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

This notice announces receipt of and publishes the BSH Corporation (BSH) petition for waiver from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for determining the energy consumption of dishwashers. Today's notice also grants an interim waiver of the dishwasher test procedure. Through this notice, DOE also solicits comments with respect to the BSH petition.

The Department of Energy (DOE) received a petition from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) requesting reconsideration of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) final rule to amend the test procedures for residential dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and conventional cooking products, published on October 31, 2012, and DOE's direct final rule to amend energy conservation standards for dishwashers, published on May 30, 2012. Specifically, AHAM requested that DOE stay the effectiveness of the test procedure final rule and final standards rule until DOE either: Revises the standards in the final standards rule to account for the impact on measured energy resulting from test procedure amendments to measure fan-only mode and standby and off mode energy use; or delays requirements regarding measurement of fan-only mode and standby and off mode energy use until promulgation of a revised standard for dishwashers. DOE seeks comment on whether to grant the petition and proceed with a rulemaking on this matter.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the ``Department'') is adopting amendments to the compliance dates for manufacturers to submit certification reports for certain commercial and industrial equipment covered under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended (EPCA or the ``Act''). Specifically, DOE is extending the compliance date for the certification provisions for commercial refrigeration equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment; and commercial water heating (WH) equipment to December 31, 2013. DOE is extending the certification date for automatic commercial ice makers to August 1, 2013. Lastly, DOE is adopting a correction to the packaged terminal equipment standards table, which would impact standard-size packaged terminal air conditioners and packaged terminal heat pumps with a cooling capacity of 15,000 Btu/h.

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 USC 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved information collection, OMB No. 1902-0075, FERC Form No. 556, ``Certification of Qualifying Facility (QF) Status for a Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facility'' (Form No. 556).

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Idaho National Laboratory. 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.

Quartzsite Solar Energy (QSE) has requested to interconnect the Quartzsite Solar Energy Project (Project), a proposed 100-megawatt (MW) concentrating solar power plant, to Western Area Power Administration's (Western) Bouse-Kofa 161-kilovolt (kV) transmission line. QSE has submitted a right-of-way (ROW) application to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the Project facility to be constructed on a total of approximately 1,675 acres of land managed by the BLM. The Project area is in an undeveloped area of the Sonoran Desert in La Paz County, Arizona. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, Western and the BLM prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement \1\ (EIS) and Yuma Field Office (Yuma) Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (PRMPA) for the Project, and by this Notice Western and the BLM are announcing the availability of the Final EIS/PRMPA. Western is the lead Federal agency for purposes of satisfying the NEPA requirements with the BLM acting as a cooperating agency.

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application (Application), filed on October 26, 2012, by Sempra LNG Marketing, LLC (Sempra LNG Marketing), requesting blanket authorization to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) that previously had been imported into the United States from foreign sources in an amount up to the equivalent of 250 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas on a short-term or spot market basis for a two- year period commencing on February 1, 2013.\1\ The LNG would be exported from the Cameron LNG Terminal (Cameron Terminal) owned by Sempra LNG Marketing's affiliate Cameron LNG, LLC, in Cameron Parish, Louisiana to any country with the capacity to import LNG via ocean- going carrier and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy. The Application was filed under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). Protests, motions to intervene, notices of intervention, and written comments are invited.

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the currently approved information collection, FERC-607: Report on Decision or Action on Request for Federal Authorization.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project (DOE/EIS-0486; Plains & Eastern EIS or EIS) to assess the potential environmental impacts of participating with Clean Line Energy Partners LLC (Clean Line) in the proposed Plains & Eastern Project (the proposed project). The proposed project would include an overhead 600 kilovolt (kV) high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission system and associated facilities with the capacity to deliver approximately 3,500 megawatts (MW) primarily from renewable energy generation facilities in the Oklahoma Panhandle region to load-serving entities in the Mid-South and Southeast via an interconnection with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The proposed project would traverse Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee, a distance of approximately 700 miles between interconnection facilities in Texas County, Oklahoma, and Shelby County, Tennessee. The proposed project would require construction of a new alternating current (AC)/direct current (DC) converter station at each end of the transmission line. Portions of the proposed project may affect floodplains and/or wetlands. This NOI, therefore, also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action in accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements (10 CFR part 1022). The Plains & Eastern EIS will include a floodplain and wetland assessment. DOE plans to coordinate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and the Section 106 compliance process under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). DOE also intends to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as appropriate, pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Nevada. 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.