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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 96 / Thursday, May 20, 2021 / Proposed Rules
are currently used in Appendix T, but not defined. DOE has tentatively determined that these proposed amendments would not be unduly burdensome for manufacturers.
Further discussion of the cost impacts of the proposed test procedure amendments are presented in the following sections.
a Updating to Current Industry Standards DOE proposes to amend the existing test procedures for water closets and urinals by incorporating by reference the most recent version of the referenced industry standard, ASME
A112.19.22018. As discussed, DOEs review of the 2018 version compared with the 2008 version, identified the following two updates to sections relevant to the Federal test procedure include: 1 Editorial changes and clarifications; and 2 a correction in section 8.2.1 to the water consumption static test pressure value for urinals to reflect the corresponding value in Table 6. DOE has tentatively determined that the amendments in ASME A112.19.2
2018 would not impact 1 the measured values of water use for water closets and urinals under Appendix T, 2 the representativeness of the results, or 3
the test burden. In addition, incorporation of ASME A112.19.22018
would harmonize DOEs test procedures with current industry practice.
b New and Amended Definitions DOE proposes to update the replace blowout toilet with blowout bowl water closet and use the corresponding definition in ASME A112.19.22018.
DOE has tentatively determined that the terms are understood to include the same products. In addition, incorporation of blowout bowl per ASME A112.19.22018 would harmonize the term and definition in the DOEs test procedures with current industry practice.
DOE also proposes to add definitions for gravity flush tank water closet, siphonic bowl and siphonic action as defined in ASME A112.19.22018, and for trough-type urinal as defined in California Title 20 Appliance Efficiency Regulations. Each of these aforementioned terms are used in either Appendix T, 10 CFR 430.2q, 10 CFR
430.2r, or within another definition;
however, none of these terms is currently defined in 10 CFR 430.2. DOE
has tentatively determined that the proposed definitions would harmonize the DOEs test procedures with current industry practice.

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c Costs and Impacts Based on these tentative conclusions, none of the proposed amendments to Appendix T and the associated definitions would require manufacturers to test water closets and urinals that are not already required to be tested.
Additionally, none of the proposed amendments would require manufacturers to re-test or re-certify any existing models on the market that have already been tested using Appendix T
and properly certified. Therefore, were DOE to adopt these proposed test procedure amendments, water closet and urinal manufacturers would not incur any additional costs.
DOE requests comment on its understanding that there will be no impact or costs to water closet and urinal manufacturers under the proposed amendments.
2. Harmonization With Industry Standards The test procedures for water closets and urinals at Appendix T incorporate by reference ASME A112.19.22008, relying on certain provisions of that industry standard. The provisions of the industry standard referenced in the Federal test procedure provide procedures for testing and measuring water consumption, specifications for test apparatus, and other general requirements for water closets and urinals. The industry standard DOE
proposes to incorporate by reference via amendments described in this notice are discussed in further detail in section IV.M of this document.
DOE requests comment on the benefits and burdens of the proposed updates and additions to industry standards referenced in the DOE test procedure for water closets and urinals.
In the August 2019 RFI, DOE
requested comment on the benefits and burdens of, or any other comments regarding, adopting any industry/
voluntary consensus-based or other appropriate test procedure, without modification. 84 FR 37973. PMI
responded by stating that certification agencies in the U.S. already require manufacturers of water closets and urinals to certify their products in accordance with the latest version of ASME A112.19.22018; therefore, it is important for DOE to match all the test procedures outlined in the recent ASME
standard including all terms, definitions, figures and tables without modification. PMI, No. 3 at p. 3 The CA IOUs commented generally that DOE
should not adopt any industry/
voluntary consensus-based method without modification because that risks
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limiting opportunity for stakeholder participation in the development and adoption of Federal requirements. CA
IOUs, No. 4 at p. 4 The CA IOUs stated that DOE must ensure transparency and that incorporated industry test procedures are fully vetted through the public rulemaking process. Id.
DOE is proposing to amend the test procedures consistent with the most recent version of the referenced industry standard, ASME A112.19.22018, and through this NOPR is providing an opportunity for comment on its proposal. As noted, EPCA directs that if the requirements of ASME A112.19.6
1990 are revised at any time and approved by ANSI, DOE must amend the test procedures for water closets and urinals to conform to the revised ASME
standard, unless DOE determines by rule that to do so would not meet the requirements of EPCA that the test procedures be reasonably designed to produce test results which measure water use during a representative average use cycle as determined by DOE, and not be unduly burdensome to conduct. 42 U.S.C. 6293b8B As discussed, DOE has proposed maintaining the additional direction in Appendix T, which DOE previously determined is necessary to provide for consistent resolution of recorded values, rounding of recorded and calculated values, and test set-up as it relates to manufacturer installation instructions.
DOE seeks further comment on the degree to which the DOE should consider harmonizing Appendix T with the most recent relevant industry standard for water closets and urinals, and whether there are any changes to the Federal test method that would produce test results that provide additional benefits to the public as compared to the current DOE test procedure or the relevant industry standard. DOE also requests comment on the benefits and burdens of, or any other comments regarding, adopting any industry/voluntary consensus-based or other appropriate test procedure, without modification.
3. Other Test Procedure Topics In addition to the issues identified earlier in this document, DOE welcomes comment on any other aspect of the existing test procedure for water closets and urinals. DOE issued an RFI to seek more information on whether, as required by EPCA, its test procedures are reasonably designed, to produce results that measure the energy and water use or efficiency of products during a representative average use cycle or period of use. 84 FR 9721 Mar.
18, 2019. DOE particularly seeks
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