[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20780-20782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07381]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 431

[EERE-2022-BT-STD-0015]


Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee: 
Notice of Public Meetings of the Commercial Unitary Air Conditioner and 
Commercial Unitary Heat Pump Working Group

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings and webinars.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) 
announces public meetings and webinars for the Commercial Unitary Air 
Conditioner and Commercial Unitary Heat Pump (CUAC and CUHP) working 
group.

DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: The next several rounds of public meetings will be held at 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 901 D Street SW, Suite 930, 
Washington, DC 20024. Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
of this notice to find the more information for each date. For 
additional information regarding the public meeting, including webinar 
registration information, participant instructions, and information 
about the capabilities available to webinar

[[Page 20781]]

participants, please see the Public Participation section of this 
notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lucas Aiden, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Building Technologies, EE-5B, 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW, 
Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 287-5904. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 29, 2022, DOE published a notice of 
intent to establish a working group for CUACs and CUHPs, under the 
Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC) 
in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the 
Negotiated Rulemaking Act, to negotiate recommended test procedures and 
energy conservations standards for CUAC and CUHP equipment. 87 FR 
45703.
    Once the working group reaches consensus on recommended test 
procedures and energy conservation standards, these recommendations are 
made to ASRAC, which may then use such consensus as the basis for 
making a recommendation to the Department. The Department, consistent 
with its legal obligations, may use such consensus as the basis of a 
rulemaking, which then is published in the Federal Register.
    The working group for CUACs and CUHPs held public meetings on 
September 20-21, 2022, October 11-12, 2022, November 9-10, 2022, 
November 29-30, 2022, December 7-8, 2022, and December 14-15, 2022. As 
a result of these meetings, the working group successfully reached 
consensus on a proposed test procedure for CUAC and CUHP equipment. On 
March 7-8, 2023, and March 21-22, 2023, the working group held public 
meetings to begin negotiations in an attempt to reach consensus on 
amended energy conservation standards for CUACs and CUHPs. This notice 
announces additional public meetings to continue these negotiations.
    DOE will host public meetings and webinars on the following dates:
     Wednesday, April 12th, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 901 D Street SW, Suite 930, 
Washington, DC 20024.
     Thursday, April 13th, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 901 D Street SW, Suite 930, 
Washington, DC 20024.
     Wednesday, April 26th, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 901 D Street SW, Suite 930, 
Washington, DC 20024.
     Thursday, April 27th, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 901 D Street SW, Suite 930, 
Washington, DC 20024.

Public Participation:

Attendance at Public Meeting

    If you plan to attend the public meetings, please notify the ASRAC 
staff at [email protected]. In the email, please indicate your name, 
organization (if appropriate), citizenship, and contact information.
    Please note that foreign nationals participating in the public 
meetings or webinars are subject to advance security screening 
procedures which require advance notice prior to attendance at the 
public meeting. If a foreign national wishes to participate in the 
public meetings or webinars, please inform DOE as soon as possible by 
contacting Ms. Regina Washington at (202) 586-1214 or by email: 
[email protected] so that the necessary procedures can be 
completed.
    Anyone attending the meetings will be required to present a 
government photo identification, such as a passport, driver's license, 
or government identification. Due to the required security screening 
upon entry, individuals attending should arrive early to allow for the 
extra time needed.
    In addition, you can attend the public meetings via webinar. 
Webinar registration information, participant instructions, and 
information about the capabilities available to webinar participants 
will be published on DOE's website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/appliance-standards-and-rulemaking-federal-advisory-committee. 
Participants are responsible for ensuring their systems are compatible 
with the webinar software.

Public Participation and Submission of Written Comments

    Members of the public will be heard in the order in which they sign 
up for the Public Comment Period. Time allotted per speaker will depend 
on the number of individuals who wish to speak but will not exceed five 
minutes. Reasonable provisions will be made to include the scheduled 
oral statements on the agenda. A third-party neutral facilitator will 
make every effort to allow the presentations of views of all interested 
parties and to facilitate the orderly conduct of business.
    Any person who has plans to present a prepared general statement 
may request that copies of his or her statement be made available at 
the public meeting. Such persons may submit requests, along with an 
advance electronic copy of their statement in PDF (preferred), 
Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format, to 
the appropriate address shown in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this notice. The request and advance copy of statements must 
be received at least one week before the public meeting and may be 
emailed, hand-delivered, or sent by postal mail. DOE prefers to receive 
requests and advance copies via email. Please include a telephone 
number to enable DOE staff to make a follow-up contact, if needed.

Conduct of the Public Meetings

    ASRAC's Designated Federal Officer will preside at the public 
meetings and may also use a professional facilitator to aid discussion. 
The meetings will not be judicial or evidentiary-type public hearings, 
but DOE will conduct them in accordance with section 336 of EPCA (42 
U.S.C. 6306). A court reporter will be present to record the 
proceedings and prepare a transcript. A transcript of each public 
meeting will be included on DOE's website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/appliance-standards-and-rulemaking-federal-advisory-committee. In addition, any person may buy a copy of each transcript 
from the transcribing reporter. Public comment and statements will be 
allowed prior to the close of each meeting.

Docket

    The docket is available for review at: www.regulations.gov/docket/EERE-2022-BT-STD-0015, including Federal Register notices, public 
meeting attendee lists and transcripts, comments, and other supporting 
documents/materials. 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.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on April 3, 
2023, by Francisco Alejandro Moreno, Acting 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 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

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the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal 
Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on April 4, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-07381 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P