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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 241 / Monday, December 20, 2021 / Rules and Regulations TABLE I.1WRITTEN COMMENTS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO JULY 2021 NOPRContinued Commenters
Reference in this Final Rule
Alicia Johnston
Shane Kelley
Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District
Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Plumbing Manufacturers International
James Ramer
James Southerland
Marl Walters

Johnston
Kelley
the District
NPCC
PMI
Ramer
Southerland
Walters

A parenthetical reference at the end of a comment quotation or paraphrase provides the location of the item in the public record.9

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II. Synopsis of the Final Rule Following a review of the December 2020 Final Rule and the comments received in response to the August 2020
NOPR, relevant authorities, and comments received in response to the July 2021 NOPR, DOE is withdrawing the December 2020 Final Rules definition of showerhead, and is reinstating the October 2013 Final Rules definition of showerhead. See 78 FR 62970, 62986. As such, DOE
defines the term showerhead as a component or set of components distributed in commerce for attachment to a single supply fitting, for spraying water onto a bather, typically from an overhead position, excluding safety shower showerheads. DOE is also withdrawing the December 2020 Final Rules interpretation that each showerhead included in a product with multiple showerheads would be considered separately for purposes of determining standards compliance.
Whereas in the December 2020 Final Rule DOE stated that while water conservation is obviously a purpose of EPCA, the definitional changes follow congressional reliance on the ASME
standard. DOE has reconsidered this balance and has come to a different policy conclusion that water conservation is a more important EPCA
purpose and should be weighed more heavily when amending the definition of a covered product than consistency with ASME with which DOE has no statutory obligation to align its definition. The Department finds that the definition of showerhead as presented in this final rule better effectuates EPCAs water conservation 9 The parenthetical reference provides a reference for information located in the docket of DOEs rulemaking to amend the definition of showerhead.
Docket No. EERE2021BTSTD0016, which is maintained at www.regulations.gov. The references are arranged as follows: Commenter name, comment docket ID number, page of that document.

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purposes. This final action will also provide consumers the benefits derived from water savings that will accrue over time with this return to the definition of showerhead that existed prior to the December 2020 Final Rule.
DOE is also withdrawing the definition of body spray adopted in the December 2020 Final Rule. DOE
finds that the current definition of body spray is inconsistent with the express purpose of EPCA to conserve water by improving the water efficiency of certain plumbing products and appliances as the current definition may lead to increased water use. Further, the definition of body spray does not best address the relationship between body sprays and showerheads. This is because the only difference between the definitions of body spray and showerhead is the installation location, as shown by the similar treatment of the two products in the marketplace. Finally, DOE is maintaining the definition of safety shower showerhead, as leaving the term undefined may cause confusion about what products are subject to the energy conservation standards.
III. Discussion A. Reinstatement of the October 2013
Final Rules Definition of Showerhead In the July 2021 NOPR, DOE
tentatively determined that EPCAs definition of showerhead is ambiguous and that the December 2020 Final Rules definition of showerhead is not consistent with EPCAs purposes to conserve water by improving water efficiency of certain plumbing products and appliances and to improve energy efficiency of major appliances and consumer products. 86 FR 38594, 38597; See also 42 U.S.C. 6201 DOE
also tentatively determined that:
Congressional intent does not require DOE to adopt the ASME definition for showerheads; that the October 2013
Final Rule did not effectively ban multiheaded showerheads from the market;
and that the December 2020 Final Rules definition of showerhead is inconsistent with EPCAs purposes, and
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Commenter type Individual.
Individual.
Municipal Government.
Efficiency Organization.
Trade Association.
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falls within the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
NTTAA and OMB Circular A119
exception to the use of voluntary consensus standards. Id. As such, DOE
proposed to withdraw the December 2020 Final Rules definition of showerhead and to reinstate the definition of showerhead from the October 2013 Final Rule. Id.
Based on the discussion in the following sections and the analysis presented in the July 2021 NOPR, DOE
is reinstating the pre-December 2020
Final Rule definition of showerhead as proposed in the July 2021 NOPR. In response to the July 2021 NOPR, PMI, the CA IOUs, the Joint Advocates, and CEC supported DOEs reevaluation of the December 2020 Final Rule and urged the finalization of the proposed rule. PMI, No. 22 at pp.12; CA IOUs, No. 20 at p. 1; Joint Advocates, No. 23
at pp.1, 3; CEC, No. 19 at pp. 12; PMI, Public Meeting Transcript at p.6; CA
IOUs, Public Meeting Transcript at p.4
AWE, et al., the District, and NPCC also supported DOEs proposal to reinstate the prior definition of showerhead.
AWE, et al., No. 21 at p. 1; the District, No. 16 at pp.12; NPCC, No. 12 at p. 1;
AWE, Public Meeting Transcript at p.7
Additionally, Hekstra and ASAP
commented in support of this rulemaking. Hekstra, No. 17; ASAP, Public Meeting Transcript at p. 4
However, CEI et al. opposed reinstatement of the definition of showerhead as established in the October 2013 Final Rule on the grounds that it is incompatible with the law and detrimental to consumers. CEI et al., No. 18 at p. 2
1. EPCAs Definition of Showerhead Is Ambiguous In the July 2021 NOPR, DOE
tentatively determined that the term showerhead is ambiguous. 86 FR
38594, 3859738598. EPCA defines the term showerhead as any showerhead including a handheld showerhead, except a safety shower showerhead.
42 U.S.C. 629131D Congress adopted this definition of showerhead
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