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

ENMAX Energy Marketing Inc. (Applicant or ENMAX) has applied to renew its authorization to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to the Federal Power Act.

This document announces receipt of and publishes a petition for waiver from Bradford White Corporation (``BWC''), which seeks a waiver for a specified consumer water heater basic model from the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') test procedure used for determining the efficiency of consumer water heaters. BWC asserts that for that identified basic model, application of the calculation specified in the DOE test procedure to determine recovery efficiency yields an ``artificially high'' value that in turn results in a lower overall uniform energy factor value. Consequently, BWC seeks to use an alternate test procedure to address issues involved in testing the basic model identified in its petition. More specifically, BWC has requested that DOE waive the equation for calculating recovery efficiency of the consumer gas-fired storage water heater basic model for which the first occurrence of the main burner cutting out (``cut- out'') occurs during a draw. Instead, BWC requests that the recovery efficiency for this water heater be calculated using a revised recovery efficiency equation that accounts for the first cut-out occurring during a draw. For the reasons discussed in this document, DOE grants BWC an interim waiver from the DOE's consumer water heater test procedure for the basic model listed in the interim waiver, subject to use of the alternate test procedure as set forth in the Interim Waiver Order. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning BWC's petition, its suggested alternate test procedure, and the alternate test procedure in the Interim Waiver Order so as to inform its final decision on BWC's waiver request.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of an interim report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the DOE Information Quality Act (IQA) Guidelines setting forth updates to DOE's policy and procedures to ensure and maximize the quality, utility, objectivity, and integrity of the information that DOE disseminates to members of the public. DOE has prepared this interim report pursuant to OMB Memorandum M-19-15, Improving Implementation of the Information Quality Act, issued April 24, 2019, which requires federal departments and agencies to update their existing IQA Guidelines to address implementation updates and additional best practices. DOE invites public comment on the interim report and draft updates to the DOE IQA Guidelines.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is amending its July 2011 Record of Decision for the Continued Operation of the Y-12 National Security Complex (2011 ROD) to reflect its decision to continue to implement on an interim basis a revised approach for meeting enriched uranium requirements (while addressing issues related to seismic analysis), by upgrading existing enriched uranium (EU) processing buildings and constructing a new Uranium Processing Facility (UPF). Additionally, NNSA has decided to separate the single-structure UPF design concept into a new design consisting of multiple buildings, with each constructed to safety and security requirements appropriate to the building's function. This revised approach is combining elements of the two alternatives previously analyzed in the Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Y-12 National Security Complex, DOE/EIS-0387 (Y-12 SWEIS).