[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 31, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30834-30836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8356]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EE-2006-STD-0131]
RIN 1904-AA92


Energy Conservation Standards for General Service Fluorescent 
Lamps, Incandescent Reflector Lamps, and General Service Incandescent 
Lamps: 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 
initiating the rulemaking process to amend energy conservation 
standards for general service fluorescent lamps, incandescent reflector 
lamps, and general service incandescent lamps. The Department also 
encourages written comments on these subjects. 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/.

DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on Thursday, June 15, 
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, June 8, 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, June 8, 2006. Written comments are 
welcome, especially following the public meeting, and should be 
submitted by Thursday, June 29, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-245, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0121. (Please note that foreign nationals 
participating

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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-0131 and/or RIN number 1904-AA92, 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-0131 and/or RIN 1904-AA92 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 
Fluorescent and Incandescent Lamps, EE-2006-STD-0131 and/or RIN 1904-
AA92, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. 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. Telephone: (202) 
586-2945. Please submit one signed paper original.
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Graves, Esq., 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) 586-1851. E-mail: [email protected]. Thomas B. 
DePriest, Esq., 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: The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA 
or the Act) of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) established an energy 
conservation program for major household appliances. The National 
Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 (NECPA) amended EPCA to add Part 
C of Title III (42 U.S.C. 6311-6317), which established an energy 
conservation program for certain industrial equipment. Additional 
amendments to EPCA have given DOE the authority to regulate the energy 
efficiency of several products, including certain fluorescent and 
incandescent lamps, the products that are the focus of this rulemaking. 
Amendments to EPCA in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT 1992), 
Public Law 102-486, established energy conservation standards for 
residential, commercial and industrial general service fluorescent 
lamps and incandescent reflector lamps, as well as requirements to 
conduct two cycles of rulemakings for determining whether these 
standards should be amended.\1\ (42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(1), (3)-(4)) In 
addition, EPCA provides that within twenty-four months after the 
Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) labeling requirements have become 
effective for general service fluorescent lamps and general service 
incandescent lamps, DOE must initiate a rulemaking to determine if the 
standards in effect for such lamps should be amended so that they would 
be applicable to additional general service fluorescent and general 
service incandescent lamps. (42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(5)) Furthermore, 
according to EPCA, DOE must publish a rule within eighteen months of 
initiating the rulemaking. (Id.) The FTC published its labeling 
requirements for covered lamps on May 13, 1994, which had an effective 
date of May 15, 1995. 59 FR 25176. Previously, the Department did not 
take action on the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 6295(i) because lamps were 
assigned low priority based on public comment and potential energy 
savings estimates in the priority setting process.\2\
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    \1\ Although EPACT 1992 placed regulatory authority, standards, 
and definitions for fluorescent and incandescent lamps under the 
energy conservation program for consumer products (42 U.S.C. 6291-
6309), those provisions also apply to general service fluorescent 
and incandescent reflector lamps distributed for commercial use. (42 
U.S.C. 6291(1)).
    \2\ See Appendix B to FY 2005 Preliminary Priority-Setting 
Summary Report on the DOE Web page at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/priority_setting.html.
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    Section 1.2 of the Framework Document provides detail on the 
distinction between fluorescent lamps and general service fluorescent 
lamps, and the differences among incandescent lamps, incandescent 
reflector lamps and general service incandescent lamps. The following 
paragraphs discuss the statutory requirements and actions that DOE is 
taking for each of the lamp types covered in this rulemaking.\3\
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    \3\ This rulemaking addresses ``backlog'' rulemakings for 
incandescent general service lamps, fluorescent lamps, and 
incandescent reflector lamps that are identified in the report that 
DOE submitted to Congress on January 31, 2006, Energy Conservation 
Standards Activities, pursuant to section 141 of the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) and to the Conference Report (109-275) 
to the Fiscal Year 2006, Energy and Water Development Appropriations 
Act. The report is available as a PDF file on the DOE Web page at: 
http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/2006_schedule_setting.html.
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    EPCA's standards for general service fluorescent lamps require that 
they meet prescribed minimum efficacy levels per given color rendering 
index (CRI) levels.\4\ In this rulemaking, DOE is conducting its first 
review, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(3), to determine if these 
standards should be amended, while fulfilling the additional 
requirement, in 42 U.S.C. 6295(i)(5), to determine if the standards 
should be applicable to additional general service fluorescent lamps.
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    \4\ The Act defines ``lamp efficacy'' as ``the lumen output of a 
lamp divided by its wattage, expressed in lumens per watt (LPW).'' 
(42 U.S.C. 6291(30)(M)) It defines ``color rendering index'' (CRI) 
as ``the measure of the degree of color shift objects undergo when 
illuminated by a light source as compared with the color of those 
same objects when illuminated by a reference source of comparable 
color temperature.'' (42 U.S.C. 6291(30)(J)).
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    As with general service fluorescent lamps, EPCA establishes energy 
conservation standards for incandescent reflector lamps, requiring that 
certain lamps meet prescribed efficacy levels. In this rulemaking, the 
Department is conducting its first review, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 
6295(i)(3), to determine if the standards should be amended. The 
Department is also fulfilling the additional requirement in 42 U.S.C. 
6295(i)(5) to determine whether the standards should cover additional 
general service incandescent lamps, including additional incandescent 
reflector lamps.
    To begin the required rulemaking process, the Department prepared 
the Framework Document to present the issues and explain the analyses 
and process it anticipates using to amend the energy conservation 
standards for general service fluorescent lamps, incandescent reflector 
lamps, and general service incandescent lamps. The focus of the public 
meeting will be to

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discuss the analyses and issues identified in various sections of the 
Framework Document. During the Department's presentation to 
stakeholders, the Department will discuss each item listed in the 
Framework Document as an issue for comment. 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, June 29, 2006, comments and information on the matters 
addressed in the Framework Document and on other matters relevant to 
consideration of standards for these lamps.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, facilitated, 
conference style. A court reporter will be present to prepare a 
transcript 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 fluorescent and incandescent 
lamps, should contact Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 24, 2006.
Douglas L. Faulkner,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy.
 [FR Doc. E6-8356 Filed 5-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P