[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 7, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76328-76330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31419]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Parts 429 and 430

[Docket Number EERE-2011-BT-CE-0077]
RIN 1904-AC68


Energy Conservation Program: Enforcement of Regional Standards 
for Residential Furnaces and Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps

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

ACTION: Notice of Data Availability (NODA).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) has 
developed three separate possible approaches to enforcement of regional 
standards for residential furnaces and residential central air 
conditioners and heat pumps set forth by direct final rule published in 
the Federal Register on June 27, 2011. The Department is considering 
these three approaches, or a combination of elements in these 
approaches, as a framework for developing an enforcement plan for 
regional standards. DOE seeks comment on the approaches to inform the 
rulemaking for enforcement of regional energy efficiency standards for 
residential furnaces and residential central air conditioners and heat 
pumps. DOE also seeks comment on a possible waiver process for regional 
standards applicability.

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting on December 16, 2011, from 9 a.m. 
to 4 p.m., in Washington, DC. The meeting will also be broadcast as a 
webinar. See ``Public Participation,'' for webinar registration 
information, participant instructions, and information about the 
capabilities available to webinar participants.
    DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this NODA 
before and after the public meeting, but no later than February 6, 
2012. See ``Public Participation,'' for details.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585. To attend, please notify Ms. Brenda Edwards at 
(202) 586-2945. Please note that foreign nationals visiting DOE 
Headquarters are subject to advance security screening procedures. Any 
foreign national wishing to participate in the meeting should advise 
DOE as soon as possible by contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-
2945 to initiate the necessary procedures.
    Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. Alternatively, interested persons 
may submit comments, identified by docket number EERE-2011-BT-CE-0077, 
by any of the following methods:
     Email: to [email protected]. 
Include EERE-2011-BT-CE-0077 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Revisions to Energy 
Efficiency Enforcement Regulations, EERE-2011-BT-CE-0077, Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Phone: (202) 586-2945. Please 
submit one signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza 
SW., Washington, DC 20024. Phone: (202) 586-2945. Please submit one 
signed paper original.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number or RIN for this document.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, or 
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct requests for additional 
information may be sent to Ms. Ashley Armstrong, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Program, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC 20585-0121. Email: [email protected], and Ms. Laura 
Barhydt, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 
Forrestal Building, GC-32, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,

[[Page 76329]]

Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 287-5772. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Energy Independence and Security Act 
(EISA) of 2007 modified the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) 
to authorize DOE to consider regional standards for certain products if 
the regional standards can save significantly more energy than a 
national standard and are economically justified. Specifically, DOE was 
authorized to establish up to two additional regional standards for 
central air conditioners and heat pumps and one additional standard for 
furnaces in addition to national standards. (42 U.S.C. 
6295(o)(6)(B)(ii))
    EISA 2007 requires DOE to initiate an enforcement rulemaking not 
later than 90 days after the issuance of a final rule that establishes 
a regional standard. (42 U.S.C. 62905(o)(6)(G)(ii)(I)) EISA 2007also 
requires that a final rule for enforcement be issued not later than 15 
months after the final rule that establishes a regional standard. (42 
U.S.C. 62905(o)(6)(G)(ii)(III))
    On June 27, 2011, DOE promulgated a direct final rule for these 
products that established regional standards. 76 FR 37549. In addition 
to the current base national standard, DOE established one additional 
regional standard for furnaces and two additional regional standards 
for central air conditioners and heat pumps. The Department published a 
notice of effective date and compliance dates for the direct final rule 
on October 31, 2011 (76 FR 67037), requiring compliance for non-
weatherized furnaces on May 1, 2013, and for weatherized furnaces and 
central air conditioners and heat pumps on January 1, 2015.
    The Department has developed three possible approaches to 
enforcement of regional energy conservation standards for residential 
furnaces and residential central air conditioners and heat pumps. Each 
approach includes a description of the obligations that would be 
imposed upon manufacturers, distributors, and contractors in the 
product supply chain. The Department is considering these approaches or 
some combination of these approaches as a framework for developing a 
proposed enforcement scheme for regional standards. Stakeholders are 
encouraged to review the approaches and submit comments on each 
approach, including the different aspects of each approach.
    In addition, the Department discusses how the compliance dates 
apply to various parties such as manufacturers, distributors and 
contractors. The Department also seeks comment on a possible waiver 
process to permit installation of units to do not meet the applicable 
regional standard in limited circumstances.
    Purpose: The purpose of this NODA is to inform stakeholders of 
three possible approaches for enforcement of regional energy efficiency 
standards for residential furnaces and residential central air 
conditioners and heat pumps and to solicit feedback from stakeholders 
on these approaches. Respondents are advised that this NODA is for 
information purposes only. DOE plans to use the information gathered 
through this NODA in developing a proposed rule for public comment.

Public Participation

A. Attendance at Public Meeting

    The time, date and location of the public meeting are listed in the 
DATES and ADDRESSES sections at the beginning of this document. If you 
plan to attend the public meeting, please notify Ms. Brenda Edwards at 
(202) 586-2945 or [email protected]. As explained in the 
ADDRESSES section, foreign nationals visiting DOE Headquarters are 
subject to advance security screening procedures.
    In addition, you can attend the public meeting via webinar. Webinar 
registration information, participant instructions, and information 
about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be 
published on DOE's Web site at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/certification_enforcement.html. Participants are 
responsible for ensuring their systems are compatible with the webinar 
software.

B. Procedure for Submitting Prepared General Statements for 
Distribution

    Any person who has plans to present a prepared general statement 
may request that copies of his or her statement be made available at 
the public meeting. Such persons may submit requests, along with an 
advance electronic copy of their statement in PDF (preferred), 
Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format, to 
the appropriate address shown in the ADDRESSES section at the beginning 
of this notice. The request and advance copy of statements must be 
received at least one week before the public meeting and may be 
emailed, hand-delivered, or sent by mail. DOE prefers to receive 
requests and advance copies via email. Please include a telephone 
number to enable DOE staff to make a follow-up contact, if needed.

C. Conduct of Public Meeting

    DOE will designate a DOE official to preside at the public meeting 
and may also use a professional facilitator to aid discussion. The 
meeting will not be a judicial or evidentiary-type public hearing, but 
DOE will conduct it in accordance with section 336 of EPCA (42 U.S.C. 
6306). A court reporter will be present to record the proceedings and 
prepare a transcript. DOE reserves the right to schedule the order of 
presentations and to establish the procedures governing the conduct of 
the public meeting. After the public meeting, interested parties may 
submit further comments on the proceedings as well as on any aspect of 
the rulemaking until the end of the comment period.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference 
style. DOE will present summaries of comments received before the 
public meeting, allow time for prepared general statements by 
participants, and encourage all interested parties to share their views 
on issues affecting this NODA. Each participant will be allowed to make 
a general statement (within time limits determined by DOE), before the 
discussion of specific topics. DOE will permit, as time permits, other 
participants to comment briefly on any general statements.
    At the end of all prepared statements on a topic, DOE will permit 
participants to clarify their statements briefly and comment on 
statements made by others. Participants should be prepared to answer 
questions by DOE and by other participants concerning these issues. DOE 
representatives may also ask questions of participants concerning other 
matters relevant to this rulemaking. The official conducting the public 
meeting will accept additional comments or questions from those 
attending, as time permits. The presiding official will announce any 
further procedural rules or modification of the above procedures that 
may be needed for the proper conduct of the public meeting.
    A transcript of the public meeting will be included in the docket, 
which can be viewed as described in the Docket section at the beginning 
of this notice. In addition, any person may buy a copy of the 
transcript from the transcribing reporter.

D. Submission of Comments

    DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this 
notice before or after the public meeting, but no later than the date 
provided in the DATES

[[Page 76330]]

section at the beginning of this notice. Interested parties may submit 
comments using any of the methods described in the ADDRESSES section at 
the beginning of this notice.
    Submitting comments via regulations.gov. The regulations.gov web 
page will require you to provide your name and contact information. 
Your contact information will be viewable to DOE Building Technologies 
staff only. Your contact information will not be publicly viewable 
except for your first and last names, organization name (if any), and 
submitter representative name (if any). If your comment is not 
processed properly because of technical difficulties, DOE will use this 
information to contact you. If DOE cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, DOE 
may not be able to consider your comment.
    However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you 
include it in the comment or in any documents attached to your comment. 
Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable should not 
be included in your comment, nor in any document attached to your 
comment. Persons viewing comments will see only first and last names, 
organization names, correspondence containing comments, and any 
documents submitted with the comments.
    Do not submit to regulations.gov information for which disclosure 
is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or 
financial information (hereinafter referred to as Confidential Business 
Information (CBI)). Comments submitted through regulations.gov cannot 
be claimed as CBI. Comments received through the Web site will waive 
any CBI claims for the information submitted. For information on 
submitting CBI, see the Confidential Business Information section.
    DOE processes submissions made through regulations.gov before 
posting. Normally, comments will be posted within a few days of being 
submitted. However, if large volumes of comments are being processed 
simultaneously, your comment may not be viewable for up to several 
weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that regulations.gov 
provides after you have successfully uploaded your comment.
    Submitting comments via email, hand delivery, or mail. Comments and 
documents submitted via email, hand delivery, or mail also will be 
posted to regulations.gov. If you do not want your personal contact 
information to be publicly viewable, do not include it in your comment 
or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your contact 
information on a cover letter. Include your first and last names, email 
address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. The cover 
letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not include any 
comments.
    Include contact information each time you submit comments, data, 
documents, and other information to DOE. Email submissions are 
preferred. If you submit via mail or hand delivery, please provide all 
items on a CD, if feasible. It is not necessary to submit printed 
copies. No facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.
    Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, written in English, and are free of any defects or 
viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or any form of 
encryption and, if possible, they should carry the electronic signature 
of the author.
    Campaign form letters. Please submit campaign form letters by the 
originating organization in batches of between 50 to 500 form letters 
per PDF or as one form letter with a list of supporters' names compiled 
into one or more PDFs. This reduces comment processing and posting 
time.
    Confidential Business Information. According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 
person submitting information that he or she believes to be 
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via 
email, postal mail, or hand delivery two well-marked copies: one copy 
of the document marked confidential including all the information 
believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked non-
confidential with the information believed to be confidential deleted. 
Submit these documents via email or on a CD, if feasible. DOE will make 
its own determination about the confidential status of the information 
and treat it according to its determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.
    It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public 
without change and as received, including any personal information 
provided in the comments (except information deemed to be exempt from 
public disclosure).

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment

    Although DOE welcomes comments on any aspect of this NODA, DOE has 
identified a number of issues that it is particularly interested in 
receiving comments and views of interested parties. These are presented 
in the framework document.

Approval of the Office of the Secretary

    The Secretary of Energy has approved publication of this notice of 
data availability.

List of Subjects

10 CFR Part 429

    Energy conservation, Household appliances, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

 10 CFR Part 430

    Administrative practice and procedure, Confidential business 
information, Energy conservation, Household appliances, Imports.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 29, 2011.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Office of Technology 
Development, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-31419 Filed 12-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P