[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 84 (Friday, April 30, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23699-23700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9830]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products and Commercial 
and Industrial Equipment

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or Department) will hold an 
informal public meeting to discuss the priorities of the existing 
program and any possible expansion of the scope of the program to 
include additional consumer products and commercial and industrial 
equipment for either standards or voluntary programs. The Department is 
interested in receiving suggestions on the criteria, data, and analysis 
methods it should use to reach decisions on these issues, and comments 
on the FY 2005 Preliminary Priority-Setting Summary Report and Actions 
Proposed which includes data sheets for potential new products, revised 
data sheets for existing products, the FY 2005 Technical Support 
Document (TSD), and actions proposed.

DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, June 9, 
2004, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please submit written comments by Friday, 
July 9, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 
Forrestal Building, Room 1E-245, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585. (Please note that foreign nationals visiting DOE 
headquarters are subject to advance security screening procedures. If 
you are a foreign national and wish to participate in the meeting, 
please inform DOE of this fact as soon as possible by contacting Ms. 
Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945 to complete the necessary 
procedures.)
    The Department placed on the DOE Web site at http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/ the FY 2005 
Preliminary Priority-Setting Summary Report and Actions Proposed 
containing the new data sheets, the FY 2005 TSD, and a letter 
discussing the proposed prioritization for FY 2005 which lists the 
priority for standards and test procedure rulemakings for products that 
are currently mandated by statute and possible new products that have 
been identified by various stakeholders or included in proposed 
legislation.
    Written comments are welcome, especially following the meeting. The 
Department will accept comments, data, and information regarding this 
priority-setting no later than the date provided in the DATES section.
    You may submit comments, identified for the FY 2005 Appliance 
Standards Prioritization, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include 
FY 2005 Appliance Standards Prioritization in the subject line of the 
message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, FY 2005 
Appliance Standards Prioritization, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC, 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. Please submit 
one signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones, 
U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Room 1J-018, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, 20585.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and reference the FY 2005 Appliance Standards Prioritization. Submit 
electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or text 
(ASCII) format file; avoid the use of special characters or any form of 
encryption; and, wherever possible, include the electronic signature of 
the author. If you don't include an electronic signature, you must 
authenticate comments by thereafter submitting the signed original 
paper document. No telefacsimiles (telefaxes) will be accepted.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal 
Building, Room 1J-018 (Resource Room of the Building Technologies 
Program), 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, (202) 586-
9127, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. Please call Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at the above telephone 
number for additional information regarding visiting the Resource Room. 
Please note: The Department's Freedom of Information Reading Room 
(formerly Room 1E-190 at the Forrestal Building) is no longer housing 
rulemaking materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Twigg, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EE-2J, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-9611, e-
mail: [email protected]; or Francine Pinto, Esq., or Thomas 
DePriest, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel, 
GC-72, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-
9507, e-mail: [email protected], or [email protected], 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In May 2001, the National Energy Policy 
Development Group reported a National

[[Page 23700]]

Energy Policy (NEP) to the President. One of the NEP's recommendations 
called for the President to direct the Secretary of Energy to take 
steps to improve the energy efficiency of appliances. The 
recommendation included supporting the existing appliance standards 
program, setting higher standards where technologically feasible and 
economically justified, and expanding the scope of the program to 
include additional consumer products and commercial and industrial 
equipment where technologically feasible and economically justified.
    The Department reevaluates program priorities on an annual basis. 
On October 1, 2003, DOE completed and distributed the Fiscal Year 2004 
priorities based on stakeholder comments regarding priorities drawn 
from appliance energy data sheets updated from the original FY 2003 
Priority-Setting Summary Report and Actions Proposed, dated August 22, 
2002. This year, the Department has conducted a more comprehensive 
updating of the FY 2003 report and has posted the new report, FY 2005 
Preliminary Priority-Setting Summary Report and Actions Proposed, on 
its website for stakeholder comment. This includes draft data sheets on 
potential new covered products. The Department requests comments on 
these new products.
    The June 9, 2004, public meeting will provide an opportunity to 
discuss the Department's draft priorities for FY 2005, the new and 
revised data sheets which support those draft priorities, potential new 
covered products, and the factors, data, and analysis methods that DOE 
uses, or might use in its decision-making process. The Department will 
consider these comments as it determines which products do not merit 
further consideration at this time for either a standard or a voluntary 
program, and as DOE assigns existing and new products a priority 
ranking. Prioritization will by necessity reflect funding and staffing 
constraints which limit how many rulemakings DOE can pursue.
    The meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference style. 
There will not be any discussion of proprietary information, costs or 
prices, market shares, or other commercial matters regulated by the 
U.S. antitrust laws.
    After the meeting and expiration of the period for submitting 
written statements, the Department will consider the comments received.
    If you would like to participate in the meeting or be added to the 
DOE mailing list to receive future notices and information regarding 
the energy conservation program for consumer products and commercial 
and industrial equipment, please contact Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at 
(202) 586-2945.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 27, 2004.
Douglas L. Faulkner,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy.
[FR Doc. 04-9830 Filed 4-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P