Agency Information Collection Proposed Extension

AGENCY:

Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

DOE invites public comment on the proposed three-year extension, with changes, to the Form NWPA-830G Appendix G—Standard Remittance Advice for Payment of Fees, including Annex A to Appendix G, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Form NWPA-830G is part of the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste. Generators and owners of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste of domestic origin paid fees into the Nuclear Waste Fund based on net electricity generated and sold as defined in the Standard Contract.

DATES:

DOE must receive all comments on this proposed information collection no later than September 17, 2024. If you anticipate any difficulties in submitting your comments by the deadline, contact the person listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Submit comments electronically to Guang Wei, Office of Standard Contract Management, at standardcontracts@hq.doe.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

If you need additional information, contact Guang Wei, Office of Standard Contract Management, U.S. Department of Energy, telephone (240) 388-5685, or by email at standardcontracts@hq.doe.gov. The forms and instructions are available on DOE's website at https://www.energy.gov/gc/office-standard-contract-management and at EIA's website at www.eia.gov/survey/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This information collection request contains:

(1) OMB No.: 1901-0260;

(2) Information Collection Request Title: Form NWPA-830G, Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste, Appendix G;

(3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;

(4) Purpose: The Form NWPA-830G survey included in the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste, Appendix G, collect information on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and related economic and statistical information.

The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (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 longer-term domestic demands.

As part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), EIA provides the general public and other federal agencies with opportunities to comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in conjunction with EIA. Also, EIA will later seek approval for this collection by OMB under Section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) required that DOE enter into Standard Contracts with all generators or owners of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste of domestic origin. Form NWPA-830G Appendix G—Standard Remittance Advice for Payment of Fees, including Annex A to Appendix G, is an Appendix to this Standard Contract. Appendix G and Annex A to Appendix G are commonly referred to as Remittance Advice (RA) forms. RA forms must be submitted quarterly by generators and owners of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste of domestic origin who signed the Standard Contract. Appendix G is designed to serve as the source document for entries into DOE accounting records to transmit data to DOE concerning payment of fees into the Nuclear Waste Fund for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste disposal. Annex A to Appendix G is used to provide data on the amount of net electricity generated and sold, upon which these fees are based.

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 non-statistical uses) of the information. For instructions on obtaining materials, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section;

(4a) Proposed Changes to Information Collection: The reduction of 20 annual burden hours for Form NWPA-830G results from the reduction of the number of total respondents representing reactors that decreased from 95 to 94. One reactor permanently shut down since the last clearance cycle and no longer is required to pay fees into the Nuclear Waste Fund nor respond to this survey. The number of respondents includes one new reactor in Georgia, VOGTLE 4, which is planned to be operational within 2024.

(5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 94;

(6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 376;

(7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 1,880;

(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $171,381 (1,880 estimated number of burden hours times $91.16 per hour current average loaded wage rate). EIA estimates that respondents will have no additional costs associated with the surveys other than the burden hours and the maintenance of the information during the normal course of business.

Comments are invited on whether or not: (a) The proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions, including whether the information will have a practical utility; (b) DOE's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used, is accurate; (c) DOE can improve the quality, utility, and clarity of the information it will collect; and (d) DOE can minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, such as automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275, codified as (15 U.S.C. 772(b) et seq.); the DOE Organization Act of 1977, Public Law 95-91, codified as (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); and Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.)