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On May 8, 2012, President Obama nominated Kristine Svinicki (R) to a second five-year term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”).  Svinicki’s current term is set to expire on June 30, and several Republican Members of Congress are asking for a speedy confirmation.  However, this nomination may be opposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

On May 4, 2012, in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) stated that it planned to take final action on National Ambient Air Quality Standards (“NAAQS”) for particulate matter by August 15, 2013.

On May 3, 2012, FERC established an evidentiary hearing to explore whether New England transmission owners’ rate of return on equity continues to be just and reasonable.  The order stems from a September 2011 complaint filed by the Massachusetts Attorney General and various other state officials and commissions (“collectively, “Complainants”) from the New England states (see October 7, 2011 edition of the WER).

On May 4, 2012, the FERC Office of Enforcement released a delegated letter order accepting the results and recommendations of an audit of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”).  The audit report, critical of NERC in many ways, prompted NERC to issue a strongly-worded statement criticizing FERC Staff for releasing the report while negotiations regarding some of the audit results and recommendations were ongoing.

On April 30, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved revisions to the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (“PJM”) transmission planning process in Docket No. ER12-1179-000.  PJM submitted the proposed revisions in order to expand its planning analyses beyond reliability and market efficiency considerations, developing a more extensive analysis that includes renewable resource integration, demand response programs, environmental initiatives and “at risk” generation.

On April 30, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a final rule for the implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (“NAAQS”) for ground-level ozone.  The final NAAQS rule identifies nonattainment areas, establishes nonattainment parameters and sets compliance deadlines for states to come into attainment.

On April 19, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the “Commission” or “FERC”) approved proposed tariff revisions of Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. and the Transmission Owners of the Midwest Independent System Operating, Inc. (collectively “MISO”) in its effort to facilitate the integration of Entergy Corporation and its operating companies (“Entergy”) into MISO.  The order clarifies how the costs of certain transmission projects will be allocated during the transition of Entergy into MISO, and sets the stage for future cost sharing between the current MISO and Entergy regions.

On April 25, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) filed a petition in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (“D.C. Circuit”) supporting energy trader Brian Hunter’s appeal of a FERC order imposing a $30 million civil penalty on Hunter for alleged market manipulation (see April 25, 2011 edition of the WER).