Energy Conservation Program: Certification, Compliance, and Enforcement for Consumer Products and Commercial and Industrial Equipment, 21813-21815 [2011-9473]

Download as PDF 21813 Proposed Rules Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 75 Tuesday, April 19, 2011 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. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 10 CFR Part 429 [Docket Number: EERE–2010–BT–CE–0014] RIN 1904–AC23 Energy Conservation Program: Certification, Compliance, and Enforcement for Consumer Products and Commercial and Industrial Equipment Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. ACTION: Proposed rule. AGENCY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the ‘‘Department’’) proposes to amend the compliance dates for revisions to its certification, compliance, and enforcement regulations for certain commercial and industrial equipment covered under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended (EPCA or the ‘‘Act’’). Specifically, DOE is tentatively proposing an 18-month extension to the compliance date for the certification provisions for commercial refrigeration equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment; commercial water heating equipment; walk-in coolers; walk-in freezers; and automatic commercial ice makers. DOE is also considering extending the compliance date for the certification provisions for other commercial equipment based on comments. DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding the notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) postmarked no later than May 19, 2011. ADDRESSES: Any comments submitted must reference the Energy Conservation Program: Certification, Compliance, and Enforcement for Consumer Products and Commercial and Industrial Equipment, and provide docket number EERE– 2010–BT–CE–0014 and/or RIN number1904–AC23. Comments may be submitted using any of the following methods: jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1 SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 13:54 Apr 18, 2011 Jkt 223001 • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • E-mail: CCE-2010-BT-CE0014@ee.doe.gov. Include docket number EERE–2010–BT–CE–0014 and/ or RIN 1904–AC23 in the subject line of the message. Submit electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or ASCII file format and avoid the use of special characters or any form of encryption. • Postal Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. Telephone: (202) 586–2945. Please submit one signed original paper copy. • Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20024. Please submit one signed original paper copy. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, visit the U.S. Department of Energy, Resource Room of the Building Technologies Program, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20024, (202) 586–2945, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Please call Ms. Brenda Edwards at the above telephone number for additional information regarding visiting the Resource Room. Please note: DOE’s Freedom of Information Reading Room (Room 1E–190 at the Forrestal Building) no longer houses rulemaking materials. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Ashley Armstrong, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, EE–2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. Telephone: (202) 586–6590. E-mail: Ashley.Armstrong@ee.doe.gov; and Ms. Laura Barhydt, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, Forrestal Building, GC–32, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 287–5772. E-mail: Laura.Barhydt@hq.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 7, 2011, DOE published a final rule in the Federal Register that, among other things, modified the requirements regarding manufacturer submission of PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 compliance statements and certification reports to DOE (March 2011 Final Rule). 76 FR 12421. The March 2011 Final Rule will provide DOE more comprehensive information about the energy and water use characteristics of products sold in the United States. Furthermore, the certification provisions are central to the Department’s regulatory framework for ensuring that covered products and equipment sold in the Unites States comply with existing federal energy conservation standards and associated regulations. The March 2011 Final Rule was largely procedural in nature; it did not amend pre-existing sampling provisions, test procedures, or conservation standard levels for any EPCA products or equipment. It did, however, impose new reporting requirements, including a requirement that manufacturers submit annual reports to the Department certifying compliance of their basic models with applicable standards. It also revised the types of information manufacturers must provide in that submission. Finally, the Department emphasized that manufacturers could use their discretion in grouping individual models as a certified ‘‘basic model’’ such that the certified rating for the basic model matched the represented rating for all included models. See 76 FR 12428–12429 for more information. This reflected a basic requirement of the Department’s longstanding selfcertification compliance regime—that efficiency certifications and representations must be supported by either testing or an approved alternative method of estimating efficiency. The March 2011 Final Rule provides for the revised certification provisions to be effective on July 5, 2011. Since the publication of the Final Rule, certain manufacturers of particular types of commercial and industrial equipment have stated that they would be unable to meet that deadline. In particular, manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment; commercial water heating equipment; walk-in coolers; walk-in freezers; and automatic commercial ice makers (as defined in 10 CFR part 431) contend that certifying supported basic model ratings under the revised provisions would require a cost- E:\FR\FM\19APP1.SGM 19APP1 jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1 21814 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2011 / Proposed Rules prohibitive amount of additional testing and take far longer than the time allowed. The Department did not intend to change, let alone increase, testing burdens through the certification reporting provisions of the March 2011 Final Rule. However, the new information provided suggests that, for certain commercial manufacturers, the interplay between the reporting requirements, current industry practices, and preexisting regulations may mean that such manufacturers may need additional time to comply with the regulations. In particular, the Department has become aware of concerns related to its revised regulations for alternative efficiency determination methods (AEDMs), which are intended to reduce testing burdens by allowing manufacturers to use computer simulations, mathematical models, and other alternative methods to determine the amount of energy used by a particular basic model. For example, some commercial manufacturers have suggested that the AEDM provisions are too restrictive, overly burdensome, and unavailable for some products that would benefit from them and, as a result, do not permit the viable alternative to testing intended by the Department. Responding in part to these concerns, on April 8, 2011, the Department issued a request for information (RFI) (available at https://www1.eere.energy.gov/ buildings/appliance_standards/pdfs/ arm_aedms_rfi.pdf) seeking comment on, among other things, the use of such alternative methods for determining the efficiency of commercial and industrial equipment. As the RFI explained, the Department intends to use this information to propose revisions to improve the existing AEDM provisions in a future rulemaking. For commercial manufacturers, the Department understands that addressing some of the concerns with the AEDM provisions may alleviate some of the burden reported by these manufacturers of complying with DOE’s existing regulations and the March 2011 Final Rule certification reporting provisions. Given the testing burdens reported by certain commercial manufacturers and the Department’s recent RFI on alternative ways to estimate efficiency in lieu of testing, DOE tentatively proposes an 18-month delay in the compliance date for filing complete certification reports for manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, HVAC equipment; commercial water heating equipment; walk-in coolers; walk-in VerDate Mar<15>2010 13:54 Apr 18, 2011 Jkt 223001 freezers; and automatic commercial ice makers. The Department seeks comment on this proposed delay for these specified manufacturers. We also seek comment on whether a longer or shorter period of time would be more appropriate. In addition, the Department seeks comment on whether manufacturers of other types of commercial or industrial equipment face similar circumstances with respect to unintended testing burdens or AEDM concerns that would require additional time to comply with the certification reporting requirements in the March 2011 Final Rule. The Department seeks comment on what, if any, limited reporting requirement should be required of manufacturers of these types of commercial equipment during the interim period. For example, DOE seeks comment on whether it should require these manufacturers to register with the Department’s electronic CCMS system in the meantime. Further Information on Submitting Comments Under 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 two copies: One copy of the document including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document 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. Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat submitted information as confidential include (1) a description of the items, (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as confidential within the industry, (3) whether the information is generally known by or available from other sources, (4) whether the information has previously been made available to others without obligation concerning its confidentiality, (5) an explanation of the competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from public disclosure, (6) when such information might lose its confidential character due to the passage of time, and (7) why disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest. I. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 This proposed rule has been determined not to be a ‘‘significant PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, this action was not subject to review under the Executive Order by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires preparation of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IFRA) for any rule that by law must be proposed for public comment, unless the agency certifies that the rule, if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. As required by Executive Order 13272, ‘‘Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking,’’ 67 FR 53461 (August 16, 2002), DOE published procedures and policies on February 19, 2003, to ensure that the potential impacts of its rules on small entities are properly considered during the DOE rulemaking process. 68 FR 7990. DOE has made its procedures and policies available on the Office of the General Counsel’s Web site: https:// www.gc.doe.gov. DOE reviewed this proposed rule under the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the procedures and policies published on February 19, 2003. This proposed rule would merely extend the compliance date of a rulemaking already promulgated. To the extent such action has any economic impact it would be positive in that it would allow regulated parties additional time to come into compliance. DOE did undertake a full regulatory flexibility analysis of the original CCE rulemaking. That analysis considered the impacts of that rulemaking on small entities. As a result, DOE certifies that, if adopted, this proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. C. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act DOE has determined that this rule falls into a class of actions that are categorically excluded from review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and DOE’s implementing regulations at 10 CFR part 1021. Specifically, this rule amends an existing rule without changing its environmental effect and, therefore, is covered by the Categorical Exclusion in 10 CFR part 1021, subpart D, paragraph A5. Accordingly, neither an environmental assessment nor an E:\FR\FM\19APP1.SGM 19APP1 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2011 / Proposed Rules environmental impact statement is required. II. Approval of the Office of the Secretary The Secretary of Energy has approved publication of today’s NOPR. List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 429 Confidential business information, Energy conservation, Household appliances, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Issued in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2011. Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Office of Technology Development, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. For the reasons stated in the preamble, DOE is proposing to amend part 429 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth below: PART 429—CERTIFICATION, COMPLIANCE, AND ENFORCEMENT FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT 1. The authority citation for part 429 continues to read as follows: Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6291–6317. 2. Add in § 429.12 a new paragraph (i) to read as follows: § 429.12 General requirements applicable to certification reports. * * * * * (i) Certain commercial equipment. Manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment; commercial water heating equipment; walk-in coolers; walk-in freezers; and automatic commercial ice makers are not required to comply with paragraphs (a) through (f) of this section until [date 18 months following publication of final rule]. [FR Doc. 2011–9473 Filed 4–18–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1 14 CFR Part 39 [Docket No. FAA–2008–0415; Directorate Identifier 2007–NM–256–AD] RIN 2120–AA64 Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Model 737 Airplanes Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. AGENCY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 13:54 Apr 18, 2011 Jkt 223001 Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); reopening of comment period. ACTION: We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 737 airplanes. The original NPRM would have required repetitive inspections, lubrications, and repetitive repairs/overhauls of the ball nut and ballscrew and attachment (Gimbal) fittings for the trim actuator of the horizontal stabilizer; various installation(s); and corrective actions if necessary; as applicable. The original NPRM resulted from a report of extensive corrosion of a ballscrew used in the drive mechanism of the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator (HSTA). This action revises the original NPRM by adding airplanes to the applicability. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to prevent an undetected failure of the primary load path for the ballscrew in the drive mechanism of the HSTA and subsequent wear and failure of the secondary load path, which could lead to loss of control of the horizontal stabilizer and consequent loss of control of the airplane. DATES: We must receive comments on this supplemental NPRM by May 16, 2011. SUMMARY: You may send comments by any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 202–493–2251. • Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M–30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. • Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M–30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For service information identified in this proposed AD, contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data & Services Management, P.O. Box 3707, MC 2H–65, Seattle, Washington 98124– 2207; telephone 206–544–5000, extension 1, fax 206–766–5680; e-mail me.boecom@boeing.com; Internet https://www.myboeingfleet.com. You may review copies of the referenced service information at the FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 425–227– 1221. ADDRESSES: PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 21815 Examining the AD Docket You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at https:// www.regulations.gov; or in person at the Docket Management Facility between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains this proposed AD, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other information. The street address for the Docket Office (telephone 800–647–5527) is in the ADDRESSES section. Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly McGuckin, Aerospace Engineer, Systems and Equipment Branch, ANM– 130S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057–3356; telephone (425) 917–6490; fax (425) 917–6590. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments Invited We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or arguments about this proposed AD. Send your comments to an address listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA–2008–0415; Directorate Identifier 2007–NM–256–AD’’ at the beginning of your comments. We specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this proposed AD. We will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend this proposed AD because of those comments. We will post all comments we receive, without change, to https:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. We will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact we receive about this proposed AD. Discussion We issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (the ‘‘original NPRM’’) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an airworthiness directive (AD) that would apply to certain Boeing Model 737 airplanes. That original NPRM was published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2008 (73 FR 22840). That original NPRM proposed to require repetitive inspections, lubrications, and repetitive repairs/ overhauls of the ball nut and ballscrew and attachment (Gimbal) fittings for the trim actuator of the horizontal stabilizer; various installation(s); and corrective actions if necessary; as applicable. That original NPRM resulted from a report of extensive corrosion of a ballscrew used in the drive mechanism E:\FR\FM\19APP1.SGM 19APP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21813-21815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9473]


========================================================================
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.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2011 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 21813]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 429

[Docket Number: EERE-2010-BT-CE-0014]
RIN 1904-AC23


Energy Conservation Program: Certification, Compliance, and 
Enforcement for Consumer Products and Commercial and Industrial 
Equipment

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

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the ``Department'') 
proposes to amend the compliance dates for revisions to its 
certification, compliance, and enforcement regulations for certain 
commercial and industrial equipment covered under the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act of 1975, as amended (EPCA or the ``Act''). 
Specifically, DOE is tentatively proposing an 18-month extension to the 
compliance date for the certification provisions for commercial 
refrigeration equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, air-
conditioning (HVAC) equipment; commercial water heating equipment; 
walk-in coolers; walk-in freezers; and automatic commercial ice makers. 
DOE is also considering extending the compliance date for the 
certification provisions for other commercial equipment based on 
comments.

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding the 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) postmarked no later than May 19, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Any comments submitted must reference the Energy 
Conservation Program: Certification, Compliance, and Enforcement for 
Consumer Products and Commercial and Industrial Equipment, and provide 
docket number EERE-2010-BT-CE-0014 and/or RIN number1904-AC23. Comments 
may be submitted using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: CCE-2010-BT-CE-0014@ee.doe.gov. Include docket 
number EERE-2010-BT-CE-0014 and/or RIN 1904-AC23 in the subject line of 
the message. Submit electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, 
PDF, or ASCII file format and avoid the use of special characters or 
any form of encryption.
     Postal Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 
586-2945. Please submit one signed original paper copy.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., 6th 
Floor, Washington, DC 20024. Please submit one signed original paper 
copy.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, visit the U.S. Department of Energy, Resource Room 
of the Building Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., 6th 
Floor, Washington, DC 20024, (202) 586-2945, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Please call Ms. Brenda 
Edwards at the above telephone number for additional information 
regarding visiting the Resource Room. Please note: DOE's Freedom of 
Information Reading Room (Room 1E-190 at the Forrestal Building) no 
longer houses rulemaking materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Ashley Armstrong, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Program, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-6590. E-mail: 
Ashley.Armstrong@ee.doe.gov; and Ms. Laura Barhydt, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of the General Counsel, Forrestal Building, GC-32, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 287-
5772. E-mail: Laura.Barhydt@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 7, 2011, DOE published a final rule 
in the Federal Register that, among other things, modified the 
requirements regarding manufacturer submission of compliance statements 
and certification reports to DOE (March 2011 Final Rule). 76 FR 12421. 
The March 2011 Final Rule will provide DOE more comprehensive 
information about the energy and water use characteristics of products 
sold in the United States. Furthermore, the certification provisions 
are central to the Department's regulatory framework for ensuring that 
covered products and equipment sold in the Unites States comply with 
existing federal energy conservation standards and associated 
regulations.
    The March 2011 Final Rule was largely procedural in nature; it did 
not amend pre-existing sampling provisions, test procedures, or 
conservation standard levels for any EPCA products or equipment. It 
did, however, impose new reporting requirements, including a 
requirement that manufacturers submit annual reports to the Department 
certifying compliance of their basic models with applicable standards. 
It also revised the types of information manufacturers must provide in 
that submission. Finally, the Department emphasized that manufacturers 
could use their discretion in grouping individual models as a certified 
``basic model'' such that the certified rating for the basic model 
matched the represented rating for all included models. See 76 FR 
12428-12429 for more information. This reflected a basic requirement of 
the Department's longstanding self-certification compliance regime--
that efficiency certifications and representations must be supported by 
either testing or an approved alternative method of estimating 
efficiency.
    The March 2011 Final Rule provides for the revised certification 
provisions to be effective on July 5, 2011. Since the publication of 
the Final Rule, certain manufacturers of particular types of commercial 
and industrial equipment have stated that they would be unable to meet 
that deadline. In particular, manufacturers of commercial refrigeration 
equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) 
equipment; commercial water heating equipment; walk-in coolers; walk-in 
freezers; and automatic commercial ice makers (as defined in 10 CFR 
part 431) contend that certifying supported basic model ratings under 
the revised provisions would require a cost-

[[Page 21814]]

prohibitive amount of additional testing and take far longer than the 
time allowed.
    The Department did not intend to change, let alone increase, 
testing burdens through the certification reporting provisions of the 
March 2011 Final Rule. However, the new information provided suggests 
that, for certain commercial manufacturers, the interplay between the 
reporting requirements, current industry practices, and preexisting 
regulations may mean that such manufacturers may need additional time 
to comply with the regulations. In particular, the Department has 
become aware of concerns related to its revised regulations for 
alternative efficiency determination methods (AEDMs), which are 
intended to reduce testing burdens by allowing manufacturers to use 
computer simulations, mathematical models, and other alternative 
methods to determine the amount of energy used by a particular basic 
model. For example, some commercial manufacturers have suggested that 
the AEDM provisions are too restrictive, overly burdensome, and 
unavailable for some products that would benefit from them and, as a 
result, do not permit the viable alternative to testing intended by the 
Department.
    Responding in part to these concerns, on April 8, 2011, the 
Department issued a request for information (RFI) (available at https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/pdfs/arm_aedms_rfi.pdf) seeking comment on, among other things, the use of such 
alternative methods for determining the efficiency of commercial and 
industrial equipment. As the RFI explained, the Department intends to 
use this information to propose revisions to improve the existing AEDM 
provisions in a future rulemaking. For commercial manufacturers, the 
Department understands that addressing some of the concerns with the 
AEDM provisions may alleviate some of the burden reported by these 
manufacturers of complying with DOE's existing regulations and the 
March 2011 Final Rule certification reporting provisions. Given the 
testing burdens reported by certain commercial manufacturers and the 
Department's recent RFI on alternative ways to estimate efficiency in 
lieu of testing, DOE tentatively proposes an 18-month delay in the 
compliance date for filing complete certification reports for 
manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment; commercial 
heating, ventilating, HVAC equipment; commercial water heating 
equipment; walk-in coolers; walk-in freezers; and automatic commercial 
ice makers.
    The Department seeks comment on this proposed delay for these 
specified manufacturers. We also seek comment on whether a longer or 
shorter period of time would be more appropriate. In addition, the 
Department seeks comment on whether manufacturers of other types of 
commercial or industrial equipment face similar circumstances with 
respect to unintended testing burdens or AEDM concerns that would 
require additional time to comply with the certification reporting 
requirements in the March 2011 Final Rule.
    The Department seeks comment on what, if any, limited reporting 
requirement should be required of manufacturers of these types of 
commercial equipment during the interim period. For example, DOE seeks 
comment on whether it should require these manufacturers to register 
with the Department's electronic CCMS system in the meantime.

Further Information on Submitting Comments

    Under 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 two copies: One copy of the document including 
all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the 
document 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.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include (1) a description of the 
items, (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry, (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources, (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality, (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure, (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time, and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.

I. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule has been determined not to be a ``significant 
regulatory action'' under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. 
Accordingly, this action was not subject to review under the Executive 
Order by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires 
preparation of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IFRA) for 
any rule that by law must be proposed for public comment, unless the 
agency certifies that the rule, if promulgated, will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
As required by Executive Order 13272, ``Proper Consideration of Small 
Entities in Agency Rulemaking,'' 67 FR 53461 (August 16, 2002), DOE 
published procedures and policies on February 19, 2003, to ensure that 
the potential impacts of its rules on small entities are properly 
considered during the DOE rulemaking process. 68 FR 7990. DOE has made 
its procedures and policies available on the Office of the General 
Counsel's Web site: https://www.gc.doe.gov.
    DOE reviewed this proposed rule under the provisions of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act and the procedures and policies published on 
February 19, 2003. This proposed rule would merely extend the 
compliance date of a rulemaking already promulgated. To the extent such 
action has any economic impact it would be positive in that it would 
allow regulated parties additional time to come into compliance. DOE 
did undertake a full regulatory flexibility analysis of the original 
CCE rulemaking. That analysis considered the impacts of that rulemaking 
on small entities. As a result, DOE certifies that, if adopted, this 
proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

C. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act

    DOE has determined that this rule falls into a class of actions 
that are categorically excluded from review under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and DOE's 
implementing regulations at 10 CFR part 1021. Specifically, this rule 
amends an existing rule without changing its environmental effect and, 
therefore, is covered by the Categorical Exclusion in 10 CFR part 1021, 
subpart D, paragraph A5. Accordingly, neither an environmental 
assessment nor an

[[Page 21815]]

environmental impact statement is required.

II. Approval of the Office of the Secretary

    The Secretary of Energy has approved publication of today's NOPR.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 429

    Confidential business information, Energy conservation, Household 
appliances, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2011.
Kathleen Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Office of Technology 
Development, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, DOE is proposing to amend 
part 429 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth 
below:

PART 429--CERTIFICATION, COMPLIANCE, AND ENFORCEMENT FOR CONSUMER 
PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT

    1. The authority citation for part 429 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 6291-6317.

    2. Add in Sec.  429.12 a new paragraph (i) to read as follows:


Sec.  429.12  General requirements applicable to certification reports.

* * * * *
    (i) Certain commercial equipment. Manufacturers of commercial 
refrigeration equipment; commercial heating, ventilating, air-
conditioning (HVAC) equipment; commercial water heating equipment; 
walk-in coolers; walk-in freezers; and automatic commercial ice makers 
are not required to comply with paragraphs (a) through (f) of this 
section until [date 18 months following publication of final rule].

[FR Doc. 2011-9473 Filed 4-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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