Rule Concerning Disclosures Regarding Energy Consumption and Water Use of Certain Home Appliances and Other Products Required Under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ``Appliance Labeling Rule''

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 305

Rule Concerning Disclosures Regarding Energy Consumption and

Water Use of Certain Home Appliances and Other Products Required Under

the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ``Appliance Labeling Rule''

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') announces non-

substantive amendments to its Appliance Labeling Rule (``Rule'').

Specifically, the Commission is amending the Rule's water flow rates

disclosure requirements for showerheads and faucets to specify that the

metric disclosures ``liters per minute'' and ``liters per cycle'' be

abbreviated as ``L/min'' and ``L/cycle'' rather than ``Lpm'' and

``Lpc.''

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 16, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terrence J. Boyle, Attorney, (202) 326-3016, Division of Enforcement,

Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC

20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of

1975 (``EPCA'') directed the Commission to issue rules requiring

various categories of home appliances and other products to be labeled

with information about their energy consumption and efficiency.\1\

Pursuant to EPCA, the Commission on November 19, 1979, issued the

Appliance Labeling Rule requiring label disclosures of energy operating

costs and/or efficiency for seven categories of products.\2\

\1\42 U.S.C. 6291, 6294.

\2\44 FR 66466.

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The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (``EPA 92'') amended EPCA to add

showerheads, faucets, water closets and urinals as covered products. As

amended, EPCA establishes for showerheads and faucets a national

maximum water flow rate standard of 2.5 gallons per minute at 80 pounds

per square inch (``psi'') water pressure and, for those products,

adopted the testing methods of the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers (``ASME'') Standard A112.18.1M as ``the proper protocols for

measuring the water usage.''\3\ EPA 92 also directed the Commission to

issue rules requiring these plumbing products to be permanently marked

with their water flow rates and to bear disclosures ``consistent with

the marking and [[Page 14210]] labeling requirements'' of specified

national standards that have been published for such products by

ASME.\4\

\3\42 U.S.C. 6293(b) (7)(A) and (8)(A).

\4\Pub. L. 102-486, 106 Stat. 2778, 2817-2832 (1992).

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On October 25, 1993, the Commission amended the Rule to add four

categories of plumbing fixtures and fittings.\5\ The amended Rule

requires water closets, urinals and showerheads, as well as faucets and

the flow restricting devices (aerators) that are placed in faucets, to

be clearly and conspicuously labeled, and water closets, urinals and

showerheads to be permanently and legibly marked, with disclosures of

their water flow rates.\6\ The amended Rule also requires, in all

point-of-sale promotional materials for such plumbing products and in

all catalogs offering such products for sale, disclosure of the

products' water flow rates.\7\

\5\58 FR 54955.

\6\16 CFR part 305.11(e) (1) and (2).

\7\16 CFR part 305.13(a)(2) and .14(d).

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The amended EPCA provides that if ASME revises the marking and

labeling requirements contained in its Standard A112.18.1M for

showerheads and faucets, and if the American National Standards

Institute (``ANSI'') approves the revisions, the Commission shall amend

the Rule to be consistent with the revisions, unless the revisions are

inconsistent with the purposes of EPA 92 or with the requirement that

plumbing fittings be permanently marked with legible disclosures of

their water flow rates.\8\

\8\42 U.S.C. 6294(a)(2)(D)(ii).

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On July 8, 1994, ASME adopted, and on September 15, 1994, ANSI

approved and published, revisions to the ASME National Standard

A112.18.1M that governs showerheads and faucets. One of these revisions

pertains to the Commission's Rule because it changes the abbreviations

used by the ASME Standard in its marking and labeling requirements for

plumbing fittings.\9\ The first revision to the ASME Standard changed

the abbreviations for ``liters per minute'' and ``liters per cycle''

from ``Lpm'' and ``Lpc'' to ``L/min'' and ``L/cycle'' respectively. The

change was made to avoid confusion with the ``m'' that is

internationally recognized as the proper abbreviation for meter.\10\

\9\A second revision changed the Standard's protocols for

measuring faucet water flow rates. See discussion infra.

\10\The ``liters per cycle'' change was just for symmetry. For

English system disclosures, though, the revised ASME Standard

continues to use just the letter ``m'' to stand for minute. The use

of ``m'' there was not seen as confusing because, since gallons are

not metric units of measurement, readers would not likely think of

meters.

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The Commission is amending the Rule to adopt the ASME abbreviations

of ``liters per minute'' and ``liters per cycle'' for required

disclosure of the water flow rates of faucets (and aerators) and

showerheads.\11\ Because this rule amendment is technical in nature and

is not intended to modify the substantive legal requirements and

restrictions imposed by the Rule, the Commission finds that a comment

period is not necessary or warranted for purposes of the Administrative

Procedures Act. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b).

\11\For technical reasons the Commission has specified an

effective date of May 16, 1995, for this amendment. The Rule in

recent months has been amended on several occasions both to add new

product categories and to revise the disclosure requirements for

several existing categories. To ensure an orderly publication of all

these amendments in the Code of Federal Regulations, the Commission

is setting the effective date for this amendment to follow

immediately that of the Commission's previous amendment to the Rule,

which added lamps as covered products. The Commission, however, will

permit manufacturers to begin immediately using the abbreviations

``L/min'' and ``L/cycle'' in place of ``Lpm'' and ``Lpc,'' deeming

the use of the revised abbreviations prior to the effective date of

the amendment to be compliance with the Rule.

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ASME and ANSI also tentatively made a second revision to ASME

Standard A112.18.1M that would pertain to the marking and labeling

requirements of the Commission's Rule. This second revision changed the

Standard's protocols for measuring the water flow rates of faucets,

requiring measurements at 60 psi instead of the 80 psi specified in the

national standard. The Commission's Rule requires flow rate disclosures

to be based on measurements at 80 psi as specified in the national

standard established by EPA 92. ASME made this change in water

pressures in its September 15, 1994, revision of the existing ASME

Standard for faucets and showerheads. But, on December 19, 1994, the

ASME committee for these products voted to rescind the change and

return to using 80 psi. ASME and ANSI will soon act on the proposed

rescission. Under section 324(a)(2)(D)(ii) of EPCA, any change in the

water pressures used to test faucets would first have to be approved by

the Department of Energy (``DOE'') by rule before the Commission can

incorporate the change into the Appliance Labeling Rule.\12\ Therefore,

even if ASME and ANSI ultimately decide to retain the change to 60 psi,

prior action by DOE is needed before the Commission can act on the

change.

\12\42 U.S.C. 6294(a)(2)(D)(ii).

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List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 305

Advertising, Water conservation, Household appliances,

Incorporation by reference, Labeling, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Text of Amendments

Accordingly, 16 CFR part 305 is amended as follows:

Rule Concerning Disclosures Regarding Energy Consumption and Water

Use of Certain Home Appliances and Other Products Required Under

the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (``Appliance Labeling

Rule'')

1. The authority citation for part 305 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6294.

2. Section 305.8 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(4)(v) to read

as follows:

Sec. 305.8 Submission of data.

(a) * * *

(a) * * *

(v) The product's water use, expressed in gallons and liters per

flush (gpf and Lpf) or gallons and liters per minute (gpm and L/min) or

per cycle (gpc and L/cycle) as determined in accordance with

Sec. 305.5.

* * * * *

3. Section 305.11 is amended by revising subparagraph (f) to read

as follows:

Sec. 305.11 Labeling for covered products.

* * * * *

(f) Plumbing Products--

(1) * * *

(i) Each showerhead and flow restricting or controlling spout end

device shall bear a permanent legible marking indicating the flow rate,

expressed in gallons per minute (gpm) or gallons per cycle (gpc), and

the flow rate value shall be the actual flow rate or the maximum flow

rate specified by the standards established in subsection (j) of

section 325 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 6295(j). Except where impractical due

to the size of the fitting, each flow rate disclosure shall also be

given in liters per minute (L/min) or liters per cycle (L/cycle). For

purposes of this section, the marking indicating the flow rate will be

deemed ``legible,'' in terms of placement, if it is located in close

proximity to the manufacturer's identification marking.

* * * * *

(v) The package or any label attached to the package for each

showerhead or faucet shall contain at least the following:

``A112.18.1M'' and the flow rate expressed in gallons per minute (gpm)

or gallons per cycle (gpc), and the flow rate value shall be the actual

flow rate or the maximum flow rate specified by the standards

established in [[Page 14211]] subsection (j) of section 325 of the Act,

42 U.S.C. 6295(j). Each flow rate disclosure shall also be given in

liters per minute (L/min) or liters per cycle (L/cycle).

* * * * *

4. Section 305.13 is amended by revising subparagraph (a)(4) to

read as follows:

Sec. 305.13 Promotional material displayed or distributed at point of

sale.

(a) * * *

(4) Any manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or private labeler who

prepares printed material for display or distribution at point-of-sale

concerning a covered product that is a showerhead, faucet, water

closet, or urinal shall clearly and conspicuously include in such

printed material the product's water use, expressed in gallons and

liters per minute (gpm and L/min) or per cycle (gpc and L/cycle) or

gallons and liters per flush (gpf and Lpf) as specified in

Sec. 305.11(f).

* * * * *

5. Section 305.14 is amended by revising subparagraph (d) to read

as follows:

Sec. 305.14 Catalogs.

* * * * *

(d) Any manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or private labeler who

advertises a covered product that is a showerhead, faucet, water

closet, or urinal in a catalog, from which it may be purchased, shall

include in such catalog, on each page that lists the covered product,

the product's water use, expressed in gallons and liters per minute

(gpm and L/min) or per cycle (gpc and L/cycle) or gallons and liters

per flush (gpf and Lpf) as specified in Sec. 305.11(f).

* * * * *

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-6484 Filed 3-15-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750-01-M