Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 31, 2022 / Notices 32405 

the performance targets in the grantee’s 

approved application. 

In making a continuation award, the 

Secretary also considers whether the 

grantee is operating in compliance with 

the assurances in its approved 

application, including those applicable 

to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit 

discrimination in programs or activities 

receiving Federal financial assistance 

from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 

104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

VII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document and a copy of the 

application package in an accessible 

format. The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

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the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

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Ruth E. Ryder, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and 

Programs, Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11634 Filed 5–27–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Record of Decision for the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Proposed Energy Conservation 

Standards for Manufactured Housing 

(DOE/EIS–0550) 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Record of decision. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (‘‘DOE’’) has determined that it 

will establish energy conservation 

standards for manufactured housing 

based on the 2021 International Energy 

Conservation Code (‘‘IECC’’) using a 

tiered approach based on the size of the 

manufactured home, as described in 

Alternative B2 in the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Proposed Energy Conservation 

Standards for Manufactured Housing 

(DOE/EIS–0550). This Record of 

Decision (‘‘ROD’’) was prepared in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(‘‘NEPA’’), Council on Environmental 

Quality (‘‘CEQ’’) regulations for 

implementing NEPA, and DOE NEPA 

regulations. 

ADDRESSES: The final EIS, this ROD, and 

other EIS documents are available on 

the Project website at: https://ecsmh.evs.anl.gov and on Energy.gov at: 

www.energy.gov/node/4810038. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information on the EIS 

process or this ROD, please contact 

Kristin Kerwin at the Department of 

Energy—Golden Field Office, 15013 

Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 

80401, email: DOE_EIS_

MANUFACTURED_HOUSING@

ee.doe.gov, (240) 562–1800. For general 

information on the DOE NEPA review 

process, please contact Brian Costner, 

Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, 

GC–54, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585–0119, email: AskNEPA@

hq.doe.gov, telephone (202) 586–4600 or 

(800) 472–2756, facsimile (202) 586– 

7031. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

DOE is obligated to establish energy 

conservation standards for 

manufactured housing, as directed by 

Section 413 of the Energy Independence 

and Security Act of 2007 (‘‘EISA’’). (42 

U.S.C. 17071) EISA directs DOE to base 

these standards on the most recent 

version of the IECC and any 

supplements to that document, except 

where DOE finds that the IECC is not 

cost effective or where a more stringent 

standard would be more cost effective 

based on the impact of the IECC on the 

purchase price of manufactured housing 

and on total lifecycle construction and 

operating costs. In accordance with 

Section 413 of EISA, DOE is establishing 

energy conservation standards for 

manufactured housing in a final 

rulemaking published elsewhere in this 

issue of the Federal Register. To inform 

the proposed rulemaking, DOE prepared 

an EIS pursuant to NEPA, the CEQ 

NEPA implementing regulations (40 

CFR parts 1500–1508), and DOE’s 

procedures for implementing NEPA (10 

CFR part 1021). 

Purpose and Need for Agency Action 

In accordance with EISA, DOE will 

establish energy conservation standards 

for manufactured housing that are based 

on the 2021 IECC. In fulfilling its 

statutory mandate to establish energy 

conservation standards, the standards 

will also: 

• Reduce national energy 

consumption, 

• Reduce energy costs for owners of 

manufactured homes, 

• Reduce emissions of outdoor 

pollutants associated with electricity 

production, 

• Reduce emissions of greenhouse 

gases (‘‘GHGs’’) associated with 

electricity production that may lead to 

climate change, and 

• Protect public health and safety 

related to energy efficiency. 

DOE’s Proposed Action and 

Alternatives 

DOE considered three approaches for 

establishing the energy conservation 

standards for manufactured housing. 

The final EIS refers to each approach as 

an action alternative. The alternatives 

were informed by public comments on 

the scope of the EIS and on the draft 

EIS, and by comments on DOE’s 2016 

notice of proposed rulemaking 

(‘‘NOPR’’) 81 FR 39756, 2016 draft 

environmental assessment, 2021 

supplemental notice of proposed 

rulemaking (‘‘SNOPR’’) 86 FR 47744, 

and subsequent 2021 notice of data 

availability (‘‘NODA’’) 86 FR 59042, as 

well as coordination and consultation 

with the U.S. Department of Housing 

and Urban Development (‘‘HUD’’). In 

accordance with NEPA, DOE also 

considered the alternative of taking no 

action, which serves as a baseline 

against which potential consequences of 

the action alternatives can be compared. 

Thus, four alternatives (referred to as A, 

B, C, and D) are evaluated in detail in 

the EIS. 

Under Alternative A, the proposed 

standards for energy conservation 

would be tiered (including ‘‘Tier 1’’ and 

‘‘Tier 2’’ standards) based on a 

manufacturer’s retail list price of 

$63,000. Within Alternative A, two 

detailed alternatives (A1 and A2) were 

analyzed. Under Alternative A1, Tier 1 

standards would apply to homes with a 

retail list price of $63,000 or less, with 

requirements based on the 2021 IECC, 

but with less stringent building thermal 

envelope requirements that would 


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correspond to an incremental increase 

in purchase price of less than $750. Tier 

2 standards would apply to homes with 

a manufacturer’s retail list price above 

$63,000 and would be the same as the 

Tier 1 requirements, but with more 

stringent building thermal envelope 

requirements similar to those of the 

2021 IECC. Alternative A2, is the same 

as Alternative A1 except it would 

include relaxed insulation requirements 

for Tier 2 manufactured houses in 

certain climate zones. 

Under Alternative B, the proposed 

standards for energy conservation 

would be tiered (including ‘‘Tier 1’’ and 

‘‘Tier 2’’ standards) based on the size of 

the manufactured home. Similar to 

Alternative A, two detailed alternatives 

were analyzed within Alternative B (B1 

and B2). For Alternative B1, the Tier 1 

standards would apply to single-section 

manufactured homes with requirements 

based on the 2021 IECC, and, as with 

Alternative A, the building thermal 

envelope requirements would 

correspond to an incremental purchase 

price increase of less than $750. Tier 2 

standards would apply to multi-section 

manufactured homes and would be the 

same as the Tier 1 requirements but 

with more stringent building thermal 

envelope requirements similar to those 

of the 2021 IECC. The building thermal 

envelope requirements for Alternative 

B1 are the same as those identified for 

Alternative A1. Alternative B2 is the 

same as Alternative B1 except it would 

include relaxed insulation requirements 

for Tier 2 manufactured homes in 

certain climate zones. 

Alternative C represents an untiered 

approach to establishing energy 

conservation standards. Under this 

alternative, the proposed standards 

based on the 2021 IECC would apply to 

all manufactured homes, without 

considering the manufacturer’s retail list 

price or size or less stringent building 

thermal envelope requirements to 

address affordability concerns. As with 

Alternatives A and B, two detailed 

alternatives were analyzed within 

Alternative C (C1 and C2). Under 

Alternative C1, the building thermal 

envelope requirements would be the 

same as those identified for Tier 2 in 

Alternative A and Alternative B. 

Alternative C2 is the same as C1 except 

it would include relaxed insulation 

requirements for all manufactured 

houses in certain climate zones. 

Alternative D represents the no action 

alternative. Under this alternative, DOE 

would not establish energy conservation 

standards for manufactured housing, 

and manufacturers would continue to 

follow the requirements in the existing 

HUD Code. 

DOE considered, but did not analyze 

in detail, several potential alternatives, 

including alternatives suggested in 

comments received during the scoping 

process for this EIS and in response to 

the NOPR, SNOPR, NODA, and draft 

EIS. These alternatives fall within four 

themes: (1) The mechanism for 

implementing standards; (2) the basis 

for the standards, (3) the structure of the 

standards, and (4) other efficiency 

requirements. The EIS, in section 2.5, 

describes why these alternatives were 

not analyzed in detail. 

As presented in the final EIS, 

Alternatives A, B, and C would result 

in: 

• Conservation of energy, 

• Avoidance of GHGs and other 

emissions (reducing impacts to climate 

change and outdoor air quality), 

• Better indoor protection from 

outdoor air pollutants, 

• Higher indoor air concentrations of 

pollutants emitted indoors, and 

• National cost savings. 

DOE did not have a preferred 

alternative at the time of the publication 

of the draft EIS. In the final EIS, DOE 

identified the preferred alternative as 

the untiered alternative with relaxed 

insulation (Alternative C2). 

Environmentally Preferable 

Alternatives 

DOE considers both Alternatives B 

and C to be environmentally preferrable. 

There are minor tradeoffs between 

Alternatives B and C relative to which 

is more environmentally preferable over 

different time periods. DOE considers 

the untiered approach (Alternative C) to 

be environmentally preferrable as it 

would result in the most energy savings 

and emissions reductions and would 

provide the same benefits to all 

residents of manufactured homes. 

Alternative C, however, has a somewhat 

greater socioeconomic and 

environmental justice impacts 

associated with first cost (home 

purchase) and a longer payback period 

than the Tier 1 homes in Alternative B. 

DOE considers Alternative B to be 

environmentally preferrable as it 

addresses the socioeconomic and 

environmental justice impacts 

associated with the upfront cost and 

shortens the payback period (for Tier 1 

homes) by only including components 

that would increase the incremental 

purchase price by less than $750. 

Public Involvement 

The Notice of Intent (‘‘NOI’’) to 

prepare an EIS was published in the 

Federal Register on July 7, 2021, 

beginning the scoping process that 

extended through August 6, 2021. 86 FR 

35773. The NOI invited public 

participation in the EIS scoping process 

and solicited public comments on the 

scope and content of the EIS. DOE 

solicited comments from Federal, State, 

and local agencies; tribal governments; 

other organizations and the public. In 

July 2021, DOE hosted two online 

public scoping meetings to provide the 

public an opportunity to comment on 

the scope of the EIS and ask questions 

about the EIS process. DOE received 

oral and written comments from 17 

organizations and two individuals. 

DOE’s scoping process and public 

involvement along with a summary of 

the scoping comments received, are 

summarized in Appendix A of the final 

EIS. 

The Notice of Availability (‘‘NOA’’) 

for the draft EIS was published in the 

Federal Register on January 14, 2022, 

and comments on the draft EIS were 

invited for 45-days (through February 

28, 2022). 87 FR 2430. Two online 

public meetings were held in January 

2022. DOE received 24 oral and written 

comment submittals on the draft EIS 

from organizations across 13 states and 

the District of Columbia. Appendix C of 

the final EIS provides a summary of the 

comments received and describes how 

the final EIS reflects the comments 

received on the draft EIS. 

Decision 

The agency has considered all the 

alternatives, information, analyses, and 

objections submitted by State, Tribal, 

and local governments and public 

commenters for consideration by DOE 

in developing the EIS. Further, informed 

by the analyses and environmental 

impacts documented in the final EIS 

and related analysis, DOE has decided 

to establish energy conservation 

standards for manufactured housing that 

are tiered based on the size of the 

manufactured home, with relaxed 

insulation for Tier 2 homes in certain 

climate zones (Alternative B2). 

DOE will issue a final rule that will 

codify the energy conservation 

standards in a new part of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (‘‘CFR’’) under 10 

CFR part 460 subparts A, B, and C. 

Subpart A will present generally the 

scope of the rule and provides 

definitions of key terms. Subpart B will 

establish new requirements for 

manufactured homes that relate to 

climate zones, the building thermal 

envelope, air sealing, and installation of 

insulation. Subpart C will establish new 

requirements related to duct sealing, 

heating, ventilation, and air 

conditioning (‘‘HVAC’’); service hot 

water systems; mechanical ventilation 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 31, 2022 / Notices 32407 

fan efficacy; and heating and cooling 

equipment sizing. 

Under the energy conservation 

standards, the stringency of the 

requirements under subpart B will 

depend on the size of the manufactured 

home for the tiered approach. 

Accordingly, two sets of standards will 

be established in subpart B (i.e., Tier 1 

and Tier 2). Tier 1 will apply to singlesection manufactured homes and will 

incorporate building thermal envelope 

measures based on certain thermal 

envelope components subject to the 

2021 IECC, but only including 

components that would increase the 

incremental purchase price by less than 

$750. Tier 2 will apply to multi-section 

manufactured homes and incorporate 

building thermal envelope measures 

based on certain thermal envelope 

components and specifications of the 

2021 IECC, with alternate exterior wall 

insulation requirements for climate 

zones 2 and 3, as presented in the 

August 2021 SNOPR and the October 

2021 NODA and analyzed in the final 

EIS. Further, the energy conservation 

standards for both tiers also include 

duct and air sealing, insulation 

installation, HVAC and service hot 

water system specifications, mechanical 

ventilation fan efficacy, and heating and 

cooling equipment sizing provisions, 

based on the 2021 IECC. DOE will adopt 

a compliance date such that the 

standards will apply to manufactured 

homes starting one year after the 

publication date of the final rule in the 

Federal Register. 

DOE notes that its decision to adopt 

Alternative B2 differs from the preferred 

alternative presented in the final EIS 

(Alternative C2). DOE decided to adopt 

Alternative B2 because of affordability 

and cost-effectiveness concerns 

identified in the consultation process 

and during the rulemaking process. 

Following the issuance of the final EIS, 

DOE continued to consider comments 

received on the rulemaking and in the 

interagency review process under 

Executive Order 12866, which included 

the aforementioned concerns regarding 

first-costs, affordability, and costeffectiveness. DOE believes that access 

to affordable housing and reducing 

energy burdens of low-income 

purchasers are of the utmost importance 

in the manufactured housing market. 

Alternative B2 better addresses both of 

these concerns than Alternative C2 

because it will ensure continued 

availability for the homes most often 

purchased by low-income purchasers 

(single-section homes) with little change 

to the current manufactured housing 

market, while providing energy cost 

savings in the nearer term for residents 

of these homes. A more detailed 

explanation of DOE’s bases for adopting 

Alternative B2 will be provided in the 

final rule and its Technical Support 

Document in the rulemaking docket. 

The docket, and all documents 

contained therein, may be found at 

www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE2009-BT-BC-0021. 

Mitigation 

The analyses presented in the final 

EIS identify both beneficial and adverse 

impacts to indoor air quality, health, 

socioeconomic conditions, 

environmental justice, and cumulative 

effects of DOE’s proposed action 

alternatives. The final EIS describes 

measures that could mitigate potential 

adverse impacts. To address adverse 

impacts to indoor air quality, health, 

socioeconomics, and environmental 

justice, the final EIS identifies the 

following mitigation measures: 

• Promoting installation of energyefficient fans for ventilation, 

• Advancing research and 

stakeholder engagement to increase 

implementation of energy-efficient 

ventilation, 

• Promoting training and technical 

assistance to manufacturers, and 

• Promoting improved indoor air 

quality and environmental justice 

through efficiency labeling and 

informational resources about healthy 

homes and financing options. 

The final EIS identifies that DOE 

could further address adverse impacts to 

socioeconomics and environmental 

justice by promoting financial 

mechanisms to offset first costs through 

incentives, assistance, and 

informational resources. Also, the final 

EIS identifies that DOE could promote 

awareness of DOE’s energy justice 

initiative to address impacts to 

environmental justice. 

Along with DOE’s decision to 

implement energy conservation 

standards for manufactured housing, 

DOE will: 

• Collaborate with HUD to promote 

efficient ventilation, including wholehouse ventilation and exhaust fan 

techniques. 

• Advance research and stakeholder 

engagement on energy-efficient heating, 

ventilating, and air-conditioning 

solutions for modular housing. 

• Leverage existing funded research 

projects to provide training and 

technical assistance to manufactured 

housing manufacturers intended to help 

manufacturers achieve the energy 

conservation standards in the most costefficient manner. 

• Develop and implement 

informational campaigns to promote 

improved indoor air quality and 

environmental justice—specifically to 

aid potential buyers in identifying and 

comparing energy efficiency between 

homes. 

• Collaborate with the Manufactured 

Housing Task Force to address market 

barriers to energy-efficient 

manufactured housing as an affordable, 

equitable, and accessible housing 

option, including better consumer 

education around how energy-efficient 

manufactured homes are financed. 

• Coordinate with DOE’s Office of 

Economic Impact and Diversity to 

promote partnerships that enhance 

community awareness and engagement 

in advancing energy justice concepts for 

manufactured housing. 

DOE has committed to all practicable 

means to avoid or minimize 

environmental harm. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Department of 

Energy was signed on May 16, 2022, by 

Derek G. Passarelli, Director, Golden 

Field Office, Office of 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 May 17, 

2022. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–10931 Filed 5–27–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Secretary of Energy Advisory Board; 

Notice of Open Meeting 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

hereby publishes a notice of open 

meeting on June 13, 2022, of the 

Secretary of Energy Advisory Board 

(SEAB). This meeting will be held 

virtually. 

DATES: Monday, June 13, 2022; 5:00 

p.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 


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