The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday, April 17, from 2-3:30 EDT, will host an online webinar titled "DOE Certification, Compliance, and Enforcement Overview for Plumbing Products."

Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection finalized regulations that allow officials to refuse admission of consumer products and industrial equipment that are found to be noncompliant with energy conservation and labeling standards, including plumbing products.

"This is the second time in the last couple of years that the plumbing industry has partnered with DOE to provide industry specific guidance," said Dain Hansen, vice president of Government Relations for IAPMO. "With U.S. Customs and Border Protection now increasing its ability to enforce and refuse entry to noncompliant products, this training is coming at an opportune time."

The webinar will explain the obligations that manufacturers, private labelers and importers must meet to ensure their plumbing products comply with the federal water consumption regulations. These obligations include testing in accordance with the appropriate test procedures to ensure compliance with the applicable standard and annually certifying to DOE the compliance of these products.

DOE will explain how to certify compliance as well as the steps DOE takes to ensure products are indeed compliant with their applicable standards. A recently implemented customs rule regarding importation of products regulated by DOE and the steps importers must take to ensure their products are properly imported prior to sale in the United States will also be discussed.

Under authority from the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (as amended), DOE regulates the water consumption of specific plumbing products. These products include faucets, showerheads, water closets, urinals, and commercial pre-rinse spray valves.

IAPMO R&T Lab and IAPMO R&T have partnered with DOE for nearly 10 years as a provider of third-party testing and certification services to such DOE consumer product labeling programs as ENERGY STAR® and U.S. EPA's WaterSense®.

Participants may register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/637357752. Webinar requires Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server; Mac OS®X 10.6 or newer; iPhone®, iPad®, Android® phone or Android tablet.