[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11785-11787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4639]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-STD-0043]
RIN 1904-AC36


Energy Conservation Program: Public Meeting and Availability of 
the Framework Document for High-Intensity Discharge Lamps

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 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating the 
rulemaking and data collection process to consider establishing energy 
conservation standards for high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps. 
Accordingly, DOE will hold a public meeting to discuss and receive 
comments on its planned analytical approach and the issues it will 
address in this rulemaking proceeding. DOE welcomes written comments 
from the

[[Page 11786]]

public on this rulemaking. To inform stakeholders and to facilitate 
this process, DOE has prepared a framework document which details the 
analytical approach and identifies several issues on which DOE is 
particularly interested in receiving comment. The framework document is 
posted at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html.

DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on March 29, 2012, 
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Washington, DC. Additionally, DOE plans to 
allow for participation in the public meeting via webinar. Any person 
requesting to speak at the public meeting should submit such request 
along with a signed original and an electronic copy of the statement to 
be given at the public meeting before 4 p.m., March 16, 2012. Written 
comments on the framework document are welcome, especially following 
the public meeting, and should be submitted by April 5, 2012.

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 20585-0121. 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 at (202) 586-2945, so that the 
necessary procedures can be completed. Please also note that those 
wishing to bring laptops to the meeting will be required to obtain a 
property pass. Visitors should avoid bringing laptops, or allow an 
extra 45 minutes.
    Interested parties may submit comments, identified by docket number 
EERE-2010-BT-STD-0043 and/or Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 1904-
AC36, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include EERE-
2010-BT-STD-0043 and/or RIN 1904-AC36 in the subject line of the 
message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Framework Document for 
High-Intensity Discharge Lamps, EERE-2010-BT-STD-0043 and/or RIN 1904-
AC36, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Please 
submit one signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L'Enfant 
Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20024. Please submit one signed paper 
original.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number or RIN for this rulemaking.
    Docket: The docket for this rulemaking is available for review at 
www.regulations.gov, and will include Federal Register notices, 
framework documents, public meeting attendee lists and transcripts, 
comments, and other supporting documents/materials. All documents in 
the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Not all 
documents listed in the index may be publicly available, however, such 
as information that is exempt from public disclosure.
    A link to the docket Web page for this notice can be found at: 
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html. The regulations.gov Web page 
contains instructions on how to access all documents, including public 
comments, in the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Ms. Lucy deButts, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies, EE-2J, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 
287-1604. Email: [email protected].
    Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the 
General Counsel, GC-71, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7796. Email: 
[email protected].
    For information on how to submit or review public comments and on 
how to participate in the public meeting, contact Ms. Brenda Edwards, 
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. Telephone (202) 586-2945. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of Energy Policy and Conservation 
Act (EPCA) (42 U.S.C. 6291, et seq.; EPCA or ``the Act'') sets forth a 
variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency. (All 
references to EPCA refer to the statute as amended through the Energy 
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), Public Law 110-140 
(Dec. 19, 2007).) Under EPCA, this program consists essentially of four 
parts: (1) Testing; (2) labeling; (3) Federal energy conservation 
standards; and (4) certification, compliance, and enforcement. Part B 
of Title III (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) established the ``Energy 
Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles.'' 
Part C of title III (42 U.S.C. 6311-6317), establishes an energy 
conservation program for certain industrial and commercial 
equipment.\1\ Although HID lamps are defined in 42 U.S.C. 6291(46), DOE 
is required to set standards for HID lamps in 42 U.S.C. 6317(a)(1). 
Therefore, DOE has determined that the provisions of Part C are 
applicable to HID lamps.
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    \1\ For editorial reasons, Parts B and C were re-designated as 
Parts A and A-1 on codification in the U.S. Code.
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    DOE published a positive final determination for specified HID 
lamps on July 1, 2010. 75 FR 37975. Pursuant to the positive final 
determination, DOE must establish testing requirements for the HID 
lamps specified in the determination. (42 U.S.C. 6317(a)(1)) As 
directed by EPCA, DOE must complete the HID lamps test procedure final 
rule within 30 months of the completion of the final determination (by 
January 1, 2013). DOE recently published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NOPR) for the HID lamp test procedures. 76 FR 77914 
(December 15, 2011).
    DOE must also complete the HID lamps energy conservation standards 
rulemaking within 18 months of the publication of the HID lamps test 
procedure final rule (by July 1, 2014). (42 U.S.C. 6317(b)) During the 
standards rulemaking, DOE will decide whether and at what level(s) to 
promulgate energy conservation standards. The decision, which will 
incorporate public participation, will be based on consideration of the 
technological feasibility, economic justification, and energy savings 
of specific potential standard levels as required by EPCA. (See, e.g., 
42 U.S.C. 6295(o)-(p))
    DOE has prepared a framework document to explain the issues, 
analyses, and processes it anticipates using for the development of 
potential energy conservation standards for HID lamps. Interested 
parties may obtain the framework document from DOE's Web site (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html). DOE will hold a public meeting in 
Washington, DC on the date specified in the DATES section to discuss 
the analyses presented and issues identified in the framework document 
prepared

[[Page 11787]]

for the development of potential HID lamp energy conservation 
standards. At the public meeting, the Department will make a 
presentation, invite discussion on the rulemaking process as it applies 
to the covered products, and solicit comments, data, and information 
from participants and other interested parties. Participants can also 
attend the public meeting via webinar. Registration information, 
participant instructions, and information about the capabilities 
available to webinar participants will be published on the following 
Web site: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/221154352. Participants 
are responsible for ensuring their computer systems are compatible with 
the webinar software. The Department encourages those who wish to 
participate in the public meeting to obtain the framework document and 
to be prepared to discuss its contents.
    Public meeting participants need not limit their comments to the 
issues identified 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 
this equipment or that DOE should address in the NOPR. Furthermore, the 
Department welcomes all interested parties, regardless of whether they 
participate in the public meeting, to submit in writing by the date 
specified in the DATES section, comments and information on matters 
addressed in the framework document and on other matters relevant to 
consideration of standards for HID lamps. At this time, DOE is 
tentatively considering setting standards based on the information 
included in the framework document. DOE will consider modifications to 
its approach based on the data and comments received in response to the 
framework document and public meeting.
    The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, facilitated, 
conference style. There shall be no discussion of proprietary 
information, costs or prices, company market shares, or other 
commercial matters regulated by U.S. antitrust laws. A court reporter 
will record the proceedings of the public meeting, after which a 
transcript will be made available on DOE's Web site at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html.
    After the public meeting and the close of the comment period on the 
framework document, DOE will collect data, conduct the analyses as 
discussed in the framework document and at the public meeting, and 
review the comments received.
    DOE considers public participation to be a very important part of 
the process for setting energy conservation standards. DOE actively 
encourages the participation and interaction of the public during the 
comment period in each stage of the rulemaking process. Beginning with 
the framework document, and during each subsequent public meeting and 
comment period, interactions with and between members of the public 
provide a balanced discussion of the issues to assist DOE in the 
standards rulemaking process. Accordingly, 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 this rulemaking on HID lamps should contact Ms. Brenda 
Edwards at (202) 586-2945, or via email at: [email protected].

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2012.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2012-4639 Filed 2-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P