26814 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

the representative of FSA. Before a 

challenged ballot is either counted or 

declared invalid, a determination shall 

be made by the FSA county office or 

representative of FSA as to the 

eligibility of the voter to vote in the 

referendum. 

§ 1205.206 Reporting results of 

referendum. 

(a) Each FSA county office shall 

transmit a written county summary of 

ballots showing the results of the 

referendum in its county to its State 

office. 

(b) Each State office shall transmit a 

written summary of the referendum 

results from the county offices within its 

State to DAFO, and DAFO will provide 

a copy to the AMS. AMS will make the 

results available for public inspection 

for a period of 5 years following the end 

of the referendum period. 

(c) AMS shall prepare and submit to 

the Secretary a report as to the results 

of the referendum. The Secretary shall 

then publically proclaim the results of 

the referendum. 

§ 1205.207 Challenge of correctness of 

county summary of ballots. 

The FSA State offices shall make a 

prompt investigation and decision in 

case of any dispute or challenge 

regarding the correctness of the county 

summary of ballots in any county: 

Provided, That no dispute of challenge 

shall be investigated unless it is brought 

to the attention of the State FSA office 

within 3 days after receipt by the FSA 

State office of the county summary of 

ballots from such county. 

§ 1205.208 Disposition of ballots and 

records. 

The FSA county office shall seal the 

voted ballots, challenged ballots found 

to be ineligible, spoiled ballots, register 

sheets, and summary sheets for county 

in one or more envelopes or packages, 

plainly marked with the identification 

of the referendum, the date and the 

names of the county and State, and 

place them under lock and key in a safe 

place under the custody of the FSA 

county office for a period of 45 days 

after the referendum period. If no notice 

to the contrary is received by the end of 

such time, and after the ballots and 

other records have been examined by a 

representative of the State FSA office, 

the voted ballots and challenged ballots 

shall be destroyed, but the registers and 

county summary sheets shall be filed for 

a period of 5 years in the office of the 

FSA county office. 

§ 1205.209 Confidential information. 

(a) The ballots cast or the manner in 

which any person voted and all 

information furnished to, compiled by, 

or in the possession of the referendum 

agent shall be regarded as confidential. 

(b) The ballots and other information 

or reports that reveal, or tend to reveal, 

the vote of any person covered under 

the Order and the voter list shall be 

strictly confidential and shall not be 

disclosed. 

§ 1205.210 Additional instructions and 

forms. 

AMS is hereby authorized to prescribe 

additional instructions and forms not 

inconsistent with the provisions of this 

subpart for the use of State and County 

FSA offices in conducting a referendum. 

Such additional instructions may 

include procedures for FSA county and 

State offices to report and announce the 

results of the preliminary count of the 

votes in the county and the State. 

Dated: May 28, 2009. 

Robert C. Keeney, 

Acting Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–12931 Filed 6–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 70 

[Docket No. PRM–70–8; NRC–2009–0184] 

Nuclear Energy Institute; Notice of 

Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice 

of receipt. 

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) has received and 

requests public comment on a petition 

for rulemaking dated April 16, 2009, 

filed by the Nuclear Energy Institute 

(NEI) (petitioner). The petition was 

docketed by the NRC and has been 

assigned Docket No. PRM–70–8. The 

petitioner requests that the NRC amend 

its regulations to clarify the existing 

event reporting requirements based on 

experience gained since the 

requirements were implemented in 

2000. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted by 

August 18, 2009. Comments received 

after this date will be considered if it is 

practical to do so, but the Commission 

is able to ensure consideration only for 

comments received on or before this 

date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this petition by any one of the 

following methods. Comments 

submitted in writing or in electronic 

form will be made available for public 

inspection. Because your comments will 

not be edited to remove any identifying 

or contact information, the NRC 

cautions you against including any 

information in your submission that you 

do not want to be publicly disclosed. 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for documents filed under Docket ID 

NRC–2009–0184. Address questions 

about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 

301–492–3668; e-mail 

Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 

Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

E-mail comments to: 

Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you 

do not receive a reply e-mail confirming 

that we have received your comments, 

contact us directly at 301–415–1677. 

Hand deliver comments to: 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm 

Federal workdays. (Telephone 301–415– 

1677). 

Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301– 

415–1101. 

You can access publicly available 

documents related to this document 

using the following methods: 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for documents filed under Docket ID 

NRC–2009–0184. 

NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR): 

The public may examine and have 

copied for a fee publicly available 

documents at the NRC’s PDR, Public 

File Area O1 F21, One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland. 

NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access 

and Management System (ADAMS): 

Publicly available documents created or 

received at the NRC are available 

electronically at the NRC’s Electronic 

Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, 

the public can gain entry into ADAMS, 

which provides text and image files of 

NRC’s public documents. If you do not 

have access to ADAMS or if there are 

problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS, contact the NRC’s 

PDR reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 

301–415–4737, or by e-mail to 

pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 

For a copy of the petition, write to 

Betty Golden, Rulemaking and 

Directives Branch, Division of 

Administrative Services, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001, Telephone 301–492–3669, toll 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 26815 

free 800–368–5642, 

Betty.Golden@nrc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking 

and Directives Branch, Division of 

Administrative Services, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001, Telephone 301–492–3663, toll 

free 800–368–5642, 

Michael.Lesar@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitioner 

NEI is the organization responsible for 

establishing unified industry policy on 

matters affecting the nuclear energy 

industry, including the regulatory 

aspects of generic operational and 

technical issues. NEI’s members include 

entities comprising the fuel cycle 

industry and other nuclear industries. 

NEI is responsible for coordinating the 

combined efforts of licensed facilities on 

matters involving generic NRC 

regulatory policy issues and generic 

operational and technical regulatory 

issues affecting the industry operations 

of every NRC-licensed operating fuel 

cycle facility and those under 

construction. 

Background 

The petitioner states that in a June 

2007 white paper, NEI documented 

challenges posed by implementation of 

the 2000 version of 10 CFR part 70, 

appendix A. The petitioner also states 

that the NRC had also observed 

inconsistent reporting of events under 

Appendix A to10 CFR Part 70 and had 

developed a matrix of reporting issues 

based on actual events. A working 

group, consisting of NRC and industry 

representatives, was formed to achieve a 

common understanding of reports 

required under Appendix A. The 

petitioner states that industry endorses 

and is ready to support the following 

suggested modifications to 10 CFR part 

70, appendix A. 

Proposed Action 

The petitioner requests that 10 CFR 

part 70, appendix A, be amended to 

clarify the requirements for reportable 

safety events based on experience to 

date. The petitioner believes that these 

modifications will help ensure a more 

uniform understanding of the 

requirements by licensees and NRC, as 

well as more consistent reporting of 

events by licensees. 

The petitioner’s suggested changes to 

10 CFR part 70, appendix A, are as 

follows: 

1. In the introductory text to 

Appendix A, remove ‘‘except for (a)(1), 

(a)(2), and (b)(4), after they have 

submitted an ISA Summary in 

accordance with § 70.62(c)(3)(ii). 

Licensees must comply with (a)(1), 

(a)(2), and (b)(4) after October 18, 2000.’’ 

The petitioner states that this text is no 

longer needed as the exemption expired 

October 18, 2004. 

2. In paragraph (a) of Appendix A, 

change the time requirement to submit 

a written report on events reported to 

the NRC Operations Center within 1 

hour of discovery, from 30 days to 60 

days. The petitioner states that a 60 day 

report provides higher assurance of a 

more complete report without 

compromising safety and is consistent 

with equivalent event reporting 

requirements for operating nuclear 

power plants in 10 CFR 50.73(a). The 

petitioner believes that changing the 

time limit from 30 days to 60 days does 

not mean that licensees will take longer 

to develop and implement corrective 

actions, which are done on a time scale 

commensurate with the safety 

significance of the issue. The petitioner 

believes that for those cases where it 

does take longer than 30 days to 

complete root cause analysis, this 

change will result in fewer reports that 

require submittal of an amended report. 

3. Revise paragraph (a)(2) of 

Appendix A to clarify that the intake is 

associated with a person located outside 

of the controlled area to make reporting 

commensurate with the performance 

requirements described in 10 CFR 

70.61(b)(3). The petitioner states that the 

30 mg limit may be changed to conform 

to a revised intake limit. 

4. Revise paragraph (a)(3) of 

Appendix A to read, ‘‘An acute 

chemical exposure to an individual 

inside the controlled area from licensed 

material or hazardous chemicals 

produced from licensed material that 

could endanger the life of a worker; or, 

a chemical release involving licensed 

material or hazardous chemicals 

produced from licensed materials that 

results in a concentration outside of the 

controlled area that exceeds the 

quantitative standards established as 

required by 10 CFR 70.61(b)(4)(ii).’’ The 

petitioner states that the proposed 

wording eliminates potential confusion 

regarding quantitative values for 

individuals located inside the 

controlled area. The petitioner states 

that it also requires reporting if the 

chemical release concentration is such 

that it exceeds the quantitative standard 

for an individual located outside of the 

controlled area, rather than requiring 

the licensee to determine if such an 

exposure actually occurred before being 

required to make a report. 

5. Remove paragraph (a)(5) of 

Appendix A. The petitioner believes 

that reporting of this type of event (e.g., 

loss of controls) is currently required by 

paragraph (b)(2) of Appendix A. The 

petitioner states that additionally, a one 

hour reporting requirement for nuclear 

criticality safety is not consistent with 

the allowed risk for other high 

consequence events for which a single 

item relied on for safety (IROFS) is 

allowed. 

6. In paragraph (b) of Appendix A, 

change the time requirement to submit 

written reports on events reported to the 

NRC Operations Center within 24 hours 

of discovery, supplemented with the 

information in 10 CFR 70.50(c)(1) as it 

becomes available, from 30 days to 60 

days. The petitioner states that a 60 day 

report provides higher assurance of a 

more complete report without 

compromising safety and is consistent 

with equivalent event reporting 

requirements for operating nuclear 

power plants in 10 CFR 50.73a. The 

petitioner believes that changing the 

time limit from 30 days to 60 days does 

not mean that licensees will take longer 

to develop and implement corrective 

actions, which are done on a time scale 

commensurate with the safety 

significance of the issue. The petitioner 

states that, for those cases where it does 

take longer than 30 days to complete a 

root cause analysis, this change will 

result in fewer reports that require 

submittal of an amended report. 

7. Revise paragraph (b)(3) of 

Appendix A to read, ‘‘An acute 

chemical exposure to an individual 

inside the controlled area from licensed 

material or hazardous chemicals 

produced from licensed materials that 

requires medical treatment at an off-site 

medical facility.’’ The petitioner 

believes that this proposed change 

would help ensure event reporting at a 

threshold that the NRC would generally 

want to know about, and that licensees 

would generally notify NRC whether or 

not reporting was required. 

8. In paragraph (b)(4) of Appendix A, 

remove ‘‘or may have affected’’ to clarify 

NRC’s expectation on reporting any 

natural phenomenon or other external 

event, including fires internal and 

external to the facility. The petitioner 

believes that if the safety function or 

availability of an IROFS has been 

affected, then this phrase is very clear. 

However, the petitioner states that the 

phrase ‘‘or may have affected’’ is 

subjective and difficult to interpret for 

licensees and the NRC. The petitioner 

states that, for example, a wind storm 

‘‘may have’’ impacted an IROFS if it had 

been more severe. The petitioner 

believes that the current approach to 

26816 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

1This part was originally titled Part B but it was 

redesignated Part A in the United States Code for 

editorial reasons. 

reporting is not consistent with other 

event reporting requirements. 

9. Remove paragraph (b)(5) of 

Appendix A because it is redundant 

with paragraph (b)(1) of Appendix A. 

10. The petitioner states that the 

industry understands that additional 

NRC staff guidance is being prepared 

concerning the issuance of reports 

submitted to the NRC Operations Center 

concurrent to the news release or other 

notification concerning any event or 

situation, related to the health and 

safety of the public or onsite personnel, 

or protection of the environment. The 

petitioner encourages the NRC to issue 

the guidance for public comment as 

soon as possible. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day 

of May 2009. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Annette L. Vietti-Cook, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. E9–13023 Filed 6–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2008–BT–STD–0005] 

RIN 1904–AB57 

Energy Efficiency Program for 

Consumer Products: Public Meeting 

and Availability of Framework 

Document for Battery Chargers and 

External Power Supplies 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

availability of a Framework Document. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is initiating a rulemaking 

process to consider establishing new 

energy conservation standards for 

battery chargers and amending the 

energy conservation standards for Class 

A external power supplies, as directed 

by the Energy Independence and 

Security Act of 2007 (EISA). 

Accordingly, DOE will hold an informal 

public meeting to discuss and receive 

comments on its planned analytical 

approach and issues it will address in 

this rulemaking proceeding. DOE also 

welcomes written comments from the 

public concerning this rulemaking. To 

inform interested parties and to 

facilitate this process, DOE has prepared 

two documents: a framework document, 

which explains the analytical approach 

and identifies particular issues on 

which DOE is interested in receiving 

comment; and a draft technical report, 

which details DOE’s research and 

analysis on these products to date. 

Copies of these and all other documents 

associated with this rulemaking are 

available at http://www.eere.energy.gov/ 

buildings/appliance_standards/ 

residential/battery_external.html. 

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting 

in Washington, DC, beginning on July 

16, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The 

agenda for the public meeting will 

include the energy conservation 

standards rulemaking on battery 

chargers and external power supplies. 

DOE must receive requests to speak at 

this public meeting no later than 4 p.m., 

Thursday, July 2, 2009. DOE must 

receive a signed original and an 

electronic copy of statements to be given 

at the public meeting no later than 4 

p.m., Thursday, July 9, 2009. Written 

comments on the framework document 

are welcome, especially following the 

public meeting, and should be 

submitted by July 20, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 1E–245, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. Please 

note that foreign nationals participating 

in the public meeting are subject to 

advance security screening procedures. 

If a foreign national wishes to 

participate in the public meeting, please 

inform DOE as soon as possible by 

contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 

586–2945 so that the necessary 

procedures can be completed. 

Interested parties may submit 

comments, identified by docket number 

EERE–2008–BT–STD–0005 and/or 

Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 

1904–AB57, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: BC&EPS_ECS@ee.doe.gov. 

Include docket number EERE–2008–BT– 

STD–0005 and/or RIN 1904–AB57 in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

Framework Document for Battery 

Chargers and External Power Supplies, 

docket number EERE–2008–BT–STD– 

0005 and/or RIN 1904–AB57, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. Please 

submit one signed paper original. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 6th 

Floor, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. Please submit 

one signed paper original. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number or RIN for this 

rulemaking. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to the U.S. 

Department of Energy, Resource Room 

of the Building Technologies Program, 

Sixth Floor, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024, (202) 586–2945, 

between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Please call Ms. Brenda Edwards first at 

the above telephone number for 

additional information about visiting 

the Resource Room. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Victor Petrolati, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–4549. E-mail: 

Victor.Petrolati@ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Michael Kido, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–72, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: 

(202) 586–9507. E-mail: 

Michael.Kido@hq.doe.gov. 

For information on how to submit or 

review public comments and on how to 

participate in the public meeting, 

contact Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Office of Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, EE–2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC, 20585–0121. 

Telephone (202) 586–2945. E-mail: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of 

the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 

(EPCA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 6291 et 

seq.), sets forth a variety of provisions 

designed to improve energy efficiency. 

Part B of Title III (42 U.S.C. 6291–6309), 

subsequently renamed Part A, 

established the ‘‘Energy Conservation 

Program for Consumer Products Other 

Than Automobiles.’’ 1 The consumer 

products subject to this program are 

referred to as ‘‘covered products.’’ 

Section 135 of the Energy Policy Act 

of 2005 (EPACT 2005), Public Law 109– 

58, amended sections 321 and 325 of 

EPCA, by defining battery chargers and 

external power supplies and directing 

the Secretary to prescribe ‘‘definitions 

and test procedures for the power use of 

battery chargers and external power