FERC-606 & FERC-607, Notification of Request for Federal Authorization and Requests for Further Information & Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorizations
ICR 201303-1902-002 · OMB 1902-0241 · Historical Active
⚠️ Notice: This information collection may be outdated. More recent filings for OMB 1902-0241 can be found here:
FERC-606 & FERC-607, Notification of Request for Federal Authorization and Requests for Further Information & Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorizations
Extension without change of a currently approved collection
In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three years.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
05/31/2016
36 Months From Approved
05/31/2013
2
0
1,702
10
0
7,489
0
0
496,399
18 CFR 385.2013 directs the agency or official to forward that initial assessment of federal authorizations (e.g. permits, special use authorizations, certifications, concurrences, or other approvals) to the Commission. If in the course of processing a federal authorization request, an agency or official finds additional information from the applicant is needed, 18 CFR 385.2013 directs the agency or official to forward to the Commission a copy of any data request sent to the applicant. With respect to 18 CFR 385.2014, the Commission assumes that in considering a request for a federal authorization for natural gas projects, agencies compile and title the documents and materials they rely upon in reaching a decision. The Commission does not require a specific format for the index of documents and materials that is to be submitted to FERC. An agency's in-house recordkeeping may be presented as an index, as long as it functions as a table of contents to the documents and materials.
FERC-606 requires agencies and officials responsible for issuing, conditioning, or denying requests for federal authorizations necessary for a proposed natural gas project to report to the Commission regarding the status of an authorization request. This reporting requirement is intended to allow agencies to assist the Commission to make better informed decisions in establishing due dates for agencies' decisions.
FERC-607 requires agencies or officials to submit to the Commission a copy of a decision or action on a request for federal authorization and an accompanying index to the documents and materials relied on in reaching a conclusion.
The information collections cannot be discontinued nor collected less frequently because of statutory requirements. The consequences of not collecting this information are that the Commission would be unable to fulfill its statutory mandate under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to:
 Establish a schedule for agencies to review requests for federal authorizations required for a project, and
 Compile a record of each agency's decision, together with the record of the Commission's decision, to serve as a consolidated record for the purpose of appeal or review, including judicial review.
The change in burden is not due to any change in recordkeeping or reporting requirements. These decreases are due to the following: 1) a reduction in the number of estimated respondents and 2) reduction in the estimated time needed to respond to this collection.
FERC has reduced the estimated burden related to FERC-606 and FERC-607 based on recent trends. As a result of the requirements in EPAct 2005 (that FERC coordinates), the issuance of all federal authorizations needed for natural gas facilities, and to maintain a consolidated record for the purpose of legal appeals, FERC issued regulations requiring agencies that issue federal authorizations to provide information related to their permits. However, neither EPAct 2005 nor FERC's regulations give FERC the ability to compel those state and federal agencies to report to us on the status of authorization requests or decisions. We cannot speculate on why the agencies are not providing the required information. FERC does require applicants to provide documentation that they have received all necessary federal authorizations before permitting construction.
For FERC-607, the consolidated records and index provisions were established to facilitate appeals of agency decisions by project sponsors (applicants). However, applicants are not availing themselves of this provision of EPAct 2005. As a result of these factors, the anticipated number of responses and burden hours per response going forward has been decreased.
Commission staff based previous burden estimates on the fact that these filings are required and expected of agencies involved in authorizing federal requests or decisions. However, Commission staff is now reducing the burden estimates due to the repeated lack of filings.
$1,588
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Sheila Lampitoc 202 502-6193
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
PUBLISHED IC13-7-000 (FERC-607) 30dy.pdf
FINAL (FERC-606 and FERC-607)-supp statement (5-16-2013).docx
FERC-606: Notification of Request for Federal Authorization and Requests for Further Information