[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56949-56950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23140]


 ========================================================================
 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.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 206 / Thursday, October 24, 2019 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 56949]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[EERE-2018-BT-STD-0003]


Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee: 
Notice 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: Notice of public meetings and webinars.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) 
announces public meetings and webinars 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. This document updates the schedule of meetings 
announced in the Federal Register on August 22, 2019.

DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: The next several rounds of public meetings will be held at 
multiple locations. Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section to 
find the address for each date. Please see the Public Participation 
section of this notice 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: Mr. 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 energy conservation standards for VRF multi-split 
systems. On April 11, 2018, DOE published a notice of intent to 
establish a working group for VRF multi-split systems to negotiate a 
notice of proposed rulemaking for test procedures and energy 
conservations standards. The notice also solicited nominations for 
membership to the working group. 83 FR 15514.
    On August 22, 2019, DOE published a notice announcing public 
meetings for the VRF working group. 84 FR 43731. This notice makes 
changes to the meetings announced in the August 2019 notice. These 
changes include the cancellation of the late October public meetings, 
changes to the meeting dates and times of the early November meetings, 
as well as the announcement of one mid-December webinar and two late 
December public meetings. This notice announces the updated schedule 
for this working group as follows.
    DOE will host a public meeting and webinar on the following dates:
     Tuesday, November 5, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20427.
     Wednesday, November 6, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20427.
     Wednesday, November 20, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
at U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121.
     Thursday, November 21, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 
U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121.
     Wednesday, December 18, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
at Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street 
SW, Washington, DC 20427.
     Thursday, December 19, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20427.
    DOE will host a webinar on Thursday, December 12, 2019 from 11:00 
a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
    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 Public Meeting

    The times, dates, and locations of the public meetings are listed 
in this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. If you plan to attend the 
public meeting, please notify the ASRAC staff at [email protected].
    Please note that foreign nationals participating in the public 
meeting or webinar are subject to advance security screening procedures 
which require advance notice prior to attendance at the public meeting. 
If a foreign national wishes to participate in the public meeting or 
webinar, please inform DOE as soon as possible by contacting Ms. Regina 
Washington at (202) 586-1214 or by email: [email protected] 
so that the necessary procedures can be completed.
    DOE requires visitors to have laptops and other devices, such as 
tablets, checked upon entry into the building. Any person wishing to 
bring these devices into the Forrestal Building will be required to 
obtain a property pass. Visitors should avoid bringing these devices, 
or allow an extra 45 minutes to check in. Please report to the 
visitor's desk to have devices checked before proceeding through 
security.
    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

[[Page 56950]]

for building entry, and one of the alternate forms of ID listed below 
will be required. Acceptable alternate forms of Photo-ID include: A 
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 notice. 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 Meetings

    ASRAC's Designated Federal Officer will preside at the public 
meetings and may also use a professional facilitator to aid discussion. 
The meetings will not be judicial or evidentiary-type public hearings, 
but DOE will conduct them 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 each 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 each transcript 
from the transcribing reporter. Public comment and statements will be 
allowed prior to the close of each 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 http://www.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 October 18, 2019.
Alexander N. Fitzsimmons
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-23140 Filed 10-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P