Proposed Agency Information Collection Under OMB Review

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration

Proposed Agency Information Collection Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of the Proposed Revision of Form RW-859, ``Nuclear Fuel

Data,'' Proposed New Form RW-859S, ``Nuclear Fuel Data Supplement,''

and Solicitation of Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed revision to the Form RW-859, ``Nuclear

Fuel Data,'' and proposed new survey Form RW-859S, ``Nuclear Fuel Data

Supplement.''

DATES: Written comments must be submitted by October 2, 1995. If you

anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult

to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, you should

advise the contact listed below of your intention to do so as soon as

possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Ms. Kathy Gibbard, Program Manager, Form

RW-859 and RW-859S, U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information

Administration (EI-531), 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC

20585, or via e-mail (internet) [email protected]. FAX (202)

254-5765.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or

copies of the form and instructions should be directed to Ms. Gibbard

at the address listed above, telephone (202) 254-5559.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

II. Current Actions

III. Request for Comments

I. Background

In order to fulfill its responsibilities under the Federal Energy

Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-275) and the Department of

Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 95-91), the Energy Information

Administration is obliged to carry out a central, comprehensive, and

unified energy data and information program. As part of this program,

EIA collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates data and

information related to energy resource reserves, production, demand,

and technology, and related economic and statistical information

relevant to the adequacy of energy resources to meet demands in the

near and longer term future for the Nation's economic and social needs.

The Energy Information Administration, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden (required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13)), conducts a presurvey

consultation program to provide the general public and other Federal

agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing

reporting forms. This program helps to ensure that requested data can

be provided in the desired format, reporting burden is minimized,

reporting forms are clearly understood, and the impact of collection

requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA), 42 U.S.C.

10101 et seq., requires that the Secretary develop and implement

programs to dispose of spent nuclear fuel. The Office of Civilian

Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) uses the information from Form RW-

859 to understand and explore the specific requirements of developing

and conducting programs to effectuate the purposes of the NWPA.

The EIA administers the Form RW-859, ``Nuclear Fuel Data'', which

is used to collect data from owners of commercial nuclear power plants

and owners and caretakers of spent nuclear fuel. The Federal Energy

Administration Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) authorizes the EIA

to collect data. The current Form RW-859 collects data on every fuel

assembly discharged from domestic commercial nuclear reactors,

[[Page 39378]]

spent fuel projected to be discharged, and spent fuel storage pool

inventories and capacities. The form has been approved through December

31, 1997. Major revisions to Form RW-859 necessitate that the proposed

form and new supplemental schedule be approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

II. Current Actions

This notice is to solicit comments on proposed revisions to Form

RW-859 and corresponding instructions. The extension request to OMB

will be through December 31, 1998. The DOE is proposing to reduce the

content of the Form RW-859 survey to only collect data elements that

require annual update. Data that are not subject to annual revision

will be collected every five years on a new Form RW-859S supplementary

survey form. A summary of the proposed changes follows.

The following items will no longer be collected on the survey:

Capacity data other than licensed capacity and current

usable capacity

Temporarily discharged fuel (all discharged fuel will now

be designated as permanently discharged) and changes in assembly status

Cross-reference assembly identifiers including American

National Standard Institute (ANSI) identifier and fuel fabricator

assembly identifiers

Data on reconstituted fuel.

The following items will no longer be collected annually on the

Form RW-859 survey, but will be collected once every five years on the

Form RW-859S survey supplement:

Dates not subject to annual revision (license renewal,

reactor retirement, etc.)

Cask-handling data

Specific data on canisters and their contents

Nonfuel components data.

The following items have been added to the annual Form RW-859

survey:

Questions on quality assurance procedures and traceability

Assembly-specific information on initial uranium content,

initial enrichment, and burnup

Current cycle start date.

The following will now be collected on the five-year Form RW-859S

supplement:

Reactor information including type, nuclear steam system

supplier, design type, operational status, location, and rating

Pool site configuration

Crane data including capacity, limiting factors,

dimensions, and clearance

Site specific access and configuration data for the

receiving/upending area, cask handling area, pool cask loading area,

and set-down platform area

Transportation data including information on on-site

roads, rail, and barge

Historical assembly-specific data not previously reported.

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 responses. Please indicate to

which form(s) your comments apply.

General Issues

EIA is interested in receiving comments from persons regarding:

A. Whether the proposed collection(s) of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have practical utility. Practical utility

is 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 EIA make to the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent

A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If

not, which instructions require clarification?

B. Can data be submitted in accordance with the due date specified

in the instructions?

C. Public reporting burden for the annual Form RW-859 data

collection is estimated to average 40 hours per response. Public

reporting burden for the five-year Form RW-859S supplement is estimated

to be 100 hours for the initial data collection and 20 hours for

subsequent data collections. Burden includes the total time, effort, or

financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose

or provide the information including: (1) Reviewing instructions; (2)

developing, acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems

for the purposes of collecting, validating, verifying, processing,

maintaining, disclosing and providing information; (3) adjusting the

existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and

requirements; (4) training personnel to respond to a collection of

information; (5) searching data sources; (6) completing and reviewing

the collection of information; and (7) transmitting, or otherwise

disclosing the information.

Please comment on (1) the accuracy of our estimate and (2) how the

agency could minimize the burden of the collection of information,

including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

D. What is the estimated cost of completing these forms, including

the direct and indirect costs associated with the data collection?

Direct costs should include all costs, such as administrative costs,

directly attributable to providing this information.

E. Do you know of any other Federal, State, or local agency that

collects similar data? If you do, specify the agency, the data

element(s), and the methods of collection.

As a Potential User

A. Can you use data at the levels of detail indicated on the forms?

B. For what purpose would you use the data? Be specific.

C. Are there alternate sources of data and do you use them? If so,

what are their deficiencies and/or strengths?

D. For the most part, information is published by EIA in U.S.

customary units, e.g., cubic feet of natural gas, short tons of coal,

and barrels of oil. Would you prefer to see EIA publish more

information in metric units, e.g., cubic meters, metric tons, and

kilograms? If yes, please specify what information (e.g., coal

production, natural gas consumption, and crude oil imports), the metric

unit(s) of measurement preferred, and in which EIA publication(s) you

would like to see such information.

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 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13).

Issued in Washington, DC, July 20, 1995.

John Gross,

Acting Director, Office of Statistical Standards, Energy Information

Administration.

[FR Doc. 95-18391 Filed 8-1-95; 8:45 am]

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