This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

43429 

Vol. 86, No. 150 

Monday, August 9, 2021 

1The joint commenters submitted the request to 

DOE via email and is available in the docket at 

https://www.regulations.gov/document/EERE-2021- 

BT-STD-0003-0047. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[EERE–2021–BT–STD–0003] 

RIN 1904–AF13 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Appliance Standards: Procedures, 

Interpretations, and Policies for 

Consideration in New or Revised 

Energy Conservation Standards and 

Test Procedures for Consumer 

Products and Commercial/Industrial 

Equipment 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Extension of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: On July 7, 2021, the U.S. 

Department of Energy (‘‘DOE’’) 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (‘‘NOPR’’) pertaining to 

procedures, interpretations, and policies 

for consideration in new or revised 

energy conservation standards and test 

procedures for consumer products and 

commercial/industrial equipment. The 

notice provided an opportunity for 

submitting written comments, data, and 

information by August 23, 2021. On July 

29, 2021, DOE received a request from 

the Association of Home Appliance 

Manufacturers, the Air Conditioning, 

Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, and 

the National Electrical Manufacturers 

Association (‘‘Joint Commenters’’), to 

extend the public comment period to 

September 13, 2021. DOE has reviewed 

this request and is granting an extension 

of the public comment period to allow 

public comments to be submitted until 

September 13, 2021. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

NOPR published on July 7, 2021 (86 FR 

35668) is extended. DOE will accept 

comments, data, and information 

regarding this NOPR on or before 

September 13, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

encouraged to submit comments using 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Alternatively, interested persons may 

submit comments, identified by docket 

number EERE–2021–BT–STD–0003 by 

any of the following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: To 

processrule2021STD0003@ee.doe.gov. 

Include docket number EERE–2021–BT– 

STD–0003 in the subject line of the 

message. 

No telefacsimilies (‘‘faxes’’) will be 

accepted. 

Although DOE has routinely accepted 

public comment submissions through a 

variety of mechanisms, including postal 

mail and hand delivery/courier, the 

Department has found it necessary to 

make temporary modifications to the 

comment submission process in light of 

the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic. DOE 

is currently suspending receipt of public 

comments via postal mail and hand 

delivery/courier. If a commenter finds 

that this change poses an undue 

hardship, please contact Appliance 

Standards Program staff at (202) 586– 

1445 to discuss the need for alternative 

arrangements. Once the COVID–19 

pandemic health emergency is resolved, 

DOE anticipates resuming all of its 

regular options for public comment 

submission, including postal mail and 

hand delivery/courier. 

Docket: The docket for this activity, 

which includes Federal Register 

notices, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials, is 

available for review at 

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed in the 

www.regulations.gov index. However, 

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: 

www.regulations.gov/docket/EERE2021-BT-STD-0003. The docket web 

page contains instructions on how to 

access all documents, including public 

comments, in the docket. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

John Cymbalsky, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, EE–5B, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585–0121. Telephone: (202) 287– 

1692. Email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Pete Cochran, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–9496. Email: 

Peter.Cochran@hq.doe.gov. 

For further information on how to 

submit a comment or review other 

public comments and the docket contact 

the Appliance and Equipment 

Standards Program staff at (202) 287– 

1445 or by email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

12, 2021, DOE proposed major revisions 

to the Department’s ‘‘Procedures, 

Interpretations, and Policies for 

Consideration of New or Revised Energy 

Conservation Standards and Test 

Procedures for Consumer Products and 

Certain Commercial/Industrial 

Equipment’’ (‘‘Process Rule’’) in a notice 

of proposed rulemaking that accepted 

comments on those proposed revisions 

through May 27, 2021 (86 FR 18901). In 

a subsequent NOPR that published on 

July 7, 2021, DOE proposed additional 

revisions to the Process Rule and 

requested comment on the proposals 

and any potential alternatives (86 FR 

35668). These additional proposed 

revisions are consistent with current 

DOE practice and would remove 

unnecessary obstacles to DOE’s ability 

to meet its statutory obligations under 

the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 

(‘‘EPCA’’). On July 29, 2021, interested 

parties in the matter, the Joint 

Commenters, requested an extension of 

the public comment period for the 

NOPR to September 13, 2021.1 The Joint 

Commenters asked for this additional 

time due to their assertion that the 

proposed rule is complex and multifaceted which requires more time to 

effectively review it and formulate their 

comments. The Joint Commenters also 

stated that they would need more time 

after the public webinar to formulate 

and submit their comments. 

DOE has reviewed the request and is 

extending the comment period to 

September 13, 2021 to allow additional 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
43430 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 150 / Monday, August 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

time for interested parties to submit 

comments. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Department of 

Energy was signed on August 2, 2021, 

by Kelly Speakes-Backman, Principal 

Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting 

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 

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 August 3, 

2021. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16828 Filed 8–6–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 431 

[EERE–2020–BT–STD–0018] 

RIN 1904–AE54 

Energy Conservation Program: Energy 

Conservation Standards for Certain 

Commercial and Industrial Equipment; 

Early Assessment Review; Commercial 

and Industrial Pumps 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (‘‘DOE’’) is undertaking an early 

assessment review for amended energy 

conservation standards for commercial 

and industrial pumps (‘‘pumps’’) to 

determine whether to amend applicable 

energy conservation standards for this 

equipment. Specifically, through this 

request for information (‘‘RFI’’), DOE 

seeks data and information to evaluate 

whether amended energy conservation 

standards would result in a significant 

savings of energy; be technologically 

feasible; and be economically justified. 

DOE welcomes written comments from 

the public on any subject within the 

scope of this document (including those 

topics not specifically raised in this 

RFI), as well as the submission of data 

and other relevant information 

concerning this early assessment 

review. 

DATES: Written comments and 

information are requested and will be 

accepted on or before September 8, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

encouraged to submit comments using 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Alternatively, interested persons may 

submit comments, identified by docket 

number EERE–2021–BT–STD–0018, by 

any of the following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: to Pumps2021STD0018@

ee.doe.gov. Include docket number 

EERE–2021–BT–STD–0018 in the 

subject line of the message. 

No telefacsimiles (‘‘faxes’’) will be 

accepted. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments and additional 

information on this process, see section 

III of this document. 

Although DOE has routinely accepted 

public comment submissions through a 

variety of mechanisms, including postal 

mail and hand delivery/courier, the 

Department has found it necessary to 

make temporary modifications to the 

comment submission process in light of 

the ongoing Covid–19 pandemic. DOE is 

currently suspending receipt of public 

comments via postal mail and hand 

delivery/courier. If a commenter finds 

that this change poses an undue 

hardship, please contact Appliance 

Standards Program staff at (202) 586– 

1445 to discuss the need for alternative 

arrangements. Once the Covid–19 

pandemic health emergency is resolved, 

DOE anticipates resuming all of its 

regular options for public comment 

submission, including postal mail and 

hand delivery/courier. 

Docket: The docket for this activity, 

which includes Federal Register 

notices, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials, is 

available for review at https://

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed in the https://

www.regulations.gov index. However, 

some documents listed in the index, 

such as those containing information 

that is exempt from public disclosure, 

may not be publicly available. 

The docket web page can be found at: 

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

EERE-2021-BT-STD-0018. The docket 

web page contains instructions on how 

to access all documents, including 

public comments, in the docket. See 

section III for information on how to 

submit comments through https://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mr. Jeremy Dommu, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, EE–5B, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585–0121. Telephone: (202) 586– 

9870. Email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Michael Kido, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–8145. Email: 

Michael.Kido@hq.doe.gov. 

For further information on how to 

submit a comment or review other 

public comments and the docket, 

contact the Appliance and Equipment 

Standards Program staff at (202) 287– 

1445 or by email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

A. Authority 

B. Rulemaking History 

II. Request for Information 

A. Scope and Equipment Classes 

B. Significant Savings of Energy 

1. Base Case Efficiency Distribution 

2. Energy Use 

3. National Energy Savings 

C. Technological Feasibility 

1. Technology Options 

2. Representative Units 

3. Efficiency Levels 

D. Economic Justification 

1. Distribution Channels 

2. Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Period 

Analysis 

III. Submission of Comments 

I. Introduction 

DOE has established an early 

assessment review process to conduct a 

more focused analysis to evaluate, based 

on statutory criteria, whether a new or 

amended energy conservation standard 

is warranted. Based on the information 

received in response to the RFI and 

DOE’s own analysis, DOE will 

determine whether to proceed with a 

rulemaking for a new or amended 

energy conservation standard. If DOE 

makes an initial determination that a 

new or amended energy conservation 

standard would satisfy the applicable 

statutory criteria or DOE’s analysis is 

inconclusive, DOE would undertake the 

preliminary stages of a rulemaking to 

issue a new or amended energy 

conservation standard. If DOE makes an 


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