New regs for Wednesday: Wall Street, efficiency, wolves

Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for Wall Street swap dealers and efficiency requirements for ceiling fans.

Ceiling fans: The Department of Energy (DOE) is moving forward with new efficiency rules for ceiling fans.

The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced Tuesday it will strengthen the energy conservation standards for ceiling fan light kits.

The DOE estimates the rule will cost manufacturers $6.4 million to comply with — but it will also save consumers a significant amount of energy, as well as up to $660 million over the lifetime of the rule.

The new rules go into effect in 60 days.

Wolf: The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will not protect certain wolves.

The FWS was considering a petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf as an endangered species, but announced Tuesday it does not warrant such protections.

“After review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the Alexander Archipelago wolf is not warranted at this time throughout all or a significant portion of its range,” the agency wrote.

The decision goes into effect immediately. 

Licensing: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering new safety regulations.

The commission announced Tuesday it is reviewing a petition to establish new licensing requirements to determine which “structures, systems, components, and functions” are important to safety.

“The NRC is examining the issues raised in this petition to determine whether it should be considered in rulemaking,” the agency wrote.

The public has 75 days to comment.

Swap dealers: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is moving forward with new rules for Wall Street traders stemming from the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

The CFTC announced Tuesday new initial and variation margin requirements for swap dealers.

The new rules go into effect on April 1.