[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11785-11787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4639]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Part 431
[Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-STD-0043]
RIN 1904-AC36
Energy Conservation Program: Public Meeting and Availability of
the Framework Document for High-Intensity Discharge Lamps
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 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating the
rulemaking and data collection process to consider establishing energy
conservation standards for high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps.
Accordingly, DOE will hold a public meeting to discuss and receive
comments on its planned analytical approach and the issues it will
address in this rulemaking proceeding. DOE welcomes written comments
from the
[[Page 11786]]
public on this rulemaking. To inform stakeholders and to facilitate
this process, DOE has prepared a framework document which details the
analytical approach and identifies several issues on which DOE is
particularly interested in receiving comment. The framework document is
posted at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html.
DATES: The Department will hold a public meeting on March 29, 2012,
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Washington, DC. Additionally, DOE plans to
allow for participation in the public meeting via webinar. Any person
requesting to speak at the public meeting should submit such request
along with a signed original and an electronic copy of the statement to
be given at the public meeting before 4 p.m., March 16, 2012. Written
comments on the framework document are welcome, especially following
the public meeting, and should be submitted by April 5, 2012.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 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 public meeting, please inform DOE of this fact as soon as possible
by contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-2945, so that the
necessary procedures can be completed. Please also note that those
wishing to bring laptops to the meeting will be required to obtain a
property pass. Visitors should avoid bringing laptops, or allow an
extra 45 minutes.
Interested parties may submit comments, identified by docket number
EERE-2010-BT-STD-0043 and/or Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 1904-
AC36, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include EERE-
2010-BT-STD-0043 and/or RIN 1904-AC36 in the subject line of the
message.
Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy,
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Framework Document for
High-Intensity Discharge Lamps, EERE-2010-BT-STD-0043 and/or RIN 1904-
AC36, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Please
submit one signed paper original.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L'Enfant
Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20024. Please submit one signed paper
original.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number or RIN for this rulemaking.
Docket: The docket for this rulemaking is available for review at
www.regulations.gov, and will include Federal Register notices,
framework documents, 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. Not all
documents listed in the index may be publicly available, however, such
as information that is exempt from public disclosure.
A link to the docket Web page for this notice can be found at:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html. The regulations.gov Web page
contains instructions on how to access all documents, including public
comments, in the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Lucy deButts, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies, EE-2J, 1000
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202)
287-1604. Email: [email protected].
Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the
General Counsel, GC-71, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7796. Email:
[email protected].
For information on how to submit or review public comments and on
how to participate in the public meeting, contact Ms. Brenda Edwards,
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) 586-2945. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of Energy Policy and Conservation
Act (EPCA) (42 U.S.C. 6291, et seq.; EPCA or ``the Act'') sets forth a
variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency. (All
references to EPCA refer to the statute as amended through the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), Public Law 110-140
(Dec. 19, 2007).) Under EPCA, this program consists essentially of four
parts: (1) Testing; (2) labeling; (3) Federal energy conservation
standards; and (4) certification, compliance, and enforcement. Part B
of Title III (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) established the ``Energy
Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles.''
Part C of title III (42 U.S.C. 6311-6317), establishes an energy
conservation program for certain industrial and commercial
equipment.\1\ Although HID lamps are defined in 42 U.S.C. 6291(46), DOE
is required to set standards for HID lamps in 42 U.S.C. 6317(a)(1).
Therefore, DOE has determined that the provisions of Part C are
applicable to HID lamps.
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\1\ For editorial reasons, Parts B and C were re-designated as
Parts A and A-1 on codification in the U.S. Code.
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DOE published a positive final determination for specified HID
lamps on July 1, 2010. 75 FR 37975. Pursuant to the positive final
determination, DOE must establish testing requirements for the HID
lamps specified in the determination. (42 U.S.C. 6317(a)(1)) As
directed by EPCA, DOE must complete the HID lamps test procedure final
rule within 30 months of the completion of the final determination (by
January 1, 2013). DOE recently published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NOPR) for the HID lamp test procedures. 76 FR 77914
(December 15, 2011).
DOE must also complete the HID lamps energy conservation standards
rulemaking within 18 months of the publication of the HID lamps test
procedure final rule (by July 1, 2014). (42 U.S.C. 6317(b)) During the
standards rulemaking, DOE will decide whether and at what level(s) to
promulgate energy conservation standards. The decision, which will
incorporate public participation, will be based on consideration of the
technological feasibility, economic justification, and energy savings
of specific potential standard levels as required by EPCA. (See, e.g.,
42 U.S.C. 6295(o)-(p))
DOE has prepared a framework document to explain the issues,
analyses, and processes it anticipates using for the development of
potential energy conservation standards for HID lamps. Interested
parties may obtain the framework document from DOE's Web site (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html). DOE will hold a public meeting in
Washington, DC on the date specified in the DATES section to discuss
the analyses presented and issues identified in the framework document
prepared
[[Page 11787]]
for the development of potential HID lamp energy conservation
standards. At the public meeting, the Department will make a
presentation, invite discussion on the rulemaking process as it applies
to the covered products, and solicit comments, data, and information
from participants and other interested parties. Participants can also
attend the public meeting via webinar. Registration information,
participant instructions, and information about the capabilities
available to webinar participants will be published on the following
Web site: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/221154352. Participants
are responsible for ensuring their computer systems are compatible with
the webinar software. The Department encourages those who wish to
participate in the public meeting to obtain the framework document and
to be prepared to discuss its contents.
Public meeting participants need not limit their comments to the
issues identified 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
this equipment or that DOE should address in the NOPR. Furthermore, the
Department welcomes all interested parties, regardless of whether they
participate in the public meeting, to submit in writing by the date
specified in the DATES section, comments and information on matters
addressed in the framework document and on other matters relevant to
consideration of standards for HID lamps. At this time, DOE is
tentatively considering setting standards based on the information
included in the framework document. DOE will consider modifications to
its approach based on the data and comments received in response to the
framework document and public meeting.
The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, facilitated,
conference style. There shall be no discussion of proprietary
information, costs or prices, company market shares, or other
commercial matters regulated by U.S. antitrust laws. A court reporter
will record the proceedings of the public meeting, after which a
transcript will be made available on DOE's Web site at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/high_intensity_discharge_lamps.html.
After the public meeting and the close of the comment period on the
framework document, DOE will collect data, conduct the analyses as
discussed in the framework document and at the public meeting, and
review the comments received.
DOE considers public participation to be a very important part of
the process for setting energy conservation standards. DOE actively
encourages the participation and interaction of the public during the
comment period in each stage of the rulemaking process. Beginning with
the framework document, and during each subsequent public meeting and
comment period, interactions with and between members of the public
provide a balanced discussion of the issues to assist DOE in the
standards rulemaking process. Accordingly, 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 this rulemaking on HID lamps should contact Ms. Brenda
Edwards at (202) 586-2945, or via email at: [email protected].
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2012.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2012-4639 Filed 2-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P