36024 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 128 / Thursday, July 3, 1997 / Proposed Rules

orders, the Department recommends

returning these handlers’ pro rata share

of the TCBF to these handlers. The

terms of 7 CFR 1000.4(d)(2) direct the

market administrator or the ‘‘liquidating

agent’’ to distribute outstanding funds

connected with a terminated order to

handlers ‘‘in an equitable manner.’’ The

Department invites interested parties to

comment on this proposal and/or to

suggest any alternative way to dispose

of these funds in an equitable manner.

At least one additional question arises

with the possible termination of the

Tennessee Valley order. The

transportation credit provisions for

Orders 5, 7, 11, and 46 were adopted

simultaneously for these 4 orders.

Because of the overlap in supply areas

for these markets, producers in any of

the marketing areas of the 4 orders are

ineligible for transportation credits

under any of the other 3 orders. With

the possible termination of Order 11, a

question may arise concerning the

interpretation of Section 82(c)(2)(ii) in

the interim amendments or Section

82(c)(2)(iii) in the final decision

amendments as set forth in the Federal

Register of May 20, 1997, at 62 FR

27525. In either case, the language of

those paragraphs in Orders 5, 7, and 46

states that ‘‘the farm on which the milk

was produced is not located within the

specified marketing areas of this order

or the marketing areas of’’ the other 3

orders involved in this proceeding.

Thus, Orders 5, 7, and 46 refer to ‘‘the

Order 11 marketing area.’’

If Order 11 is terminated, the question

that arises is whether a producer located

in the former Tennessee Valley

marketing area is still ineligible for a

transportation credit under Orders 5, 7,

and 46. The Department maintains that

the reference to the Order 11 marketing

area was merely a convenient

geographic reference used in lieu of

repeating a lengthy list of counties and

cities. Accordingly, the language

referring to the marketing area of

Federal Order 11 will continue to be

interpreted as the territory defined in

the Tennessee Valley order.

Interested parties are invited to

submit comments on this proposed

interpretation of the order as well as the

other issues raised in this notice.

Statement of Consideration

The proposed action would terminate

the order regulating the handling of

milk in the Tennessee Valley marketing

area. On May 12, 1997, the Department

issued a partial final decision on

proposed amendments to the Carolina,

Southeast, Tennessee Valley, and

Louisville-Lexington-Evansville milk

orders which was published on May 20,

1997 (62 FR 27525). The final decision

document contained proposed amended

orders for the 4 southeast marketing

areas, including the Tennessee Valley

order, and directed the respective

market administrators of the 4 orders to

ascertain whether producers approved

the issuance of the amended orders. The

final decision concluded that amended

orders were needed to effectuate the

declared policy of the applicable

statutory authority.

Less than two-thirds of the producers

whose milk is pooled in the Tennessee

Valley approved the issuance of the

proposed amended order. In these

circumstances, where it has been

concluded that the order should be

amended to effectuate the declared

policy of the Act, and the Act requires

two-thirds of the producers to vote

affirmatively, it appears that

continuation of the existing Tennessee

Valley order would not be in conformity

with the applicable statutory authority.

Therefore, it is necessary to consider

terminating the present order.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1011

Milk marketing orders.

The authority citation for 7 CFR Part

1011 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

Dated: June 30, 1997.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing

Service.

[FR Doc. 97–17609 Filed 7–2–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EE–RM–94–403]

RIN 1904–AA67

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products: Notice of Public

Workshop on Clothes Washers Energy

Efficiency Standards Rulemaking

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, Department of

Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Public Workshop.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(the Department or DOE) today gives

notice that it will convene a public

workshop to discuss the proposed

analytical framework and tools for

evaluating possible revisions to the

clothes washer energy efficiency

standards.

DATES: The public workshop will be

held on Wednesday, July 23, 1997, from

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held

at the U.S. Department of Energy, Room

1E–245, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20585.

Copies of the transcript of the public

workshop, public comments received,

and this notice may be read at the

Department of Energy, Freedom of

Information Reading Room, U.S. DOE,

Forrestal Building, Room 1E–190, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–6020,

between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00

p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Qonnie Laughlin, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency

and Renewable Energy, Forrestal

Building, Mail Station EE–43, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20585–0121, (202)

586–9632.

Ms. Sandy Beall, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency

and Renewable Energy, U.S.

Department of Energy, Mail Station

EE–43, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20585–0121,

(202) 586–7574.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

continuing the work on possible

revisions to energy efficiency standards

on clothes washers, the Department is

convening a workshop to present and

receive public comments on the

proposed analytical approach for

evaluating the clothes washer standards.

At this workshop the following will be

discussed:

Preliminary Clothes Washers

Rulemaking Schedule.

Review of the Rulemaking

Framework: The Department will seek

comment on the draft analytical

framework for the clothes washers

rulemaking.

Identification of Analytical Methods

and Tools: The Department seeks input

into the selection of engineering and

economic analytical tools to be used

during the rulemaking.

Engineering Analysis/Data Collection: The

Department plans to collect data using the

energy efficiency approach to derive a cost

efficiency curve within a range for the

engineering analysis. The Department will

review the key issues surrounding data

collection and the reporting of manufacturing

costs for incorporation into the engineering

analysis.

Price: The Department will lead a

discussion on possible approaches to

generating retail prices to be used in the

consumer life-cycle-cost analysis.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 128 / Thursday, July 3, 1997 / Proposed Rules 36025

Life-Cycle-Cost: The Department plans to

demonstrate a new life-cycle-cost

spreadsheet model which can account for

variability of key criteria, such as utility rates

and water heater fuel type.

Shipment Forecasts: The Department will

present a base-line shipment forecast for

stakeholder review. This forecast will

incorporate expected improvement in

efficiencies as a result of market forces or

voluntary programs and how the distribution

of efficiency impacts different consumers.

Energy Savings Forecasts: The Department

will present an example of energy savings

forecasting results using a simple spreadsheet

to show how the growth in efficiency can be

accounted for over time.

Identification of Experts and Other

Interested Parties for Peer Review: The

Department wishes to identify a group

of independent experts and other

interested parties who can provide

expert review of the results of the

engineering and economic analyses.

Background on the approach to be

followed in evaluating clothes washer

standards is found in Appendix A of

Subpart C of 10 CFR Part 430, see 61 FR

36973 (July 15, 1996), which outlines

the planning and prioritization process,

data collection and analysis, and

decision making criteria. Information

pertaining to this rulemaking include

the following: An Advance Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking to Amend the

Energy Conservation Standards for

Three Cleaning Products, published on

November 14, 1994 (59 FR 56423), and

comments thereon; Draft Report on the

Preliminary Engineering Analysis for

Clothes Washers; Draft Report on Design

Options for Clothes Washers; and the

transcript from the November 15, 1996,

Workshop and comments relating to the

workshop. Copies of these may be read

at the DOE Freedom of Information

Reading Room.

The Department also welcomes

written comments or recommendations

on the process and the tools to be used

for the clothes washers rulemaking.

Written comments or recommendations

should be submitted to Sandy Beall at

the address listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Please notify Sandy Beall or Qonnie

Laughlin at the address listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section if

you intend to attend the workshop, if

you wish to receive material prepared

for the workshop (including the draft

analytical framework), or if you wish to

be added to the DOE mailing list for

receipt of future notices and information

concerning clothes washers matters

relating to energy efficiency.

Issued in Washington, DC, on June 27,

1997.

Brian T. Castelli,

Chief of Staff, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 97–17483 Filed 7–2–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 451

Renewable Energy Production

Incentives

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, DOE

ACTION: Interpretations and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the

Department of Energy today is

publishing ‘‘Questions and Answers

Regarding Renewable Energy

Production Incentives,’’ to provide

clarification to owners or operators of

renewable energy facilities who would

like to apply for renewable production

incentive payments. The intent of these

Questions and Answers is to assist

applicants and potential applicants in

their understanding of requirements that

must be met to receive incentive

payments under the program and of

program procedures.

DATES: Public comment is invited on a

continuing basis.

ADDRESSES: Questions and comments

may be sent to James Spaeth, U.S.

Department of Energy, Golden Field

Office, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden,

CO 80401.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Spaeth, U.S. Department of

Energy, Golden Field Office, 1617 Cole

Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401, (303)

275–4706.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 1212 of the Energy Policy Act

of 1992, 42 U.S.C. 13317, requires the

Department of Energy (DOE), subject to

the availability of appropriations, to

make incentive payments to the owners

or operators of qualified renewable

energy facilities for the production and

sale of electric energy from certain

renewable energy sources. DOE

promulgated implementing regulations

on July 19, 1995 (60 FR 36959), which

subsequently were codified in 10 CFR

Part 451. Although the renewable

energy production incentive (REPI)

program generally has operated

smoothly, DOE staff is frequently asked

questions by the public about eligibility

for production incentives and

administrative details of the program.

DOE staff has prepared this set of

Questions and Answers to address

topics that are frequently the subject of

questions, and to provide informal

guidance on program administration to

prospective applicants for renewable

energy production incentives. DOE will

revise the Questions and Answers from

time to time if further experience under

the program or public comments show

the need for such revision.

Format of the Questions and Answers

Questions and answers are grouped

by the provision of the REPI regulations

that they explicate and are presented in

the same order as the regulatory

provisions.

The text of the Questions and

Answers follows:

Questions and Answers Regarding

Renewable Energy Production Incentives

Questions About 10 CFR 451.2

Definitions

Q1. Who is the ‘‘DOE Deciding

Official’’ responsible for acting on

applications for REPI payments?

A1. Section 451.2 defines ‘‘Deciding

Official’’ to mean ‘‘the Assistant

Secretary for Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy (or any DOE official

to whom the authority of the Assistant

Secretary may be redelegated by the

Secretary of Energy).’’ On July 26, 1996,

the Secretary of Energy delegated the

authority of the Deciding Official to the

Manager, Golden Field Office, Golden,

Colorado (Delegation Order No. 0204–

159). This delegation places full

responsibility for administering the

REPI Program with the Golden Field

Office. However, this delegation does

not affect the non-delegable

responsibility of the Assistant Secretary

for Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Energy, under Section 451.9(e), to

determine the extent to which

appropriated funds are available for

obligation under this program for each

fiscal year.

Q2. What constitutes a ‘‘renewable

energy facility’’ for purposes of

establishing eligibility for REPI

payments?

A2. Any owner of a qualified

renewable energy facility, or any

operator of such facility with the

owner’s written consent, may apply for

REPI payments for net electric energy

generated for sale from a renewable

energy source. Section 451.2 defines

‘‘renewable energy facility’’ to mean a