Department of Energy June 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 413 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) directs the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish energy conservation standards for manufactured housing. Section 413 further directs DOE to base its energy conservation standards on the most recent version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and any supplements to that document, except where DOE finds that the IECC is not cost effective or where a more stringent standard would be more cost effective, based on the impact of the IECC on the purchase price of manufactured housing and on total lifecycle construction and operating costs. On June 17, 2016, DOE published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register pertaining to energy efficiency for manufactured housing. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of this proposed action. DOE is seeking public comment on the environmental issues addressed in the EA. In conjunction with issuance of this draft EA for public review and comment, DOE is issuing a request for information that will help it analyze potential impacts on indoor air quality (IAQ) from the proposed energy conservation standards, in particular sealing manufactured homes tighter.

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy gives notice that during May 2016, it issued orders granting authority to import and export natural gas, to import and export liquefied natural gas (LNG), to vacate authority, to amend, to deny rehearing, and to grant rehearing. These orders are summarized in the attached appendix and may be found on the FE Web site at https://energy.gov/fe/ listing-doefe-authorizationsorders-issued-2016. They are also available for inspection and copying in the U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Division of Natural Gas Regulation, Office of Regulation and International Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy, Docket Room 3E-033, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9478. The Docket Room is open between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

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

The Department of Energy (``DOE'') publishes this interim final rule to adjust DOE's civil monetary penalties (``CMPs'') for inflation as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (collectively referred to herein as ``the Act''). This rule adjusts CMPs within the jurisdiction of DOE to the maximum amount required by the Act.

This notice announces receipt of a petition for waiver from AGA Marvel seeking an exemption from specified portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') test procedure for determining the energy consumption of electric refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers. AGA Marvel seeks to apply an alternative test procedure for measuring the energy usage of combination cooler-refrigerator basic models. DOE has reviewed AGA Marvel's alternate procedure. Rather than permit the use of this alternative procedure, which would effectively alter both the test procedure and the standard that AGA Marvel's products would need to meet, DOE has tentatively concluded that it is more appropriate to apply the alternative procedure that other manufacturers of similar products have been permitted to use in prior waivers granted by DOE. This approach would allow AGA Marvel to measure the energy use of its products while alleviating the testing problems that prompted AGA Marvel's request. Accordingly, DOE is granting to AGA Marvel an interim waiver to permit it to use this alternative testing method to measure the energy usage of its combination cooler-refrigerator basic models. DOE notes that the method detailed in this interim waiver is consistent with the most recent approach that DOE outlined in an interim waiver issued earlier this year for other similar products. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning AGA Marvel's petition and suggestions on the alternate test procedure DOE is permitting AGA Marvel to use as a condition of its interim waiver.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance a proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed collection will gather opinions of experts in industry and other organizations regarding the impact on the development and diffusion of energy-efficient technologies and techniques in the construction of residential buildings of DOE/EERE Building Technologies Office (BTO) investments. Expert opinions are necessary to characterize expected patterns of technology development and diffusion in the absence of DOE investments, and so (by comparing these expectations with actual observations) estimate the difference DOE investments have made. This information is needed by DOE for budget justification and strategic planning. Respondents will include representatives of production builder companies (including companies that received DOE R&D funding and companies that received no direct funding from DOE).

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application (Application), filed on February 19, 2016, by Cameron LNG, LLC (Cameron LNG), requesting blanket authorization to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) in an amount up to the equivalent of 254 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas on a cumulative basis over a two-year period effective as of the commencement of export of commissioning volumes, estimated to be the fourth quarter of 2017, but no later than six months thereafter.\1\ The LNG would be exported from the Cameron Terminal located in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana to any country with the capacity to import LNG in ocean-going carriers and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy, including both countries with which the United States has entered into a free trade agreement providing for national treatment for trade in natural gas (FTA countries) and other countries (non-FTA countries).