Department of Energy July 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a proposed collection of information that DOE is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

This notice announces a meeting of the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC). Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92- 463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of these meetings be announced in the Federal Register.

The Department of Energy (DOE), pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), intends to extend for three years, an information collection request with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the extended collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

This notice publishes the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Decision and Order in Case No. CAC-030, which grants Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. (Mitsubishi) a waiver from the existing DOE test procedures applicable to commercial package air- source and water-source central air conditioners and heat pumps. The waiver is specific to indoor units of the Mitsubishi variable capacity CITY MULTI WR2 and WY Series and CITY MULTI S&L Class multi-split commercial heat pumps. As a condition of this waiver, Mitsubishi must use the alternate test procedure set forth in this notice to test and rate its WR2 and WY Series and S&L Class CITY MULTI multi-split commercial heat pumps.

Through this notice, the Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of its preliminary plan for retrospective analysis of existing rules to make the agency's regulatory program more effective and less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives. As part of its implementation of Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' issued by the President on January 18, 2011, DOE sought public comments on whether any of its existing regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed. DOE has considered these comments in the development of its preliminary plan.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is amending its September 26, 2008 Record of Decision (ROD) issued pursuant to the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (LANL SWEIS; DOE/EIS-0380). That ROD announced NNSA's decision, among other things, to continue and expand support for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) Off-Site Source Recovery Project (OSRP). These activities include the recovery, storage, and disposal of certain high-activity sealed sources to minimize risks to national security and public health and safety. The LANL SWEIS and subsequent ROD did not address shipment of sealed sources through the global commons and the use of a commercial facility in managing these sealed sources as part of the GTRI program's recovery of sealed sources. In April, 2011, NNSA prepared a Supplement Analysis for the Transport and Storage of High-Activity Sealed Sources from Uruguay and Other Locations (DOE/EIS-0380-SA-02) to analyze the potential impacts of these actions. Based on the LANL SWEIS and the Supplement Analysis, NNSA is amending the ROD for the LANL SWEIS to announce its decision that these actions can be expected to take place as part of the ongoing GTRI program.