[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 5, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1652-1653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00885]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[EERE-2018-BT-STD-0003]


Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee: 
Notification of Public Meetings for the Variable Refrigerant Flow 
Multi-Split Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Working Group To Negotiate 
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Test Procedures and Energy 
Conservation Standards

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

ACTION: Notification of public meetings and webinar.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) 
announces public meetings for the variable refrigerant flow multi-split 
air conditioners and heat pumps (VRF multi-split systems) working 
group. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requires that agencies 
publish notice of an advisory committee meeting in the Federal 
Register.

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting on Thursday, February 21, 2019 
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Friday, February 22, 2019 from 9:00 
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Washington, DC. The meetings will also be 
broadcast as a webinar.

ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be held at Federal Mediation & 
Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20427. Please see the PUBLIC PARTICIPATION section of this notification 
for additional information on attending the public meeting, including 
webinar registration information, participant instructions, and 
information about the capabilities available to webinar participants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Cymbalsky, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Building Technologies (EE-5B), 950 L'Enfant Plaza, 
SW, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 287-1692. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 10, 2018, the Appliance Standards 
and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC) met and passed the 
recommendation to form a VRF multi-split systems working group to meet 
and discuss and, if possible, reach a consensus on proposed Federal 
test procedures and standards for VRF multi-split systems. On April 11, 
2018, DOE published a notification of intent to establish a working 
group for VRF multi-split systems to negotiate a notice

[[Page 1653]]

of proposed rulemaking for test procedures and energy conservations 
standards. That notification also solicited nominations for membership 
to the working group. (83 FR 15514) This notification announces the 
next round of meetings for this working group.
    DOE will host a public meeting and webinar on Thursday, February 
21, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Friday, February 22, 2019 
from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Washington, DC.
    The purpose of these meetings will be to negotiate in an attempt to 
reach consensus on proposed Federal test procedures and energy 
conservation standards for VRF multi-split systems.

Public Participation

Attendance at the Public Meeting

    The time, date, and location of the public meeting are listed in 
the DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this document. If you plan to 
attend the public meeting, please notify the ASRAC staff at 
[email protected].
    Due to the REAL ID Act implemented by the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS), there have been recent changes regarding ID 
requirements for individuals wishing to enter Federal buildings from 
specific States and U.S. territories. DHS maintains an updated website 
identifying the State and territory driver's licenses that currently 
are acceptable for entry into DOE facilities at https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-enforcement-brief. A driver's license from a State or territory 
identified as not compliant by DHS will not be accepted for building 
entry, and one of the alternate forms of ID listed below will be 
required. Acceptable alternate forms of Photo-ID include U.S. Passport 
or Passport Card; an Enhanced Driver's License or Enhanced ID-Card 
issued by States and territories as identified on the DHS website 
(Enhanced licenses issued by these States and territories are clearly 
marked Enhanced or Enhanced Driver's License); a military ID or other 
Federal government-issued Photo-ID card.
    In addition, you can attend the public meeting via webinar. Webinar 
registration information, participant instructions, and information 
about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be 
published on DOE's website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/appliance-standards-and-rulemaking-federal-advisory-committee. 
Participants are responsible for ensuring their systems are compatible 
with the webinar software.

Procedure for Submitting Prepared General Statements for Distribution

    Any person who has plans to present a prepared general statement 
may request that copies of his or her statement be made available at 
the public meeting. Such persons may submit requests, along with an 
advance electronic copy of their statement in PDF (preferred), 
Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format, to 
the appropriate address shown in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this notification. The request and advance copy of 
statements must be received at least one week before the public meeting 
and may be emailed, hand-delivered, or sent by postal mail. DOE prefers 
to receive requests and advance copies via email. Please include a 
telephone number to enable DOE staff to make a follow-up contact, if 
needed.

Conduct of the Public Meeting

    ASRAC's Designated Federal Officer will preside at the public 
meeting and may also use a professional facilitator to aid discussion. 
The meeting will not be a judicial or evidentiary-type public hearing, 
but DOE will conduct it in accordance with section 336 of EPCA (42 
U.S.C. 6306). A court reporter will be present to record the 
proceedings and prepare a transcript. A transcript of the public 
meeting will be included on DOE's website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/appliance-standards-and-rulemaking-federal-advisory-committee. In addition, any person may buy a copy of the transcript 
from the transcribing reporter. Public comment and statements will be 
allowed prior to the close of the meeting.

Docket

    The docket is available for review at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE-2018-BT-STD-0003, including Federal Register notices, 
public meeting attendee lists and transcripts, comments, and other 
supporting documents/materials. All documents in the docket are listed 
in the https://regulations.gov index. However, not all documents listed 
in the index may be publically available, such as information that is 
exempt from public disclosure.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on January 18, 2019.
Steven Chalk,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-00885 Filed 2-4-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P