Department of Energy 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') is initiating an effort to determine whether to amend the current energy conservation standards for distribution transformers. Under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended, DOE must review these standards at least once every six years and publish either a notice of proposed rulemaking (``NOPR'') to propose new standards for distribution transformers or a notice of determination that the existing standards do not need to be amended. This request for information (``RFI'') solicits information from the public to help DOE determine whether amended standards for distribution transformers would result in significant energy savings and whether such standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified. DOE welcomes written comments from the public on any subject within the scope of this document (including topics not raised in this RFI).

The Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, intends to extend for three years, an information collection request with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The collections in this package are applicable to contract management in DOE, collected by DOE to monitor and manage the safety performance of its contractors and to fulfill federal reporting requirements. The information obtained from DOE contractors is used by Department management at the appropriate levels to manage the work pertaining to environment, safety and health throughout DOE and will include automated reporting of information into the following systems: Computerized Accident/Incident Reporting System (CAIRS); Occurrence Reporting and Processing System (ORPS); Noncompliance Tracking System (NTS); Radiation Exposure Monitoring System (REMS); Annual Fire Protection Summary Application; Safety Basis Information System; and Lessons Learned System.

Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) announces the final 2025 Resource Pool allocations from the Central Valley and Washoe Projects under its 2025 Power Marketing Plan (Marketing Plan) for the Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region (SNR). This notice includes a summary of the comments received on WAPA's proposed 2025 Resource Pool allocations and WAPA's responses.

Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. (Applicant or MLCI) has applied to renew its authorization to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to the Federal Power Act.

In this Supplemental Notice, the U.S. Department of Energy (Department or DOE) supplements and updates its 2018 Request for Public Comment on the U.S. Department of Energy Interpretation of High-Level Radioactive Waste, published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2018 (October 10 Notice), concerning its interpretation of the statutory term ``high-level radioactive waste'' (HLW) as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended.

The Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) hereby announces its intent, consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina (the SRS EIS). The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review announced that the United States will pursue initiatives to ensure the necessary capability, capacity, and responsiveness of the nuclear weapons infrastructure and the needed skill of the workforce, including providing the enduring capability and capacity to produce no fewer than 80 plutonium pits per year by 2030. To achieve the Department of Defense (DoD) requirement, NNSA is proposing to repurpose the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at SRS to produce plutonium pits while also maximizing pit production activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico. NNSA also hereby provides information regarding its overall NEPA strategy related to fulfilling national requirements for pit production. NNSA will first conduct a programmatic review to assist in decisions and second conduct site-specific reviews. NNSA anticipates that it will prepare at least three documents including: A supplement analysis (SA) to the Final Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic EIS (Complex Transformation SPEIS); a site-specific EIS for the proposal to produce pits at SRS; and site-specific documentation for the proposal to authorize expanding pit production at LANL.