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

32914

Vol. 66, No. 118

Tuesday, June 19, 2001

1Part B of Title III of the Energy Policy and

Conservation Act, Pub. L. 94–163, as amended by

the National Energy Conservation Policy Act

(NECPA), Pub. L. 95–619; the National Appliance

Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) of 1987, Pub. L.

100–12; the National Appliance Energy

Conservation Amendments of 1988 (NAECA 1988),

Pub. L. 100–357; and the Energy Policy Act of 1992

(EPACT), Pub. L. 102–486, is referred to in this

notice as the ‘‘Act.’’

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket Number: EE–RM/STD–01–350]

RIN 1904–AA78

Energy Efficiency Program for

Consumer Products: Energy

Conservation Standards for

Residential Furnaces and Boilers

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, Department of

Energy.

ACTION: Notice of public workshop and

availability of the framework document

for residential furnaces and boilers

efficiency standards.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(DOE or Department) will hold an

informal public workshop to discuss

and receive comments on issues it will

address and the process it will follow in

considering the adoption of revised

energy conservation standards for

residential furnaces and boilers. The

Department also encourages written

comments on these subjects. To

facilitate this process, the Department is

preparing a Framework Document, a

draft of which will be available on or

about June 18, 2001.

DATES: The public workshop will be

held on Tuesday, July 17, 2001, from

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Written comments

should be submitted by August 17,

2001.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held

at the U.S. Department of Energy,

Forrestal Building, Room 1E–245, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585. (Please note that

foreign nationals visiting DOE

Headquarters are subject to advance

security screening procedures. If you are

a foreign national and wish to

participate in the workshop, please

inform DOE of this fact as soon as

possible by contacting Ms. Brenda

Edwards-Jones at (202) 586–2945 so that

the necessary procedures can be

completed.)

On or about June 18, 2001, the draft

Framework Document will be placed on

the DOE website at: http://

www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/

codes_standards/

Written comments are welcome,

especially following the workshop.

Please submit written comments to: Ms.

Brenda Edwards-Jones, U.S. Department

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency

and Renewable Energy, Energy

Conservation Program for Consumer

Products: Energy Conservation

Standards for Residential Furnaces and

Boilers, Docket Number: EE–RM/STD–

01–350, EE–41, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585–

0121. Telephone: (202) 586–2945;

Telefax: (202) 586–4617. You should

label comments both on the envelope

and on the documents and submit them

for DOE receipt by August 17, 2001.

Please submit one signed copy of the

document and a computer diskette

(WordPerfect 8) or 10 copies (no

telefacsimiles). The Department will

also accept electronically-mailed

comments, e-mailed to Brenda.EdwardsJones@ee.doe.gov, but you must

supplement such comments with a

signed hard copy.

Copies of the transcript of the public

workshop, the public comments

received, the Framework Document, and

this notice may be read at the Freedom

of Information Reading Room, U.S.

Department of Energy, Forrestal

Building, Room 1E–190, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–3142,

between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00

p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cyrus Nasseri, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, EE–41, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585–0121, (202) 586–

9138, email: cyrus.nasseri@ee.doe.gov,

or Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of General

Counsel, GC–72, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585,

(202) 586–9507, email:

eugene.margolis@hq.doe.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part B of

Title III of the Energy Policy and

Conservation Act, Public Law 94–163,

as amended by the National Energy

Conservation Policy Act (NECPA),

Public Law 95–619; the National

Appliance Energy Conservation Act

(NAECA) of 1987, Public Law 100–12;

the National Appliance Energy

Conservation Amendments of 1988

(NAECA 1988), Public Law 100–357;

and the Energy Policy Act of 1992

(EPACT), Public Law 102–486,1 created

the Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products other than

Automobiles (Program). The consumer

products subject to this Program

(referred to hereafter as ‘‘covered

products’’) include residential furnaces

and boilers. EPCA section 325(f), 42

U.S.C 6295(f).

For furnaces, the Act set the initial

Federal energy conservation standard in

terms of the Annual Fuel Utilization

Efficiency (AFUE) descriptor at a

minimum value of 78 percent for all

furnaces except boilers (for which the

minimum AFUE was set at 75 percent

for gas steam boilers and 80 percent for

other boilers), mobile home furnaces

(for which the minimum AFUE was set

at 75 percent), and ‘‘small’’ furnaces

(which are explained below).

The Act did not establish a minimum

efficiency for ‘‘small’’ furnaces, having

an input of less than 45,000 British

thermal units per hour, but required that

the Department must publish a final

rule by January 1, 1989, and set its

minimum AFUE at a specific percent

which is not less than 71 percent and

not more than 78 percent. EPCA

325(f)(1)(B)(ii), 42 U.S.C.

6295(f)(1)(B)(ii). Accordingly, for these

products, the Department published an

Advance Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (ANOPR) (52 FR 46367,

December 7, 1987) which presented a

detailed discussion of the proposed

analytical methodology and models and

invited comments and data. On

December 2, 1988, the Department

published a Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (NOPR) (53 FR 48798,

December 2, 1988) in which the

Department proposed to establish an

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2001 / Proposed Rules 32915

energy conservation standard of 78

percent AFUE for small gas furnaces,

which was the highest level within the

range (71 to 78 percent) for the

Department to consider, as set by the

Act. In a final rule (54 FR 47916,

November 17, 1989), the Department set

the minimum AFUE for these products

at 78 percent, or the maximum value

allowed by the Act, with an effective

date of January 1, 1992.

The Act set initial efficiency

standards for mobile home furnaces (for

which the minimum AFUE was set at 75

percent) but also required that the

Department must publish a final rule no

later than January 1, 1992, to determine

whether these standards should be

amended, and if so, the effective date for

those amendments was required to be

January 1, 1994. The Department started

this activity and issued an ANOPR (55

FR 39624, September 28, 1990),

followed by a NOPR where it proposed

a new energy descriptor and standard

levels (59 FR 10464, March 4, 1994).

Further activities on this rulemaking

were interrupted by several events,

including a fiscal year 1996 moratorium

on proposing or issuing new or

amended appliance energy conservation

standards, and the development of an

improved process for standard

rulemaking by the Department, as

described below.

The Department of the Interior and

Related Agencies Appropriations Act for

fiscal year 1996 included a moratorium

on proposing or issuing new or

amended appliance energy conservation

standards during fiscal year 1996.

Public Law 104–134. During this period,

standard rulemaking activities were

suspended while the Department

continued to work on the underlying

analyses for standards and on test

procedure revisions. In September 1995,

the Department announced a formal

effort to improve the process it uses to

develop appliance efficiency standards.

Energy efficiency advocates, product

manufacturers, trade associations, State

agencies, utilities, and other interested

parties were asked to provide

substantial input into the Department’s

work, which resulted in the publication

of a rule institutionalizing procedural

enhancements. 61 FR 36973, July 15,

1996 (hereinafter referred to as the

Process Rule).

In addition to setting the efficiency

standards for mobile home furnaces, the

Act also requires that the Department

must publish a final rule to determine

for all furnaces (including mobile home

furnaces) whether the standards should

be amended. The Act required that this

final rule be published no later than

January 1, 1994, and if it is determined

that the standards should be amended,

those amendments must be effective on

January 1, 2002. EPCA, section

325(f)(3)(B), 42 U.S.C. 6295(f)(3)(B). The

Department started this activity also. In

September 1993, the Department

published an ANOPR in which it

presented for furnaces, the product

classes that it planned to analyze, and

a detailed discussion of the analytical

methodology and models that it

expected to use in doing the analysis to

support this rulemaking. (58 FR 47326,

September 8, 1993). The Department

invited comments and data on the

accuracy and feasibility of the planned

methodology and encouraged interested

persons to recommend improvements or

alternatives to the approach taken by

DOE. Due to the aforementioned

moratorium and the development of the

process improvement plan, the

Department was unable to complete the

required rulemaking for furnaces within

the stipulated time frame of January 1,

1994.

In the Department’s fiscal year 1998

Priority Setting for the Appliance

Rulemaking Process, residential

furnaces and boilers were assigned a

low priority level, for which the

Department did not plan to actively

pursue rulemakings over the next two

years, and the work was limited to basic

technology investigation. In the fiscal

year 2001 Priority Setting for the

Appliance Rulemaking Process,

residential furnaces and boilers were

assigned a high level of priority, for

which the Department plans to pursue

the rulemaking actively through

meetings, workshops, and published

notices. Today’s notice, the subject

Framework Document, and the

workshop mark the next steps in the

process for updating the energy

conservation standards for residential

furnaces and boilers and mobile home

furnaces covered by the statute.

The Department has prepared the

Framework Document to explain and

discuss the process, analyses, and issues

concerning the development of such

standards. For many of the issues and

analyses, the Framework Document sets

forth approaches that the Department is

considering.

The main focus of the workshop will

be to discuss the analyses and issues

contained in various sections of the

Framework Document. For each item

listed in this document, the Department

will make a presentation with

discussion to follow. In addition, the

Department will also make a brief

presentation on the rulemaking process

for residential furnaces and boilers. The

Department encourages those who wish

to participate in the workshop to obtain

the Framework Document and be

prepared to discuss its contents.

However, workshop participants need

not limit their discussions to these

topics. The Department is also

interested in receiving views concerning

other issues that participants believe

would affect energy conservation

standards for residential furnaces and

boilers. The Department also welcomes

all interested parties, whether or not

they participate in the workshop, to

submit in writing by August 17, 2001,

comments and information on the

matters addressed in the Framework

Document and on other matters relevant

to consideration of standards for

residential furnaces and boilers.

The workshop will be conducted in

an informal, conference style. A court

reporter will be present to record the

minutes of the meeting. There shall be

no discussion of proprietary

information, costs or prices, market

shares, or other commercial matters

regulated by the U.S. antitrust laws.

After the workshop and expiration of

the period for submitting written

statements, the Department will begin

collecting data and conducting the

analyses as discussed at the workshop

and in consideration of the comments

received.

If you would like to participate in the

workshop, receive workshop materials,

or be added to the DOE mailing list to

receive future notices and information

regarding residential furnaces and

boilers, please contact Ms. Brenda

Edwards-Jones at (202) 586–2945.

Issued in Washington, DC, on June 13,

2001.

David K. Garman,

Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 01–15397 Filed 6–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[CGD07–01–037]

RIN 2115–AE84

Regulated Navigation Area: Savannah

River, Georgia

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to

create a Regulated Navigation Area

(RNA) on a portion of the Savannah

River to regulate vessel movements

when vessels carrying Liquefied Natural