In accordance
with 5 CFR 1320, OMB is filing comment and withholding approval at
this time. The agency shall examine public comment in response to
the proposed rulemaking and will include in the supporting
statement of the next ICR--to be submitted to OMB at the final rule
stage--a description of how the agency has responded to any public
comments to continue this ICR. If the commission votes to
discontinue this form, FERC should submit a discontinue notice to
OMB.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
12/31/2019
12/31/2019
02/28/2019
67
0
67
201
0
201
0
0
0
NOPR in Docket No. RM18-14. The
Commission proposes to remove section 8.11 of its regulations,
eliminating the requirement for licensees to file Form 80, a
Licensed Hydropower Development Recreation Report, currently filed
every 6 years. Form 80 solicits information on the use and
development of recreation facilities at hydropower projects
licensed by the Commission under the Federal Power Act (FPA). In
addition, the Commission proposes to revise sections 8.1 and 8.2 of
its regulations (affecting FERC-500 and FERC-505) to modernize
public notice practices, clarify recreational signage requirements,
and provide flexibility to assist licensees’ compliance efforts.
Form 80, in General. The Commission uses the information collected
on FERC Form 80 to implement statutory provisions of Sections 4(g),
10, 304, 309, and 311 of the Federal Power Act (FPA). The
Commission has collected FERC Form 80 data since 1966. Presently,
the Commission collects the data every six years as directed by 18
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 8.11 and 141.14. The authority
for the Commission to collect this information comes from Section
10(a) of the FPA which requires the Commission to be responsible
for ensuring that hydro projects subject to its jurisdiction are
consistent with the comprehensive development of the nation’s
waterway for recreation and other beneficial public uses. In the
interest of fulfilling these objectives, the Commission expects its
licensees, over whom it may exercise direct regulatory control, to
recognize the resources affected by their activities and to play a
role in the protection of such resources. 18 CFR 8.11 and 141.14
specifies the data required and on the form. FERC collects
information from hydropower project owners on the use and
development of recreational facilities. Commission staff uses the
data to analyze the adequacy of existing public recreational
facilities. Applications for licenses, amendments to licenses,
and/or changes in land rights frequently involve changes in
resources available for recreation. Commission staff uses the data
during the amendment review process to help determine the impact of
such changes. The Commission’s regional office staff conducts
inspections of licensed projects to evaluate compliance with
various license conditions, including those related to recreation.
The FERC Form 80 data assists the inspectors in identifying
recreational facilities at hydropower projects.
FERC is proposing to eliminate
Form 80 in the NOPR in RM18-14. If a final rule is approved
deleting the form, we will submit a request to delete the OMB
Control No..at the final rule stage. However at this point, we are
retaining placeholder figures of 1 hour and 1 response in this
request. In 1965, when use of the Form 80 was first adopted, most
licensed projects did not have individual recreation plans or
specific recreation development requirements set out in the
license. However, today many licensed projects with significant
recreation opportunities have project-specific license conditions
that require licensees to prepare and implement a recreation plan,
conduct recreation monitoring, and/or file periodic updates to an
approved recreation plan. Such project-specific license
requirements are tailored to the recreation opportunities provided
by the individual project, allowing licensees and Commission staff
to better evaluate and address public recreation needs over time.
Consequently, the information contained in the Form 80 may be
duplicative and of limited use to Commission staff when compared to
the more detailed and descriptive recreation information submitted
to the Commission in response to project-specific recreation
requirements. Licensees for projects with limited recreation
opportunities are also required to file Form 80 reports every six
years, unless exempted from this requirement. Although these
projects may not have approved recreation plans or
recreation-related monitoring requirements given the limited
recreation opportunities at such projects, the periodic submission
of Form 80 reports does not provide an effective means to determine
whether these projects are meeting public recreation needs.
Commission staff utilizes other tools to evaluate recreation
development and use at the licensed projects with minimal
recreation opportunities, such as periodic project inspections and
investigation of non-compliance allegations (e.g., any
recreation-related inquiries or complaints submitted by resource
agencies, recreation users, or local residents). Moreover,
Commission staff reports limited use of Form 80 data and cites
concerns about the data’s validity and lack of specificity.
Commission staff generally views the Form 80 as a secondary source,
using the reported data to confirm existing recreation data or to
identify additional information to be requested from the licensee.
Similarly, Commission staff experience indicates that resource
agencies and outside entities often view Form 80 data as unreliable
or insufficient to accurately document recreation use and facility
capacity. Finally, advances in technology since the advent of the
Form 80 (e.g., websites, Google Earth, and the Commission’s
eLibrary system) allow interested parties and the general public to
more effectively obtain information about a project’s recreational
opportunities and any recreation-related license requirements. For
these reasons, the Commission proposes to remove section 8.11 from
its regulations, eliminating the requirement for licensees to file
the Form 80.every 6 years.
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.
FERC-505_500_80 SuppState NOPR RM18-14.docx
16 USC 825h.pdf
Licensed Hydropower Development Recreation Report