[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]
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