[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35661-35662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13097]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 460


Labeling and Advertising of Home Insulation

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of deadline 
for submission of public comments.

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SUMMARY: The FTC is extending the deadline for filing public comments 
on its recent Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the ``Trade 
Regulation Rule Concerning the Labeling and Advertising of Home 
Insulation'' (the ``R-value Rule'' or ``Rule'').

DATES: The comment period for the advance notice of proposed rulemaking 
published April 6, 2016 (81 FR 19936), is extended. Comments must be 
received on or before September 6, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``16 CFR part 460--R-
value Rule Review, File No. R811001'' on your comment, and file your 
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/rvaluerule, by 
following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file 
your comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th St. SW., 5th Floor, 
Suite 5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hampton Newsome, (202) 326-2889, 
Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Comment Period Extension

    On April 6, 2016 (81 FR 19936), as part of the Commission's 
systematic review of its rules and guides, the FTC published an Advance 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in the Federal Register requesting 
public comments on the R-value Rule. The ANPR set June 6, 2016 as the 
deadline for filing comments. On May 12, 2016, the American Chemistry 
Council's (ACC) Center for the Polyurethanes Industry and Spray Foam 
Coalition requested a 90-day extension to the comment period. ACC 
represents manufacturers of various types of home insulation products, 
including spray polyurethane foam (SPF) and rigid polyurethane foam 
board insulation. The requesters explained that the insulation industry 
and certain insulation products have changed substantially since the 
Commission completed its last regulatory review in 2005. In particular, 
new industry research has become available on the short-term and long-
term thermal performance of SPF products. ACC also noted that new 
research exists about the energy efficiency benefits of insulation 
products that combine air sealing with high thermal resistance 
properties. Accordingly, it asserted that additional time is necessary 
for companies and industry trade organizations to present this new 
information in a useful manner through comments.
    Given the complexity and range of issues raised in the ANPR, the 
Commission agrees that allowing additional time for filing comments 
would help facilitate the creation of a more complete record. Moreover, 
this extension would not harm consumers because the current Rule will 
remain in effect during the review process. The Commission agrees that 
extending the comment period to allow interested parties adequate time 
to address issues raised by the ANPR will facilitate a more complete 
record. Therefore, the Commission has decided to extend the comment 
period to September 6, 2016.

II. Request for Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before September 6, 
2016. Write ``16 CFR part 460--R-value Rule Review, File No. R811001'' 
on your comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will 
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the 
extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the 
Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from 
comments before placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as anyone's Social Security 
number, date of birth, driver's license number or other state 
identification number or foreign country

[[Page 35662]]

equivalent, passport number, financial account number, or credit or 
debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that 
your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as 
medical records or other individually identifiable health information. 
In addition, do not include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or 
financial information which is . . . privileged or confidential,'' as 
discussed in section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 
4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include 
competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, 
inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or 
customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you must follow the procedure explained in 
FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest.
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    \1\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/rvaluerule, by following the instruction on the web-based form. If 
this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you also may file a 
comment through that Web site.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your comment to 
the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex B), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 
20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by 
courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this 
ANPR and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws 
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public 
comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. The 
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that 
it receives on or before September 6, 2016. You can find more 
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 
the Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-13097 Filed 6-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P