[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 5, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 62318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29576]
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 233 / Tuesday, December 5, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
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[[Page 62318]]
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Parts 475, 476, and 478
Removal of Obsolete Regulations
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy is proposing to amend the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) to remove obsolete regulations relating to
defunct programs of financial assistance for electric and hybrid
vehicle research and methane transportation research. This action is
being taken in response to the President's Regulatory Reinvention
Initiative to eliminate obsolete regulations and streamline existing
rules.
DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received in writing by
January 4, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to Mr. Romulo L. Diaz,
Jr., Director, Rulemaking Support, Office of the General Counsel, (GC-
75), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.,
Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-2902.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Romulo L. Diaz, Jr., Director,
Rulemaking Support, Office of the General Counsel, (GC-75), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC
20585, (202) 586-2902.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In connection with the President's
Regulatory Reinvention Initiative, the Department of Energy is engaged
in a continuing and comprehensive review of its regulatory program. As
part of that review, the Department is removing from Title 10 of the
CFR regulations for which statutory authority has expired or has been
superseded by subsequent legislation, and other regulations governing
nonfunctioning and unfunded programs. As a result of this proposed
action and prior actions, the Department will have reduced its pages in
the CFR by 514 pages.
The Department is proposing to remove from the CFR the following
regulations, which it has determined to be obsolete:
10 CFR Part 475--Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development and
Demonstration Program
The Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development and
Demonstration Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C. 2501 et seq., authorized the
Department to support research, development and demonstration of
electric and hybrid vehicle technologies. Part 475 contains performance
standards for electric vehicles which DOE developed for purposes of the
demonstration program. The demonstration period extended, by law,
through fiscal year 1986. 15 U.S.C. 2506(c)(3). Because the
demonstration program has ended, these regulations are obsolete.
10 CFR Part 476--Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development and
Demonstration Program Small Business Planning Grants
Section 9 of the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development
and Demonstration Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C. 2508(c)(2), authorized the
Department to make grants to qualified small businesses that needed
assistance in developing and submitting proposals for contracts. Part
476 contains regulations implementing the Act's provision for these
small business planning grants. Congress has not appropriated funds for
this program for the past 15 years. DOE does not expect the program to
be revived.
10 CFR Part 478--Methane Transportation Research and Development;
Review and Certification of Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements
and Projects
Part 478 provides procedures for grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements to support research and development for methane-fueled
vehicles. The regulations implement section 4(d) of the Methane
Transportation Research, Development, and Demonstration Act. 15 U.S.C.
3801 et seq. The Department has not requested, and Congress has not
provided, funds for this program for many years. The Department has no
plans to seek revival of this program, and it considers these
regulations to be obsolete.
The Department of Energy is publishing, elsewhere in this issue, a
direct final rule, to remove these CFR parts. As explained in the
preamble for the direct final rule, the Department considers this
removal action to be uncontroversial and unlikely to generate
significant adverse or critical comments. If no significant adverse
comments are received by the Department, the direct final rule will
become effective on January 16, 1996, and there will be no further
action on this proposal. If such comments are received, the direct
final rule will be withdrawn for those parts that are the subject of
significant adverse comments. The public comments then will be
addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. The
Department will not institute a second comment period on this action.
Issued in Washington, DC on November 29, 1995.
Robert R. Nordhaus,
General Counsel.
PARTS 475, 476, 478--[REMOVED]
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, under the authority of
42 U.S.C 7101, Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed
to be amended by removing parts 475, 476, and 478.
[FR Doc. 95-29576 Filed 12-4-95; 8:45 am]
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