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

12144 

Vol. 75, No. 49 

Monday, March 15, 2010 

1This part was originally titled Part B. It was 

redesignated Part A in the United States Code for 

editorial reasons. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EE–2009–BT–STD–0022] 

RIN 1904–AC06 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Energy 

Conservation Standards for 

Residential Furnaces 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

availability of a rulemaking analysis 

plan. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) will hold a public meeting 

to discuss and receive comments on the 

product classes that DOE plans to 

analyze for purposes of amending 

energy conservation standards for 

certain residential furnaces, and the 

analytical approach, models, and tools 

that DOE is using to evaluate amended 

standards for these products. DOE also 

encourages written comments on these 

subjects. A detailed discussion of these 

topics can be found in the rulemaking 

analysis plan (RAP) for residential 

furnaces, which is available at: http:// 

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/ 

furnaces_boilers.html. 

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting 

on Wednesday, March 31, 2010, from 9 

a.m. to 5 p.m. in Washington, DC. Any 

person requesting to speak at the public 

meeting should submit such a request, 

along with an electronic copy of the 

statement to be given at the public 

meeting, before 4 p.m., Wednesday, 

March 24, 2010. Written comments are 

welcome, especially following the 

public meeting and should be submitted 

by April 14, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 8E–089, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. Please 

note that foreign nationals visiting DOE 

Headquarters are subject to advance 

security screening procedures. If a 

foreign national wishes to participate in 

the meeting, please inform DOE of this 

fact as soon as possible by contacting 

Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 

so that the necessary procedures can be 

completed. Interested persons may 

submit comments, identified by the 

notice title, the NOPM for Energy 

Conservation Standards for Residential 

Furnaces, and provide the docket 

number EE–2009–BT–STD–0022 and/or 

regulatory identifier number (RIN) 

1904–AC06. Comments may be 

submitted using any of the following 

methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. E-mail: Res-Furnaces-2009-STD0022@ee.doe.gov. Include docket 

number EE–2009–BT–STD–0022 and/or 

RIN, 1904–AC06 in the subject line of 

the message. 

3. Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

NOPM for Energy Conservation 

Standards for Residential Furnaces, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC, 20585–0121. Please 

submit one signed paper original. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Suite 600, 

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: 

(202) 586–2945. Please submit one 

signed paper original. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, visit the U.S. 

Department of Energy, Resource Room 

of the Building Technologies Program, 

950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Suite 600, 

Washington, DC, (202) 586–2945, 

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

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Please call Ms. Brenda Edwards at the 

above telephone number for additional 

information regarding visiting the 

Resource Room. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Mohammed Khan, 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. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7892. E-mail: 

Mohammed.Khan@ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Eric Stas, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC, 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–5827. E-mail: 

Eric.Stas@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Statutory Authority 

1. General 

Title III of the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act (EPCA) sets forth a 

variety of provisions designed to 

improve energy efficiency. Part A 1 of 

Title III (42 U.S.C. 6291–6309) 

establishes the Energy Conservation 

Program for Consumer Products Other 

Than Automobiles. The program covers 

consumer products and certain 

commercial equipment (referred to 

hereafter as ‘‘covered products’’), 

including the residential furnaces that 

are subject to this rulemaking. (42 

U.S.C. 6292(a)(5)) EPCA prescribed the 

initial energy conservation standards for 

residential furnaces. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(f)(1)–(2)) The statute further 

provides DOE with the authority to 

conduct rulemakings to determine 

whether to amend these standards. (42 

U.S.C. 6295(f)(4)). 

EPCA provides criteria for prescribing 

new or amended standards for covered 

products. Any new or amended 

standard for a covered product must be 

designed to achieve the maximum 

improvement in energy efficiency that is 

technologically feasible and 

economically justified. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(o)(2)(A)) Furthermore, EPCA 

precludes DOE from adopting any 

standard that would not result in 

significant conservation of energy. (42 

U.S.C. 6295(o)(3)(B)) EPCA also 

provides that, in deciding whether a 

standard is economically justified, DOE 

must determine whether the benefits of 

the standard exceed its burdens. (42 

U.S.C. 6295(o)(2)(B)(i)) DOE must do so 

after receiving comments on the 

proposed standard and by considering, 

to the greatest extent practicable, the 

following seven factors: 


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1. The economic impact of the standard on 

manufacturers and consumers of the 

products subject to the standard; 

2. The savings in operating costs 

throughout the estimated average life of the 

covered products in the type (or class) 

compared to any increase in the price, initial 

charges, or maintenance expenses for the 

covered products that are likely to result 

from the imposition of the standard; 

3. The total projected amount of energy (or, 

as applicable, water) savings likely to result 

directly from the imposition of the standard; 

4. Any lessening of the utility or the 

performance of the covered products likely to 

result from the imposition of the standard; 

5. The impact of any lessening of 

competition, as determined in writing by the 

Attorney General, that is likely to result from 

the imposition of the standard; 

6. The need for national energy and water 

conservation; and 

7. Other factors the Secretary considers 

relevant. 

(42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(2)(B)(i)(I)–(VII)) 

Prior to proposing a standard, DOE 

typically seeks public input on the 

analytical framework, models, and tools 

that will be used to evaluate standards. 

DOE is publishing this notice of public 

meeting (NOPM) to announce the 

availability of the rulemaking analysis 

plan (RAP), which details the plans for 

the rulemaking approach, key data 

sources DOE plans to use in its analyses, 

and a list of key issues DOE would like 

comment upon. In addition, DOE is 

announcing a public meeting to solicit 

feedback from interested parties on the 

RAP, models, and data sources. 

2. Regional Standards 

a. General 

Section 306(a) of the Energy 

Independence and Security Act of 2007 

(EISA 2007; Pub. L. 110–140) amended 

EPCA to allow DOE to consider the 

establishment of separate regional 

standards for furnaces. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(o)(6)(A)) Specifically, EPCA allows 

for the establishment of a single morerestrictive regional standard in addition 

to the base national standard. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(o)(6)(B)) EPCA stipulates that the 

regions must include only contiguous 

states (with the exception of Alaska and 

Hawaii, which can be included in 

regions that they are not contiguous 

with), and that each state may be placed 

in only one region (i.e., a state cannot 

be divided among two regions). (42 

U.S.C. 6295(o)(6)(C)) 

EPCA mandates that a regional 

standard must produce significant 

energy savings in comparison to a single 

national standard. Further, EPCA 

provides that DOE must determine that 

the additional standards are 

economically justified and consider the 

impact of the additional regional 

standards on consumers, manufacturers, 

and other market participants, including 

product distributors, dealers, 

contractors, and installers. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(o)(6)(C)–(D)) For this rulemaking, 

DOE will consider the impacts of 

regional standards in addition to 

national standards. The RAP gives an 

overview of DOE’s proposed 

methodology for analyzing impacts of a 

regional standard for furnaces, and 

additional detail about DOE’s proposed 

approach is provided throughout the 

RAP in the applicable sections and 

subsections. 

B. History of the Standards Rulemaking 

for Residential Furnaces 

1. Background 

Energy conservation standards for 

residential furnaces were initially 

specified by EPCA in terms of annual 

fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). EPCA 

set minimum standards for all furnaces 

except for mobile home furnaces and 

‘‘small’’ furnaces (i.e., those units with 

an input capacity less than 45,000 

British thermal units per hour (Btu/h)) 

at 78-percent AFUE, with a compliance 

date of January 1, 1992. EPCA specified 

a separate 75-percent AFUE standard for 

mobile home furnaces with a 

compliance date of September 1, 1990. 

(42 U.S.C. 6295(f)(1)–(2)) For furnaces 

with an input capacity less than 45,000 

Btu/h, DOE published a final rule on 

November 17, 1989 that set the 

minimum standard for those products at 

78-percent AFUE, with a compliance 

date of January 1, 1992. 54 FR 47916. 

On November 19, 2007, DOE 

published a final rule (hereafter referred 

to as the ‘‘November 2007 final rule’’) 

amending the minimum energy 

conservation standards for four product 

classes of residential furnaces (i.e., nonweatherized gas, weatherized gas, 

mobile home gas, and non-weatherized 

oil). 72 FR 65136. This rulemaking set 

standards that would apply to any 

covered products manufactured for sale 

in the United States, or imported into 

the United States, on or after November 

19, 2015. 

In response to the November 2007 

final rule, the state of New York, city of 

New York, state of Connecticut, 

commonwealth of Massachusetts, and 

Natural Resources Defense Council filed 

a joint lawsuit against DOE in the 

United States Court of Appeals for the 

Second Circuit. The petitioners asserted 

that the standards for residential 

furnaces promulgated by the November 

2007 final rule did not reflect the 

‘‘maximum improvement in energy 

efficiency’’ that ‘‘is technologically 

feasible and economically justified,’’ as 

required by section 325(o)(2)(A) of 

EPCA. On April 16, 2009, DOE and the 

petitioners agreed to a voluntary remand 

that would require DOE to revisit its 

initial conclusions outlined in the 

November 2007 final rule. As part of the 

remand agreement, DOE has until May 

1, 2011 to issue a final rule amending 

the energy conservation standards for 

residential furnaces. 

In addition, section 310(3) of the 

Energy Independence and Security Act 

of 2007 (EISA 2007) amended EPCA to 

require that energy conservation 

standards address standby mode and off 

mode energy use for a certain subset of 

products. (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)) 

Specifically, when DOE adopts new or 

amended standards for certain covered 

products after July 1, 2010, the final rule 

must, if justified by the criteria for 

adoption of standards in section 325(o) 

of EPCA, incorporate standby mode and 

off mode energy use into a single 

standard if feasible, or otherwise adopt 

a separate standard for such energy use 

for that product. (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(3)) 

Because this rulemaking is scheduled 

for issuance after July 1, 2010, DOE 

plans to address the standby mode and 

off mode energy use in this rulemaking. 

Additional discussions of the standby 

mode and off mode energy use for 

residential furnaces can be found in the 

RAP. 

2. Current Rulemaking for Energy 

Conservation Standards for Residential 

Furnaces 

Section 307 of EISA 2007 amended 

EPCA by removing the requirement for 

DOE to publish an advanced notice of 

proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) when 

amending standards for consumer 

products. DOE believes, however, that 

early opportunities for DOE to vet its 

assumptions and analyses and for 

interested parties to provide comments 

and data can be valuable in developing 

energy conservation standards. For this 

rulemaking, DOE developed an 

alternative rulemaking pathway, 

consisting of a NOPM and RAP. These 

documents represent the first step in the 

process of revising the energy 

conservation standards set forth in the 

November 2007 final rule for residential 

furnaces. DOE is issuing this NOPM to 

receive feedback on the methodologies, 

data, and key assumptions that will be 

used for the analyses before performing 

the notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NOPR) analyses. The analyses and 

proposed methodologies that will be 

used for the NOPR phase of this 

rulemaking are described in detail in the 

RAP, available at the Web link provided 

in the SUMMARY section of this notice. 


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Subsequently, DOE intends to issue the 

NOPR for public comment. 

C. Specific Issues for Which DOE Is 

Seeking Comment 

DOE is specifically presenting two 

issues regarding the energy conservation 

standards rulemaking for residential 

furnaces in today’s notice. DOE presents 

additional issues throughout the RAP 

for which DOE also seeks comment. The 

issues for which DOE seeks comment 

are presented throughout the RAP and 

summarized at the end. 

1. Consensus Agreement 

On January 26, 2010, the AirConditioning, Heating and Refrigeration 

Institute (AHRI), American Council for 

an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), 

Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), 

Appliance Standards Awareness Project 

(ASAP), Natural Resources Defense 

Council (NRDC), and Northeast Energy 

Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) 

submitted a joint comment (hereafter 

referred to as the Join Comment) to DOE 

recommending minimum energy 

conservation standards for residential 

central air conditioners, heat pumps, 

and furnaces. (AHRI, ACEEE, ASE, 

ASAP, NRDC, and NEEP, the Joint 

Comment, No. 1 at pp. 1–33) The Joint 

Comment stated the original consensus 

agreement was completed on October 

13, 2009 and had 15 signatories, 

including AHRI, ACEEE, ASE, NRDC, 

ASAP, NEEP, Northwest Power and 

Conservation Council (NPCC), 

California Energy Commission (CEC), 

Bard Manufacturing Company Inc., 

Carrier Residential and Light 

Commercial Systems, Goodman Global 

Inc., Lennox Residential, Mitsubishi 

Electric & Electronics USA, National 

Comfort Products, and Trane 

Residential. 

The Joint Comment recommends 

standards that divide the nation into 

three regions for residential central air 

conditioners and two regions for 

residential furnaces based on the 

population-weighted number of heating 

degree days (HDD) of each state. States 

with 5000 HDD or more are considered 

as part of the northern region, while 

states with less than 5000 HDD are 

considered part of the southern region. 

For residential central air conditioners, 

the Joint Comment establishes a third 

region—the ‘‘southwest’’ region—which 

is comprised of California, Arizona, 

New Mexico, and Nevada. For furnaces, 

the southwest region states are included 

in the southern region. The compliance 

date specified in the agreement is May 

1, 2013 for non-weatherized furnaces 

and January 1, 2015 for weatherized 

furnaces. 

In addition to the RAP, DOE is 

making available on its Web site the 

Joint comment, which can be found: 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/ 

furnaces_boilers.html. DOE specifically 

invites comment from interested parties 

on the Joint Comment. In particular, 

DOE is interested in comments relating 

to the proposed AFUE requirements, the 

proposed regional divisions, and the 

proposed compliance dates for 

residential furnace standards. 

2. Combined Rulemaking Approach 

DOE is currently conducting or 

planning separate standards 

rulemakings for three interrelated 

products: (1) Central air conditioners 

and heat pumps; (2) gas furnaces; and 

(3) furnace fans. DOE is required by a 

Court-ordered consent decree to publish 

a final rule addressing the energy 

conservation standards for residential 

central air conditioners and heat pumps 

by June 30, 2011. A final rule published 

by DOE in November 2007 amending 

the minimum energy conservation 

standards for gas furnaces was 

remanded by the Courts to DOE under 

the mandate that DOE publish a new 

final rule by May 1, 2011. EISA 2007 

amended EPCA to require that DOE 

publish a final rule establishing energy 

conservation standards for ‘‘the 

electricity used for purposes of 

circulating air through duct work’’ (i.e., 

the electrical energy consumed by 

furnace fans) by January 1, 2013. (42 

U.S.C. 6295(f)(4)(D)) 

Rather than analyze each set of 

products separately, DOE is considering 

combining the analyses to examine how 

the interaction between the three 

products impacts the cost to consumers 

and the energy savings resulting from 

potential amended standards. If DOE 

conducts such an analysis and the 

results indicate that a combined 

approach yields additional savings 

beyond what can be achieved by 

considering each product separately, 

DOE may decide to pursue a combined 

standards rulemaking that addresses all 

three products, or two of the three 

products (i.e., central air conditioners 

and heat pumps and residential 

furnaces), simultaneously. If such a 

combined rulemaking is pursued, DOE 

would be required to publish the 

combined final rule by May 1, 2011 in 

order to comply with the conditions of 

the remand agreement for residential 

furnaces. DOE is seeking comment from 

interested parties relating to a combined 

rulemaking regarding energy 

conservation standards for residential 

central air conditioners and heat pumps, 

residential furnaces, and furnace fans. 

D. Summary of the Analyses To Be 

Performed by DOE 

For residential furnaces, DOE is 

planning to conduct in-depth technical 

analyses for the NOPR in the following 

areas: (1) Engineering, (2) markups to 

determine product price, (3) energy-use 

characterization, (4) life-cycle cost (LCC) 

and payback period (PBP), (5) national 

impacts, (6) manufacturer impacts, (7) 

utility impacts, (8) environmental 

impacts, (9) employment impacts, and 

(10) regulatory impacts. 

1. Engineering Analysis 

The engineering analysis establishes 

the relationship between the cost and 

efficiency of a product DOE is 

evaluating for amended energy 

conservation standards. This 

relationship serves as the basis for costbenefit calculations for individual 

consumers, manufacturers, and the 

nation. The engineering analysis will 

identify representative baseline 

products, which is the starting point for 

analyzing technologies that provide 

energy efficiency improvements. 

Baseline product refers to a model or 

models having features and technologies 

typically found in products currently 

offered for sale. The baseline model in 

each product class represents the 

characteristics of products in that class 

and, for products already subject to 

energy conservation standards, usually 

is a model that just meets the current 

standard. 

2. Markups To Determine Product Price 

DOE uses markups to convert the 

manufacturer costs estimated in the 

engineering analysis to consumer prices, 

which then are used in the life-cycle 

cost (LCC) and payback period (PBP) 

and manufacturer impact analyses. DOE 

calculates markups for baseline 

products (baseline markups) and for 

more efficient products (incremental 

markups). The incremental markup 

relates the change in the manufacturer 

sales price of higher-efficiency models 

(the incremental cost increase) to the 

change in the retailer or distributor sales 

price. To develop markups, DOE 

identifies how the products are 

distributed from the manufacturer to the 

customer. After establishing appropriate 

distribution channels, DOE relies on 

economic data from the U.S. Census 

Bureau and other sources to define how 

prices are marked up as the products 

pass from the manufacturer to the 

customer. 

3. Energy Use Characterization 

The purpose of the energy use 

analysis is to determine the annual 

energy consumption of residential 


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furnaces in representative U.S. homes 

and to assess the energy-savings 

potential of increased product 

efficiencies. DOE will estimate the 

annual energy consumption of 

residential furnaces at specified energy 

efficiency levels across a range of 

climate zones. The annual energy 

consumption includes use of natural gas 

or oil for heat production as well as use 

of electricity for the blower and 

auxiliary components. The annual 

energy consumption of residential 

furnaces will be used in subsequent 

analyses, including the LCC, PBP, and 

National Impact Analyses. 

4. Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Period 

Analyses 

The LCC and PBP analyses evaluate 

the economic impact of potential 

standards on individual consumers. The 

LCC is the total consumer expense for 

a product over the life of the product. 

The LCC analysis will compare the LCC 

of products designed to meet possible 

energy conservation standards with the 

LCC of products likely to be installed in 

the absence of standards. DOE will 

determine LCCs by considering (1) Total 

installed cost to the purchaser (which 

consists of manufacturer selling price, 

sales taxes, distribution chain markups, 

and installation cost); (2) the operating 

expenses of the products (energy use 

and repair and maintenance); (3) 

product lifetime; and (4) a discount rate 

that puts the LCC in present-value 

terms. The PBP represents the number 

of years needed to recover the increase 

in purchase price (including installation 

cost) of more efficient products through 

savings in the operating cost of the 

product. It is the change in total 

installed cost due to increased 

efficiency divided by the change in 

annual operating cost from increased 

efficiency. 

5. National Impacts Analysis 

The NIA estimates the national energy 

savings (NES) and the net present value 

(NPV) of total consumer costs and 

savings expected to result from new 

standards at specific efficiency levels. 

DOE calculates NES and NPV for each 

efficiency level as the difference 

between a base-case forecast (without 

new standards) and the standards case 

forecast (with standards). DOE 

determines national annual energy 

consumption by multiplying the 

number of units in use (by vintage) by 

the average unit energy consumption 

(also by vintage). Cumulative energy 

savings are the sum of the annual NES 

determined over a specified time period. 

The national NPV is the sum over time 

of the discounted net savings each year, 

which consists of the difference 

between total operating cost savings and 

increases in total installed costs. Critical 

inputs to this analysis include 

shipments projections, retirement rates 

(based on estimated product lifetimes), 

and estimates of changes in shipments 

in response to changes in product costs 

due to standards. 

6. Manufacturer Impact Analysis 

The purpose of the manufacturer 

impact analysis (MIA) is to identify and 

quantify the likely impacts of amended 

energy conservation standards on 

manufacturers of residential furnaces. 

Using industry research, public 

comments, and interviews with 

manufacturers and other interested 

parties, DOE will analyze and consider 

a wide range of quantitative and 

qualitative industry impacts that may 

occur due to amended energy 

conservation standards. Based on the 

information gathered during interviews 

and other research, DOE will assess 

impacts on competition, manufacturing 

capacity, employment, and regulatory 

burden. 

7. Utility Impact Analysis 

The utility impact analysis examines 

the effects of amended energy 

conservation standards on the installed 

generation capacity of electric, gas, and 

oil utilities. The utility impact analysis 

reports the changes in installed capacity 

and generation between the base case 

and the standards cases that result from 

each standard level by plant type. 

8. Environmental Impact Analysis 

The purpose of the environmental 

impact analysis is to quantify and 

consider the environmental effects of 

amended energy conservation standards 

for furnaces. The environmental 

analysis will assess impacts of amended 

energy conservation standards on the 

following types of energy-related 

emissions—carbon dioxide (CO2), 

oxides of nitrogen (NOX), sulfur dioxide 

(SO2), and mercury (Hg). As part of the 

environmental impacts analysis, DOE 

plans to monetize the benefits 

associated with emissions reductions 

using a range of values. 

9. Employment Analysis 

The employment analysis will 

estimate indirect national job creation or 

elimination resulting from possible 

standards. Indirect employment impacts 

may result from expenditures shifting 

between goods (the substitution effect) 

and changes in income and overall 

expenditure levels (the income effect) 

that occur due to the standards. DOE 

defines indirect employment impacts 

from standards as net jobs eliminated or 

created in the general economy as a 

result of increased spending driven by 

increased equipment prices and reduced 

spending on energy. 

10. Regulatory Impact Analysis 

The regulatory impact analysis 

addresses the potential for nonregulatory approaches to supplant or 

augment energy conservation standards 

in order to improve the energy 

efficiency or reduce the energy 

consumption of the products covered 

under this rulemaking. DOE will base its 

assessment on the actual impacts of any 

such initiatives to date, but will also 

consider information presented 

regarding the impacts that any existing 

initiative might have in the future. 

11. Additional Supporting Analyses 

DOE will also conduct several 

analyses that support the analyses listed 

above, including the market and 

technology assessment and the 

screening analysis, which contribute to 

the engineering analysis, and the 

shipments analysis, which contributes 

to the NIA. DOE also conducts an LCC 

subgroup analysis, which evaluates 

economic impacts on selected groups of 

consumers who might be adversely 

affected by a change in the national 

energy conservation standards for the 

considered products. 

DOE further describes each analysis, 

including the methodologies, key data 

sources, and issues for which DOE seeks 

public comment in the RAP. The RAP 

is available at the Web address given in 

the SUMMARY section of this notice. 

DOE considers public participation to 

be a very important part of the process 

for setting energy conservation 

standards. DOE actively encourages the 

participation and interaction of the 

public during the comment period in 

each stage of the rulemaking process. 

Beginning with the NOPM, and during 

each subsequent public meeting and 

comment period, interactions with and 

between members of the public provide 

a balanced discussion of the issues to 

assist DOE in the standards rulemaking 

process. 

Accordingly, DOE encourages those 

who wish to participate in the public 

meeting to obtain the RAP from DOE’s 

Web site and to be prepared to discuss 

its contents. A copy of the RAP is 

available at the Web address given in 

the SUMMARY section of this notice. 

However, public meeting participants 

need not limit their comments to the 

topics identified in the RAP. DOE is also 

interested in receiving views concerning 

other relevant issues that participants 

believe would affect energy 


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12148 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 49 / Monday, March 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

conservation standards for residential 

furnaces or that DOE should address in 

the NOPR. 

Furthermore, DOE welcomes all 

interested parties, regardless of whether 

they participate in the public meeting, 

to submit in writing by April 14, 2010, 

comments and information on matters 

addressed in the RAP and on other 

matters relevant to consideration of 

standards for residential furnaces. 

The public meeting will be conducted 

in an informal, conference style. A court 

reporter will be present to record the 

minutes of the meeting. There shall be 

no discussion of proprietary 

information, costs or prices, market 

shares, or other commercial matters 

regulated by United States antitrust 

laws. 

After the public meeting and the 

expiration of the period for submitting 

written statements, DOE will consider 

all comments and additional 

information that is obtained from 

interested parties or through further 

analyses, and it will prepare a NOPR. 

The NOPR will include proposed energy 

conservation standards for the products 

covered by the rulemaking, and 

members of the public will be given an 

opportunity to submit written and oral 

comments on the proposed standards. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22, 

2010. 

Cathy Zoi, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5564 Filed 3–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2010–0102; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–NE–09–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Ontic 

Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc. 

Propeller Governors, Part Numbers 

C210776, T210761, D210760, and 

J210761 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for 

certain serial numbers (S/Ns) of Ontic 

Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc. 

propeller governors, part numbers (P/ 

Ns) C210776, T210761, D210760, and 

J210761. This proposed AD would 

require removal of the affected propeller 

governors from service. This proposed 

AD results from three reports received 

of failed propeller governors. We are 

proposing this AD to prevent loss of 

propeller pitch control, damage to the 

propeller governor, and internal damage 

to the engine, which could prevent 

continued safe flight or safe landing. 

DATES: We must receive any comments 

on this proposed AD by May 14, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following 

addresses to comment on this proposed 

AD. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Contact Ontic Engineering and 

Manufacturing, Inc., 20400 Plummer 

Sreet, Chatsworth, CA 91311, e-mail: 

Bill.nolan@ontic.com; telephone (818) 

725–2323; fax (818) 725–2535; or e-mail: 

Susan.hunt@ontic.com; telephone (818) 

725–2121; fax (818) 725–2535, or on the 

Web at http://www.ontic.com/pdf/SB– 

DES–353_Rev_A.pdf for a copy of the 

service information identified in this 

proposed AD. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Roger Pesuit, Aerospace Engineer, Los 

Angeles Aircraft Certification Office, 

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

3960 Paramount Blvd., Lakewood, CA 

90712; e-mail: roger.pesuit@faa.gov; 

telephone (562) 627–5251, fax (562) 

627–5210. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send us any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments 

regarding this proposal. Send your 

comments to an address listed under 

ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA– 

2010–0102; Directorate Identifier 2010– 

NE–09–AD’’ in the subject line of your 

comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of the proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend the 

proposed AD in light of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. We 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact with FAA 

personnel concerning this proposed AD. 

Using the search function of the Web 

site, anyone can find and read the 

comments in any of our dockets, 

including, if provided, the name of the 

individual who sent the comment (or 

signed the comment on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19477–78). 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Operations office between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Operations 

office (telephone (800) 647–5527) is the 

same as the Mail address provided in 

the ADDRESSES section. Comments will 

be available in the AD docket shortly 

after receipt. 

Discussion 

We received three reports of failure of 

Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing, 

Inc. propeller governors. One of the 

reports was of a Diamond DA–40 

airplane losing propeller pitch control 

during flight. The propeller governor 

controls propeller pitch by regulating oil 

pressure to the propeller pitch change 

mechanism. Changes in governor oil 

pressure are made by small changes in 

axial displacement of the governor’s 

pilot valve plunger assembly. A fly 

weight governor opposes a compressed 

spring that rides on a collar which forms 

a part of the pilot valve plunger 

assembly. Investigation revealed that the 

set screw securing the collar to the pilot 

valve plunger assembly shaft may not be 

installed properly on a batch of parts 

permitting the pilot valve plunger to 

float on the shaft. The pilot valve shaft 

plunger and captive thrust bearing are 

then free to move axially along the pilot 

valve shaft. When the pilot valve is 

unconstrained in the axial direction, the 

propeller governor cannot control oil 

pressure to the propeller pitch control 

mechanism. This results in a loss of 

propeller pitch control. Further, 

concurrent thrust bearing failure 

permits bearing debris to flow with the 

oil into the engine lubrication system. 

The engine in the incident airplane was 

internally damaged as a result of a 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS