Department of Energy June 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the United States Department of Energy (DOE), announces the availability of the Draft Supplement Analysis (SA) of the Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS). NNSA is preparing the SA to determine whether, prior to proceeding with the action to produce plutonium pits at a rate of no fewer than 80 pits per year by 2030, the existing Complex Transformation SPEIS should be supplemented, a new environmental impact statement prepared, or no further National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis is required. The Draft SA preliminarily concludes that further NEPA documentation at a programmatic level is not required; however, NNSA will consider comments on the Draft SA and publish a Final SA with a final determination. The Draft SA is an important element of the overall NEPA strategy related to fulfilling national requirements for pit production. DOE announced this NEPA strategy on June 10, 2019 (84 FR 26849).

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on revisions to the information collection FERC-725Z (Mandatory Reliability Standards: IRO Reliability Standards), which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a review of the information collection requirements.

In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on the requirements and burden of the information collections described below.

The Commission is adopting eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) as the standard for filing the Commission Form Nos. 1, 1-F, 2, 2-A, 3-Q electric, 3-Q natural gas, 6, 6-Q, 60, and 714. The use of XBRL will make the information in these forms easier for filers to submit and data users to analyze, and assist in automating regulatory filings. The Commission believes that transitioning from the current Visual FoxPro system to XBRL will decrease the costs, over time, of preparing the necessary data for submission and complying with future changes to filing requirements set forth by the Commission. In addition, the Commission is revising its regulations to require filers of Form No. 1-F to file their report in electronic media.

On May 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that proposed amendments to streamline its test procedure interim waiver decision-making process. The comment period for the NOPR ends on July 1, 2019. This document announces an extension of the public comment period to July 15, 2019 and the scheduling of a webinar regarding the proposal.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Nevada. The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

This notice announces an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 amended by the Agricultural Act of 2014. The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that agencies publish these notices in the Federal Register to allow for public participation. This notice announces the meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee.