[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 117 (Wednesday, June 17, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36517-36518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12934]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[EERE-2019-BT-STD-0042]
RIN 1904-AE59


Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for 
Air-Cooled Commercial Package Air Conditioning and Heating Equipment 
and Commercial Warm Air Furnaces

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

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

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SUMMARY: On May 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published 
a request for information (RFI) pertaining to the energy conservation 
standards for air-cooled commercial package air conditioning and 
heating equipment (ACUACs and ACUHPs) and commercial warm air furnaces 
(CWAFs). The RFI provided an opportunity for submission of written 
comments, data, and information to the Department by June 11, 2020. 
Prior to the end of the comment period for the RFI, DOE

[[Page 36518]]

received a request from the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration 
Institute (AHRI), as well as from the American Public Gas Association 
(APGA), seeking additional time to consider the applicability and 
impact of an updated energy conservation standard for this equipment. 
In light of these requests, DOE is reopening the comment period for the 
subject RFI for an additional 14 days.

DATES: The comment period for the subject RFI, published in the Federal 
Register on May 12, 2020, which closed on June 11, 2020, is hereby 
reopened and extended. Accordingly, DOE will accept written comments, 
data, and information in response to the RFI submitted no later than 
July 1, 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-2019-BT-
STD-0042 and/or 1904-AE59, 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-2019-BT-STD-0042 and/or RIN 1904-AE59 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-2019-BT-STD-0042. The docket web page contains 
instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments, 
in the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Dr. Stephanie Johnson and 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 ACUACs, 
ACHPs, and CWAFs in the Federal Register on May 12, 2020. 85 FR 27941. 
The RFI initiated a data collection process and seeks input from the 
public to assist DOE in determining whether amended standards for 
ACUACs, ACUHPs, and CWAFs, would result in significant additional 
energy savings and would be technologically feasible and economically 
justified. In that RFI, DOE requested submission of written comment, 
data, and information by June 11, 2020.
    On May 15, 2020, AHRI, an interested party in the matter, requested 
a 30-day extension of the public comment period for the RFI that DOE 
previously published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2020.\1\ More 
specifically, AHRI sought additional time to consider the many 
technical issues raised in the RFI, noting that many of its member 
manufactures have closed facilities and furloughed staff in response to 
the COVID-19 crisis.
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    \1\ Available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2019-BT-STD-0042-0003.
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    On May 19, 2020, APGA, also requested a 30-day extension of the 
public comment period for the RFI that DOE previously published in the 
Federal Register on May 12, 2020, for similar reasons to those 
expressed in the AHRI request.\2\
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    \2\ Available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2019-BT-STD-0042-0004.
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    On May 27, 2020, AHRI reiterated their request for a comment 
extension for the RFI. In its request for extension, AHRI noted that 
DOE has released numerous requests for information since April 12, 
2020, which include requests for AHRI and its members to provide data 
and information to DOE. AHRI's extension request also reiterated the 
challenges in complying with such requests associated with COVID-19-
related company furloughs.\3\
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    \3\ Available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2019-BT-STD-0042-0005.
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    After carefully considering these requests, DOE has determined that 
reopening the comment period for an additional 14 days to allow 
additional time for interested parties to submit comments is 
sufficient. Therefore, DOE is reopening the comment period for the RFI 
pertaining to the energy conservation standards for ACUACs, ACHPs, and 
CWAFs, and will accept comments received on and before July 1, 2020, in 
order 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.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on June 9, 
2020, by Alexander N. Fitzsimmons, Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Energy Efficiency, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary 
of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is 
maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance 
with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020-12934 Filed 6-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P