EPA Seeks to Develop Allowance Approval Framework for Phasedown of HFCs
The Environmental Protection Agency is launching a proposed rulemaking that will enable the agency to create a framework assessing the renewal or eligibility of applications that seek application-specific allowances amid EPA's efforts to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), it said in a Federal Register notice set for publication Sept. 16.
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EPA is currently assessing the eligibility of six applications seeking to receive priority access to allowances amid the HFC phasedown mandated by the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020. The agency will be issuing a limited quantity of transferrable production and consumption allowances, which entities must expend to produce or import HFCs.
The agency intends to finalize this proposed rule ahead of the allocation of calendar year 2026 allowances. Without finalization of the proposed rule, all applications would be ineligible for allowances for calendar year 2026. EPA said.
EPA will allocate allowances exclusively for use in specific applications when there is no safe or technically achievable substitute or if there is an insufficient supply of the HFCs used in the application that can be secured from chemical manufacturers.
Six applications that would receive priority access to allowances for a five-year period beginning on Dec. 27, 2020, include propellants in metered dose inhalers (MDIs); defense sprays; structural composite preformed polyurethane (SCPPU) foam for marine use and trailer use (hereafter referred to as SCPPU foam for marine and trailer uses); the etching of semiconductor material or wafers and the cleaning of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers within the semiconductor manufacturing sector; mission-critical military end uses (MCMEU); and onboard aerospace fire suppression.
EPA will be accepting comments on this proposed rulemaking through Oct. 31. A request for a public hearing on the proposed rulemaking must be made by Sept. 21; if a public hearing occurs, it will be held on Oct. 1.
The proposed rulemaking also will address the following: revisions to the Technology Transitions regulations as relevant to the specific applications under review; a procedural process for submitting a petition to designate a new application as eligible for priority access to allowances; narrow revisions to the methodology used to allocate allowances to application-specific allowance holders for calendar years 2026 and beyond; and limited revisions to existing regulations, according to the notice. EPA also is proposing to authorize an entity to produce regulated substances for export, and it is proposing certain confidentiality determinations for newly reported information if this rulemaking is finalized as proposed.