Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 227 / Friday, November 26, 2010 / Proposed Rules 72739 

NRR project manager for your specific 

nuclear power plant. 

Contact 

Please direct any questions about this 

matter to Aaron L. Szabo at 301–415– 

1985 or by e-mail at 

aaron.szabo@nrc.gov. 

End of Draft Regulatory Issue Summary 

Documents may be examined, and/or 

copied for a fee, at the NRC’s Public 

Document Room at One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 

Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 

records will be accessible electronically 

from the Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading 

Room on the Internet at the NRC Web 

site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/ 

index.html. If you do not have access to 

ADAMS or if you have problems in 

accessing the documents in ADAMS, 

contact the NRC Public Document Room 

(PDR) reference staff at 1–800–397–4209 

or 301–415–4737 or by e-mail to 

pdr@nrc.gov. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day 

of November 2010. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Theodore R. Quay, 

Deputy Director, Division of Policy and 

Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–29738 Filed 11–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[EERE–2008–BT–TP–0010] 

Compliance Testing Procedures: 

Correction Factor for Room Air 

Conditioners 

AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, 

Department of Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: On November 15, 2010, the 

Department of Energy received a 

petition for rulemaking from the 

Association of Home Appliance 

Manufacturers (AHAM). The petition, 

requests the initiation of a rulemaking 

regarding compliance testing procedures 

for room air conditioners. The petition 

seeks temporary enforcement 

forbearance, or in the alternative, a 

temporary industry-wide waiver or 

guidance, to allow use of a data 

correction factor in compliance testing 

procedures for room air conditioners. 

Public comment is requested on 

whether DOE should grant the petition 

and proceed with a rulemaking 

procedure on this matter. 

DATES: Comments must be postmarked 

no later than December 27, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Any comments submitted 

must reference ‘‘Petition for Rulemaking: 

Correction Factor for Room Air 

Conditioners.’’ Comments may be 

submitted using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: AHAM2-2008-TP0010@ee.doe.gov. Include ‘‘Petition for 

Rulemaking’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Postal Mail: Subid Wagley, 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. Please 

submit one signed original paper copy. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Subid 

Wagley, 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. Please 

submit one signed original paper copy. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Subid Wagley, 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, (202) 287– 

1414, e-mail: subid.wagley@ee.doe.gov. 

Betsy Kohl, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of General Counsel, Mail Stop 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121, (202) 

586–7796, e-mail: 

elizabeth.kohl@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 

U.S.C. 551 et seq., provides among other 

things, that ‘‘[e]ach agency shall give an 

interested person the right to petition 

for the issuance, amendment, or repeal 

of a rule.’’ (5 U.S.C. 553(e)). Pursuant to 

this provision of the APA, AHAM 

petitioned the Department of Energy for 

the issuance of a new rule, as set forth 

below. In publishing this petition for 

public comment, the Department of 

Energy is seeking views on whether it 

should grant the petition and undertake 

a rulemaking to consider the proposal 

contained in the petition. By seeking 

comment on whether to grant this 

petition, the Department of Energy takes 

no position at this time regarding the 

merits of the suggested rulemaking. 

The proposed rulemaking sought by 

AHAM would allow manufacturers of 

room air conditioners to use a correction 

factor that is not currently included in 

the regulations governing DOE’s 

compliance testing procedures. The 

petition seeks temporary enforcement 

forbearance, or a temporary industrywide waiver or guidance, to allow use 

of this methodology. The Department of 

Energy seeks public comment on 

whether DOE should grant the petition 

and proceed with a rulemaking 

procedure on this issue. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 

18, 2010. 

Scott Blake Harris, 

General Counsel. 

Set forth below is the full text of the 

Association of Home Appliance 

Manufacturers’ petition: 

Before the U.S. Department of Energy 

November 15, 2010 

Petition for Rulemaking 

Petition of the Association of the Home 

Appliance Manufacturers for 

Temporary Enforcement Forbearance, a 

Temporary Industry-Wide Waiver Or 

Guidance To Allow Use of DOE— 

Proposed Correction Factor for Room 

Air Conditioner Testing 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(e), the 

Association of Home Appliance 

Manufacturers (AHAM) files this 

petition. 

AHAM represents manufacturers of 

major, portable and floor care home 

appliances, and suppliers to the 

industry. AHAM’s more than 150 

members employ tens of thousands of 

people in the U.S. and produce more 

than 95% of the household appliances 

shipped for sale within the U.S. The 

factory shipment value of these 

products is more than $30 billion 

annually. The home appliance industry, 

through its products and innovation, is 

essential to U.S. consumer lifestyle, 

health, safety and convenience. Through 

its technology, employees and 

productivity, the industry contributes 

significantly to U.S. jobs and economic 

security. Home appliances also are a 

success story in terms of energy 

efficiency and environmental 

protection. New appliances often 

represent the most effective choice a 

consumer can make to reduce home 

energy use and costs. AHAM, relevant 

to this petition, represents the 

manufacturers of the vast majority of 

room air conditioners. 

This petition requests temporary 

enforcement forbearance, or in the 

alternative, a temporary industry-wide 

waiver or guidance, to allow use of a 

data correction factor for room air 

conditioners that DOE currently 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
72740 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 227 / Friday, November 26, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

acknowledges produces more accurate 

results and which has been proposed 

(by DOE) for adoption. This relief would 

be automatically superseded by the 

effective date of the new DOE test 

procedure. 

We do not believe that our request 

requires formal notice and comment but 

we are prepared to supply additional 

information for any public record or 

procedure. Similar to the vocation of the 

microwave oven test procedure, there is 

longstanding, sufficient public record 

evidence justifying this requested 

action. See, 75 FR 42579, 42581 (July 

22, 2010). 

Initially, we note that this issue stems 

from an endemic problem within the 

DOE test procedures which DOE and 

other stakeholders are beginning to 

address: The DOE test procedures are 

outmoded and often rely on older 

versions of industry practices or 

consensus body testing standards which 

have been superseded by standards 

which are more accurate, uniform, 

repeatable and reflective of actual use. 

Indeed, DOE has endorsed and 

proposed using the new ANSI/ASHRAE 

test procedure discussed below. 

In this case, DOE currently is 

applying in its compliance testing 

program an outmoded test methodology, 

which is less accurate and for that 

reason alone may produce test results 

inappropriately indicating that a room 

air conditioner has technically incorrect 

ratings, does not qualify for Energy Star, 

or fails to meet the minimum 

performance standards. As discussed 

below, the issue relates to the current 

DOE recommended test procedure’s 

failure to correct for deviation from 

standard barometric pressure. It is 

unreasonable and unfair to penalize 

companies during this evolving 

transitional period between an archaic 

procedure and a new, modern 

methodology that is more accurate. With 

these facts in mind, DOE compliance 

enforcement forbearance, or an 

industry-wide waiver or guidance, 

allowing the correction factor for room 

air conditioners is entirely warranted. 

The issue relates to 10 CFR Part 430, 

Subpart B, Appendix F, promulgated in 

1977. For purposes of the DOE 

minimum efficiency program, industry 

has since 1983 recognized the benefits 

of adjusting capacity ratings to reflect a 

correction factor in Section 6.1.3 of 

ASHRAE Standard 16–1983 (RA 99). 

Since 1983, AHAM’s room air 

conditioner certification program has 

used this correction factor. The 

correction factor is based on the test 

room condition deviation from the 

standard barometric pressure of 29.92 

inches of mercury. The correction factor 

normalizes test capacity results to 

standard test room conditions and 

thereby produces more accurate and 

comparable test results, as 

acknowledged by DOE. More 

specifically, the use of the correction 

factor when barometric pressure is >1 

in. Hg below standard rating point 

allows capacity performance 

modification. 

We understand that DOE or a test 

laboratory under contract with DOE has 

recently rejected use of the correction 

factor at the present time for purposes 

of certifying compliance to the DOE 

efficiency standard, on the ground that 

the correction factor is not contained in 

the DOE test procedure as it currently is 

written. 

DOE has already acknowledged that 

its current test procedure is inaccurate 

due to lack of the correction factor and 

that the correction factor ought to be 

adopted. It has so indicated in its recent 

Supplemental Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (SNOPR) to amend the test 

procedure. See 75 FR 37594, 37635 

(June 29, 2010). DOE states: 

‘‘Section 6.1.3 of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 

16–1983 (RA 99) also introduces a correction 

factor based on the test room condition’s 

deviation from the standard barometric 

pressure of 29.92 inches (in.) in mercury (Hg) 

(101 kilopascal (kPa)). Section 6.1.3 of ANSI/ 

ASHRAE Standard 16–1983 (RA 99) states 

that the cooling capacity may be increased 

0.8 percent for each in. Hg below 29.92 in. 

Hg (0.24 percent for each kPa below 101 kPa). 

This change would not impact the measured 

efficiency of units tested at standard testing 

conditions. The capacity correction factor 

provides manufacturers with more flexibility 

in the test room conditions while 

normalizing results to standard conditions. 

* * * * * 

In sum, DOE has reviewed the most recent 

revisions of the referenced test standards. 

ANSI/AHAM RAC–1–R2008 and ANSI/ 

ASHRAE Standard 16–1983 (RA 99), and has 

determined that incorporation by reference of 

these versions provide more accurate and 

repeatable measurements of capacity while 

providing greater flexibility to manufacturers 

in selecting equipment and facilities, and 

does not add any significant testing burden. 

Furthermore, these revisions would not 

impact the measurement of EER for this 

equipment. DOE also believes that 

manufacturers may already be using these 

updated standards in their testing. Therefore, 

DOE is proposing in today’s SNOPR to 

amend the DOE test procedure to reference 

the relevant sections of ANSI/AHAM RAC– 

1–R2008 and ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 16– 

1983 (RA 99).’’ 

Under these circumstances, and for 

the interim before final test procedure 

rulemaking, it is unfair and 

unreasonable to penalize firms by 

judging their product against an 

inaccurate methodology rather than 

using the correction factor, which DOE 

correctly asserts is more accurate and 

which DOE endorses and plans to 

adopt. 

Such action by DOE is entirely 

warranted. In the case of microwave 

ovens, DOE unilaterally revoked an 

outmoded test procedure through a 

direct final rule and without prior 

notice. 75 FR 42579 (July 22, 2010) 

Here, test procedure revocation is not, 

requested, practical nor prudent because 

test standards, labels, Energy Star and 

incentive programs are in place. This 

petition does not request that DOE 

circumvent or repeal the test procedure, 

but rather that it immediately act to 

improve testing before administrative 

processes are completed. 

If the current test procedure is applied 

to comparable room air conditioners in 

test rooms under different barometric 

pressures, it will produce materially 

inaccurate capacity results. DOE 

acknowledges the inaccuracy of the 

existing test procedure—by stressing 

that the correction factor in ASHRAE 

16–1983 (RA 99) produces more 

accurate and repeatable test results by 

normalizing results to standard 

conditions. 75 FR at 37635. DOE states 

that Section 6.1.3 of ASHRAE 16–1983 

(RA 99) has ‘‘a correction factor based on 

the test room condition’s deviation from 

the standard barometric pressure of 

29.92 inches (in.) of mercury (Hg) (101 

kilopascal (kPa)) * * * The capacity 

correction factor provides 

manufacturers with more flexibility in 

the test room conditions while 

normalizing results to standard 

conditions.’’ Id. (emphasis added). 

DOE concluded that the correction 

factor ‘‘provide[s] more accurate and 

repeatable measurements of capacity 

while providing greater flexibility to 

manufacturers in selecting equipment 

and facilities, and does not add any 

significant testing burden.’’ Id. 

(emphasis added). DOE goes on to state 

that it ‘‘also believes that manufacturers 

may already be using these updated 

standards in their testing.’’ Id. (emphasis 

added). 

Recognizing the commercial reality 

and the demands of fairness, DOE and 

industry should be working on this 

issue collaboratively. DOE has proposed 

that its test procedure be amended to 

incorporate the correction factor. 

Unfortunately, unless DOE provides 

relief in the interim by procedure 

revision or waiver, industry will suffer 

from a test procedure that DOE 

acknowledges is inaccurate and that is 

harmful with no benefit to the public. 

Accordingly, with this petition, 

AHAM requests temporary enforcement 

forbearance, or in the alternative, a 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 227 / Friday, November 26, 2010 / Proposed Rules 72741 

1 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act, Public Law No. 111–203, 124 Stat. 

1376 (2010). 

2The term ‘‘banking entity’’ is defined in section 

13(h)(1) of the BHC Act, as amended by section 619 

of the Dodd-Frank Act. See 12 U.S.C. 1851(h)(1). 

The term means any insured depository institution 

(other than certain limited purpose trust 

institutions), any company that controls an insured 

depository institution, any company that is treated 

as a bank holding company for purposes of section 

8 of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 

U.S.C. 3106), and any affiliate or subsidiary of any 

of the foregoing. 

3The Volcker Rule defines the terms ‘‘hedge fund’’ 

and ‘‘private equity fund’’ as an issuer that would 

be an investment company, as defined under the 

Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a– 

1 et seq.), but for section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of that 

Act, or any such similar funds as the appropriate 

Federal banking agencies, the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’), and the Commodity 

Futures Trading Commission (‘‘CFTC’’) may, by 

rule, determine should be treated as a hedge fund 

or private equity fund. See 12 U.S.C. 1851(h)(2). 

4See 12 U.S.C. 1851(a)(2) and (f)(4). A ‘‘nonbank 

financial company supervised by the Board’’ is a 

nonbank financial company or other company that 

has been designated by the Financial Stability 

Oversight Council (‘‘FSOC’’) under section 113 of 

the Dodd-Frank Act as requiring supervision and 

regulation by the Board on a consolidated basis 

because of the danger such company may pose to 

the financial stability of the United States. 

5 12 U.S.C. 1851(a)(1)(A) and (B). 

6 Id. at § 1851(d)(1)(A). 

7 Id. at § 1851(d)(1)(B). 

8 Id. at § 1851(d)(1)(C). 

9 Id. at § 1851(d)(1)(D). 

temporary industry-wide waiver or 

guidance, to allow use of the data 

correction factor for room air 

conditioners. This relief would be 

automatically superseded by the 

effective date of the new DOE test 

procedure. 

AHAM looks forward to meeting with 

DOE at the earliest opportunity to 

discuss this important matter. 

[FR Doc. 2010–29773 Filed 11–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

12 CFR Part 225 

[Regulation Y; Docket No. R–1397] 

RIN AD 7100–58 

Conformance Period for Entities 

Engaged in Prohibited Proprietary 

Trading or Private Equity Fund or 

Hedge Fund Activities 

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System (‘‘Board’’). 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

public comment. 

SUMMARY: The Board is requesting 

comment on a proposed rule that would 

implement the conformance period 

during which banking entities and 

nonbank financial companies 

supervised by the Board must bring 

their activities and investments into 

compliance with the prohibitions and 

restrictions on proprietary trading and 

relationships with hedge funds and 

private equity funds imposed by section 

619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

Reform and Consumer Protection Act 

(‘‘Dodd-Frank Act’’). Section 619 is 

commonly referred to as the ‘‘Volcker 

Rule.’’ 

DATES: Comments: Comments should be 

received on or before January 10, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. R–1397 and 

RIN No. AD 7100–58, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Agency Web Site: http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments at 

http://www.federalreserve.gov/ 

generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: 

regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. 

Include Docket Number R–1397 and 

RIN AD 7100–58 in the subject line of 

the message. 

• Fax: (202) 452–3819 or (202) 452– 

3102. 

• Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, 20th Street and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20551. 

All public comments are available 

from the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/ 

foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 

unless modified for technical reasons. 

Accordingly, your comments will not be 

edited to remove any identifying or 

contact information. Public comments 

may also be viewed electronically or in 

paper form in Room MP–500 of the 

Board’s Martin Building (20th and C 

Streets, NW) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

on weekdays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian P. Knestout, Senior Attorney, 

(202) 452–2249, Jeremy R. Newell, 

Senior Attorney, (202) 452–3239, 

Christopher M. Paridon, Senior 

Attorney, (202) 452–3274, or Kieran J. 

Fallon, Associate General Counsel, (202) 

452–5270, Legal Division; David K. 

Lynch, Division of Banking Supervision 

and Regulation, Board of Governors of 

the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street 

and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20551. Users of 

Telecommunication Device for Deaf 

(TDD) only, call (202) 263–4869. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Dodd-Frank Act was enacted on 

July 21, 2010.1 Section 619 of the DoddFrank Act adds a new section 13 to the 

Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 

(‘‘BHC Act’’) (to be codified at 12 U.S.C. 

1851) that generally prohibits banking 

entities 2 from engaging in proprietary 

trading or from investing in, sponsoring, 

or having certain relationships with a 

hedge fund or private equity fund.3 The 

new section 13 of the BHC Act also 

provides for nonbank financial 

companies supervised by the Board that 

engage in such activities or have such 

investments to be subject to additional 

capital requirements, quantitative 

limits, or other restrictions.4 These 

prohibitions and other provisions of 

section 619 are commonly known, and 

referred to herein, as the ‘‘Volcker Rule.’’ 

Specifically, the Volcker Rule 

prohibits banking entities from engaging 

in proprietary trading (as defined by the 

Volcker Rule) or from acquiring or 

retaining any ownership interest in, or 

sponsoring, a hedge fund or private 

equity fund.5 The Volcker Rule, 

however, also expressly provides certain 

exceptions from these prohibitions, 

including, among others, exceptions 

that allow a banking entity, subject to 

certain terms, conditions, and 

restrictions, to: (i) Trade in obligations 

of the United States or any agency 

thereof, obligations issued by the 

Government National Mortgage 

Association, the Federal Home Loan 

Mortgage Corporation, a Federal Home 

Loan Bank, the Federal Agricultural 

Mortgage Corporation, or a Farm Credit 

System institution chartered under and 

subject to the provisions of the Farm 

Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2001 et 

seq.), and obligations of any State or of 

any political subdivision thereof; 6 (ii) 

purchase and sell securities and other 

instruments in connection with 

underwriting or market-making related 

activities, to the extent that any such 

activities are designed not to exceed the 

reasonable near term demands of 

clients, customers, or counterparties; 7

(iii) engage in risk-mitigating hedging 

activities in connection with and related 

to individual or aggregated positions, 

contracts, or other holdings that are 

designed to reduce the specific risks to 

the banking entity in connection with 

and related to such positions, contracts, 

or other holdings; 8 and (iv) purchase, 

sell, acquire, or dispose of securities and 

other instruments on behalf of 

customers.9 Additionally, the Volcker 

Rule permits the appropriate agency or 

agencies, by rule, to grant other 

exceptions from the prohibitions on 

proprietary trading and investing in, or 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS