This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

41359 

Vol. 82, No. 168 

Thursday, August 31, 2017 

1 16 U.S.C. 803(e)(1) (2012). 

2 16 U.S.C. 803(e)(1) (2012). Section 10(e)(1) also 

requires licensees to reimburse the United States for 

the costs of administering Part I of the FPA. Those 

charges are calculated and billed separately from 

the land use charges, and are not the subject of this 

proposed rule. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 11 

[Docket No. RM16–19–000] 

Annual Charges for Use of 

Government Lands in Alaska 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Power Act 

requires hydropower licensees to 

recompense the United States for the 

use, occupancy, and enjoyment of 

federal lands. The Commission assesses 

annual charges for the use of federal 

lands through Part 11 of its regulations. 

The Commission proposes to revise the 

per-acre land value component of its 

methodology for calculating these 

annual charges for hydropower projects 

located in Alaska. Under the proposed 

rule, the Commission would calculate a 

statewide average per-acre land value 

for hydropower lands in Alaska. The 

Commission would use the statewide 

average per-acre land value, rather than 

a regional per-acre land value, to 

calculate annual charges for use of 

federal lands for all hydropower 

projects in Alaska, except those located 

in the Aleutian Islands Area. 

DATES: Comments are due October 30, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by 

docket number, may be filed in the 

following ways: 

• Electronic Filing through http://

www.ferc.gov. Documents created 

electronically using word processing 

software should be filed in native 

applications or print-to-PDF format and 

not in a scanned format. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Those unable 

to file electronically may mail or handdeliver comments to: Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426. 

Instructions: For detailed instructions 

on submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the Comment Procedures section of 

this document 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tara DiJohn (Legal Information), Office 

of the General Counsel, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street NE., Washington, DC 

20426, (202) 502–8671, tara.dijohn@

ferc.gov. 

Norman Richardson (Technical 

Information), Office of the Executive 

Director, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502– 

6219, norman.richardson@ferc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

Paragraph 

Nos. 

I. Background ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 2. 

A. Order No. 774 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4. 

1. Per-Acre Land Value ........................................................................................................................................................ 6. 

2. Per-Acre Land Values for Alaska .................................................................................................................................... 8. 

B. Fiscal Year 2016 Fee Schedule .............................................................................................................................................. 10. 

C. Petition for Rulemaking ......................................................................................................................................................... 11. 

II. Notice of Inquiry ............................................................................................................................................................................ 14. 

III. Proposed Rule ............................................................................................................................................................................... 24. 

IV. Regulatory Requirements ............................................................................................................................................................. 30. 

A. Information Collection Statement ......................................................................................................................................... 30. 

B. Environmental Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 31. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act ...................................................................................................................................................... 32. 

D. Comment Procedures ............................................................................................................................................................. 38. 

E. Document Availability ............................................................................................................................................................ 42. 

1. The Federal Power Act (FPA) 

requires hydropower licensees that use 

federal lands to compensate the United 

States for the use, occupancy, and 

enjoyment of federal lands.1 Currently, 

the Commission uses a fee schedule, 

based on the U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management’s (BLM) methodology for 

calculating rental rates for linear rights 

of way, to calculate annual charges for 

use of federal lands. The Commission’s 

fee schedule identifies a fee for each 

county or geographic area, which is the 

product of four components: A per-acre 

land value, an encumbrance factor, a 

rate of return, and an annual adjustment 

factor. The per-acre land value for a 

particular county or geographic area 

(i.e., a regional per-acre land value) is 

determined using the average per-acre 

land value identified by the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

Census. Under the proposed rule, the 

Commission would use a statewide 

average per-acre land value for the state 

of Alaska, rather than a regional per-acre 

land value. 

I. Background 

2. Section 10(e)(1) of the FPA requires 

Commission hydropower licensees 

using federal lands to pay reasonable 

annual charges, as determined by the 

Commission, to recompense the United 

States for the use and occupancy of its 

lands.2 While the Commission may 

periodically adjust these charges, it 

must seek to avoid increasing the price 


nlaroche on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
41360 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 168 / Thursday, August 31, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

3 Id. 

4Pursuant to FPA section 17(a), 16 U.S.C. 810(a) 

(2012), the fees collected for use of government 

lands are allocated as follows: 12.5 percent is paid 

into the Treasury of the United States, 50 percent 

is paid into the federal reclamation fund, and 37.5 

percent is paid into the treasuries of the states in 

which particular projects are located. No part of the 

fees discussed in this proposed rule is used to fund 

the Commission’s operations. 

5See Annual Charges for Use of Government 

Lands, Order No. 774, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,341, 

at PP 3–20 (2013) (cross-referenced at 142 FERC ¶ 

61,045) (examining the myriad methodologies the 

Commission has used or considered for assessing 

annual charges for the use of government lands 

since 1937) (Order No. 774). 

6See generally, Order No. 774. 

7 18 CFR 11.2 (2017). The fee schedule is 

published annually as part of Appendix A to Part 

11 of the Commission’s regulations. 

8The ‘‘land and buildings’’ is a combination of all 

land use categories in the NASS Census, including 

croplands (irrigated and non-irrigated), 

pastureland/rangeland, woodland, and ‘‘other’’ 

(roads, ponds, wasteland, and land encumbered by 

non-commercial/non-residential buildings). 

9Order No. 774 at P 44. 

10 Id. at P 45. 

11 In the 2012 NASS Census, changes in land 

values in other parts of the country varied widely: 

Some rose significantly, some rose by relatively 

small amounts, and some decreased. 

12Alaska Electric Light and Power, Bradley Lake 

Project Management Committee (on behalf of 

licensee Alaska Energy Authority), Chugach Electric 

Association, the Ketchikan Public Utilities, Copper 

Valley Electric Association, and Southeast Alaska 

Power Agency. 

to power consumers by such charges.3

In other words, licensees that use and 

occupy federal lands for project 

purposes must compensate the United 

States through payment of an annual 

fee, to be established by the 

Commission.4

3. The Commission has adopted 

various methods over the years to 

accomplish this statutory directive.5

Currently, the Commission uses a fee 

schedule method, based on land values 

published in the NASS Census, to 

calculate annual charges for use of 

government lands. The Commission 

adopted this approach in a final rule 

issued on January 12, 2013.6

A. Order No. 774 

4. In Order No. 774, the Commission 

adopted a fee schedule method for 

calculating annual charges for use of 

government lands, based on BLM’s 

methodology for calculating rental rates 

for linear rights of way. Pursuant to 

section 11.2 of the Commission’s 

regulations, the Commission publishes 

an annual fee schedule which lists peracre rental fees by county or geographic 

area.7 To calculate a licensee’s annual 

charge for use of government lands, the 

Commission multiplies the applicable 

county or geographic area per-acre fee 

identified in the fee schedule by the 

number of federal acres used by the 

hydroelectric project, as reported by that 

licensee. 

5. The per-acre rental fee for a 

particular county or geographic area is 

calculated by multiplying four 

components: (1) A per-acre land value; 

(2) an encumbrance factor; (3) a rate of 

return; and (4) an annual adjustment 

factor. 

1. Per-Acre Land Value 

6. The first component—the per-acre 

land value—is based on average per-acre 

land values published in the NASS 

Census. Specifically, the per-acre land 

value is determined by the applicable 

county or geographic area ‘‘land and 

buildings’’ category 8 from the NASS 

Census. This NASS-published per-acre 

value is then reduced by the sum of a 

state-specific modifier (to remove the 

value of irrigated lands) and seven 

percent (to remove the value of 

buildings or other improvements). The 

end result is the adjusted per-acre land 

value. 

7. The NASS Census is conducted 

every five years, with an 18-month 

delay before NASS publishes the census 

data. The Commission incorporates 

another 18-month delay to account for 

revisions, consistent with BLM’s 

implementation of its 2008 rule. 

Therefore, the Commission based the 

2011–2015 fee schedules on data from 

the 2007 NASS Census. The 

Commission’s 2016–2020 fee schedules 

will be based on data from the 2012 

NASS Census; the 2021–2025 fee 

schedules will be based on data from 

the 2017 NASS Census; the 2026–2030 

fee schedules will be based on data from 

the 2022 NASS Census; and so on. 

State-specific adjustments to the peracre land value are performed in the 

first year that data from a new NASS 

Census are used, and will remain the 

same until the subsequent NASS Census 

data are used to calculate the 

forthcoming set of fee schedules. 

2. Per-Acre Land Values for Alaska 

8. With regard to Alaska, Order No. 

774 explained that the final rule would 

adopt BLM’s approach to per-acre land 

values by designating lands in Alaska as 

part of one of the five NASS Census 

geographic area identifiers: The 

Aleutian Islands Area, the Anchorage 

Area, the Fairbanks Area, the Juneau 

Area, and the Kenai Peninsula Area. 

Several commenters asserted that a peracre statewide value, a category also 

reported by the NASS Census, should be 

used to establish assessments for federal 

land in Alaska.9

9. Order No. 774 considered the 

arguments raised in support of a 

statewide per-acre value. In particular, 

several commenters asserted that it is 

inappropriate to use regional per-acre 

values for Alaska because Alaska does 

not use county designations; the number 

of farms surveyed for the NASS Census 

in the entire state of Alaska is less than 

the number of farms surveyed in most 

counties in the lower-48 states; and, 

certain per-acre land values near 

Anchorage and Juneau are very high, 

resulting in a substantial increase in 

annual charges for the use of 

government lands by hydropower 

licensees in these areas. However, the 

Commission ultimately concluded that 

the commenters had not advanced a 

sufficient explanation for why it was 

more appropriate to use a statewide peracre value for Alaska, rather than the 

smallest NASS Census defined area for 

Alaska—the geographic area identifier. 

Although the Commission rejected the 

use of a statewide per-acre land value 

for Alaska in Order No. 774, the 

Commission clarified that it would not 

use rates based on the Anchorage Area 

and the Juneau Area values to assess 

annual land use charges ‘‘because these 

high, urban-based rates would not 

reasonably reflect the value of 

government lands on which 

hydropower projects are located.’’ 10

Instead, for purposes of determining a 

per-acre land value, the Commission 

decided to use the Kenai Peninsula Area 

per-acre land value for projects located 

in the Anchorage Area or the Juneau 

Area. 

B. Fiscal Year 2016 Fee Schedule 

10. The Commission used the 2012 

NASS Census data to calculate its fee 

schedule for the first time in Fiscal Year 

(FY) 2016. Due to per-acre land value 

increases in the 2012 NASS Census 

data, hydropower projects located in 

certain geographic areas in Alaska 

experienced a significant increase in 

federal land use charges when 

compared to the rates assessed in FY 

2015.11

C. Petition for Rulemaking 

11. On June 6, 2016, the Alaska 

Federal Land Fees Group, comprising 

six hydroelectric licensees with projects 

in Alaska (Alaska Group),12 petitioned 

the Commission to conduct a 

rulemaking to revise its method of 

calculating federal land use charges for 

hydropower projects in Alaska. The 

Alaska Group’s petition focuses solely 

on the first component of the 

Commission’s fee schedule—the peracre land value—and requests that the 

Commission: (1) Calculate an adjusted 

statewide average per-acre land value 

for Alaska and (2) apply this adjusted 


nlaroche on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 168 / Thursday, August 31, 2017 / Proposed Rules 41361 

13The Alaska Group requests that any project 

located in the Aleutian Islands Area continue to be 

assessed annual charges for use of government 

lands based on a regional per-acre land value. 14The Alaska Group contends that because the 

Aleutian Islands Area contains the greatest amount 

of farmland in the state (668,016 acres), the NASS 

Census data for the Aleutian Islands Area is 

‘‘robust, reliable, and an accurate estimate of fair 

market value.’’ Alaska Group’s June 6, 2016 Petition 

for Rulemaking at 18. Therefore, the Alaska Group 

requests that the proposed statewide average peracre land value be applied to all hydropower 

projects located in Alaska, except those projects 

located in the Aleutian Islands Area. 15See 16 U.S.C. 803(e)(1) (2012). 

16The Alaska Group’s January 24, 2017 

Comments on Notice of Inquiry at 16–17. 

statewide average per-acre fee to all 

projects in Alaska, except those located 

in the Aleutian Islands area.13

12. In support of this proposal, the 

Alaska Group states that due to the 

small number of farms (and associated 

acreage) that contribute to the data 

compiled in the NASS Census, there is 

insufficient data in any individual 

Alaska area (with the exception of the 

Aleutian Islands) 14 to produce a fair 

estimate of land values within that area. 

Because there are so few farms outside 

of the Aleutian Islands area, the Alaska 

Group indicates that the per-acre land 

values in the other four geographic areas 

of Alaska are extremely sensitive to any 

changes in the voluntary, self-reported 

farm data compiled by the NASS 

Census. 

13. For these reasons, the Alaska 

Group asserts that an adjusted statewide 

average per-acre land value would better 

reflect the diverse topography of the 

state and insulate against land value 

fluctuations caused by individual 

changes in farm data. The Alaska Group 

believes that this method would 

produce a more accurate estimate of the 

fair market value of federal lands in 

Alaska. 

II. Notice of Inquiry 

14. On November 17, 2016, the 

Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry 

soliciting input on a narrow question 

related to its current methodology for 

calculating annual charges for the use of 

government lands—whether regional 

per-acre land values based on data 

published in the NASS Census ‘‘land 

and buildings’’ category result in 

reasonably accurate land valuations for 

projects that occupy federal lands in 

Alaska. In response to the proposal 

advanced by the Alaska Group’s petition 

for rulemaking, the Notice of Inquiry 

requested comments on several specific 

questions. First, the Commission asked 

whether it should use a statewide 

average per-acre land value rather than 

a regional per-acre land value to 

calculate the adjusted per-acre land 

value for projects that occupy federal 

lands in Alaska. Second, if a statewide 

average per-acre value is preferred, the 

Commission sought input on whether 

the statewide value should be applied to 

(i) all projects in Alaska, or (ii) all 

projects in Alaska except those located 

in the Aleutian Islands Area. Finally, 

the Commission requested commenters 

to identify which of the five geographic 

regions of Alaska it should use to 

calculate the statewide average per-acre 

land value. 

15. In addition, the Notice of Inquiry 

encouraged commenters to submit 

alternative proposals for determining a 

reasonably accurate per-acre land value 

for projects in Alaska, provided that the 

proposed calculation was based on data 

published in the NASS Census. The 

notice also invited federal land 

management agencies to comment on 

how they would view reductions in 

annual charges for the lands they 

administer. 

16. The Notice of Inquiry identified 

five requirements that any proposed 

methodology should satisfy, derived 

from the Commission’s statutory 

obligations under the FPA 15 and the 

Commission’s past experience in 

implementing various methodologies. 

Any proposed methodology must: (1) 

Apply uniformly to all licensees in 

Alaska; (2) avoid exorbitant 

administrative costs; (3) not be subject 

to review on an individual basis; (4) 

reflect reasonably accurate land 

valuations; and (5) avoid an 

unreasonable increase in costs to 

consumers. 

17. In response to the Notice of 

Inquiry, seven entities filed comments: 

The Alaska Group; U.S. Senator Lisa 

Murkowski; Homer Electric Association, 

Inc. (Homer Electric); Kodiak Electric 

Association, Inc. (Kodiak Electric); the 

U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service); Erin 

Noakes; and Chelsea Liddell. 

18. The Alaska Group filed comments 

reiterating its position that the 

Commission should adopt a statewide 

average per-acre land value for all 

hydropower projects in Alaska, and that 

the statewide average should be applied 

to all projects in Alaska, except those 

located in the Aleutian Islands Area. 

The Alaska Group states that it does not 

believe that the Commission needs to 

change its methodology for calculating 

annual charges for the Aleutian Islands 

Area since the substantial amount of 

agricultural acreage represented in the 

NASS Census data results in a fair 

estimate of land values for this 

particular region. 

19. In support of its position, the 

Alaska Group states that the use of a 

statewide average per-acre land value 

would provide ‘‘a more robust and 

representative assessment of fair market 

value of federal lands in [the Kenai and 

Fairbanks] areas of Alaska, because it 

draws on a larger and more diverse 

dataset from across the state, and 

ensures that rates are less prone to 

fluctuation over time.’’ 16 According to 

the Alaska Group, if the Commission 

were to adopt a statewide average peracre land value for Alaska, it would 

recognize several unique burdens faced 

by Alaska hydropower licensees and 

ratepayers, including the exclusive 

responsibility borne by Alaska 

ratepayers for all costs associated with 

hydropower projects, including annual 

charge assessments and the 

predominance of federal acreage in 

Alaska. 

20. Senator Murkowski urges the 

Commission to use a statewide average 

per-acre land value, stating that the 

NASS Census data does not provide an 

accurate accounting of land values in 

Alaska because the state has fewer farms 

and farm acreage than any other state in 

the Pacific Northwest. Homer Electric, 

an electric distribution cooperative that 

provides service in the Kenai Peninsula, 

agrees with Senator Murkowski’s 

comments that the NASS Census data 

does not provide an accurate accounting 

of Alaskan land values. Homer Electric 

also urges the Commission to adopt a 

statewide average per-acre land value 

for Alaska. 

21. Kodiak Electric, a licensee of a 

hydropower project located in the 

Aleutian Islands Area, states that the 

regional per-acre land values published 

in the NASS Census result in reasonably 

accurate land valuations for hydropower 

lands in the Aleutian Islands Area. 

Because of the large number of 

agricultural acreage reported by the 

NASS Census for the Aleutian Islands 

Area, Kodiak Electric believes no 

changes to the Commission’s current 

methodology are needed for this 

geographic region. If the Commission 

decides to adopt a statewide average 

per-acre land value for hydropower 

projects in Alaska, Kodiak Electric 

recommends that the Commission 

refrain from applying the statewide 

value to projects located in the Aleutian 

Islands Area. 

22. The Forest Service observes that 

from an economic perspective the use of 

a statewide average per-acre land value 

for Alaska, derived from data published 

in the NASS Census, would result in a 

significant reduction in rental rates for 

the land in question. However, the 

Forest Service states that it does not 

recommend the use of a fee schedule 


nlaroche on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
41362 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 168 / Thursday, August 31, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

17As we noted earlier, the Commission does not 

use the NASS Census data from the Anchorage Area 

or the Juneau Area for the purpose of determining 

per-acre land values because the predominantly 

high, urban-based rates do not reasonably reflect the 

value of government lands on which hydropower 

projects are located. See supra P 9. 

18See generally BLM, Rent for Remote NonLinear Rights-of-Way, Permits and Leases, https:// 

www.blm.gov/policy/im-ak-2015-010 (instruction 

memorandum describing the U.S. Department of the 

Interior—Office of Valuation Services’ April 2015 

Minimum Rent Analysis & Schedule, which 

provides guidance and a rental schedule for land 

use authorizations of up to 25 acres across each of 

BLM’s district and field offices in Alaska). 

19See Competitive Processes, Terms, and 

Conditions for Leasing Public Lands for Solar and 

Wind Energy Development and Technical Changes 

and Corrections, 81 FR 92,122, 92,217–18 

(December 19, 2016) (to be codified at 43 CFR pts. 

2800 and 2880). 

20The acreage rent is calculated by multiplying 

the number of acres included in the right-of-way 

authorization by a per-acre zone rate from the solar 

energy acreage rent schedule. To determine the peracre zone rate, BLM calculates a state-specific 

factor, applies the state-specific factor to NASSpublished data, and uses the resulting per-acre 

value to assign a particular county or geographic 

area to the appropriate rent schedule zone. 

21The Commission previously rejected, as 

unreasonable, methods based on power sale 

revenues or a rate per kilowatt hour because such 

fees would result in a royalty as if the occupied 

federal lands themselves were producing power. 

Such criticism could also be levied against a 

megawatt capacity fee. See Annual Charges for the 

Use of Government Lands, FERC Stats. & Regs ¶ 

32,684; 137 FERC ¶ 61,139, at P 9 (2011) (citing 

Revision of the Billing Procedures for Annual 

Charges for Administering Part I of the Federal 

Power Act and to the Methodology for Assessing 

Federal Land Use Charges, Order No. 469, FERC 

Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles ¶ 30,741, at 

30,589–90 (1987)). 

22See Order No. 774 at PP 23–24 (. . . ‘‘the 

Commission agreed with commenters that BLM’s 

‘zone system’ inflates the values of all counties in 

a zone except the highest valued county.’’). 

23 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521 (2012). 

based on NASS Census data for Alaska 

because of the small number of farms in 

the state. Instead, the Forest Service 

recommends that the Commission 

calculate federal land charges for Alaska 

using BLM’s ‘‘Minimum Rent Schedule 

for BLM Land Use Authorizations in 

Alaska 2015.’’ The Forest Service also 

suggests that the Commission consider a 

fee based on power generated, similar to 

BLM’s solar fee schedule. 

23. Erin Noakes and Chelsea Liddell 

each filed individual comments 

recommending that the Commission 

decline the request to alter its current 

methodology for calculating federal land 

charges for hydropower projects in 

Alaska. Ms. Noakes observes that the 

use of a statewide average per-acre land 

value may result in the under-collection 

of reasonable annual charges for the use 

of federal lands by hydropower projects 

in Alaska. Ms. Liddell asserts that the 

Alaska Group has not sufficiently 

demonstrated that a statewide average 

per-acre land value would be any more 

accurate than a regional per-acre land 

value. 

III. Proposed Rule 

24. The Commission proposes to 

adopt the use of a statewide average peracre land value, rather than a regional 

per-acre land value, for the purposes of 

calculating annual charges for 

hydropower projects that occupy federal 

lands in Alaska. 

25. To calculate the statewide average 

per-acre land value for Alaska, the 

Commission will average the data 

published in the ‘‘lands and buildings’’ 

category of the NASS Census for two 

geographic areas: the Kenai Peninsula 

Area and the Fairbanks Area.17 Pursuant 

to the Commission’s current 

methodology, this statewide average 

will be reduced by Alaska’s statespecific reduction to remove the value 

of irrigated lands, as well as a seven 

percent reduction to remove the value of 

buildings. The Commission will apply 

the resulting adjusted statewide average 

per-acre land value to all hydropower 

projects in Alaska except for projects 

located in the Aleutian Islands Area. 

Because of the large amount of farmland 

acreage represented in the NASS Census 

for the Aleutian Islands Area, the 

Commission is satisfied that the NASS 

Census data for this geographic area 

results in reasonably accurate per-acre 

land values. Therefore, the Commission 

will continue to apply the regional peracre land value for the Aleutian Islands 

Area. 

26. We believe this proposal responds 

to the issues identified by the 

petitioners—the prevalence of federal 

lands in Alaska, the sparse amount of 

agricultural acreage reflected in the 

NASS Census, and the increase in 

annual charges that resulted when the 

Commission began using data from the 

2012 NASS Census. Combining the 

value of the farmland acreage in the 

Kenai Peninsula and Fairbanks Areas to 

calculate a statewide average land value 

will result in a larger, more robust data 

set. A larger data set will be less prone 

to future fluctuation due to changes in 

the level of participation in NASS 

Census data reporting or specific 

anomalies in the data reported. We are 

satisfied that a statewide average peracre land value based on the NASS 

Census data from the ‘‘land and 

buildings’’ category for the Kenai 

Peninsula and Fairbanks Areas will 

result in reasonably accurate land 

values for hydropower projects that 

occupy federal lands in Alaska. 

27. While the Commission is 

proposing to implement a statewide 

average per-acre land value to address 

these concerns, we are not persuaded 

that the Aleutian Islands Area values, 

which are lower than land values 

elsewhere in the state, should be used 

in calculating a statewide average that is 

applied to hydropower projects located 

outside of the Aleutian Islands Area. 

28. The Forest Service recommends 

that the Commission employ a method 

based on the 2015 Minimum Rent 

Schedule for BLM Land Use 

Authorizations in Alaska.18 Following 

an analysis of this alternative, 

Commission staff concluded that the use 

of BLM’s Minimum Rent Schedule 

would result in higher per-acre fees 

compared to the Commission’s current 

methodology. BLM’s Minimum Rent 

Schedule for Alaska uses land values 

based on rural sales data. The 

underlying land values for the Kenai 

Peninsula, Fairbanks, and Aleutian 

Islands Areas are all higher than the 

corresponding land values published in 

the NASS Census. The Commission 

does not believe that there is sufficient 

justification for using—only for 

Alaska—BLM’s Minimum Rent 

Schedule, instead of continuing to use 

NASS Census data to establish federal 

land use charges for all areas of the 

country. 

29. In addition, the Forest Service 

suggests that the Commission consider a 

fee based on power generated, similar to 

the solar fee schedule. For solar energy 

right-of-way authorizations, BLM 

charges a combined rent and fee 

consisting of an acreage rent paid 

annually regardless of the stage of 

development, and a megawatt capacity 

fee paid annually once electricity 

generation begins.19 BLM uses per-acre 

data from the ‘‘land and buildings’’ 

category of the NASS Census as a 

baseline for determining the acreage 

rent.20 Since this method is based on the 

same regional NASS Census data that 

the Alaska Group questions, and 

includes a megawatt capacity fee in 

addition to the acreage rent,21 it does 

not address the Alaska Group’s 

suggestion that a larger, more robust 

data set is needed to balance the paucity 

of regional agricultural acreage for 

Alaska reflected in the NASS Census. In 

addition, the acreage rent is determined 

using a fee schedule that is divided into 

geographic zones, a practice that the 

Commission previously rejected.22 For 

these reasons, the Commission will not 

consider this alternative further. 

IV. Regulatory Requirements 

A. Information Collection Statement 

30. The Paperwork Reduction Act 23

requires each federal agency to seek and 


nlaroche on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 168 / Thursday, August 31, 2017 / Proposed Rules 41363 

24See 5 CFR 1320.11 (2017). 

25 44 U.S.C. 3502(2)–(3) (2012). 

26Regulations Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Order No. 486, 

FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987). 

27 18 CFR 380.4 (a)(11) (2017). 

28 5 U.S.C. 601–612. 

29 5 U.S.C. 603(c) (2012). 

30 13 CFR 121.101 (2017). 

31SBA Final Rule on ‘‘Small Business Size 

Standards: Utilities,’’ 78 FR 77,343 (Dec. 23, 2013). 

32 13 CFR 121.201, Sector 22, Utilities (2017). 

obtain Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) approval before 

undertaking a collection of information 

directed to ten or more persons or 

contained in a rule of general 

applicability. OMB regulations require 

approval of certain information 

collection requirements contemplated 

by proposed rules.24 This proposed rule 

does not impose or alter existing 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on applicable entities as defined by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act.25 As a result, 

this proposed rule does not trigger the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

B. Environmental Analysis 

31. The Commission is required to 

prepare an Environmental Assessment 

or an Environmental Impact Statement 

for any action that may have a 

significant effect on the human 

environment.26 Commission actions 

concerning annual charges are 

categorically exempt from this 

requirement.27

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

32. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 28 generally requires a 

description and analysis of proposed 

rules that will have significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The RFA 

mandates consideration of regulatory 

alternatives that accomplish the stated 

objectives of a proposed rule and 

minimize any significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities.29

33. The Small Business 

Administration’s (SBA) Office of Size 

Standards develops the numerical 

definition of a small business.30 The 

SBA revised its size standard for electric 

utilities (effective January 22, 2014) 

from a standard based on megawatt 

hours to a standard based on the 

number of employees, including 

affiliates.31 Under SBA’s current size 

standards, a hydroelectric generator is 

small if, including its affiliates, it 

employs 500 or fewer people.32

34. Section 10(e)(1) of the FPA 

requires that the Commission fix a 

reasonable annual charge for the use, 

occupancy, and enjoyment of federal 

lands by hydropower licensees. To date, 

the Commission has issued 21 active 

licenses that occupy federal lands in 

Alaska to 15 discrete entities. Therefore, 

the proposed rule will apply to a total 

of 15 entities. Of these 15 entities, 13 

entities would be impacted by the 

proposed rule because they hold 

licenses that occupy federal lands in the 

Kenai Peninsula, Fairbanks, Juneau, or 

Anchorage Areas. The proposed rule 

adopts the use of a statewide average 

per-acre land value, rather than a 

regional per-acre land value, for the 

purpose of calculating annual charges 

for the use of federal lands in Alaska. 

The Commission will apply the 

statewide average per-acre land value to 

all hydropower projects in Alaska, 

except for projects located in the 

Aleutian Islands Area. The Commission 

will continue to apply the regional peracre land value for the Aleutian Islands 

Area. 

35. Based on a review of the 13 

licensees that would be impacted by the 

proposed rule, we estimate that most, if 

not all, are small entities under the SBA 

definition. These 13 licensees include 

utilities, non-for-profit electric 

cooperatives, cities, and companies. 

36. Any impact on these small entities 

would not be significant. Under the 

proposed rule, a statewide average peracre land value for hydropower lands in 

Alaska would be calculated based on a 

larger agricultural data set, resulting in 

land values that will be less prone to 

future fluctuation caused by changes in 

census data reporting. For Fiscal Year 

(FY) 2017, the use of a statewide average 

per-acre land value would result in a 

lower per-acre fee than that assessed in 

FY 2016. Accordingly, the 13 affected 

licensees would pay lower annual 

charge assessments for use of federal 

lands in FY 2017 than they did the 

previous fiscal year. Furthermore, six of 

the 13 affected licensees are members of 

the Alaska Group, which petitioned the 

Commission to revise its methodology 

for calculating annual charges for use of 

federal lands by establishing a statewide 

average per-acre land value for Alaska. 

Consequently, the proposed rule should 

not impose a significant economic 

impact on small entities. 

37. Accordingly, pursuant to section 

605(b) of the RFA, the Commission 

certifies that this proposed rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

D. Comment Procedures 

38. The Commission invites interested 

persons to submit comments on the 

matters and issues proposed in this 

notice to be adopted, including any 

related matters or alternative proposals 

that commenters may wish to discuss. 

Comments are due October 30, 2017. 

Comments must refer to Docket No. 

RM16–19–000, and must include the 

commenter’s name, the organization 

they represent, if applicable, and their 

address. 

39. 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. 

40. Commenters that are not able to 

file comments electronically must send 

an original of their comments to: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 

Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

41. 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. 

E. Document Availability 

42. 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 print the contents of this 

document via the Internet through the 

Commission’s Home Page (http://

www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission’s 

Public Reference Room during normal 

business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE., 

Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426. 

43. From the Commission’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. 

44. User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the Commission’s Web site 

during normal business hours from the 

Commission’s Online Support at 202– 

502–6652 (toll free at 1–866–208–3676) 

or email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, 

or the Public Reference Room at (202) 

502–8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email 

the Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 


nlaroche on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
41364 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 168 / Thursday, August 31, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 11 

Dams, Electric power, Indians-lands, 

Public lands, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Issued: August 17, 2017. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

proposes to amend Part 11, Chapter I, 

Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as 

follows: 

PART 11—ANNUAL CHARGES UNDER 

PART I OF THE FEDERAL POWER ACT 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 11 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 792–828c; 42 U.S.C. 

7101–7352. 

■ 2. In § 11.2, add paragraph (c)(1)(iv) to 

read as follows: 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iv) For all geographic areas in Alaska 

except for the Aleutian Islands Area, the 

Commission will calculate a statewide 

average per-acre land value based on the 

average per-acre land and building 

values published in the NASS Census 

for the Kenai Peninsula and the 

Fairbanks Areas. This statewide average 

per-acre value will be reduced by the 

sum of the state-specific modifier and 

seven percent. The resulting adjusted 

statewide average per-acre value will be 

applied to all projects located in Alaska, 

except for those projects located in the 

Aleutian Island Area. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–17846 Filed 8–30–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

21 CFR Part 117 

[Docket No. FDA–2016–D–2343] 

Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based 

Preventive Controls for Human Food: 

Guidance for Industry; Availability 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notification of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA, we, or Agency) is 

announcing the availability of another 

draft chapter of a multichapter guidance 

for industry entitled ‘‘Hazard Analysis 

and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for 

Human Food: Guidance for Industry.’’ 

This multichapter draft guidance is 

intended to explain our current thinking 

on how to comply with the 

requirements for hazard analysis and 

risk-based preventive controls under our 

rule entitled ‘‘Current Good 

Manufacturing Practice, Hazard 

Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive 

Controls for Human Food.’’ The newly 

available draft chapter is entitled 

‘‘Chapter Six—Use of Heat Treatments 

as a Process Control.’’ 

DATES: Although you can comment on 

any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 

10.115(g)(5)), to ensure that we consider 

your comment on this draft guidance 

before we issue the final version of the 

guidance, submit either electronic or 

written comments by February 27, 2018. 

You may submit comments as 

follows: 

Electronic Submissions 

Submit electronic comments in the 

following way: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Comments submitted electronically, 

including attachments, to https://

www.regulations.gov will be posted to 

the docket unchanged. Because your 

comment will be made public, you are 

solely responsible for ensuring that your 

comment does not include any 

confidential information that you or a 

third party may not wish to be posted, 

such as medical information, your or 

anyone else’s Social Security number, or 

confidential business information, such 

as a manufacturing process. Please note 

that if you include your name, contact 

information, or other information that 

identifies you in the body of your 

comments, that information will be 

posted on https://www.regulations.gov. 

• If you want to submit a comment 

with confidential information that you 

do not wish to be made available to the 

public, submit the comment as a 

written/paper submission and in the 

manner detailed (see ‘‘Written/Paper 

Submissions’’ and ‘‘Instructions’’). 

Written/Paper Submissions 

Submit written/paper submissions as 

follows: 

• Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for 

written/paper submissions): Dockets 

Management Staff (HFA–305), Food and 

Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers 

Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. 

• For written/paper comments 

submitted to the Dockets Management 

Staff, FDA will post your comment, as 

well as any attachments, except for 

information submitted, marked and 

identified, as confidential, if submitted 

as detailed in ‘‘Instructions.’’ 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket No. FDA– 

2016–D–2343 for ‘‘Hazard Analysis and 

Risk-Based Preventive Controls for 

Human Food: Guidance for Industry.’’ 

Received comments will be placed in 

the docket and, except for those 

submitted as ‘‘Confidential 

Submissions,’’ publicly viewable at 

https://www.regulations.gov or at the 

Dockets Management Staff office 

between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 

through Friday. 

• Confidential Submissions—To 

submit a comment with confidential 

information that you do not wish to be 

made publicly available, submit your 

comments only as a written/paper 

submission. You should submit two 

copies total. One copy will include the 

information you claim to be confidential 

with a heading or cover note that states 

‘‘THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS 

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.’’ The 

Agency will review this copy, including 

the claimed confidential information, in 

its consideration of comments. The 

second copy, which will have the 

claimed confidential information 

redacted/blacked out, will be available 

for public viewing and posted on 

https://www.regulations.gov. Submit 

both copies to the Dockets Management 

Staff. If you do not wish your name and 

contact information to be made publicly 

available, you can provide this 

information on the cover sheet and not 

in the body of your comments and you 

must identify this information as 

‘‘confidential.’’ Any information marked 

as ‘‘confidential’’ will not be disclosed 

except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 

and other applicable disclosure law. For 

more information about FDA’s posting 

of comments to public dockets, see 80 

FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access 

the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/ 

fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015- 

23389.pdf. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or the 

electronic and written/paper comments 

received, go to https://

www.regulations.gov and insert the 

docket number, found in brackets in the 

heading of this document, into the 

‘‘Search’’ box and follow the prompts 

and/or go to the Dockets Management 

Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, 

Rockville, MD 20852. 

Submit written requests for single 

copies of the draft guidance to Office of 

Food Safety, Center for Food Safety and 

Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug 

Administration (HFS–300), 5001 

Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740. 

Send two self-addressed adhesive labels 


nlaroche on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS