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MEMORANDUM

- 1

- TO: DOE Office of General Counsel

FROM: Doug Smith

DATE: February 1 3 , 2012

RE: Disclosure of Permitted Communication Concerning Regional Standards Enforcement Framework Document

-- Docket No. EERE

- 2011

- BT

- CE

- 0077

This memo provides an overview of communications made to DOE staff on the subject of a policy for providing waivers f rom new regional furnace efficiency standards. The
communications occurred at a meeting held at 2:00 pm on February 1, 2012, during the comment period on the Regional Standards Enforcement Framework Document. S ee 76 Fed. Reg . 76328 (Dec. 7, 2011).

Meeting a ttendees :

Dan Cohen (DOE/OGC) Ashley Armstrong (DOE/EERE) John Cymbalsky (DOE/EERE) Celia Sher (DOE/OGC) Eric Stas (DOE/OGC) Paula Gant (American Gas Association) Robin Roy (Natural Resources Defense Council) Doug Smith (Van Ness Feldman)

Paula, Robin and Doug reported that they were working with an ad hoc coalition of stakeholders called “The Furnace Waiver Design Group

. ” That Group developed a detailed policy proposal

on appropriate waivers from the new regional furna ce standards. ( The Group subsequently submitted comments in this docket on February 6, 2012. See Comments of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, Alliance to Save Energy, American Council for an Energy

- Efficient Economy, American Gas Association, Appliance Standards Awareness Project, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumer Law Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Plumbing, Heating, Cooling Contractors

- National Association on Regional Standards
Enforcement Framework Document. )- 2

- Paula, Robin and Doug made the following points:

- DOE should establish a process for providing waivers from the new regional furnace

s tandard

.

- Waivers should be available where pre

- determined criteria are met and eligibility is documented by the i nsta ller

. No case

- specific application to, or action by, DOE should be required.

- Waiver should be available only for furnace r eplacement in an e xis ting h ome , and only if: (a) b uilding conditions or local regulatory restrictions effe ctually preclude installa tion of a condensing furnace , or (b) the incremental installation cost (of a condensing furnace v. a

non

- condensing furnace) is prohibitive.

- An i nstaller should be required to document eligibility f or the waiver on a standardized form, to be subsequently submitted to DOE. Documentation should include : building characteristics driving excessive incremental installation c ost ; r egulatory c onstraints ; and

p roject cost d ata

.

- I nstallers determining waiver eligibility should be required to have a ppropriate training
and certification on the waiver process and criteria.

- In order to ensure that the waive r policy is working as intended, DOE should periodically review experience with the waiver policy to determine whether any adjustment is appropriat e. Any significant changes to the waiver policy should be promulgated through

an appropriate notice and comment process

.