81 FR 63750 - Agency Information Collection Extension

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 180 (September 16, 2016)

The EIA, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, intends to submit an information collection request for the Coal Markets Reporting System, OMB Control Number 1905-0167, with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed revisions and requests a three-year extension to Forms:

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 180 (Friday, September 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63750-63751]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22310]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

 Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Information 
collection extension with change, comment request.

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SUMMARY: The EIA, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
intends to submit an information collection request for the Coal 
Markets Reporting System, OMB Control Number 1905-0167, with the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB). EIA is soliciting comments on the 
proposed revisions and requests a three-year extension to Forms:

EIA-3 ``Quarterly Survey of Non-Electric Sector Coal Data''
EIA-7A ``Annual Survey of Coal Production and Preparation''
EIA-8A ``Annual Survey of Coal Stocks and Coal Exports''

    No changes are proposed for Forms:

EIA-6 ``Emergency Coal Supply Survey (Standby)''
EIA-20 ``Emergency Weekly Coal Monitoring Survey for Coal Burning 
Power Producers (Standby)''

    The EIA proposes to make moderate changes to questions, response 
options, and instructions to Forms EIA-3, EIA-7A, and EIA-8A and 
requests an extension to Forms EIA-6 and EIA-20 with no substantive 
changes. EIA is proposing to require submission of Form EIA-3 and EIA-
8A through the U.S. Energy Information Administration Data xChange 
Portal and will eliminate unsecured reporting modes. The Data xChange 
Portal:
     Serves as a single point of entry for authorized users to 
respond to EIA surveys, access EIA data, and build customized reports.
     Provides expanded communication methods to include phone 
and email contact information of centralized data collection team
     Uses security protocols to protect the information against 
unauthorized access during transmission.
     Requires data submission through an online web form, 
eliminating unsecured reporting methods.

DATES: Comments must be filed by November 15, 2016. 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, please advise the 
EIA-7A Survey Manager at EIA of your intention to make a submission as 
soon as possible. The Survey Manager may be contacted by email at 
[email protected] or by telephone at 202-586-4866.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: Attn: JenAlyse Arena, 
EIA-7A Survey Manager, U.S. Energy Information Administration, EI-24, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Ms. JenAlyse 
Arena at the contact information listed above. The proposed forms and 
instructions are available on the Internet at: http://www.eia.gov/survey/changes/coal/2016/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains:
    (1) OMB No. 1905-0167;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Coal Markets Reporting 
System. The survey forms:

EIA-3 ``Quarterly Survey of Non-Electric Sector Coal Data''
EIA-7A ``Annual Survey of Coal Production and Preparation''
EIA-8A ``Annual Survey of Coal Stocks and Coal Exports''
EIA-6 ``Emergency Coal Supply Survey (Standby)''
EIA-20 ``Emergency Weekly Coal Monitoring Survey for Coal Burning 
Power Producers (Standby)''

    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
    (4) Purpose: 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 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 and to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and 
public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and 
the environment.
    The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), 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. Also, the EIA will later seek approval for this collection 
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Section 3507(a) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    EIA surveys are conducted to collect coal market data. The data 
elements include production, consumption, receipts, stocks, sales, and 
prices. Information pertaining to the quality of the coal is also 
collected. Aggregates of this collection are used to support public 
policy analyses of the coal industry, economic modeling, forecasting, 
coal supply and demand studies, and in guiding research and development 
programs. EIA publications, including the Monthly Energy Review, 
Quarterly Coal Report, Quarterly Coal Distribution Report, Annual Coal 
Report, and Annual Coal Distribution Report, each contain data 
collected through the coal production and consumption surveys listed 
above.
    In addition, the EIA uses the data in short-term and long-term 
models such as the Short-Term Integrated Forecasting System (STIFS) and 
the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Coal Market Module. The 
forecast data also appear in the Short-Term Energy Outlook and the 
Annual Energy Outlook publications.
    Please refer to the proposed forms and instructions for more 
information about the purpose, who must report, when to report, where 
to submit, elements to be reported, detailed instructions, provisions 
for confidentiality, and uses of the information.
    (4a) Proposed Changes: EIA will be requesting a three-year 
extension of approval for all its coal surveys with the following 
changes:

Form EIA-3: Quarterly Survey of Non-Electric Sector Coal Data

     Change the title of the survey to ``Quarterly Survey of 
Industrial, Commercial, & Institutional Coal Users''
     In Part 2, Question 6, revise reporting for co-fired sites 
to allow reporting of more than one additional fuel source.
     In Part 3, Question 2, remove Adjustments to total cost of 
coal received during the reporting cycle.
     In Part 5, Questions 2-3, revise coking plant disposition 
categories and

[[Page 63751]]

include distinction between domestic and export sales of coke and 
breeze to gather more accurate data on each type of sale.
     In Part 8, Question 2, revise coal refining plant 
disposition categories to allow for accurate accounting of refined 
coal.
    EIA proposes adding the following questions to Form EIA-3:
     In Part 2, Question 2, add the question: ``Does this site 
operate a coke oven''? This question will be used to identify active 
U.S. coking plants within manufacturing sites.
     In Part 3, Question 3A, add the question ``Please provide 
the contact information for your broker.'' Contact information will be 
used to help maintain the EIA-8A frame, eliminate duplicative reporting 
on Form EIA-7A and reduce burden between Forms EIA-8A and EIA-7A.

Form EIA-7A: Annual Survey of Coal Production and Preparation

     In Part 5, question 7, revise reporting categories of coal 
mine sales to simplify question wording while adding export categories 
to include open market export sales, captive market export sales, and 
broker export sales. The new categories will provide more accurate 
information on coal exports by type of sale and seller by eliminating 
potential double-counting of export coal sales on Form EIA-8A. It will 
improve EIAs assessments on production trends and coal supply by basin. 
It will also facilitate EIA's comparison of coal supply by basin with 
export data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.
    EIA proposes adding the following questions to Form EIA-7A:
     In Part 3, Question 5A, add the question ``What is the 
average depth of the mine below the surface?'' This question will 
assist with data discrepancies of coalbed data reported by comparing 
coalbeds mined with U.S. Geological Survey data.
     In Part 5, delete question 2 ``With the existing equipment 
in place, what is the maximum amount of coal that this mining operation 
can produce during the reporting year?'' and add ``With the existing 
equipment in place, what is the annual operating capacity of this 
mine?'' This is a rewording to the current question requesting annual 
operating/producing capacity. By comparing actual production compared 
to operating capacity, EIA can assess if mines are producing at maximum 
capacity and can use this as an indicator of market conditions 
affecting coal supply.
     In Part 5, delete question 5 ``As of December 31st of the 
reporting year, what is the estimated tonnage representing the amount 
of coal identified in the reserve that is technologically and 
economically feasible to extract?'' and add ``As of December 31st of 
the reporting year, what is the estimated amount of coal in the reserve 
that is feasible (economically/technologically) to extract? This 
rewording of the current question requesting recoverable coal reserves 
helps clarify to respondents to report the amount of coal that can be 
recovered from the coal reserve in place.

Form EIA-8A: Annual Survey of Coal Stocks and Coal Exports

     In Part 2, Question 2, revise list of locations where U.S. 
produced coal stocks are located to include ``IT--In Transit''
     In Part 3, Question 2, add new field requesting port of 
export and destination country for export sales to gather more detailed 
export data and assist in cross-survey comparison with the EIA-7A and 
coal trade data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau to quantify and 
eliminate double-counting of export coal sales.

Standby Forms EIA-6: Emergency Coal Supply Survey (Standby) and EIA-20: 
Emergency Weekly Coal Monitoring Survey for Coal Burning Power 
Producers (Standby)

     No substantive changes will be made to these forms.
    Request for Comments: As a potential respondent to the request for 
information, review the proposed changes mentioned above, the survey 
forms and instructions, and please advise the following:
     Is the proposed collection of information necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility?
     What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize 
the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to 
be collected?
     Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? 
If not, which instructions need clarification?
     Can the information be submitted by the respondent by the 
due date?
     Can information be submitted using the proposed collection 
method?
    (5) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: 2,429.
     EIA-3 will consist of 432 respondents
     EIA-7A will consist of 848 respondents
     EIA-8A will consist of 48 respondents
     EIA-6 (standby) will consist of 610 respondents
     EIA-20 (standby) will consist of 491 respondents
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Responses: 3,725.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 5,515.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours. The information is maintained in 
the normal course of business. The cost of the burden hours is 
estimated to be $397,190 (5,515 burden hours times $72.02 per hour). 
Other than the cost of burden hours, EIA estimates that there are no 
additional costs for generating, maintaining and providing the 
information.

    Statutory Authority:  Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-275, codified at 15 U.S.C. 
772(b), and the DOE Organization Act of 1977, Pub. L. 95-91, 
codified at 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2016.
Renee Miller,
Acting Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical 
Integration, U.S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-22310 Filed 9-15-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P