60-day notice (Published)

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 106 / Friday, May 31, 2024 / Notices
For assistance, please contact FERC
Online Support. In lieu of electronic
filing, you may submit a paper copy.
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal
Service must be addressed to: DebbieAnne A. Reese, Acting Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First Street NE, Room 1A,
Washington, DC 20426. Submissions
sent via any other carrier must be
addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first
page of any filing should include docket
number P–2422–058.
Any questions regarding this notice
may be directed to Ryan Hansen at (202)
502–8074 or ryan.hansen@ferc.gov.
Dated: May 23, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024–11885 Filed 5–30–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. RD24–3–000]

Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–725B); Comment
Request; Extension
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of information collection
and request for comments.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is soliciting
public comment on the currently
approved information collection, FERC–
725B, Mandatory Reliability Standards,
Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)
(Update for CIP–012–1 to version CIP–
012–02) Cyber Security—
Communications between Control
Centers.
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due July 30, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit copies of
your comments (identified by Docket
No. RD24–3–000) by one of the
following methods:
Electronic filing through https://
www.ferc.gov, is preferred.
• Electronic Filing: Documents must
be filed in acceptable native
applications and print-to-PDF, not in
scanned or picture format.
• For those unable to file
electronically, comments may be filed

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SUMMARY:

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by USPS mail or by other delivery
methods:
Æ Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
Æ All other delivery services: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, MD 20852.
Instructions: All submissions must be
formatted and filed in accordance with
submission guidelines at: https://
www.ferc.gov. For user assistance,
contact FERC Online Support by email
at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by
phone at (866) 208–3676 (toll-free).
Docket: Users interested in receiving
automatic notification of activity in this
docket or in viewing/downloading
comments and issuances in this docket
may do so at https://www.ferc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean
Sonneman may be reached by email at
DataClearance@FERC.gov, telephone at
(202) 502–6362.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC–725B, Mandatory
Reliability Standards, Critical
Infrastructure Protection (CIP) (Update
to CIP–012–2).
OMB Control No.: 1902–0248.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved FERC–725B
information collection requirements
with changes to the reporting
requirements.
Abstract: On August 8, 2005, Congress
enacted the Energy Policy Act of 2005.1
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 added a
new section 215 to the Federal Power
Act (FPA),2 which requires a
Commission-certified Electric
Reliability Organization to develop
mandatory and enforceable Reliability
Standards,3 including requirements for
cybersecurity protection, which are
subject to Commission review and
approval. Once approved, the Reliability
Standards may be enforced by the
Electric Reliability Organization subject
to Commission oversight, or the
Commission can independently enforce
Reliability Standards.
1 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109–58,
sec. 1261 et seq., 119 Stat. 594 (2005).
2 16 U.S.C. 824o.
3 Section 215 of the FPA defines Reliability
Standard as a requirement, approved by the
Commission, to provide for reliable operation of
existing bulk-power system facilities, including
cybersecurity protection, and the design of planned
additions or modifications to such facilities to the
extent necessary to provide for reliable operation of
the Bulk-Power System. However, the term does not
include any requirement to enlarge such facilities
or to construct new transmission capacity or
generation capacity.

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On February 3, 2006, the Commission
issued Order No. 672,4 implementing
FPA section 215. The Commission
subsequently certified the North
American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC) as the Electric
Reliability Organization. The Reliability
Standards developed by NERC become
mandatory and enforceable after
Commission approval and apply to
users, owners, and operators of the
Bulk-Power System, as set forth in each
Reliability Standard.5 The CIP
Reliability Standards require entities to
comply with specific requirements to
safeguard bulk electric system (BES)
Cyber Systems 6 and their associated
BES Cyber Assets. These standards are
results-based and do not specify a
technology or method to achieve
compliance, instead leaving it up to the
entity to decide how best to comply.
The Commission has approved
multiple versions of the CIP Reliability
Standards submitted by NERC, partly to
address the evolving nature of cyberrelated threats to the Bulk-Power
System. High impact systems include
large control centers. Medium impact
systems include smaller control centers,
ultra-high voltage transmission, and
large substations and generating
facilities. The remainder of the BES
Cyber Systems are categorized as low
impact systems. Most requirements in
4 Rules Concerning Certification of the Elec.
Reliability Org.; and Procedures for the
Establishment, Approval, and Enf’t of Elec.
Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, 71 FR 8661
(Feb. 17, 2006), 114 FERC ¶ 61,104, order on reh’g,
Order No. 672–A, 71 FR 19814 (Apr. 28, 2006), 114
FERC ¶ 61,328 (2006).
5 NERC uses the term ‘‘registered entity’’ to
identify users, owners, and operators of the BulkPower System responsible for performing specified
reliability functions with respect to NERC
Reliability Standards. See, e.g., Version 4 Critical
Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards,
Order No. 761, 77 FR 24594 (Apr. 25, 2012), 139
FERC ¶ 61,058, at P 46, order denying clarification
and reh’g, 140 FERC ¶ 61,109 (2012). Within the
NERC Reliability Standards are various subsets of
entities responsible for performing various specified
reliability functions. We collectively refer to these
as ‘‘entities.’’
6 NERC defines BES Cyber System as ‘‘[o]ne or
more BES Cyber Assets logically grouped by a
responsible entity to perform one or more reliability
tasks for a functional entity.’’ NERC, Glossary of
Terms Used in NERC Reliability Standards, at 5
(2020), Glossary_of_Terms.pdf (nerc.com) . NERC
defines BES Cyber Asset as
A Cyber Asset that if rendered unavailable,
degraded, or misused would, within 15 minutes of
its required operation, mis-operation, or nonoperation, adversely impact one or more Facilities,
systems, or equipment, which, if destroyed,
degraded, or otherwise rendered unavailable when
needed, would affect the reliable operation of the
Bulk Electric System. Redundancy of affected
Facilities, systems, and equipment shall not be
considered when determining adverse impact. Each
BES Cyber Asset is included in one or more BES
Cyber Systems.
Id. at 4.

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47148

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 106 / Friday, May 31, 2024 / Notices

the CIP Reliability Standards apply to
high and medium impact systems;
however, a technical controls
requirement in Reliability standard CIP–
012, described below, applies to all
(low, medium and high) impact Control
Centers.
The FERC–725B information
collection requirements are subject to
review by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under section 3507(d) of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.7
OMB’s regulations require approval of
certain information collection
requirements imposed by agency rules.8
Upon approval of a collection of
information, OMB will assign an OMB
control number and expiration date.
Respondents subject to the filing
requirements will not be penalized for
failing to respond to these collections of
information unless the collections of
information display a valid OMB
control number. The Commission
solicits comments on the Commission’s
need for this information, whether the
information will have practical utility,
the accuracy of the burden estimates,
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected
or retained, and any suggested methods

for minimizing respondents’ burden,
including the use of automated
information techniques.
Reliability Standard CIP–012–2—
Communications between Control
Centers: requires entities to protect the
confidentiality, integrity, and
availability and integrity of data
transmitted between Control Centers
that could lead to mis-operation or
instability on the Bulk-Power System.
Specifically, the Reliability Standard
CIP–012–2 is revised to add
requirements for entities to provide
protections of the availability of
communication links and sensitive data
transmitted between BES Control
Centers. It is part of the implementation
of the Congressional mandate of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 to develop
mandatory and enforceable Reliability
Standards to better ensure the reliability
of the nation’s Bulk-Power System.
Type of Respondents: Business or
other for profit, and not for profit
institutions.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 9 The
Commission bases its paperwork burden
estimates on the changes in paperwork
burden presented by the proposed
revision to CIP Reliability Standard

CIP–012–2 as compared to the current
Commission-approved Reliability
Standard CIP–012–1. As discussed
above, the immediate order addresses
the area of modification to the CIP
Reliability Standards: modifications to
provide protections of the availability of
communication links and sensitive data
transmitted between BES Control
Centers.
The CIP Reliability Standards, viewed
as a whole, implement a defense-indepth approach to protecting the
security of BES Cyber Systems at all
impact levels.10 The CIP Reliability
Standards are objective-based and allow
entities to choose compliance
approaches best tailored to their
systems.11 The NERC Compliance
Registry, as of March 15, 2024, identifies
approximately 1,610 unique U.S.
entities that are subject to mandatory
compliance with CIP Reliability
Standards. Of this total, we estimate that
730 entities will face an increased
paperwork burden under proposed
Reliability Standard CIP–012–2. Based
on these assumptions, we estimate the
following reporting burdens:

FERC–725B, MODIFICATIONS IN DOCKET NO. RD24–3–000
Number of
responses 12
per
respondent

Total
number of
responses

Avg. burden hrs.
& cost per
response 13

Total annual
burden hours &
total annual cost

(1)

(2)

(1) × (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) × (4) = 5

730

1

730

42 hrs.; $4,493.16 ......

30,660 hrs.; $3,280,006.80.

730

1

730

20 hrs.; $2,139.60 ......

14,600 hrs.; $1,561,908.

730

1

730

60 hrs.; $6,418.80 ......

43,800 hrs.; $4,685,724.

730

1

730

100 hrs.; $10,698 .......

73,000 hrs.; $7,809,540.

730

1

730

50 hrs.; $5,349 ...........

36,500 hrs.; $3,904,770.

730

1

730

50 hrs.; $5,349 ...........

36,500 hrs.; $3,904,770.

730

1

730

1 hr.; $106.98 .............

730 hrs.; $78,095.40.

Total (one-time, in Year 1) .........................................

....................

..........................

4,380

.....................................

Total (ongoing, starting in Year 2) ..............................

....................

..........................

730

.....................................

235,060 hrs.;
$25,146,718.80.
730 hrs.; $78,095.40.

Implementation of Documented Plan(s) (Requirement
R1) 14.
Document Identification of methods to mitigate the risk(s)
posed by unauthorized disclosure and unauthorized
modification (Requirement R1.1) 14.
Document Identification of methods to mitigate the risk(s)
posed by loss of the ability to communicate (Requirement R1.2) 14.
Document Identification of methods to use to initiate the
recovery of communication links (Requirement R1.3) 14.
Document Identification of where the implemented method(s) as required in Parts 1.1 and 1.2 (Requirement
R1.4) 12.
Document identification of the responsibilities of each
Responsible Entity (if not owned by same Responsible
Entity) required in Parts 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 (Requirement
R1.5) 14.
Maintaining Compliance (ongoing, starting in Year 2) ......

7 44

U.S.C. 3507(d) (2012).
CFR 1320.11 (2017).
9 ‘‘Burden’’ is the total time, effort, or financial
resources expended by persons to generate,
maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information
to or for a Federal agency. For further explanation
of what is included in the information collection
burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3.
10 Order No. 822, 154 FERC ¶ 61,037 at 32.
11 Mandatory Reliability Standards for Critical
Infrastructure Protection, Order No. 706, 73 FR
7368 (Feb. 7, 2008), 122 FERC ¶ 61,040, at P 72
(2008); order on reh’g, Order No. 706–A, 123 FERC
85

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Number of
respondents

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¶ 61,174 (2008); order on clarification, Order No.
706–B, 126 FERC ¶ 61,229 (2009).
12 We consider the filing of an application to be
a ‘‘response.’’
13 The hourly cost for wages plus benefits is based
on the average of the occupational categories for
2024 found on the Bureau of Labor Statistics
website (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_
22.htm):
Information Security Analysts (Occupation Code:
15–1212): $80.62.
Computer and Mathematical (Occupation Code:
15–0000): $74.16.

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Legal (Occupation Code: 23–0000): $160.24.
Computer and Information Systems Managers
(Occupation Code: 11–3021): $112.88.
These various occupational categories’ wage
figures are averaged as follows: $80.62/hour +
$74.16/hour + $160.24/hour + $112.88/hour) ÷ 4 =
$106.975/hour ($106.98 rounded). The resulting
wage figure is rounded to $106.98/hour for use in
calculating wage figures in the Final Rule in Docket
No. RD24–3–000.
14 This includes the record retention costs for the
one-time and the on-going reporting documents.

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 106 / Friday, May 31, 2024 / Notices
1. The one-time burden (in Year 1) for
the FERC–725B information collection
will be averaged over three years:
• 235,060 hours ÷ 3 = 78,353 (rounded)
hours/year over Years 1–3
• The number of one-time responses for
the FERC–725B information
collection is also averaged over
Years 1–3: 4,380 responses ÷ 3 =
1,460 responses/year
2. The average annual number (for
Years 1–3) of responses and burden for
one-time and ongoing burden will total:
• 2,190 responses [1,460 responses
(one-time) + 730 responses
(ongoing)]
• 79,083 burden hours [78,353 hours
(one-time) + 730 hours (ongoing)]
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(1) whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden and cost of the collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility
and clarity of the information collection;
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Dated: May 23, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024–11882 Filed 5–30–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Project No. 2629–029]

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Village of Morrisville, Vermont; Notice
of Application for Amendment of
License Accepted for Filing, Soliciting
Comments, Motions To Intervene, and
Protests
Take notice that the following
hydroelectric application has been filed
with the Commission and is available
for public inspection:
a. Application Type: Administrative
Amendment of License.
b. Project No: 2629–029.
c. Date Filed: February 15, 2022, and
supplemented on July 11, 2023.
d. Applicant: Village of Morrisville,
Vermont (licensee).
e. Name of Project: Morrisville
Hydroelectric Project.

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f. Location: The project is located on
the Green River, Elmore Pond Brook,
and Lamoille River, in Lamoille County,
Vermont. The project does not occupy
any federal lands.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power
Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a–825r.
h. Applicant Contact: Penny Jones,
Manager, Village of Morrisville, Water
and Light Department, 857 Elmore
Street, Morrisville, VT 05661; pjones@
mwlvt.com; (802) 888–3348.
i. FERC Contact: Marybeth Gay, (202)
502–6125, Marybeth.gay@ferc.gov.
j. Deadline for filing comments,
motions to intervene, and protests: June
24, 2024.
The Commission strongly encourages
electronic filing. Please file comments,
motions to intervene, and protests using
the Commission’s eFiling system at
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
efiling.asp. Commenters can submit
brief comments up to 6,000 characters,
without prior registration, using the
eComment system at http://
www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
ecomment.asp. For assistance, please
contact FERC Online Support at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866)
208–3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659
(TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you
may submit a paper copy. Submissions
sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be
addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Submissions sent via any other carrier
must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A.
Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins
Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
The first page of any filing should
include the docket number P–2629–029.
Comments emailed to Commission staff
are not considered part of the
Commission record.
The Commission’s Rules of Practice
and Procedure require all intervenors
filing documents with the Commission
to serve a copy of that document on
each person whose name appears on the
official service list for the project.
Further, if an intervenor files comments
or documents with the Commission
relating to the merits of an issue that
may affect the responsibilities of a
particular resource agency, they must
also serve a copy of the document on
that resource agency.
k. Description of Request: As
currently licensed, the Morrisville
Hydroelectric Project No. 2629
(Morrisville Project) consists of four
developments: Cadys Falls, Morrisville,
Lake Elmore, and Green River. On April
25, 2013, the Village of Morrisville,
Vermont (Village) filed an application

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for a new license to continue to operate
and maintain the Morrisville Project. In
the license application, the Village
proposes to continue operating the
Morrisville, Cadys Falls, and Green
River Developments. The Village
proposed to remove the Lake Elmore
Development from the project,
permanently set the spillway opening at
elevation 1,139 feet mean sea level
(msl), and discontinue the annual fall
drawdown at the development.
Commission staff issued a final
environmental assessment for the
project’s relicensing on December 16,
2014.
On August 9, 2016, the Vermont
Agency of Natural Resources issued a
water quality certificate (WQC) for the
project’s relicensing. Among other
conditions, the WQC would restrict
drawdowns of the Green River
Development’s reservoir to 1.5 feet from
December 16 through March 31. By
letter dated September 13, 2016,
Commission staff requested that the
Village conduct two studies for the
Green River Development dam, a
hydraulic and hydrology analysis and a
stability analysis, to determine the
effects of the 1.5-foot winter drawdown
limit on the stability of the Green River
Development’s dam and the ability of
the Green River Development to
accommodate flood flows. The Village
has not completed these studies, and the
relicense application is still pending.
The Village filed an amendment to the
current project license on February 15,
2022, as supplemented on July 11, 2023.
The Village states that, in order to
remove the Morrisville and Cadys Falls
Developments from the uncertainty
surrounding the Green River
Development, it proposes to
administratively amend the current
license to split the project’s four
developments into two separately
licensed projects. As proposed in this
amendment application, the Green River
and Lake Elmore Developments would
remain licensed under docket number
P–2629, while the Cadys Falls and
Morrisville developments would be
licensed separately under a new project
number.
The Village states that its proposed
amendment is administrative in nature
and will not result in changes to the
four developments’ operations, ground
disturbance, or environmental effects.
On March 12, 2024, the Village notified
the Commission that it intends to
submit an application to surrender the
Green River Development after the
Commission issues its decision on the
proposed amendment application.
l. Locations of the Application: This
filing may be viewed on the

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