Department of Energy January 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are announcing for public comment the availability of a draft document, entitled the ``Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment Manual'' (MARSAME). MARSAME provides information on planning, conducting, evaluating, and documenting radiological surveys for demonstrating compliance with measurable action levels. MARSAME, when finalized, will be a multi- agency consensus document. The agencies are seeking public comment in order to receive feedback from the widest range of interested parties and to ensure that all information relevant to developing the document is received. The agencies will review public comments received on the draft MARSAME as well as comments from a concurrent, independent, scientific peer review. Suggested changes will be incorporated, where appropriate, in response to those comments.

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Commission by its designee, the Executive Director, is updating its schedule of fees for the use of government lands. The yearly update is based on the most recent schedule of fees for the use of linear rights- of-way prepared by the United States Forest Service. Since the next fiscal year will cover the period from October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007 the fees in this notice will become effective October 1, 2006. The fees will apply to fiscal year 2007 annual charges for the use of government lands. The Commission has concluded, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB that this rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined in section 251 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C 804(2).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has received two petitions requesting changes in, or clarifications of, the Commission's regulations relating to the release of capacity on interstate natural gas pipelines. The Commission is requesting comments on the current operation of the Commission's capacity release program and whether changes in any of its capacity release policies would improve the efficiency of the natural gas market.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Hanford. 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 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to amend its accounting and reporting regulations, in Parts 101 and 141, to require public utilities and licensees to continue to follow the Commission's Uniform System of Accounts (USofA) and to file annual and quarterly financial reports when they have ceased making jurisdictional sales of electric energy, or providing jurisdictional transmission service, but continue collecting amounts pursuant to a Commission-accepted tariff or rate schedule, or a Commission order. The proposed rulemaking is intended to close a gap in the Commission's regulations which apply now only to operating public utilities and licensees. Under the existing regulations, the Commission cannot oversee, monitor, or audit costs that provide information necessary to the Commission's oversight responsibilities and the protection of the public interest. The Commission also is seeking comments regarding the applicability of Part 125, Preservation of Records of Public Utilities and Licensees, to public utilities or licensees which have ceased operations, as described above, but continue to collect amounts pursuant to a Commission-approved tariff or rate schedule, or a Commission order. This notice of proposed rulemaking reasonably interprets the current language of Part 125 to require the continued application of Part 125 to nonoperating public utilities and licensees, but seeks comments as to whether revisions to Part 125 may be necessary.