This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

59709 

Vol. 77, No. 190 

Monday, October 1, 2012 

1To view the interim rule, its supporting and 

related materials, and the comments we received, 

go to http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2008-0015. 

2Section 301.76–4 of that rule was effective on 

September 15, 2010, rather than June 17, 2010. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0015] 

RIN 0579–AC85 

Citrus Greening and Asian Citrus 

Psyllid; Quarantine and Interstate 

Movement Regulations 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final 

rule, with several changes, an interim 

rule that quarantined the States of 

Florida and Georgia, Puerto Rico, the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, two parishes in 

Louisiana, and two counties in South 

Carolina due to the presence of citrus 

greening and quarantined Alabama, 

Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, 

Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, three 

counties in South Carolina, portions of 

one county in Arizona, and all of three 

and portions of an additional three 

counties in California due to the 

presence of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), 

a vector of the bacterial pathogen that 

causes citrus greening. The rule also 

established restrictions on the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from the 

quarantined areas. In this final rule, we 

are making several nonsubstantive 

editorial amendments to the interim 

rule to improve its clarity and facilitate 

regulatory compliance. This final rule 

also provides notice that we have 

quarantined American Samoa and the 

Northern Mariana Islands for ACP, have 

extended the boundaries of the 

quarantined area for ACP in California 

to incorporate all of one and portions of 

another additional county, and have 

quarantined portions of one county in 

Texas and an area comprising portions 

of two counties in California for citrus 

greening. 

DATES: Effective October 31, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Lynn Evans-Goldner, National Program 

Manager, Emergency and Domestic 

Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 160, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 

851–2286. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Citrus greening, also known as 

Huanglongbing disease of citrus, is 

considered to be one of the most serious 

citrus diseases in the world. Citrus 

greening is a bacterial disease caused by 

strains of the bacterial pathogen 

‘‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’’ that 

attacks the vascular system of host 

plants. The pathogen is phloem-limited, 

inhabiting the food-conducting tissue of 

the host plant, and causes yellow 

shoots, blotchy mottling and chlorosis, 

reduced foliage, and tip dieback of 

citrus plants. Citrus greening greatly 

reduces production, destroys the 

economic value of the fruit, and can kill 

trees. Once infected, there is no cure for 

a tree with citrus greening disease. In 

areas of the world where the disease is 

endemic, citrus trees decline and die 

within a few years and may never 

produce usable fruit. 

The bacterial pathogen causing citrus 

greening can be transmitted by grafting 

and, under laboratory conditions, by 

parasitic plants. There also is some 

evidence that seed transmission may 

occur. The pathogen can also be 

transmitted by two insect vectors in the 

family Psyllidae: Diaphorina citri 

Kuwayama, the Asian citrus psyllid 

(ACP), and Trioza erytreae (del 

Guercio), the African citrus psyllid. ACP 

can also cause economic damage to 

citrus in groves and nurseries by direct 

feeding. Both adults and nymphs feed 

on young foliage, depleting the sap and 

causing galling or curling of leaves. 

High populations feeding on a citrus 

shoot can kill the growing tip. The 

African citrus psyllid is not known to 

exist in the United States. 

In an interim rule 1 published in the 

Federal Register and effective on June 

17, 2010 2 (75 FR 34322–34336, Docket 

No. APHIS–2008–0015), we amended 

our domestic quarantine regulations in 

7 CFR part 301 by adding a new subpart, 

‘‘Citrus Greening and Asian Citrus 

Psyllid’’ (§§ 301.76 through 301.76–11, 

referred to below as the regulations). 

The interim rule quarantined the States 

of Florida and Georgia, Puerto Rico, the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, two parishes in 

Louisiana, and two counties in South 

Carolina due to the presence of citrus 

greening and quarantined Alabama, 

Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, 

Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, three 

counties in South Carolina, portions of 

one county in Arizona, and all of three 

and portions of an additional three 

counties in California due to the 

presence of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), 

a vector of the bacterial pathogen that 

causes citrus greening. The interim rule 

also established restrictions on the 

interstate movement of regulated 

articles from the quarantined areas. The 

interim rule was necessary on an 

emergency basis in order to prevent the 

spread of the plant pathogen and its 

vector to noninfested areas of the United 

States. 

We solicited comments concerning 

the interim rule for 60 days, ending 

August 16, 2010. We received five 

comments by that date, from State 

departments of agriculture, commercial 

citrus nurseries, and a commercial 

distributor of citrus plants. The 

comments received are discussed below, 

by topic. 

Regulated Articles 

In § 301.76–2 of the interim rule, we 

designated all plant parts, including 

leaves (except fruit), of several genera 

and species, including Murraya 

paniculata (orange jasmine), as 

regulated articles for ACP and citrus 

greening. 

One commenter agreed that orange 

jasmine is a host of ACP and citrus 

greening. Moreover, the commenter 

stated that recent studies conducted by 

American, Brazilian, and Chinese 

phytopathologists have determined that 

orange jasmine that is infected with 

citrus greening may spread the disease 

to other plants if ACP serves as the 

means of transmission. However, the 

commenter stated that the same 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

59710 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 190 / Monday, October 1, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

researchers had also found titer levels of 

the bacterial pathogen associated with 

citrus greening in these newly infected 

plants to be low, and to decrease over 

time. (Titers are antibodies for a 

particular pathogen that are present 

within an organism’s vascular system.) 

For this reason, the commenter 

suggested that APHIS should reevaluate 

whether to consider orange jasmine a 

regulated article for citrus greening. 

We agree with the commenter that 

recent studies suggest that, if citrus 

greening is transmitted from an orange 

jasmine plant to other host plants, these 

host plants do not exhibit high densities 

of the bacterial pathogen associated 

with the disease. However, the 

preponderance of available scientific 

evidence, including the evidence cited 

by the commenter, suggests that orange 

jasmine can serve as a source of 

transmission of citrus greening. Hence 

we are making no change to the 

regulations in response to this comment. 

Labeling Requirements 

In § 301.76–4 of the interim rule, in 

order to forestall the inadvertent but 

unauthorized noncommercial interstate 

movement of regulated nursery stock 

from an area quarantined for citrus 

greening, we required all nursery stock 

offered for commercial sale in such an 

area to be affixed with a plastic or metal 

tag with a prominent and legible 

statement alerting consumers to Federal 

prohibitions on the movement of the 

article. Alternatively, if the article is 

sold in a box or container, we allowed 

the statement to be printed on the box 

or container. We stated that the operator 

of the site of propagation of the nursery 

stock and the person offering the plants 

for commercial sale are jointly 

responsible for all such labeling. 

One commenter stated that we should 

allow the statement to be printed on the 

back of existing identification tags 

required under State and local 

regulations. 

Provided that the statement is 

prominently and legibly displayed, it 

may be printed on the back of such tags. 

Another commenter pointed out that, 

as written, § 301.76–4 would require 

nursery stock produced in an area that 

is not quarantined for citrus greening, 

but shipped to a quarantined area for 

commercial sale, to be labeled prior to 

shipment or to be labeled by the person 

offering the plant for commercial sale. 

The commenter stated that commercial 

retailers of citrus nursery stock are 

unlikely to label their inventory; hence, 

it would fall to producers to label the 

nursery stock prior to shipment. The 

commenter further stated that smaller 

producers in the citrus industry often do 

not know the final destination of their 

nursery stock prior to shipment. The 

commenter concluded that § 301.76–4 

would effectively require such 

producers to label their entire inventory, 

unless they were certain the nursery 

stock would not be shipped to an area 

quarantined for citrus greening. 

Accordingly, the commenter suggested 

that we modify the section so that all 

producers who ship regulated nursery 

stock interstate would have to label 

their plants, or so that the requirement 

would pertain to regulated nursery stock 

that is produced within an area 

quarantined for citrus greening, rather 

than offered for commercial sale within 

such an area. 

Requiring all regulated nursery stock 

that will be moved in interstate 

commerce to be labeled in accordance 

with § 301.76–4 would place an undue 

burden on producers in areas that are 

not quarantined for citrus greening who 

ship primarily or exclusively to areas of 

the United States that also are not 

quarantined for this disease, and lacks 

a basis in risk. 

Nursery stock that is offered for 

commercial sale in an area quarantined 

for citrus greening may not be 

safeguarded in a manner that precludes 

citrus greening from being introduced to 

the plants; this risk of introduction is 

especially pronounced for nursery stock 

offered for sale in an area quarantined 

both for citrus greening and for ACP, 

citrus greening’s vector for shortdistance spread. Accordingly, a 

regulated plant that was produced in an 

area that is not quarantined for citrus 

greening may become infected with the 

disease while it is being offered for 

commercial sale within such a 

quarantined area. Hence we consider it 

necessary to require that all consumers 

who purchase the regulated nursery 

stock within the quarantined area be 

alerted to Federal prohibitions on the 

interstate movement of the articles. 

Finally, we appreciate the 

commenter’s concern that commercial 

retailers may be disinclined to label 

such nursery stock in accordance with 

§ 301.76–4. To that end, we have been 

working with commercial retailers since 

issuance of the interim rule to find 

methods to ensure that means exist for 

the retailers to comply with the 

provisions of § 301.76–4 in a manner 

that is not economically burdensome or 

disruptive. 

Conditions for Interstate Movement 

Section 301.76–6 of the interim rule 

contained regulations governing the 

interstate movement of regulated 

articles from areas quarantined for ACP, 

but not for citrus greening. Paragraph (b) 

provides for the issuance of limited 

permits for the interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock to areas of the 

United States other than American 

Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and 

those portions of Arizona, California, 

and South Carolina not quarantined due 

to the presence of ACP or citrus 

greening, if certain conditions were 

fulfilled. 

One of these conditions was that the 

nursery stock be treated for ACP with an 

APHIS-approved soil drench or inground granular application no more 

than 30 days and no fewer than 20 days 

before shipment, followed by an APHISapproved foliar spray no more than 10 

days before shipment. Treatments must 

be applied according to their 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

label, including directions on 

application, restrictions on place of 

application and other restrictions, and 

precautions, and including statements 

pertaining to worker protection 

standards. 

The interim rule also required the 

nursery stock to be moved in a container 

sealed with an agricultural seal placed 

by an inspector. 

Several commenters stated that these 

conditions unnecessarily hindered 

interstate commerce. 

Two commenters pointed out that, in 

requiring application of soil drenches or 

granular applications no more than 30 

days and no fewer than 20 days before 

shipment of articles, we were providing 

a 10-day timeframe for such application. 

The commenters stated that this 

timeframe was insufficient for smaller 

producers, who often did not know the 

expected date of interstate movement of 

an article that far in advance. While 

recognizing the need for optimal 

absorption of the soil drench, the 

commenters requested a longer window 

of time for the application of that 

treatment. 

The same commenters also stated 

that, by requiring the articles to be 

sealed in a shipping container and 

inspectors to seal each container with 

an agricultural seal prior to movement, 

we were, in effect, limiting shipment of 

the articles to normal business hours (8 

a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday). The commenters stated that 

their shipments traditionally have 

tended to occur overnight or in the early 

morning. Because of these economic 

considerations, the commenters 

questioned whether the conditions were 

strictly necessary, especially for nursery 

stock that is not destined for an area in 

which ACP could become established. 

The points raised by these 

commenters were addressed in an 

interim rule published in the Federal 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 190 / Monday, October 1, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 59711 

Register and effective on April 27, 2011 

(76 FR 23449–23459, Docket No. 

APHIS–2010–0048). In that rule, we 

amended the regulations to provide that 

soil drenches may be applied no more 

than 90 but no less than 30 days prior 

to shipment, thus widening the window 

of time for applications to 60 days. We 

also amended the regulations to provide 

that nursery stock does not have to be 

moved interstate in a sealed shipping 

container unless it will transit a 

commercial citrus-producing area. 

Miscellaneous Changes 

We are making several nonsubstantive 

editorial amendments to various 

provisions of the June 2009 interim rule 

in order to improve their clarity and 

facilitate regulatory compliance. These 

changes are described below. 

In § 301.76–1 of the interim rule, we 

defined citrus greening as ‘‘a plant 

disease caused by several strains of the 

uncultured, phloem-limited bacterial 

pathogen ‘Candidatus Liberibacter 

asiaticus’.’’ This definition, while 

accurate, did not specify that citrus 

greening is also commonly referred to as 

Huanglongbing disease of citrus by the 

international taxonomic community. We 

are amending the definition to specify 

that the disease is known by both 

names. 

In the interim rule, paragraph (a) of 

§ 301.76–6 provided for the issuance of 

certificates for the unrestricted 

movement of any regulated article from 

an area quarantined only for ACP, if, 

among other conditions, the article was 

treated with methyl bromide prior to 

movement. While the preamble of the 

rule noted that EPA and State and local 

environmental authorities may not 

authorize the use of methyl bromide on 

certain regulated articles, the regulatory 

text for paragraph (a) of § 301.76–6 did 

not. We are adding a footnote containing 

this information to paragraph (a). 

As we mentioned above, in the 

interim rule, paragraph (b) of § 301.76– 

6 provided for the issuance of limited 

permits for the interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock from an area 

quarantined only for ACP, subject to 

certain conditions. As we also 

mentioned above, one of these 

conditions required the nursery stock to 

be affixed prior to movement with a 

plastic or metal tag on which the 

statement ‘‘Limited permit: USDA– 

APHIS–PPQ. Not for distribution in 

American Samoa, Northern Mariana 

Islands, or those portions of AZ, CA, 

and SC not quarantined due to the 

presence of Asian citrus psyllid or citrus 

greening’’ is prominently and legibly 

displayed, or to be otherwise labeled 

with this statement. We stated that the 

limited permit statement was necessary 

in order to help prevent the 

introduction of ACP into areas with 

commercial citrus production but 

without established populations of ACP 

through the movement of regulated 

nursery stock. 

However, since the interim rule was 

issued, established populations of ACP 

have been detected in two additional 

commercial citrus-producing areas, 

Northern Mariana Islands and American 

Samoa. In the April 2011 interim rule 

mentioned earlier in this document, we 

amended the regulations governing the 

statement on the limited permit to 

reflect the presence of ACP in American 

Samoa. In this final rule, we are again 

amending it to reflect the presence of 

ACP in Northern Mariana Islands. 

In the interim rule, § 301.76–7 

provided for the issuance of limited 

permits from areas quarantined for 

citrus greening. Paragraph (a) of 

§ 301.76–7 provided for the issuance of 

limited permits for the interstate 

movement of regulated nursery stock for 

immediate export, if, among other 

conditions, the nursery stock is treated 

with an APHIS-approved soil drench or 

in-ground granular application, 

followed by an APHIS-approved foliar 

spray; with methyl bromide; or with 

irradiation. We intended these treatment 

options to mirror those contained in 

§ 301.76–6 for regulated nursery stock 

moved interstate from an area 

quarantined only for ACP. However, 

while § 301.76–6 authorized regulated 

nursery stock to be treated with APHISapproved soil drenches, granular 

applications, and foliar sprays, or 

fumigated with methyl bromide, it did 

not authorize nursery stock to be treated 

with irradiation. We are amending 

§ 301.76–7 accordingly. (The April 2011 

interim rule referenced above 

redesignated paragraph (a) as paragraph 

(b); hence we would amend paragraph 

(b) of § 301.76–7.) 

Notice of Quarantine 

In § 301.76–3 of the interim rule, 

paragraph (c) provided that a State or 

territory within the United States will 

be designated a quarantined area for 

ACP in which an established population 

of ACP has been detected. Paragraph (b) 

of § 301.76–3 provided that we may 

designate less than an entire State or 

territory as a quarantined area for ACP 

if the State or territory has adopted and 

is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate 

movement of regulated articles that are 

equivalent to those imposed by the 

regulations on the interstate movement 

of regulated articles; and if the 

designation of less than the entire State 

or territory will still prevent the 

interstate spread of ACP. 

As we mentioned above, we have 

detected established populations of ACP 

in American Samoa and Northern 

Mariana Islands; neither of these 

territories has adopted intra-territorial 

restrictions on the movement of 

regulated articles. We have also detected 

established populations of ACP in 

Ventura County and Santa Barbara 

County, CA, and detected citrus 

greening in portions of Hidalgo County, 

TX, and an area comprising portions of 

Los Angeles County and Orange County, 

CA. 

Accordingly, we are designating both 

American Samoa and Northern Mariana 

Islands, in their entireties, as 

quarantined areas for ACP, and are 

expanding the quarantined area for ACP 

in California to include Ventura County 

in its entirety and portions of Santa 

Barbara County. We are also designating 

portions of Hidalgo County, TX, and an 

area comprising portions of Los Angeles 

County and Orange County, CA, as 

quarantined areas for citrus greening. 

The updated list of quarantined areas is 

available on the Internet, at http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ 

plant_pest_info/citrus_greening/ 

index.shtml. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

interim rule and in this document, we 

are adopting the interim rule as a final 

rule, with the changes discussed in this 

document. 

This final rule also affirms the 

information contained in the interim 

rule regarding Executive Orders 12372 

and 12988, and the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. 

Further, this action has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Orders 12866, 

and, therefore, has not been reviewed by 

the Office of Management and Budget. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This final rule follows an interim rule 

that quarantined the States of Florida 

and Georgia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. 

Virgin Islands, two parishes in 

Louisiana, and two counties in South 

Carolina due to the presence of citrus 

greening and quarantined Alabama, 

Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, 

Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, three 

counties in South Carolina, portions of 

one county in Arizona, and all of three 

and portions of an additional three 

counties in California due to the 

presence of Asian citrus psyllid, a 

vector of the bacterial pathogen that 

causes citrus greening. In this final rule, 

the list of quarantined areas for Asian 

citrus psyllid is being updated to 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

59712 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 190 / Monday, October 1, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

3EPA and State and local environmental 

authorities may restrict the use of methyl bromide 

on certain articles. 

include American Samoa, the Northern 

Mariana Islands, and all of one and 

portions of another additional county in 

California. Likewise, the list of 

quarantined areas for citrus greening is 

being updated to include portions of 

one county in Texas and an area 

comprising portions of two counties in 

California. The analysis that 

accompanies this rule considers the 

economic effects of the regulations on 

the current quarantined area and the 

benefits of imposing the quarantine. 

Expected benefits and costs are 

examined, in accordance with Executive 

Orders 12866 and 13563, including 

expected economic impacts for small 

entities as required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

In the interim rule, APHIS imposed 

measures to prevent the spread of citrus 

greening and ACP to other commercial 

citrus-producing areas by prohibiting or 

restricting the movement of host 

material outside of areas quarantined for 

the pest or the disease. Although the 

majority of affected establishments in 

the quarantined areas are small entities, 

the effects of the interim rule on these 

businesses were minor. Affected entities 

were nursery operations and other 

production sites in Alabama, California, 

Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, 

South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands that produce citrus trees, 

orange jasmine, curryleaf, and other 

articles regulated by the rule. 

This final rule designates American 

Samoa and the Northern Mariana 

Islands as quarantined areas for ACP, 

and extends the boundaries of the 

quarantine area for ACP in California to 

include all of one county (Ventura 

County) and portions of another 

additional county (Santa Barbara 

County). Producers in these areas that 

have relied on markets in commercial 

citrus-producing areas that are not 

currently quarantined for ACP or citrus 

greening will suffer the loss of those 

markets. However, it is unlikely that 

producers of citrus nursery stock in 

these areas currently produce citrus 

nursery stock intended for markets 

outside of the quarantine area. The 

effort to mitigate the further spread of 

ACP and citrus greening will serve to 

benefit to other citrus producing areas. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 7 CFR parts 301 and 305 that 

was published at 75 FR 34322 on June 

10, 2011, is adopted as a final rule, with 

the following changes: 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 301 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781– 

7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Section 301.75–15 issued under Sec. 204, 

Title II, Public Law 106–113, 113 Stat. 

1501A–293; sections 301.75–15 and 301.75– 

16 issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 

106–224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note). 

■ 2. In § 301.76–1, the definition of 

citrus greening is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 301.76–1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Citrus greening. A plant disease, also 

commonly referred to as Huanglongbing 

disease of citrus, that is caused by 

several strains of the uncultured, 

phloem-limited bacterial pathogen 

‘‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’’. 

* * * * * 

§§ 301.76–6, 301.76–7, 301.76–8, and 

301.76–9 [Amended] 

■ 3. In §§ 301.76–6, 301.76–7, 301.76–8, 

and 301.76–9, footnotes 3 through 7 are 

redesignated as footnotes 4 through 8, 

respectively. 

■ 4. Section 301.76–6 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (a)(1), by adding a 

footnote 3; and 

■ b. In paragraph (c)(1)(iv), by removing 

the words ‘‘Northern Mariana Islands 

or’’. 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 301.76–6 Additional conditions for 

issuance of certificates and limited permits 

for regulated articles moved interstate from 

areas quarantined for Asian citrus psyllid, 

but not for citrus greening. 

(a) * * * 

(1) The article is treated with methyl 

bromide 3 in accordance with 7 CFR part 

305 of this chapter. 

* * * * * 

§ 301.76–7 [Amended] 

■ 5. In § 301.76–7, paragraph (b)(1) is 

amended by removing the words ‘‘or 

irradiation’’. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of 

September 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–24112 Filed 9–28–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Parts 429 and 430 

[Docket Number EERE–2011–BT–STD– 

0060] 

RIN 1904–AC64 

Energy Conservation Program: Energy 

Conservation Standards for 

Dishwashers 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of effective date and 

compliance dates for direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) published a direct final 

rule to establish amended energy 

conservation standards for dishwashers 

in the Federal Register on May 30, 

2012. DOE has determined that the 

adverse comments received in response 

to the direct final rule were not 

sufficiently ‘‘adverse’’ as to provide a 

reasonable basis for withdrawing the 

direct final rule. Therefore, DOE 

provides this document confirming 

adoption of the energy conservation 

standards established in the direct final 

rule and announcing the effective date 

of those standards. 

DATES: The September 27, 2012, 

effective date for the direct final rule 

published on May 30, 2012 (77 FR 

31918) is confirmed. Compliance with 

the standards in the direct final rule will 

be required on May 30, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: The docket is available for 

review at regulations.gov, including 

Federal Register notices, framework 

documents, public meeting attendee 

lists and transcripts, comments, and 

other supporting documents/materials. 

All documents in the docket are listed 

in the regulations.gov index. Not all 

documents listed in the index may be 

publicly available, such as information 

that is exempt from public disclosure. 

The docket web page can be found at 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket

Detail;dct=FR%252BPR%252BN

%252BO%252BSR;rpp=25;po=0;D=

EERE-2011-BT-STD-0060. 

For further information on how to 

submit or review public comments or 

view hard copies of the docket, contact 

Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 

or email: Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Stephen L. Witkowski, 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: 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES