[Federal Register: October 1, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 190)]
[Notices]
[Page 56626-56628]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01oc03-58]
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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: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed one-year
extension to the Form EIA-1605, ``Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse
Gases,'' (long form) and the Form EIA-1605EZ, ``Voluntary Reporting of
Greenhouse Gases,'' (short form).
DATES: Comments must be filed by December 1, 2003. If you anticipate
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the
person listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Stephen E. Calopedis. To ensure receipt of
the comments by the due date, submission by FAX (202-586-3045) or e-mail (Stephen.calopedis@eia.doe.gov) is recommended. The mailing
address is Energy Information Administration, EI-81, Forrestal
Building, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585.
Alternatively, Stephen Calopedis may be contacted by telephone at 202-
586-1156.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Stephen
Calopedis at the address listed above or can be obtained at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/forms.html
.
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 the 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 longer term
domestic demands.
The 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 the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare
data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected,
and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public.
Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
The Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases collections are
conducted pursuant to section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992
(Pub. L. 102-486, 42 U.S.C. 13385) under General Guidelines issued by
the DOE's Office of Policy & International Affairs. These forms are
designed to collect voluntarily reported data on greenhouse gas
emissions, achieved reductions of these emissions, and increased carbon
fixation as well as information on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and sequester carbon in future years.
Please refer to the proposed forms and instructions for more
information about the purpose, who must report, when to report, where
to submit, the elements to be reported, detailed instructions,
provisions for confidentiality, and uses (including possible
nonstatistical uses) of the information. For instructions on obtaining
materials, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
II. Current Actions
EIA will be requesting a one-year extension with no changes for the
Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program, Forms EIA-1605 and
EIA-1605EZ.
This request for a one-year extension of the expiration date of the
existing Forms EIA-1605 and EIA-1605EZ is being made to ensure that a
data collection instrument is in place while the Guidelines to the
Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program are in the process of
being revised . A one-year extension, rather than a three-year
extension, is being proposed because EIA anticipates significant
changes to the data collection forms and data elements to result from
the revisions to the program guidelines.
Revised Guidelines for the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases
Program
On February 14, 2002, President Bush announced a series of programs
and initiatives to address the issue of global climate change,
including a greenhouse gas intensity reduction goal, energy technology
research programs, targeted tax incentives to advance the development
and adoption of new technologies, and voluntary programs to promote
actions to reduce greenhouse gases. In addition, the President directed
the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, to
[[Page 56627]]
propose improvements to the current Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse
Gases Program required under section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act
of 1992. These improvements are to enhance measurement accuracy,
reliability, and verifiability, working with and taking into account
emerging domestic and international approaches. The President also
directed the Secretary of Energy to recommend reforms to ensure that
businesses and individuals that register reductions are not penalized
under a future climate policy and to give transferable credits to
companies that can show real emissions reductions.
The purposes of the proposed revised Guidelines are to: (1)
establish revised procedures and reporting requirements for filing
voluntary reports, and (2) encourage corporations, Government agencies,
non-profit organizations, individuals and other private and public
entities to submit annual reports of their total entity-wide greenhouse
gas emissions, net emission reductions, and carbon sequestration
activities that are complete, reliable and consistent.
On May 6, 2002 (67 FR 30370), the Department of Energy solicited
public comments on various issues relevant to its efforts to implement
the President's directives. After consideration of these public
comments, the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce and Agriculture, and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency wrote the
President on July 8, 2002, stating that improvements to the existing
Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program should:
1. Develop fair, objective, and practical methods for reporting
baselines, reporting boundaries, calculating real results, and awarding
transferable credits for actions that lead to real reductions.
2. Standardize widely accepted, transparent accounting methods.
3. Support independent verification registry reports.
4. Encourage reporters to report greenhouse gas intensity
(emissions unit of output) as well as emissions reductions.
5. Encourage corporate or entity-wide reporting.
6. Provide credits for actions to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere as well as for actions to reduce emissions.
7. Develop a process for evaluating the extent to which past
reductions may qualify for credits.
8. Develop a process for evaluating the extent to which past
reductions may qualify for credits.
9. Factor in international strategies as well as State-level
efforts.
10. Minimize transactions costs for reporters and administrative
costs for the Government, where possible, without compromising the
foregoing recommendations.
The DOE also held four public workshops (67 FR 64106) in the fall
of 2002 to enable interested persons to discuss and provide comments on
possible improvements to the program guidelines. Public comments
submitted to DOE's Office of Policy and International Affairs on
possible revisions to the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases
Program Guidelines are available at http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/index.html
.
Process for Finalizing and Implementing Revised Program Guidelines
DOE's Office of Policy and International Affairs plans to issue
proposed revised general guidelines for public comment during the fall
of 2003. In parallel with this effort, DOE's Office of Policy and
International Affairs intends to issue for public comment proposed
technical guidelines in the fall of 2003. The technical guidelines will
specify the methods and factors to be used in measuring and estimating
greenhouse gas emissions and emission reductions under the revised
general guidelines. DOE plans to issue in final form all necessary
guidelines during 2004. Upon finalization and issuance of the revised
guidelines, EIA plans to develop and issue new reporting forms and
instructions for reporting under the revised program guidelines. It is
important to note here that it is not the intent of this notice to
solicit comment on the guideline revision process above, but rather to
merely extend the expiration date on the existing data collection,
forms EIA-1605 and EIA-1605-EZ, so that EIA has an existing data
collection instrument in place while the guideline revision process is
on-going.
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. Please indicate to
which form(s) your comments apply.
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?
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 need clarification?
C. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
D. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to
average 40 hours per response on Form EIA-1605 (long form) and 4 hours
per response on Form EIA-1605EZ (short form). 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 collection. 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.
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
collected?
C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
D. Are there alternate 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.
[[Page 56628]]
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 25, 2003.
Nancy J. Kirkendall,
Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information
Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-24872 Filed 9-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P