[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15059-15061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4390]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430 and 431

[Docket No. EE-2006-STD-0127]
RIN 1904-AB49


Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Electric and Gas 
Ranges and Microwave Ovens, Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and Commercial 
Clothes Washers: Public Meeting and Availability of the Framework 
Document

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and availability of the Framework 
Document.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or Department) will hold an 
informal public meeting to discuss and receive comments on issues it 
will address in this rulemaking proceeding. The Department is also 
initiating the data collection process for establishing energy 
conservation standards for residential electric and gas ranges and 
ovens and microwave ovens, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and commercial 
clothes washers. The Department also encourages written comments on 
these subjects. In addition, this effort is the result of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) directive to publish a final rule to 
determine whether the standards established by EPACT 2005 should be 
amended no later than October 1, 2009, for dehumidifiers, and no later 
than January 1, 2010, for commercial clothes washers. To inform 
stakeholders and facilitate this process, DOE has prepared a Framework 
Document, a draft of which is available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/ standards/.

DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on Thursday, April 27, 
2006, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Washington, DC. Any person requesting to 
speak at the public meeting should submit a request to speak before 4 
p.m, Thursday, April 13, 2006. The Department must receive a signed 
original and an electronic copy of statements to be given at the public 
meeting before 4 p.m., Thursday, April 13, 2006. Written comments are 
welcome, especially following the public meeting, and should be 
submitted by Thursday, May 11, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room GE-086 (Large Auditorium), 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. (Please note that 
foreign nationals participating in the public meeting are subject to 
advance security screening procedures. If a foreign national wishes to 
participate in the workshop, please inform DOE of this fact as soon as 
possible by contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945 so 
that the necessary procedures can be completed.)
    Stakeholders may submit comments, identified by docket number EE-
2006-STD-0127 and/or RIN number 1904-AB49, by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include 
EE-2006-STD-0127 and/or RIN 1904-AB49 in the subject line of the 
message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Framework Document for 
Home Appliance Products, EE-2006-STD-0127 and/or RIN 1904-AB49, 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 20585-0121.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this 
rulemaking.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, a 
copy of the transcript of the public meeting, 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 20585-0121, (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 that 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: Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121, (202) 586-0371. E-mail: [email protected]. Thomas 
DePriest, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel, GC-72, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-
9507. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part B of Title III of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), 42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq., established an 
energy conservation program for major household appliances, which 
includes residential electric and gas ranges and ovens and microwave 
ovens, and dishwashers. This program authorizes the Department to 
establish technologically feasible, economically justified energy-
efficiency regulations for certain consumer products for which such 
regulations would incur substantial national energy saving, and for 
which both natural market forces and voluntary labeling programs have 
been and/or are expected to be ineffective in promoting energy 
efficiency. The National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 (NECPA) 
amended EPCA to add Part C of Title III, 42 U.S.C. 6311 et seq., which 
established an energy-conservation program for certain industrial 
equipment. Amendments to EPCA in

[[Page 15060]]

the Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA) established prescriptive 
energy conservation standards for dishwashers and cooking products, as 
well as requirements for determining whether these standards should be 
amended. (42 U.S.C. 6295(g) and (h)) The Energy Policy Act of 1992 
(EPACT 1992), Public Law 102-486, included amendments to EPCA that 
expanded Title III to include certain commercial equipment. The recent 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), Public Law 109-58, updated 
several existing standards and test procedures, prescribed definitions, 
standards, and test procedures for certain new consumer products and 
commercial equipment, and mandated that the Secretary of Energy (the 
Secretary) commence rulemakings to develop test procedures and 
standards for certain other new consumer products and commercial 
equipment, including dehumidifiers and commercial clothes washers.
    The prescriptive standards for dishwashers in EPCA, as amended, 
require that they be equipped with an option to dry without heat, and 
EPCA further requires that DOE conduct two cycles of rulemakings to 
determine if more stringent standards are justified. (42 U.S.C. 
6295(g)(1), (4)) On May 14, 1991, DOE issued a final rule establishing 
the first set of performance standards for dishwashers; the new 
standards became effective on May 14, 1994. 56 FR 22250. The Department 
initiated a second standards rulemaking for dishwashers by issuing an 
advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) on November 14, 1994. 59 
FR 56423. As a result of the priority-setting process outlined in the 
July 15, 1996, Procedures for Consideration of New or Revised Energy 
Conservation Standards for Consumer Products (the ``Process Rule''), 61 
FR 36974, 10 CFR part 430, Subpart C, Appendix A, DOE suspended the 
standards rulemaking for dishwashers.
    The prescriptive standards for gas cooking products in EPCA, as 
amended, require units with an electrical supply cord not to be 
equipped with constant burning pilots. EPCA, as amended, also directs 
DOE to conduct two cycles of rulemakings to determine if more stringent 
standards are justified. (42 U.S.C. 6295(h)) The Department initially 
analyzed standards for cooking products as part of an eight-product 
standards rulemaking. It issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) 
on March 4, 1994, proposing performance standards for gas and electric 
residential cooking products, including microwave ovens. 59 FR 10464. 
In accordance with the 1996 Process Rule, DOE refined its standards 
analysis of cooking products. With regard to gas cooking products, DOE 
focused on the economic justification for eliminating standing pilots. 
Partially due to the difficulty of conclusively demonstrating that 
elimination of standing pilots was economically justified, DOE issued a 
final rule on September 8, 1998, that covered only electric cooking 
products, including microwave ovens. 63 FR 48038. The final rule found 
that no standards were feasible for electric cooking products. The 
Department never completed its standards rulemaking for gas cooking 
products.
    Commercial clothes washers and dehumidifiers are new products 
covered by the EPACT 2005 legislation. Commercial clothes washers are 
defined in EPACT 2005 as soft-mount, front-loading or soft-mount, top-
loading washers that have a clothes container compartment that is not 
more than 3.5 cubic feet for horizontal-axis clothes washers and not 
more than 4.0 cubic feet for vertical-axis clothes washers. (EPACT 
2005, section 136(a)(4)) EPACT 2005 also defines commercial clothes 
washers as products designed for applications in which the occupants of 
more than one household will be using the clothes washer, such as 
multi-family housing common areas, coin laundries, or other commercial 
applications. (Id.) EPACT 2005 established standards for commercial 
clothes washers, which will become effective on January 1, 2007. (EPACT 
2005, section 136(e)) EPACT 2005 also requires that DOE issue a final 
rule by January 1, 2010, to determine whether these standards should be 
amended. (Id.)
    In EPACT 2005, dehumidifiers are defined as self-contained, 
electrically operated, and mechanically encased assemblies consisting 
of: (1) A refrigerated surface (evaporator) that condenses moisture 
from the atmosphere; (2) a refrigerating system, including an electric 
motor; (3) an air-circulating fan; and (4) a means for collecting or 
disposing of the condensate. (EPACT 2005, section 135(a)(3)) EPACT 2005 
established standards for dehumidifiers that will become effective on 
October 1, 2007. (Section 135(c)(4)) EPACT 2005 also requires that DOE 
issue a final rule by October 1, 2009, to determine whether these 
standards should be amended. (Id.) If amended standards are justified, 
EPACT 2005 requires them to become effective by October 1, 2012. (Id.) 
In the event that DOE fails to publish a final rule, EPACT 2005 
specifies a new set of amended standards with an effective date of 
October 1, 2012. (Id.)
    To begin the required rulemaking process, the Department prepared 
the Framework Document to explain the issues, analyses, and process it 
is considering for the development of energy efficiency standards for 
residential electric and gas ranges and ovens and microwave ovens, 
dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and commercial clothes washers. The focus 
of the public meeting will be to discuss the analyses and issues 
contained in various sections of the Framework Document. For each item 
listed, the Department will make a presentation with discussion to 
follow. In addition, the Department will also make a brief presentation 
on the rulemaking process for these products. The Department encourages 
those who wish to participate in the public meeting to obtain the 
Framework Document and be prepared to discuss its contents. A copy of 
the draft Framework Document is available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/. However, public 
meeting participants need not limit their discussions to the topics in 
the Framework Document. The Department is also interested in receiving 
views concerning other relevant issues that participants believe would 
affect energy conservation standards for these products. The Department 
also welcomes all interested parties, whether or not they participate 
in the public meeting, to submit in writing by Thursday, May 11, 2006, 
comments and information on the matters addressed in the Framework 
Document and on other matters relevant to consideration of standards 
for residential electric and gas ranges and ovens and microwave ovens, 
dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and commercial clothes washers.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference 
style. A court reporter will be present to record the minutes of the 
meeting. There shall be no discussion of proprietary information, costs 
or prices, market shares, or other commercial matters regulated by the 
U.S. antitrust laws.
    After the public meeting and the expiration of the period for 
submitting written statements, the Department will begin collecting 
data, conducting the analyses as discussed at the public meeting, and 
reviewing the comments received.
    Anyone who would like to participate in the public meeting, receive 
meeting materials, or be added to the DOE mailing list to receive 
future notices and information regarding residential electric and gas 
ranges and ovens and microwave ovens, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and 
commercial clothes

[[Page 15061]]

washers, should contact Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2006.
Douglas L. Faulkner,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
 [FR Doc. E6-4390 Filed 3-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P