Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2001 / Notices 7201

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

Finding of No Significant Impact

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Finding of No Significant

Impact (FONSI) for Energy Conservation

Standard for Residential Central Air

Conditioners and Heat Pumps.

SUMMARY: The Energy Policy and

Conservation Act, as amended by the

National Energy Conservation Policy

Act and the National Appliance Energy

Conservation Act, and the National

Appliance Energy Conservation

Amendments, prescribes energy

conservation standards for certain major

household appliances, and requires the

Department of Energy (DOE) to

administer an energy conservation

program for these products. Based on an

Environmental Assessment (EA), DOE/

EA–1352, DOE has determined that the

adoption of energy efficiency Trial

Standard Level (TSL) 4 for residential

central air conditioners and heat pumps,

as adopted by the Final Rule entitled the

‘‘Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products: Residential Central

Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps

Energy Conservation Standards,’’ would

not be a major Federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the

human environment within the meaning

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, an

environmental impact statement (EIS) is

not required, and the Department is

issuing this finding of no significant

impact (FONSI).

ADDRESSES: Public Availability: Copies

of the EA are available from: U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy,

Forrestal Building, Mail Station EE–41,

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C., 20585–0121, (202)

586–9127.

FOR FURTHER PROGRAM INFORMATION

CONTACT: Dr. Michael E. McCabe, Office

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Energy (EE–41), U.S. Department of

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585–0121,

(202) 586–9127.

For Further Information Regarding the

DOE NEPA Process, Contact: Carol

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA

Policy and Assistance (EH–42), 1000

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20585–0119, (202)

586–4600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description of the Proposed Action:

The proposed action is the

establishment of a revised energy

conservation standard (TSL 4) for

residential central air conditioners and

heat pumps.

Environmental Impacts: The EA

evaluates the environmental impacts of

a range of new energy conservation

standards for residential central air

conditioners and heat pumps. The

results are presented for each potential

trial standard level. Each potential trial

standard level is an alternative action,

and the environmental impacts of each

alternative are compared to what would

be expected to happen if no new

standard were adopted, i.e., the ‘‘no

action’’ alternative.

The main environmental impact is

decreased emissions from fossil-fueled

electricity generation. All of the

minimum efficiency levels considered

for this appliance product category

would result in decreased electricity use

and, therefore, a reduction in power

plant emissions. The proposed

efficiency standard would generally

decrease air pollution by decreasing

future energy demand. The

environmental analysis considers two

pollutants, nitrogen oxides ( NOX) and

sulfur dioxide (SO2), and one emission,

carbon. The Department, in the Notice

of Proposed Rulemaking, proposed TSL

3. However, in the Final Rule, DOE is

adopting TSL 4, an alternative that was

also analyzed in the EA. The results of

the analysis show an estimated

cumulative reduction of 27.7 to 32.7

million tons of carbon equivalent

emissions, and 84.4 to 93.8 thousand

tons NOX for TSLs 3 and 4, respectively,

through the year 2020. This would be a

national reduction of 0.19% and 0.23%

of carbon equivalent emissions, and

0.08% and 0.09% of NOX. Because

emissions of SO2 from power plants are

capped by clean air legislation, physical

emissions of this pollutant from

electricity generation will be only

minimally affected by residential central

air conditioners and heat pumps

standards. The maximum SO2 allowed

by law will most likely still be

produced, but because SO2 emissions

are traded, and if SO2 emissions are

lowered due to less power generation,

then the cost of SO2 emission credits

may decrease slightly. Therefore, the EA

did not consider changes in power

sector SO2 emissions because they will

be negligible.

Determination: Based upon the EA,

DOE has determined that the adoption

of the proposed energy-efficiency

standard for residential central air

conditioners and heat pumps would not

constitute a major Federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the

human environment, within the

meaning of NEPA. Therefore, an EIS is

not required, and the Department is

issuing this FONSI.

Issued in Washington, D.C., the 4th day, of

January 2001.

Dan W. Reicher,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 01–1791 Filed 1–18–01; 11:30 am]

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