[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37963-37965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15644]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
5 CFR Chapter XXII
10 CFR Chapters II, III, and X
Reducing Regulatory Burden
AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: As part of its implementation of Executive Order 13563,
``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' issued by the President
on January 18, 2011, the Department of Energy (Department or DOE) is
seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist DOE
in reviewing its existing regulations to determine whether any such
regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed. The
purpose of DOE's review is to make the agency's regulatory program more
effective and less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives.
In this request for information (RFI), DOE also highlights its
regulatory review and reform efforts conducted to date in light of
comments from interested parties.
DATES: Written comments and information are requested on or before July
18, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments,
identified by ``Regulatory Burden RFI,'' by any of the following
methods:
White House Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/advise.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include ``Regulatory Burden
RFI'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel,
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Room 6A245, Washington, DC 20585.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, or
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
That Department's plan for retrospective review of its regulations
and its subsequent update reports can be accessed at http://energy.gov/gc/services/open-government/restrospective-regulatory-review.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jengeih Tamba, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585, 202-586-5000. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 18, 2011, the President issued
Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,''
to ensure that Federal regulations seek more affordable, less intrusive
means to achieve policy goals, and that agencies give careful
consideration to the benefits and costs of those regulations. To that
end, the Executive Order requires, among other things, that:
Agencies propose or adopt a regulation only upon a
reasoned determination that its benefits justify its costs; and that
agencies tailor regulations to impose the least burden on society,
consistent with obtaining the regulatory objectives, taking into
account, among other things, and to the extent practicable, the costs
of cumulative regulations; and that, consistent with applicable law,
agencies select, in choosing among alternative regulatory approaches,
those approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential
economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other
advantages; distributive impacts; and equity).
The regulatory process encourages public participation and
an open exchange of views, with an opportunity for the public to
comment.
Agencies coordinate, simplify, and harmonize regulations
to reduce costs and promote certainty for businesses and the public.
Agencies consider low-cost approaches that reduce burdens
and maintain flexibility.
Regulations be guided by objective scientific evidence.
Additionally, the Executive Order directs agencies to consider how
best to promote retrospective analyses of existing rules. Specifically,
agencies were required to develop a plan under
[[Page 37964]]
which the agency will periodically review existing regulations to
determine which should be maintained, modified, strengthened, or
repealed to increase the effectiveness and decrease the burdens of the
agency's regulatory program. DOE's plan and its subsequent update
reports can be accessed at http://energy.gov/gc/services/open-government/restrospective-regulatory-review.
The Department is committed to maintaining a consistent culture of
retrospective review and analysis. DOE will continually engage in
review of its rules to determine whether there are burdens on the
public that can be avoided by amending or rescinding existing
requirements. To that end, DOE is publishing today's RFI to again
explicitly solicit public input. In addition, DOE is always open to
receiving information about the impact of its regulations. To
facilitate both this RFI and the ongoing submission of comments,
interested parties can identify regulations that may be in need of
review at the following recently established White House Web site:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/advise. DOE has also created a link on the
Web page of DOE's Office of the General Counsel to an email in-box for
the submission of comments, [email protected].
While the Department promulgates rules in accordance with the law
and to the best of its analytic capability, it is difficult to be
certain of the consequences of a rule, including its costs and
benefits, until it has been tested. Because knowledge about the full
effects of a rule is widely dispersed in society, members of the public
are likely to have useful information and perspectives on the benefits
and burdens of existing requirements and how regulatory obligations may
be updated, streamlined, revised, or repealed to better achieve
regulatory objectives, while minimizing regulatory burdens. Interested
parties may also be well-positioned to identify those rules that are
most in need of review and, thus, assist the Department in prioritizing
and properly tailoring its retrospective review process. In short,
engaging the public in an open, transparent process is a crucial step
in DOE's review of its existing regulations.
Recent Successes
Two items on the most recent, January 2014 update are the
Alternative Efficiency Determination Methods and Alternate Rating
Methods rule (AEDM), and the Test Procedure Waiver rule. Just prior to
release of the update, DOE published the final AEDM rule; the final
test procedure waiver rule was published shortly after release of the
update. Both of these final rules were issued in furtherance of DOE's
commitment to the retrospective review of its regulations. In the AEDM
rule, DOE revised its regulations on the use of alternatives to testing
to certify compliance with applicable energy conservation standards and
the reporting of related ratings for covered commercial and industrial
equipment. These regulations arose from a negotiated rulemaking effort
on issues regarding certification of commercial heating, ventilating,
air-conditioning (HVAC), water heating (WH), and refrigeration
equipment. In addition, DOE extended the compliance dates for the
initial certification of commercial HVAC, WH, and refrigeration
equipment. In the Test Procedure Waiver rule, DOE amends portions of
its regulations governing petitions for waiver and interim waiver from
DOE test procedures to improve the waiver process. The final rule
restores, with minor amendments, text inadvertently omitted in the
March 7, 2011 certification, compliance, and enforcement final rule.
Additionally, the rule adopts a process by which other manufacturers of
a product employing a specific technology or characteristic, for which
DOE has granted a waiver to another manufacturer for a product
employing that particular technology, would petition for a waiver. The
rule also sets forth a process for manufacturers to request rescission
or modification of a waiver if they determine that the waiver is no
longer needed, or for other appropriate reasons; adopts other minor
modifications to the waiver provisions for both consumer products and
industrial equipment; and clarifies certain aspects related to the
submission and processing of a waiver petition.
List of Questions for Commenters
The following list of questions is intended to assist in the
formulation of comments and not to restrict the issues that may be
addressed. In addressing these questions or others, DOE requests that
commenters identify with specificity the regulation or reporting
requirement at issue, providing legal citation where available. The
Department also requests that the submitter provide, in as much detail
as possible, an explanation why a regulation or reporting requirement
should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed, as well as
specific suggestions of ways the Department can better achieve its
regulatory objectives.
(1) How can the Department best promote meaningful periodic reviews
of its existing rules and how can it best identify those rules that
might be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed?
(2) What factors should the agency consider in selecting and
prioritizing rules and reporting requirements for review?
(3) Are there regulations that are or have become unnecessary,
ineffective, or ill advised and, if so, what are they? Are there rules
that can simply be repealed without impairing the Department's
regulatory programs and, if so, what are they?
(4) Are there rules or reporting requirements that have become
outdated and, if so, how can they be modernized to accomplish their
regulatory objectives better?
(5) Are there rules that are still necessary, but have not operated
as well as expected such that a modified, stronger, or slightly
different approach is justified?
(6) Does the Department currently collect information that it does
not need or use effectively to achieve regulatory objectives?
(7) Are there regulations, reporting requirements, or regulatory
processes that are unnecessarily complicated or could be streamlined to
achieve regulatory objectives in more efficient ways?
(8) Are there rules or reporting requirements that have been
overtaken by technological developments? Can new technologies be
leveraged to modify, streamline, or do away with existing regulatory or
reporting requirements?
(9) How can the Department best obtain and consider accurate,
objective information and data about the costs, burdens, and benefits
of existing regulations? Are there existing sources of data the
Department can use to evaluate the post-promulgation effects of
regulations over time? We invite interested parties to provide data
that may be in their possession that documents the costs, burdens, and
benefits of existing requirements.
(10) Are there regulations that are working well that can be
expanded or used as a model to fill gaps in other DOE regulatory
programs?
The Department notes that this RFI is issued solely for information
and program-planning purposes. Responses to this RFI do not bind DOE to
any further actions related to the response. All submissions will be
made publically available on. http://www.regulations.gov.
[[Page 37965]]
Issued in Washington, DC on June 25, 2014.
Steven P. Croley,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-15644 Filed 7-2-14; 8:45 am]
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