[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19757-19758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09557]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0003; FRL-9977-41-OAR]


Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Notice of Data Availability; 
Information Concerning HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 Production, Consumption, 
and Use

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability.

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SUMMARY: Today's notice announces the availability of The U.S. Phaseout 
of HCFCs: Projected Servicing Demand in the U.S. Air Conditioning, 
Refrigeration, and Fire Suppression Sectors (2020-2030). The draft 
document is an update to reports EPA has issued in the past, such as 
The U.S. Phaseout of HCFCs: Projected Servicing Needs in the U.S. Air 
Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Fire Suppression Sectors Updated for 
2015 to 2025, most recently issued in 2014. This document contains 
information that revises estimates of potential future market demand 
for HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 based on current uses in air-conditioning, 
refrigeration, and fire suppression equipment and considers the 
availability of recovered HCFCs. This information may be relevant to an 
upcoming rulemaking regarding allowances for consumption and production 
of HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 for the 2020-2029 regulatory period. Comments 
submitted in response to today's Notice of Data Availability (NODA) may 
be used as the Agency prepares for that rulemaking.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2018-0003, at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. EPA may publish any comment 
received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Sleasman, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, (6205T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
564-7716; fax number: (202) 343-2362; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This notice announces the availability of data and analysis 
relevant to the production, consumption, and use of HCFC-123 and HCFC-
124. This notice of data availability may be of interest to:

 Air-Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and Commercial 
and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing entities (NAICS 
code 333415)
 Air-Conditioning Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 
(NAICS code 423620)
 Fire Extinguisher Chemical Preparations Manufacturing (NAICS 
code 325998)
 Industrial Gas Manufacturing (NAICS code 325120)
 Materials Recovery Facilities (NAICS code 562920)
 Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing 
(NAICS code 336413)
 Other Chemical and Allied Production Merchant Wholesalers 
(NAICS code 424690)
 Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS 
code 238220)
 Portable Fire Extinguishers Manufacturing (NAICS code 339999)

    This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be interested in this 
notice.

II. What data are available?

    EPA is announcing the availability of a draft report, The U.S. 
Phaseout of HCFCs: Projected Servicing Demand in the U.S. Air 
Conditioning, Refrigeration and Fire Suppression Sectors (2020-2030), 
in docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0003. The information gathered and presented 
in the report concerns the end-uses in air conditioning and 
refrigeration as well as fire suppression sectors that currently use 
HCFC-123 and HCFC-124. Readers should note that EPA will only consider 
comments about the information presented in The U.S. Phaseout of HCFCs: 
Projected Servicing Demand in the U.S. Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, 
and Fire Suppression Sectors (2020-2030) and is not soliciting comments 
on any other topic.

[[Page 19758]]

A. How does this relate to the HCFC phaseout schedule?

    Section 605 of the Clean Air Act addresses the production, 
consumption, use, and introduction into interstate commerce of class II 
controlled substances (listed HCFCs) within the United States. Sections 
605 and 606 taken together constitute the primary source of authority 
for the domestic implementation of U.S. obligations to phase out HCFCs 
under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 
(Montreal Protocol). EPA regulations issued under sections 605 and 606 
appear at 40 CFR part 82 Subpart A. Those regulations reflect the 
agreed Montreal Protocol HCFC phaseout schedule. One element of that 
phaseout schedule is a commitment to phase out HCFC production and 
consumption by January 1, 2020, other than production and consumption 
during the years 2020-2029 for the servicing of air-conditioning and 
refrigeration equipment existing on January 1, 2020, in an amount up to 
0.5% of baseline annually. See Montreal Protocol Article 2F. Consistent 
with that schedule, Subpart A prohibits most production and import of 
HCFCs as of January 1, 2020, while preserving the possibility of 
limited production and import of certain HCFCs for the servicing of 
air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment manufactured before that 
date. See 40 CFR 82.16.
    Subpart A prohibits the production and import of class II 
controlled substances without allowances. 40 CFR 82.15(a), (b). EPA has 
issued rules allocating HCFC production and consumption allowances for 
specified regulatory periods. In 2014, EPA issued a rule titled 
``Adjustments to the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC Production, 
Import and Export, 2015-2019'' (79 FR 64254), which allocated chemical-
specific production and consumption allowances for each year of the 
2015-2019 regulatory period. Information concerning the production, 
consumption, and use of HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 may be relevant to a 
rulemaking to address the HCFC phaseout in 2020 and beyond. Prior to 
use of the information in the draft report to support a proposed rule, 
EPA is providing the public with an opportunity to review and comment 
on that information.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    EPA is seeking comment on the accuracy of the data and analysis 
presented in the draft report. Based on feedback, EPA intends to revise 
the report and release an updated version at the same time the agency 
issues a proposed rule governing the 2020-2029 regulatory period.
    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments: Explain your views as clearly as possible; describe any 
assumptions that you used; provide any technical information or data 
you used that support your views; provide specific examples to 
illustrate your concerns; offer alternatives; and make sure to submit 
your comments by the comment period deadline identified. Please provide 
any published studies or raw data supporting your position. As noted 
previously, CBI should not be submitted through www.regulations.gov. 
Please work with the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section if submitting a comment containing CBI.

    Dated: April 30, 2018.
Sarah Dunham,
Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs.
[FR Doc. 2018-09557 Filed 5-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P