Department of Energy 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is eliminating the exemptions for wind generators from the requirement to provide reactive power by revising the pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA), Appendix G to the pro forma LGIA, and the pro forma Small Generator Interconnection Agreement (SGIA). As a result, all newly interconnecting non-synchronous generators will be required to provide reactive power at the high-side of the generator substation as a condition of interconnection as set forth in their LGIA or SGIA as of the effective date of this Final Rule.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), is issuing this Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR SEIS) (DOE/EIS-0288-S1) issued on March 4, 2016. NNSA prepared the CLWR SEIS to update the environmental analyses in the 1999 Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water Reactor (DOE/EIS-0288; the 1999 EIS). The CLWR SEIS provides analysis of the potential environmental impacts from Tritium Producing Burnable Absorber Rod (TPBAR) irradiation based on a conservative estimate of the tritium permeation rate through the TPBAR cladding, NNSA's revised estimate of the maximum number of TPBARs necessary to support the current and projected future tritium supply requirements, and a maximum production scenario of irradiating no more than a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months. NNSA has decided to implement the Preferred Alternative, Alternative 6, which allows for the irradiation of up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months using Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reactors at both the Watts Bar and Sequoyah sites. Although near-term tritium requirements could likely be met with the irradiation of 2,500 TPBARs every 18 months, this decision provides the greatest flexibility to meet potential future needs that could arise from various plausible but unexpected events. The exact number of TPBARs to be irradiated during each/any 18-month reactor core cycle will be determined by both national security requirements and TVA reactor availability. The CLWR SEIS analyses indicate that there would not be any significant increase in radiation exposure associated with TPBAR irradiation for facility workers or the public. For all analyzed alternatives, estimated radiation exposures would remain well below regulatory limits. The calculated estimated exposures for normal reactor operations with even the maximum number of TPBARs are comparable to those for normal reactor operation without TPBARs.

ReEnergy Fort Fairfield LLC (Applicant or ReEnergy Fort Fairfield) has applied for authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.