Department of Energy March 29, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Western Area Power Administration (Western), an agency of the DOE, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Palm SpringsSouth Coast Field Office, together with the California Energy Commission (CEC), intend to prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/ Staff Assessment (SA), which may include an amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan (1980, as amended) and by this notice are announcing the beginning of the scoping process to inform the public and interested parties and to solicit public comments and identify issues concerning the scope, proposed actions, and

This notice announces the availability of the ROD to implement the proposed action identified in BPA's Chief Joseph Hatchery Program Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0384, November 2009). BPA has decided to fund the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Chief Joseph Hatchery and associated facilities in Okanogan County, Washington and adopt the mitigation measures in the Mitigation Action Plan. All practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental harm are adopted. The hatchery program will produce juvenile Chinook salmon and will help mitigate for the effects of the Federal Columbia River Power System on fish and wildlife by enhancing Chinook populations below Chief Joseph Dam in the Okanogan River subbasin and upper middle Columbia River subbasin, and by complementing other on-going salmon protection and mitigation measures. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the operator of the Chief Joseph Dam, is a Federal cooperating agency under NEPA; the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are the project sponsors and will own and operate the Chinook salmon production program and hatchery facilities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the State of Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife were consulted during the development of the EIS. BPA is issuing this ROD for its actions only; the USACE will issue its own separate ROD.

Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a proposed emergency collection of information that DOE is developing to collect data on the status of activities, project progress, jobs created and retained, spend rates and performance metrics under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In compliance with the requirements of section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) has submitted the information collections described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review of the information collection requirements. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should

Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act, the Commission proposes to remand the proposed revised Time Error Correction Reliability Standard developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) in order for NERC to develop several modifications to the proposed Reliability Standard. The proposed action ensures that any modifications to Reliability Standards will be just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest.