WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule in regards to hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) allocations. This new final rule was effective April 3, 2013 and overrides the previous interim rule that went into effect on Aug. 5, 2011.
Bob Perciasepe, acting EPA administrator, signed the final HCFC Allocation Rule covering HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b allowances for 2012-2014 on March 27.
According to the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) the EPA decided to, “Continue to use the same HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b baselines established in the 2011 interim Final Rule, but opted to reduce the HCFC-22 consumption allocations for 2012-2014 by close to 30 percent from the amounts provided in the 2009 Final Rule.”
HARDI released a chart showing what each year would look like. According to that chart, in 2012, 55 million pounds is the cap, a 38 percent reduction over the 2009 rule, inclusive of recoupment. For 2013 it is 63 million pounds and 2014 is 50 million pounds. That is a 21 and 18 percent reduction, respectively. The distributor association also answered a few key questions about the rules, one of which was why the EPA did not make a full reduction in 2013 and 2014.
“Part of the reason can be attributed to recoupment allowances which were awarded to Arkema and Solvay Fluorides,” explained the advocacy release. “These companies had challenged the EPA's ordinal 2009 allocation rule and charged that they were denied their full allotment of allocation rights. The court agreed and EPA was forced to redo the allocation rule for 2012-2014. EPA then allowed Arkema and Solvay Flourides to recoup their perceived losses in 2013 and 2014 by adding approximately 6.5 million pounds each year to the prescribed amount.”
As for the elimination of dry shipments, the EPA didn’t rule either way. As it stands now, there will be no changes to the dry ship market from the legislation side.
Looking ahead, HARDI said that the EPA is beginning a draft for the 2015-2019 allocation rule.
“In that rule, the EPA will be charged with taking the amount of virgin R-22 in the United States from 50 million lbs to 0 in 2020,” said HARDI.
For more information, visit www.hardinet.org.
