Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 30351

1 42 U.S.C. 6294. The statute also requires the

Department of Energy (‘‘DOE’’) to develop test

procedures that measure how much energy the

appliances use, and to determine the representative

average cost a consumer pays for the different types

of energy available. 2Reports for clothes washers are due March 1.

not result in any adverse impact, the

action will be considered as being

categorically excluded for the purpose

of compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 40

CFR parts 1500 through 1508.

(c)(1) If adverse environmental

impacts, either direct or indirect, are

identified, an environmental assessment

will be completed in accordance with

the Council on Environmental Quality’s

Regulations for Implementing the

Procedural Provisions of NEPA to the

extent required by law.

(2) The environmental assessment

will be used to develop an action that

results in no significant environmental

impact on the human environment or

cultural resources.

(3) No action will be approved that

has been determined to have significant

impacts on the human environment or

cultural resources.

(d)(1) In order to minimize the

exposure to environmental liabilities

from the presence of contamination on

real estate collateral, an evaluation will

be made of the economic and

environmental risks to the real estate

collateral posted by the presence of

hazardous substances and petroleum

products.

(2) If the evaluation made under

paragraph (d)(1) of this section reveals

that the collateral is or may be

contaminated, then the applicant will be

notified and given an option of offering

as collateral other real estate that is free

from contamination or remediating the

contamination on the original site

offered as collateral.

Signed at Washington, D.C., on May 8,

2000.

Keith Kelly,

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 00–11833 Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–M

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 305

Rule Concerning Disclosures

Regarding Energy Consumption and

Water Use of Certain Home Appliances

and Other Products Required Under

the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act (‘‘Appliance Labeling Rule’’)

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: Federal Trade Commission

amends its Appliance Labeling Rule by

publishing new ranges of comparability

to be used on required labels for clothes

washers. These ranges of comparability

supersede the ranges published on

March 27, 2000, 65 FR 16132, which

become effective July 14, 2000;

however, manufacturers are not

required to use those March 27, 2000

ranges.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 18, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Mills, Attorney, Division of

Enforcement, Federal Trade

Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580

(202–326–3035).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Appliance Labeling Rule (‘‘Rule’’) was

issued by the Commission in 1979, 44

FR 66466 (Nov. 19, 1979), in response

to a directive in the Energy Policy and

Conservation Act of 1975. 1 The Rule

covers eight categories of major

household appliances. Clothes washers

are among those categories. The Rule

also covers pool heaters, 59 FR 49556

(Sept. 28, 1994), and contains

requirements that pertain to fluorescent

lamp ballasts, 54 FR 28031 (July 5,

1989), certain plumbing products, 58 FR

54955 ((Oct. 25, 1993), and certain

lighting products, 59 FR 25176 (May 13,

1994, eff. May 15, 1995).

The Rule requires manufacturers of all

covered appliances and pool heaters to

disclose specific energy consumption or

efficiency information (derived from the

DOE test procedures) at the point of sale

in the form of an ‘‘EnergyGuide’’ label

and in catalogs. It also requires

manufacturers of furnaces, central air

conditioners, and heat pumps either to

provide fact sheets showing additional

cost information, or to be listed in an

industry directory showing the cost

information for their products. The Rule

requires manufacturers to include, on

labels and fact sheets, an energy

consumption or efficiency figure and a

‘‘range of comparability.’’ This range

shows the highest and lowest energy

consumption or efficiencies for all

comparable appliance models so

consumers can compare the energy

consumption or efficiency of other

models (perhaps competing brands)

similar to the labeled model. The Rule

also requires manufacturers to include,

on labels for some products, a secondary

energy usage disclosure in the form of

an estimated annual operating cost

based on a specified DOE national

average cost for the fuel the appliance

uses.

Section 305.8(b) of the Rule requires

manufacturers, after filing an initial

report, to report certain information

annually to the Commission by

specified dates for each product type.2

These reports, which are to assist the

Commission in preparing the ranges of

comparability, contain the estimated

annual energy consumption or energy

efficiency ratings for the appliances

derived from tests performed pursuant

to the DOE test procedures. Because

manufacturers regularly add new

models to their lines, improve existing

models, and drop others, the data base

from which the ranges of comparability

are calculated is constantly changing.

To keep the required information

consistent with these changes, under

Section 305.10 of the Rule the

Commission will publish new ranges if

an analysis of the new information

indicates that the upper or lower limits

of the ranges have changed by more

than 15%. Otherwise, the Commission

will publish a statement that the prior

ranges remain in effect for the next year.

Manufacturers of clothes washers

have made the required 2000

submissions of data for this product

category. In analyzing the data, the

Commission has grouped the figures in

accordance with the revisions to

Appendix F (Clothes Washers)

published on March 27, 2000, 65 FR

16132, which eliminated the toploading and front-loading categories for

clothes washers.

Accordingly, the Commission is

publishing these new 2000 ranges of

comparability in the format of the

revised Appendix for the clothes washer

category. Today’s ranges of

comparability supersede the ranges

(which were based on 1999

submissions) that were published along

with the March 27, 2000 amendment

eliminating the top-loading and frontloading categories, which have an

effective date of July 14, 2000; however,

manufacturers are not required to use

those ranges.

In consideration of the foregoing, the

Commission revises Appendix F of its

Appliance Labeling Rule by publishing

the following ranges of comparability

for use in required disclosures

(including labeling) for clothes washers

manufactured on or after September 18,

2000. In addition, as of September 18,

2000, manufactured must base the

disclosures of estimated annual

operating cost required at the bottom of

the EnergyGuide for clothes washers on

the 2000 Representative Average Unit

Costs of Energy for electricity (8.03

cents per kilo Watt-hour) and natural

gas (68.8 cents per therm) that were

published by DOE on February 7, 2000

30352 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

(65 FR 5860), and by the Commission on

April 17, 2000, 65 FR 20352.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act relating to a Regulatory

Flexibility Act analysis (5 U.S.C. 603–

604) are not applicable to this

proceeding because the amendments do

no impose any new obligations on

entities regulated by the Appliance

Labeling Rule. Thus, the amendments

will not have a ‘‘significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities’’ (5 U.S.C. 605). The

Commission has concluded, therefore,

that a regulatory flexibility analysis is

not necessary, and certifies, under

Section 605 of the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that the

amendments announced today will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act

(‘‘PRA’’), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., requires

government agencies, before

promulgating rules or other regulations

that require ‘‘collections of information’’

(i.e., recordkeeping, reporting, or thirdparty disclosure requirements), to obtain

approval from the Office of Management

and Budget (‘‘OMB’’), 44 U.S.C. 3502.

The Commission currently has OMB

clearance for the Rule’s information

collection requirements (OMB No.

3084–0069). The amendment will not

impose any new information collection

requirements. Instead, it will provide

manufacturers with revised ranges of

comparability to use on the

EnergyGuide labels already required by

the Rule.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 305

Advertising, Energy conservation,

Household appliances, Labeling,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Accordingly, 16 CFR Part 305 is

amended as follows:

PART 305—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 305

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6294.

2. Appendix F to Part 305 is revised

to read as follows:

Appendix F to Part 305—Clothes

Washers

Range Information

‘‘Compact’’ includes all household

clothes washers with a tub capacity of

less than 1.6 cu. ft. or 13 gallons of

water.

‘‘Standard’’ includes all household

clothes washers with a tub capacity of

1.6 cu. ft or 13 gallons of water or more.

Capacity

Range of estimated annual

energy consumption

(kWh/yr.)

Low High

Compact .. 576 607

Standard .. 177 1298

Cost Information

When the above ranges of

comparability are used on EnergyGuide

labels for clothes washers, the estimated

annual operating cost disclosures

appearing in the box at the bottom of the

labels must be derived using the 2000

Representative Average Unit Costs for

electricity (8.03¢ per kilo Watt-hour)

and natural gas (68.8¢ per therm), and

the text below the box must identify the

costs as such.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–11605 Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

21 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. 00N–0085]

National Environmental Policy Act;

Food Contact Substance Notification

System

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration,

HHS.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) is amending its

regulations on environmental impact

considerations as part of the agency’s

implementation of the FDA

Modernization Act (FDAMA) of 1997.

FDAMA amended the Federal Food,

Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) to

establish a notification process for food

contact substances (FCS); this process

will be the primary method for

authorizing new uses of food additives

that are FCS, and it will largely replace

the existing food additive petition

process for such substances. The

regulations will expand the existing

categorical exclusions to include

allowing a notification submitted under

the act to become effective and will

amend the list of those actions that

require an environmental assessment

(EA) to add allowing a notification

under the act to become effective in

cases where a categorical exclusion

doesn’t apply. This will allow notifiers

of FCS to claim the categorical

exclusions now available to sponsors of

other requests for authorization of FCS.

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal

Register, FDA is publishing a

companion proposed rule, under FDA’s

usual procedures for notice and

comment to provide a procedural

framework to finalize the rule in the

event the agency receives any

significant adverse comment and

withdraws the direct final rule.

DATES: This rule is effective August 24,

2000. Submit written comments by July

25, 2000. If FDA receives no significant

adverse comments within the specified

comment period, the agency intends to

publish a document confirming the

effective date of the final rule in the

Federal Register within 30 days after

the comment period on this direct final

rule ends. If timely significant adverse

comments are received, the agency will

publish a document in the Federal

Register withdrawing this direct final

rule before its effective date.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

on the direct final rule to the Dockets

Management Branch (HFA–305), Food

and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers

Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mitchell A. Cheeseman, Center for Food

Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS–

215), Food and Drug Administration,

200 C St. SW., Washington, DC 20204,

202–418–3083.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

In 1958, Congress amended the act to

require premarket approval of food

additives (sections 201(s), 402(a)(2)(C),

and 409 (21 U.S.C. 321(s), 342(a)(2)(C),

and 348)). ‘‘Food additive’’ is defined in

section 201(s) of the act as ‘‘any

substance the intended use of which

results or may reasonably be expected to

result, directly or indirectly, in its

becoming a component or otherwise

affecting the characteristics of any

food,’’ unless, among other reasons,

such substance is generally recognized

as safe (GRAS) by qualified experts or is

prior sanctioned for its intended use.

Under section 409 of the act as

originally established, food additives

require premarket approval by FDA and

publication of a regulation authorizing

their intended use. Subsequently, in

1995, FDA codified a process, the

‘‘threshold of regulation’’ process (21

CFR 170.39), by which certain food

additives may be exempted from the

requirement of a listing regulation if the