Department of Energy September 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Due to the extraordinary circumstances created by Hurricane Katrina in the region where the proposed action and public scoping meetings will take place, DOE has extended the public scoping period and revised the dates and locations of the public scoping meetings originally announced in the Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (70 FR 52088; September 1, 2005).

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EMSSAB), Paducah. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

The Deputy Secretary of Energy confirmed and approved Rate Order No. WAPA-122 and Rate Schedules UGP-FPT1, UGP-NFPT1, UGP-NT1, UGP-AS1, UGP-AS2, UGP-AS3, UGP-AS4, UGP-AS5, and UGP-AS6 placing the Integrated System (IS) Transmission and Ancillary Services rate into effect on an interim basis. The provisional rates will be in effect until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) confirms, approves, and places them into effect on a final basis or until they are replaced by other rates. The provisional rates will provide sufficient revenue to pay all annual costs, including interest expense, and repayment of required investment, within the allowable periods.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is revising its regulations regarding filings. The regulations are revised to clarify that any issues that the movant wishes the Commission to address must be specifically identified in a section entitled ``Statement of Issues.'' This change will benefit the Commission by clarifying issues raised, and benefit movants by ensuring issues are addressed promptly and preserved for appeal.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is amending its regulations to clarify the time frame within which individuals must file applications for authorization to hold interlocking positions, and the information provided in certain informational reports required for automatic authorization of certain interlocking positions.

Pursuant to Title XII, Subtitle F of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to issue rules implementing the repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, and the enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, EPAct 2005. The Commission also proposes to remove its exempt wholesale generator rules, 18 CFR part 365 (2005), as they are no longer necessary. The Commission seeks public comment on the rules proposed herein.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its decision to implement the preferred alternatives identified in the Remediation of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah, Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0355) (Final EIS). By implementing the preferred alternatives, DOE will remove the uranium mill tailings and other contaminated material from the Moab milling site and nearby off-site properties (vicinity properties) and relocate them at the Crescent Junction site, using predominantly rail transportation. DOE will also implement active ground water remediation at the Moab milling site. In reaching this decision, DOE considered the potential environmental impacts, costs, and other implications of both on-site and off-site disposal. For off-site disposal, DOE considered three alternative sites in Utah (Crescent Junction, Klondike Flats, and the White Mesa Mill) and three transportation modes (truck, rail, and slurry pipeline). DOE identified off-site disposal as its preferred alternative for the disposal of mill tailings, primarily because of the uncertainties related to long-term performance of a capped pile at the Moab site. Issues, such as the potential for river migration and severe flooding contribute to this uncertainty. The Crescent Junction site was identified as the preferred off-site disposal location, rather than Klondike Flats or White Mesa Mill, because Crescent Junction has the longest isolation period (time it would take for contaminants to reach the ground water); the lowest land-use conflict potential; access to existing rail lines without crossing U.S. Highway 191; the shortest haul distance from the rail rotary dump into the disposal cell, reducing the size of the radiological control area; and flat terrain, making operations easier and safer. DOE identified rail as the preferred mode of transportation, because compared to truck transportation, rail has a lower accident rate, lower potential impacts to wildlife, and lower fuel consumption. In addition, compared to a slurry pipeline, rail transportation would have a much lower water demand and would avoid landscape scars caused by pipeline construction, which could create moderate contrasts in form, line, color, and texture with the surrounding landscape. This Record of Decision (ROD) has been prepared in accordance with the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1500-1508) for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and DOE's NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021). The Final EIS also includes a Floodplain and Wetlands Assessment and a Floodplain Statement of Findings in compliance with DOE's Floodplain and Wetland Environmental Review requirements (10 CFR Part 1022).