DOE, ABMA work to advance commercial packaged boiler testing changes
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a proposed rulemaking to amend the test procedures for commercial packaged boilers (CBP). The American Boiler Manufacturers Association says this is the result of a multi-year effort by the association to ensure that it members are able to comply with the procedure requirements.
For the past few years, Geoff Halley, ABMA's technical director has been leading a task force of members in the commercial sector, working closely with DOE officials, to better understand the issues on both sides and reach consensus on a solution. This included face-to-face meetings at DOE along with follow-up conference calls.
In May 2015, ABMA President Scott Lynch along with board member John Sullivan from Alzeta met with DOE officials in D.C. to further discuss this issue and obtain more clarity on the most effective way to proceed. This meeting and subsequent conversations resulted in ABMA and its commercial sector members coming together and officially submitted comments on July, 6, 2015 to DOE that proposed a modified test procedure which was acceptable to everyone on the task force.
ABMA says it is pleased to see the proposed rulemaking issued on February 22 incorporates many of the key issues addressed in their comments. Halley is currently taking a deeper look to fully understand the scope of the proposed rulemaking which consists of more than 150 pages of supporting documentation. The organization says this is definitely not the end of the road, but a positive step that shows how influential ABMA can be when members come together around issues of common concern.
As for the timeline moving forward, DOE has scheduled a public meeting on April 4, which ABMA will be attending. This will be followed by the closing of a comment period which should occur sometime in the May/June timeframe and ABMA will be submitting comments. The end of the comment period depends on when the announcement is officially posted in the Public Register, officially 75 days from after publication.
For more details including the proposed rulemaking, click here.
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