Reliability 

Adjustment interchange service. 

Balancing authorities and transmission 

service providers do not have to 

respond to any other interchange service 

requests. 

19. In Order No. 713, the Commission 

approved version 2 of the INT 

Reliability Standards, noting that 

NERC’s compliance with the Order No. 

693 directive to modify Reliability 

Standard INT–006–1, is ongoing.21

While we propose to accept the current 

changes in light of NERC’s efforts to 

modify the Reliability Standard, we 

remind NERC to ensure that the 

Commission’s outstanding directives are 

addressed in future changes to the INT 

Reliability Standards. With this 

understanding, the Commission 

proposes to accept the revised INT 

Reliability Standards and associated 

glossary terms. 

20. The Commission seeks comment 

on its proposal. 

III. Information Collection Statement 

21. The Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) regulations require 

approval of certain information 

collection requirements imposed by 

agency rules.22 Upon approval of a 

collection(s) of information, OMB will 

assign an OMB control number and an 

expiration date. Respondents subject to 

the filing requirements of this rule will 

not be penalized for failing to respond 

to these collections of information 

unless the collections of information 

display a valid OMB control number. 

The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 23

requires each federal agency to seek and 

obtain OMB approval before 

undertaking a collection of information 

directed to ten or more persons, or 

continuing a collection for which OMB 

approval and validity of the control 

number are about to expire.24 The PRA 

defines the phrase ‘‘collection of 

information’’ to be the ‘‘obtaining, 

causing to be obtained, soliciting, or 

requiring the disclosure to third parties 

or the public, of facts or opinions by or 

for an agency, regardless of form or 

format, calling for either—(i) Answers to 

identical questions posed to, or 

identical reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements imposed on ten or more 

persons, other than agencies, 

instrumentalities, or employees of the 

United States; or (ii) answers to 

questions posed to agencies, 

instrumentalities, or employees of the 

United States which are to be used for 

general statistical purposes.’’ 25

22. This NOPR proposes to approve 

the revised INT Reliability Standards 

developed by NERC as the ERO. Section 

30030 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

26See 16 U.S.C. 824o(d). 

27This OMB control number was issued in 

Docket No. RM06–16–000, Order No. 693, FERC 

Stats. and Regs. ¶ 31,242 at P 1907. 

28Regulations Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, FERC 

Stats. & Regs., Regs. Preambles 1986–1990 ¶ 30,783 

(1987). 

29 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5). 

30 5 U.S.C. 601–12. 

31The RFA definition of ‘‘small entity’’ refers to 

the definition provided in the Small Business Act, 

which defines a ‘‘small business concern’’ as a 

business that is independently owned and operated 

and that is not dominant in its field of operation. 

See 15 U.S.C. 632 (2000). According to the SBA, a 

small electric utility is defined as one that has a 

total electric output of less than four million MWh 

in the preceding year. 

215 of the FPA authorizes the ERO to 

develop and enforce Reliability 

Standards that provide for an adequate 

level of reliability of the Bulk-Power 

System. Pursuant to the statute, the ERO 

must submit each Reliability Standard 

that it proposes to be made effective to 

the Commission for approval.26 The 

proposed Reliability Standard revisions 

do not require responsible entities to file 

information with the Commission. But 

the Reliability Standards do require 

responsible entities to develop and 

maintain certain information for a 

specified period of time, subject to 

inspection by the ERO or Regional 

Entities. 

23. The proposed requirements are 

mainly concerned with the timing of 

responses to requests for service rather 

than the required documentation. The 

existing documentation requirements 

were established pursuant to OMB 

control number 1902–0244.27 Under the 

existing requirements, affected entities 

were required to respond to all requests 

for service covered by the INT 

Reliability Standards. The proposed rule 

would clarify that entities need not 

respond to late requests for service (with 

exceptions for services needed for 

emergency or reliability purposes). 

Thus, the proposed rule does not 

establish any significant reporting 

obligations, but relieves affected entities 

of the burden of responding to late 

requests for service, other than requests 

for emergency or reliability service. The 

Commission does not consider this a 

significant burden. 

24. The Commission is submitting 

these reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements to OMB for its review and 

approval under section 3507(d) of the 

PRA. Comments are solicited on the 

Commission’s need for this information, 

whether the information will have 

practical utility, the accuracy of 

provided burden estimates, ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information to be collected, and 

any suggested methods for minimizing 

the respondent’s burden, including the 

use of automated information 

techniques. 

Title: Revised Mandatory Reliability 

Standards for Interchange Scheduling 

and Coordination. 

Action: Proposed Collection. 

OMB Control No.: 1902–0244. 

Respondents: Businesses or other forprofit institutions; not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Frequency of Responses: On occasion. 

Necessity of the Information: This 

proposed rule would approve revised 

Reliability Standards to specify the 

times for entities to respond to requests 

for interchange service, and clarify that 

entities need not respond to late 

requests other than requests for 

emergency or reliability related service. 

The proposed rule would find the 

revisions just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in 

the public interest. In addition, this 

proposed rule would approve new 

glossary terms. 

Internal Review: The Commission has 

reviewed the requirements pertaining to 

the revised Reliability Standards for the 

Bulk-Power System and determined that 

the proposed requirements are 

necessary to meet the statutory 

provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 

2005. These requirements conform to 

the Commission’s plan for efficient 

information collection, communication 

and management within the energy 

industry. The Commission has assured 

itself, by means of internal review, that 

the revised requirements are not likely 

to increase the informational burden 

and that any resulting increase over 

existing requirements would be 

insignificant. 

25. Interested persons may obtain 

information on the reporting 

requirements by contacting the 

following: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: 

Michael Miller, Office of the Executive 

Director, Phone: (202) 502–8415, fax: 

(202) 273–0873, e-mail: 

michael.miller@ferc.gov]. 

26. For submitting comments 

concerning the collection(s) of 

information and the associated burden 

estimate(s), please send your comments 

to the contact listed above and to the 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Washington, DC 20503 

[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, phone 

(202) 395–7345, fax: (202) 395–7285, email: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov]. 

IV. Environmental Analysis 

27. The Commission is required to 

prepare an Environmental Assessment 

or an Environmental Impact Statement 

for any action that may have a 

significant adverse effect on the human 

environment.28 The Commission has 

categorically excluded certain actions 

from this requirement as not having a 

significant effect on the human 

environment. The actions proposed here 

fall within the categorical exclusion in 

the Commission’s regulations for rules 

that are clarifying, corrective or 

procedural, for information gathering, 

analysis, and dissemination.29

Accordingly, neither an environmental 

impact statement nor environmental 

assessment is required. 

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Certification 

28. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 30 generally requires a 

description and analysis of final rules 

that will have significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. Most of the entities to which 

the requirements of this rule would 

apply, i.e., interchange authorities, 

balancing authorities and transmission 

service providers, do not fall within the 

definition of small entities.31

29. The proposed Reliability Standard 

revisions will not be a burden on the 

industry since most, if not all, of the 

applicable entities currently coordinate 

interchange information and the 

proposed Reliability Standard will 

simply provide a common framework 

for such coordination and responding to 

requests for service. Many, if not all, of 

the affected entities already have 

procedures in place to respond to 

requests for service and document such 

responses. Accordingly, the 

Commission certifies that the proposed 

INT Reliability Standard revisions will 

not have a significant adverse impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

30. Based on this understanding, the 

Commission certifies that this rule will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. Accordingly, no regulatory 

flexibility analysis is required. 

VI. Comment Procedures 

31. The Commission invites interested 

persons to submit comments on the 

matters and issues proposed to be 

adopted in this notice, including any 

related matters or alternative proposals 

that commenters may wish to discuss. 

Comments are due July 24, 2009. 

Comments must refer to Docket No. 

RM09–8–000, and must include the 

commenter’s name, the organization 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2009 / Proposed Rules 30031 

they represent, if applicable, and their 

address in their comments. 

32. The Commission encourages 

comments to be filed electronically via 

the eFiling link on the Commission’s 

Web site at http://www.ferc.gov. The 

Commission accepts most standard 

word processing formats. Documents 

created electronically using word 

processing software should be filed in 

native applications or print-to-PDF 

format and not in a scanned format. 

Commenters filing electronically do not 

need to make a paper filing. 

33. Commenters unable to file 

electronically must send an original and 

14 copies of their comments to: Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

34. All comments will be placed in 

the Commission’s public files and may 

be viewed, printed, or downloaded 

remotely as described in the Document 

Availability section below. Commenters 

on this proposal are not required to 

serve copies of their comments on other 

commenters. 

VII. Document Availability 

35. In addition to publishing the full 

text of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document via the Internet through 

FERC’s Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) 

and in FERC’s Public Reference Room 

during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First 

Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 

20426. 

36. From FERC’s Home Page on the 

Internet, this information is available on 

eLibrary. The full text of this document 

is available on eLibrary in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, 

printing, and/or downloading. To access 

this document in eLibrary, type the 

docket number excluding the last three 

digits of this document in the docket 

number field. 

37. User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the FERC’s Web site during 

normal business hours from FERC 

Online Support at 202–502–6652 (toll 

free at 1–866–208–3676) or e-mail at 

ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the 

Public Reference Room at (202) 502– 

8371, TTY (202)502–8659. E-mail the 

Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 40 

Electric power; Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–14783 Filed 6–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[Docket No. USCG–2009–0453] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulations; 

Great Egg Harbor Bay, Between 

Beesleys Point and Somers Point, NJ 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to 

change the regulations that govern the 

operation of the US Route 9/Beesleys 

Point Bridge over Great Egg Harbor Bay, 

at mile 3.5, between Beesleys Point and 

Somers Point, NJ. This proposal would 

allow the drawbridge to operate on an 

advance notice basis during specific 

dates and times of the year. The 

proposed change would result in more 

efficient use of the bridge during dates 

and times of infrequent transit. 

DATES: Comments and related material 

must be received by the Coast Guard on 

or before August 10, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by docket number USCG– 

2009–0453 using any one of the 

following methods: 

(1) Federal Rulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

(2) Fax: 202–493–2251. 

(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility 

(M–30), U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail 

address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The telephone number 

is 202–366–9329. 

To avoid duplication, please use only 

one of these methods. See the ‘‘Public 

Participation and Request for 

Comments’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below for instructions on submitting 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this proposed 

rule, call or e-mail Sandra S. Elliott, 

Bridge Administration Branch, Fifth 

Coast Guard District, telephone 757– 

398–6557, e-mail 

Sandra.S.Elliott@uscg.mil. If you have 

questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, call Renee V. 

Wright, Program Manager, Docket 

Operations, telephone 202–366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

We encourage you to participate in 

this rulemaking by submitting 

comments and related materials. All 

comments received will be posted, 

without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov and will include 

any personal information you have 

provided. 

Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

rulemaking (USCG–2009–0453), 

indicate the specific section of this 

document to which each comment 

applies, and provide a reason for each 

suggestion or recommendation. You 

may submit your comments and 

material online (http:// 

www.regulations.gov), or by fax, mail or 

hand delivery, but please use only one 

of these means. If you submit a 

comment online via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, it will be 

considered received by the Coast Guard 

when you successfully transmit the 

comment. If you fax, hand delivery, or 

mail your comment, it will be 

considered as having been received by 

the Coast Guard when it is received at 

the Docket Management Facility. We 

recommend that you include your name 

and a mailing address, an e-mail 

address, or a phone number in the body 

of your document so that we can contact 

you if we have questions regarding your 

submission. 

To submit your comment online, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, select the 

Advanced Docket Search option on the 

right side of the screen, insert ‘‘USCG– 

2009–0453’’ in the Docket ID box, press 

Enter, and then click on the balloon 

shape in the Actions column. If you 

submit your comments by mail or hand 

delivery, submit them in an unbound 

format, no larger than, 81⁄2 by 11 inches, 

suitable for copying and electronic 

filing. If you submit them by mail and 

would like to know that they reached 

the Facility, please enclose a stamped, 

self-addressed postcard or envelope. We 

will consider all comments and material 

received during the comment period 

and may change the rule based on your 

comments.