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

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, under section 10(d) of the Act and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), the meeting will be closed to the public and matters to be discussed are exempt from public disclosure under Executive Order 13526 and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. 2161 and 2162, as amended.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to codify provisions of the EPS Service Parts Act of 2014 that exempt from energy conservation standards certain external power supplies (EPSs) made available by a manufacturer as a service or spare part. Consistent with that Act, DOE is proposing to require annual reports of the total number of exempt EPS units sold as service and spare parts that do not meet the relevant energy conservation standards.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BPA intends to prepare an EIS to determine whether to fund the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation's proposal to construct and operate a hatchery for coho salmon in the upper Yakima basin. The Melvin R. Sampson Hatchery would involve construction of a hatchery on 50 acres of land owned by the Yakama Nation in Kittitas County, Washington. Hatchery operations would include collection of adult coho for broodstock at the existing Roza and Sunnyside dams, incubation and rearing of up to 200,000 juvenile coho salmon, and release of smolts into the Yakima and Naches rivers. Coho were extirpated from the Yakima basin by the early 1980s. The proposal would augment anadromous fish populations available for harvest and aid natural spawning of coho in the Yakima basin. With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping process for the EIS. BPA is requesting comments about potential environmental impacts that should be considered as an EIS is prepared. In accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland regulations, BPA will analyze impacts to floodplain and wetlands as well as measures to avoid or minimize potential effects. The assessment will be included in the EIS.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, requires the Department of Energy (DOE), among other things, to prescribe performance-based energy conservation standards for walk- in coolers and walk-in freezers. On June 3, 2014, DOE complied with this requirement. Recent litigation regarding these standards resulted in a settlement agreement between DOE and the other parties to that litigation. Consistent with the parties' settlement agreement, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit subsequently vacated six specific standards set forth in the June 2014 rule. DOE is amending the CFR to reflect the court's order vacating the six standards found in DOE's regulations pertaining to certain refrigeration systems used in walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer applications.