[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15059-15061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4390]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
10 CFR Part 430 and 431
[Docket No. EE-2006-STD-0127]
RIN 1904-AB49
Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Electric and Gas
Ranges and Microwave Ovens, Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and Commercial
Clothes Washers: Public Meeting and Availability of the Framework
Document
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and availability of the Framework
Document.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or Department) will hold an
informal public meeting to discuss and receive comments on issues it
will address in this rulemaking proceeding. The Department is also
initiating the data collection process for establishing energy
conservation standards for residential electric and gas ranges and
ovens and microwave ovens, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and commercial
clothes washers. The Department also encourages written comments on
these subjects. In addition, this effort is the result of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) directive to publish a final rule to
determine whether the standards established by EPACT 2005 should be
amended no later than October 1, 2009, for dehumidifiers, and no later
than January 1, 2010, for commercial clothes washers. To inform
stakeholders and facilitate this process, DOE has prepared a Framework
Document, a draft of which is available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/ standards/.
DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on Thursday, April 27,
2006, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Washington, DC. Any person requesting to
speak at the public meeting should submit a request to speak before 4
p.m, Thursday, April 13, 2006. The Department must receive a signed
original and an electronic copy of statements to be given at the public
meeting before 4 p.m., Thursday, April 13, 2006. Written comments are
welcome, especially following the public meeting, and should be
submitted by Thursday, May 11, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room GE-086 (Large Auditorium), 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. (Please note that
foreign nationals participating in the public meeting are subject to
advance security screening procedures. If a foreign national wishes to
participate in the workshop, please inform DOE of this fact as soon as
possible by contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945 so
that the necessary procedures can be completed.)
Stakeholders may submit comments, identified by docket number EE-
2006-STD-0127 and/or RIN number 1904-AB49, by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected]. Include
EE-2006-STD-0127 and/or RIN 1904-AB49 in the subject line of the
message.
Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones, U.S. Department of Energy,
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Framework Document for
Home Appliance Products, EE-2006-STD-0127 and/or RIN 1904-AB49, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202)
586-2945. Please submit one signed paper original.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones, U.S.
Department of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Room 1J-018, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this
rulemaking.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, a
copy of the transcript of the public meeting, or comments received, go
to the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1J-018
(Resource Room of the Building Technologies Program), 1000 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-9127, between 9 a.m.
and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Please call
Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at the above telephone number for additional
information regarding visiting the Resource Room. Please note that the
Department's Freedom of Information Reading Room (formerly Room 1E-190
at the Forrestal Building) is no longer housing rulemaking materials.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building
Technologies, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20585-0121, (202) 586-0371. E-mail: [email protected]. Thomas
DePriest, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel, GC-72,
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-
9507. E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part B of Title III of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), 42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq., established an
energy conservation program for major household appliances, which
includes residential electric and gas ranges and ovens and microwave
ovens, and dishwashers. This program authorizes the Department to
establish technologically feasible, economically justified energy-
efficiency regulations for certain consumer products for which such
regulations would incur substantial national energy saving, and for
which both natural market forces and voluntary labeling programs have
been and/or are expected to be ineffective in promoting energy
efficiency. The National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 (NECPA)
amended EPCA to add Part C of Title III, 42 U.S.C. 6311 et seq., which
established an energy-conservation program for certain industrial
equipment. Amendments to EPCA in
[[Page 15060]]
the Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA) established prescriptive
energy conservation standards for dishwashers and cooking products, as
well as requirements for determining whether these standards should be
amended. (42 U.S.C. 6295(g) and (h)) The Energy Policy Act of 1992
(EPACT 1992), Public Law 102-486, included amendments to EPCA that
expanded Title III to include certain commercial equipment. The recent
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), Public Law 109-58, updated
several existing standards and test procedures, prescribed definitions,
standards, and test procedures for certain new consumer products and
commercial equipment, and mandated that the Secretary of Energy (the
Secretary) commence rulemakings to develop test procedures and
standards for certain other new consumer products and commercial
equipment, including dehumidifiers and commercial clothes washers.
The prescriptive standards for dishwashers in EPCA, as amended,
require that they be equipped with an option to dry without heat, and
EPCA further requires that DOE conduct two cycles of rulemakings to
determine if more stringent standards are justified. (42 U.S.C.
6295(g)(1), (4)) On May 14, 1991, DOE issued a final rule establishing
the first set of performance standards for dishwashers; the new
standards became effective on May 14, 1994. 56 FR 22250. The Department
initiated a second standards rulemaking for dishwashers by issuing an
advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) on November 14, 1994. 59
FR 56423. As a result of the priority-setting process outlined in the
July 15, 1996, Procedures for Consideration of New or Revised Energy
Conservation Standards for Consumer Products (the ``Process Rule''), 61
FR 36974, 10 CFR part 430, Subpart C, Appendix A, DOE suspended the
standards rulemaking for dishwashers.
The prescriptive standards for gas cooking products in EPCA, as
amended, require units with an electrical supply cord not to be
equipped with constant burning pilots. EPCA, as amended, also directs
DOE to conduct two cycles of rulemakings to determine if more stringent
standards are justified. (42 U.S.C. 6295(h)) The Department initially
analyzed standards for cooking products as part of an eight-product
standards rulemaking. It issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR)
on March 4, 1994, proposing performance standards for gas and electric
residential cooking products, including microwave ovens. 59 FR 10464.
In accordance with the 1996 Process Rule, DOE refined its standards
analysis of cooking products. With regard to gas cooking products, DOE
focused on the economic justification for eliminating standing pilots.
Partially due to the difficulty of conclusively demonstrating that
elimination of standing pilots was economically justified, DOE issued a
final rule on September 8, 1998, that covered only electric cooking
products, including microwave ovens. 63 FR 48038. The final rule found
that no standards were feasible for electric cooking products. The
Department never completed its standards rulemaking for gas cooking
products.
Commercial clothes washers and dehumidifiers are new products
covered by the EPACT 2005 legislation. Commercial clothes washers are
defined in EPACT 2005 as soft-mount, front-loading or soft-mount, top-
loading washers that have a clothes container compartment that is not
more than 3.5 cubic feet for horizontal-axis clothes washers and not
more than 4.0 cubic feet for vertical-axis clothes washers. (EPACT
2005, section 136(a)(4)) EPACT 2005 also defines commercial clothes
washers as products designed for applications in which the occupants of
more than one household will be using the clothes washer, such as
multi-family housing common areas, coin laundries, or other commercial
applications. (Id.) EPACT 2005 established standards for commercial
clothes washers, which will become effective on January 1, 2007. (EPACT
2005, section 136(e)) EPACT 2005 also requires that DOE issue a final
rule by January 1, 2010, to determine whether these standards should be
amended. (Id.)
In EPACT 2005, dehumidifiers are defined as self-contained,
electrically operated, and mechanically encased assemblies consisting
of: (1) A refrigerated surface (evaporator) that condenses moisture
from the atmosphere; (2) a refrigerating system, including an electric
motor; (3) an air-circulating fan; and (4) a means for collecting or
disposing of the condensate. (EPACT 2005, section 135(a)(3)) EPACT 2005
established standards for dehumidifiers that will become effective on
October 1, 2007. (Section 135(c)(4)) EPACT 2005 also requires that DOE
issue a final rule by October 1, 2009, to determine whether these
standards should be amended. (Id.) If amended standards are justified,
EPACT 2005 requires them to become effective by October 1, 2012. (Id.)
In the event that DOE fails to publish a final rule, EPACT 2005
specifies a new set of amended standards with an effective date of
October 1, 2012. (Id.)
To begin the required rulemaking process, the Department prepared
the Framework Document to explain the issues, analyses, and process it
is considering for the development of energy efficiency standards for
residential electric and gas ranges and ovens and microwave ovens,
dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and commercial clothes washers. The focus
of the public meeting will be to discuss the analyses and issues
contained in various sections of the Framework Document. For each item
listed, the Department will make a presentation with discussion to
follow. In addition, the Department will also make a brief presentation
on the rulemaking process for these products. The Department encourages
those who wish to participate in the public meeting to obtain the
Framework Document and be prepared to discuss its contents. A copy of
the draft Framework Document is available at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/. However, public
meeting participants need not limit their discussions to the topics in
the Framework Document. The Department is also interested in receiving
views concerning other relevant issues that participants believe would
affect energy conservation standards for these products. The Department
also welcomes all interested parties, whether or not they participate
in the public meeting, to submit in writing by Thursday, May 11, 2006,
comments and information on the matters addressed in the Framework
Document and on other matters relevant to consideration of standards
for residential electric and gas ranges and ovens and microwave ovens,
dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and commercial clothes washers.
The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference
style. A court reporter will be present to record the minutes of the
meeting. There shall be no discussion of proprietary information, costs
or prices, market shares, or other commercial matters regulated by the
U.S. antitrust laws.
After the public meeting and the expiration of the period for
submitting written statements, the Department will begin collecting
data, conducting the analyses as discussed at the public meeting, and
reviewing the comments received.
Anyone who would like to participate in the public meeting, receive
meeting materials, or be added to the DOE mailing list to receive
future notices and information regarding residential electric and gas
ranges and ovens and microwave ovens, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and
commercial clothes
[[Page 15061]]
washers, should contact Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-2945.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2006.
Douglas L. Faulkner,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. E6-4390 Filed 3-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P