[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]
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