Department of Energy May 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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

On April 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) that proposes mathematical conversion factors for converting from the current efficiency metrics (i.e., energy factor for residential water heaters, and thermal efficiency and standby loss for commercial water heaters) to the uniform efficiency descriptor (i.e., uniform energy factor metric). The comment period for the NOPR pertaining to the test procedures for water heaters was scheduled to end May 14, 2015. After receiving a request for additional time to comment for stakeholders, DOE is reopening the comment period for the NOPR for the Conversion Factor for Test Procedures for Consumer and Certain Commercial Water Heaters to June 15, 2015. Additionally, at the request of stakeholders, DOE is announcing a public meeting to discuss the conversion factors for consumer and commercial water heaters.

On March 12, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) and technical support document (TSD) that analyze the potential economic impacts and energy savings that could result from potential energy conservation standards for certain residential furnaces. DOE published this NOPR and analysis so stakeholders can review and provide input on the relevant outputs and the underlying assumptions and calculations. The comment period for the NOPR pertaining to the subject residential furnaces was scheduled to end June 10, 2015. After receiving requests for additional time to comment, DOE has decided to extend the comment period for the NOPR pertaining to the energy conservation standards for residential furnaces until July 10, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') announces its decision in FE Docket No. 12-97-LNG to issue DOE/FE Order No. 3638, granting long-term, multi-contract authorization for Cheniere Marketing, LLC and Corpus Christi Liquefaction, LLC (collectively ``CMI'') to engage in export of domestically produced liquefied natural gas (``LNG'') in an amount up to 782 million million Btu (million MMBtu) per year, which is equivalent to approximately 767 billion cubic feet (``Bcf'') of natural gas per year, for a 20-year period commencing the earlier of the date of first export or seven-years from the date of issuance of the authorization requested. CMI is seeking authorization to export LNG from the proposed Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project (``Liquefaction Project'') near Corpus Christi, Texas, to any nation with which the United States has not entered into a free trade agreement (``FTA'') that requires national treatment for trade in natural gas (non-FTA countries). Order No. 3638 is issued under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (``NGA'') and 10 CFR part 590 of the DOE regulations. DOE participated as a cooperating agency with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (``FERC'') in preparing an environmental impact statement (``EIS'') analyzing the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Liquefaction Project and associated pipeline that, if constructed, will support the export authorization sought from DOE's Office of Fossil Energy (``DOE/FE'').

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 requirements and burden \1\ of the information collection FERC-915 (Public Utility Market-Based Rate Authorization HoldersRecords Retention Requirements).