[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8806-8807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01958]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EERE-2012-BT-STD-0045]
RIN 1904-AD28


Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for 
Ceiling Fans

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

ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date.

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SUMMARY: This document delays the effective date of a recently 
published final rule amending the energy conservation standards for 
ceiling fans.

DATES: The effective date of the rule amending 10 CFR part 430 
published in the Federal Register at 82 FR 6826 on January 19, 2017, is 
delayed to March 21, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Ms. Ashley Armstrong, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE-2J, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: 
(202) 586-6590. Email: [email protected].
    Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Phone: 
(202) 586-7796. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 20, 2017, the Assistant to the 
President and Chief of Staff (``Chief of Staff'') issued a memorandum, 
published in the Federal Register on January 24, 2017 (82 FR 8346), 
outlining the President's plan for managing the Federal regulatory 
process at the outset of the new Administration. In implementation of 
one of the measures directed by that memorandum, the United States 
Department of Energy (``DOE'') hereby temporarily postpones the 
effective date of its final rule amending the energy conservation 
standards for ceiling fans published in the Federal Register on January 
19, 2017. See 82 FR 6826. The January 19 rule establishes amended 
standards for ceiling fans that are expressed for each product class as 
the minimum allowable efficiency in terms of cubic feet per minute per 
watt (``CFM/W''), as a function of ceiling fan diameter. (The previous 
energy conservation standards applicable to ceiling fans were design 
standards prescribed in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, 
as amended.) Consistent with the memorandum, DOE is temporarily 
postponing the effective date of the final rule by 60 days, starting 
from January 20, 2017. The temporary 60-day delay in effective date is 
necessary to give DOE officials the opportunity for further review and 
consideration of new regulations, consistent with the Chief of Staff's 
memorandum of January 20, 2017.
    To the extent that 5 U.S.C. 553 applies to this action, it is 
exempt from notice and comment because it constitutes a rule of 
procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). Alternatively, DOE's implementation 
of this action without opportunity for public comment, effective 
immediately upon publication in the Federal Register, is based on the 
good cause exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3). Pursuant to 
5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), DOE has determined that good cause exists to forego 
the requirement to provide prior notice and an opportunity for public 
comment thereon for this rule as such procedures would be 
impracticable, unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. DOE is 
temporarily postponing for 60 days the effective date of this 
regulation pursuant to the previously-noted memorandum of the Chief of 
Staff and is exercising no discretion in implementing this specific 
provision of the memorandum. As a result, seeking public comment on 
this delay is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. For 
these same reasons DOE finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 
effective date provided for in 5 U.S.C. 553(d).


[[Page 8807]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2017.
John T. Lucas,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-01958 Filed 1-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P