Department of Energy December 31, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability 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 Department of Energy Form OE-417, ``Emergency Electric Incident and Disturbance Report'', OMB Control Number 1901-0288. The proposed collection will be used by DOE to meet its overall national security and Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework responsibilities. DOE will use the data from this form to obtain current information regarding emergency situations on U.S. electric energy supply systems. The data also may be used to develop legislative recommendations, reports to the Congress and as a basis for DOE investigations following severe, prolonged, or repeated electric power reliability problems.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Secretary's Section 3116 Determination for Closure of H-Tank Farm at the Savannah River Site and the Basis for Section 3116 Determination for Closure of H-Tank Farm at the Savannah River Site (HTF 3116 Basis Document) concerning closure of the H-Tank Farm (HTF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Under Section 3116(a) of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (NDAA), the Secretary of Energy may, in consultation with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), determine that certain waste from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is not high-level waste if the provisions set forth in Section 3116(a) are satisfied, specifically that the waste: (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. For the reasons set forth in the HTF 3116 Basis Document, and based on consultation with the NRC, Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz determined (in the Section 3116 Determination for Closure of H-Tank Farm at the Savannah River Site) that the stabilized residuals, tanks, and ancillary structures at closure in the HTF will meet the criteria in Section 3116(a) of the NDAA, are not high-level radioactive waste, and may be disposed of in place. DOE has also issued the High-Level Waste Tank Closure Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Savannah River Site, Supplement Analysis (Supplement Analysis) which analyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with new information and changes in operations for the tank closure process as applied to the F-Area and H- Area Tank Farms at SRS. Based on this Supplement Analysis, DOE has determined that the proposed actions in the FTF and HTF and the tank closure program do not constitute substantial changes from those evaluated in the original High-Level Waste Tank Closure Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Savannah River Site that are relevant to environmental concerns, or significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action, and therefore, no further documentation is necessary under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Commission is proposing to revise its regulations to eliminate the requirement to submit FERC-566 (Annual Report of a Utility's 20 Largest Customers) for regional transmission organizations (RTOs), independent system operators (ISOs), and exempt wholesale generators (EWGs). The Commission is also proposing to revise its regulations to eliminate the requirement to submit FERC-566 for public utilities that have not made any reportable sales under FERC-566 in any of the three preceding years. The Commission further proposes to eliminate the requirement for public utilities submitting FERC-566 to identify individual residential customers by name and address.