3334 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

Finding of No Significant Impact;

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, Department of

Energy.

ACTION: Finding of no significant impact

(FONSI) for amended energy

conservation standard for clothes

washers.

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–1344, DOE has determined that the

adoption of the negotiated energy

efficiency Trial Standard Level (TSL) 3

for clothes washers, as adopted by the

Final Rule entitled the ‘‘Energy

Conservation Program for Consumer

Products: Clothes Washer 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: 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, SW., Washington, DC 20585–

0121, (202) 586–9127.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, Forrestal Building,

Mail Station EE–41, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585–

0121, (202) 586–0371. For information

regarding the DOE NEPA process,

contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director,

Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance

(EH–42), 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC 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 3) for clothes washers.

Environmental Impacts: The EA

evaluates the environmental impacts of

a range of new energy conservation

standards for clothes washers. 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 only

two pollutants, nitrogen oxides ( NOX)

and sulfur dioxide (SO2), and one

emission, carbon. Cumulative power

sector and household emissions

reductions through 2020 for the

proposed standards range from 2.5–65

Mt for carbon and 8.4–210 kt for NOX.

Through 2030, the cumulative

emissions reductions range from 5.1–

135 Mt for carbon and 14.4–364 kt of

NOX. The reduction in SO2 emissions

ranges from 0.6–15.5 kt through 2020

and from 1.2–31.4 kt through 2030.

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

possible clothes washer standards

through changes in allowance prices.

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 clothes washers 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, DC, on January 3,

2001.

Dan W. Reicher,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 01–612 Filed 1–11–01; 8:45 am]

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