Rural Utilities Service 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on the following information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), proposes to modify its existing regulations and establish a separate regulation for making grants to rural or Native Alaskan Villages under the Rural Alaska Village Grant (RAVG) Program. The existing RAVG regulation (7 CFR 1780.49) will be relocated to its own section and modified to conform with streamlined processes established through a Memorandum of Understanding among USDA, RUS; The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service (IHS); The State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC); and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). The grants will be provided directly to a rural or Native Alaskan Village or jointly with either DEC or ANTHC for the development and construction of water and wastewater systems to improve the health and sanitation conditions in those Villages through removal of dire sanitation conditions.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) administers rural utilities programs, including the Telecommunications Program. RUS announces the depreciation rates for telecommunications plant for the period ending December 31, 2012.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or Agency) is publishing policies and procedures for loan and guarantee financial assistance in support of energy efficiency programs (EE Programs) sponsored and implemented by electric utilities for the benefit of rural persons in their service territory. This final rule amends RUS regulations on General and Pre-Loan Policies and Procedures Common to Electric Loans and Guarantees, which were codified on December 20, 1993. The final rule also includes conforming amendments to additional RUS regulations. Under Section 2 of the Rural Electrification Act (RE Act), RUS is authorized to assist electric borrowers in implementing Demand side management, energy efficiency and conservation programs, and on-grid and off-grid renewable energy systems. The scope of this regulation falls within the authority of the Act.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement (SFEIS) related to RUS's consideration of potential agency actions that would facilitate a proposal from Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. (GVEA) for the restart and commercial operation of Healy Unit 2, a power generation facility at the Healy Power Plant (Healy Plant) in Healy, Alaska. The SFEIS was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and RUS's Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1794). The SFEIS updated a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 1993.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), intends to prepare a supplemental draft environmental impact statement (SDEIS) for Basin Electric Power Cooperative's (Basin Electric) proposed Antelope Valley Station (AVS) to Neset 345-kV Transmission Project (Project) in North Dakota. RUS is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to inform the public and interested parties about a change in the proposed Project and invite the public to comment on the scope, proposed action, and other issues to be addressed in the SDEIS. RUS made the decision to prepare an SDEIS for the AVS Project to evaluate significant project changes. These changes are due to an increase in the electric load forecast for western North Dakota which is changing the scope of the project. To accommodate this change, the SDEIS will evaluate a new alternative for the transmission line. The SDEIS will address the construction, operation, and maintenance of Basin Electric's proposed Project. The Project includes construction, operation and maintenance of approximately 275 miles of new 345-kV single pole transmission line (approximately 85 miles more than the project identified in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)), 230-kV single pole transmission line and double circuit 345/115-kV transmission lines, 5 new substations, modifications to 4 existing substations, maintenance access roads, temporary construction roads, river crossings, temporary construction staging sites, and other facilities to be described in the SDEIS. Basin Electric's proposed Project would be located in portions of Dunn, McKenzie, Mercer, Mountrail, and Williams counties in western North Dakota. Portions of Basin Electric's proposed Project may affect floodplains and wetlands. This NOI also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action. RUS will hold public hearing meetings to share information and receive comments on the SDEIS.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of up to $7.766 million in fiscal year 2013 (FY13) for competitive grants to assist communities with extremely high energy costs and, up to $1 million in FY13 for competitive grants to state entities to establish and support a revolving fund to provide a more cost-effective means of purchasing fuel where the fuel cannot be shipped by means of surface transportation. The grant funds to assist communities with extremely high energy costs may be used to acquire, construct, extend, upgrade, or otherwise improve energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities serving communities in which the average residential expenditure for home energy exceeds 275 percent of the national average. The grant funds to establish and support a revolving fund must be used to facilitate cost effective fuel purchases for persons, communities, and businesses in eligible areas. This notice describes the eligibility and application requirements, the criteria that will be used by RUS to award funding, and information on how to obtain application materials.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announces the availability of $917,221 in grant funds to be competitively awarded for the Household Water Well System (HWWS) Grant Program for fiscal year 2013 (FY 2013). RUS will make grants to qualified private non-profit organizations to establish lending programs for homeowners to borrow up to $11,000 to construct or repair household water wells for an existing home. The HWWS Grant Program is authorized under 7 USC 1926e. Regulations may be found at 7 CFR part 1776. Of particular note this year, the RUS, in an effort to address the extreme drought conditions in rural areas, will assign administrative discretion points to applications proposing to serve areas with severe, extreme or exceptional drought, as reported by the U.S. Drought Monitor located at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service (RUS), has issued a Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement (SFEIS) for the restart of Healy Power Plant's Unit 2 in Healy, Alaska. The (SFEIS) supplements a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), completed by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 1993 to evaluate potential impacts to the human environment from DOE's proposal to partially fund construction of Unit 2 of the Healy Power Plant to demonstrate emissions control technologies. In 1994, the DOE published a Record of Decision (ROD) for their FEIS in the Federal Register, Volume 59, Issue 54 (March 21, 1994). In 1997, Healy Unit 2 was constructed as a major modification to the existing Healy Power Plant's Unit 1, using funding from DOE and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA). Healy Unit 1 is a 25 megawatt (MW) coal-fired boiler that has been owned and operated by Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA) since 1967. Healy Unit 2 is a 50 MW coal-fired steam generator owned by AIDEA, which underwent test operation for two years as part of DOE's project. Unit 2 has been in warm layup since late 1999. The SFEIS updates information in DOE's FEIS and considers impacts of restarting Unit 2 for commercial operation. The SFEIS is available for a 30-day public review and comment period. Subsequent to the comment period RUS may issue a ROD.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or Agency) is proposing policies and procedures for determining rural eligibility for all loans and loan guarantee financial assistance. In addition, policies and procedures are proposed for determining the percentage of total project costs the Agency will finance where the project supplies electricity to an electric utility serving an area that is less than 100 percent rural. By codifying these policies and procedures the agency will provide needed flexibility in the methods utilized to determine eligibility and percentage of financing.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), hereinafter referred to as RUS or the Agency, amends its regulations for the Community-Oriented Connectivity Broadband Grant Program (Community Connect Grant Program). The purpose of this regulatory change is to provide the Agency the ability to target limited resources to geographical as well as technological areas of need. This rule is not applicable to Community Connect grant applications filed for funding prior to the publication of a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) under this regulation.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA), invites comments on this information collection for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Rural Development, a mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proposing grant and guaranteed loan programs for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement projects as provided in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The proposed rule will revise the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) found in 7 CFR part 4280, subpart B.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development administers rural utilities programs through the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). The USDA Rural Development invites comments on the following information collections for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).