(6450-01-P] 


DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 


10 CFR Part 430 


[Docket Number: EERE-2011-BT-STD-00471 


RIN 1904-AC56 


Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Direct Heating 

Equipment 

AGENCY: Office ofEnergy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department ofEnergy 

ACTION: Finding ofNo Significant Impact: Energy Conservation Program 

SUMMARY: The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), as amended, requires 

the U.S. Department ofEnergy (DOE) to adopt energy conservation standards for various 

consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including direct 

heating equipment. (42 U.S.C. 6291 ct seq.) Based on an Environmental Assessment 

(EA), which has been placed in the docket for this rulemaking, DOE has determined that 

the adoption of amended energy conservation standards for direct heating equipment, as 

contained in the final rule titled the "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation 

Standards for Direct Heating Equipment," would not be a major Federal action 

significantly atiecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning ofthe 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEP A). Therefore, an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) is not required, and DOE is issuing this Finding ofNo Significant 

Impact (FONSI). 

ADDRESSES: Public Availability: Copies of the Environmental Assessment are 

available from the U.S. Department ofEnergy, Resource Room of the Building 

Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20024, 

(202) 586-2945, between 9:00a.m. and 4:00p.m., Monday through Friday, except 


Federal holidays. You may also obtain copies ofthe Environmental Assessment from the 


Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's website at: 


www.eere.cncnrv.gov/buildings/appliance standards/ 


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mohammed Khan, U.S. 

Department ofEnergy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, EE- 2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 

20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586- 7892. E-mail: Mohammed.Khrul(({),ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Eric Stas, U.S. Department of Energy, Ot1ice of the General Counsel, GC- 71, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586­

9507. Email: Eric.Stas({ilhq.doe.gov. 

For further information regarding the DOE NEPA process, contact: Ms. Carol M. 

Borgstrom, Director, Office ofNEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-20), U.S. Department 

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ofEnergy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 

586-4600, or leave a message at (800) 472-2756. Additional information regarding DOE 

NEPA activities and access to many DOE NEPA documents are available on the Internet 

through the DOE NEPA website at: http: //www.Qc.cncrgy_,.gs!Y.!D.~PJ . 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Description of the Regulatory Action: The regulatory action is the establishment 

of amended energy conservation standards for direct heating equipment. DOE is 

amending its definition of "vented hearth heater" to modify the exclusion criteria for 

products that are primarily decorative in nature to be exempt from the standards for gas 

hearth direct heating equipment. Ofparticular relevance, DOE is adopting as one of the 

criteria for exclusion that the product must not be equipped with a continuously-burning 

ignition source, effectively eliminating the use of standing pilot lights in decorative 

hearth products. 

Environmental Impacts: The EA evaluates the environmental impacts of 

amending energy conservation standards for direct heating equipment. This assessment, 

which has been placed in the docket for this rulemaking, includes an examination of the 

potential effects ofemission reductions likely to result from the rule in the context of 

global climate change, as well as other types of environmental impacts. The 

environmental impact results are compared to what would be expected to happen if no 

new or amended standard were adopted (i.e., the "no action" alternative). 

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The primary environmental impact is decreased emissions from fossil fuel use. The 

energy conservation standards adopted in the final rule would generally decrease air 

pollution by decreasing future energy demand. The environmental impact analysis 

considers emissions ofcarbon dioxide (C02) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The estimated 

additional cumulative C02 and NOx emissions reductions for these amendments to the 

energy conservation standards are 0.79 million metric tons (Mt) tor C02 and 0.63 

thousand metric tons (kt) for NOx. DOE found that the environmental effects associated 

with the amended standards for direct heating equipment are not significant. 

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Determination 

Based upon the EA, DOE has determined that the adoption ofthe amended energy 

conservation standards for direct heating equipment would not constitute a major Federal 

action significantly affecting the quality ofthe human environment, within the meaning 

ofNEPA. Therefore, an EIS is not required, and DOE is issuing this FONSI. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on N b 8 2011 ovem cr , . 

Deputy Assistant Secretary tor Energy Efficiency 

Office ofTechnology Development 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

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