[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 226 (Friday, November 24, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67825-67826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9372]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 226 / Friday, November 24, 2006 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 67825]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EE-2006-STD-0129]
RIN 1904-AA90


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy 
Conservation Standards for Residential Water Heaters, Direct Heating 
Equipment, and Pool Heaters

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) is commencing a rulemaking to 
amend the existing energy conservation standards for residential water 
heaters, direct heating equipment, and pool heaters. DOE will hold an 
informal public meeting to present its proposed methodologies for 
conducting this rulemaking, discuss issues relevant to the rulemaking 
proceeding, and initiate stakeholder interaction and the data 
collection process. DOE is also interested in identifying information 
that will assist it in establishing amended standards for these 
products. DOE encourages written comments on these subjects. This 
effort is the result of provisions in the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (EPCA) directing the Secretary of Energy 
(``Secretary'') to publish rules to determine whether the energy 
conservation standards for such products should be amended. To inform 
stakeholders and to facilitate this process, DOE has prepared a 
Framework Document, a draft of which is available at http://www.eere.doe.gov/building/appliance_standards.

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting on January 16, 2007, from 9 a.m. 
to 5 p.m. EDT in Washington, DC. Any person requesting to speak at the 
public meeting should submit a request to speak before 4 p.m., January 
5, 2007. DOE must receive a signed original and an electronic copy of 
statements to be given at the public meeting before 4 p.m., January 5, 
2007. Written comments on the Framework Document are welcome and 
encouraged and should be submitted by January 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES: DOE will hold the public meeting 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 in the public meeting are subject to advance security 
screening procedures. If a foreign national wishes to participate in 
the public meeting, 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-0129 and/or RIN number 1904-AA90, 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-0129 and/or RIN 1904-AA90 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 
Residential Water Heaters, Direct Heating Equipment, and Pool Heaters, 
EE-2006-STD-0129 and/or 1904-AA90, 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 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 the Resource Room. Please 
note that DOE's Freedom of Information Reading Room (formerly Room 1E-
190 at the Forrestal Building) is no longer housing rulemaking 
materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mohammed Khan, 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) 586-7892. E-mail: [email protected]. Francine 
Pinto, 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 EPCA, 42 U.S.C. 6291 
et seq., establishes an energy conservation program for consumer 
products and authorizes DOE to adopt test procedures and energy 
conservation standards for certain of these products. Amendments to 
EPCA in the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA) 
(Pub. L. 100-12 (1987)) added several products to this program, 
including pool heaters. These amendments also established energy 
conservation standards for residential water heaters, direct heating 
equipment, and pool heaters--the products that are the focus of this 
document--as well as requirements for determining whether these 
standards should be amended. (42 U.S.C. 6295(e))
    Specifically, EPCA requires that DOE conduct two cycles of 
rulemakings to determine whether to amend the standards for these 
products. (42 U.S.C. 6295 (e)(1)-(4)) EPCA directs the Secretary of 
Energy to publish a final rule by January 1, 1992 to determine whether 
the standards applicable to products manufactured on or after January 
1, 1995 should be amended (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)(4)(A)), and to publish a 
second such rule by January 1, 2000 for

[[Page 67826]]

products manufactured on or after January 1, 2005. (42 U.S.C. 
6295(e)(4)(B)) On February 7, 1989 and October 17, 1990, DOE published 
in the Federal Register final rules codifying the minimum efficiency 
levels prescribed by NAECA, and thereby established the first set of 
energy conservation standards for residential water heaters, direct 
water heating equipment, and pool heaters. 54 FR 6097 and 55 FR 42163.
    The energy conservation standards established by NAECA for 
residential water heaters require that each gas, oil, and electric 
water heater manufactured on or after January 1, 1990, meet a minimum 
energy factor based on the water heater's rated storage volume in 
gallons. (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)(1)) On January 17, 2001, DOE published a 
final rule (the January 2001 final rule) in which it increased the 
required minimum efficiency levels for gas and electric storage water 
heaters (except for tabletop models), but declined to amend the energy 
conservation standards for oil storage water heaters. 66 FR 4474. DOE 
also established separate product classes for tabletop water heaters, 
instantaneous gas-fired water heaters, and instantaneous electric water 
heaters, but let the existing EPCA efficiency levels in place for these 
types of equipment. 66 FR 4474. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6295(e)(4)(A), 
the January 2001 final rule amended the DOE regulations to specify a 
minimum energy factor for gas-fired storage-type, oil-fired storage-
type, electric storage-type, gas-fired instantaneous, electric 
instantaneous, and tabletop water heaters, based on rated storage 
volume and became effective on January 20, 2004. 66 FR 4474.
    Furthermore, EPCA requires that pool heaters manufactured on or 
after January 1, 1990, meet a thermal efficiency standard of not less 
than 78 percent. (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)(2)) In addition, the energy 
conservation standards established by EPCA at 42 U.S.C. 6295(e)(3) 
specify a minimum annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) for sixteen 
product classes of direct heating equipment, as shown in Section 
430.32(i) of Part 430, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations.
    DOE initially considered amending the energy conservation standards 
for pool heaters and direct heating equipment as part of an eight-
product standards rulemaking. DOE issued a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NOPR) on March 4, 1994 to amend the energy conservation 
standards for pool heaters and direct heating equipment, as well as 
other consumer products. 59 FR 10464. The Department of Interior and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Pub. L. 104-
134) included a moratorium on proposing or issuing final rules for 
appliance standards rulemakings for the remainder of Fiscal Year 1996, 
which caused DOE to suspend action on the 1994 proposed standards. 
Currently, the first set of EPCA efficiency levels for pool heaters and 
direct heating equipment remain in place.
    To begin today's rulemaking process, DOE has prepared a Rulemaking 
Framework Document for Residential Water Heaters, Direct Heating 
Equipment, and Pool Heaters (Framework Document) to present the issues 
and explain the analyses and process it anticipates using to amend the 
energy conservation standards for residential water heaters, direct 
heating equipment, and pool heaters. The focus of the public meeting 
will be to discuss the analyses and issues identified in the Framework 
Document. During DOE's presentation to stakeholders, DOE will discuss 
each item listed in the Framework Document as an issue for comment. DOE 
will also make a brief presentation on the rulemaking process for these 
products. DOE encourages interested persons 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.doe.gov/buildings/appliance_standards. 
However, public meeting participants need not limit their discussion to 
the topics in the Framework Document. DOE is also interested in 
receiving comments concerning other relevant issues that participants 
believe would affect energy conservation standards for residential 
water heaters, direct heating equipment, and pool heaters. DOE also 
welcomes all interested parties, whether or not they participate in the 
public meeting, to submit in writing by January 30, 2007, comments and 
information on the matters addressed in the Framework Document and on 
other matters relevant to consideration of standards for residential 
water heaters, direct heating equipment, and pool heaters.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, 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.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, 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, DOE will begin collecting data, 
conducting the analyses as discussed in the Framework Document and 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 water heaters, 
direct heating equipment, and pool heaters, should contact Ms. Brenda 
Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2006.
Alexander A. Karsner,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 06-9372 Filed 11-22-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-M