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

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Draft Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0423D, ``Draft Mercury Storage EIS'' or ``Draft EIS'') for public review and comment during a public comment period that extends through March 30, 2010. This Draft EIS has been prepared in accordance with the implementing regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and evaluates the potential health and environmental effects of storing a projected total of up to 10,000 metric tons (11,000 tons) of elemental mercury. Seven alternative sites across the U.S. are evaluated. DOE invites the public

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226) (referred to as the Final Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship EIS or ``Final EIS'').

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) seeks comments on whether the Commission's Electric Quarterly Report (EQR) filing requirements should be applied to market participants that are excluded from the Commission's jurisdiction under section 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA). This Notice of Inquiry will assist the Commission in determining what changes, if any, should be made to its regulations under the electric market transparency provisions of section 220 of the FPA, as adopted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).

This notice announces receipt of and publishes the Electrolux Home Products, Inc. (Electrolux) petition for waiver (hereafter, ``Petition'') from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of electric refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers. The waiver request pertains to Electrolux's product lines that utilize a control logic that changes the wattage of the anti-sweat heaters based upon the ambient relative humidity conditions to prevent condensation. The existing test procedure does not take humidity or adaptive control technology into account. Therefore, Electrolux has suggested an alternate test procedure that takes adaptive control technology into account when measuring energy consumption. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning Electrolux's Petition and the suggested alternate test procedure. DOE also publishes notice of the grant of an interim waiver to Electrolux.

This notice has been 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 United States of America and the Government of Canada Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy between the United States and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).

This document contains a technical correction to the final rule regarding the certification, compliance and enforcement regulations that was published on January 5, 2010. In that final rule, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) adopted regulations to implement reporting requirements for energy conservation standards and energy

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to amend its regulations pursuant to sections 203 and 205 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) to grant blanket authorization to acquire securities under section 203 and amend the definitions of ``affiliate'' in Subpart H and Subpart I of Part 35 of the Commission's regulations. The Commission seeks public comment on the rules and amended regulations proposed herein.

EIA is seeking general comments on matters described below in support of the Energy and Financial Markets Initiative announced on September 9, 2009.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing, pursuant to section 206 of the Federal Power Act, to amend its regulations to reform credit practices in organized wholesale electric markets to ensure that credit practices result in jurisdictional rates that are just and reasonable. The Commission seeks public comment on the proposed regulations.

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.