[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 160 (Monday, August 19, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42830-42831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17760]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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. 160 / Monday, August 19, 2019 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 42830]]
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Parts 430 and 431
[EERE-2017-BT-STD-0062]
RIN 1904-AD38
Energy Conservation Program: Procedures, Interpretations, and
Policies for Consideration of New or Revised Energy Conservation
Standards for Consumer Products
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of re-opening of the public comment period.
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SUMMARY: On February 13, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'')
published a notice of proposed rulemaking (``NOPR'') to update and
modernize the Process Rule (``Process Rule NOPR''). On July 26, 2019,
DOE published a notice of data availability (``NODA'') regarding
national energy savings estimates from past DOE energy conservation
standards rulemakings that were used in support of the NOPR and
requested comments on these data. Prior to the end of the comment
period for the NODA, DOE received a request from stakeholders on August
6, 2019, seeking additional time to analyze the NODA's data and to
supplement their comments accordingly. In light of this request, DOE is
re-opening the comment period for an additional 21 days and announcing
that decision in this document.
DATES: The comment period for the NODA published on July 26, 2019 (84
FR 36037), which closed on August 9, 2019, is hereby reopened and
extended. Written comments and information will be accepted on or
before August 30, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments. Alternatively, interested
persons may submit comments, identified by docket number EERE-2017-BT-
STD-0062, 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 EERE-2017-BT-STD-0062 in
the subject line of the message.
3. Postal Mail: Ms. Sofie Miller, U.S. Department of Energy, Office
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW,
Room 6A-013, Washington, DC 20585. 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: Ms. Sofie Miller, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586-
5000. 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-2017-BT-STD-0062. The docket web page contains
instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments,
in the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Sofie Miller, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy, Office
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586-5000. Email:
[email protected].
Ms. Francine Pinto, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the
General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7432. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 13, 2019, DOE published a NOPR
in the Federal Register that proposed to update and modernize the
Process Rule (``Process Rule NOPR''). 84 FR 3910. On July 26, 2019, DOE
published a notice of data availability (``NODA'') regarding national
energy savings estimates from past DOE energy conservation standards
rulemakings that were used in support of the NOPR and requested
comments on these data. 84 FR 36037. The NODA, which presented these
data uniformly in terms of site energy, sought public input regarding
these data. DOE developed these data after re-examining its use of
source and full-fuel-cycle energy savings data in consideration of a
threshold for significant conservation of energy in order to provide a
consistent accounting across rulemakings. Because EPCA uses a household
energy consumption metric as a threshold for setting standards for new
covered products (42 U.S.C. 6295(l)(1)), DOE believes that site energy
would be the most appropriate metric for evaluating energy savings
across rulemakings. As a result, DOE provided national site energy
savings data from its past rulemakings for public comment to help
inform DOE's decision regarding whether (and how) to define a threshold
for significant energy savings. DOE previously noted, and stresses
again, that the rules reported and the data analyzed in the information
provided with the NODA are identical to those provided with DOE's
original proposal and discussed at the public meeting. DOE's restating
of the results from each examined rulemaking on a site energy basis is
solely for the purpose of making an ``apples-to-apples'' comparison of
the results of each rulemaking using the statutorily-required measure
for setting energy conservation standards. The NODA provided for the
submission of comments by August 9, 2019.
On August 6, 2019, DOE received requests from several parties to
extend the comment period on the proposal. More specifically,
stakeholders requested additional time to analyze the data and to
prepare comments.
Given the importance to DOE of receiving public input on this
matter, DOE is re-opening the comment period and will consider all
comments received on or before August 30, 2019.
[[Page 42831]]
Signed in Washington, DC, on August 12, 2019.
Alexander N. Fitzsimmons,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-17760 Filed 8-16-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P