Alliance for Water Efficiency v. U.S. Department of Energy

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted Alliance for Water Efficiency’s motion for voluntary dismissal of a proceeding challenging the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) December 2020 promulgation of a rule amending the regulatory definition of “showerhead” in DOE’s energy conservation standards after the Biden administration reinstated the previous definition in December 2021. The December 2020 definition allowed each showerhead in a product containing multiple showerheads to be considered separately for purposes of determining compliance with the 2.5 gallon per minute maximum water use threshold. In its December 2021 rule, DOE determined that the December 2020 definition was inconsistent with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act’s purposes of energy and water conservation.

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