Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 75517

Chinese origin textile and apparel 

products are, due to market disruption, 

threatening to impede the orderly 

development of trade in these products 

to request consultations with China 

with a view to easing or avoiding the 

disruption. Pursuant to this provision, if 

the United States requests consultations 

with China, it must, at the time of the 

request, provide China with a detailed 

factual statement showing ‘‘(1) the 

existence or threat of market disruption; 

and (2) the role of products of Chinese 

origin in that disruption.’’ Beginning on 

the date that it receives such a request, 

China must restrict its shipments to the 

United States to a level no greater than 

7.5 percent (6 percent for wool product 

categories) above the amount entered 

during the first 12 months of the most 

recent 14 months preceding the request. 

If exports from China exceed that 

amount, the United States may enforce 

the restriction. 

The Committee has published 

procedures (the Procedures) it follows 

in considering requests for Accession 

Agreement textile and apparel safeguard 

actions (68 FR 27787, May 21, 2003; 68 

FR 49440, August 18, 2003), including 

the information that must be included 

in such requests in order for the 

Committee to consider them. 

On November 19, 2004, the 

Requestors asked the Committee to 

reapply an Accession Agreement textile 

and apparel safeguard action on imports 

from China of knit fabric (Category 222) 

on the grounds that an anticipated 

increase in imports of knit fabric after 

December 23, 2004, threatens to disrupt 

the U.S. market for knit fabric. The 

request is available at http://

otexa.ita.doc.gov/Safeguard_intro.htm.

In light of the considerations set forth in 

the Procedures, the Committee has 

determined that the Requestors have 

provided the information necessary for 

the Committee to consider the request. 

The Committee is soliciting public 

comments on the request, in particular 

with regard to whether there is a threat 

of disruption to the U.S. market for knit 

fabric and, if so, the role of Chineseorigin knit fabric in that disruption. To 

this end, the Committee seeks relevant 

information addressing factors such as 

the following, which may be relevant in 

the particular circumstances of this 

case, involving a product under a quota 

that will expire on December 23, 2004: 

(1) Whether imports of knit fabric from 

China are entering, or are expected to 

enter, the United States at prices that are 

substantially below prices of the like or 

directly competitive U.S. product, and 

whether those imports are likely to have 

a significant depressing or suppressing 

effect on domestic prices of the like or 

directly competitive U.S. product or are 

likely to increase demand for further 

imports from China; (2) whether exports 

of Chinese-origin knit fabric to the 

United States are likely to increase 

substantially and imminently (due to 

existing unused production capacity, to 

capacity that can easily be shifted from 

the production of other products to the 

production of knit fabric, or to an 

imminent and substantial increase in 

production capacity or investment in 

production capacity), taking into 

account the availability of other markets 

to absorb any additional exports; (3) 

whether Chinese-origin knit fabrics that 

are presently sold in the Chinese market 

or in third-country markets will be 

diverted to the U.S. market in the 

imminent future (for example, due to 

more favorable pricing in the U.S. 

market or to existing or imminent 

import restraints into third country 

markets); (4) the level and the extent of 

any recent change in inventories of knit 

fabric in China or in U.S. bonded 

warehouses; (5) whether conditions of 

the domestic industry of the like or 

directly competitive product 

demonstrate that market disruption is 

likely (as may be evident from any 

anticipated factory closures or decline 

in investment in the production of knit 

fabric, and whether actual or anticipated 

imports of Chinese-origin knit fabric are 

likely to affect the development and 

production efforts of the U.S. knit fabric 

industry; and (6) whether U.S. 

managers, retailers, purchasers, 

importers, or other market participants 

have recognized Chinese producers of 

knit fabric as potential suppliers (for 

example, through pre-qualification 

procedures or framework agreements). 

Comments may be submitted by any 

interested person. Comments must be 

received no later than January 18, 2005. 

Interested persons are invited to submit 

ten copies of such comments to the 

Chairman, Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements, 

Room 3001A, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th and Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230. 

The Committee will protect any 

business confidential information that is 

marked business confidential from 

disclosure to the full extent permitted 

by law. To the extent that business 

confidential information is provided, 

two copies of a non-confidential version 

must also be provided in which 

business confidential information is 

summarized or, if necessary, deleted. 

Comments received, with the exception 

of information marked ‘‘business 

confidential’’, will be available for 

inspection between Monday-Friday, 

8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the Trade 

Reference and Assistance Center Help 

Desk, Suite 800M, USA Trade 

Information Center, Ronald Reagan 

Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC, (202) 482–3433. 

The Committee will make a 

determination within 60 calendar days 

of the close of the comment period as 

to whether the United States will 

request consultations with China. If the 

Committee is unable to make a 

determination within 60 calendar days, 

it will cause to be published a notice in 

the Federal Register, including the date 

by which it will make a determination. 

If the Committee makes a negative 

determination, it will cause this 

determination and the reasons therefore 

to be published in the Federal Register. 

If the Committee makes an affirmative 

determination that imports of Chineseorigin knit fabric threaten to disrupt the 

U.S. market, the United States will 

request consultations with China with a 

view to easing or avoiding the 

disruption.

James C. Leonard, III, 

Chairman, Committee for the Implementation 

of Textile Agreements.

[FR Doc. E4–3712 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary 

Modification to Announcement of 

Intent To Initiate the Process To 

Remove Aeronautical Information 

From Public Sale and Distribution

AGENCY: National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA), Department 

of Defense.

ACTION: Notice modification.

SUMMARY: After initial feedback from the 

public on NGA’s notice in Federal 

Register Volume 69, Number 222, pages 

67546–67547, NGA has determined that 

a period of public comment will benefit 

the final decision on this policy issue. 

Therefore, NGA is inviting public 

comment on the proposed action to 

withdraw aeronautical data and 

products from public distribution. The 

period of comment will be open from 

the date of this Register until 30 June 

2005. NGA will consider all comments 

when making the final decision to go 

forward with this proposed action, in 

part, in whole, or not at all.

DATES: Period of Public Comment: 

December 17, 2004 to 30 June 2005. 

Proposed Implementation Date of final 

Decision: 1 October 2005.

75518 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 

ADDRESSES: To make sure your 

comments and related material are 

entered only once in the docket please 

submit them by only one of the 

following means: 

(1) By e-mail to aero.ocr@nga.mil; or 

(2) By mail to: National GeospatialIntelligence Agency, Mail Stop D–111, 

Attn: Public Release of Aeronautical 

Products, 4600 Sangamore Road, 

Bethesda, MD 20816–5003.

Dated: December 13, 2004. 

Jeannette Owings-Ballard, 

OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, 

Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 04–27645 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Decision and 

Order Denying the American Water 

Heater Company Petition for Waiver of 

the DOE Test Procedure for Measuring 

the Energy Consumption of Water 

Heaters (Case No. WH–010)

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy.

ACTION: Decision and Order; Denial of 

Petition for Waiver. 

SUMMARY: Today’s notice denies the 

American Water Heater Company’s 

(American) Petition for Waiver from the 

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the 

Department) Uniform Test Method for 

Measuring the Energy Consumption of 

Water Heaters. American claims the 

DOE test method does not allow for an 

accurate representation of the true 

energy consumption of its residential 

water heaters fitted with an automatic, 

adaptive, control, a microprocessorbased control system. The Department 

does not believe the current test 

procedure misrepresents the true energy 

consumption of the American water 

heater equipped with an automatic, 

adaptive, electronic control.

ADDRESSES: To read background 

documents or comments received, go to 

the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal 

Building, Room 1J–018 (Resource Room 

of the Building Technologies Program), 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC, (202) 586–9127, 

between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Please call Ms. Brenda Edwards-Jones at 

the above telephone number for 

additional information regarding 

visiting the Resource Room. Please note: 

The Department’s Freedom of 

Information Reading Room (formerly 

Room 1E–190 at the Forrestal Building) 

is no longer housing rulemaking 

materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mohammed Khan, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Building Technologies Program, 

Mail Stop EE–2J, Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121, (202) 586–

7892; e-mail: 

Mohammed.Khan@ee.doe.gov; or 

Francine Pinto, Esq., U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of General Counsel, Mail 

Stop GC–72, Forrestal Building, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0103, (202) 586–

9507; e-mail: 

Francine.Pinto@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with 10 CFR part 430.27(l), 

notice is hereby given of the issuance of 

the Decision and Order as set out below. 

In the Decision and Order, American is 

denied a Waiver from the Department’s 

Uniform Test Method for Measuring the 

Energy Consumption of Water Heaters 

for its water heaters that have automatic, 

adaptive, electronic controls.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

14, 2004. 

David K. Garman, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy.

Decision and Order 

In the matter of: American Water 

Heater Company (American). (Case No. 

WH–010) 

Background 

Title III of the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act (EPCA) sets forth a 

variety of provisions concerning energy 

efficiency. Part B of Title III (42 U.S.C. 

6291–6309) provides for the ‘‘Energy 

Conservation Program for Consumer 

Products other than Automobiles’’

which requires, among other things, that 

DOE prescribe standardized test 

procedures to measure the energy 

consumption of certain consumer 

products, including water heaters. The 

relevant DOE test procedure for 

purposes of today’s decision and order 

is ‘‘Uniform Test Method for Measuring 

the Energy Consumption of Water 

Heaters’’ (current test procedure). The 

current test procedure is set forth in 10 

CFR part 430, subpart B, Appendix E. It 

prescribes a method for characterizing 

the energy requirements of all types of 

water heaters and yields model-specific 

energy efficiency information that can 

aid consumers in their purchasing 

decisions.

The Department’s regulations contain 

provisions allowing a person to seek a 

waiver from the test procedure 

requirements for covered consumer 

products and electric motors. These 

provisions are set forth in 10 CFR 

430.27 and 10 CFR 431.29. The waiver 

provisions allow the Assistant Secretary 

for Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy (Assistant Secretary) to waive 

temporarily the test procedure for a 

particular basic model when a petitioner 

shows that the basic model contains one 

or more design characteristics that 

prevent testing according to the 

prescribed test procedures, or when the 

prescribed test procedures may evaluate 

the basic model in a manner so 

unrepresentative of its true energy 

consumption as to provide materially 

inaccurate comparative data. (10 CFR 

430.27(l)) Waivers generally remain in 

effect until final test procedure 

amendments become effective, thereby 

resolving the problem that is the subject 

of the waiver. 

On January 24, 2002, the Department 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register, 67 FR 3449, (hereafter referred 

to as the January 2002 notice) regarding 

a Petition for Waiver and Application 

for Interim Waiver received on April 26, 

2001, from American. In its Petition for 

Waiver, American sought modifications 

to the DOE test procedure to 

accommodate its electric water heaters 

which are fitted with an automatic, 

adaptive, electronic control device said 

to automatically raise or lower the 

thermostat set point based on patterns of 

use. American has developed the 

automatic, adaptive, electronic control 

in an effort to reduce standby energy 

losses. American stated that by lowering 

the temperature of the water within the 

water heater tank, standby losses can be 

reduced. American requested four 

modifications to the current test 

procedure: 

(1) The inclusion of a qualification 

test on the automatic, adaptive, 

electronic control to ensure that it 

automatically changes the set point; 

(2) Change the specified nominal 

average tank temperature to the lowest 

stable temperature achieved by the 

automatic, adaptive, electronic control 

from the existing constant set point of 

135° F; 

(3) Change the volume of water of 

each draw to provide an equal amount 

of thermal energy as would be provided 

in each draw of the current procedure; 

and 

(4) Change the equations to compute 

the energy factor by replacing the 135°

F nominal temperature with Tsu, the 

maximum average tank temperature