Department of Energy April 4, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Cruces District Office, Las Cruces, New Mexico, intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the impacts of the proposed Southline Transmission Line Project (Project), a 345-kilovolt (kV) and 230-kV transmission line, and addressing associated potential land use plan amendments. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues. Western Area Power Administration (Western) is a joint lead agency with BLM for preparing the EIS. Western is a power-marketing agency within the Department of Energy (DOE) and is proposing to participate in the Project with the applicant, Southline Transmission, LLC (Southline).

Rainbow Energy Marketing Corporation (Rainbow) has applied to renew its authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA).

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Secretarial Determination and Basis for Section 3116 Determination for Closure of the F-Tank Farm (FTF) at the Savannah River Site (FTF 3116 Basis Document). DOE prepared and approved the FTF 3116 Basis Document pursuant to Section 3116(a) of the NDAA, which provides that the Secretary of Energy may, in consultation with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), determine that certain waste from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is not high-level waste if the provisions set forth in Section 3116(a) are satisfied. To make the determination for the FTF, the Secretary of Energy determined that the waste in the FTF: (1) Does not require permanent isolation in a deep geologic repository for spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste; (2) has had highly radioactive radionuclides removed to the maximum extent practical; and (3)(A) does not exceed concentration limits for Class C low-level waste and will be disposed of in compliance with the performance objectives in 10 CFR part 61, Subpart C and pursuant to a State approved closure plan or State-issued permit; or (3)(B) exceeds concentration limits for Class C low-level waste but will be disposed of in compliance with the performance objectives of 10 CFR part 61, Subpart C; pursuant to a State-approved closure plan or State-issued permit; and pursuant to plans developed by DOE in consultation with the NRC. DOE has also clarified its Record of Decision: Savannah River Site High-Level Waste Tank Closure issued on August 19, 2002 (67 FR 53784) in which the Department decided to implement the ``Stabilize Tanks Fill with Grout'' option evaluated in the Savannah River Site High- Level Waste Tank Closure Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (DOE/EIS-0303; May 2002). DOE is not changing its decision to implement the ``Stabilize TanksFill with Grout'' option but is publishing this Notice to clarify that the decision to close the tanks has been made pursuant to NDAA Section 3116(a). All other aspects of the 2002 Record of Decision remain unchanged.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is correcting a final rule establishing revised test procedures for residential clothes washers, published in the Federal Register on March 7, 2012, and applicable as of April 6, 2012. DOE erroneously omitted regulatory language to remove the obsolete parenthetical note from the water factor calculation section of the currently applicable test procedure.