11516 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Notices 

ACTION: Notice of application. 

SUMMARY: NRG Power Marketing LLC 

(NRGPML) has applied for authority to 

transmit electric energy from the United 

States to Mexico pursuant to section 

202(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA). 

DATES: Comments, protests, or motions 

to intervene must be submitted on or 

before March 28, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, or 

motions to intervene should be 

addressed to: Christopher Lawrence, 

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 

Reliability, Mail Code: OE–20, U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Because of 

delays in handling conventional mail, it 

is recommended that documents be 

transmitted by overnight mail, by 

electronic mail to 

Christopher.Lawrence@hq.doe.gov, or by 

facsimile to 202–586–8008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 

at 202–586–5260, or by email to 

Christopher.Lawrence@hq.doe.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exports of 

electricity from the United States to a 

foreign country are regulated by the 

Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to 

sections 301(b) and 402(f) of the 

Department of Energy Organization Act 

(42 U.S.C. 7151(b), 7172(f)) and require 

authorization under section 202(e) of 

the FPA (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)). 

On January 23, 2012, DOE received an 

application from NRGPML for authority 

to transmit electric energy from the 

United States to Mexico for five years as 

a power marketer using existing 

international transmission facilities. 

NRGPML does not own any electric 

transmission facilities nor does it hold 

a franchised service area. NRGPML 

states that it will make all of the 

necessary commercial arrangements and 

will obtain any and all of the required 

regulatory approvals to affect the export 

of electricity to Mexico as requested. 

The electric energy that NRGPML 

proposes to export to Mexico would be 

surplus energy purchased from electric 

utilities and Federal power marketing 

agencies within the United States. The 

existing international transmission 

facilities to be utilized by NRGPML 

have previously been authorized by 

Presidential permits issued pursuant to 

Executive Order 10485, as amended, 

and are appropriate for open access 

transmission by third parties. 

Procedural Matters: Any person 

desiring to be heard in this proceeding 

should file a comment or protest to the 

application at the address provided 

above. Protests should be filed in 

accordance with Rule 211 of the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) 

Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 

CFR 385.211). Any person desiring to 

become a party to these proceedings 

should file a motion to intervene at the 

above address in accordance with FERC 

Rule 214 (385.214). Five copies of such 

comments, protests, or motions to 

intervene should be sent to the address 

provided above on or before the date 

listed above. 

Comments on the NRGPML 

application to export electric energy to 

Mexico should be clearly marked with 

OE Docket No. EA–384. An additional 

copy is to be filed directly with Herbert 

Thornhill, Legal Department, NRG 

Power Marketing LLC, 211 Carnegie 

Center, Princeton, NJ 08540. 

A final decision will be made on this 

application after the environmental 

impacts have been evaluated pursuant 

to DOE’s National Environmental Policy 

Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR 

Part 1021) and after a determination is 

made by DOE that the proposed action 

will not have an adverse impact on the 

reliability of the U.S. electric power 

supply system. 

Copies of this application will be 

made available, upon request, for public 

inspection and copying at the address 

provided above, by accessing the 

program Web site at http://energy.gov/ 

node/11845 or by emailing Angela Troy 

at Angela.Troy@hq.doe.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 20, 

2012. 

Brian Mills, 

Director, Permitting and Siting, Office of 

Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4463 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board, Paducah 

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: 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. 

DATES: Thursday, March 15, 2012; 

6 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Barkley Centre, 111 

Memorial Drive, Paducah, Kentucky 

42001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Reinhard Knerr, Deputy Designated 

Federal Officer, Department of Energy 

Paducah Site Office, Post Office Box 

1410, MS–103, Paducah, Kentucky 

42001, (270) 441–6825. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of the Board: The purpose of 

the Board is to make recommendations 

to DOE–EM and site management in the 

areas of environmental restoration, 

waste management and related 

activities. 

Tentative Agenda 

• Call to Order, Introductions, Review 

of Agenda 

• Administrative Issue 

Æ Draft Recommendation on the 

Fiscal Year 2014 Integrated Priorities 

List 

• Public Comments 

• Adjourn 

Breaks Taken as Appropriate. 

Public Participation: The EM SSAB, 

Paducah, welcomes the attendance of 

the public at its advisory committee 

meetings and will make every effort to 

accommodate persons with physical 

disabilities or special needs. If you 

require special accommodations due to 

a disability, please contact Reinhard 

Knerr as soon as possible in advance of 

the meeting at the telephone number 

listed above. Written statements may be 

filed with the Board either before or 

after the meeting. Individuals who wish 

to make oral statements pertaining to 

agenda items should contact Reinhard 

Knerr at the telephone number listed 

above. Requests must be received as 

soon as possible prior to the meeting 

and reasonable provision will be made 

to include the presentation in the 

agenda. The Deputy Designated Federal 

Officer is empowered to conduct the 

meeting in a fashion that will facilitate 

the orderly conduct of business. 

Individuals wishing to make public 

comments will be provided a maximum 

of five minutes to present their 

comments. The EM SSAB, Paducah, 

will hear public comments pertaining to 

its scope (clean-up standards and 

environmental restoration; waste 

management and disposition; 

stabilization and disposition of nonstockpile nuclear materials; excess 

facilities; future land use and long-term 

stewardship; risk assessment and 

management; and clean-up science and 

technology activities). Comments 

outside of the scope may be submitted 

via written statement as directed above. 

Minutes: Minutes will be available by 

writing or calling Reinhard Knerr at the 

address and phone number listed above. 

Minutes will also be available at the 

following Web site: http:// 

www.pgdpcab.energy.gov/ 

2011Meetings.html. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 2012 / Notices 11517 

Issued at Washington, DC, on February 21, 

2012. 

LaTanya R. Butler, 

Acting Deputy Committee Management 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4461 Filed 2–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

[OE Docket No. RRTT–IR–001] 

Rapid Response Team for 

Transmission 

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability, Department of 

Energy, DoE. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy’s 

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 

Reliability is seeking information on the 

questions related to permitting of 

transmission lines. In responding to this 

RFI, please specify the role of your 

company or agency in the electric 

sector. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before March 28, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to: Lamont Jackson, Office of 

Electricity Delivery and Energy 

Reliability, Mail Code: OE–20, U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Because of 

delays in handling conventional mail, it 

is recommended that documents be 

transmitted by overnight mail, by 

electronic mail to Lamont.Jackson@hq.

doe.gov, or by facsimile to 202–586– 

8008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lamont Jackson (Program Office) at 

202–586–0808, or by email to Lamont.

Jackson@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Infrastructure projects—such as high 

voltage, long distance, electric 

transmission facilities—often involve 

multiple Federal, State, local and Tribal 

authorizations and are subject to a wide 

array of processes and procedural 

requirements in order to obtain all 

necessary permits and other 

authorizations. Delays in securing 

required statutory reviews, permits, and 

consultations can threaten the 

completion projects of national and 

regional significance. 

As our nation moves towards cleaner, 

more diverse fuel sources and responds 

to state renewable energy standards, a 

number of developers are looking to 

build electric generators where the fuel 

is most abundant, which is often far 

from electric customers, thereby 

requiring long transmission lines. At 

least three problems may arise when 

trying to develop this type of 

infrastructure: (1) Non-synchronous 

evaluations by all governmental entities 

with jurisdiction; (2) uncertainty about 

whether all necessary permits and 

approvals will be received; and (3) 

significantly different development 

times for generation and transmission. 

This Request for Information is focused 

on making the development times for 

generation and transmission to be more 

commensurate with one another. 

While most types of electric 

generators can be developed within a 

few years, developing the transmission 

necessary for that generation may take 

much longer. The differential in 

development times between generation 

and transmission creates a Catch-22 that 

inhibits the development of both. (Of 

course if a load serving entity is 

developing both the generation and 

transmission for its own customers, then 

no such Catch-22 exists.) While 

generation developers need assurance 

that transmission will be built before 

they will commit to building the 

generation, the transmission developers 

need a commitment that the generation 

will be built. As the differential in 

development times increases, the Catch22 deepens, thereby hampering the 

building the infrastructure this Nation 

needs. 

Presidential Memorandum—Speeding 

Infrastructure Development Through 

More Efficient and Effective Permitting 

and Environmental Review 

On August 31, 2011, the President 

issued a memorandum to the heads of 

Executive Departments and Agencies. 

That Memorandum states: 

in the current economic climate it is critical 

that agencies take steps to expedite 

permitting and review, through such 

strategies as integrating planning and 

environmental reviews; coordinating multiagency or multi-governmental reviews and 

approvals to run concurrently; setting clear 

schedules for completing steps in the 

environmental review and permitting 

process; and utilizing information 

technologies to inform the public about the 

progress of environmental reviews as well as 

the progress of Federal permitting and review 

processes. 

It further states that agencies should 

‘‘ensure that their processes for 

reviewing infrastructure proposals work 

efficiently to protect our environment, 

provide for public participation and 

certainty of process, ensure safety, and 

support vital economic growth.’’ 

Rapid Response Team for Transmission 

Recognizing the need for Federal 

agencies to coordinate their efforts on 

transmission and to quickly respond to 

challenges, nine Federal agencies have 

been closely coordinating their review 

of electric transmission on Federal lands 

under a joint Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) executed in 2009. 

Building on the cooperation 

developed through the MOU, and in 

response to the Presidential 

Memorandum, on October 5, 2011, the 

Administration announced the creation 

of a Rapid Response Team for 

Transmission (RRTT). 

The RRTT aims to improve the overall 

quality and timeliness of electric 

transmission infrastructure permitting, 

review, and consultation by the Federal 

government on both Federal and nonFederal lands through: 

• Coordinating statutory permitting, 

review, and consultation schedules and 

processes among involved Federal and 

state agencies, as appropriate, through 

Integrated Federal Planning; 

• Applying a uniform and consistent 

approach to consultations with Tribal 

governments; and, 

• Resolving interagency conflicts and 

ensuring that all involved agencies are 

fully engaged and meeting timelines. 

Participating Agencies include: the 

Department of Agriculture, the 

Department of Commerce, the 

Department of Defense, the Department 

of Energy, the Department of Interior, 

the Environmental Protection Agency, 

the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, the Advisory Council on 

Historic Preservation, and the White 

House Council on Environmental 

Quality. 

Request for Information (RFI) 

Building upon the Presidential 

Memorandum and in support of the 

RRTT, the Department of Energy’s 

Office of Electricity is seeking 

information on the questions asked 

below. In responding to this RFI, please 

specify the role of your company or 

agency in the electric sector. 

(1). The development timelines for 

generation and attendant transmission 

are often not coordinated or run 

concurrently. Because of the lengthy 

time to obtain regulatory reviews, 

permits and approvals (collectively 

‘‘Regulatory Permits’’), major new 

transmission lines can take significantly 

longer to develop than some types of 

generation to which the transmission 

would connect. This Request for 

Information will refer to the difference 

in development times between 

generation and transmission as 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES