[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2359-2361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00679]


 ========================================================================
 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. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 2359]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 460

[EERE-2009-BT-BC-0021]
RIN 1904-AC11


Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for 
Manufactured Housing

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

ACTION: Notification and reopening of public comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed Energy Conservation 
Standards for Manufactured Housing (DOE/EIS-0550). DOE prepared this 
Draft EIS in support of a rulemaking announced in the supplemental 
notice of proposed rulemaking (SNOPR) proposing amended energy 
conservation standards for manufactured housing on August 26, 2021 
(August 2021 MH SNOPR). DOE invites interested parties to comment on 
how analysis presented in the Draft EIS should inform the final energy 
conservation standards for manufactured housing.

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding how 
the Draft EIS should inform DOE's final energy conservation standards 
for manufactured housing received no later than February 28, 2022. See 
section III, ``Public Participation,'' for details.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. Alternatively, interested persons 
may submit comments by email to: [email protected]. Any 
comments submitted must provide docket number EERE-2009-BT-BC-0021 and/
or regulatory information number (RIN) number 1904-AC11. Submit 
electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or ASCII file 
format, and avoid the use of special characters or any form of 
encryption.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice are separate from 
comments provided as part of the public review of the Draft EIS. See 
the EIS website (https://ecs-mh.evs.anl.gov/) for information on that 
public comment process.
    Although DOE has routinely accepted public comment submissions 
through a variety of mechanisms, including postal mail and hand 
delivery/courier, the Department has found it necessary to make 
temporary modifications to the comment submission process in light of 
the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. DOE is currently suspending receipt of 
public comments via postal mail and hand delivery/courier for this 
rulemaking. If a commenter finds that this change poses an undue 
hardship, please contact Appliance Standards Program staff at (202) 
586-1445 to discuss the need for alternative arrangements. Once the 
Covid-19 pandemic health emergency is resolved, DOE anticipates 
resuming all of its regular options for public comment submission, 
including postal mail and hand delivery/courier.
    No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be accepted. For detailed 
instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the 
rulemaking 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 www.regulations.gov. All documents in the 
docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. However, not all 
documents listed in the index may be publicly available, such as 
information that is exempt from public disclosure.
    The docket web page can be found at www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE-2009-BT-BC-0021. 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 www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Cymbalsky, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Program (EE-2J), 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 
DC 20585; 202-287-1692; [email protected].
    Mr. Matthew Ring, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel (GC-33), 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585; 
202-586-2555; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Request for Comment on the Rulemaking Proceeding
III. Public Participation
IV. Approval of the Office of the Secretary

I. Background

    DOE has proposed amended energy conservation standards for 
manufactured housing and is maintaining both a rulemaking proceeding 
and an associated NEPA proceeding. In the rulemaking proceeding, DOE 
published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNOPR) 
proposing amended energy conservation standards for manufactured 
housing on August 26, 2021 (August 2021 MH SNOPR). 86 FR 47744. In the 
August 2021 MH SNOPR, DOE's primary proposal was the ``tiered'' 
approach, based on the 2021 IECC, wherein a subset of the energy 
conservation standards would be less stringent for certain manufactured 
homes in light of the cost-effectiveness considerations required by 
statute. Under the tiered proposal, two sets of standards would be 
established in proposed 10 CFR part 460, subpart B (i.e., Tier 1 and 
Tier 2).
    On October 26, 2021, DOE published a NODA regarding updated inputs 
and results of corresponding analyses and invited interested parties to 
comment on these analyses. 86 FR 59042 (October 2021 NODA). In 
addition, DOE reopened the public comment period on the SNOPR through 
November 26, 2021. DOE explained that it would consider the updated 
inputs and corresponding analyses, as well as comments on the inputs 
and analyses, as part of the rulemaking. In addition, DOE stated it may 
further revise the analysis presented in this rulemaking based on any 
new or updated information or data it obtains and encouraged 
stakeholders to provide any additional data or information that may 
inform the analysis.

[[Page 2360]]

    In the NEPA proceeding, on July 7, 2021, DOE published a notice of 
intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement for energy 
conservation standards for manufactured housing, to invite public 
comments on the EIS scope, and to conduct public scoping meetings. 86 
FR 35773 (July 7, 2021). DOE conducted online meetings July 21 and July 
22, 2021, and invited oral comments on the scope of the EIS, with 
written comments invited through August 6, 2021. DOE has announced the 
availability of, and is seeking comment on, the Draft EIS. More 
information is available on the EIS website (https://ecs-mh.evs.anl.gov/).

II. Request for Comment on the Rulemaking Proceeding

    DOE is re-opening comment on the rulemaking proceeding to consider 
how the Draft EIS should inform the final energy conservation standards 
for manufactured housing The Draft EIS analyzes price-based 
alternatives based around a $63,000 threshold for manufacturer retail 
list price and different wall insulation requirements. It also analyzes 
alternatives based on size of the manufactured housing (single sections 
and multiple sections with differences in wall insultation 
requirements), untiered alternatives with only differences in wall 
insultation requirements, and a no action alternative (i.e., no DOE 
standard). Stakeholders are encouraged to provide comment on the 
alternatives, assumptions, and analyses presented in the Draft EIS 
through the EIS process as described on the EIS website (https://ecs-mh.evs.anl.gov/).
    Through this document, DOE invites comments in the docket for this 
rulemaking specifically on how the analyses and results presented in 
the Draft EIS should inform DOE's final rule for energy conservation 
standards for manufactured housing.

III. Public Participation

    DOE is interested in receiving comments on how aspects of the data 
and analysis presented in the Draft EIS and supporting documentation 
should inform DOE's final energy conservation standards for 
manufactured housing.

Submission of Comments

    DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this 
document, but no later than the date provided in the DATES section at 
the beginning of this document. Interested parties may submit comments, 
data, and other information using any of the methods described in the 
ADDRESSES section at the beginning of this document.
    Submitting comments via www.regulations.gov. The 
www.regulations.gov web page will require 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 itself 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. Otherwise, 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 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 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 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 www.regulations.gov 
provides after you have successfully uploaded your comment.
    Submitting comments via email. Comments and documents submitted via 
email also will be posted to 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. 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, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that are not 
secured, that are written in English, and that are 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 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. DOE will make 
its own determination about the confidential status of the information 
and treat it according to its determination.
    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).

IV. Approval of the Office of the Secretary

    The Secretary of Energy has approved publication of this notice and 
re-opening of comment period.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on January 10, 
2022, by Kelly J. Speakes-Backman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, pursuant to delegated 
authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original 
signature and date is

[[Page 2361]]

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 January 11, 2022.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2022-00679 Filed 1-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P