FERC Proposes Changes to Public Access Policies - March 4, 2002 Vol. 3 No. 5

March 4, 2002 Vol. 3 No. 5:

Published: 03/04/2002

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FERC Proposes Changes to Public Access Policies

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seeks public input on “changes that should be made to its regulations to restrict unfettered general public access to critical energy infrastructure information, but still permit those with a need for the information to obtain it in an efficient manner.” The request for public input was published Jan. 16, 2002 by FERC and appeared in the Jan. 23, 2002 Federal Register. Read the press release on FERC's site.

A month after the September 11 terrorist attacks, FERC issued a policy statement removing significant amounts of information from its web site. The policy statement instructed the public to use the Freedom of Information Act for future access. The current “notice of inquiry” is intended to help FERC determine what changes should be made to the October policy statement.

The FERC Notice also instructs companies making filings with the agency on how information that contains critical energy infrastructure information can be treated confidentially until the final decision on the Notice is published.

Public comments are being accepted until March 11, 2002. In a most unusual manner, FERC notes that it has a non-public index that may be helpful to commenters. To view the index, called Overview of Previously Public Documents and Candidates for Critical Energy Infrastructure Information, the public must sign a non-disclosure agreement.