82 FR 31890 - Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Compressors

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 131 (July 11, 2017)

On January 4, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') published a final rule establishing new test procedures for certain varieties of compressors. The final rule established definitions, materials incorporated by reference, sampling plans, representations requirements, enforcement provisions and test procedures for certain varieties of compressors. Since that time, DOE has received correspondence, raising concerns that certain issues and information may not have been fully considered during the original rulemaking proceeding and also indicating further clarification may be needed to implement the rule as adopted. As a result, by this RFI, DOE is soliciting further data and information regarding the compressor test procedure and announcing that DOE will not seek to enforce the test procedure rule for 180 days (i.e., until December 30, 2017) while it considers the data and information already submitted and any further material submitted in response to this request for information.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 11, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31890-31892]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14472]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Parts 429 and 431

[EERE-2014-BT-TP-0054]
RIN 1904-AD43


Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Compressors

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: On January 4, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') 
published a final rule establishing new test procedures for certain 
varieties of compressors. The final rule established definitions, 
materials incorporated by reference, sampling plans, representations 
requirements, enforcement provisions and test procedures for certain 
varieties of compressors. Since that time, DOE has received 
correspondence, raising concerns that certain issues and information 
may not have been fully considered during the original rulemaking 
proceeding and also indicating further clarification may be needed to 
implement the rule as adopted. As a result, by this RFI, DOE is 
soliciting further data and information regarding the compressor test 
procedure and announcing that DOE will not seek to enforce the test 
procedure rule for 180 days (i.e., until December 30, 2017) while it 
considers the data and information already submitted and any further 
material submitted in response to this request for information.

DATES: Comments: DOE will accept comments, data, and information 
regarding this RFI until September 11, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments using 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Any comments 
submitted must identify the request for information concerning the test 
procedures for compressors. You may submit comments, identified by 
Docket Number, EERE-2014-BT-TP-0054, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the 
docket number, EERE-2014-BT-TP-0054 in the subject line of the message. 
Submit electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or 
ASCII file format, and avoid the use of special characters or any form 
of encryption.
     Postal Mail: Appliance Standards Program, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Office, Mailstop EE-5B, Compressor TP 
RFI Docket Number: EERE-2014-BT-TP-0054, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-6636. If possible, 
please submit all items on a compact disc (CD), in which case it is not 
necessary to include printed copies.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Appliance and Equipment Standards 
Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, 950 
L'Enfant Plaza SW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 
586-6636. If possible, please submit all items on a CD, in which case 
it is not necessary to include printed copies.
    No telefacsimiles (faxes) will be accepted. For detailed 
instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the 
rulemaking process, see section II of this document (Public 
Participation).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James Raba, 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) 586-8654. Email: 
[email protected].
    Ms. Mary Greene, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-
0121. Telephone: (202) 586-1817. Email: [email protected].
    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) 586-6636 or by email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Authority and Background
    A. Coverage Determination
    B. Test Procedure
    C. Questions Raised About Test Procedure
    D. Request for Information and Enforcement Forbearance
II. Public Participation
    A. Submission of Comments
III. Approval of the Office of the Secretary

I. Authority and Background

A. Coverage Determination

    Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as 
amended (``EPCA''), sets forth a variety of provisions designed to 
improve energy efficiency. (42 U.S.C. 6291, et seq.) Part C of Title 
III, which for editorial reasons was re-designated as Part A-1 upon 
incorporation into the U.S. Code (42 U.S.C. 6311-6317), establishes the 
``Energy Conservation Program for Certain Industrial Equipment.'' EPCA 
provides that DOE may include a type of industrial equipment, including 
compressors, as covered equipment if it determines that to do so is 
necessary to carry out the purposes of Part A-1. (42 U.S.C. 
6311(2)(B)(i) and 6312(b)). The purpose of Part A-1 is to improve the 
efficiency of electric motors and pumps and certain other industrial 
equipment in order to conserve the energy resources of the Nation. (42 
U.S.C 6312(a)) On November 15, 2016, DOE published a Notice of Final 
Determination of Coverage, classifying compressors as covered 
equipment. The final coverage determination became effective on 
December 15, 2016. 81 FR 79991.

B. Test Procedure

    DOE may develop test procedures to measure the energy efficiency, 
energy use, or estimated annual operating cost of each covered 
equipment. (42 U.S.C. 6314). Manufacturers of covered equipment must 
use the prescribed DOE test procedure as the basis for certifying to 
DOE that their equipment complies with the applicable energy 
conservation standards adopted under EPCA and when making any 
representations regarding the energy use or efficiency of that 
equipment. (42 U.S.C. 6295(s), 6316(a) and 6314(d)).
    On January 4, 2017, DOE published a final rule to establish new 
test procedures for certain varieties of compressors. 82 FR 1052. The 
final rule established definitions, materials incorporated by 
reference, sampling plans, representations requirements, enforcement 
provisions and test procedures for certain varieties of

[[Page 31891]]

compressors. The effective date of the test procedure rule was 
originally February 3, 2017--i.e., 30 days after publication in the 
Federal Register.
    Effective on February 1, 2017, DOE temporarily postponed the 
effective date of its January 4th final rule. See 82 FR 8985 (February 
2, 2017). On March 21, 2017, the effective date of the test procedure 
final rule was further extended to July 3, 2017, the date on which EPCA 
(through 42 U.S.C. 6314(d)) requires compliance with that procedure. 
(82 FR 14426).

C. Questions Raised About Test Procedure

    A number of small businesses have written DOE expressing concern 
about the economic burden of the test procedure rule (see e.g., 
submission from Compressed Air Systems (CAS) \1\). They are concerned 
both about the cost of implementing the necessary changes to comply 
with the test procedure, as well as the cost of changing their 
informational literature to comply with the representation 
requirements. For example, Compressed Air Systems (CAS) has argued that 
DOE's cost estimates for the test procedure rule significantly under-
estimated the cost the rule would impose and that when the DOE 
performed its financial impact analysis DOE failed to take into account 
a number of factors.
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    \1\ A notation in this form provides a reference for information 
that is in the docket for the compressor test procedure rulemaking 
(Docket No. EERE-2014-BT-TP-0054) (available at https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=25&so=DESC&sb=commentDueDate&po=0&dct=N%2BFR%2BPR%2BO&D=EERE-2014-BT-TP-0054).
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    Further, CAS also has raised questions regarding implementation of 
the test procedure, specifically the application of the ancillary 
equipment required for testing in Table 1 and Table 2 of section B4 
within appendix A to subpart T of part 431 (See 82 FR 1103.). CAS 
claims to need clarification on appropriate filters and drains 
necessary to conduct the required test, as well as information on the 
interaction between DOE's test requirements and regulations already in 
force issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (see data and information 
in docket).
    DOE also received other comments pertaining to the compressor test 
procedure final rule both supporting the rule and voicing concerns 
about the rule, which can be viewed in the docket.

D. Request for Information and Enforcement Forbearance

    Given the issues raised by small businesses, DOE is requesting 
additional data and information regarding the cost of implementing the 
existing test procedure, whether the specific mechanics of implementing 
the existing test procedure are sufficiently clear, and issues, if any, 
with the interaction of the DOE test procedure with existing rules of 
other Federal agencies. DOE will not seek to enforce compliance of the 
test procedure final rule for a period of 180 days from the July 3, 
2017, compliance date of the test procedure final rule, as DOE gathers 
the requested data and information and determines how it will choose to 
proceed with the existing test procedure in light of such data and 
information.

II. Public Participation

A. Submission of Comments

    DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this 
request no later than the date provided in the DATES section at the 
beginning of this document. Interested parties may submit comments 
using any of the methods described in the ADDRESSES section at the 
beginning of this document.
    Submitting comments via regulations.gov. The http://www.regulations.gov Web page will require you to provide your name and 
contact information. Your contact information will be viewable to DOE 
Building Technologies staff only. Your contact information will not be 
publicly viewable except for your first and last names, organization 
name (if any), and submitter representative name (if any). If your 
comment is not processed properly because of technical difficulties, 
DOE will use this information to contact you. If DOE cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, DOE may not be able to consider your comment.
    However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you 
include it in the comment or in any documents attached to your comment. 
Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable should not 
be included in your comment, nor in any document attached to your 
comment. Persons viewing comments will see only first and last names, 
organization names, correspondence containing comments, and any 
documents submitted with the comments.
    Do not submit to regulations.gov information for which disclosure 
is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or 
financial information (hereinafter referred to as Confidential Business 
Information (``CBI'')). Comments submitted through regulations.gov 
cannot be claimed as CBI. Comments received through the Web site will 
waive any CBI claims for the information submitted. For information on 
submitting CBI, see the Confidential Business Information section.
    DOE processes submissions made through http://www.regulations.gov 
before posting. Normally, comments will be posted within a few days of 
being submitted. However, if large volumes of comments are being 
processed simultaneously, your comment may not be viewable for up to 
several weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that 
regulations.gov provides after you have successfully uploaded your 
comment.
    Submitting comments via email, hand delivery, or mail. Comments and 
documents submitted via email, hand delivery, or mail also will be 
posted to regulations.gov. If you do not want your personal contact 
information to be publicly viewable, do not include it in your comment 
or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your contact 
information on a cover letter. Include your first and last names, email 
address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. The cover 
letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not include any 
comments. Include contact information each time you submit comments, 
data, documents, and other information to DOE. If you submit via mail 
or hand delivery, please provide 139 all items on a CD, if feasible. It 
is not necessary to submit printed copies. No facsimiles (faxes) will 
be accepted.
    Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, written in English and free of any defects or viruses. 
Documents should not contain special characters or any form of 
encryption and, if possible, they should carry the electronic signature 
of the author.
    Campaign form letters. Please submit campaign form letters by the 
originating organization in batches of between 50 to 500 form letters 
per PDF or as one form letter with a list of supporters' names compiled 
into one or more PDFs. This reduces comment processing and posting 
time.
    Confidential Business Information. According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 
person submitting information that he

[[Page 31892]]

or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public 
disclosure should submit via email, postal mail, or hand delivery two 
well-marked copies: One copy of the document marked confidential 
including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy 
of the document marked non-confidential with the information believed 
to be confidential deleted. Submit these documents via email or on a 
CD, if feasible. DOE will make its own determination about the 
confidential status of the information and treat it according to its 
determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest. 
See 10 CFR 429.7. It is DOE's policy that all comments be included in 
the public docket, without change and as received, including any 
personal information provided in the comments (except information 
deemed to be exempt from public disclosure).

III. Approval of the Office of the Secretary

    The Secretary of Energy has approved publication of this request 
for information.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2017.
Steven Chalk,
Acting Assistant Secretary Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2017-14472 Filed 7-10-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P