Department of Energy May 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted an information collection request to the OMB for extension under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection requests a three-year extension of its Privacy Act Administration, OMB Control Number 1910-1700. The proposed collection will aid DOE's processing of Privacy Act requests submitted by an individual or an authorized representative, wherein he or she requests records that the government may maintain pertaining to that individual. The DOE's use of the form continues to contribute to DOE's Privacy Act processes, including, but not limited to, providing for faster processing of Privacy Act information requests by asking individuals or their authorized representatives for pertinent information needed for records retrieval.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') gives notification of a Decision and Order (Case Number 2020-010) that grants to Hussmann Corporation (``Hussmann'') a waiver from specified portions of the DOE test procedure for determining the energy efficiency of specified carbon dioxide (``CO2'') direct expansion unit coolers. Under the Decision and Order, Hussmann is required to test and rate the specified basic models of its CO2 direct expansion unit coolers in accordance with the alternate test procedure set forth in the Decision and Order.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') gives notification of a Decision and Order (Case Number 2020-014) that grants to KeepRite Refrigeration (``KeepRite'') a waiver from specified portions of the DOE test procedure for determining the energy efficiency of specified carbon dioxide (``CO2'') direct expansion unit coolers. Under the Decision and Order, KeepRite is required to test and rate the specified basic models of its CO2 direct expansion unit coolers in accordance with the alternate test procedure set forth in the Decision and Order.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'' or ``the Department'') is restarting rulemaking activities to consider potential test procedures and energy conservation standards for circulator pumps and small vertical in-line pumps. Consensus recommendations for test procedures and energy conservation standards were negotiated in 2016 by a stakeholder working group of the Appliance Standards Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (``ASRAC''). Through this request for information (``RFI''), DOE seeks data and information regarding development and evaluation of new test procedures that would be reasonably designed to produce test results which reflect energy use during a representative average use cycle for the equipment without being unduly burdensome to conduct. Additionally, this RFI solicits information regarding the development and evaluation of potential new energy conservation standards for circulator pumps and small vertical in-line pumps, and whether such standards would result in significant energy savings and be technologically feasible and economically justified. DOE also welcomes written comments from the public on any subject within the scope of this document (including those topics not specifically raised), as well as the submission of data and other relevant information.

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 currently approved information collections, FERC-65 (Notice of Holding Company Status), FERC-65A (Exemption Notification of holding Company Status), and FERC- 65B (Waiver Notification of Holding Company Status), which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a review of the information collection requirements.

On April 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') published a request for information (``RFI'') pertaining to the test procedure for commercial and industrial pumps (``pumps''). The notice provided an opportunity for submitting written comments, data, and information by June 1, 2021. On April 19, 2021, DOE received a request from Price Pump Company (``Price Pump''), and on April 20, 2021, DOE received requests from Grundfos and the Hydraulic Institute (``HI'') to extend the public comment period by 90 days. DOE has reviewed these requests and is granting a 30-day extension of the public comment period to allow public comments to be submitted until July 1, 2021.

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-725B2 (Mandatory Reliability Standards for Critical Infrastructure Protection [CIP] Reliability Standards) and submitting the information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Any interested person may file comments directly with OMB and should address a copy of those comments to the Commission as explained below.

This document announces receipt of and publishes a petition for waiver and interim waiver from Vinotemp International Corp. (``Vinotemp''), which seeks a waiver for specified walk-in cooler refrigeration system basic models from the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') test procedure used to determine the efficiency and energy consumption of walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers. DOE also gives notice of an Interim Waiver Order that requires Vinotemp to test and rate the specified walk-in cooler refrigeration system basic models in accordance with the alternate test procedure set forth in the Interim Waiver Order, which modifies the alternate test procedure suggested by Vinotemp. DOE solicits comments, data, and information concerning Vinotemp's petition, its suggested alternate test procedure, and the alternate test procedure specified in the Interim Waiver Order so as to inform DOE's final decision on Vinotemp's waiver request.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') is undertaking an early assessment review to determine whether amendments are warranted for the test procedure for ceiling fan light kits (``CFLKs''). DOE has identified certain issues associated with the currently applicable test procedure on which DOE is interested in receiving comment. The issues outlined in this document mainly concern updating currently referenced industry standards to their latest versions. DOE welcomes written comments from the public on any subject within the scope of this document, including topics not raised in this request for information (``RFI'').

The Department of Energy (DOE) hereby gives notice that DOE intends to grant an exclusive license to practice the invention described and claimed in U.S. Patent Application Number 16/895,188 titled ``Colorimetric Detection of Actinides'' and the resulting patent(s) to Innovyz USA LLC, a company having its principal place of business at Chicago, IL. The patent application is owned by United States of America, as represented by DOE.