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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 159 / Friday, August 20, 2021 / Proposed Rules which to base a decision to grant an interim waiver. Making a determination that an alternate test procedure complies with EPCA also requires careful analysis and sometimes requires testing by DOE. 79 FR 26591, 29593
May 9, 2014. DOE stated in the December 2020 Final Rule that a downside of this iterative process is the inability of interested stakeholders to participate in the development of an interim test procedure 85 FR 79802, 79809; however, DOE believes the risk of non-compliant alternate test procedures outweighs early stakeholder input. Further, interested stakeholders will not lose the ability to provide comment on the alternate test procedures as the regulations require notification of a proposed alternated test procedure to affected manufacturers and opportunity for comment. 10 CFR
430.24biv and 10 CFR 431.401biv.
DOE has a statutory obligation under EPCA to ensure that alternative test methods authorized by the Department yield measurements of energy consumption that are representative of actual performance. Providing a longer, flexible timeframe that better reflects DOEs experience will allow DOE to complete the analysis required, while providing a realistic timeframe on which manufacturers can more reasonably rely.
Accordingly, DOE proposes that DOE
will make best efforts to respond to interim waiver requests within 90
business days. Based on DOEs experience, a period of 90 business days would still represent an improvement in response time, and in most cases would allow DOE sufficient time for proper analysis, review, and testing.
Importantly, this proposal would ensure that DOE can fulfill its obligation under EPCA to ensure that alternative test methods yield results that are representative of the products true energy or water consumption characteristics so as to provide materially accurate comparative data, while still accounting for how circumstances may dictate a lengthier period for consideration of a particular request.
DOE requests comments, information, and data on its proposal that DOE will make best efforts to respond to an interim waiver request within 90
business days.
To clarify the necessary contents of a petition for interim waiver, DOE is also proposing amendments to 10 CFR
430.27b and 10 CFR 431.401b. As noted previously, many of the delays in interim waiver processing arise from the back-and-forth between DOE and manufacturers to ensure that the
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manufacturer has submitted the necessary information to support its request. Before DOE can act on a request for interim waiver, DOE may correspond with a manufacturer several times to obtain all necessary information and ensure that the manufacturer has submitted a complete petition. In addition, to formalize the process by which DOE will respond to incomplete petitions, DOE is proposing to specify at 10 CFR 430.27e2 and 10 CFR
431.401e2 that a petition for interim waiver will be considered incomplete if it does not meet the content requirements of 10 CFR 430.27b or 10
CFR 431.401b, as applicable. In such a case, DOE will notify the petitioner of an incomplete petition via email. DOE
will continue the iterative process by which DOE assists manufacturers in completing their petitions. DOE believes these amendments will provide clarity regarding the initial requirements for petition submissions. Consistent with these proposals, DOE also proposes to state at 10 CFR 430.27e1 and 10 CFR
431.401e1 that DOE will post a petition for interim waiver on its website within five business days of receipt of a complete petition.
DOE is similarly proposing amendments to 10 CFR 430.27g and 10
CFR 431.401g to specify the information that must be provided in a request to extend a waiver to additional basic models. Specifically, DOE
proposes that the petition for extension must identify the particular basic models for which a waiver extension is requested, each brand name under which the identified basic models will be distributed in commerce, and documentation supporting the claim that the additional basic models employ the same technology as the basic models set forth in the original petition. DOE believes that including these requirements in the regulations will make clear to manufacturers the information required for an extension request and allow DOE to process such requests more expeditiously.
DOE requests comments on its proposals to specify the contents of a complete petition for interim waiver, to formalize the process by which DOE
will respond to incomplete petitions, and to specify the information that must be provided in a request to extend a waiver to additional basic models.
DOE is also proposing amendments to 10 CFR 430.27h and 10 CFR
431.401h. The current regulations provide that upon publication in the Federal Register of a new or amended test procedure that addresses the issues presented in a waiver, an interim waiver will cease to be in effect.

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10 CFR 430.27h1ii and 10 CFR
431.401h1ii. Under this provision, a manufacturer can no longer rely on an interim waiver upon the publication date of a new or amended test procedure. In contrast, final waivers automatically terminate on the date on which use of such test procedure is required to demonstrate compliance. To ensure equitable treatment of final waivers and interim waivers that are in place at the time a test procedure final rule publishes, DOE is proposing to specify that final waivers and interim waivers both automatically terminate on the compliance date of the test procedure final rule.
DOE requests comments on its proposal to specify that interim waivers in place at the time a test procedure final rule is published will automatically terminate on the compliance date of the test procedure final rule.
DOE is also proposing amendments to 10 CFR 430.27i and 10 CFR 431.401i to clearly state the transition period for compliance with a decision and order or test procedure final rule. DOE believes these amendments are necessary to make clear the transition periods for scenarios not previously addressed by these provisions. These provisions would apply to required certifications and any representations. DOE proposes to specify at 10 CFR 430.27i1 and 10
CFR 431.401i1 that manufacturers have 180 days or up to 360 days, as applicable to comply with a decision and order or test procedure methodology, unless otherwise specified by DOE in the decision and order. The existing language in these sections specifies that when basic models have already been certified using the test procedure permitted in DOEs grant of an interim test procedure waiver, a manufacturer is not required to re-test and re-rate those basic models under certain circumstances. DOE
intends to retain this flexibility, but simplify this provision by stating that DOE may specify in the decision and order when certification reports and any representations need not be based on the decision and order test procedure methodology. DOE also proposes to specify at 10 CFR 430.27i1 and 10
CFR 431.401i1 that once a manufacturer uses the decision and order test procedure methodology in a certification report or any representation, all subsequent certification reports and any representations would be required to be made using the decision and order test procedure methodology while the waiver is valid. In addition, DOE is proposing similar amendments to clarify
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