Department of Energy April 4, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice is being issued under the authority of Section 131 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2160). The Department is providing notice of a proposed ``subsequent arrangement'' under the Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Republic of Korea Concerning Civil Uses of Atomic Energy, signed November 24, 1972, as amended. This subsequent arrangement concerns the renewal of the 2002 Joint Determination by the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea pursuant to Article VIII(C) of that Agreement. This arrangement reaffirms that the provisions of Article XI of the Joint Determination may be effectively applied for the alteration in form or content of U.S.-origin nuclear material contained in irradiated nuclear fuels from pressurized water reactors, CANDU reactors, a research reactor at the Post Irradiation Examination Facility (PIEF), the Irradiated Material Examination Facility (IMEF), the DUPIC Fuel Fabrications Facility (DFDF), and identified analytical laboratories at the Headquarters of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, in accordance with the plan contained in KAERI/AR-765/2007, dated January 30, 2007, and KAERI/AR-766/2007, dated January 31, 2007. Any activities additional to the plan or changes in the equipment in the PIEF, IMEF, or the DFDF will be reviewed by both parties to ensure the general consistency with the scope and objectives of the Joint Determination. Reference is made to the Joint Determination signed by the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea on March 29, 1996, on April 8, 1999, and on January 29, 2002, covering similar activities at the PIEF, the IMEF, and the DFDF. These facilities are found acceptable to both parties pursuant to Article VIII(C) of the Agreement for the sole purpose of alteration in form or content of irradiated fuel elements for post- irradiation examination and for research, development and manufacture of DUPIC fuel powders, pellets and elements for the period ending March 31, 2012. In accordance with Section 131 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, we have determined that this subsequent arrangement will not be inimical to the common defense and security. This subsequent arrangement will take effect no sooner than 15 days after the date of publication of this notice.

Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern) proposes to revise existing schedules of rates and charges applicable to the sale of power from the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina System of Projects effective for a 5-year period, October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2012. Additionally, opportunities will be available for interested persons to review the present rates, the proposed rates and supporting studies, to participate in a forum and to submit written comments. Southeastern will evaluate all comments received in this process.

Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Commission approves 83 of 107 proposed Reliability Standards, six of the eight proposed regional differences, and the Glossary of Terms Used in Reliability Standards developed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which the Commission has certified as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) responsible for developing and enforcing mandatory Reliability Standards. Those Reliability Standards meet the requirements of section 215 of the FPA and Part 39 of the Commission's regulations. However, although we believe it is in the public interest to make these Reliability Standards mandatory and enforceable, we also find that much work remains to be done. Specifically, we believe that many of these Reliability Standards require significant improvement to address, among other things, the recommendations of the Blackout Report. Therefore, pursuant to section 215(d)(5), we require the ERO to submit significant improvements to 56 of the 83 Reliability Standards that are being approved as mandatory and enforceable. The remaining 24 Reliability Standards will remain pending at the Commission until further information is provided. The Final Rule adds a new part to the Commission's regulations, which states that this part applies to all users, owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System within the United States (other than Alaska or Hawaii) and requires that each Reliability Standard identify the subset of users, owners and operators to which that particular Reliability Standard applies. The new regulations also require that each Reliability Standard that is approved by the Commission will be maintained on the ERO's Internet Web site for public inspection.