[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 66 (Monday, April 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19077-19079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07718]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0263; FRL-9909-15-OAR]
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Notice of Data Availability
Regarding Aggregate HCFC-22 Inventory Data From 2008-2013
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: Today's notice announces the availability of two additional
documents related to Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Adjustments to
the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC Production, Import and Export
(2015-2019). The first document shows the aggregated results of Clean
Air Act section 114 requests for information on the amount of HCFC-22
inventory held by nine entities between 2008 and 2013. The second is an
updated draft of the 2013 Servicing Tail Report, which revises
statements regarding alternatives to HCFC-123 for fire suppression and
modeled need for virgin HCFC-123 for this purpose.
DATES: Comments on this notice of data availability must be received on
or before April 22, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2013-0263, by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: [email protected].
Mail: Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0263, Air and
Radiation Docket and Information Center, United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Mail code: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0263 Air
and Radiation Docket at EPA West, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Room
3340, Mail Code 6102T, Washington, DC 20004. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2013-0263. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. If
you want to submit confidential comments, please send them to the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured
[[Page 19078]]
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit
the EPA Docket Center homepage at www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Whiteley by telephone at
(202) 343-9310 or by email at [email protected], or by mail at
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection
Division (6205J), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington DC 20460. You
may also visit the Ozone Protection Web site of EPA's Stratospheric
Protection Division at www.epa.gov/ozone/strathome.html for further
information about EPA's Stratospheric Ozone Protection regulations, the
science of ozone layer depletion, and related topics.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This notice announces the availability of data relevant to the
proposed rule titled, Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Adjustments to
the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC Production, Import and
Export, which published in the Federal Register on December 24, 2013,
and covers the years 2015-2019. When final, that rule may affect the
following categories, thus this notice of availability may be of
interest to:
Industrial Gas Manufacturing entities (NAICS code 325120),
including fluorinated hydrocarbon gases manufacturers and reclaimers;
Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers
(NAICS code 422690), including chemical gases and compressed gases
merchant wholesalers;
Air-Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and
Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing
entities (NAICS code 333415), including air-conditioning equipment and
commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturers;
Air-Conditioning Equipment and Supplies Merchant
Wholesalers (NAICS code 423730), including air-conditioning (condensing
unit, compressors) merchant wholesalers;
Electrical and Electronic Appliance, Television, and Radio
Set Merchant Wholesalers (NAICS code 423620), including air-
conditioning (room units) merchant wholesalers;
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS
code 238220), including central air-conditioning system, commercial
refrigeration installation and HVAC contractors; and
Refrigerant reclaimers, manufacturers of recovery/
recycling equipment, and refrigerant recovery/recycling equipment
testing organizations.
This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide
for readers regarding entities likely to be interested in this notice.
B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Confidential Business Information (CBI)
Do not submit this information to EPA through www.regulations.gov
or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you
claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD ROM that you mail
to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify
electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment
that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that
does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for
inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part
2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments
When submitting comments, remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree, suggest alternatives,
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. What data are available?
EPA is announcing the availability of two documents in docket EPA-
HQ-OAR-2013-0263, which is the docket for the rulemaking titled,
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Adjustments to the Allowance System
for Controlling HCFC Production, Import and Export (2015-2019). EPA
intends to consider comments on this data as it develops the rule
finalizing the December 24, 2013 proposal (78 FR 78072).
The first of those documents is 2008-2013 HCFC-22 Aggregate
Inventory Data. In August 2013, under the authority of Clean Air Act
section 114, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent letters to
nine major entities in the HCFC-22 market, including producers,
importers, distributors and reclaimers of HCFC-22. The agency asked for
each company's HCFC-22 inventory as of December 31 in the years 2008
through 2012. At least one respondent to EPA's section 114 request
claimed the aggregate calendar-year HCFC-22 inventory data from all
nine entities as confidential business information; therefore, EPA was
obligated to follow its Confidential Business Information regulations
at 40 CFR Part 2 Subpart B with respect to the aggregate data and could
not release those data at the time of the agency's proposed rule for
the allocation of 2015-2019 HCFC allowances (December 24, 2013, 78 FR
78072). On February 18, 2014, EPA issued a final determination that the
aggregate inventory data is not entitled to confidential treatment. EPA
sent a second letter under the authority of section 114 of the Clean
Air Act to the same nine entities on February 27, 2014, requesting each
company's HCFC-22 inventory as of December 31, 2013. No company claimed
the aggregate inventory data for 2013 as confidential business
information.
EPA posted the 2008-2012 aggregate inventory data on the agency's
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/classtwo.html and
notified stakeholders via email on March 10, 2014. EPA posted the 2013
aggregate inventory data on the agency's Web site
[[Page 19079]]
and notified stakeholders via email on March 27, 2014. EPA also added
these two sets of data to the docket on March 14, 2014 and with this
notice, respectively. Given that EPA has already made these data
available through other means, including direct notice to stakeholders,
EPA believes that 15 days is an adequate period for public comment on
this notice.
In preparing its proposed rule, EPA considered the annual trend of
HCFC-22 inventory amounts, and the existing inventory at the end of
2012. Existing HCFC-22 inventory can be used to meet a portion of
servicing demand, thus enabling the agency to issue fewer HCFC-22
consumption allowances and prevent additional emissions of ozone-
depleting HCFC-22. As noted in the proposed rule, the inventory data
collected through EPA's August 2013 letters indicated that HCFC-22
inventory was higher than the agency's previous estimate of 22,700 to
45,400 MT. EPA also noted that several stakeholders expected inventory
to rise in 2013 and 2014. While the nine entities do not hold the
complete inventory of HCFC-22, discussions with stakeholders both
before and after the rule was proposed indicate that the aggregate
inventory from these nine entities likely constitutes a significant
majority of the HCFC-22 in inventory on the specified dates.
The agency is also announcing revisions to the 2013 Servicing Tail
Report, also available in the docket. These changes revise statements
regarding alternatives to HCFC-123 for fire suppression and modeled
need for virgin HCFC-123 for this purpose.
Dated: March 31, 2014.
Sarah Dunham,
Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-07718 Filed 4-4-14; 8:45 am]
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