106458 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices 

Dated: December 19, 2024. 

Stephanie J. Bost, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30972 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

[EERE–2024–BT–DET–0007] 

RIN 1904–AF66 

Determination Regarding Energy 

Efficiency Improvements in the 2024 

International Energy Conservation 

Code 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notification of determination. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) has reviewed the 2024 

International Energy Conservation Code 

(IECC) and determined the updated 

edition would improve energy 

efficiency in residential buildings. DOE 

analysis indicates that buildings 

meeting the 2024 IECC, as compared 

with buildings meeting the 2021 IECC, 

would result in national site energy 

savings of 7.80 percent, source energy 

savings of 6.80 percent, and energy cost 

savings of approximately 6.60 percent of 

residential building energy 

consumption. Under the Energy 

Conservation and Production Act, as 

amended (ECPA), upon publication of 

an affirmative determination, each State 

must review the energy efficiency 

provisions of its residential building 

code and determine whether it is 

appropriate for such state to revise its 

building code to meet or exceed the 

2024 IECC. Additionally, this 

notification provides guidance on state 

code review processes and associated 

certifications. 

DATES: Certification statements provided 

by States shall be submitted by 

December 30, 2026. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the supporting 

analysis and a link to the Federal docket 

are available at https://

www.energycodes.gov/determinations. 

Certification Statements must be 

addressed to the Building Technologies 

Office—Building Energy Codes Program 

Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, 1000 Independence 

Avenue SW, EE–5B, Washington, DC 

20585. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jeremiah Williams; U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, 1000 Independence 

Avenue SW, EE–5B, Washington, DC 

20585; (202) 441–1288; 

Jeremiah.Williams@ee.doe.gov. 

For legal issues, please contact: Ms. 

Laura Zuber; U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of the General Counsel, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, GC–33, 

Washington, DC 20585; (202) 586–4798; 

Laura.Zuber@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Determination Statement 

III. State Certification 

I. Background 

Title III of the Energy Conservation 

and Production Act, as amended 

(ECPA), establishes requirements for 

DOE to review consensus-based 

building energy conservation standards. 

42 U.S.C. 6831 et seq. Section 304(a) of 

ECPA, as amended, provides that 

whenever the 1992 Council of American 

Building Officials (CABO) Model Energy 

Code, or any successor to that code, is 

revised, the Secretary of Energy 

(Secretary) must make a determination, 

no later than 12 months after such 

revision, whether the revised code 

would improve energy efficiency in 

residential buildings, and must publish 

notice of such determination in the 

Federal Register. 42 U.S.C. 

6833(a)(5)(A). If the Secretary makes an 

affirmative determination, within two 

years of the publication of the 

determination, each State is required to 

certify that it has reviewed the 

provisions of its residential building 

code regarding energy efficiency and 

made a determination as to whether it 

is appropriate to revise its code to meet 

or exceed the provisions of the 

successor code. 42 U.S.C. 6833(a)(5)(B). 

The International Energy 

Conservation Code (IECC) is the 

contemporary successor to the CABO 

Model Energy Code specified in ECPA. 

The IECC is revised every three years 

through an established code 

development and consensus process 

administered by the International Code 

Council (ICC). The ICC published the 

most recent edition of the IECC in 

August 2024 (the 2024 IECC) and 

triggered the statutorily required DOE 

review process. As part of the ICC 

process, any interested party may 

submit proposals, as well as written 

comments or suggested changes to any 

proposal, and make arguments before a 

committee of experts assembled by the 

ICC. The collection of accepted 

proposals forms the revised edition of 

the IECC. More information on the ICC 

code development process is available 

at https://www.iccsafe.org/productsand-services/i-codes/code-development/ 

cs/iecc-residential-consensuscommittee. 

As required by ECPA, DOE conducts 

a technical analysis to assess the energy 

savings impacts associated with the 

updated code, the 2024 IECC. DOE’s 

review under ECPA is technical in 

nature and helps to inform and advise 

interested industry stakeholders of the 

effects of the updated code, and informs 

states and local governments who 

ultimately adopt, implement, and 

enforce building codes. Although DOE 

is an active participant in the review 

and update process for the 2024 IECC, 

as directed under ECPA (42 U.S.C. 

6836(b)), the Department neither 

administers nor publishes the model 

energy codes. Additionally, the 

directive for states to update their 

energy efficiency codes based on the 

updated edition of the 2024 IECC is 

required by ECPA. DOE’s technical 

analysis serves as the basis for DOE’s 

determination and helps inform states 

who seek to update their codes and 

comply with ECPA. 

DOE’s full technical analysis, 

including assumptions and parameters 

applied in the analysis, is published as 

a separate technical support document 

(TSD) and available for review at 

https://www.energycodes.gov/ 

determinations. 

DOE publishes a wide range of 

technical assistance resources 

supporting building energy codes. These 

include additional technical analyses 

evaluating the impacts of updated 

building energy codes, such as 

quantifying the energy and 

environmental benefits, as well as 

additional resources supporting the 

adoption and successful 

implementation of energy codes across 

states and local governments. New 

Federal assistance is also available to 

support state and local adoption and 

implementation of building energy 

codes through the Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law (Section 40511) and 

Inflation Reduction Act (Section 50131). 

Visit www.energycodes.gov to learn 

more about these initiatives and 

technical assistance resources. 

II. Determination Statement 

Residential buildings meeting the 

2024 IECC are expected to experience 

the following savings on a weighted 

national average basis (compared to the 

previous 2021 edition): 

• 7.80 percent site energy savings 

• 6.80 percent source energy savings 

• 6.60 percent energy cost savings 

• 6.51 percent carbon emissions 

savings 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices 106459 

1https://www.energycodes.gov/determinations. 

2https://www.energycodes.gov/national-andstate-analysis. 3Available at https://www.energycodes.gov/ 

adoption/states. 

4https://www.energycodes.gov/RECI. 

5https://www.energy.gov/scep/technicalassistance-adoption-building-energy-codes. 

DOE concludes that the 2024 IECC 

will improve energy efficiency in 

residential buildings and, therefore, 

receives an affirmative determination 

under Section 304(a) of ECPA. 

III. State Certification 

Upon publication of this affirmative 

DOE determination, ECPA requires each 

State to certify that it has reviewed the 

provisions of its residential building 

code regarding energy efficiency and 

made a determination as to whether it 

is appropriate for such State to revise its 

residential building code to meet or 

exceed the 2024 IECC. 42 U.S.C. 

6833(a)(5)(B). Each State must complete 

its certification not later than 2 years 

from the date this Notice of 

Determination is published in the 

Federal Register, unless an extension is 

provided. 

In the 2024 IECC development cycle, 

the IECC-Residential technical 

development committee approved 

several proposals that were later 

appealed to the ICC Board of Directors. 

Per the Board’s decision, several 

measures that increased building energy 

performance and reliance on 

nondepletable sources of energy were 

removed from the code prior to 

publication and were relegated to 

optional appendices within the 2024 

IECC. These measures will provide 

substantial benefits for consumers, such 

as supporting grid integration and 

reliability, and enabling homes to more 

readily incorporate high-performance 

equipment and appliances, electric 

vehicle charging and renewable energy 

systems, as well as increase resilience 

against climate hazards. Consequently, 

DOE strongly encourages states and 

local governments to consider adopting 

these appendices and measures when 

updating and certifying their building 

energy codes in accordance with the 

2024 IECC. The DOE technical 

assistance and funding opportunities 

described below are available to states 

and local governments for assessing and 

adopting these measures. 

State Review & Update 

The State certification must be: (1) 

made after public notice and hearing; (2) 

in writing; (3) based upon findings and 

the evidence presented at the hearing; 

and (4) made available to the public. 42 

U.S.C. 6833(a)(2). States have discretion 

regarding the hearing procedures they 

use, as long as they provide an adequate 

opportunity for members of the public 

to be heard and present relevant 

information. The Department 

recommends publication of any notice 

of public hearing through appropriate 

and prominent media outlets, such as in 

a newspaper of general circulation or 

electronic formats commonly relied 

upon for public announcements. States 

should also be aware that this DOE 

determination does not apply to IECC 

chapters specific to nonresidential 

buildings, as defined in the IECC. 

Therefore, States must certify their 

evaluations of their State building codes 

for residential buildings with respect to 

all provisions of the IECC, except for 

those chapters not affecting residential 

buildings. DOE determinations 

regarding earlier editions of the IECC are 

available on the DOE Building Energy 

Codes Program website.1 Further 

technical analysis is also available to 

help quantify the anticipated impacts of 

updated building energy codes for 

states, local governments and other 

stakeholders.2

State Certification Statements 

Section 304(b) of ECPA, as amended, 

requires each State to certify to the 

Secretary of Energy that it has reviewed 

the energy efficiency provisions of its 

residential building code and made a 

determination whether it is appropriate 

to revise its code to meet or exceed the 

provisions of the successor code. 42 

U.S.C. 6833(a)(4). If a State intends to 

certify that its residential building 

energy code already meets or exceeds 

the requirements of the 2024 IECC, the 

State should provide an explanation of 

the basis for this certification (e.g., the 

2024 IECC is incorporated by reference 

in the State’s building code regulations). 

The chief executive of the State (e.g., the 

governor), or a designated State official 

(e.g., director of the State energy office, 

State code commission, utility 

commission, or equivalent State agency 

having primary responsibility for 

residential building energy codes), must 

provide the certification to the 

Secretary. For states that do not have a 

statewide building energy code, the 

designated state official must compile 

and submit a list of building energy 

codes in place across units of local 

governments as part of the state 

certification. 

State and Local Technical Assistance 

The DOE Building Energy Codes 

Program tracks and reports State code 

adoption and certification.3 DOE 

provides technical assistance to states, 

as well as units of local government 

with authority to adopt building energy 

codes, to assist them in evaluating 

building energy code updates. This 

assistance is available by request and 

may include technical analysis of 

expected energy code impacts, such as 

energy and cost savings or 

environmental impacts, as well as 

evaluation of proposed amendments, 

market trends, or other design and 

construction data, as available. 

Following the adoption of an updated 

energy code, DOE strives to provide 

technical assistance supporting the 

successful implementation of such 

codes, including compliance tools, 

education and training, and support for 

the updated code. DOE has issued 

previous guidance on how it intends to 

respond to technical assistance requests 

related to implementation resources, 

such as building energy code 

compliance software. 79 FR 15112. The 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) 4 and 

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) 5 also 

provide substantial assistance—over 

$1.2 billion in new Federal funding— 

supporting adoption and 

implementation of updated building 

energy codes. DOE does not prescribe 

how each State adopts and enforces its 

energy codes. 

Requests for Extensions 

Section 304(c) of ECPA requires the 

Secretary to extend the deadline for 

complying with the certification 

requirements described previously, if a 

State demonstrates that it has made a 

good faith effort to comply with such 

requirements and that it has made 

significant progress toward meeting its 

certification obligations. 42 U.S.C. 

6833(c). Such demonstrations could 

include one or both of the following: (1) 

a plan to respond to the requirements in 

Section 304; or (2) a statement that the 

State has appropriated or requested 

funds (within State funding procedures) 

to implement a plan that would respond 

to the requirements of Section 304 of 

ECPA. This list is not exhaustive. States 

must send requests to the address 

provided in the ADDRESSES section or 

submit them to BuildingEnergyCodes@

ee.doe.gov. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Department of 

Energy was signed on December 20, 

2024, by Jeffrey M. Marootian, Principal 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 

pursuant to delegated authority from the 

Secretary of Energy. That document 

with the original signature and date is 

maintained by DOE. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 


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106460 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices 

1 18 CFR 157.205. 

2Persons include individuals, organizations, 

businesses, municipalities, and other entities. 18 

CFR 385.102(d). 

3 18 CFR 157.205(e). 

4 18 CFR 385.214. 

5 18 CFR 157.10. 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 

Register Liaison Officer has been 

authorized to sign and submit the 

document in electronic format for 

publication, as an official document of 

the Department of Energy. This 

administrative process in no way alters 

the legal effect of this document upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on December 

20, 2024. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31024 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP25–35–000] 

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; 

Notice of Request Under Blanket 

Authorization and Establishing 

Intervention and Protest Deadline 

Take notice that on December 17, 

2024, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC 

(Columbia), 700 Louisiana Street, Suite 

1300, Houston, Texas 77002–2700, filed 

in the above referenced docket, a prior 

notice request pursuant to sections 

157.205 and 157.213 of the 

Commission’s regulations under the 

Natural Gas Act (NGA), and Columbia’s 

blanket certificate issued in Docket No. 

CP83–76–000, for authorization to 

install and operate one new injection/ 

withdrawal well, connecting pipeline, 

and appurtenant facilities all located in 

its Donegal Storage Field in Washington 

County, Pennsylvania (Donegal New 

Drill 12653 Project). Columbia states 

that the project is designed to maintain 

services for its existing customers and 

will allow Columbia to operate the 

Donegal Storage Field more efficiently. 

Columbia does not propose to change 

the certificated parameters of the storage 

field as part of the project. The 

estimated cost for the project is $10 

million, all as more fully set forth in the 

request which is on file with the 

Commission and open to public 

inspection. 

In addition to publishing the full text 

of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document via the internet through the 

Commission’s Home Page (http://

www.ferc.gov). From the Commission’s 

Home Page on the internet, this 

information is available on eLibrary. 

The full text of this document is 

available on eLibrary in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, 

printing, and/or downloading. To access 

this document in eLibrary, type the 

docket number excluding the last three 

digits of this document in the docket 

number field. 

User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the Commission’s website 

during normal business hours from 

FERC Online Support at (202) 502–6652 

(toll free at 1–866–208–3676) or email at 

ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the 

Public Reference Room at (202) 502– 

8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the 

Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

Any questions concerning this request 

should be directed to David A. Alonzo, 

Manager of Project Authorizations, 

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC, 700 

Louisiana Street, Suite 1300, Houston, 

Texas 77002–2700, at (832) 320–5477, 

or david_alonzo@tcenergy.com. 

Public Participation 

There are three ways to become 

involved in the Commission’s review of 

this project: you can file a protest to the 

project, you can file a motion to 

intervene in the proceeding, and you 

can file comments on the project. There 

is no fee or cost for filing protests, 

motions to intervene, or comments. The 

deadline for filing protests, motions to 

intervene, and comments is 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time on February 18, 2025. 

How to file protests, motions to 

intervene, and comments is explained 

below. 

The Commission’s Office of Public 

Participation (OPP) supports meaningful 

public engagement and participation in 

Commission proceedings. OPP can help 

members of the public, including 

landowners, environmental justice 

communities, Tribal members and 

others, access publicly available 

information and navigate Commission 

processes. For public inquiries and 

assistance with making filings such as 

interventions, comments, or requests for 

rehearing, the public is encouraged to 

contact OPP at (202) 502–6595 or OPP@

ferc.gov. 

Protests 

Pursuant to section 157.205 of the 

Commission’s regulations under the 

NGA,1 any person 2 or the Commission’s 

staff may file a protest to the request. If 

no protest is filed within the time 

allowed or if a protest is filed and then 

withdrawn within 30 days after the 

allowed time for filing a protest, the 

proposed activity shall be deemed to be 

authorized effective the day after the 

time allowed for protest. If a protest is 

filed and not withdrawn within 30 days 

after the time allowed for filing a 

protest, the instant request for 

authorization will be considered by the 

Commission. 

Protests must comply with the 

requirements specified in section 

157.205(e) of the Commission’s 

regulations,3 and must be submitted by 

the protest deadline, which is February 

18, 2025. A protest may also serve as a 

motion to intervene so long as the 

protestor states it also seeks to be an 

intervenor. 

Interventions 

Any person has the option to file a 

motion to intervene in this proceeding. 

Only intervenors have the right to 

request rehearing of Commission orders 

issued in this proceeding and to 

subsequently challenge the 

Commission’s orders in the U.S. Circuit 

Courts of Appeal. 

To intervene, you must submit a 

motion to intervene to the Commission 

in accordance with Rule 214 of the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure 4 and the regulations under 

the NGA 5 by the intervention deadline 

for the project, which is February 18, 

2025. As described further in Rule 214, 

your motion to intervene must state, to 

the extent known, your position 

regarding the proceeding, as well as 

your interest in the proceeding. For an 

individual, this could include your 

status as a landowner, ratepayer, 

resident of an impacted community, or 

recreationist. You do not need to have 

property directly impacted by the 

project in order to intervene. For more 

information about motions to intervene, 

refer to the FERC website at https://

www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/ 

intervene.asp. 

All timely, unopposed motions to 

intervene are automatically granted by 

operation of Rule 214(c)(1). Motions to 

intervene that are filed after the 

intervention deadline are untimely and 

may be denied. Any late-filed motion to 

intervene must show good cause for 

being late and must explain why the 

time limitation should be waived and 

provide justification by reference to 

factors set forth in Rule 214(d) of the 

Commission’s Rules and Regulations. A 

person obtaining party status will be 

placed on the service list maintained by 


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