Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 64 / Friday, April 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 18167 

1For editorial reasons, upon codification in the 

U.S. Code, Part B was redesignated as Part A. 

2All references to EPCA in this document refer 

to the statute as amended through the American 

Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act 

(AEMTCA), Public Law 112–210 (Dec. 18, 2012). 

may aggregate the requests and charge 

accordingly. OGE will presume that 

multiple requests of this type made 

within a 30-calendar day period have 

been made in order to evade fees. 

Multiple requests regarding unrelated 

matters will not be aggregated. 

(c) * * * 

(1) OGE estimates or determines that 

the total fee to be assessed under this 

section is likely to exceed $250.00. 

When a determination is made that the 

allowable charges are likely to exceed 

$250.00, the requester will be notified of 

the likely cost and will be required to 

provide satisfactory assurance of full 

payment where the requester has a 

history of prompt payment of FOIA fees, 

or will be required to submit an advance 

payment of an amount up to the full 

estimated charges in the case of 

requesters with no history of payment; 

or 

(2) A requester has previously failed 

to pay a fee charged in a timely fashion 

(i.e., within 30 calendar days of the date 

of the billing). In such cases the 

requester may be required to pay the full 

amount owed plus any applicable 

interest as provided by paragraph (e) of 

this section, and to make an advance 

payment of the full amount of the 

estimated fee before OGE begins to 

process a new request. 

(3) When OGE requests an advance 

payment of fees, the administrative time 

limits described in subsection (a)(6) of 

the FOIA will begin to run only after 

OGE has received the advance payment. 

(d) Billing and payment. Normally 

OGE will require a requester to pay all 

fees before furnishing the requested 

records. However, OGE may send a bill 

along with, or following the furnishing 

of records, in cases where the requester 

has a history of prompt payment. 

(e) Interest charges. Interest charges 

on an unpaid bill may be assessed 

starting on the 31st calendar day 

following the day on which the billing 

was sent. Interest will be at the rate 

prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and will 

accrue from the date of billing. To 

collect unpaid bills, OGE will follow the 

provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 

1982, as amended (96 Stat. 1749 et seq.) 

including the use of consumer reporting 

agencies, collection agencies, and offset. 

■ 32. Revise § 2604.601 to read as 

follows: 

§ 2604.601 Electronic posting and 

submission of annual OGE FOIA report. 

On or before February 1 of each year, 

OGE will electronically post on its Web 

site and submit to the Office of 

Information and Privacy at the United 

States Department of Justice a report of 

its activities relating to the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) during the 

preceding fiscal year. The report will 

include the information required by 5 

U.S.C. 552(e). 

§ 2604.602 [Removed] 

■ 33. Remove § 2604.602. 

■ 34. Revise § 2604.701 to read as 

follows: 

§ 2604.701 Policy. 

Fees for the reproduction and mailing 

of public financial disclosure reports 

(SF 278s) requested pursuant to section 

105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 

1978, as amended, and § 2634.603 of 

this chapter will be assessed according 

to the schedule contained in § 2604.702. 

Requesters will pay fees by check or 

money order made payable to the 

Treasury of the United States. Except as 

provided in § 2604.702(d), nothing 

concerning fees in subpart E of this part 

supersedes the charges set forth in this 

subpart for records covered in this 

subpart. 

■ 35. Amend § 2604.702 by revising 

paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) to read as 

follows: 

§ 2604.702 Charges. 

(a) Duplication. Except as provided in 

paragraph (c) of this section, copies of 

public financial disclosure reports (SF 

278s) requested pursuant to section 105 

of the Ethics in Government Act of 

1978, as amended, and § 2634.603 of 

this chapter will be provided upon 

payment of $0.15 per page furnished. 

(b) Mailing. Except as provided in 

paragraph (c) of this section, the actual 

direct cost of mailing public financial 

disclosure reports will be charged for all 

forms requested. Where OGE elects to 

comply, as a matter of administrative 

discretion, with a request for special 

mailing services, the actual direct cost 

of such service will be charged. 

(c) Minimum fees. OGE will not assess 

fees for individual requests if the total 

charge would be $10.00 or less. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–07376 Filed 4–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6345–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2012–BT–STD–0022] 

RIN 1904–AC78 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Energy 

Conservation Standards for 

Residential Water Heaters 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) withdraws a proposed 

rule published in the Federal Register 

on February 26, 2013 that proposed to 

establish a waiver process to allow the 

manufacture and sale of certain largevolume (>55 gallon) electric storage 

water heaters under 1-year waivers 

granted by DOE, provided that a specific 

set of features are included and 

conditions are met to ensure their use 

only in residences enrolled in utility 

electric thermal storage (ETS) programs. 

DATES: The proposed rule published on 

February 26, 2013 at 78 FR 12969 is 

withdrawn as of April 3, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ms. Ashley Armstrong, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–6590. Email: 

Ashley.Armstrong@ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Eric Stas, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–5827. Email: 

Eric.Stas@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Authority 

Title III, Part B 1 of the Energy Policy 

and Conservation Act of 1975 (‘‘EPCA’’ 

or ‘‘the Act’’), Public Law 94–163 (42 

U.S.C. 6291–6309, as codified) 

established the Energy Conservation 

Program for Consumer Products Other 

Than Automobiles.2 These products 

include residential water heaters 

(RWH), the subject of this document. (42 

U.S.C. 6292(a)(4)) 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
18168 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 64 / Friday, April 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

3Energy factor is a measure of overall water 

heater efficiency that accounts for efficiency during 

active, standby, and cyclical operation. 

4http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2012-BT-STD-0022. 

II. Background 

The National Appliance Energy 

Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA; Pub. 

L. 100–12) amended EPCA to, among 

other things, establish energy 

conservation standards for residential 

water heaters. (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)(1); 42 

U.S.C. 6295(e)(4)) DOE initially 

amended the statutorily prescribed 

standards for water heaters in a final 

rule published on January 17, 2001. 66 

FR 4474 (Jan. 17, 2001). Subsequently, 

DOE amended the residential water 

heater standards a second time in 

another final rule published on April 

16, 2010 (hereinafter known as the April 

2010 final rule). 73 FR 20112 (April 16, 

2010). 

The energy conservation standards for 

residential water heaters adopted in the 

April 2010 final rule will apply to 

products manufactured on or after April 

16, 2015. 75 FR 20234 (April 16, 2010). 

The amended energy conservation 

standards consist of minimum energy 

factors 3 (EF) that vary based on the 

rated storage volume of the water heater, 

the type of energy it uses (i.e., gas, oil, 

or electricity), and whether it is a 

storage, instantaneous, or tabletop 

model. 10 CFR 430.32(d) Of particular 

relevance to this notice, electric water 

heaters with a rated storage volume 

above 55 gallons (referred to hereinafter 

as ‘‘large-volume’’ electric storage water 

heaters) will be required to have an 

energy factor of at least 2.057 ¥ 

(0.00113 × Rated Storage Volume in 

gallons). Id. Such a level is currently 

achievable only by using heat pump 

water heater technology and cannot be 

achieved in electric water heaters that 

rely solely on electric resistance 

elements. 

Subsequent to the publication of the 

April 2010 final rule, several 

stakeholders indicated to DOE their 

concerns about the interaction of the 

amended standards in the April 2010 

final rule and the use of large-volume 

electric storage water heaters in utility 

ETS programs. To gather additional 

information on the impact of the 

amended standard established in the 

April 2010 final rule on ETS programs 

that use large-volume electric storage 

water heaters, DOE issued a request for 

information (RFI) and received 

numerous additional comments on 

these topics. 77 FR 35299 (June 13, 

2012). After considering comments 

submitted by interested parties, DOE 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to 

establish a waiver process to allow any 

manufacturer, utility, or a combination 

of the two to request a waiver granting 

an exemption from the amended energy 

conservation standards established in 

the April 2010 final rule for certain 

large-volume electric storage water 

heaters used in an ETS program. 78 FR 

12969 (Feb. 26, 2013). As proposed, 

each waiver would have allowed 

manufacturers to produce, for a 1-year 

period, a limited number of largevolume electric storage water heaters 

that would not otherwise meet the April 

2010 amended standard levels, provided 

that a specific set of features are 

included and conditions are met to 

ensure their use exclusively in utility 

ETS programs. More information on 

DOE’s waiver proposal and stakeholder 

feedback can be found in the 

rulemaking docket.4

III. Discussion 

By this document, DOE withdraws its 

February 26, 2013 NOPR. DOE 

commissioned a study to examine the 

capability of large-capacity water 

heaters, both resistance and heat pump, 

to support ETS programs and found 

both water heater types worked for such 

programs. For additional discussion of 

the capability of using large-volume 

electric storage water heaters that meet 

the April 2010 amended standard levels 

to support utility ETS programs, see the 

following reports: http://www.pnnl.gov/ 

main/publications/external/technical_

reports/PNNL-23527.pdf and http://

www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/

external/technical_reports/PNNL– 

23697.pdf. 

IV. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

publication of this withdrawal. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 26, 

2015. 

Roland Risser, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07706 Filed 4–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 193 

[Docket No.: FAA–2014–0142] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Federal Contract Tower Safety Action 

Program (SAFER–FCT and Air Traffic 

Safety Action Program for Engineers & 

Architects, Staff Support Specialists, 

Aviation Technical System Specialists 

(Series 2186) and Flight Procedures 

Team (ATSAP–X) 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Order 

Designating Safety Information as 

Protected from Disclosure 

SUMMARY: The FAA is proposing that 

safety information provided to it by 

Federal Contract Tower employees 

(hereinafter ‘‘Vendor’’) under the 

SAFER–FCT Program or by Air Traffic 

Organization Engineers & Architects, 

Staff Support Specialists, Aviation 

Technical System Specialists (Series 

2186) and Flight Procedures Team 

(hereinafter ‘‘Region X’’) under the 

ATSAP–X program be designated by an 

FAA Order as protected from public 

disclosure in accordance with the 

provisions of 14 CFR part 193. The 

designation is intended to encourage 

persons to voluntarily provide 

information to the FAA under the 

SAFER–FCT or the ATSAP–X safety 

reporting programs, so the FAA can 

learn about and address aviation safety 

hazards of which it was unaware or 

more fully understand and implement 

corrective measures for events known 

by it through other means. Under 49 

U.S.C. 40123, the FAA is required to 

protect information from disclosure to 

the public, including disclosure under 

the Freedom of Information Act (5 

U.S.C. 552) or other laws, following the 

issuance of such Order. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 4, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

identified by docket number FAA– 

2014–0142 using any of the following 

methods: via mail to U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington DC 20590–0339; telephone 

(202) 366–9826. You must identify the 

FAA Docket No. FAA–2014–0142 at the 

beginning of your comments. You may 

also submit comments through the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 


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