Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Proposed Rules 79175 

February 2023 Listening Sessions 

The Department solicited feedback 

from external partners on the planning, 

requesting, and operating of D–SNAP in 

February 2023. Over three listening 

sessions, FNS explored ways to improve 

meeting the immediate needs of families 

following a disaster, with the aim to 

improve existing D–SNAP guidance. 

FNS held separate sessions for 

community partners, electronic benefit 

transfer (EBT) vendors, and State 

agencies administering SNAP. During 

these sessions, participants provided 

valuable insight into what is working 

well with D–SNAP and what could be 

improved moving forward. Overall, the 

feedback from participants in these 

listening sessions highlighted the 

benefits of maintaining flexibility in 

disaster response requirements. 

Withdrawal 

After reviewing feedback received 

through listening sessions and 

comments on the proposed rule, and 

considering program flexibility during 

the public health emergency, the 

Department has determined that the 

proposed rule to revise the current 

disaster regulations should not be 

finalized. In withdrawing this proposed 

rule, the Department reaffirms its 

longstanding D–SNAP operation 

policies and practices, authorized by 

§ 412 of the Stafford Act and § 5(h)(1) of 

the FNA. The Department acknowledges 

that the flexibility afforded by current 

practices and D–SNAP guidance are 

critical to reducing the burden on needy 

households and State agencies who are 

responding to the aftermath of a 

disaster. 

The Department agrees with the 

issues raised by many commenters and 

will use this feedback to inform any 

necessary updates to D–SNAP guidance. 

The Department no longer believes that 

finalizing this now outdated rule would 

allow for maximum flexibility in 

disaster response or sufficiently address 

the comments on the proposed rule. 

Accordingly, the proposed rule to revise 

D–SNAP regulations published in the 

Federal Register on May 10, 2016, (81 

FR 28738) is hereby withdrawn. 

Tameka Owens, 

Acting Administrator and Assistant 

Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22096 Filed 9–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 945 

[Doc. No. AMS–SC–24–0042] 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Certain 

Designated Counties in Idaho, and 

Malheur County, Oregon; Increased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

implement a recommendation from the 

Idaho-Eastern Oregon Potato Committee 

(Committee) to increase the assessment 

rate established for the 2024–2025 fiscal 

period and subsequent fiscal periods 

from $0.002 to $0.003 per 

hundredweight of potatoes handled 

under the marketing order. The 

proposed assessment rate would remain 

in effect indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

October 28, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed rule. 

Comments can be sent to the Docket 

Clerk, Market Development Division, 

Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237. 

Comments can also be submitted to the 

Docket Clerk electronically by Email: 

MarketingOrderComment@usda.gov or 

via the internet at: https://

www.regulations.gov. Comments should 

reference the document number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register. Comments 

submitted in response to this proposed 

rule will be included in the record and 

made available to the public and can be 

viewed at: https://www.regulations.gov. 

Please be advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting the 

comments will be made public on the 

internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregory A. Breasher, Marketing 

Specialist, or Barry M. Broadbent, Chief, 

Northwest Region Branch, Market 

Development Division, Specialty Crops 

Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (503) 

326–2282, or Email: gregory.breasher@

usda.gov or barry.broadbent@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Richard Lower, 

Market Development Division, Specialty 

Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, STOP 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–8085, or Email: 

Richard.Lower@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, 

proposes to amend regulations issued to 

carry out a marketing order as defined 

in 7 CFR 900.2(j). This proposed rule is 

issued under Marketing Agreement No. 

98 and Marketing Order No. 945, both 

as amended (7 CFR part 945), regulating 

the handling of potatoes grown in 

certain counties in Idaho, and Malheur 

County, Oregon. Part 945 (referred to as 

the ‘‘Order’’) is effective under the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674), 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act.’’ The 

Committee locally administers the 

Order and comprises producers and 

handlers of potatoes operating within 

the area of production. 

The Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS) is issuing this proposed rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

12866, 13563, and 14094. Executive 

Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies 

to assess all costs and benefits of 

available regulatory alternatives and, if 

regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health 

and safety effects, distributive impacts, 

and equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, 

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and 

promoting flexibility. Executive Order 

14094 reaffirms, supplements, and 

updates Executive Order 12866 and 

further directs agencies to solicit and 

consider input from a wide range of 

affected and interested parties through a 

variety of means. This proposed action 

falls within a category of regulatory 

actions that the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) exempted from 

Executive Order 12866 review. 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 13175— 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments, which 

requires Federal agencies to consider 

whether their rulemaking actions would 

have Tribal implications. AMS has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

unlikely to have substantial direct 

effects on one or more Indian Tribes, on 

the relationship between the Federal 

Government and Indian Tribes, or on 

the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian Tribes. 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988—Civil 

Justice Reform. Under the Order now in 

effect, Idaho-Eastern Oregon potato 


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79176 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

handlers are subject to assessments. 

Funds to administer the Order are 

derived from such assessments. It is 

intended that the assessment rate would 

be applicable to all assessable IdahoEastern Oregon potatoes for the 2024– 

2025 fiscal period, and continue until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

section 8c(15)(A) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 

608(c)(15)(A)), any handler subject to an 

order may file with the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture (USDA) a petition stating 

that the order, any provision of the 

order, or any obligation imposed in 

connection with the order is not in 

accordance with law and requesting a 

modification of the order or to be 

exempted therefrom. Such handler is 

afforded the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. After the hearing, USDA 

would rule on the petition. The Act 

provides that the district court of the 

United States in any district in which 

the handler is an inhabitant, or has his 

or her principal place of business, has 

jurisdiction to review USDA’s ruling on 

the petition, provided an action is filed 

not later than 20 days after the date of 

the entry of the ruling. 

This proposed rule would increase 

the assessment rate for Idaho-Eastern 

Oregon potatoes handled under the 

Order from $0.002 per hundredweight, 

the rate that was established for the 

2017–2018 fiscal period and subsequent 

fiscal periods (82 FR 28550), to $0.003 

per hundredweight for the 2024–2025 

fiscal period and subsequent fiscal 

periods. 

Sections 945.41 and 945.42 of the 

Order authorize the Committee, with the 

approval of AMS, to formulate an 

annual budget of expenses and collect 

assessments from handlers to administer 

the program. The members of the 

Committee are familiar with the 

Committee’s needs and with the costs of 

goods and services in their local area 

and are able to formulate an appropriate 

budget and assessment rate. The 

assessment rate is formulated and 

discussed in a public meeting, and all 

directly affected persons have an 

opportunity to participate and provide 

input. 

For the 2017–2018 fiscal period and 

subsequent fiscal periods, the 

Committee recommended, and AMS 

approved, an assessment rate of $0.002 

per hundredweight of Idaho-Eastern 

Oregon potatoes within the production 

area (82 FR 28550). That rate continues 

in effect from fiscal period to fiscal 

period until modified, suspended, or 

terminated by AMS upon 

recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

information available to AMS. 

The Committee met on June 5, 2024, 

and unanimously recommended 2024– 

2025 fiscal period expenditures of 

$99,522 and an assessment rate of 

$0.003 per hundredweight of Idaho 

Eastern-Oregon potatoes handled for the 

2024–2025 fiscal period and subsequent 

fiscal periods. In comparison, the 

budgeted expenditures for fiscal period 

2023–2024 were $99,703. The proposed 

assessment rate of $0.003 per 

hundredweight is $0.001 higher than 

the rate currently in effect. The 

Committee recommended increasing the 

assessment rate to better align 

assessment revenue with budgeted 

expenses and to replenish reserves 

which were depleted between August 

2017 and June 2024. The Committee 

estimates shipments for the 2024–2025 

season to be approximately 34,000,000 

hundredweight, an increase from the 

28,167,500 hundredweight handled for 

the 2023–2024 fiscal period. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2024–2025 fiscal period include $75,489 

in administrative expenses; $10,013 for 

operational expenses; $4,670 for 

insurance/banking expenses; $4,000 for 

annual audit/compliance expenses; 

$2,950 for committee travel expenses 

and $2,400 for IT support. For 

comparison, budgeted expenses for 

these items during the 2023–2024 fiscal 

period were $74,960, $10,013, $4,880, 

$4,500, $2,950, and $2,400, respectively. 

The expected 34,000,000 

hundredweight of Idaho-Eastern Oregon 

potatoes from the 2024–2025 crop 

would generate $102,000 in assessment 

revenue at the proposed assessment rate 

(34,000,000 hundredweight of potatoes 

multiplied by $0.003 assessment rate). 

The assessment rate increase should be 

appropriate to ensure the Committee has 

sufficient revenue to fully fund its 

recommended 2024–2025 fiscal period 

budgeted expenditures and begin 

replenishing the Committee’s reserve 

funds to a level that the Committee 

believes is appropriate. 

The Committee derived the 

recommended assessment rate by 

considering anticipated fiscal period 

expenses, expected shipments of 

potatoes, and the amount of funds 

available in the financial reserve. 

Income derived from handler 

assessments ($102,000) would be 

adequate to cover budgeted expenses 

($99,522). Funds available in the 

financial reserve (currently about 

$80,000) would be kept within the 

maximum permitted by the Order 

(approximately one fiscal period’s 

expenses as authorized in § 945.44). 

The proposed assessment rate would 

continue in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

AMS upon recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or other available 

information. Although this assessment 

rate would be in effect for an indefinite 

period, the Committee would continue 

to meet prior to or during each fiscal 

period to recommend a budget of 

expenses and consider 

recommendations for modification of 

the assessment rate. The dates and times 

of Committee meetings are available 

from the Committee or AMS. Committee 

meetings are open to the public and 

interested persons may express their 

views at these meetings. AMS would 

evaluate Committee recommendations 

and other available information to 

determine whether modification of the 

assessment rate is needed. Further 

rulemaking would be undertaken as 

necessary. The Committee’s 2024–2025 

fiscal period budget, and those for 

subsequent fiscal periods, will be 

reviewed and, as appropriate, approved 

by AMS. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), AMS has considered 

the economic impact of this proposed 

rule on small entities. Accordingly, 

AMS has prepared this initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are approximately 450 

producers of Idaho-Eastern Oregon 

potatoes in the production area and 32 

handlers subject to regulation under the 

Order. At the time this analysis was 

prepared, the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) defined small 

agricultural service firms as those 

having annual receipts equal to or less 

than $34,000,000 (North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

code 115114, Postharvest Crop 

Activities), and small agricultural 

producers of potatoes as those having 

annual receipts equal to or less than 

$4,250,000 (NAICS code 111211, Potato 

Farming) (13 CFR 121.201). 

According to the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 

the average annual producer price 


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received for fresh market potatoes in 

Idaho, and Malheur County, Oregon, in 

2022, the most recent full year for which 

there is NASS data, was $12.50 per 

hundredweight. Total shipments of 

Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes for the 

2021–2022 season were reported by the 

Committee to be 28,167,500 

hundredweight. Using the average 

producer price from 2022, the total 

2021–2022 crop value of Idaho-Eastern 

Oregon potatoes could therefore be 

estimated to be $352,093,750 

(28,167,500 hundredweight times 

$12.50 per hundredweight). Dividing 

the crop value by the estimated number 

of producers (450) yields an estimated 

average receipt per producer of 

$782,431. This figure is well below the 

SBA small agricultural producer 

threshold of $4,250,000 in annual 

receipts. Assuming a normal 

distribution, this provides evidence that 

a large majority of potato producers 

would likely be considered small 

agricultural producers according to the 

SBA definition. 

According to AMS Market News data, 

the reported average free on board (FOB) 

price for potatoes from Idaho-Eastern 

Oregon over the 2021–2022 fiscal period 

was $15.68 per 50-pound carton, 

depending upon variety, size and grade, 

and shipping date. Multiplying this 

figure by 2 (to adjust to hundredweight) 

yields an average FOB price of $31.36 

per hundredweight for the 2021–2022 

fiscal period. Multiplying the 2021– 

2022 Idaho-Eastern Oregon potato 

production of 28,167,500 

hundredweight by the estimated average 

price per hundredweight of $31.36 

equals $883,332,800. Dividing this 

figure by 32 regulated handlers yields 

estimated average annual handler 

receipts of $27,604,150 ($883,332,800 

divided by 32 handlers), which is below 

the SBA threshold for small agricultural 

service firms. Therefore, according to 

the above data and assuming a normal 

distribution, most of the producers, and 

many of the handlers, of Idaho-Eastern 

Oregon potatoes may be classified as 

small entities. 

This proposal would increase the 

assessment rate collected from handlers 

for the 2024–2025 fiscal period and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.002 to 

$0.003 per hundredweight of IdahoEastern Oregon potatoes. The 

Committee unanimously recommended 

2024–2025 fiscal period expenditures of 

$99,522 and an assessment rate of 

$0.003 per hundredweight of IdahoEastern Oregon potatoes handled. The 

proposed assessment rate of $0.003 is 

$0.001 higher than the rate currently in 

effect. The Committee expects the 

industry to handle 34,000,000 

hundredweight of Idaho-Eastern Oregon 

potatoes during the 2024–2025 fiscal 

period. Thus, the $0.003 per 

hundredweight rate should provide 

$102,000 in assessment income 

(34,000,000 hundredweight multiplied 

by $0.003). The Committee expects that 

income generated from handler 

assessments should be sufficient to meet 

budgeted expenditures for the 2024– 

2025 fiscal period. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2024–2025 fiscal period include $75,489 

in administrative expenses; $10,013 for 

operational expenses; $4,670 for 

insurance/banking expenses; $4,000 for 

annual audit/compliance expenses; 

$2,950 for committee travel expenses 

and $2,400 for IT support. For 

comparison, budgeted expenses for 

these items during the 2023–2024 fiscal 

period were $74,960, $10,013, $4,880, 

$4,500, $2,950, and $2,400, respectively. 

In recent years, the Committee has 

utilized reserve funds to partially fund 

its budgeted expenditures. The 

Committee recommended increasing the 

assessment rate to fully fund 2024–2025 

fiscal period budgeted expenditures and 

replenish funds held in its reserve. This 

action would add an estimated $2,478 to 

the Committee’s financial reserve fund. 

The reserve balance would be kept at a 

level that the Committee believes is 

appropriate and which is compliant 

with the provisions of the Order. 

Prior to arriving at this budget and 

assessment rate recommendation, the 

Committee discussed various 

alternatives, including maintaining the 

current assessment rate of $0.002 per 

hundredweight and increasing the 

assessment rate by different amounts. 

However, the Committee determined 

that the recommended assessment rate 

would fully fund budgeted expenses 

and replenish reserves to appropriate 

levels. The assessment rate of $0.003 per 

hundredweight of Idaho-Eastern Oregon 

potatoes was derived by considering 

anticipated expenses, the projected 

volume of assessable Idaho-Eastern 

Oregon potatoes, the projected monetary 

balance held in reserve, and additional 

pertinent factors. 

A review of NASS information 

indicates that the average producer 

price for the 2021–2022 fiscal period 

was $12.50 per hundredweight of 

potatoes in the production area. 

Therefore, utilizing the proposed 

assessment rate of $0.003 per 

hundredweight, assessment revenue for 

the 2021–2022 fiscal period, as a 

percentage of total producer revenue, 

would have been approximately 0.024 

percent of total producer revenue 

($0.003 divided by $12.50 multiplied by 

100). 

This proposed action would increase 

the assessment obligation imposed on 

Idaho-Eastern Oregon potato handlers. 

Assessments are applied uniformly on 

all handlers, and some of the costs may 

be passed on to producers. However, 

these costs are expected to be offset by 

the benefits derived by the operation of 

the Order. 

The Committee’s meetings are widely 

publicized throughout the production 

area. The Idaho-Eastern Oregon potato 

industry and all interested persons are 

invited to attend the meetings and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the June 5, 2024, meeting was 

a public meeting and all entities, both 

large and small, were able to express 

views on this issue. Finally, interested 

persons are invited to submit comments 

on this proposed rule, including the 

regulatory and information collection 

impacts of this action on small 

businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35), the Order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by OMB and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, 

Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No 

changes in those requirements would be 

necessary as a result of this proposed 

rule. Should any changes become 

necessary, they would be submitted to 

OMB for approval. 

This proposed rule would not impose 

any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large Idaho-Eastern Oregon 

potato handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act to promote the 

use of the internet and other 

information technologies and to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

AMS has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this proposed rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: https://

www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/ 

moa/small-businesses. Any questions 

about the compliance guide should be 

sent to Richard Lower at the previously 

mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 


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1 16 U.S.C. 824o(d)(2). 

2 Internal Network Sec. Monitoring for High & 

Medium Impact Bulk Elec. Sys. Cyber Sys., Order 

No. 887, 88 FR 8354 (Feb. 9, 2023), 182 FERC 

¶ 61,021 (2023). 

3 16 U.S.C. 824o(d)(5). 

4 INSM is ‘‘a subset of network security 

monitoring that is applied within a ‘trust zone,’ 

such as an electronic security perimeter.’’ Order No. 

887, 182 FERC ¶ 61,021 at P 2. 

5EACMS are ‘‘Cyber Assets that perform 

electronic access control or electronic access 

monitoring of the Electronic Security Perimeter(s) 

or BES Cyber Systems. This includes Intermediate 

Systems.’’ NERC, Glossary of Terms Used in NERC 

Reliability Standards, (July 22, 2024), https://

www.nerc.com/pa/Stand/Glossary%20of%20

Terms/Glossary_of_Terms.pdf (NERC Glossary). 

6PACS are ‘‘Cyber Assets that control, alert, or 

log access to the Physical Security Perimeter(s), 

exclusive of locally mounted hardware or devices 

at the Physical Security Perimeter such as motion 

sensors, electronic lock control mechanisms, and 

badge readers.’’ Id. 

7NERC defines BES Cyber Systems as ‘‘One or 

more BES Cyber Assets logically grouped by a 

responsible entity to perform one or more reliability 

tasks for a functional entity.’’ See NERC Glossary. 

BES Cyber Systems are categorized as high, 

medium, or low impact depending on the functions 

of the assets housed within each system and the 

risk they potentially pose to the reliable operation 

of the Bulk-Power System. Reliability Standard 

CIP–002–5.1a (BES Cyber System Categorization) 

sets forth criteria that registered entities apply to 

categorize BES Cyber Systems as high, medium, or 

low impact depending on the adverse impact that 

loss, compromise, or misuse of those BES Cyber 

Systems could have on the reliable operation of the 

BES. The impact level (i.e., high, medium, or low) 

of BES Cyber Systems, in turn, determines the 

applicability of security controls for BES Cyber 

Systems that are contained in the remaining CIP 

Reliability Standards (i.e., Reliability Standards 

CIP–003–8 to CIP–013–1). 

8External routable connectivity is ‘‘[t]he ability to 

access a BES Cyber System from a Cyber Asset that 

is outside of its associated Electronic Security 

Perimeter via a bi-directional routable protocol 

connection.’’ NERC Glossary. 

9Order No. 887, 182 FERC ¶ 61,021 at P 49. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendations 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, USDA has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with and will effectuate the 

purposes of the Act. 

A 30-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rule. All written 

comments timely received will be 

considered before a final determination 

is made on this rulemaking. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 945 

Marketing agreements, Potatoes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service proposes to amend 7 CFR part 

945 as follows: 

PART 945—IRISH POTATOES GROWN 

IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED COUNTIES 

IN IDAHO, AND MALHEUR COUNTY, 

OREGON 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 945 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Revise § 945.249 to read as follows: 

§ 945.249 Assessment rate. 

On and after August 1, 2024, an 

assessment rate of $0.003 per 

hundredweight is established for IdahoEastern Oregon potatoes. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22213 Filed 9–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 40 

[Docket No. RM24–7–000] 

Critical Infrastructure Protection 

Reliability Standard CIP–015–1—Cyber 

Security—Internal Network Security 

Monitoring 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) 

proposes to approve proposed 

Reliability Standard CIP–015–1 (Cyber 

Security—Internal Network Security 

Monitoring), which the North American 

Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), 

submitted in response to a Commission 

directive. In addition, the Commission 

proposes to direct that NERC develop 

certain modifications to proposed 

Reliability Standard CIP–015–1 to 

extend internal network security 

monitoring to include electronic access 

control or monitoring systems and 

physical access control systems outside 

of the electronic security perimeter. 

DATES: Comments are due November 26, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by 

docket number, may be filed in the 

following ways. Electronic filing 

through http://www.ferc.gov, is 

preferred. 

• Electronic Filing: Documents must 

be filed in acceptable native 

applications and print-to-PDF, but not 

in scanned or picture format. 

• For those unable to file 

electronically, comments may be filed 

by USPS mail or by hand (including 

courier) delivery. 

Æ Mail via U.S. Postal Service Only: 

Addressed to: Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426. 

Æ Hand (Including Courier) Delivery: 

Deliver to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 

Rockville, MD 20852. 

The Comment Procedures Section of 

this document contains more detailed 

filing procedures. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Margaret Steiner (Technical 

Information), Office of Electric 

Reliability, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502 

6704, Margaret.Steiner@ferc.gov 

Hampden T. Macbeth (Legal 

Information), Office of General 

Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502 

8957, Hampden.Macbeth@ferc.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Pursuant to section 215(d)(2) of the 

Federal Power Act (FPA),1 the 

Commission proposes to approve 

proposed Critical Infrastructure 

Protection (CIP) Reliability Standard 

CIP–015–1 (Cyber Security—Internal 

Network Security Monitoring). The 

North American Electric Reliability 

Corporation (NERC), the Commissioncertified Electric Reliability 

Organization (ERO), submitted the 

proposed Reliability Standard for 

Commission approval in response to a 

Commission directive in Order No. 

887.2 In addition, pursuant to section 

215(d)(5) of the FPA,3 the Commission 

proposes to direct that NERC develop 

further modifications to Reliability 

Standard CIP–015–1, within 12 months 

of the effective date of a final rule in this 

proceeding, to extend Internal Network 

Security Monitoring (INSM) 4 to include 

electronic access control or monitoring 

systems (EACMS) 5 and physical access 

control systems (PACS) 6 outside of the 

electronic security perimeter. 

2. In Order No. 887, the Commission 

directed that NERC develop new or 

modified CIP Reliability Standards that 

require INSM for CIP-networked 

environments for all high impact bulk 

electric system (BES) Cyber Systems 7

with and without external routable 

connectivity 8 and medium impact BES 

Cyber Systems with external routable 

connectivity.9 Proposed Reliability 

Standard CIP–015–1 is partly responsive 

to the Commission’s directives in Order 

No. 887 and advances the reliability of 

the Bulk-Power System by (1) 


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