The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS or the Agency), an agency of the Rural Development (RD) mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing a final rule with comment period. Implementation of this action will simplify and streamline requirements and processes in the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Under the new REAP structure, projects must already be fully built and operational before the applicant ever applies. Applicants then apply, submitting actual energy production or savings data for the prior 12 months, alongside 12 months of pre-installation data. The Agency evaluates applications for completeness, eligibility, risk, and merit and will award grants subject to the availability of funds and criteria provided in an annual notice. This new approach changes the program to a post completion, performance validated model. All RES and EEI awards will now be based on actual documented output, energy savings, costs, and system performance. Bottlenecks leading to application processing backlogs such as the technical merit review clearance process have been removed from the Agency's purview. Multilocation projects and specific application of certain technologies are now ineligible, and the program proposes to eliminate state level competitions in favor of a single national scoring and selection process. The result is a streamlined but significantly different process intended to reduce risk to the program, simplify administration, and prioritize projects delivering verifiable results. The result of these changes, combined with the release of a planned online application portal, will significantly decrease burden for applicants by shortening application length and review times across the program.

The U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") is adopting the interim final rule published on August 25, 2025, as final, without change. This final rule establishes the procedures for developing and carrying out voluntary agreements and plans of action under the Defense Production Act. The Defense Production Act provides a defense from antitrust laws with respect to any action taken to develop or carry out any voluntary agreement or plan of action when certain criteria are met.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations that govern its standards for protection against radiation. These proposed revisions would address section 5(b) of Executive Order 14300, "Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission," and would reflect the NRC's experience and other developments in the field of radiation protection since the NRC's last major revisions to these standards in 1991. In addition, the NRC is issuing for public comment draft implementing guidance.