Department of Energy January 16, 2009 – 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 the availability of the final ``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. The MARSAME manual is a multi-agency consensus document. The agencies previously have sought 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 was received. The agencies reviewed public comments received on the draft MARSAME as well as comments from a concurrent, independent, technical peer review. Suggested changes were incorporated, where appropriate, in response to those comments.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Portsmouth. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

The Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is making available its National Transportation Plan, Revision 0 (DOE/RW-0603, January 2009) for public review and comment. The National Transportation Plan outlines OCRWM's current strategy and planning for developing and implementing the transportation system that will be required to transport spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from where the material is generated or stored to the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. OCRWM does not expect actual shipments to begin before 2020, but has started the transportation planning process well in advance to ensure the concerns and input of State, Tribal and local officials, as well as other involved and interested parties, are taken into account. OCRWM's National Transportation Plan will be updated as appropriate to accommodate changes to the waste management system, reflect progress in the development and implementation of the transportation system, and incorporate stakeholder and public comments. OCRWM also anticipates that detailed implementation plans will be developed in collaboration with the stakeholder community.

The Acting Deputy Secretary of Energy confirmed and approved Rate Order No. WAPA-140 and Rate Schedules P-SED-F10 and P-SED-FP10, placing firm power and firm peaking power rates from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin ProgramEastern Division (P-SMBPED) of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) into effect on an interim basis. The provisional rates will be in effect until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 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 power investment and irrigation aid within the allowable periods.