[Federal Register: September 16, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 179)]
[Notices]
[Page 54215-54218]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16se03-38]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Agency information collection activities: proposed collection;
comment request.
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SUMMARY: EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed new survey Form
EIA-913, ``Monthly and Annual Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Storage
Reports.''
[[Page 54216]]
DATES: Comments must be filed by November 17, 2003. If you anticipate
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the
person listed below as soon as possible.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Send comments to Ms. Poonum Agrawal.
To ensure receipt of the comments by the due date, submission by e-mail
to Poonum.Agrawal@eia.doe.gov is recommended. Poonum Agrawal may be
contacted by telephone at (202) 586-6048 or facsimile at (202) 586-
4420; however, submission by e-mail is the preferred medium for
correspondence. The mailing address is: Natural Gas Division (Attn:
EIA-913 Comments), EI-44, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of
Energy, Washington, DC 20585.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please visit http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/survey_forms/nat_proposed_forms.html
for additional
information or copies of the form and instructions. Requests for this
information may also be directed to Poonum Agrawal at the contact
information listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments
I. Background
The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-275, 15
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 42
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require EIA to carry out a centralized,
comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program
collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information
on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and
related economic and statistical information. This information is used
to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet near- and long-term
domestic demands.
EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides the
general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to comment
on collections of energy information conducted by or in conjunction
with EIA. Any comments received help EIA to prepare data requests that
maximize the utility of the information collected, and to assess the
impact of collection requirements on the industry. Based on review of
the comments and field test results, EIA will seek approval by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under section 3507(a) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
The purpose of Form EIA-913, ``Monthly and Annual Liquefied Natural
Gas (LNG) Storage Report,'' is to collect data on the inventory levels
of LNG and operational capacities of active LNG storage facilities in
the United States.
Survey respondents would include all operators of facilities that
store LNG for baseload, seasonal, and peak demand delivery in the
United States, or for delivery to United States customers for these
purposes. This includes operators with LNG inventories such as
distribution companies, pipeline companies, liquefaction facilities,
LNG wholesalers (excluding retailers who sell LNG exclusively for
ultimate vehicular fuel use), and marine terminals providing peaking
storage services. The survey coverage does not include LNG inventories
held by any industrial, residential, commercial, or power generation
operations for ultimate consumption. The respondents for Form EIA-913
will comprise operators of approximately 100 LNG storage facilities
(the total estimated number of facilities currently active in the
United States).
Data would be collected pursuant to the Federal Energy
Administration (FEA) Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275. The report will be
mandatory under the FEA Act. The data would appear in the EIA
publications, Monthly Energy Review, Natural Gas Annual, and Natural
Gas Monthly.
This collection is essential to the mission of the DOE in general
and EIA in particular. This request for clearance was necessitated by
the increasing role of LNG storage as a source of natural gas supply,
especially during periods of peak demand, and the subsequent need to
monitor its activity for a better understanding of the U.S. natural gas
supply and demand balance. Much like the existing EIA underground
natural gas storage survey, the new LNG survey is expected to be widely
used by industry analysts and Federal and State agencies to monitor gas
markets. Recognizing the importance of LNG storage activities to gas
market information, DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham requested on June 26,
2003, that EIA plan a new survey of LNG storage activities to collect
better information and achieve better market efficiency.
EIA may eventually consider the value of a weekly sample survey of
LNG inventories after the monthly survey is operating in a stable
manner and if evidence indicates that greater timeliness of data would
enhance understanding of the overall natural gas supply situation.
Respondents would be expected to complete the EIA-913 Annual
Schedule at the start of the survey and subsequently once a year and
whenever a new facility begins operation or a change in operator or
storage capacity occurs. The completed EIA-913 Monthly Schedule would
be due 20 days after the conclusion of the report month. Data would be
submitted by e-mail, facsimile, or the secure file transfer (SFT)
system to EIA. Please note that email and facsimile are not secure
methods of file transfer. SFT is based on the secure hypertext transfer
protocol (HTTPS), an industry standard method to send information over
the web using a secure, encrypted process. All information is protected
by 128-bit encryption to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of
transmitted data.
Data elements for the proposed survey are listed below. Please
refer to http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/survey_forms/nat_proposed_forms.html
for a copy of the proposed form and
instructions.
Monthly Schedule
1. Respondent identification data.
2. Monthly LNG storage data:
a. Facility name.
b. Facility location.
c. LNG storage additions, and Btu heat content of additions.
d. LNG withdrawals, and Btu heat content of withdrawals.
e. End-of-period LNG inventories, and Btu heat content of
inventories.
f. Peak day withdrawals.
g. Peak day.
3. Comments.
Annual Schedule
1. Respondent identification data.
2. Annual facility characteristics:
a. Storage facility name.
b. Location.
c. Type of operation (distribution company, pipeline company,
marine terminal with peaking service, LNG wholesaler, liquefaction
facility, other).
d. Storage facility capacity.
e. Liquefaction capacity.
f. Trailer unloading capacity.
g. Vaporization capacity.
h. Trailer loading capacity.
i. Change in capacity.
3. Comments.
EIA is proposing to treat the information collected on Form EIA-913
as confidential in accordance with existing EIA confidentiality
provisions. Under these provisions, survey information is treated as
confidential and is not publicly released. However, upon request for
official uses the information may be shared with another component of
the Department of Energy,
[[Page 54217]]
any Committee of Congress, the General Accounting Office, and other
Federal agencies authorized by law to receive such information. A court
of competent jurisdiction may obtain the information in response to an
order.
EIA will publish monthly inventory estimates and net withdrawals
estimates (withdrawals minus additions) as well as annual information
on LNG storage capacities for the United States and several multi-state
regions to the extent that confidentiality for company-specific
information allows. In order to preserve the confidentiality of
company-specific information, EIA Standard 2002-22, ``Non-disclosure of
Company Identifiable Data in Aggregate Cells,'' would be used. A copy
of this standard may be obtained at http://www.eia.doe.gov/smg/standard.pdf.
Under these rules, EIA-913 information would be published
at an aggregate multi-state level based on the current EIA underground
storage regions. Such primary suppression of confidential data may
result in further complementary suppression of data in publications in
which this data may be incorporated. Thus, confidentiality of company-
specific information would be maintained at the loss of geographic
detail. However this rule could be waived if the affected respondents
agree.
The operators of LNG storage facilities will be asked to submit
monthly reports of inventories, additions and withdrawals, and annual
reports of facility characteristics. EIA will publish monthly inventory
estimates and net withdrawals estimates (withdrawals minus additions)
for the United States and several multi-state regions to the extent
that confidentiality for company-specific information allows. These
regions are chosen based on the current EIA underground natural gas
storage regions, which reflect the major natural gas production and
distribution regions, familiarity to both respondents and data users
and current EIA disclosure restrictions. The following is an example of
the monthly data format and regions:
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Total Percent change from
Region storage Inventory same period last Net
capacity year withdrawals
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East............................................. ........... ........... ................... ..............
New England and Mid-Atlantic................... ........... ........... ................... ..............
Other.......................................... ........... ........... ................... ..............
West & Producing................................. ........... ........... ................... ..............
--------------
USA Total.................................... ........... ........... ................... ..............
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Similarly annual summaries of facility characteristics will be
provided at the United States level and the same multi-state regions to
the extent that confidentiality for company-specific information
allows.
As an alternative to collecting the data under the confidentiality
arrangements outlined above, EIA has the option of collecting the Form
EIA-913 information as confidential in accordance with the Confidential
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA)
(Title 5 of Pub. L. 107-347). If the Form EIA-913 information is
collected under CIPSEA, the information could not be disclosed by EIA
in identifiable form, for any use other than an exclusively statistical
purpose, except with the informed consent of the respondent. As defined
in CIPSEA, the term ``statistical purpose'' (A) means the description,
estimation, or analysis of the characteristics of groups, without
identifying the individuals or organizations that comprise such groups;
and (B) includes the development, implementation, or maintenance of
methods, technical or administrative procedures, or information
resources that support the purposes described in subparagraph (A).
The requirement that information collected under CIPSEA be used
exclusively for statistical purposes has both advantages and
disadvantages. A primary advantage of collecting information in
accordance with CIPSEA is that the information could not be used for
any non-statistical purpose including any administrative, regulatory,
law enforcement, adjudicatory, or other purpose that affects the
rights, privileges, or benefits of a particular identifiable
respondent. A primary disadvantage in collecting information in
accordance with CIPSEA is that, without a respondent's informed
consent, the information could not be shared with other Federal non-EIA
personnel for non-statistical purposes in the event of a major energy
supply situation. This restriction on sharing could severely hamper any
timely U.S. government actions in the event of significant supply
problems.
II. Current Actions
EIA will be requesting approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to conduct a monthly and annual information collection
program via Form EIA-913, ``Monthly and Annual Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG) Storage Report.'' The respondents for the EIA-913 will comprise
operators of approximately 100 LNG storage facilities (the total
estimated number of facilities currently active in the United States).
III. Request for Comments
Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are
provided to assist in the preparation of comments.
1. General Issues
A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the
information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the
actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into
account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected?
C. Should the proposed collection of information be conducted under
EIA's existing confidentiality provisions, or under the provisions of
the Confidential Information and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002?
2. As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information
A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be
collected?
B. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If
not, which instructions or definitions need clarification?
C. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
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D. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to
average 1 hour for the Monthly Schedule and 3 hours for the Annual
Schedule. The estimated burden includes the total time necessary to
provide the requested information. In your opinion, how accurate is
this estimate?
E. The agency estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for
the time it will take to complete the survey form. Will a respondent
incur any start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual costs
for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with
the information collection?
F. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
G. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar
information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the
methods of collection.
H. Do you consider the EIA-913 information (additions, withdrawals,
inventory, and facility characteristics) to be sensitive proprietary
company information that should be treated as confidential? If so and
the EIA-913 survey was conducted under CIPSEA, would your company sign
an informed consent agreement for release of its EIA-913 information to
other Federal agencies for use in preparing for and/or responding to
defined emergency situations such as terrorist attacks, regional
pipeline breaks, or LNG shipping disruptions? Any Federal agency with
access to EIA-913 information would be required to sign a document
agreeing to maintain the confidentiality of the information.
3. As a Potential User of the Information to be Collected
A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information
disseminated?
B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be
reported?
C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
D. Are there alternative sources for the information and are they
useful? If so, what are their weaknesses and/or strengths?
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also
will become a matter of public record.
Statutory Authority: Section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
Issued in Washington, DC, September 10, 2003.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-23568 Filed 9-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P