2019-23140. Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee: Notice of Public Meetings for the Variable Refrigerant Flow Multi-Split Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Working Group To Negotiate a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Test ...

AGENCY:

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION:

Notice of public meetings and webinars.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) announces public meetings and webinars for the variable refrigerant flow multi-split air conditioners and heat pumps (VRF multi-split systems) working group. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requires that agencies publish notice of an advisory committee meeting in the Federal Register. This document updates the schedule of meetings announced in the Federal Register on August 22, 2019.

DATES:

See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting dates.

ADDRESSES:

The next several rounds of public meetings will be held at multiple locations. Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section to find the address for each date. Please see the Public Participation section of this notice for additional information on attending the public meeting, including webinar registration information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. John Cymbalsky, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Building Technologies (EE-5B), 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On January 10, 2018, the Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC) met and passed the recommendation to form a VRF multi-split systems working group to meet and discuss and, if possible, reach a consensus on proposed Federal test procedures and energy conservation standards for VRF multi-split systems. On April 11, 2018, DOE published a notice of intent to establish a working group for VRF multi-split systems to negotiate a notice of proposed rulemaking for test procedures and energy conservations standards. The notice also solicited nominations for membership to the working group. 83 FR 15514.

On August 22, 2019, DOE published a notice announcing public meetings for the VRF working group. 84 FR 43731. This notice makes changes to the meetings announced in the August 2019 notice. These changes include the cancellation of the late October public meetings, changes to the meeting dates and times of the early November meetings, as well as the announcement of one mid-December webinar and two late December public meetings. This notice announces the updated schedule for this working group as follows.

DOE will host a public meeting and webinar on the following dates:

• Tuesday, November 5, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20427.
• Wednesday, November 6, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20427.
• Wednesday, November 20, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121.
• Thursday, November 21, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121.
• Wednesday, December 18, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20427.
• Thursday, December 19, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services, Room 7008, 250 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20427.

DOE will host a webinar on Thursday, December 12, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The purpose of these meetings will be to negotiate in an attempt to reach consensus on proposed Federal test procedures and energy conservation standards for VRF multi-split systems.

Public Participation

Attendance at Public Meeting

The times, dates, and locations of the public meetings are listed in this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. If you plan to attend the public meeting, please notify the ASRAC staff at [e-mail].

Please note that foreign nationals participating in the public meeting or webinar are subject to advance security screening procedures which require advance notice prior to attendance at the public meeting. If a foreign national wishes to participate in the public meeting or webinar, please inform DOE as soon as possible by contacting Ms. Regina Washington at [phone] or by email: [e-mail] so that the necessary procedures can be completed.

DOE requires visitors to have laptops and other devices, such as tablets, checked upon entry into the building. Any person wishing to bring these devices into the Forrestal Building will be required to obtain a property pass. Visitors should avoid bringing these devices, or allow an extra 45 minutes to check in. Please report to the visitor's desk to have devices checked before proceeding through security.

Due to the REAL ID Act implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there have been recent changes regarding ID requirements for individuals wishing to enter Federal buildings from specific States and U.S. territories. DHS maintains an updated website identifying the State and territory driver's licenses that currently are acceptable for entry into DOE facilities at https://www.dhs.gov/​real-id-enforcement-brief. A driver's license from a State or territory identified as not compliant by DHS will not be accepted for building entry, and one of the alternate forms of ID listed below will be required. Acceptable alternate forms of Photo-ID include: A U.S. Passport or Passport Card; an Enhanced Driver's License or Enhanced ID-Card issued by States and territories as identified on the DHS website (Enhanced licenses issued by these States and territories are clearly marked Enhanced or Enhanced Driver's License); a military ID or other Federal government-issued Photo-ID card.

In addition, you can attend the public meeting via webinar. Webinar registration information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be published on DOE's website: https://energy.gov/​eere/​buildings/​appliance-standards-and-rulemaking-federal-advisory-committee. Participants are responsible for ensuring their systems are compatible with the webinar software.

Procedure for Submitting Prepared General Statements for Distribution

Any person who has plans to present a prepared general statement may request that copies of his or her statement be made available at the public meeting. Such persons may submit requests, along with an advance electronic copy of their statement in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format, to the appropriate address shown in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. The request and advance copy of statements must be received at least one week before the public meeting and may be emailed, hand-delivered, or sent by postal mail. DOE prefers to receive requests and advance copies via email. Please include a telephone number to enable DOE staff to make a follow-up contact, if needed.

Conduct of the Public Meetings

ASRAC's Designated Federal Officer will preside at the public meetings and may also use a professional facilitator to aid discussion. The meetings will not be judicial or evidentiary-type public hearings, but DOE will conduct them in accordance with section 336 of EPCA (42 U.S.C. 6306). A court reporter will be present to record the proceedings and prepare a transcript. A transcript of each public meeting will be included on DOE's website: https://energy.gov/​eere/​buildings/​appliance-standards-and-rulemaking-federal-advisory-committee. In addition, any person may buy a copy of each transcript from the transcribing reporter. Public comment and statements will be allowed prior to the close of each meeting.

Docket

The docket is available for review at: https://www.regulations.gov/​docket?​D=​EERE-2018-BT-STD-0003,, including Federal Register notices, public meeting attendee lists and transcripts, comments, and other supporting documents/materials. All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. However, not all documents listed in the index may be publically available, such as information that is exempt from public disclosure.

Signed in Washington, DC, on October 18, 2019.

Alexander N. Fitzsimmons

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.