[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 29, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 449-450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00257]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 19 / Tuesday, January 29, 2019 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 449]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Parts 430 and 431

[EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018]


Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for 
Residential Furnaces and Commercial Water Heaters

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

ACTION: Notice of petition for rulemaking; extension of public comment 
period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On November 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') 
published in the Federal Register a notice of petition for rulemaking 
and request for comment regarding whether DOE should issue an 
interpretive rule stating that DOE's proposed energy conservation 
standards for residential furnaces and commercial water heaters would 
result in the unavailability of ``performance characteristics'' within 
the meaning of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as 
amended, and withdraw its proposals for amended standards for those 
products/equipment based upon such findings. The comment period in that 
notice was set to close on January 30, 2019. In the intervening period, 
DOE received two requests from interested parties seeking an extension 
of the comment period in order to develop additional data relevant to 
the petition. This notice announces an extension of the public comment 
period for submitting comments in response to that notice of petition 
for rulemaking. The comment period is hereby extended by 30 days to 
March 1, 2019.

DATES: The comment period for the notice of petition for rulemaking and 
request for comment published on November 1, 2018 (83 FR 54883) is 
extended. Written comments and information are requested and will be 
accepted on or before March 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments, 
identified by ``Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces 
and Commercial Water Heaters'' and Docket No. EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018, by 
any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected]. Include 
Docket No. EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018 in the subject line of the message.
    3. Postal Mail: Appliance and Equipment Standards Program, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, Mailstop EE-5B, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC, 20585-0121. If possible, 
please submit all items on a compact disc (``CD''), in which case it is 
not necessary to include printed copies.
    4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Appliance and Equipment Standards 
Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, 950 
L'Enfant Plaza SW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC, 20024. Telephone: (202) 
287-1445. If possible, please submit all items on a CD, in which case 
it is not necessary to include printed copies.
    No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be accepted.
    Docket: The docket for this activity, which includes Federal 
Register notices, comments, and other supporting documents/materials, 
is available for review at http://www.regulations.gov. All documents in 
the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. However, 
some documents listed in the index, such as those containing 
information that is exempt from public disclosure, may not be publicly 
available. The docket web page can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018. The docket web page 
contains instructions on how to access all documents, including public 
comments, in the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Eric Stas, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue 
SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-5827. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of 
Energy (``DOE'') published in the Federal Register a notice of petition 
for rulemaking and request for comment regarding whether DOE should 
issue an interpretive rule stating that DOE's proposed energy 
conservation standards for residential furnaces and commercial water 
heaters would result in the unavailability of ``performance 
characteristics'' within the meaning of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.) 
and withdraw its proposals for amended standards for such products/
equipment based upon such findings (the ``notice of petition''). 83 FR 
54883. (The notice of petition can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018-0002.) The 
document provided for submitting written comments and information by 
January 30, 2019. In the intervening period, DOE has received a request 
from the Natural Resources Defense Council; Earthjustice; Appliance 
Standards Awareness Project; American Council for an Energy-Efficient 
Economy; Consumer Federation of America; Alliance to Save Energy; 
National Consumer Law Center; and Northeast Energy Efficiency 
Partnerships (jointly the ``Joint Commenters'') dated January 18, 2019, 
to provide an additional 30 days to submit comments pertaining to the 
notice of petition. DOE also received a separate request from the 
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) dated January 18, 2019, 
which similarly requested a 30-day comment period extension until March 
1, 2019. These requests can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018-0008 and https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2018-STD-0018-0009, respectively. Both requests stated 
that additional time is needed to develop data and information relevant 
to consideration of the petition, and NEEA specifically referenced a 
market research study they had commissioned which is nearing 
completion.
    An extension of the comment period would allow additional time for 
the Joint Commenters, NEEA, and other interested parties to consider 
the issues presented in the notice of petition, gather any additional 
data and information, and submit comments to DOE.
    In light of the requests from the Joint Commenters and NEEA, DOE 
has determined that a 30-day extension of

[[Page 450]]

the public comment period is appropriate. Accordingly, the comment 
period is extended to March 1, 2019.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on January 23, 2019.
Daniel R Simmons,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-00257 Filed 1-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P