[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 88 (Friday, May 7, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24634-24635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11566]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy 
Conservation Program for Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts, Clothes Washers, 
and Water Heaters

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice of public workshops.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA or 
Act), requires the Department of Energy (DOE or Department) to consider 
amending the energy conservation standards for certain major household 
appliances. This notice announces three public workshops as steps in 
the appliance standards rulemaking procedures. These public workshops 
will be conducted for the rulemakings on revised energy efficiency 
standards for fluorescent lamp ballasts, clothes washers, and water 
heaters.

DATES: The following table lists the respective analyses release dates, 
workshop dates, and comment period dates.

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                                 Fluorescent lamp bal-
                                         lasts                  Clothes washers              Water heaters
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Analyses............  April 27, 1999............  June 14, 1999.............  June 14, 1999.
Comments Due................  May 18, 1999..............  July 6, 1999..............  July 6, 1999.
Workshops...................  June 1, 1999..............  July 22, 1999.............  July 23, 1999.
Comments Due................  June 15, 1999.............  August 3, 1999............  August 3, 1999.
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ADDRESSES: The Department will hold the public workshops between the 
hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Energy, 
Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 1E-245, 
Washington, DC 20585. Written comments are welcome, especially 
following the workshops. Please submit one signed copy and a computer 
diskette (WordPerfect 6.1) or 10 copies (no telefacsimiles) to: U.S. 
Department of Energy, Attn: Brenda Edwards-Jones, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EE-43, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, 
Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-2945, e-mail: Brenda.Edwards-
J[email protected].
    The Department will also accept electronically-mailed comments, but 
you must supplement such comments with a signed hard copy.
    You should identify all comments on both the envelope and document 
with the name of the product and the appropriate docket number: 
Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts, EE-RM-97-500; Clothes Washers, EE-RM-94-403; 
or Water Heaters, EE-RM-97-900.
    If you submit information or data that you believe is confidential, 
and should not be publicly disclosed, you should submit one complete 
copy of your document and ten (10) copies or one electronic copy from 
which the information believed to be confidential has been deleted. We 
will make our own determination regarding the confidentiality of the 
information or data according to our regulations at 10 CFR 1004.11.
    Copies of the completed analyses may also be obtained from: U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of Codes and Standards, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Room 1J-018, Washington, DC 20585.
    Public information: The public may access the Freedom of 
Information Reading room, located at the U.S. Department of Energy, 
Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 1E-190, 
Washington, DC 20585, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, (except Federal holidays). Call (202) 586-3142 
for information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Pollock, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Forrestal 
Building, Mail Station EE-43, 1000 Independence

[[Page 24635]]

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-5778, e-mail: 
Edward.P[email protected], or Michael J. McCabe, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Forrestal 
Building, Mail Station EE-40, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, 
DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-9155, e-mail: Michael.McC[email protected]; 
Eugene Margolis, Esq. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General 
Counsel, Forrestal Building, Mail Station GC-72, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0103, (202) 586-9507, e-mail: 
Eugene.M[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In its administration of the Appliance 
Standards Program, DOE has published procedures to make the rulemaking 
process more accessible to the public. (Procedures for Consideration of 
New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Products, 61 
FR 36974, July 15, 1996). As part of the revised procedures, the 
Department pledged to provide ``early opportunities for public input to 
and comment on the analyses.'' (61 FR 36976).
    This notice announces three public workshops by which the 
Department plans to obtain public comment on the analyses being 
prepared for Notices of Proposed Rulemakings on revised energy 
efficiency standards for fluorescent lamp ballasts, clothes washers, 
and water heaters. In addition to providing interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on the analyses, the workshops will also provide 
interested parties with the opportunity to comment on what levels of 
revised energy efficiency standards proposals they could support from 
the analyses.
    Prior to the public workshops, the Department will make publicly 
available the analytical results that it presently plans to use in its 
formal decision process. The material to be presented will be the bases 
for the Technical Support Documents for the Notices of Proposed 
Rulemakings. DOE staff and contractors will prepare the material.
    These analytical results will be available from the Office of Codes 
and Standards (OCS) Internet site (http:www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/
codes__standards/index.htm), and the DOE Freedom of Information Reading 
Room. The analyses that the Department plans to provide for review for 
each product are the results of the engineering cost-efficiency curves, 
life-cycle costs, paybacks, national energy savings, net national 
employment impacts, manufacturer impact analyses, and environmental 
effects. The complete set of analyses will be available according to 
the schedule in the Dates section of this Notice.
    Once the analytical results are publicly available for each 
product, the Department will provide periods during which it will 
receive comments on both the analyses as well as on the policy 
implications drawn from the analyses. The Department will review and 
analyze the comments it receives on the policy recommendations and 
analyses.
    Following receipt and review of comments for each product, the 
Department will conduct a workshop. The workshops will all have similar 
formats, wherein there will be a summary of the analytical results that 
will have been publicly available prior to each respective workshop, 
followed by a summary discussion of the comments received prior to the 
workshop. Lastly, a senior DOE official will facilitate a discussion on 
which standard levels participants at the workshop believe can be 
supported by the analyses.
    The Department will conduct these workshops prior to our selection 
of proposed revisions to the energy efficiency standards for 
fluorescent lamp ballasts, clothes washers, and water heaters, and the 
Department will consider output from the workshops in the development 
of those proposals.
    Following the respective workshops, the Department will provide an 
additional comment period, during which interested parties will have an 
opportunity to comment on the proceedings at the workshops, as well as 
on any aspect of the rulemaking proceedings, including what policy 
implications the commenters might draw from the analyses.
    The Department will also consider all comments provided after the 
respective workshops in its determination of the appropriate revised 
energy-efficiency standards to propose.
    If you would like to participate in the workshops, receive workshop 
material, or be added to the DOE mailing list to receive future notices 
and information regarding these workshops, please contact Ms. Brenda 
Edwards-Jones, (202) 586-2945.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 4, 1999.
Dan W. Reicher,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 99-11566 Filed 5-6-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P