DOE Proposes Rescinding Water Use Standards for Residential Dishwashers

DOE proposed to rescind the regulatory water-use requirements for residential dishwashers, codified in 10 CFR 430.32(f). For residential dishwashers “manufactured on or after January 1, 2010,” Congress has set the maximum water use for a standard size dishwasher at 6.5 gallons per cycle and for a compact size dishwasher at 4.5 gallons per cycle. 42 U.S.C. 6295(g)(10). DOE, by regulation, has set more stringent requirements. For “dishwashers manufactured on or after May 30, 2013, standard size dishwashers must not exceed 5.0 gallons per cycle.” 10 CFR 430.32(f)(1)(i). “Compact size dishwashers shall not exceed . . . 3.5 gallons per cycle.” 10 CFR 430.32(f)(1)(ii). In the future, residential dishwashers face more stringent requirements. “All dishwashers manufactured on or after April 23, 2027” must not exceed 3.3 gallons per cycle and 3.1 gallons per cycle for standard and compact models respectively. 10 CFR 430.32(f)(2). 

DOE provided the following rationales:

  1. DOE has reconsidered its statutory authority for water-use regulations of dishwashers, and concluded that its authority likely does not permit these regulations. Though recent DOE proposed rules recognize its authority to regulate water use for products such as showerheads, faucets, water closets, and urinals, DOE asserted that it can regulate the amount of energy used by dishwashers, but not water use.

     

  2. DOE tentatively found that the water-use regulations are not economically justified, in part since they “appear to lessen the utility of dishwashers by lengthening the time it takes to wash dishes, and in part since consumers “are best situated to decide whether a given product is economically justified, as that is precisely what the free market does best.”

     

  3. DOE now pursues the policy that “Unless a regulatory standard is required by statute, the secretary proposes eliminating that requirement.”