Department of Energy January 26, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted an information collection request to the OMB for extension under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection requests a three-year extension of its Human Reliability Program (HRP), OMB Control Number 1910-5122. This information collection consists of forms that will certify to DOE that respondents were advised of the requirements for occupying or continuing to occupy an HRP position. The HRP is a security and safety reliability program for individuals who apply for or occupy certain positions that are critical to the national security. It requires an initial and annual supervisory review, medical assessment, management evaluation, and a DOE personnel security review of all applicants or incumbents. It is also used to ensure that employees assigned to nuclear explosive duties do not have emotional, mental, or physical conditions that could result in an accidental or unauthorized detonation of nuclear explosives.

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) funds a diverse portfolio of research, development, demonstration and deployment programs and has used a variety of peer review approaches to select the best projects to perform this work. To ensure that EERE continues to fund a robust portfolio, an information exchange will be held on recent studies of federal review processes and processes different federal and non-federal organizations have chosen to select research and development projects, and on ``best practices'' for reviewing and selecting project proposals. The workshop will explore classic peer review processes such as those at NSF, NIH, and the DOE Office of Science for advanced research projects, as well as approaches like those of DARPA or NIST for projects focused on development and demonstration projects having significant industry cost share. To attend the meeting, please e-mail JoAnn.Milliken@ee.doe.gov. Please identify your affiliation and state whether or not you plan to provide comments during the public comment period.