[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 51467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21174]



[[Page 51467]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[EERE-2017-BT-STD-0021]
RIN 1904-AD90


Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for 
Unfired Hot Water Storage Tanks

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

ACTION: Request for information; reopening of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: On August 9, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 
published a request for information (RFI) pertaining to the energy 
conservation standards for unfired hot water storage tanks. The RFI 
provided an opportunity for submitting written comments, data, and 
information by September 23, 2019. Prior to the end of the comment 
period for the RFI, DOE received a request from the Air-Conditioning, 
Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) on September 13, 2019 
seeking additional time to analyze data, possibly conduct further 
testing, and prepare comments. In light of this request, DOE is 
reopening the comment period for an additional 30 days and announcing 
that decision in this document.

DATES: The comment period for the RFI, published on August 9, 2019 (84 
FR 39220), which closed on September 23, 2019, is hereby reopened and 
extended. DOE will accept written comments, data, and information in 
response to the RFI submitted no later than October 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-0021, 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 the 
docket number EERE-2017-BT-STD-0021 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-2017-BT-STD-0021. The docket web page contains 
instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments, 
in the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Catherine Rivest, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Office, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7335. Email: 
[email protected].
    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].
    For further information on how to submit a comment, or review other 
public comments and the docket, contact the Appliance and Equipment 
Standards Program staff at (202) 586-6636 or by email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE published a Request for Information 
(RFI) pertaining to the energy conservation standards for unfired hot 
water storage tanks on August 9, 2019. 84 FR 39220. The RFI initiated a 
data collection process to consider whether to amend DOE's current 
uniform national standards for unfired hot water storage tanks, and 
whether amending the standards for unfired hot water storage tanks 
would result in significant additional conservation of energy and be 
technologically feasible and economically justified. DOE requested 
written comment, data, and information pertaining to these standards by 
September 23, 2019.
    On September 13, 2019, AHRI, an interested party in the matter, 
requested a sixty-day extension of the public comment period for the 
RFI that DOE previously published in the Federal Register on August 9, 
2019.\1\ More specifically, AHRI requested additional time to analyze 
data, possibly conduct further testing, and prepare comments.
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    \1\ Available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2017-BT-STD-0021-0002.
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    After carefully considering this request, DOE has determined that a 
reopening of the comment period to allow additional time for interested 
parties to submit comments is appropriate. Therefore, DOE is reopening 
the comment period and will accept comments received on and before 
October 30, 2019, to provide interested parties additional time to 
prepare and submit comments. Accordingly, DOE will consider any 
comments received by this date, to be timely submitted.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on September 23, 2019.
Alexander N. Fitzsimmons,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-21174 Filed 9-27-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P