Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection;

comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed revision, and extension of the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB) expiration date of the form RW-859,

``Nuclear Fuel Data Survey'', and the termination of RW-859S ``Nuclear

Fuel Data Supplement''.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 18, 1998.

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 Jim Finucane, Office of Coal, Nuclear,

Electric and Alternate Fuels, EI-52, Forrestal Building, U.S.

Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585-0650, telephone: (202) 426-

1960, e-mail: [email protected], and fax (202)-426-1280.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or

copies of the form and instructions should be directed to Jim Finucane

at the address listed above.

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. 93-275) and the Department of

Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91), the Energy Information

Administration (EIA) 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 EIA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden required by section 3506(c)(2)(A)g of 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 prepare data requests in the

desired format, minimize reporting burden, develop clearly

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understandable reporting forms, and assess the impact of collection

requirements on respondents. Also, EIA will later seek approval by OMB

for the collections under sections 3507(g) and (h) of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, title 44, U.S.C. Chapter 35).

This data collection will provide the Office of Civilian

Radioactive Waste Management of the Department of Energy (DOE) with

detailed information concerning the spent nuclear fuel generated by the

respondents (commercial generators of spent nuclear fuel within the

U.S. are respondents to this survey). The DOE will take possession of

this spent fuel and needs this data to properly design the spent fuel

repository (spent fuel receiving systems, spent fuel handling systems,

etc.) which will be the final storage/disposal site for all of the

spent fuel and high level radioactive waste materials.

II. Current Actions

The current proposed actions are: (1) An extension of an existing

data collection, RW-859, and (2) the termination of a second data

collection, RW-859S. A three-year extension of the data collection, RW-

859, is proposed. The RW-859S, which was collected every five years,

will be terminated and four data items from that form will be collected

by RW-859. Such data items include information on each discharged

assembly, canistered materials, uncanistered materials, and non-fuel

components. As before, all data will be collected once; only changes in

the specific data element will require updating.

This revision will also permit the data elements to be collected to

be streamlined. Specifically, all of the data which is needed on an

assembly specific basis will be collected at one time; thereafter

referring this data by reference to the assembly serial number. In

addition, the certification statement, the crane data, the site data,

the transportation data, and the request for data on fresh fuel in core

will be eliminated.

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.

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 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 by the due date?

C. Public reporting burden for Form RW-859 is estimated to average

40 hours per response. Burden includes the total time, effort, or

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

or provide 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 information technology.

D. EIA estimates that respondents will incur no additional costs

for reporting other than the hours required to complete the collection.

What is the estimated: (1) Total dollar amount annualized for capital

and start-up costs, and (2) recurring annual costs of operation and

maintenance, and purchase of services associated with this data

collection?

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.

F. Would you be interested in receiving and submitting the new RW-

859 form and related materials by e-mail in electronic format?

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. 104-13) title 44, U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Issued in Washington, DC, June 12, 1998.

Jay H. Casselberry,

Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy

Information Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-16342 Filed 6-18-98; 8:45 am]

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