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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

449 

Vol. 84, No. 19 

Tuesday, January 29, 2019 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Parts 430 and 431 

[EERE–2018–BT–STD–0018] 

Energy Conservation Program: Energy 

Conservation Standards for 

Residential Furnaces and Commercial 

Water Heaters 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of petition for 

rulemaking; extension of public 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: On November 1, 2018, the 

U.S. Department of Energy (‘‘DOE’’) 

published in the Federal Register a 

notice of petition for rulemaking and 

request for comment regarding whether 

DOE should issue an interpretive rule 

stating that DOE’s proposed energy 

conservation standards for residential 

furnaces and commercial water heaters 

would result in the unavailability of 

‘‘performance characteristics’’ within 

the meaning of the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act of 1975, as amended, 

and withdraw its proposals for amended 

standards for those products/equipment 

based upon such findings. The comment 

period in that notice was set to close on 

January 30, 2019. In the intervening 

period, DOE received two requests from 

interested parties seeking an extension 

of the comment period in order to 

develop additional data relevant to the 

petition. This notice announces an 

extension of the public comment period 

for submitting comments in response to 

that notice of petition for rulemaking. 

The comment period is hereby extended 

by 30 days to March 1, 2019. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

notice of petition for rulemaking and 

request for comment published on 

November 1, 2018 (83 FR 54883) is 

extended. Written comments and 

information are requested and will be 

accepted on or before March 1, 2019. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

encouraged to submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘Energy Conservation 

Standards for Residential Furnaces and 

Commercial Water Heaters’’ and Docket 

No. EERE–2018–BT–STD–0018, by any 

of the following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: ResFurnaceCommWater

Heater2018STD0018@ee.doe.gov. 

Include Docket No. EERE–2018–BT– 

STD–0018 in the subject line of the 

message. 

3. Postal Mail: Appliance and 

Equipment Standards Program, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, Mailstop EE–5B, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC, 20585–0121. If 

possible, please submit all items on a 

compact disc (‘‘CD’’), in which case it is 

not necessary to include printed copies. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Appliance 

and Equipment Standards Program, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, 950 L’Enfant Plaza 

SW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC, 20024. 

Telephone: (202) 287–1445. If possible, 

please submit all items on a CD, in 

which case it is not necessary to include 

printed copies. 

No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be 

accepted. 

Docket: The docket for this activity, 

which includes Federal Register 

notices, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials, is 

available for review at http://

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed in the http://

www.regulations.gov index. However, 

some documents listed in the index, 

such as those containing information 

that is exempt from public disclosure, 

may not be publicly available. The 

docket web page can be found at https:// 

www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE2018-BT-STD-0018. The docket web 

page contains instructions on how to 

access all documents, including public 

comments, in the docket. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Eric Stas, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of the General Counsel, GC–33, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–5827. Email: 

Eric.Stas@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 1, 2018, the U.S. Department 

of Energy (‘‘DOE’’) published in the 

Federal Register a notice of petition for 

rulemaking and request for comment 

regarding whether DOE should issue an 

interpretive rule stating that DOE’s 

proposed energy conservation standards 

for residential furnaces and commercial 

water heaters would result in the 

unavailability of ‘‘performance 

characteristics’’ within the meaning of 

the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 

of 1975 (EPCA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 

6291 et seq.) and withdraw its proposals 

for amended standards for such 

products/equipment based upon such 

findings (the ‘‘notice of petition’’). 83 FR 

54883. (The notice of petition can be 

found at https://www.regulations.gov/ 

document?D=EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018- 

0002.) The document provided for 

submitting written comments and 

information by January 30, 2019. In the 

intervening period, DOE has received a 

request from the Natural Resources 

Defense Council; Earthjustice; 

Appliance Standards Awareness Project; 

American Council for an EnergyEfficient Economy; Consumer 

Federation of America; Alliance to Save 

Energy; National Consumer Law Center; 

and Northeast Energy Efficiency 

Partnerships (jointly the ‘‘Joint 

Commenters’’) dated January 18, 2019, 

to provide an additional 30 days to 

submit comments pertaining to the 

notice of petition. DOE also received a 

separate request from the Northwest 

Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) 

dated January 18, 2019, which similarly 

requested a 30-day comment period 

extension until March 1, 2019. These 

requests can be found at https://

www.regulations.gov/ 

document?D=EERE-2018-BT-STD-0018- 

0008 and https://www.regulations.gov/ 

document?D=EERE-2018-STD-0018- 

0009, respectively. Both requests stated 

that additional time is needed to 

develop data and information relevant 

to consideration of the petition, and 

NEEA specifically referenced a market 

research study they had commissioned 

which is nearing completion. 

An extension of the comment period 

would allow additional time for the 

Joint Commenters, NEEA, and other 

interested parties to consider the issues 

presented in the notice of petition, 

gather any additional data and 

information, and submit comments to 

DOE. 

In light of the requests from the Joint 

Commenters and NEEA, DOE has 

determined that a 30-day extension of 

450 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 19 / Tuesday, January 29, 2019 / Proposed Rules 

the public comment period is 

appropriate. Accordingly, the comment 

period is extended to March 1, 2019. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on January 23, 

2019. 

Daniel R Simmons, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2019–00257 Filed 1–28–19; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P