Academic literature on the topic 'United States. Federal Engery Regulatory Commission'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the lists of relevant articles, books, theses, conference reports, and other scholarly sources on the topic 'United States. Federal Engery Regulatory Commission.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Journal articles on the topic "United States. Federal Engery Regulatory Commission"
1
Ross, Alex. "Federal Pipeline Rate Making: Alternative Approaches of the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission." Alberta Law Review 45, no. 3 (March 1, 2008): 735. http://dx.doi.org/10.29173/alr263.
Full textAbstract:
This article provides an overview of the alternative rate making methodologies adopted by the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in itsregulation of transportation rates for oil and natural gas pipelines. In 1997, authority over rate making for interstate oil and natural gas pipelines was transferred to the newly created FERC. This article describes the history of interstate pipeline rate making and the transfer of rate making authority to the FERC.The author looks at the innovative pipeline rate making methodologies implemented by the FERC in its regulation of transportation rates for both oil andnatural gas pipelines. The article describes the adoption by FERC of market based rates and a generally applicable indexed rate cap methodology for oil pipelinerate setting. In respect of natural gas pipelines, the legislative requirements and practical realities associated with cost-of-service rate making by FERC aredescribed and FERC’s policies permitting selective discounting, shipper-specific negotiated rates, and market based rates for natural gas pipelines arereviewed.The Commission’s adoption of the alternative rate making methodologies has taken the emphasis off of general rate case litigation as a means of establishingjust and reasonable rates for interstate oil and natural gas pipelines and related facilities. The alternative rate making methodologies also represent a significantdeparture from cost-of-service rate making, with increasing focus on rate flexibility and competition as a means of generating efficiencies for customers of interstate oil and natural gas pipelines.
2
John, Douglas F. "Marketing Alberta Natural Gas in the United States after the Free Trade Agreement: Negotiating the U.S. Regulatory Maze." Alberta Law Review 28, no. 1 (January 1, 1990): 94. http://dx.doi.org/10.29173/alr704.
Full textAbstract:
Although the border between Canada and the United States for natural gas has been open for some time now, the free-market development of natural gas industries is changing from short-term deal-making to long-term industry placement. Here the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement will take on a critical role in permitting decisions on elements of trade to be made more confidently. This article focuses on key U. S. federal regulatory principles and programs and how Congress's intention in the Natural Gas Act has been carried through so that the federal government will no longer occupy the field of gas regulation, but ensure that where the use of that commodity involves the interests of two or more states, the overall national public interest would be protected. Therefore, producing states would regulate the physical production of gas before it enters the stream of interstate commerce as well as control matters entirely intrastate in nature. The future of contract demand conversions and gas inventory charges will allow customers to purchase gas from a variety of competitive suppliers without suffering a loss of service reliability. In effect gas inventory charges represent the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's attempt to prevent pipelines from finding them selves with massive take-or-pay liabilities. Through Order No. 436, the Commission has attempted to streamline the regulatory approval process for pipeline construction projects and in turn to foster market competition. The author argues that rate reform is making its way towards what he feels is its natural conclusion where contract, rather than regulation, will be the principal determinant of right and obligation between industry participants at the interstate level. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would become more of a referee than director for questions of anti-competitive behaviour in the use of interstate facilities.
3
Hollingworth, Alan S. "California Gas: A Brief History and Recent Events." Alberta Law Review 31, no. 1 (February 1, 1993): 86. http://dx.doi.org/10.29173/alr678.
Full textAbstract:
The author discusses recent developments and ongoing issues related to regulatory authorities, contracts and pipeline matters affecting the gas industry in California, in comparison to elsewhere in the United States and Canada. Included is a review of some of the more important decisions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission and the National Energy Board. This paper is solely the work of the author. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the author's firm or any client of that firm.
4
Collier, Deirdre M., and Paul J. Miranti. "The Enlightenment’s connections to two US accounting-based regulatory models." Accounting History 24, no. 2 (July 29, 2018): 269–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1032373218787296.
Full textAbstract:
Enlightenment ideals relating to individual and group autonomy versus state power have long shaped socioeconomic ordering in the Western world. This article explores how competing Enlightenment ideologies influenced the development of two different accounting-based regulatory models in the United States, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Both commissions experimented with both models with different outcomes. The ICC, formed in 1887, ultimately followed a Hamiltonian approach involving direct intervention of the federal government to regulate the monopoly power of railroads. Almost half of a century later, after the 1929 Crash, the SEC was formed to re-establish public confidence in the nation’s financial markets. That resulted in reducing investors’ risk perceptions by assuring greater transactional transparency and probity. The SEC settled upon a Jeffersonian approach, which supported the delegation of responsibility for the application of accounting knowledge in regulation to professional groups rather than government officials. This approach characterized the emergent bureaucracy of the United States’ fast-expanding national executive state.
5
Abernethy, Avery M., and George R. Franke. "FTC Regulatory Activity and the Information Content of Advertising." Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 17, no. 2 (September 1998): 239–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/074391569801700208.
Full textAbstract:
Meta-analysis of studies examining more than 66,000 U.S. advertisements indicates that advertisements contained significantly fewer objective information claims during a period of strict advertising regulation by the Federal Trade Commission (1971–1981) than in the subsequent, less stringent period (1982–1992). The results do not appear to be due to spurious effects of atypical studies, other contemporaneous trends in the United States, or global economic factors. An important implication for public policy is that strict advertising regulation may have reduced the amount of advertising information available to consumers.
6
Corones, Stephen, and Juliet Davis. "Protecting Consumer Privacy and Data Security: Regulatory Challenges and Potential Future Directions." Federal Law Review 45, no. 1 (March 2017): 65–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0067205x1704500104.
Full textAbstract:
This article considers the regulatory problems of online tracking behaviour, lack of consent to data collection, and the security of data collected with or without consent. Since the mid-1990s the United States Federal Trade Commission has been using its power under the United States consumer protection regime to regulate these problems. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), on the other hand, has yet to bring civil or criminal proceedings for online privacy or data security breaches, which indicates a reluctance to employ the Australian Consumer Law (‘ACL’) in this field.1 Recent legislative action instead points to a greater application of the specifically targeted laws under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’), and the powers of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), to protect consumer privacy and data security. This article contends that while specific legislation setting out, and publicly enforcing, businesses’ legal obligations with respect to online privacy and data protection is an appropriate regulatory response, the ACL's broad, general protections and public and/or private enforcement mechanisms also have a role to play in protecting consumer privacy and data security.
7
Burns, James, and Kimberly Beattie Saunders. "SEC fines non-US entities for unregistered cross-border brokerage and advisory activities." Journal of Investment Compliance 18, no. 1 (May 2, 2017): 75–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/joic-02-2017-0002.
Full textAbstract:
Purpose To explain a settlement involving a foreign financial institution, its non-US subsidiaries, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that reveals an SEC focus on policing the activities of foreign firms that reach into the United States and helps further define the scope of activities that require registration under the federal securities laws. Design/methodology/approach Provides insight into a recent area of focus for SEC regulators and introduces the potential regulatory implications for non-US firms with activities that reach into the United States. Findings Given the SEC’s current enforcement focus, it is critical that financial institutions take care to conduct their activities with an understanding of the regulatory requirements associated with the provision of brokerage and advisory services to US clients and customers – including, for many firms, registration as an investment adviser, broker-dealer, or both. Originality/value Practical regulatory guidance regarding SEC registration requirements that may reach non-US firms from experienced financial services lawyers specializing in asset management.
8
Tajti, Tibor. "What makes the securities criminal law system of the United States work: 'All-embracing' 'blanket' securities crimes and the linked enforcement framework." Pravni zapisi 12, no. 1 (2021): 146–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.5937/pravzap0-30658.
Full textAbstract:
The article explores the key factors that make the securities criminal law of the United States (US), as one of the integral building blocks of the capital markets and securities regulatory system, efficient. This includes the role and characteristics of sectoral (blanket) all-embracing securities crimes enshrined into the federal securities statutes, their nexus with general crimes, the close cooperation of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and prosecutorial offices, the applicable evidentiary standards, and the fundamental policies undergirding these laws. The rich repository of US experiences should be instructive not only to the Member States of the European Union (EU) striving to forge deeper capital markets but also to those endeavoring to accede the EU (e.g., Serbia), or to create deep capital markets for which efficient prosecution of securities crimes is inevitable.
9
Aldrovandi, Matthew S. P., Esther S. Parish, and Brenda M. Pracheil. "Understanding the Environmental Study Life Cycle in the United States Hydropower Licensing and Federal Authorization Process." Energies 14, no. 12 (June 10, 2021): 3435. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14123435.
Full textAbstract:
We analyzed United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) documents prepared for 29 recently licensed hydropower projects and created two novel datasets to improve understanding of the environmental study life cycle, defined here as the process that begins with an environmental study being requested by a hydropower stakeholder or regulator, and ends with the study either being rejected or approved/conducted. Our two datasets consisted of summaries of information taken from (1), study determination letters prepared by FERC for 23 projects that were using the integrated licensing process, and (2), environmental study submittals and issuances tracked and attributed to seven projects using the FERC record. Our objective was to use the two resulting environmental life cycle datasets to understand which types of environmental studies are approved, rejected, and implemented during FERC licensing, and how consistently those types of studies are required across multiple hydropower projects. We matched the requested studies to a set of 61 river function indicators in eight categories and found that studies related to the category of biota and biodiversity were requested most often across all 29 projects. Within that category, studies related to river function indicators of presence, absence, detection of species and habitat/critical habitat were the most important to stakeholders, based on the relative number of studies requested. The study approval, rejection, and request rates were similar within each dataset, although the 23 projects with study determination letters had many rejected studies, whereas the dataset created from the seven projects had very few rejected studies.
10
Dwyer, Johanna T., and Paul M. Coates. "Why Americans Need Information on Dietary Supplements." Journal of Nutrition 148, suppl_2 (August 1, 2018): 1401S—1405S. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy081.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Until a decade ago, no dietary supplement (DS) databases with open access for public use existed in the United States. They were needed by researchers, since half of American adults use dietary DSs and, without information on supplement use and composition, exposures could not be estimated. These articles on Challenges and Future Directions for Dietary Supplement Databases describe subsequent progress. They begin by describing why information on DSs is needed by the government and how it is used to ensure the health of the public. Current developments include: application of DS information to meet public health needs; research efforts on DS quality, efficacy, and safety (as conducted by the Office of Dietary Supplements and other federal agencies); enhanced regulatory activities implemented by the FDA Office of Dietary Supplement Programs, the FDA Office of Enforcement, and the Federal Trade Commission; and initiatives for broader development and dissemination of DS databases for commercial and public use. Other contributions in this journal supplement describe the challenges of working with DSs and the progress that has been made. Additional articles describe surveys of DS use among the general US population and also among special groups such as high supplement users, illustrating why there is a need in the United States for information on supplements. Likely directions for the future of DS science are summarized.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "United States. Federal Engery Regulatory Commission"
1
Wendle, Claire. "Rights to the River: Implementing A Social Cost-Benefit Analysis in the United States Hydropower Relicensing Process." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1395.
Full textAbstract:
Private hydropower operations across the United States are utilizing a public resource, rivers, for power production benefits. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates river use through a relicensing procedure that occurs every thirty or fifty years through a cost-benefit analysis framework to determine the best public use of the river. This thesis explores the structure of the current cost-benefit analysis and the effects of timing, public participation and valuation of ecosystem services in the final relicensing decision, and recommends the use of a social cost-benefit framework to distribute the natural resource benefits rivers provide more equally and give fair weight to ecosystem benefits in a market-driven process.
Books on the topic "United States. Federal Engery Regulatory Commission"
1
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Fossil and Synthetic Fuels. FERC contract carriage proposal: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Fossil and Synthetic Fuels of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, June 27, November 13 and 14, 1985. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1986.
Find full text
2
American Bar Association. Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources., ed. FERC: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 2nd ed. Chicago, Ill: American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 2009.
Find full text
3
McGrew, James H. FERC: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 2nd ed. Chicago, Ill: American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 2009.
Find full text
4
McGrew, James H. FERC: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 2nd ed. Chicago, Ill: American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 2009.
Find full text
5
United States. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Division of Public and Legal Reference. A guide to public information at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Washington, D.C: The Commission, 1987.
Find full text
6
Administration, United States Energy Information. An analysis of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 436. Washington, DC: Energy Information Administration, Office of Oil and Gas, U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1986.
Find full text
7
United States. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A guide to public information at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Washington, D.C: The Commission, 1991.
Find full text
8
United States. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A guide to public information at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Washington, D.C: The Commission, 1994.
Find full text
9
United States. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch., ed. A guide to public information at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Washington, D.C: The Commission, 1991.
Find full text
10
United States. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A guide to public information at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Washington, D.C: The Commission, 1996.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "United States. Federal Engery Regulatory Commission"
1
"United States International Trade Commission." In Federal Regulatory Guide, 560–69. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks California 91320: CQ Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781544377230.n38.
Full text
2
"Challenges for Diadromous Fishes in a Dynamic Global Environment." In Challenges for Diadromous Fishes in a Dynamic Global Environment, edited by Amanda K. Hill. American Fisheries Society, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.47886/9781934874080.ch48.
Full textAbstract:
<em>Abstract</em>.-This paper presents a case study of a collaborative, watershed approach among hydroelectric utilities and natural resource agencies to restore diadromous fish stocks in the Santee River basin, a large Atlantic coast river. The basin once supported large populations of diadromous fish prior to the era of dam construction. A series of hydroelectric dams now block fish spawning migrations from the majority of the Santee River basin. Three of these hydroelectric projects are currently at various stages of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's relicensing process for non-federal hydroelectric dam projects. South Carolina Electric & Gas and Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, in concert with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, have developed the Santee River Basin Accord to address diadromous fish restoration in the basin. The Santee River Basin Accord utilizes a watershed approach to prioritize the Santee River basin's subbasins and determine the subbasin with the greatest potential for successful passage, spawning, and recruitment of diadromous fish. The process used water quality and quantity, spawning habitat, historic occurrence, quantity of riverine habitat, and the number of dams that fish must pass to access these habitats as the prioritization criteria. Based on these criteria, the Broad River subbasin was chosen as the priority subbasin. The Santee River Basin Accord will fund a 10-year restoration program for this subbasin that includes a hatchery-based restoration program, scientific studies, monitoring, and fish passage at dams that currently impeded spawning migrations. This watershed approach represents a collaborative and innovative method in the southeastern United States to manage and restore diadromous fish populations within a large river basin.
3
"From Catastrophe to Recovery: Stories of Fishery Management Success." In From Catastrophe to Recovery: Stories of Fishery Management Success, edited by Ronald J. Essig, R. Wilson Laney, Max H. Appelman, Fred A. Harris, Roger A. Rulifson, and Kent L. Nelson. American Fisheries Society, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.47886/9781934874554.ch22.
Full textAbstract:
<i>Abstract</i>.â€â€The Striped Bass <i>Morone saxatilis</i> is an extremely important commercial and recreational species with a coastal migratory stock in the United States referred to as “Atlantic Striped Bass†managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Atlantic Striped Bass has four major contributing stocks, including the Chesapeake Bay, which comprises 70–90%, and the Hudson River, the Delaware River, and the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River (A/R). The collapse of Atlantic Striped Bass in the late 1970s precipitated federal funding and legislation like the Emergency Striped Bass Study for research on causative factors of the decline and potential management recommendations. The 1981 ASMFC Interstate Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP) for Atlantic Striped Bass was nonmandatory and mostly ineffective until the 1984 Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act provided regulatory authorities to the ASMFC and the federal government to close fisheries in states out of compliance with ISFMPs. Restrictions and moratoria on harvest imposed in several states reduced mortality, and under favorable environmental conditions and given Striped Bass life history, multiple years of good recruitment occurred. This allowed target thresholds for female spawning stock biomass to be achieved and the ASMFC to declare recoveries of Atlantic Striped Bass stocks from 1995 to 1998. Regulation of river flows was particularly important for the A/R stock recovery, and this stock is presented as a case study. During the 20+ years following recovery, long-term monitoring by states in support of adaptive management was primarily supported by the stable, nonappropriated funding of the Sport Fish Restoration Act. Monitoring includes spawning stock characterization and biomass estimation, juvenile abundance surveys, cooperative coastwide tagging, and harvest data collection. Future issues facing the recovered Atlantic Striped Bass include interspecies effects of relatively high abundance, management of stocks separately instead of as a single coastal stock, and ecosystem-based fisheries management. Key lessons learned in the Atlantic Striped Bass recovery are that high societal value of the species provided the political impetus to create and fund the recovery program, coordination of management and enforcement efforts among all jurisdictions was essential for this migratory species, and fully funded long-term monitoring programs are critical to adaptive population management.
Conference papers on the topic "United States. Federal Engery Regulatory Commission"
1
Dickson, Terry L., Shah N. Malik, Mark T. Kirk, and Deborah A. Jackson. "Status of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Pressurized Thermal Shock Rule Re-Evaluation Project." In 10th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering. ASMEDC, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/icone10-22656.
Full textAbstract:
The current federal regulations to ensure that nuclear reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) maintain their structural integrity when subjected to transients such as pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events were derived from computational models that were developed in the early to mid 1980s. Since that time, there have been advancements in relevant technologies associated with the physics of PTS events that impact RPV integrity assessment. Preliminary studies performed in 1999 suggested that application of the improved technology could reduce the conservatism in the current regulations while continuing to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection to public health and safety. A relaxation of PTS regulations could have profound implications for plant license extension considerations. Based on the above, in 1999, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) initiated a comprehensive project, with the nuclear power industry as a participant, to re-evaluate the current PTS regulations within the framework established by modern probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) techniques. During the last three years, improved computational models have evolved through interactions between experts in the relevant disciplines of thermal hydraulics, PRA, human reliability analysis (HRA), materials embrittlement effects on fracture toughness (crack initiation and arrest), fracture mechanics methodology, and fabrication-induced flaw characterization. These experts were from the NRC staff, their contractors, and representatives from the nuclear industry. These improved models have now been implemented into the FAVOR (Fracture Analysis of Vessels: Oak Ridge) computer code, which is an applications tool for performing risk-informed structural integrity evaluations of embrittled RPVs subjected to transient thermal-hydraulic loading conditions. The baseline version of FAVOR (version 1.0) was released in October 2001. The updated risk-informed computational methodology in the FAVOR code is currently being applied to selected domestic commercial pressurized water reactors to evaluate the adequacy of the current regulations and to determine whether a technical basis can be established to support a relaxation of the current regulations. This paper provides a status report on the application of the updated computational methodology to a commercial pressurized water reactor (PWR) and discusses the results and interpretation of those results. It is anticipated that this re-evaluation effort will be completed in 2002.
2
Devgun, Jas, Harold Peterson, and Cheryl Trottier. "An Update on Clearance Initiatives in the United States." In ASME 2003 9th International Conference on Radioactive Waste Management and Environmental Remediation. ASMEDC, 2003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/icem2003-4923.
Full textAbstract:
A number of initiatives have been underway in the United States in the past several years in the area of clearance of solid materials both at the federal level and at the industry and professional society level. Clearance of solid materials is an issue that has significant economic consequences for decommissioning projects where large quantities of such materials are generated. The cost of treating these materials as low-level radioactive waste (LLW) is prohibitive. A regulatory mechanism could remove economic burdens on such projects while maintaining the public health and safety standards. At the federal level major initiatives are being undertaken by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also taken some steps in this area under their Clean Materials Program. In the private sector, the nuclear industry is active through the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). The Health Physics Society (HPS) prepared the ANSI/HPS N13.12 standard about four years ago, which has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The American Nuclear Society (ANS) has recently released a Position Statement on the clearance of licensed materials from nuclear sites and the Society has been active in the national deliberations on this subject. The National Academies (NA) conducted a study for the NRC on alternatives for controlling the release of solid materials and their report was issued in 2002. The steel and concrete industries have also participated in the NRC rulemaking process and are opposed to any release standards for materials that may have residual radioactivity on them. This was clear from industry representatives at the stakeholder workshops conducted by the NRC as a part of the enhanced rulemaking effort. A review of all these initiatives shows the intensity of the debate but it also highlights the need for one national standard, preferably dose based, thus allowing site-specific application through derived radioactivity limits. Thus, interagency cooperation and agreement are necessary at the federal level. Consensus is necessary with standard writing organizations, professional societies, public and other stakeholders. This paper provides an overview of the developments in the United States in the area of clearance of solid materials, a brief comparison to international activities, and a discussion of key points for consensus building that is necessary for any initiative to succeed.
3
Nieves-Zárate, Margarita. "Ten Years After the Deepwater Horizon Accident: Regulatory Reforms and the Implementation of Safety and Environmental Management Systems in the United States." In SPE/IADC International Drilling Conference and Exhibition. SPE, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/204056-ms.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The Deepwater Horizon accident is one of the major environmental disasters in the history of the United States. This accident occurred in 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit exploded, while the rig's crew was conducting the drilling work of the exploratory well Macondo deep under the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental damages included more than four million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, and economic losses total tens of billions of dollars. The accident brought into question the effectiveness of the regulatory regime for preventing accidents, and protecting the marine environment from oil and gas operations, and prompted regulatory reforms. Ten years after the Deepwater Horizon accident, this article analyzes the implementation of Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) as one of the main regulatory reforms introduced in the United States after the accident. The analysis uses the theory of regulation which takes into account both state and non-state actors involved in regulation, and therefore, the shift from regulation to governance. The study includes regulations issued after the Deepwater Horizon accident, particularly, SEMS rules I and II, and reports conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Commission on the BP Oil Spill, the Center for Offshore Safety, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The article reveals that though offshore oil and gas operators in the U.S. federal waters have adopted SEMS, as a mechanism of self-regulation, there is not clarity on how SEMS have been implemented in practice towards achieving its goal of reducing risks. The BSEE, as the public regulator has the task of providing a complete analysis on the results of the three audits to SEMS conducted by the operators and third parties from 2013 to 2019. This article argues that the assessment of SEMS audits should be complemented with leading and lagging indicators in the industry in order to identify how SEMS have influenced safety behavior beyond regulatory compliance. BSEE has the challenge of providing this assessment and making transparency a cornerstone of SEMS regulations. In this way, the lessons of the DHW accident may be internalized by all actors in the offshore oil and gas industry.
4
Gupta, Narendra K., Stephen J. Hensel, and Glenn Abramczyk. "Practical Thermal Evaluation Methods for HAC Fire Analysis in Type B Radioactive Material (RAM) Packages." In ASME 2013 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2013-97015.
Full textAbstract:
Title 10 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations Part 71 for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (10 CFR Part 71.73[1]) requires that Type B radioactive material (RAM) packages satisfy certain Hypothetical Accident Conditions (HAC) thermal design requirements to ensure package safety during accidental fire conditions. Compliance with thermal design requirements can be met by prototype tests, analyses only or a combination of tests and analyses. Normally, it is impractical to meet all the HAC using tests only and the analytical methods are too complex due to the multi-physics non-linear nature of the fire event. Therefore, a combination of tests and thermal analyses methods using commercial heat transfer software are used to meet the necessary design requirements. The authors, along with his other colleagues at Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, SC, USA, have successfully used this ‘tests and analyses’ approach in the design and certification of several United States’ DOE/NNSA certified packages, e.g. 9975, 9977, 9978, 9979, H1700, and Bulk Tritium Shipping Package (BTSP). This paper will describe these methods and it is hoped that the RAM Type B package designers and analysts can use them for their applications.
5
Mintz, Todd S., George Adams, Marius Necsoiu, James Mancillas, Chris Bajwa, and Earl Easton. "Historical Rail Accident Analyses Identifying Accident Parameters That Could Impact Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel." In ASME 2010 Pressure Vessels and Piping Division/K-PVP Conference. ASMEDC, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2010-25445.
Full textAbstract:
As the regulatory authority for transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires that SNF transportation packages be designed to endure a fully engulfing fire with an average temperature of 800 °C (1,475 °F) for 30 minutes, as prescribed in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 71. The work described in this paper was performed to support NRC in determining the types of accident parameters that could produce a severe fire with the potential to fully engulf a SNF transportation package. This paper describes the process that was used to characterize the important features of rail accidents that would potentially lead to a spent nuclear fuel transport package being involved in a severe fire. Historical rail accidents involving hazardous material and long duration fires in the United States have been analyzed using data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Parameters that were evaluated from this data include, but were not limited to, class of track where the accident occurred, class of hazardous material that was being transported, and number of railcars involved in the fire. The data analysis revealed that in the past 34 years of rail transport, roughly 1,800 accidents have led to the release of hazardous materials resulting in a frequency of roughly 1 accident per 10 million freight train miles. In the last 12 years, there have only been 20 accidents involving multiple car hazardous material releases that led to a fire. This results in an accident rate of 0.003 accidents per million freight train miles that involved multiple car releases and a fire. In all the accidents analyzed, only one involved a railcar carrying Class 7 (i.e., radioactive) hazardous material (HAZMAT).
6
Imbro, Eugene, and Thomas G. Scarbrough. "Incorporation of Risk Insights in the Regulatory Treatment of Nuclear Power Plant Structures, Systems, and Components." In 10th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering. ASMEDC, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/icone10-22658.
Full textAbstract:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has established an initiative to risk-inform the requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for the regulatory treatment of structures, systems, and components (SSCs) used in commercial nuclear power plants. As discussed in several Commission papers (e.g., SECY-99-256 and SECY-00-0194), Option 2 of this initiative involves categorizing plant SSCs based on their safety significance, and specifying treatment that would provide an appropriate level of confidence in the capability of those SSCs to perform their design functions in accordance with their risk categorization. The NRC has initiated a rulemaking effort to allow licensees of nuclear power plants in the United States to implement the Option 2 approach in lieu of the “special treatment requirements” of the NRC regulations. In a proof-of-concept effort, the NRC recently granted exemptions from the special treatment requirements for safety-related SSCs categorized as having low risk significance by the licensee of the South Texas Project (STP) Units 1 and 2 nuclear power plant, based on a review of the licensee’s high-level objectives of the planned treatment for safety-related and high-risk nonsafety-related SSCs. This paper discusses the NRC staff’s views regarding the treatment of SSCs at STP described by the licensee in its updated Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) in support of the exemption request, and provides the status of rulemaking that would incorporate risk insights into the treatment of SSCs at nuclear power plants.
7
Hanson, John. "The Federal Government’s Role in Enabling the Nuclear Renaissance and a Low-Carbon Energy Future." In ASME 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/imece2012-89997.
Full textAbstract:
The electric power industry in the United States will face a number of great challenges in the next two decades, including increasing electricity demand and the aging of the current fleet of power plants. These challenges present a major test for the industry, which must invest between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion by 2030 to meet the increased demand. In addition to these challenges, the potential for climate legislation, controversy over hydraulic fracturing, and post-Fukushima safety concerns have all resulted in significant uncertainty regarding the economics of all major sources of base-load electricity. Currently nuclear power produces 22% of the nation’s electricity, and over 70% of the nation’s low-carbon electricity, even though unfavorable economic conditions have stalled construction of new reactors for over 30 years. The economics are changing, however, as evidenced by the recent construction and operating licenses (COLs) awarded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Southern Company and SCANA Corporation to build two new units each. The successful construction of these units could lead to more favorable financing for future plants. This improved financing, especially if combined with appropriate additional government support, could provide serious momentum for the resurgence of nuclear power in the United States. The most important way in which government support could benefit nuclear power is by increasing the amount of loan guarantees provided to the first wave of new nuclear power plants. This will help encourage additional new builds, which will help reduce the financing risk premium for new nuclear and improve interest rates for future plants. Instead of simply increasing loan guarantees for nuclear energy, a permanent federal financing structure should be established to provide loan guarantees for “clean energy” technologies in general, a category in which nuclear energy should be included. Most importantly, any changes should be made as part of a coherent, long-term energy policy, which would provide utilities with the correct tools to make the necessary investments, and the confidence that will allow them to undertake large-scale projects.
8
Cockle, John. "Risk Acceptance and Application of the Common Safety Method in the United States." In 2016 Joint Rail Conference. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/jrc2016-5747.
Full textAbstract:
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will require passenger rail operators in the United States to develop a System Safety Program using a risk-based hazard management approach. Identified as 49 CFR, Part 270 System Safety Rule [1], the NPRM describes the basic requirements for a system safety program plan, including the need for a method for accepting risk. The NPRM does not, however, identify how the responsible party should actually go about managing risk. That is left up to the railways themselves. In Europe, hazard management is applied in the railroad industry (including high-speed rail systems) under the regulatory authority of the European Union. European Commission Regulation 352/2009/EC [2] outlines a Common Safety Method (CSM) on Risk Evaluation and Assessment for Railways of the European Union, commonly known as the CSM Regulation and the heart of the railway safety program in Europe. The CSM Regulation includes the standard risk assessment process elements: identification of the hazards, corresponding risks, mitigation measures to reduce the risk, and the resulting safety requirements to be fulfilled by the system under assessment. What sets the CSM Regulation apart from other risk assessment programs is that it provides a methodology for determining when acceptable risk is achieved. The risk acceptability of the system under assessment is evaluated using one or more of the following risk acceptance principles: a) The application of relevant codes of practice; b) A comparison with similar systems (reference systems); c) Explicit risk estimation. In essence, the responsible party can accept risk that has either been regulated to an acceptable level by an authority having jurisdiction or a widely-accepted industry practice, or if the risk has been successfully addressed by a similar railway system through that railway’s engineering and operational controls. If neither of these cases applies the responsible party can estimate the risk and choose to accept it or not. A common approach, even internationally, is to develop an explicit risk estimation process based on the U.S. Department of Defense Military Standard 882E (MIL-STD-882E) [3]. Safety hazards are identified, analyzed for risk (severity and probability), and mitigations are progressively applied until a level of safety is achieved that is as low as reasonably practicable. The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has adopted a risk-based hazard management program to achieve an acceptable level of safety for the design, construction, implementation and operation of the California High-Speed Rail System. CHSRA has deliberately used both domestic and international guidance and standards in the development of this program in an effort to apply the most up-to-date processes and philosophies, and to draw upon the impressive safety legacy of international high-speed railway operators. This paper will describe the relevant regulations and guidance (both domestically and internationally), review the elements of a risk acceptance program based upon the CSM Regulation, and apply the program to a select set of hazards to demonstrate how appropriate mitigations can be determined and residual risk accepted. The paper will also identify potential future applications for the CSM Regulation here in the United States, and will challenge the reader to manage hazards using a risk-based approach that incorporates the basic framework of the CSM Regulation.
9
Ferlisi, Mark J., Raymond A. West, and David R. Lewis. "The Rulemaking Process and Its Effect on the Use of ASME Nuclear Codes and Standards in the USA." In 16th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering. ASMEDC, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/icone16-48721.
Full textAbstract:
The ASME Board on Nuclear Codes & Standards (BNCS) has a standing Task Group on Regulatory Endorsement (TG-RE) that is actively involved with obtaining endorsement of ASME Nuclear Codes and Standards (NC&S) used in the USA. However, all ASME NC&S that are required to be met by law in the USA must first be endorsed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), specifically in Title 10, Section 50.55a, “Codes and standards.” Similarly, all Code Cases permitted by law to be used, as alternatives, must be approved for use in other United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) documents such as NRC Regulatory Guides endorsed in the NRC rules. The NRC uses a rulemaking process to amend Section 50.55a to endorse and approve new or updated NC&S, and thus controls and mandates the use of ASME NC&S in the USA. The rulemaking process is very structured and is not very flexible. This paper describes how the TG-RE is working to improve and expedite the process by which the NRC endorses our ASME NC&S. Because the NRC influences international regulatory action, this paper is written to inform the international nuclear engineering community about the process by which endorsement of NC&S occurs in the USA and what actions are being taken to improve that process.
10
Bajwa, Christopher S., and Earl P. Easton. "Potential Effects of Historic Rail Accidents on the Integrity of Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Packages." In ASME 2009 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. ASMEDC, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/pvp2009-77811.
Full textAbstract:
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an analysis of historical rail accidents (from 1975 to 2005) involving hazardous materials and long duration fires in the United States. The analysis was initiated to determine what types of accidents had occurred and what impact those types of accidents could have on the rail transport of spent nuclear fuel. The NRC found that almost 21 billion miles of freight rail shipments over a 30 year period had resulted in a small number of accidents involving the release of hazardous materials, eight of which involved long duration fires. All eight of the accidents analyzed resulted in fires that were less severe than the “fully engulfing fire” described as a hypothetical accident condition in the NRC regulations for radioactive material transport found in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 71, Section 73. None of the eight accidents involved a release of radioactive material. This paper describes the eight accidents in detail and examines the potential effects on spent nuclear fuel transportation packages exposed to the fires that resulted from these accidents.