This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

35438 

Vol. 83, No. 144 

Thursday, July 26, 2018 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 625 

RIN 1901–AB29 

SPR Standard Sales Provisions 

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE or Department) proposes to amend 

its regulations to require publication of 

its Standard Sales Provisions for the 

price competitive sale of petroleum 

from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 

(SPR) on the DOE SPR website. Any 

subsequent revisions to its Standard 

Sales Provisions would also be 

published solely on the DOE SPR 

website. DOE further proposes that DOE 

would publish notification in the 

Federal Register and send notification 

to registered users in the SPR sales 

system that DOE has revised its 

Standard Sales Provisions on the DOE 

SPR website. Under the proposed rule, 

Notices of Sale would reference the 

Standard Sales Provisions published on 

the DOE SPR website in specifying 

which contractual terms and conditions, 

as well as contractor financial and 

performance responsibility measures, 

are applicable to that particular sale. 

The proposed rule is intended to 

expedite the preparation of and simplify 

the content of Notices of Sale, which in 

turn will reduce the administrative 

burden placed on prospective bidders. 

DATES: Public comment on this 

proposed rule will be accepted until 

August 27, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Regulation Identifier 

Number (RIN) 1901–AB29 by any of the 

following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: Follow 

the instructions for submitting 

comments on the Federal eRulemaking 

Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. 

2. Regular Mail: Address postal mail 

to U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 

Fossil Energy, Office of Petroleum 

Reserves, P.O. Box 44375, Washington, 

DC 20026–4375. 

3. Hand Delivery or Private Delivery 

Services (e.g., FedEx, UPS, etc.): U.S. 

Department of Energy, Office of 

Petroleum Reserves, Fossil Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 3G–024, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586–8197. 

Due to potential delays in the delivery 

of postal mail, we encourage 

respondents to submit comments 

electronically to ensure timely receipt. 

Please Note: If submitting a filing via 

email, please include all related 

documents and attachments (e.g., 

exhibits) in the original email 

correspondence. Please do not include 

any active hyperlinks or password 

protection in any of the documents or 

attachments related to the filing. All 

electronic filings submitted to DOE 

must follow these guidelines to ensure 

that all documents are filed in a timely 

manner. Any hardcopy filing submitted 

greater in length than 50 pages must 

also include, at the time of the filing, a 

digital copy on disk of the entire 

submission. 

Docket: This notice of proposed 

rulemaking and any comments that DOE 

receives will be made available on the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas McGarry, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Petroleum Reserves, 

Office of Fossil Energy, Forrestal 

Building, Room 3G–024, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585; (202) 586–8197, email: 

thomas.mcgarry@hq.doe.gov; or Ronald 

(R.J.) Colwell, U.S. Department of 

Energy (GC–76), Office of the Assistant 

General Counsel for Electricity and 

Fossil Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 

6D–033, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, 

Washington, DC 20585; (202) 586–8499, 

email: ronald.colwell@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Discussion of Proposed Rule 

A. Summary of the Proposed Rule 

B. Reasons for the Proposed Rule 

III. Regulatory Review 

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

B. National Environmental Policy Act 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

D. Paperwork Reduction Act 

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

F. Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act, 1999 

G. Executive Order 13132 

H. Executive Order 12988 

I. Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act, 2001 

J. Executive Order 13211 

IV. Approval of the Office of the Secretary 

I. Background 

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve 

(SPR) was established by the Energy 

Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), 

Public Law 94–163, to store petroleum 

to diminish the impact of disruptions on 

petroleum supplies and to carry out the 

obligations of the United States under 

the International Energy Program. The 

principal method for distributing SPR 

petroleum is through price competitive 

sale, 42 U.S.C. 6241(e), and DOE has 

promulgated at 10 CFR part 625 certain 

contract terms and conditions—known 

as Standard Sales Provisions (SSPs)— 

that are expected to be contained in 

contracts for the sale of SPR petroleum. 

DOE’s regulations call for the 

publication of the SSPs in the Federal 

Register and the Code of Federal 

Regulations as an appendix to the 10 

CFR part 625 (10 CFR 625.4(a)). DOE’s 

regulations also provide for the periodic 

review and republication of the SSPs in 

the Federal Register, including any 

revisions to such provisions (10 CFR 

625.4(b)). First published in interim 

final form on January 20, 1984, the SSPs 

have since been updated and issued for 

public comment several times, with the 

latest version published in the Federal 

Register on July 7, 2005 (70 FR 39364). 

When conducting a drawdown and 

sale of petroleum from the SPR, DOE 

issues a Notice of Sale, announcing the 

amounts and types of SPR petroleum to 

be sold, the delivery locations and 

modes, and other pertinent information. 

DOE’s regulations provide that the 

Secretary of Energy or the Secretary’s 

designee will specify in the Notice of 

Sale, by referencing the latest version of 

the SSPs, which of the SSPs would or 

would not apply to a particular sale (10 

CFR 625.3(a); 625.4(c)). In addition, in 

the Notice of Sale, the Secretary could 

revise the terms and conditions or add 

new ones applicable to that sale (10 CFR 

625.3(a)). DOE’s regulations provide that 

no contract can be awarded to an offeror 

who has not unconditionally agreed to 

all provisions made applicable by the 

Notice of Sale (10 CFR 625.3(c)). 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2018 / Proposed Rules 35439 

1As used in this rulemaking, ‘‘petroleum’’ 

includes ‘‘crude oil, residual fuel oil or any refined 

petroleum product (including any natural gas liquid 

and any natural gas liquid product) owned or 

contracted for by DOE and in storage in any 

permanent SPR facility, or temporarily stored in 

other storage facilities, or in transit to such facilities 

(including petroleum under contract but not yet 

delivered to a loading terminal).’’ 10 CFR 625.2. 

2Public Law 114–74, secs. 403, 404 (Nov. 2, 

2015); Public Law 114–94, sec. 32204 (Dec. 4, 

2015); Public Law 114–255, sec. 5010 (Dec. 13, 

2016); Public Law 115–123, sec. 30204 (Feb. 9, 

2018). 

II. Discussion of Proposed Rule 

A. Summary of the Proposed Rule 

The proposed rule would revise 10 

CFR 625.4 in several respects. First, the 

Standard Sales Provisions applicable to 

price competitive sales of petroleum 1

from the SPR would no longer be 

required to be published in the Federal 

Register and in the CFR as an Appendix 

to 10 CFR part 625. Instead, DOE would 

be required to publish the Standard 

Sales Provisions applicable to price 

competitive sales of petroleum from the 

SPR on the DOE SPR website, which is 

currently at https://www.energy.gov/fe/ 

downloads/price-competitive-salestrategic-petroleum-reserve-petroleum. 

Second, under the proposed rule, 

revisions to the Standard Sales 

Provisions would be published on the 

DOE SPR website instead of in the 

Federal Register. Third, DOE would 

publish notification in the Federal 

Register and send notification to 

registered users in the SPR sales system 

each time DOE revises and republishes 

its Standard Sales Provisions on the 

DOE SPR website. Fourth, Notices of 

Sale would reference the continually 

updated Standard Sales Provisions 

published on the DOE SPR website, 

instead of the Federal Register and the 

CFR, in specifying which contractual 

terms and conditions, as well as 

contractor financial and performance 

responsibility measures, are applicable 

to a particular sale. 

In addition to these revisions to 10 

CFR 625.4, the proposed rule would 

also remove the Standard Sales 

Provisions from the CFR by deleting 

Appendix A to 10 CFR part 625. 

B. Reasons for the Proposed Rule 

Removing the requirement for 

publication of the Standard Sales 

Provisions in 10 CFR part 625 and 

instead publishing them on the DOE 

SPR website would allow DOE to 

provide more timely updates, ensuring 

its Standard Sales Provisions are 

consistent with changes in crude oil 

markets, infrastructure, ownership, 

technology, financial processes, 

business practices, subsequent 

legislation and regulations, and other 

factors. 

This proposed rule would also reduce 

burdens on potential offerors by 

reducing the time and cost associated 

with reviewing changes to the Standard 

Sales Provisions applicable to a 

particular sale. When a price 

competitive sale of SPR petroleum is 

conducted, potential offerors are 

required to review and accept the 

Standard Sales Provisions applicable to 

that particular sale. DOE’s Standard 

Sales Provisions currently total 95 pages 

in each Notice of Sale and contain 76 

separate sections. Potential offerors are 

expected to review and accept any 

changes to the applicable Standard 

Sales Provisions identified in the Notice 

of Sale. As time passes following an 

update to the Standard Sales Provisions, 

the changes required to be included in 

each Notice of Sale increase, which in 

turn results in additional time and costs 

associated with review, evaluation and 

acceptance by potential offerors. In a 

price competitive sale conducted in 

2006, one year after the Standard Sales 

Provisions were last updated, there were 

four pages of changes involving nine 

sections of the Standard Sales 

Provisions in the Notice of Sale. In a 

price competitive sale conducted in 

2017, 12 years after the Standard Sales 

Provisions were last updated, there were 

11 pages of changes involving 24 

sections of the Standard Sales 

Provisions in the Notice of Sale. Review 

of these changes to the Standard Sales 

Provisions each time a Notice of Sale is 

issued would be eliminated under the 

proposed rule, which would provide for 

continual updates of the Standard Sales 

Provisions on DOE’s SPR website. 

The time and costs spent by industry 

associated with cross-referencing 

changes to the Standard Sales 

Provisions made applicable to a 

particular sale are likely to increase due 

to the large number of required sales 

over the next decade.2 DOE estimates 

that it takes an additional two hours to 

review and evaluate such changes for 

each Notice of Sale. Typically, there are 

three individuals within a prospective 

offeror’s company, representing trading, 

contracting, and legal functions, 

involved in reviewing the Standard 

Sales Provisions applicable to a 

particular sale. Given that there are 

currently 95 registered entities in the 

SPR’s crude oil sales system—only 

registered entities may participate in the 

price competitive sale of SPR 

petroleum—this review encompasses 

roughly 570 additional burden hours (2 

hours × 3 people × 95 registered entities) 

of effort from highly paid professionals 

(assuming $225 per hour) in the private 

sector for each price competitive sale of 

SPR petroleum. The current SPR price 

competitive sales schedule is expected 

to result in 20 additional statutorilymandated sales through fiscal year 2027. 

Based on these numbers, this proposed 

rule would result in potential savings to 

industry of $2,565,000 over the next 10 

years. Additionally, each sale could 

include more than one sales cycle, each 

with its own Notice of Sale, resulting in 

further increased industry burden 

hours, which would translate to 

additional savings under this proposed 

rule. 

Lastly, this proposed rule would 

decrease the time spent by DOE 

preparing, reviewing, and issuing 

Notices of Sale as well as updated 

Standard Sales Provisions in the CFR. 

For example, the most recent Notice of 

Sale, released in August 2017, was 29 

pages in length, nearly 40% of which 

was dedicated to amendments and 

modifications to DOE’s Standard Sales 

Provisions. Out of the roughly 300 hours 

spent by DOE staff in preparing, 

reviewing, and releasing this Notice of 

Sale, approximately 120 hours would be 

foregone by not having to make 

amendments and modifications to 

DOE’s Standard Sales Provisions in each 

Notice of Sale. Similarly, periodically 

publishing DOE’s Standard Sales 

Provisions in the CFR takes 

considerable staff time. This proposed 

rule would reduce this effort by 

enabling DOE to make changes quickly 

and on a continuous, real-time basis. 

In conclusion, publishing the 

Standard Sales Provisions on the DOE 

SPR website, and the increased 

flexibility provided by this proposed 

rule to revise these Standard Sales 

Provisions as circumstances evolve, 

would reduce the length and complexity 

of Notices of Sale currently published 

by DOE, and reviewed by prospective 

offerors. As a result, administrative 

burdens placed on prospective offerors 

would be greatly reduced during price 

competitive sales of SPR petroleum. 

Additionally, by reducing the length 

and complexity of Notices of Sale 

currently published by DOE, the 

proposed rule would ensure greater 

clarity about the terms and conditions 

applicable to a Notice of Sale, which in 

turn would reduce the risks associated 

with reconciling the requirements 

established by DOE’s Standard Sales 

Provisions in the CFR, on the one hand, 

and as modified by the particular Notice 

of Sale on the other hand. DOE 

anticipates that this proposed rule 

would encourage increased 

participation by the private sector in 

future price competitive sales of 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
35440 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

petroleum from the SPR, which in turn 

would benefit the private sector by 

allowing for greater diversity and 

competition in sales of petroleum from 

the SPR. This proposed rule would also 

decrease the time spent by DOE 

preparing, reviewing, and issuing 

Notices of Sale as well as updating 

Standard Sales Provisions in the CFR. 

III. Regulatory Review 

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

This regulatory action has been 

determined to not be a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under Executive 

Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and 

Review,’’ 58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993). 

Accordingly, this action was not subject 

to review under that Executive Order by 

the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs of the Office of Management and 

Budget. 

DOE has also reviewed this regulation 

pursuant to Executive Order 13563, 

issued on January 18, 2011. (76 FR 3281, 

Jan. 21, 2011.) E.O. 13563 is 

supplemental to and explicitly reaffirms 

the principles, structures, and 

definitions governing regulatory review 

established in Executive Order 12866. 

To the extent permitted by law, agencies 

are required by Executive Order 13563 

to: (1) Propose or adopt a regulation 

only upon a reasoned determination 

that its benefits justify its costs 

(recognizing that some benefits and 

costs are difficult to quantify); (2) tailor 

regulations to impose the least burden 

on society, consistent with obtaining 

regulatory objectives, taking into 

account, among other things, and to the 

extent practicable, the costs of 

cumulative regulations; (3) select, in 

choosing among alternative regulatory 

approaches, those approaches that 

maximize net benefits (including 

potential economic, environmental, 

public health and safety, and other 

advantages; distributive impacts; and 

equity); (4) to the extent feasible, specify 

performance objectives, rather than 

specifying the behavior or manner of 

compliance that regulated entities must 

adopt; and (5) identify and assess 

available alternatives to direct 

regulation, including providing 

economic incentives to encourage the 

desired behavior, such as user fees or 

marketable permits, or providing 

information upon which choices can be 

made by the public. 

DOE concludes that this proposed 

rule is consistent with these principles. 

Specifically, this proposed rule would 

reduce burdens on potential offerors by 

reducing the time and cost associated 

with reviewing changes to the Standard 

Sales Provisions applicable to a 

particular sale. The proposed rule is 

intended to expedite the preparation of 

and simplify the content of Notices of 

Sale, which in turn will reduce the 

administrative burden placed on 

prospective bidders. 

B. Executive Orders 13771, 13777, and 

13783 

On January 30, 2017, the President 

issued Executive Order 13771, 

‘‘Reducing Regulation and Controlling 

Regulatory Costs.’’ That Order stated the 

policy of the executive branch is to be 

prudent and financially responsible in 

the expenditure of funds, from both 

public and private sources. The Order 

stated it is essential to manage the costs 

associated with the governmental 

imposition of private expenditures 

required to comply with Federal 

regulations. 

Additionally, on February 24, 2017, 

the President issued Executive Order 

13777, ‘‘Enforcing the Regulatory 

Reform Agenda.’’ The Order required 

the head of each agency designate an 

agency official as its Regulatory Reform 

Officer (RRO). Each RRO oversees the 

implementation of regulatory reform 

initiatives and policies to ensure that 

agencies effectively carry out regulatory 

reforms, consistent with applicable law. 

Further, Executive Order 13777 requires 

the establishment of a regulatory task 

force at each agency. The regulatory task 

force is required to make 

recommendations to the agency head 

regarding the repeal, replacement, or 

modification of existing regulations, 

consistent with applicable law. At a 

minimum, each regulatory reform task 

force must attempt to identify 

regulations that: 

(i) Eliminate jobs, or inhibit job 

creation; 

(ii) Are outdated, unnecessary, or 

ineffective; 

(iii) Impose costs that exceed benefits; 

(iv) Create a serious inconsistency or 

otherwise interfere with regulatory 

reform initiatives and policies; 

(v) Are inconsistent with the 

requirements of Information Quality 

Act, or the guidance issued pursuant to 

that Act, in particular those regulations 

that rely in whole or in part on data, 

information, or methods that are not 

publicly available or that are 

insufficiently transparent to meet the 

standard for reproducibility; or 

(vi) Derive from or implement 

Executive Orders or other Presidential 

directives that have been subsequently 

rescinded or substantially modified. 

Finally, on March 28, 2017, the 

President signed Executive Order 13783, 

entitled ‘‘Promoting Energy 

Independence and Economic Growth.’’ 

Among other things, Executive Order 

13783 requires the heads of agencies to 

review all existing regulations, orders, 

guidance documents, policies, and any 

other similar agency actions 

(collectively, agency actions) that 

potentially burden the development or 

use of domestically produced energy 

resources, with particular attention to 

oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy 

resources. Such review does not include 

agency actions that are mandated by 

law, necessary for the public interest, 

and consistent with the policy set forth 

elsewhere in that order. 

Executive Order 13783 defined 

burden for purposes of the review of 

existing regulations to mean to 

unnecessarily obstruct, delay, curtail, or 

otherwise impose significant costs on 

the siting, permitting, production, 

utilization, transmission, or delivery of 

energy resources. 

DOE concludes that this proposed 

rule is consistent with the directives set 

forth in these executive orders. 

Specifically, this proposed rule provides 

that DOE would publish its Standard 

Sales Provisions on the DOE SPR 

website as opposed to in the Federal 

Register and in the CFR. This proposed 

rule also provides that DOE would 

provide notice to impacted parties of 

revisions to its Standard Sales 

Provisions. The proposed rule is 

intended to expedite the preparation of 

and simplify the content of Notices of 

Sale, which in turn will reduce the 

administrative burden placed on 

prospective bidders. DOE also 

anticipates that this proposed rule 

would encourage increased 

participation by the private sector in 

future sales of petroleum from the SPR, 

which in turn would benefit the private 

sector by allowing for greater diversity 

and competition in sales of petroleum 

from the SPR. 

C. National Environmental Policy Act 

Per 10 CFR 1021.410(a), DOE has 

determined that promulgation of these 

regulations fall into a class of actions 

that does not individually or 

cumulatively have a significant impact 

on the human environment as set forth 

under DOE’s regulations implementing 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Further, 

this rulemaking is covered under the 

Categorical Exclusion found in the 

DOE’s National Environmental Policy 

Act regulations at paragraph A6 of 

appendix A to subpart D, 10 CFR part 

1021, which applies to rulemakings that 

are strictly procedural. Accordingly, 

neither an EIS nor an EA is required. 


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D. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires preparation 

of an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis for any rule that by law must 

be proposed for public comment, unless 

the agency certifies that the rule, if 

promulgated, will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. As required by 

Executive Order 13272, ‘‘Proper 

Consideration of Small Entities in 

Agency Rulemaking,’’ 67 FR 53461 

(August 16, 2002), DOE published 

procedures and policies on February 19, 

2003, to ensure that the potential 

impacts of its rules on small entities are 

properly considered during the 

rulemaking process (68 FR 7990). DOE 

has made its procedures and policies 

available on the Office of General 

Counsel’s website: http://

www.gc.doe.gov. 

DOE has reviewed this proposed rule 

under the provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act and the procedures and 

policies published on February 19, 

2003. As discussed in the preamble, this 

proposed rule provides that DOE would 

publish its Standard Sales Provisions on 

the DOE SPR website, rather than in the 

Federal Register and in the CFR. This 

proposed rule also provides that DOE 

would provide notice to impacted 

parties of revisions to its Standard Sales 

Provisions. Because it would streamline 

the process for amending and modifying 

DOE’s Standard Sales Provisions, which 

would in turn reduce the length and 

complexity of Notices of Sale currently 

published by DOE for sales of petroleum 

from the SPR, the proposed rule would 

not result in a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. DOE anticipates that this 

proposed rule would encourage 

increased participation by the private 

sector in future sales of petroleum from 

the SPR, by reducing the opportunity 

cost to participate in such sales. This, in 

turn, would allow for greater diversity 

and competition in sales of SPR 

petroleum from the SPR, including 

increased participation by small 

entities. 

Therefore, DOE certifies that this 

rulemaking will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Accordingly, 

DOE did not prepare an IRFA for this 

rulemaking. DOE’s certification and 

supporting statement of factual basis 

will be provided to the Chief Counsel 

for Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration for review under 5 

U.S.C. 605(b). 

E. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The proposed rule does not create or 

change any requirements subject to 

review and approval by OMB pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and the 

procedures implementing that Act, 5 

CFR 1320.1 et seq. Accordingly, OMB 

clearance is not required under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4) generally 

requires Federal agencies to examine 

closely the impacts of regulatory actions 

on tribal, state, and local governments. 

Subsection 101(5) of title I of that law 

defines a Federal intergovernmental 

mandate to include any regulation that 

would impose upon tribal, state, or local 

governments an enforceable duty, 

except a condition of Federal assistance 

or a duty arising from participating in a 

voluntary Federal program. Title II of 

that law requires each Federal agency to 

assess the effects of Federal regulatory 

actions on tribal, state, and local 

governments, in the aggregate, or to the 

private sector, other than to the extent 

such actions merely incorporate 

requirements specifically set forth in a 

statute. Section 202 of that title requires 

a Federal agency to perform a detailed 

assessment of the anticipated costs and 

benefits of any rule that includes a 

Federal mandate which may result in 

costs to tribal, state, or local 

governments, or to the private sector, of 

$100 million or more in any one year 

(adjusted annually for inflation). 2 

U.S.C. 1532(a) and (b). Section 204 of 

that title requires each agency that 

proposes a rule containing a significant 

Federal intergovernmental mandate to 

develop an effective process for 

obtaining meaningful and timely input 

from elected officers of tribal, state, and 

local governments. 2 U.S.C. 1534. 

This proposed rule provides that DOE 

would publish its Standard Sales 

Provisions on the DOE SPR website, 

rather than in the Federal Register and 

in the CFR. DOE has determined that 

the proposed rule would not result in 

the expenditure by tribal, state, and 

local governments in the aggregate, or 

by the private sector, of $100 million or 

more in any one year. Accordingly, no 

assessment or analysis is required under 

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995. 

G. Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act, 1999 

Section 654 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105–277) requires 

Federal agencies to issue a Family 

Policymaking Assessment for any 

proposed rule that may affect family 

well-being. The proposed rule would 

not have any impact on the autonomy 

or integrity of the family as an 

institution. Accordingly, DOE has 

concluded that it is not necessary to 

prepare a Family Policymaking 

Assessment. 

H. Executive Order 13132 

Executive Order 13132, ‘‘Federalism,’’ 

64 FR 43255 (August 4, 1999) imposes 

certain requirements on agencies 

formulating and implementing policies 

or regulations that preempt state law or 

that have Federalism implications. 

Agencies are required to examine the 

constitutional and statutory authority 

supporting any action that would limit 

the policymaking discretion of the states 

and carefully assess the necessity for 

such actions. DOE has examined this 

proposed rule and has determined that 

it would not preempt state law and 

would not have a substantial direct 

effect on the states, on the relationship 

between the national government and 

the states, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. No further 

action is required by Executive Order 

13132. 

I. Executive Order 12988 

With respect to the review of existing 

regulations and the promulgation of 

new regulations, section 3(a) of 

Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil Justice 

Reform,’’ 61 FR 4729 (February 7, 1996), 

imposes on Executive agencies the 

general duty to adhere to the following 

requirements: (1) Eliminate drafting 

errors and ambiguity; (2) write 

regulations to minimize litigation; and 

(3) provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct rather than a general 

standard and promote simplification 

and burden reduction. With regard to 

the review required by section 3(a), 

section 3(b) of Executive Order 12988 

specifically requires that Executive 

agencies make every reasonable effort to 

ensure that the regulation: (1) Clearly 

specifies the preemptive effect, if any; 

(2) clearly specifies any effect on 

existing Federal law or regulation; (3) 

provides a clear legal standard for 


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affected conduct while promoting 

simplification and burden reduction; (4) 

specifies the retroactive effect, if any; (5) 

adequately defines key terms; and (6) 

addresses other important issues 

affecting clarity and general 

draftsmanship under any guidelines 

issued by the Attorney General. Section 

3(c) of Executive Order 12988 requires 

Executive agencies to review regulations 

in light of applicable standards in 

section 3(a) and section 3(b) to 

determine whether they are met or it is 

unreasonable to meet one or more of 

them. DOE has completed the required 

review and determined that, to the 

extent permitted by law, the proposed 

rule meets the relevant standards of 

Executive Order 12988. 

J. Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act, 2001 

The Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

(44 U.S.C. 3516 note) provides for 

agencies to review most disseminations 

of information to the public under 

guidelines established by each agency 

pursuant to general guidelines issued by 

OMB. 

OMB’s guidelines were published at 

67 FR 8452 (February 22, 2002), and 

DOE’s guidelines were published at 67 

FR 62446 (October 7, 2002). DOE has 

reviewed this proposed rule under the 

OMB and DOE guidelines and has 

concluded that it is consistent with 

applicable policies in those guidelines. 

K. Executive Order 13211 

Executive Order 13211, ‘‘Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use,’’ 66 FR 28355 (May 

22, 2001) requires Federal agencies to 

prepare and submit to the OMB, a 

Statement of Energy Effects for any 

proposed significant energy action. A 

‘‘significant energy action’’ is defined as 

any action by an agency that 

promulgated or is expected to lead to 

promulgation of a final rule, and that: 

(1) Is a significant regulatory action 

under Executive Order 12866, or any 

successor order; and (2) is likely to have 

a significant adverse effect on the 

supply, distribution, or use of energy, or 

(3) is designated by the Administrator of 

OIRA as a significant energy action. For 

any proposed significant energy action, 

the agency must give a detailed 

statement of any adverse effects on 

energy supply, distribution, or use 

should the proposal be implemented, 

and of reasonable alternatives to the 

action and their expected benefits on 

energy supply, distribution, and use. 

DOE has determined that this 

regulatory action would not have a 

significant adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution, or use of energy, and 

therefore is not a significant energy 

action. The proposed rule would 

provide for the publication of DOE’s 

Standard Sales Provisions on the SPR 

website. DOE concluded, as discussed 

elsewhere in the preamble for this 

proposed rule, that this proposed rule 

would encourage increased 

participation by the private sector in 

future sales of petroleum from the SPR, 

by reducing the opportunity cost to 

participate in such sales. This increased 

participation would allow for greater 

diversity and competition in sales of 

SPR petroleum from the SPR, including 

increased participation by small entities 

as well as larger industry participants. 

This increased participation, however, 

is not expected to have a significant 

adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution, or use of energy because 

increased participation in the bidding 

process does not change the quantity of 

SPR petroleum offered or delivered. 

Accordingly, DOE has not prepared a 

Statement of Energy Effects. 

IV. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

the publication of this proposed rule. 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 625 

Government contracts, Oil and gas 

reserves, Strategic and critical materials. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on July 19, 

2018. 

Steven E. Winberg, 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Fossil Energy. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, DOE proposes to amend part 

625, chapter II of title 10, Code of 

Federal Regulations as set forth below: 

PART 625—PRICE COMPETITIVE 

SALE OF STRATEGIC PETROLEUM 

RESERVE PETROLEUM 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 625 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C 761; 42 U.S.C. 7101; 

42 U.S.C. 6241. 

■ 2. Section 625.4 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 625.4 Publication of the Standard Sales 

Provisions. 

(a) Publication. The Standard Sales 

Provisions shall be published on the 

U.S. Department of Energy Strategic 

Petroleum Reserve website (https://

www.energy.gov/fe/services/petroleumreserves/strategic-petroleum-reserve). 

(b) Revisions of the Standard Sales 

Provisions. The Standard Sales 

Provisions shall be reviewed on a 

continuous basis and republished on the 

Department of Energy Strategic 

Petroleum Reserve website. Notification 

of revisions of the Standard Sales 

Provisions shall be made in the Federal 

Register and sent to existing registered 

users in the SPR sales system. 

(c) Notification of applicable clauses. 

The Notice of Sale will specify, by 

referencing the Department of Energy 

Strategic Petroleum Reserve website, 

which contractual terms and conditions 

and contractor financial and 

performance responsibility measures 

contained or described therein are 

applicable to that particular sale. 

Appendix A to Part 625 [Removed] 

■ 3. Appendix A to part 625 is removed. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15902 Filed 7–25–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 165 

[Docket Number USCG–2018–0232] 

RIN 1625–AA00 

Safety Zone; Blue Angels Air Show; St. 

Johns River, Jacksonville, FL 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to 

establish a temporary safety zone on the 

waters of the St. Johns River in the 

vicinity of Naval Air Station (NAS) 

Jacksonville, Florida during the Blue 

Angels Air Show. This proposed 

rulemaking would prohibit persons and 

vessels from being in the safety zone 

unless authorized by the Captain of the 

Port (COTP) Jacksonville or a designated 

representative. We invite your 

comments on this proposed rulemaking. 

DATES: Comments and related material 

must be received by the Coast Guard on 

or before August 27, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by docket number USCG– 

2018–0232—using the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov. See the ‘‘Public 

Participation and Request for 

Comments’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

further instructions on submitting 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions about this proposed 

rulemaking, call or email Lieutenant 

Junior Grade Emily Sysko, Chief, 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS