The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1992 (EPAct) should stand for another year, according to the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute. Rep. Joseph Knollenberg’s (R-MI) push to repeal the law has fallen on deaf ears in the House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, said Ce Ce Kremer, vice president of government affairs for PMI. The subcommittee had scheduled a hearing on the bill for August, but Knollenberg decided it would be better to wait until next year.
Knollenberg, who is up for election this fall, first introduced the Plumbing Standards Improvement Act in 1997 to “amend EPAct by repealing the plumbing efficiency provisions in the Act.” Specifically, the bill, if passed, will repeal a requirement that restricts all new toilets to 1.6 gpf and showerheads to 2.5 gpm.