Management of Certain Hydrofluorocarbons and Substitutes under Subsection (h) of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act
Proposed Rule Overview
The American Innovation and Manufacturing Act authorizes EPA to address hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in three main ways: phasing down their production and consumption, facilitating the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions, and promulgating certain regulations for purposes of maximizing reclamation and minimizing releases from equipment. This proposed rule focuses on the third area.
This action proposes to establish an Emissions Reduction and Reclamation Program for the management of certain HFCs and substitutes. The proposed requirements include:
- Leak repair provisions for certain appliances;
- Use of automatic leak detection for certain new and existing equipment;
- A proposed reclamation standard;
- Use of reclaimed HFCs for certain types of equipment in certain refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump subsectors and use of recycled HFCs in fire suppression equipment;
- Certain provisions for equipment in the fire suppression sector, including technician training;
- Recovery of HFCs from disposable containers prior to disposal;
- Container tracking for HFCs that could be used in the servicing, repair, and/or installation of refrigerant-containing equipment or fire suppression equipment; and
- Recordkeeping, reporting, and labeling requirements.
EPA is also proposing alternative recycling criteria for ignitable used refrigerants, including some HFCs and their equivalents, under the authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Read the Proposed Rule
Former EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan signed the following proposed rule on October 5, 2023. The rule was published in the Federal Register (FR) on October 19, 2023. The proposed rule is linked below and can also be found on regulations.gov in Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0606.