[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30047-30048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13593]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Parts 430 and 431

[EERE-2019-BT-NOA-0011]
RIN 1904-AE24


Test Procedure Interim Waiver Process

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

ACTION: Notice of webinar and extension of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: On May 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published 
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that proposed amendments to 
streamline its test procedure interim waiver decision-making process. 
The comment period for the NOPR ends on July 1, 2019. This document 
announces an extension of the public comment period to July 15, 2019 
and the scheduling of a webinar regarding the proposal.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on May 1, 
2019 (84 FR 18414) is extended. DOE will accept comments, data, and 
information regarding this NOPR received no later than midnight on July 
15, 2019. The webinar will be held on Thursday, July 11, 2019 from 9:00 
a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments, 
identified by docket number [EERE-2019-BT-NOA-0011], and/or Regulation 
Identification Number (RIN) 1904-AE24, by any one of the following 
methods:
    1. Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected]. Include docket 
number [EERE-2019-BT-NOA-0011] and/or RIN 1904-AE24 in the subject line 
of the message. Please include the full body of your comments in the 
text of the message or as an attachment. If you have additional 
information such as studies or journal articles and cannot attach them 
to your electronic submission, please send them on a CD or USB flash 
drive to the address listed in paragraph 4. The additional material 
must clearly identify your electronic comments by name, date, subject, 
and docket number [EERE-2019-BT-NOA-0011].
    3. Mail: Address written comments to Appliance and Equipment 
Standards Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies 
Office, Mailstop EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20585-0121 (due to potential delays in DOE's receipt and processing of 
mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service, we encourage respondents to 
submit comments electronically to ensure timely receipt). If possible, 
please submit all items on a CD or USB flash drive, 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, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone (202) 
287-1445. If possible, please submit all items on a CD or USB flash 
drive, in which case it is not necessary to include printed copies.
    5. Public Webinar: Webinar registration information, participant 
instructions, and information about the capabilities available to 
webinar participants will be published on DOE's website: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/public-meetings-and-comment-deadlines. 
Participants are responsible for ensuring their systems are compatible 
with the webinar software.
    Docket: The docket, which includes Federal Register notices, public 
meeting attendee lists and transcripts, 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. A link to the docket web 
page can be found at: http://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE-2019-BT-NOA-0011. The http://www.regulations.gov web page contains instructions 
on how to access all documents, including public comments, in the 
docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jennifer Tiedeman, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence 
Avenue SW,

[[Page 30048]]

Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 287-6111. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 1, 2019, DOE published a NOPR in the 
Federal Register that proposed amendments to its regulations to 
streamline its test procedure interim waiver decision-making process. 
(84 FR 18414) The proposed amendments would require the Department to 
notify, in writing, an applicant for an interim waiver of the 
disposition of the request within 30 business days (i.e., approximately 
45 days) of receipt of the application. Should DOE fail to satisfy this 
requirement, the request for interim waiver would be deemed granted 
based on the criteria in DOE regulations. Specifically, DOE regulations 
require that DOE grant an interim waiver if it determines that it is 
desirable for public policy reasons to grant immediate relief pending a 
determination of the petition for waiver. An interim waiver would 
remain in effect until a waiver decision is published or until DOE 
publishes a new or amended test procedure that addresses the issues 
presented in the application, whichever is earlier. If the alternate 
test procedure ultimately required by DOE differs from what is 
specified in the interim waiver, manufacturers would have a 180-day 
grace period to begin using the alternate test procedure specified in 
the decision and order on the petition. This proposal is intended to 
address delays in DOE's current process for considering requests for 
interim waivers and waivers from the DOE test method. These delays 
impose costs on manufacturers, as they cannot certify and distribute 
their products while they wait for DOE to respond to their petitions.
    The NOPR provides for the submission of comments by July 1, 2019. 
DOE has received several requests to hold a public meeting and to 
extend the comment period on the proposal. While these requests have 
been made by both large corporations and interest groups the purpose of 
which are, for the most part, to participate in DOE rulemakings, DOE 
has been made aware by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of 
the interest of small businesses and their representatives in this 
rulemaking. As a result, SBA is holding its own ``dial-in'' roundtable 
on this proposal focused on the particular interests of small 
businesses. Because small businesses typically do not have the 
resources available to those entities that have requested a public 
meeting on this rule to travel to Washington, DC to attend such a 
meeting, DOE has determined in consultation with SBA that it is 
appropriate to offer an online webinar available to the public. 
Further, holding a webinar will allow all interested stakeholders to 
conserve resources while allowing full public participation.
    Given the importance to DOE of receiving public input, DOE is also 
extending the comment period by 14 days until July 15, 2019, so that 
the webinar can be held before comments are due. The webinar will be 
held on Thursday, July 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. DOE will 
consider comments received by midnight on July 15, 2019.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on June 20, 2019.
Alexander N. Fitzsimmons,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-13593 Filed 6-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P