[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44068-44069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15733]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. AD20-3-000]
Billing Procedures for Annual Charges for the Costs of Other
Federal Agencies for Administering Part I of the Federal Power Act;
Notice Reporting Costs for Other Federal Agencies' Administrative
Annual Charges for Fiscal Year 2019
1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
required to determine the reasonableness of costs incurred by other
Federal agencies (OFAs) \1\ in connection with their participation in
the Commission's proceedings under the Federal Power Act (FPA) Part I
\2\ when those agencies seek to include such costs in the
administrative charges licensees must pay to reimburse the United
States for the cost of administering Part I.\3\ The Commission's Order
on Remand and Acting on Appeals of Annual Charge Bills \4\ determined
which costs are eligible to be included in the administrative annual
charges. This order also established a process whereby the Commission
would annually request each OFA to submit cost data, using a form \5\
specifically designed for this purpose. In addition, the order
established requirements for detailed cost accounting reports and other
documented analyses to explain the cost assumptions contained in the
OFAs' submissions.
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\1\ The OFAs include: The U.S. Department of the Interior
(Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of
Reclamation, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Office of the Solicitor, Office of Environmental Policy &
Compliance, Office of Hearings and Appeals, and Office of Policy
Analysis); the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service);
the U.S. Department of Commerce (National Marine Fisheries Service);
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
\2\ 16 U.S.C. 791a-823d (2018).
\3\ See id. 803(e)(1) and 42 U.S.C. 7178 (2018).
\4\ 107 FERC 61,277, order on reh'g, 109 FERC 61,040 (2004).
\5\ Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form, available at
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/forms.asp#ofa.
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2. The Commission has completed its review of the forms and
supporting documentation submitted by the U.S. Department of the
Interior (Interior), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Agriculture),
and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) for fiscal year (FY)
2019. This notice reports the costs the Commission included in its
administrative annual charges for FY 2020.
Scope of Eligible Costs
3. The basis for eligible costs that should be included in the
OFAs' administrative annual charges is prescribed by the Office of
Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-25--User Charges and the
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board's Statement of Federal
Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) Number 4--Managerial Cost
Accounting Concepts and Standards for the Federal Government. Circular
A-25 establishes Federal policy regarding fees assessed for government
services and provides specific information on the scope and type of
activities subject to user charges. SFFAS Number 4 provides a
conceptual framework for federal agencies to determine the full costs
of government goods and services.
4. Circular A-25 provides for user charges to be assessed against
recipients of special benefits derived from federal activities beyond
those received by the general public.\6\ With regard to licensees, the
special benefit derived from federal activities is the license to
operate a hydropower project. The guidance provides for the assessment
of sufficient user charges to recover the full costs of services
associated with these special benefits.\7\ SFFAS Number 4 defines full
costs as the costs of resources consumed by a specific governmental
unit that contribute directly or indirectly to a provided service.\8\
Thus, pursuant to OMB requirements and authoritative accounting
guidance, the Commission must base its OFA administrative annual charge
on all direct and indirect costs incurred by agencies in administering
Part I of the FPA. The special form the Commission designed for this
purpose, the Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form, captures the
full range of costs recoverable under the FPA and the referenced
accounting guidance.\9\
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\6\ OMB Circular A-25 6.
\7\ OMB Circular A-25 6.a.2.
\8\ SFFAS Number 4 7.
\9\ For the past few years, the form has excluded Other Direct
Costs to avoid the possibility of confusion that occurred in earlier
years as to whether costs were being entered twice as Other Direct
Costs and Overhead.
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Commission Review of OFA Cost Submittals
5. The Commission received cost forms and other supporting
documentation from the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and
Commerce. The Commission completed a review of each OFA's cost
submission forms and supporting reports. In its examination of the
OFAs' cost data, the
[[Page 44069]]
Commission considered each agency's ability to demonstrate a system or
process which effectively captured, isolated, and reported FPA Part I
costs as required by the Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form.
6. The Commission held a Technical Conference on March 26, 2020 to
report its initial findings to licensees and OFAs. Representatives for
several licensees and most of the OFAs attended the conference.
Following the technical conference, a transcript was posted, and
licensees had the opportunity to submit comments to the Commission
regarding its initial review.
7. Idaho Falls Group (Idaho Falls) filed written comments,\10\
stating its general support of the Commission's analysis but raising a
question regarding U.S. Department of Commerce's National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) individual cost submission. The issue is
addressed in the Appendix to this notice.
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\10\ See Letter from Sharon L. White, Van Ness Feldman, to the
Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, FERC, Docket No. AD20-3-000 (filed May
8, 2020).
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8. After additional review, full consideration of the comments
presented, and in accordance with the previously cited guidance, the
Commission accepted as reasonable any costs reported via the cost
submission forms that were clearly documented in the OFAs' accompanying
reports and/or analyses. These documented costs will be included in the
administrative annual charges for FY 2020.
Summary of Reported & Accepted Costs for Fiscal Year 2019
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN21JY20.002
9. Figure 1 summarizes the total reported costs incurred by
Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce with respect to their participation
in administering Part I of the FPA. Additionally, Figure 1 summarizes
the reported costs that the Commission determined were clearly
documented and accepted for inclusion in its FY 2020 administrative
annual charges.
Summary Findings of Commission's Costs Review
10. As presented in Figure 1, the Commission has determined that
$6,121,081 of the $6,180,128 in total reported costs were reasonable
and clearly documented in the OFAs' accompanying reports and/or
analyses. Based on this finding, 1% of the total reported cost was
determined to be unreasonable. The Commission notes the most
significant issue with the documentation provided by the OFAs was the
lack of supporting documentation to substantiate costs reported on the
Other Federal Agency Cost Submission Form.
11. The cost reports that the Commission determined were clearly
documented and supported could be traced to detailed cost-accounting
reports, which reconciled to data provided from agency financial
systems or other pertinent source documentation. A further breakdown of
these costs is included in the Appendix to this notice, along with an
explanation of how the Commission determined their reasonableness.
Points of Contact
12. If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact
Raven Rodriguez at (202) 502-6276.
Dated: July 15, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-15733 Filed 7-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P