Regulation Database – Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

HCFC Phase-Out Under Clean Air Act and Montreal Protocol

On December 24, 2013, EPA published a proposed rule on compliance with Clean Air Act and Montreal Protocol requirements for phasing out ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). According to the Protocol, the United States must reduce consumption and production of HCFCs to be no more than 10% of the established cap by January 1, 2015. The proposed rule also proposed changes to section 608 of the Clean Air Act, dealing with HCFC recycling and emissions reductions requirements.

On October 28, 2014, EPA finalized adjustments to the allowance system for consumption and production of HCFCs. The rule lists specific allowances for four HCFCs for 2015 to 2019. The plan dictates that HCFC-22 will be phased out completely by 2020; HCFC-123 will be capped at 2,000 MT per year through 2019; HCFC-124 will be allocated 200 MT per year through 2019; HCFC-142b is allocated 35 MT in 2015, decreasing by 5 MT per year through 2019 and reaching zero at 2020; and HCFC-225ca/cb received zero percent of the baseline.

Significant New Alternatives Policy Program

EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program expands the list of acceptable substitutes to ozone-depleting substances, and lists unacceptable substitutes. EPA has been regulating under the program since the early 1990s. Recent EPA rules under the SNAP program have considered global warming potential as a criterion in evaluating the impacts of substances under consideration.

In April 2015, EPA published a rule to name five refrigerants acceptable substitutes to ozone-depleting HCFCs in compliance with the agency’s Significant New Alternatives Policy  (SNAP) program. The substitutes are to be used in several end uses, including household and stand-alone commercial refrigerators, vending machines, and room air conditioning units, subject to use conditions. The substitutes (ethane, isobutane, propane, HFC-32, and R-441A) are legal to use in new appliances, and are exempt from the Clean Air Act Section 608’s prohibition on venting, release, or disposal.

In July 2015, also under the Significant New Alternatives Policy program, EPA made changes to the listing for certain HFCs used in aerosols, refrigeration and air conditioning, and foam blowing, and prohibited the use of HFCs that are powerful greenhouse gases as replacements for ozone-depleting substances.

In December 2016, among other things, EPA listed certain substances as acceptable in refrigeration, air conditioning, and fire suppression; listed several substances as unacceptable in certain end uses in refrigeration and air conditioning; and changed the listing status for certain substances that had been listed as acceptable in refrigeration, air conditioning, and foam blowing.

 
Litigation:  On August 8, 2017, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that EPA lacked authority to issue the July 2015 rule prohibiting the use of HFCs that are powerful greenhouse gases as replacements for ozone-depleting substances. See Mexichem Fluor, Inc. v. EPA, 866 F.3d 451.

Revised Section 608 Refrigerant Management Regulations

In November 2016, EPA extended safe handling requirements under section 608 of the Clean Air Act that currently apply to ozone depleting refrigerants, extending them to substitutes like hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). According to EPA estimates, annual GHG emissions reductions from this rule will be approximately 7.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and 114 ozone-depletion weighted metric tons.


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