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

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) intends to modify the scope of the Champlain Hudson Power Express Transmission Line Project Environmental Impact Statement (CHPE EIS; DOE/EIS-0447) and to conduct additional public scoping. As described in the original Notice of Intent (NOI) (75 FR 34720; June 18, 2010), in January 2010, Transmission Developers Inc. (TDI) submitted, on behalf of Champlain Hudson Power Express, Inc. (Applicant), an application to DOE for a Presidential permit for the Champlain Hudson Power Express (Champlain Hudson) project. As explained in the NOI, DOE will assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction, operation, maintenance, and connection of the proposed new electric transmission line across the U.S.-Canada border in northeastern New York State. Public scoping originally closed on August 2, 2010. On February 28, 2012, TDI submitted an amendment to the application for a Presidential permit to DOE that reflects proposed changes to the route of the Champlain Hudson project, and DOE now intends to revise the scope of the EIS to address these proposed changes. The proposed changes are the result of settlement negotiations among New York (NY) State agencies, Champlain Hudson Power Express, Inc., CHPE Properties, Inc. and other stakeholders as part of the project review under Article VII of the New York State Public Service Law, and are reflected in a February 24, 2012, ``Joint Proposal'' submitted to the New York Public Service Commission. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, New York Field Office (USFWS Region 5), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Region 2), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and the New York State Department of Public Service (NYSDPS) are cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.

This notice announces a teleconference call of the State Energy Advisory Board (STEAB). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463; 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of these meetings be announced in the Federal Register.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Savannah River Site. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. . 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

Under section 215 of the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) approves eight modified Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards, CIP-002-4 through CIP-009-4, developed and submitted to the Commission for approval by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Electric Reliability Organization certified by the Commission. The CIP Reliability Standards provide a cybersecurity framework for the identification and protection of ``Critical Cyber Assets'' to support the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System. Reliability Standard CIP-002-4 requires the identification and documentation of Critical Cyber Assets associated with ``Critical Assets'' that support the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System and introduces ``bright line'' criteria for the identification of Critical Assets. The Commission approves the related Violation Risk Factors, Violation Severity Levels with modifications, implementation plan, and effective date proposed by NERC.

This final rule corrects the provisions for calculating the annual operating cost of residential clothes washers. In the final rule establishing new and amended test procedures for residential clothes washers, published in the Federal Register on March 7, 2012, and effective as of April 6, 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) erroneously referenced the new test procedure, rather than the currently effective test procedure, in one section of the provisions for calculating annual operating cost.