§6294a — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency must run a voluntary Energy Star program that finds and promotes the most energy-efficient products and buildings. The goal is to cut energy use, improve energy security, and reduce pollution by using labels and other communications. The two agencies will split duties between them under their agreements. The EPA Administrator and the Energy Secretary must promote Energy Star as the preferred choice for saving energy and cutting pollution, raise public awareness (including outreach to small businesses), keep the label trustworthy, and update product rules regularly. They must ask for public input before creating or changing categories or rules, explain any changes and reply to comments, and give reasonable notice — normally 270 days — before changes take effect. The Secretary must set new qualifying levels for clothes washers and dishwashers by January 1, 2006 (effective January 1, 2007) and again for clothes washers by January 1, 2008 (effective July 1, 2009).

Title 42, §6294a

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)There is established within the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency a voluntary program to identify and promote energy-efficient products and buildings in order to reduce energy consumption, improve energy security, and reduce pollution through voluntary labeling of, or other forms of communication about, products and buildings that meet the highest energy conservation standards.

(b)Responsibilities under the program shall be divided between the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with the terms of applicable agreements between those agencies.

(c)The Administrator and the Secretary shall—

(1)promote Energy Star compliant technologies as the preferred technologies in the marketplace for—

(A)achieving energy efficiency; and

(B)reducing pollution;

(2)work to enhance public awareness of the Energy Star label, including by providing special outreach to small businesses;

(3)preserve the integrity of the Energy Star label;

(4)regularly update Energy Star product criteria for product categories;

(5)solicit comments from interested parties prior to establishing or revising an Energy Star product category, specification, or criterion (or prior to effective dates for any such product category, specification, or criterion);

(6)on adoption of a new or revised product category, specification, or criterion, provide reasonable notice to interested parties of any changes (including effective dates) in product categories, specifications, or criteria, along with—

(A)an explanation of the changes; and

(B)as appropriate, responses to comments submitted by interested parties; and

(7)provide appropriate lead time (which shall be 270 days, unless the Agency or Department specifies otherwise) prior to the applicable effective date for a new or a significant revision to a product category, specification, or criterion, taking into account the timing requirements of the manufacturing, product marketing, and distribution process for the specific product addressed.

(d)The Secretary shall establish new qualifying levels—

(1)not later than January 1, 2006, for clothes washers and dishwashers, effective beginning January 1, 2007; and

(2)not later than January 1, 2008, for clothes washers, effective beginning July 1, 2009.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2007—Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 110–140 substituted “

July 1, 2009” for “

January 1, 2010”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2007 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 110–140 effective on the date that is 1 day after Dec. 19, 2007, see section 1601 of Pub. L. 110–140, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 1824 of Title 2, The Congress.

§6294a Energy Star program

Summary

Title 42, §6294a

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata