[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 15, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20886-20889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07721]
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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. 85, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 15, 2020 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 20886]]
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Parts 430 and 431
[EERE-2020-BT-STD-0004]
Energy Conservation Program: Procedures for Use in New or Revised
Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products
and Commercial/Industrial Equipment; Prioritization Process
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Request for comment concerning prioritization of rulemakings.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating an effort to
elicit information from stakeholders and the interested public
concerning the prioritization of rulemakings pursuant to the
Department's updated and modernized rulemaking methodology titled,
``Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration of New or
Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer
Products and Commercial/Industrial Equipment'' (Process Rule). This
rule expands early opportunities for public input on the Appliance
Program's priority setting of its rulemaking activities. The Department
notes that this notice represents DOE's inaugural effort to implement
its revised priority-setting process. DOE welcomes written comments as
well as the submission of data and other relevant information from the
public relevant to priority setting for all DOE energy conservation
standard and test procedure rulemakings.
DATES: Written comments and information are requested and will be
accepted on or before May 15, 2020.
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-2020-BT-
STD-0004, by any of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
2. Email: to [email protected]. Include docket
number EERE-2020-BT-STD-0004 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. Telephone:
(202) 287-1445. 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, Suite 600, 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. For detailed
instructions on submitting comments and additional information on this
process, see section III of this document.
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: http://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE-2020-BT-STD-;0004. The docket web page contains
instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments,
in the docket. See section III for information on how to submit
comments through http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Cymbalsky, 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) 287-1692. 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].
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) 287-1445 or by email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
A. Authority
B. Background on the Process Rule
II. The Prioritization Process and Request for Comments
A. Description of How To Access the Fall 2019 Unified Agenda of
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
B. Request for Comments
III. Submission of Comments
I. Introduction
A. Authority
In overview, the Department of Energy's Process Rule was developed
to guide implementation of the Appliance Standards Program, which is
conducted pursuant to Title III, Part B \1\ of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA or the Act) \2\, Public Law 94-163
(42 U.S.C. 6291-6309, as codified), establishing the Energy
Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles,
which sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy
efficiency. In addition, Part C \3\ of EPCA, Public Law 94-163 (42
U.S.C. 6311-6317, as codified), added by Public Law 95-619, Title IV,
Sec. 441(a), established the Energy Conservation Program for Certain
Industrial Equipment, which again sets
[[Page 20887]]
forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency.
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\1\ For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code,
Part B was redesignated Part A.
\2\ All references to EPCA in this document refer to the statute
as amended through America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018,
Public Law 115-270 (Oct. 23, 2018).
\3\ For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code,
Part C was redesignated Part A-1.
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The energy conservation program under EPCA consists essentially of
four parts: (1) Testing, (2) labeling, (3) Federal energy conservation
standards, and (4) certification and enforcement procedures. Relevant
provisions of EPCA specifically include definitions (42 U.S.C. 6291; 42
U.S.C. 6311), test procedures (42 U.S.C. 6293; 42 U.S.C. 6314),
labeling provisions (42 U.S.C. 6294; 42 U.S.C. 6315), energy
conservation standards (42 U.S.C. 6295; 42 U.S.C. 6313), and the
authority to require information and reports from manufacturers (42
U.S.C. 6296; 42 U.S.C. 6316). The statute sets forth the criteria,
procedures and timeframes DOE must follow when establishing new or
amended energy conservation standards for covered products (and at
least certain types of equipment). The statute also sets forth the
criteria and procedures DOE must follow when prescribing or amending
test procedures for covered products.
B. Background on the Process Rule
On July 15, 1996 DOE published a final rule titled, ``Procedures,
Interpretations and Policies for Consideration of New or Revised Energy
Conservation Standards for Consumer Products.'' 61 FR 36974. This
document was codified at 10 CFR part 430, subpart C, appendix A, and
became known colloquially as the ``Process Rule.'' The Process Rule was
designed to provide guidance to stakeholders as to how DOE would
implement its rulemaking responsibilities under EPCA for the Appliance
Program.
While there have been many positive results from the Process Rule
over time, DOE came to understand through the intervening years that
the Appliance Program might benefit from additional improvements to the
Process Rule. Accordingly, DOE decided to undertake an effort to
modernize that provision. To accomplish this end, the Department
published its revised Process Rule in the Federal Register on February
14, 2020. 85 FR 8626. DOE expects that its modernized Process Rule will
increase transparency, foster public engagement, and achieve meaningful
burden reduction, while at the same time continuing to meet the
Department's statutory obligations under EPCA.
II. The Prioritization Process and Request for Comments
The modernized Process Rule provides that stakeholders will have
the opportunity to provide input on the prioritization of rulemakings
as DOE begins its preparation of the Spring Regulatory Agenda. Through
the publication of a Request for Comment, as DOE is initiating here,
stakeholders can offer input concerning which appliance rulemaking
proceedings should be in particular action categories for the Spring
Agenda--that is, active versus long-term--, as well as provide comment
on the timing of such rulemakings relative to other competing
priorities. If stakeholders believe that the Department is pursuing a
rule that should not be prioritized as active, for example, the
stakeholder comments should reflect such an opinion and inform the
Department as to how such rule should be prioritized, if at all, with
an explanation to explain its recommendation. At the same time, if
stakeholders believe that DOE should act more quickly on a particular
rulemaking, commenters should make such a point with as much
specificity as possible to indicate a revised timeline with an
explanation to explain its recommendation. In addition, if stakeholders
believe a rulemaking should be initiated and prioritized that is not
already underway, the Department would welcome that feedback.
In making its recommendations, stakeholders can utilize the
regulatory text in the modernized Process Rule, section 4, entitled,
Setting Priorities for Rulemaking Activity that sets forth the factors
the Department considers in making its priority-setting decisions.\4\
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\4\ Section 4 reads as follows:
Setting Priorities for Rulemaking Activity
(a) In establishing its priorities for undertaking energy
conservation standards and test procedure rulemakings, DOE will
consider the following factors, consistent with applicable legal
obligations:
(1) Potential energy savings;
(2) Potential social and private, including environmental or
energy security, benefits;
(3) Applicable deadlines for rulemakings;
(4) Incremental DOE resources required to complete the
rulemaking process;
(5) Other relevant regulatory actions affecting the products/
equipment;
(6) Stakeholder recommendations;
(7) Evidence of energy efficiency gains in the market absent new
or revised standards;
(8) Status of required changes to test procedures; and
(9) Other relevant factors.
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Consequently, this comment process concerning the prioritization of
all consumer product and commercial/industrial equipment rulemakings
will allow stakeholders and the interested public to weigh in on the
schedule for all ongoing and planned DOE energy conservation standard
and test procedure rulemakings. It will also provide a mechanism for
interested parties to make suggestions to DOE for the initiation of new
rulemakings.
A. Description of How To Access and Use the Fall 2019 Unified Agenda of
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
In order for stakeholders to provide meaningful input on priority
setting, there needs to be a base of information capable of serving as
a common frame of reference upon which comments can be made. As noted
in the modernized Process Rule, that database will be the previous
year's Fall Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Fall
Agenda). In this case, the 2019 Fall Agenda is the applicable database.
The 2019 Fall Agenda shows the two basic categories of agency actions:
(1) Active rulemakings and (2) long-term actions.
How the rules are ultimately categorized (active versus long-term
actions) depends upon the date DOE enters into the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) RISC/Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(OIRA) Consolidated Information System (ROCIS) for the next action in
each timetable associated with a specific rule. Generally speaking,
those rules with a ``next action'' that is scheduled more than a year
away will be categorized as long-term actions; those rules having a
``next action'' within a year are generally categorized as active
rules.
The steps to access the active rulemaking information are as
follows:
(1) Go to www.reginfo.gov.
(2) To access the active rulemakings, go to the box titled,
``Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan,'' and click on the line item that
is titled, ``The Fall Agenda was published on 11/20/2019.''
(3) Go to ``Fall 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory
Actions Active Regulatory Actions Listed by Agency.''
(4) Go to ``Select Agency'' and in the drop down menu select
``Department of Energy'' and click ``Submit.'' What will appear is the
Agency Rule list for DOE's portion of the 2019 Fall Agenda. This is the
list of all DOE active rulemakings. Rules of the Appliance Standards
Program will be included with those DOE rules designated as ``DOE/
EERE.'' This agency rule list shows the stage of each rulemaking (i.e.,
pre-rule, notice of proposed rulemaking, or final rule), the title of
the rule, and the regulatory identifier number (RIN). You will need to
review the list for those rulemakings specific to the Appliance
Program.
Once stakeholders have accessed the list of DOE active rulemakings,
they can review the information about each rule, including the
timetable that will be displayed. The timetable itself, which is most
critical to this priority-setting review, will list all the actions
already
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taken on that particular rule, as well as the ``next action DOE is
planning to take,'' along with a projected date for that action. The
``next action'' is the last entry on the timetable. By reviewing the
timetables, stakeholders should have enough information to be able to
comment on how each particular rule should be prioritized.
The steps to access the long-term actions information are as
follows:
(1) Go to www.reginfo.gov.
(2) To access the long-term actions, go to the box titled,
``Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan,'' and click on the line item that
is titled, ``The Fall Agenda was published on 11/20/2019.''
(3) Click on the line item, ``Current Long Term Actions'' for a
list of such actions.
(4) Under the title ``Agenda Agency Regulatory Entries for Long-
Term Actions,'' go to ``Select Agency'' and in the drop down menu
select ``Department of Energy'' and click ``Submit.'' What will appear
is the Agency Rule list for DOE's portion of the 2019 Fall Agenda. This
is the list of all DOE long-term actions. You will need to review the
list for those rulemakings specific to the Appliance Program.
Once stakeholders have accessed the list of long-term actions, as
with the active rulemakings, stakeholders will find information
describing each rule, as well as the timetable for that rule. By
looking at the timetable and reviewing the DOE projections on each
specific rule--that is--the next action, stakeholders can provide
comments on how the long-term actions should be prioritized and the
timing of such actions.
B. Request for Comments
As noted previously, the Department is seeking information that
will shed light on how it should best prioritize and sequence its
rulemaking activities for the Department's Appliance Program. By this
notice and consistent with its recently published final, modernized
Process Rule, DOE requests that stakeholders and the interested public
review the timetables for all active and long-term appliance rules and
comment upon both the timing and categorization of these rules. The
Department is also interested in any other rulemaking activities that
DOE should initiate and prioritize in the upcoming Spring Agenda.
Additionally, DOE welcomes comments on other issues relevant to the
conduct of this process that may not specifically be identified
elsewhere in this document.
III. Submission of Comments
DOE invites all interested parties to submit in writing by May 15,
2020, comments and information on matters addressed in this notice and
on other matters relevant to DOE's consideration of the priority-
setting process for all upcoming energy conservation standards and test
procedure rules. Such comments and information will aid in the
development of the rulemaking schedule that will next appear in DOE's
Spring Regulatory Agenda.
Submitting comments via http://www.regulations.gov. The http://www.regulations.gov web page requires you to provide your name and
contact information. Your contact information will be viewable to DOE
Building Technologies staff only. Your contact information will not be
publicly viewable except for your first and last names, organization
name (if any), and submitter representative name (if any). If your
comment is not processed properly because of technical difficulties,
DOE will use this information to contact you. If DOE cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, DOE may not be able to consider your comment.
However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you
include it in the comment or in any documents attached to your comment.
Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable should not
be included in your comment, nor in any document attached to your
comment. Persons viewing comments will see only first and last names,
organization names, correspondence containing comments, and any
documents submitted with the comments.
Do not submit to http://www.regulations.gov information for which
disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and
commercial or financial information (hereinafter referred to as
Confidential Business Information (CBI)). Comments submitted through
http://www.regulations.gov cannot be claimed as CBI. Comments received
through the website will waive any CBI claims for the information
submitted. For information on submitting CBI, see the Confidential
Business Information section.
DOE processes submissions made through http://www.regulations.gov
before posting. Normally, comments will be posted within a few days of
being submitted. However, if large volumes of comments are being
processed simultaneously, your comment may not be viewable for up to
several weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that http://www.regulations.gov provides after you have successfully uploaded your
comment.
Submitting comments via email, hand delivery/courier, or postal
mail. Comments and documents submitted via email, hand delivery/
courier, or postal mail also will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov. If you do not want your personal contact
information to be publicly viewable, do not include it in your comment
or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your contact
information in a cover letter. Include your first and last names, email
address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. The cover
letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not include any
comments.
Include contact information each time you submit comments, data,
documents, and other information to DOE. If you submit via postal mail
or hand delivery/courier, please provide all items on a CD, if
feasible, in which case it is not necessary to submit printed copies.
No telefacsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.
Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that
are not secured, written in English, and free of any defects or
viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or any form of
encryption and, if possible, they should carry the electronic signature
of the author.
Campaign form letters. Please submit campaign form letters by the
originating organization in batches of between 50 to 500 form letters
per PDF or as one form letter with a list of supporters' names compiled
into one or more PDFs. This reduces comment processing and posting
time.
Confidential Business Information. Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any
person submitting information that he or she believes to be
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via
email, postal mail, or hand delivery/courier two well-marked copies:
One copy of the document marked ``confidential'' including all the
information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document
marked ``non-confidential'' with the information believed to be
confidential deleted. Submit these documents via email or on a CD, if
feasible. DOE will make its own determination about the confidential
status of the information and treat it according to its determination.
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It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public
docket, without change and as received, including any personal
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be
exempt from public disclosure).
DOE considers public participation to be a very important part of
the process for developing test procedures and energy conservation
standards. DOE actively encourages the participation and interaction of
the public during the comment period in each stage of this process.
Interactions with and between members of the public provide a balanced
discussion of the issues and assist DOE in the process. Anyone who
wishes to be added to the DOE mailing list to receive future notices
and information about this process should contact Appliance and
Equipment Standards Program staff at (202) 287-1445 or via email at
[email protected].
Signed in Washington, DC, on February 14, 2020.
Alexander N. Fitzsimmons,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020-07721 Filed 4-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P