EE-RM-STD-00-100 COMMENT 00

10984 Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 41/Wednesday, March 1, 2000/Proposed Rules 

another means which the industry may 

need to deal with price volatility. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, it is proposed that Title 7 of 

Chapter X of the CFR be amended by 

adding a new Part 1140 as follows: 

PART 114Q-DAIRY FORWARD 

PRICING PILOT PROGRAM 

Subpart A-Definitions 

Sec. 

1140.1 General definitions. 

Subpart B-Rules Governing Forward 

Contracts 

1140.2 Rules governing forward contracts. 

Authority: 7 U.S.c. 601, et seq. 

Subpart A-Definitions 

§ 1140.1 General definitions. 

(a) Pilot program means the dairy 

forward pricing pilot program provided 

by an amendment to the Agricultural 

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (7 

U.S.c. 601, et seq.) signed into law on 

November 29,1999 (Section 3 ofH.R. 

3428 of the 106th Congress, as enacted 

by section 1001(a)(8) of Public Law 106-

113 (113 Stat. 1536)). 

(b) Eligible milk means the quantity of 

milk Bqual to a handler's Class II, III, 

and IV utilization during the month, 

combining all pool plants of a single 

handler that are regulated under a single 

Federal order. 

(c) Forward contract means an 

agreement covering the terms and 

conditions for the sale of milk from a 

producer defined in section 12 of Parts 

1001 through 1135 to a handler defined 

in § 1000.9. 

(d) Contract milk means the producer 

milk covered by a forward contract. 

(e) Disclosure statement means the 

following statement which must be 

signed and returned to the market 

administrator by each producer entering 

into a forward contract with a handler 

before the market administrator will 

recognize the terms and conditions 

provided in such contract. 

Disclosure Statement 

I am voluntarily entering into a forward 

contract with (handler'S name). I 

have been given a copy of the contract and 

I have received the USDA's Pilot Program 

Fact Sheet to which this disclosure statement 

was attached. By signing this form, I 

understand that I am forfeiting my right to 

receive the order's minimum uniform or 

component prices for that portion of my milk 

that is under forward contract for the 

duration of the contract. I also understand 

that my milk will be priced in accordance 

with the terms and conditions of the contract. 

Printed Name: 

Signature: 

Date: 

Address: 

Producer No: 

(f) Other definitions. Any term used in 

this part that is defined in Parts 1000-

1135 is incorporated in this part. 

Subpart B-Rules Governing Forward 

Contracts 

§ 1140.2 Rules governing forward 

contracts. 

(a) A handler that operates one or 

more pool plants may enter into forward 

contracts with producers or cooperative 

associations for the handler's eligible 

milk received at such plants and be 

exempt from the minimum payment 

provisions that would apply to such 

milk in section 73 of Parts 1001 through 

1135 for the period of time covered by 

the contract, except that a contract with 

a producer or cooperative association 

participating for the first time in this 

pilot program may not exceed 6 months. 

In no event shall a forward contract 

executed pursuant to this part extend 

beyond December 31, 2004. 

(b) Forward contracts must be signed 

and dated by the contracting handler 

and producer (or cooperative 

association) prior to the first day of the 

first month for which they are to be 

effective and must be in the possession 

of the market administrator by the 15th 

day of that month. The disclosure 

statement provided in § 1140.2(e) must 

be signed on the same date as the 

contract by each producer or 

cooperative association entering into a 

forward contract under the pilot 

program and this signed disclosure 

statement must be attached to each 

contract submitted to the market 

administrator . (c) Each forward contract submitted 

for approval must contain a clause that 

allows the dairy farmer signing the 

contract to revoke the contract by 

notifying the handler in writing within 

3 business days. This written 

notification, which may be faxed, 

mailed, or E-mailed, must be in the 

possession of the handler by midnight 

of the 3rd business day following the 

signing of the contract. The producer is 

responsible for verifying the time and 

date of receipt of this notification. 

(d) In the event that a handler's 

contract milk exceeds the handler's 

eligible milk for any month in which the 

specified contract price(s) are below the 

order's minimum prices, the handler 

must designate which producer milk 

shall not be contract milk. If the handler 

does not designate the owners of the 

over-contracted milk, the market 

administrator shall prorate the overcontracted milk to each producer and 

cooperative association having a 

forward contract with the handler. 

(e) Payments for milk covered by a 

forward contract must be made on the 

same dates as payments for milk that is 

not under forward contract under the 

respective Federal order. 

(f) The basis for pricing milk under 

forward contract must be the same 

basis-but not at the same rate or 

level-as is used to price milk that is 

not under forward contract under the 

respective order. Under orders 

providing for skim milk and butterfat 

pricing, forward contracts must price 

milk on the basis of skim milk and 

butterfat, and under orders with 

component pricing of milk, forward 

contracts must price milk according to 

the components priced under the 

respective order. 

(g) Handlers participating in the pilot 

program will continue to be required to 

file all reports that are currently 

required under the respective marketing 

orders and will continue to be required 

to account to the pool for all milk they 

receive at their respective order's 

minimum class prices. 

(h) Nothing in this part shall impede 

the contractual arrangements that exist 

between a cooperative association and 

its members. 

Dated: February 25, 2000. 

Richard M. McKee, 

Deputy Administrator. Dairy Programs. 

[FR Doc. 00-4920 Filed 2-29-00; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODe 3410-02-P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

10 CFR Part 431 

[Docket No. EE-RM-STD-00-100] 

RIN No. 1904-AB06 

Energy Efficiency Program for 

Commercial and Industrial Equipment: 

Efficiency Standards for Commercial 

Heating, Air Conditioning and Water 

Heating Equipment 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of preliminary screening 

analysis. 

SUMMARY: The Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act, as amended by the 

Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPCA), 

establishes energy efficiency standards 

for certain commercial heating, air 

conditioning and water heating 
EE-RM-STD-00-100 COMMENT 00

Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 41/Wednesday, March 1, 2000/Proposed Rules 10985 

equipment. On October 29,1999, the 

efficiency standards in American 

Society of Heating, Refrigerating and 

Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 

(ASHRAE) and Illuminating Engineering 

Society of North America (IES) 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 were 

amended for some of these products. 

This notice outlines the process the 

Department plans to follow in deciding 

which of these amended efficiency 

standards to adopt immediately and 

which to analyze further. 

ADDRESSES: You can view copies of the 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1999 in the 

Freedom of Information Reading Room 

(Room No. 1E-190) at the U.S. 

Department of Energy, Forrestal 

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121, 

between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. You can also obtain 

copies from the American Society of 

Heating, Refrigerating, and AirConditioning Engineers, Inc., 1971 

Tullie Circle, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, 

and you can obtain electronic versions 

at ASHRAE's web site, http:// 

www.ashrae.org/booklbookshop.htm. 

The Preliminary Screening Analysis 

described in this notice is expected to 

be available for viewing in the 

Department of Energy's Freedom of 

Information Reading Room by the end of 

March 2000, and copies may be 

requested from the contacts listed 

below. The report will also be accessible 

via the Internet at http:// 

www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/ 

codes_standards/index.htm, which 

contains additional information on 

Department of Energy codes and 

standards programs as well. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cyrus H. Nasseri, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Mail Station, EE-41, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW, 

Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586-

9138, FAX (202) 586-4617, e-mail: 

Cyrus.Nasseri@ee.doe.gov, or Edward 

Levy, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of General Counsel, Mail Station, 

GC-72, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586-

9507, e-mail: Edward.Levy@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice refers to certain industry 

standards established by the ASHRAE 

and IES. These industry standards are 

referenced by the single comprehensive 

"ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1999." 

I. Introduction 

A. Authority 

B. Background 

1. General 

2. ASHRAE Action 

II. Discussion 

A. Preliminary Screening Analysis 

B. Products Not Included in the 

Preliminary Screening Analysis 

C. DOE Decision Process 

I. Introduction 

A. Authority 

Part B of Title III of the Energy Policy 

and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975, 

Pub.L.94-163,asamended,bythe 

National Energy Conservation Policy 

Act of 1978 (NECPA), Pub. L. 95-619, 

the National Appliance Energy 

Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA), 

Pub. L. 100-12, the National Appliance 

Energy Conservation Amendments of 

1988 (NAECA 1988), Pub. L. 100-357, 

and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 

(EPACT), Pub. L. 102-486, established 

the Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products other than 

Automobiles. Part 3 of Title IV of 

NECP A amended EPCA to add "Energy 

Efficiency of Industrial Equipment," 

which included air conditioners, 

furnaces, and other types of equipment. 

EP ACT also amended EPCA with 

respect to industrial equipment, 

providing definitions, test procedures, 

labeling provisions, energy conservation 

standards, and authority to require 

information and reports from 

manufacturers. See 42 U.S.C. 6311-

6316. For example, EPCA now specifies 

explicit minimum energy efficiency 

levels for certain commercial packaged 

air conditioning and heating equipment, 

packaged terminal air conditioners and 

heat pumps, warm air furnaces, 

packaged boilers, water heaters and hot 

water storage tanks. 42 U.S.c. 6313(a) 

(1)-(5). The efficiency requirements in 

the statute correspond with the levels in 

effect on October 24,1992, in ASHRAE/ 

IES Standard 90.1. The statute provides 

that if the ASHRAEIIES Standard 90.1 

levels are amended after that date for 

any of the covered equipment, the 

Secretary of Energy must establish an 

amended uniform national standard at 

the new minimum level for each 

effective date specified in ASHRAE/IES 

Standard 90.1, unless (s)he determines, 

through a rulemaking supported by 

clear and convincing evidence, that a 

more stringent standard is 

technologically feasible and 

economically justified and would result 

in significant additional energy 

conservation. 42 U.S.C. 6313(a)(6)(A). 

If the Secretary elects to publish such 

a rule, it must contain the amended 

standard, and the determination must 

consider, to the greatest extent 

practicable: the economic impact on the 

manufacturers and consumers of the 

affected products; savings in operating 

cost throughout the life of the product, 

compared to any increases in initial cost 

or maintenance expense; the total 

projected amount of energy savings 

likely to result directly from the 

imposition of the standard; any 

lessening of the utility or performance 

of the affected products; the impact of 

any lessening of competition; the need 

for national energy conservation; and 

other factors the Secretary considers 

relevant. The Secretary may not 

prescribe such an amended standard if 

(s)he finds (and publishes the finding) 

that interested persons have established 

by a preponderance of evidence that the 

amended standard is likely to result in 

unavailability in the United States of 

products with performance 

characteristics (including reliability), 

features, sizes, capacities and volumes 

that are substantially the same as those 

generally available in the United States 

at the time of the Secretary's finding. 42 

U.S.C. 6313(a)(6)(B). 

Finally, the Secretary may not 

prescribe any amended standard which 

increases maximum allowable energy 

use or decreases minimum required 

energy efficiency. 42 U.S.C. 

6313(a)(6 )(B)(ii). 

B. Background 

1. General 

The Department of Energy (DOE or 

the Department) has an energy 

conservation program for consumer 

products, conducted under Part B of 

Title III of EPCA, 42 U.S.c. 6291-6309. 

The consumer appliance standards 

program consists of four principal parts: 

Test procedures, Federal energy 

conservation standards, labeling, and 

certification and enforcement 

procedures. The Federal Trade 

Commission (FTC) is responsible for 

labeling, and the Department 

implements the remainder of the 

program as codified in Title 10 ofthe 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 

430-Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products. 

Pursuant to the EP ACT amendments 

to EPCA in 1992, DOE extended its 

program to cover commercial and 

industrial equipment and created a new 

Part 431 in Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations, entitled Energy 

Conservation Program for Commercial 

and Industrial Equipment. This part 

includes commercial heating, air 

conditioning and water heating 

equipment. This new program consists 

of: test procedures, Federal energy 

conservation standards, labeling, 

certification and enforcement 

procedures. EPCA directs the 

Department, rather than the FTC, to 

administer the statute's efficiency 
EE-RM-STD-00-100 COMMENT 00

10986 Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 41/Wednesday, March 1, 2000/Proposed Rules 

labeling provisions for commercial 

equipment. 

2. ASHRAE Action 

ASHRAE revised ASHRAE/IES 

Standard 90.1 on October 29,1999. 

ASHRAE changed the standards for 

some products but not for others. Of 

those products for which standards have 

not changed, some levels were 

considered by ASHRAE in the course of 

revising ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 

and left at their preexisting values, 

while consideration of other products 

was deferred. Among those products 

that were deferred were standards for 

commercial (3 phase) small air 

conditioners and heat pumps (under 65 

thousand Btu per hour), which are 

closely related to consumer products for 

which the Department is independently 

developing standards under NAECA. 

The standard levels in EP ACT and 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1999 

appear in Tables 1 and 2. 

TABLE 1.-EPCA SECTION 342(a) 1, 2, 3 AIR CONDITIONERS AND HEAT PUMPS 

EPCA Efficiency levels 

Equipment category Equipment subcategory EPCA section date EPCA 92 90.1-1999 

Small Commercial Pack- AC/HP <65-Air Cooled 3 Cooling Eff. 342(a)(1 )(A) ........... 1/1/94 SEER 10.0 ....... SEER 10.0 

aged Air Conditioning Phase, Central Split System. Heating Eff. 342(a)(1)(D) ........... HSPF 6.8 ......... HSPF 6.8 

and Heating Equipment. 

AC/HP <65-Air Cooled 3 Cooling Eff. 342(a)(1)(B) ........... 1/1/94 SEER 9.7 ......... SEER 9.7 

Phase, Central Single Pack- Heating Eff. 342(a)(1)(E) ........... HSPF 6.6 ......... HSPF 6.6 

age. 

AC/HP 65-135 Air Cooled Cooling Eff. 342(a)(1)(C) ........... 1/1/94 EER 8.9 ........... EER 10.3 

Central. Heating Eff. 342(a)(1 )(F) ........... COP 3.0 ........... COP 3.2 

AC/HP <65-Water Cooled Cooling Eff. 342(a)(1)(G) ........... 1/1/94 EER 9.3 ........... EER 12.1 

Evap. Cooled Water-Source Heating Eff. Water-Source only COP 3.8 ........... COP 4.2 

Central. 342(a)(1 )(1). 

AC/HP 65-135 Water Cooled Cooling Eff. 342(a)(1 )(H) ........... 1/1/94 EER 10.5 ......... EER 11.5 

Evap. Cooled Water-Source Heating Eff. Water-Source only COP 3.8 ........... COP 4.2 

Central. 342(a)(1 )(1). 

Large Commercial Pack- AC/HP 135-240-Air Cooled Cooling Eft. 342(a)(2)(A) ........... 1/1/95 EER 8.5 ........... EER 9.7 

aged Air Conditioning Central. Heating Eff. 342(a)(2)(B) ........... COP 2.9 ........... COP 3.1 

and Heating Equipment. 

ACIHP 135-240 Water Cooled Cooling Eff. 342(a)(2)(A) ........... 1/1/95 EER 9.6 ........... EER 11.0 

Evap. Cooled Central. No Heating Eft. Requirement .... 

Packaged Terminal Air PTAC/PTHP (Air Cooled) .......... Cooling Eft. 342(a)(3)(A) ........... 1/1/94 EER varies by EER and COP 

Conditioners and Heat Heating Eff. 342(a)(3)(B) ........... capacity COP vary by caPumps. varies by ca- pacity (difpacity. ferent formulas) 

TABLE 2.-EPCA (AS AMENDED) SECTION 342(a) 4, 5 FURNACES, BOILERS, AND STORAGE WATER HEATER 

Equipment category Equipment subcategory EPCA section 

Warm Air Fumaces ......... <:225,000: ................................... Gas Fired Eft. 342(a)(4)(A) ...... . 

Gas Fired ............................... Oil Fired Eff. 342(a)(4)(A) ........ .. 

Oil Fired ............................... .. 

Package Boilers .............. :2:300,000: ................................... Gas Fired Eff. 342(a)(4)(C) ..... .. 

Gas Fired ................................... Oil Fired Eff. 342(a)(4)(D) ....... .. 

Oil Fired ................................... .. 

Storage Water Heaters... Electric ....................................... Standby Loss 342(a)(5)(A) ...... .. 

Instantaneous Water 

Heaters. 

:<;155,000 and V:<; 40 gal............ Thermal Eff. and Standby Loss 

342(a)(5)(B). 

>155,000 and V:<;140 gal........... Thermal Eft. and Standby Loss 

342(a)(5)(C). 

V<10 gal Instantaneous ............ Thermal Eft. 342(a)(5)(D) ........ .. 

10 gal <V <140 gal Instanta- Thermal Eft. and Standby Loss 

neous. 342(a)(5)(E). 

Storage Tanks ................. V 5::140 gal Unfired Heat Loss 342(a)(5)(F) ............ .. 

Storage Water Heaters and PreSCriptive 342(a)(5)(G) ......... .. 

Storage Tanks >140 gal. 

EPCA 

date 

Efficiency levels 

EPCA 92 

1/1/94 Thermal Efficiency:. 

80% Gas ..... . 

81% Oil ...... .. 

1/1/94 Combustion Efficiency:. 

80% Gas ..... . 

83% Oil ....... . 

1/1/94 0.3+27Na ....... . 

1/1/94 Thermal Eff. 

78%, Standby 

Loss Varies 

by Volume. 

1/1/94 Thermal Eff. 

78%, Standby 

Loss Varies 

by Volume. 

1/1/94 Thermal Eff. 

80%. 

1/1/94 Thermal Eff. 

77% Standby 

Loss Varies 

by Volume. 

1/1/94 Heat Loss 6.5 

Btulhr/ft2. 

1/1/94 R-12.5, liD ...... 

90.1-1999 

Thermal Efficiency: 

80% Gas 

81% Oil 

Combustion Efficiency: 

80% Gas 

83% Oil 

20+35 -..Iv 

Thermal Eff. 

80%, Standby 

Loss Varies 

by Volume 

Thermal Eff. 

80%, Standby 

Loss Varies 

by Volume 

Thermal Eff. 

80% 

Thermal Eff. 

80%, Standby 

Loss Varies 

by Volume 

Heat Loss 6.5 

Btu/hr/ft2 

R-12.5, liD 
EE-RM-STD-00-100 COMMENT 00

Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 41/Wednesday, March 1, ZOOO/Proposed Rules 10987 

In response to ASHRAE's action, the 

Department initiated a Preliminary 

Screening Analysis to aid the 

Department in deciding what action it 

should take at this point with respect to 

the efficiency levels in ASHRAE/IES 

Standard 90.1-1999. 

II. Discussion 

A. Preliminary Screening Analysis 

In conducting the Preliminary 

Screening Analysis, the Department is 

using existing data from industry and 

other sources, including, among others, 

analysis performed for ASHRAE in 

support of its deliberations over the new 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1999 

efficiency levels. For each product 

category, the Department is estimating 

the likely cost of achieving several 

higher, technologically feasible 

efficiency levels and then will calculate 

for each such level the corresponding 

rate of energy consumption required to 

fulfill the product's function. Applying 

appropriate climate data, typical 

building design characteristics, 

inventories of buildings in different 

regions of the country, equipment sales 

volumes, and economic discount rates 

and energy prices, DOE will compute 

cost/benefit measures corresponding to 

the hypothetical efficiency levels and 

also estimate the nationwide energy and 

net cost savings, if any, that would 

result from more stringent standards 

than the levels in ASHRAE/IES 

Standard 90.1-1999. 

For the products analyzed, the 

Department is examining the range of 

efficiency levels specified in EPCA and 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1999, as 

well as more efficient levels, including 

those associated with the most efficient 

product available in the market and the 

lowest life-cycle cost. For each level 

above the EPCA standard, DOE will 

estimate: (1) The incremental national 

energy and carbon emission savings that 

would result from a standard set at that 

level, and (2) the net nationwide direct 

economic benefit (net present value) 

that would result from a standard set at 

that level, as compared to the 

corresponding ASHRAE/IES Standard 

90.1-1999 and EPCA standards. The 

products being studied in the 

Preliminary Screening Analysis are: 

• Central Air Source Air 

Conditioners, ;:0:135 kBtu/h-<240 

kBtu/h 

• Central Air Source Heat Pump, 

;:0:135 kBtu/h-<240 kBtu/h (cooling 

performance only) 

• Central Water Cooled Air 

Conditioners, ;:0:135 kBtu/h-<240 

kBtu/h 

• Central Air Source Air 

Conditioners, ;:0:65 kBtu/h-<135 kBtu/h • Central Air Source Heat Pump, ;:0:65 

kBtu/h-<135 kBtu/h (cooling 

performance only) • Central Water Source Heat Pump, 

;:0:65 kBtu/h-<135 kBtu/h (cooling 

performance only) 

• Central Water Cooled Air 

Conditioners, ;:0:65 kBtu/h-<135 kBtu/h 

• Packaged Terminal Air 

Conditioners 

• Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps 

(cooling performance only) 

• 3-Phase Single Pkg. Air Source Air 

Conditioners, <65 kBtu/h • 3-Phase Split Air Source Air 

Conditioners, <65 kBtu/h 

• 3-Phase Single Pkg. Air Source Heat 

Pump, <65 kBtu/h (cooling performance 

only) 

• 3-Phase Split System Air Source 

Heat Pump, <65 kBtu/h (cooling 

performance only) 

• Central Water Cooled Air 

Conditioners, <65 kBtu/h • Central Water Source Heat Pump, 

;::17 kBtu/h-<65 kBtu/h (cooling 

performance only) 

• Central Water Source Heat Pump, 

<17 kBtu/h (cooling performance only) • Large Gas-Fired Hot Water Boilers, 

;:0:2.5 MMBtu/h • Large Gas-Fired Steam Boilers, ;::2.5 

MMBtu/h 

• Small Gas-Fired Boilers, <2.5 

MMBtu/h 

• Gas-Fired Warm Air Furnaces, >225 

kBtu/h 

• Gas Storage Water Heaters, ;::155 

kBtu/h 

• Gas Storage Water Heaters, <155 

kBtu/h 

• Electric Water Heaters • Tankless Instantaneous Water 

Heaters 

• Instantaneous Water Heaters with 

Tanks 

B. Products Not Included in the 

Preliminary Screening Analysis 

Several products were not included in 

the formal Preliminary Screening 

Analysis: 

• Central Air Source Heat Pumps, 

;::135 kBtu/h-<240 kBtu/h (heating 

performance) 

• Central Air Source Heat Pumps, ;::65 

kBtu/h-<135 kBtu/h (heating 

performance) 

• 3-Phase Single Package, Air Source 

Heat Pumps, <65 kBtu/h (heating 

performance) 

• 3-Phase Split Air Source Heat 

Pumps, <65 kBtu/h (heating 

performance) 

• Packaged Terminal Heat Pump 

(heating performance) 

• Central Water Source Heat Pumps 

<135 kBtu/h (heating performance) 

• Water Source Heat Pumps ;:0:135 

kBtu/h-<240 kBtu/h • Evaporatively Cooled Products • Oil-Fired Warm Air Furnaces >225 

kBtu/h 

• Oil-Fired Storage Water Heaters 

;:0:155 kBtu/h • Oil-Fired Storage Water Heaters 

<155 kBtu/h • Tankless Oil-Fired Instantaneous 

Water Heaters 

• Oil-Fired Instantaneous Water 

Heaters with Tanks 

• Oil-Fired Small Boilers ;:0:2.5 

MMBtu/h 

• Oil-Fired Large Boilers <2.5 

MMBtu/h (steam and hot water) 

The reasons for excluding these 

products involve insufficient data 

describing baseline energy consumption 

and cost-efficiency relationships, small 

markets for the products in question or 

lack of product shipment data, or, in the 

case of the heating performance of airsource heat pumps, absence of a suitable 

methodology to discriminate their 

heating function from that of 

supplemental heat sources with which 

they are often used. 

C. DOE Decision Process 

The Department plans to review the 

results of the Preliminary Screening' 

Analysis and to announce the 

availability of the document in the 

Federal Register. The announcement 

will also contain DOE's preliminary 

inclination with respect to actions it 

will take on the EPCA commercial 

product categories covered by ASHRAEI 

IES Standard 90.1-1999 efficiency 

levels and will invite comments related 

to: (1) The analysis contained in the 

Preliminary Screening Analysis, (2) 

DOE's interpretation of the results, (3) 

DOE's treatment of the product 

categories; and (4) any other information 

or evidence that bears on the adoption 

of ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1999 

efficiency levels as uniform national 

standards under the terms of EPCA. 

After receiving comments in response 

to the Announcement, the Department 

expects to pursue, for each product 

category, one of four courses of action: 

• Adopt the ASHRAE/IES Standard 

90.1-1999 efficiency level as a uniform 

national standard; 

• Reject the ASHRAE/IES Standard 

90.1-1999 efficiency level if it increases 

maximum allowable energy use or 

decreases minimum required efficiency; 

• Propose consideration of an addendum to ASHRAE/IES Standard 

90.1-1999 if ASHRAE did not consider 

a more efficient level, and a more 

efficient level appears warranted; or 

• Propose consideration of an addendum to ASHRAE/IES Standard 
EE-RM-STD-00-100 COMMENT 00

10988 Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 41/Wednesday, March 1, ZOOO/Proposed Rules 

90.1-1999 and undertake a more 

thorough evaluation to determine 

whether a rulemaking is justified, if 

ASHRAE considered amending or 

amended the standard, and a more 

efficient level appears warranted than is 

contained in ASHRAE/IES Standard 

90.1-1999. 

DOE expects to announce the 

availability of the Preliminary Screening 

Analysis in March 2000, along with the 

Department's preliminary inclinations 

with respect to the EPCA commercial 

product efficiency levels covered by 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1999. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 23, 

2000. 

Dan W. Reicher, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 00-4738 Filed 2-29-00; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Parts 716 and 741 

Privacy of Consumer Financial 

Information; Requirements for 

Insurance 

AGENCY: National Credit Union 

Administration (NCUA). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The NCUA Board is 

proposing a new privacy rule applicable 

to all federally-insured credit unions, as 

required by the recently enacted 

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the GLB Act 

or Act). The proposed rule requires 

credit unions to have a privacy policy 

and provide certain disclosures and 

notices to individuals about whom 

credit unions collect non public personal 

information. It also restricts a credit 

union's ability to disclose nonpublic 

personal information, including giving 

individuals in some cases an 

opportunity to opt out of the disclosure. 

In drafting the proposed rule, the NCUA 

participated as part of an interagency 

group composed of representatives from 

the NCUA, the Federal Trade 

Commission, the Office of the 

Comptroller of the Currency, Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation, Office of Thrift 

Supervision, Secretary of the Treasury, 

and Securities and Exchange 

Commission (collectively, the 

Agencies). The other Agencies are also 

required to issue regulations to 

implement the GLB Act. NCUA's 

proposed rule takes into account the 

unique circumstances of federallyinsured credit unions and their 

members but is comparable and 

consistent with the regulations of the 

other Agencies as required by the GLB 

Act. 

DATES: NCUA must receive comments 

by March 31, 2000. 

ADDRESSES: Direct comments to: Becky 

Baker, Secretary of the Board. Mail or 

hand-deliver comments to: National 

Credit Union Administration, 1775 

Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 

22314-3428, or you may fax comments 

to (703) 518-6319. Please send 

comments by one method only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary F. Rupp or Regina M. Metz, Staff 

Attorneys, Division of Operations, 

Office of General Counsel, at the above 

address or telephone: (703) 518-6540. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On November 12, 1999, President 

Clinton signed the GLB Act (Pub. L. 

106-102, codified at 15 U.S.c. 6801 et 

seq.) into law. Subtitle A of Title V of 

the GLB Act, captioned Disclosure of 

Nonpublic Personal Information, limits 

the instances when a financial 

institution may disclose nonpublic 

personal information of a consumer to 

nonaffiliated third parties. It requires a 

financial institution to disclose to all its 

customers the institution's privacy 

policies and practices with respect to 

information sharing with affiliates and 

nonaffiliated third parties. 

As required by the GLB Act, the 

NCUA has consulted with the other 

Agencies to ensure that its proposed 

rule is consistent and comparable with 

the proposed rules of the other 

Agencies. However, the NCUA's 

proposed rule takes into account the 

unique nature of credit union structure 

and operations, particularly, the 

relationship between a credit union and 

its members, credit union investment in 

credit union service organizations 

(CUSOs), and, generally, the significant 

difference between credit union and 

CUSO activities as compared with other 

financial institutions and their 

subsidiaries or affiliates. 

A credit union is a not-for-profit, 

cooperative financial institution, formed 

to permit those in the field of 

membership specified in the credit 

union's charter to save, borrow, and 

obtain related financial services. 

Member ownership and control make 

credit unions unique from other 

financial institutions. Federal credit 

union investment in affiliates is limited 

to CUSOs, which are organizations that 

primarily serve credit unions or their 

members and whose business is related 

to the daily and routine operations of 

credit unions. 12 U.S.C. 1757(5)(D), 

1757(7)(I). This is also generally true for 

state-chartered credit unions. 

A key focus of the GLB Act is 

protecting the privacy of consumers and 

the customers of financial institutions 

while permitting financial institutions 

to make disclosures to their affiliates. In 

the credit union context, this means that 

the provisions of the Act and the 

requirements of NCUA's proposed 

regulation will apply primarily to a 

credit union's members and ordinarily 

permit sharing of information with 

CUSOs. Nevertheless, the Act and the 

proposed regulations impose 

requirements on credit unions with 

respect to nonmembers who are deemed 

to be consumers or customers receiving 

a financial product or service from the 

credit union. Thus, credit unions must 

understand when individuals qualify as 

a consumer or customer and what 

responsibilities the credit union has to 

them. While the GLB Act uses the term 

customer to describe a category of 

individuals to whom certain obligations 

are owed, the term customer should not 

be equated with the term member. 

Members in a credit union, as noted 

above, are its owners with a relationship 

to their credit union that is inherently 

different than that of customers to a 

financial institution. In addition, 

whether a CUSO will qualify as an 

affiliate to which a credit union may 

make disclosures will depend on the 

extent to which a credit union exercises 

control over the CUSO. 

NCUA's proposed rule mirrors the 

other Agencies' proposed rules except 

for modifications appropriate to address 

the different circumstances of credit 

unions such as references to credit 

unions, CUSOs, members, nonmember 

customers, and other nonmembers. 

NCUA has also incorporated much of 

the preamble discussion from the 

Agencies' joint notice of proposed 

rulemaking in this preamble. The 

section-by-section analysis of the rule 

that follows points out those provisions 

that differ from the other Agencies' 

proposed rules. Besides differences in 

terms or definitions, a significant 

modification is in the use of examples 

in the rule. All the Agencies' proposed 

rules contain examples to aid 

understanding. NCUA has attempted to 

use examples pertinent to credit union 

circumstances and, therefore. has 

changed or deleted some examples used 

in the other Agencies' proposals. 

The NCUA requests comment on all 

aspects of the proposed rule as well as 

comment on the specific provisions and 

issues highlighted in the section-bysection summary below. The NCUA