Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 51 / Thursday, March 16, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 14209

1 42 U.S.C. 6291, 6294.

2 44 FR 66466.

3 42 U.S.C. 6293(b) (7)(A) and (8)(A).

Country/locality Common name Botanical name Plant part(s)

* * * * * * *

Republic of Korea

* * * * * * *

Eggplant ........................................ Solanum melongena ..................... Fruit.

Kiwi ............................................... Actinidia deliciosa ......................... Fruit.

Lettuce .......................................... Lactuca sativa ............................... Leaf.

* * * * * * *

Tonga

* * * * * * *

Jicama .......................................... Pachyrhizus tuberosus ................. Root.

* * * * * * *

3 No green may be visible on the shoot.

7. In § 319.56–2x, paragraph (a), the table is amended by adding, in alphabetical order, the following:

§ 319.56–2x Administrative instructions: conditions governing the entry of certain fruits and vegetables for which treatment is required.

(a) * * *

Country/locality Common name Botanical name Plant part(s)

Argentina ....................................... Blueberry ...................................... Vaccinium spp .............................. Fruit.

* * * * * * *

El Salvador .................................... Garden bean ................................. Phaseolus vulgaris ....................... Pod or shelled.

* * * * * * *

Israel

* * * * * * *

Lettuce .......................................... Lactuca sativa ............................... Leaf.

* * * * * * *

Taiwan ........................................... Carambola .................................... Averrhoa carambola ..................... Fruit.

* * * * * * *

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 9th day of

March 1995.

Lonnie J. King,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 95–6370 Filed 3–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 305

Rule Concerning Disclosures

Regarding Energy Consumption and

Water Use of Certain Home Appliances

and Other Products Required Under

the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act ‘‘Appliance Labeling Rule’’

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade

Commission (‘‘Commission’’)

announces non-substantive

amendments to its Appliance Labeling

Rule (‘‘Rule’’). Specifically, the

Commission is amending the Rule’s

water flow rates disclosure requirements

for showerheads and faucets to specify

that the metric disclosures ‘‘liters per

minute’’ and ‘‘liters per cycle’’ be

abbreviated as ‘‘L/min’’ and ‘‘L/cycle’’

rather than ‘‘Lpm’’ and ‘‘Lpc.’’

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 16, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terrence J. Boyle, Attorney, (202) 326–

3016, Division of Enforcement, Bureau

of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade

Commission, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Energy Policy and Conservation Act of

1975 (‘‘EPCA’’) directed the

Commission to issue rules requiring

various categories of home appliances

and other products to be labeled with

information about their energy

consumption and efficiency.1 Pursuant

to EPCA, the Commission on November

19, 1979, issued the Appliance Labeling

Rule requiring label disclosures of

energy operating costs and/or efficiency

for seven categories of products.2

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (‘‘EPA

92’’) amended EPCA to add

showerheads, faucets, water closets and

urinals as covered products. As

amended, EPCA establishes for

showerheads and faucets a national

maximum water flow rate standard of

2.5 gallons per minute at 80 pounds per

square inch (‘‘psi’’) water pressure and,

for those products, adopted the testing

methods of the American Society of

Mechanical Engineers (‘‘ASME’’)

Standard A112.18.1M as ‘‘the proper

protocols for measuring the water

usage.’’ 3 EPA 92 also directed the

Commission to issue rules requiring

these plumbing products to be

permanently marked with their water

flow rates and to bear disclosures

‘‘consistent with the marking and
14210 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 51 / Thursday, March 16, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

4Pub. L. 102–486, 106 Stat. 2778, 2817–2832

(1992).

5 58 FR 54955.

6 16 CFR part 305.11(e) (1) and (2).

7 16 CFR part 305.13(a)(2) and .14(d).

8 42 U.S.C. 6294(a)(2)(D)(ii).

9A second revision changed the Standard’s

protocols for measuring faucet water flow rates. See

discussion infra.

10The ‘‘liters per cycle’’ change was just for

symmetry. For English system disclosures, though,

the revised ASME Standard continues to use just

the letter ‘‘m’’ to stand for minute. The use of ‘‘m’’

there was not seen as confusing because, since

gallons are not metric units of measurement,

readers would not likely think of meters.

11For technical reasons the Commission has

specified an effective date of May 16, 1995, for this

amendment. The Rule in recent months has been

amended on several occasions both to add new

product categories and to revise the disclosure

requirements for several existing categories. To

ensure an orderly publication of all these

amendments in the Code of Federal Regulations, the

Commission is setting the effective date for this

amendment to follow immediately that of the

Commission’s previous amendment to the Rule,

which added lamps as covered products. The

Commission, however, will permit manufacturers to

begin immediately using the abbreviations ‘‘L/min’’

and ‘‘L/cycle’’ in place of ‘‘Lpm’’ and ‘‘Lpc,’’

deeming the use of the revised abbreviations prior

to the effective date of the amendment to be

compliance with the Rule.

12 42 U.S.C. 6294(a)(2)(D)(ii).

labeling requirements’’ of specified

national standards that have been

published for such products by ASME.4

On October 25, 1993, the Commission

amended the Rule to add four categories

of plumbing fixtures and fittings.5 The

amended Rule requires water closets,

urinals and showerheads, as well as

faucets and the flow restricting devices

(aerators) that are placed in faucets, to

be clearly and conspicuously labeled,

and water closets, urinals and

showerheads to be permanently and

legibly marked, with disclosures of their

water flow rates.6 The amended Rule

also requires, in all point-of-sale

promotional materials for such

plumbing products and in all catalogs

offering such products for sale,

disclosure of the products’ water flow

rates.7

The amended EPCA provides that if

ASME revises the marking and labeling

requirements contained in its Standard

A112.18.1M for showerheads and

faucets, and if the American National

Standards Institute (‘‘ANSI’’) approves

the revisions, the Commission shall

amend the Rule to be consistent with

the revisions, unless the revisions are

inconsistent with the purposes of EPA

92 or with the requirement that

plumbing fittings be permanently

marked with legible disclosures of their

water flow rates.8

On July 8, 1994, ASME adopted, and

on September 15, 1994, ANSI approved

and published, revisions to the ASME

National Standard A112.18.1M that

governs showerheads and faucets. One

of these revisions pertains to the

Commission’s Rule because it changes

the abbreviations used by the ASME

Standard in its marking and labeling

requirements for plumbing fittings.9 The

first revision to the ASME Standard

changed the abbreviations for ‘‘liters per

minute’’ and ‘‘liters per cycle’’ from

‘‘Lpm’’ and ‘‘Lpc’’ to ‘‘L/min’’ and ‘‘L/

cycle’’ respectively. The change was

made to avoid confusion with the ‘‘m’’

that is internationally recognized as the

proper abbreviation for meter.10

The Commission is amending the

Rule to adopt the ASME abbreviations

of ‘‘liters per minute’’ and ‘‘liters per

cycle’’ for required disclosure of the

water flow rates of faucets (and aerators)

and showerheads.11 Because this rule

amendment is technical in nature and is

not intended to modify the substantive

legal requirements and restrictions

imposed by the Rule, the Commission

finds that a comment period is not

necessary or warranted for purposes of

the Administrative Procedures Act. See

5 U.S.C. 553(b).

ASME and ANSI also tentatively

made a second revision to ASME

Standard A112.18.1M that would

pertain to the marking and labeling

requirements of the Commission’s Rule.

This second revision changed the

Standard’s protocols for measuring the

water flow rates of faucets, requiring

measurements at 60 psi instead of the 80

psi specified in the national standard.

The Commission’s Rule requires flow

rate disclosures to be based on

measurements at 80 psi as specified in

the national standard established by

EPA 92. ASME made this change in

water pressures in its September 15,

1994, revision of the existing ASME

Standard for faucets and showerheads.

But, on December 19, 1994, the ASME

committee for these products voted to

rescind the change and return to using

80 psi. ASME and ANSI will soon act

on the proposed rescission. Under

section 324(a)(2)(D)(ii) of EPCA, any

change in the water pressures used to

test faucets would first have to be

approved by the Department of Energy

(‘‘DOE’’) by rule before the Commission

can incorporate the change into the

Appliance Labeling Rule.12 Therefore,

even if ASME and ANSI ultimately

decide to retain the change to 60 psi,

prior action by DOE is needed before the

Commission can act on the change.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 305

Advertising, Water conservation,

Household appliances, Incorporation by

reference, Labeling, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Text of Amendments

Accordingly, 16 CFR part 305 is

amended as follows:

Rule Concerning Disclosures Regarding

Energy Consumption and Water Use of

Certain Home Appliances and Other

Products Required Under the Energy

Policy and Conservation Act

(‘‘Appliance Labeling Rule’’)

1. The authority citation for part 305

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6294.

2. Section 305.8 is amended by

revising paragraph (a)(4)(v) to read as

follows:

§ 305.8 Submission of data.

(a) * * *

(a) * * *

(v) The product’s water use, expressed

in gallons and liters per flush (gpf and

Lpf) or gallons and liters per minute

(gpm and L/min) or per cycle (gpc and

L/cycle) as determined in accordance

with § 305.5.

* * * * *

3. Section 305.11 is amended by

revising subparagraph (f) to read as

follows:

§ 305.11 Labeling for covered products.

* * * * *

(f) Plumbing Products—

(1) * * *

(i) Each showerhead and flow

restricting or controlling spout end

device shall bear a permanent legible

marking indicating the flow rate,

expressed in gallons per minute (gpm)

or gallons per cycle (gpc), and the flow

rate value shall be the actual flow rate

or the maximum flow rate specified by

the standards established in subsection

(j) of section 325 of the Act, 42 U.S.C.

6295(j). Except where impractical due to

the size of the fitting, each flow rate

disclosure shall also be given in liters

per minute (L/min) or liters per cycle

(L/cycle). For purposes of this section,

the marking indicating the flow rate will

be deemed ‘‘legible,’’ in terms of

placement, if it is located in close

proximity to the manufacturer’s

identification marking.

* * * * *

(v) The package or any label attached

to the package for each showerhead or

faucet shall contain at least the

following: ‘‘A112.18.1M’’ and the flow

rate expressed in gallons per minute

(gpm) or gallons per cycle (gpc), and the

flow rate value shall be the actual flow

rate or the maximum flow rate specified

by the standards established in
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 51 / Thursday, March 16, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 14211

subsection (j) of section 325 of the Act,

42 U.S.C. 6295(j). Each flow rate

disclosure shall also be given in liters

per minute (L/min) or liters per cycle

(L/cycle).

* * * * *

4. Section 305.13 is amended by

revising subparagraph (a)(4) to read as

follows:

§ 305.13 Promotional material displayed or

distributed at point of sale.

(a) * * *

(4) Any manufacturer, distributor,

retailer, or private labeler who prepares

printed material for display or

distribution at point-of-sale concerning

a covered product that is a showerhead,

faucet, water closet, or urinal shall

clearly and conspicuously include in

such printed material the product’s

water use, expressed in gallons and

liters per minute (gpm and L/min) or

per cycle (gpc and L/cycle) or gallons

and liters per flush (gpf and Lpf) as

specified in § 305.11(f).

* * * * *

5. Section 305.14 is amended by

revising subparagraph (d) to read as

follows:

§ 305.14 Catalogs.

* * * * *

(d) Any manufacturer, distributor,

retailer, or private labeler who

advertises a covered product that is a

showerhead, faucet, water closet, or

urinal in a catalog, from which it may

be purchased, shall include in such

catalog, on each page that lists the

covered product, the product’s water

use, expressed in gallons and liters per

minute (gpm and L/min) or per cycle

(gpc and L/cycle) or gallons and liters

per flush (gpf and Lpf) as specified in

§ 305.11(f).

* * * * *

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–6484 Filed 3–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Part 101

[T.D. 95–21]

RIN 1515–AB47

Test Programs

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department

of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends the

Customs Regulations by adding a new

provision that allows for test programs

and procedures in general and,

specifically, for purposes of

implementing those Customs

Modernization provisions of the North

American Free Trade Agreement

Implementation Act that provide for the

National Customs Automation Program.

The regulation allows the Commissioner

of Customs to conduct limited test

programs/procedures, which have as

their goal the more efficient and

effective processing of passengers,

carriers, and merchandise. Test

programs may impose upon eligible,

voluntary participants requirements

different from those specified in the

Customs Regulations, but only to the

extent that such different requirements

do not affect the collection of the

revenue, public health, safety, or law

enforcement.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 17, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Durant, Director, Commercial Rulings

Division, (202) 482–6990.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Title VI of the North American Free

Trade Agreement Implementation Act

(the Act), Public Law 103–182, 107 Stat.

2057 (December 8, 1993), contains

provisions pertaining to Customs

Modernization (107 Stat. 2170). Subtitle

B of title VI establishes the National

Customs Automation Program (NCAP)—

an automated and electronic system for

the processing of commercial

importations. Section 631 in Subtitle B

of the Act creates sections 411 through

414 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.

1411–1414), which define and list the

existing and planned components of the

NCAP (section 411), promulgate

program goals (section 412), provide for

the implementation and evaluation of

the program (section 413), and provide

for remote location filing (section 414).

Section 631 of the Act provides

Customs with direct statutory authority

for full electronic processing of all

Customs-related transactions. For each

planned NCAP program component,

Customs is required to prepare a

separate implementation plan in

consultation with the trade community,

establish eligibility criteria for voluntary

participation in the program, test the

component, and transmit to Congress

the implementation plan, testing results,

and an evaluation report. The testing of

any planned NCAP components would

be conducted under carefully delineated

circumstances—with objective measures

of success or failure, a predetermined

time frame, and a defined class of

participants. Notice of any NCAP

program component testing would be

published in both the Customs Bulletin

and the Federal Register and

participants solicited.

In addition to testing planned NCAP

components, Customs also proposed

conducting limited test programs/

procedures in other areas of Customsrelated transactions wherein Customs

and the trade community could benefit

from the valuable information that such

testing could provide. Thus, Customs

proposed a general test authority in

order both to meet its obligations under

the NCAP legislation and to provide

itself with the ability to obtain

information necessary to predict the

effects of various policy options.

The regulation proposed would allow

the Commissioner of Customs to

conduct limited test programs and

procedures and allow certain eligible

members of the public to participate on

a voluntary basis. Also, because test

programs could require exemptions

from regulations in various parts of the

Customs Regulations, e.g., parts 113

(Customs bonds), 141 (entry of

merchandise), 142 (entry process), 171

(fines, penalties, and forfeitures), 174

(protests), and 191 (drawback),

participants would be subject to

requirements different from those

specified in the Customs Regulations,

but only to the extent that such different

requirements do not affect the collection

of the revenue, public health, safety, or

law enforcement. Accordingly, pursuant

to the Secretary’s authority under

section 624 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19

U.S.C. 1624) to make such rules and

regulations as may be necessary to carry

out the provisions of the Tariff Act of

1930 and pursuant to the requirement

set forth in section 413 of the Tariff Act

of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1413) that the

Secretary test planned NCAP program

components, on August 16, 1994,

Customs published a Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking in the Federal Register (59

FR 41992) that proposed to amend part

101 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR

part 101) by adding a new § 101.9 that

would allow the Commissioner of

Customs to conduct limited test

programs and procedures in general and

for purposes of implementing NCAP

program components. Seven comments,

most favorable to the proposed

regulation, were received. These

comments raised four areas of concern.

The comments received and Customs

responses to them are set forth below.

Discussion of Comments

Comments were received from

corporate sureties (1), customs brokers