[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]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 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

[[Page 20888]]

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