[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62843-62845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22458]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0606; FRL-10105-03-OAR]


Notice of Data Availability Relevant to Management of Regulated 
Substances Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability.

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SUMMARY: This Notice of Data Availability (NODA) is to alert 
stakeholders of information from the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) regarding the United States' hydrofluorocarbon reclamation 
market and to solicit stakeholder input. The Agency is making available 
a draft report, Analysis of the U.S. Hydrofluorocarbon Reclamation 
Market: Stakeholders, Drivers, and Practices, which analyzes the United 
States' hydrofluorocarbon reclamation market and describes the 
reclamation process, factors affecting costs of reclamation, 
incentives, and barriers to refrigerant reclamation. The Agency is 
providing this information in preparation for an upcoming regulatory 
action which EPA intends to propose under subsection (h) of the 
American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020. The notice 
identifies possible data gaps and requests comment on areas where 
additional information could improve the Agency's information on the 
United States hydrofluorocarbon reclamation market and practices. The 
Agency is also providing notice of a stakeholder meeting to enable 
stakeholders to provide input as the Agency prepares to engage in 
rulemaking.

DATES: To ensure that comments can be accounted for in an upcoming 
proposed rule that EPA is considering, please submit comments to the 
Agency by November 7, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2022-0606, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): 
EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue

[[Page 62844]]

NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operations are 
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public Participation'' 
heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Annie Kee, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection Division, telephone number: 
202-564-2056; or email address: [email protected]. You may also visit 
EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction for further 
information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is interested in 
receiving comments on the draft report developed in support of this 
notice of data availability (NODA) to inform the Agency's regulatory 
process for an upcoming proposed rule that EPA is considering. Submit 
your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0606, at 
https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the other 
methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. 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. Confidential Business Information (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.

II. Background

    The Agency is providing information in preparation for an upcoming 
regulatory action under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act 
of 2020 (AIM Act or Act), codified at 42 U.S.C. 7675. Among other 
provisions, subsection (h) of the Act authorizes EPA to establish 
certain requirements for management of certain hydrofluorocarbons 
(HFCs) and their substitutes. Specifically, subsection (h)(1) of the 
Act directs the Agency to establish regulations to control, where 
appropriate, practices, processes, or activities regarding the 
servicing, repair, disposal, or installation of equipment, for purposes 
of maximizing the reclamation and minimizing the release of certain 
HFCs from equipment and ensuring the safety of technicians and 
consumers. Subsection (h) also provides that ``[i]n carrying out this 
section, the Administrator shall consider the use of authority 
available to the Administrator under this section to increase 
opportunities for the reclaiming of regulated substances used as 
refrigerants'' (subsection (h)(2)(A)) and authorizes EPA in 
promulgating regulations carrying out subsection (h) of the AIM Act to 
``coordinate those regulations with any other [EPA] regulations'' 
involving ``the same or a similar practice, process, or activity 
regarding the servicing, repair, disposal, or installation of 
equipment,'' or reclaiming (subsection (h)(3)). Such regulations could 
potentially include the refrigerant management program established 
under title VI of the Clean Air Act.
    EPA is seeking comment on the accuracy of the data and analyses 
presented in the draft report in the docket to this notice regarding 
the United States' hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant reclamation market and 
welcomes input on those data and potential data gaps. Readers should 
note that EPA will only consider comments about the draft report 
provided in the docket, and the Agency is not soliciting comments on 
any other topic through this notice. EPA plans to undergo a future 
notice and comment rulemaking process, which will be a separate action, 
that will outline the Agency's approach to the management of HFCs and 
their substitutes under the AIM Act. EPA will solicit public feedback 
on these issues through that separate notice and comment process, and 
therefore is not accepting public comment on these matters through this 
notice. Public comments that pertain to issues beyond the scope of this 
notice will not be considered as the Agency updates the draft report. 
To the extent such comments are relevant to the previously referenced 
future and separate rulemaking, those comments should be resubmitted 
through that future rulemaking process in order to ensure that they are 
duly considered by the Agency in that process. Use of AIM Act 
terminology in this notice is for communication purposes only and 
should not be viewed as indications of how EPA will define these terms 
in any future rulemaking action. EPA intends to provide more 
information on the status of rulemakings and stakeholder interaction, 
including opportunities for submitting public comment, on the Agency's 
website: https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction. EPA will hold a 
virtual stakeholder meeting for input on the draft report and an 
upcoming regulatory action which EPA intends to propose under 
subsection (h) of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 
2020. Information concerning this meeting will be available on the 
Agency's website: https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction.

III. What information is available?

    This notice provides for public review and comment on the draft 
report, Analysis of the U.S. Hydrofluorocarbon Reclamation Market: 
Stakeholders, Drivers, and Practices, that is available in the docket. 
The draft report describes EPA's current understanding of the U.S. HFC 
refrigerant reclamation market and provides information on the 
reclamation process, factors affecting costs of reclamation, 
incentives, and barriers to reclamation. EPA requests comment on the 
information and analysis in the draft report, and information on 
potential data gaps.
    The report provides background information on the reclamation 
industry in support of an upcoming proposed rule that EPA is 
considering under subsection (h) of the AIM Act to establish 
regulations to control, where appropriate, practices, processes, or 
activities regarding the servicing, repair, disposal, or installation 
of equipment, for purposes of maximizing the reclamation and minimizing 
the release of certain HFCs from equipment and ensuring the safety of 
technicians and consumers. The draft report provides information on the 
following:

 Background information on the refrigerant reclamation of HFCs, 
federal and state statutory and regulatory provisions
 Subsectors and applications using refrigerants
 Historical reclamation market in the U.S., the reclamation 
process, factors affecting costs of reclamation, and incentives for 
refrigerant reclamation
 Safety of technicians and consumers
 Barriers and key challenges to refrigerant reclamation.

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IV. What is EPA taking comment on and what supporting documentation do 
I need to include in my comments?

    EPA is accepting comments on possible data gaps and areas where 
additional information could improve the Agency's information outlined 
in this notice and contained in the draft report, Analysis of the U.S. 
Hydrofluorocarbon Reclamation Market: Stakeholders, Drivers, and 
Practices. Specifically, EPA requests comment on topics contained in 
the draft report, including but not limited to:

 Current reclamation process, practices, and technologies
 Supply chain of reclaimed refrigerants (e.g., recovery, 
collection, stockpiling, destruction)
 Costs of reclamation (e.g., price of refrigerants, transport, 
storage, operating costs of reclamation systems)
 Incentives for reclamation
 Safety of technicians and consumers (e.g., outreach, best 
practices)
 Barriers and challenges to reclamation (e.g., contamination 
and accommodation of blends and cylinders with mixed refrigerants, 
market demand).

    EPA is also interested in responses to any of the following 
questions related to this draft report, including but not limited to:
     Current recovery and reclamation practices, technologies, 
and trends:
    [cir] What are some major changes and/or trends in reclamation 
technology and equipment over the past 25 years?
    [cir] What are the current trends for the price of refrigerants and 
how can this affect reclamation and recovery?
    [cir] How do reclaimers address waste oils, impurities, etc.?
    [cir] What type of equipment do reclaimers use (e.g., off-the-shelf 
reclamation equipment, modified off-the-shelf reclamation equipment, 
custom-built equipment)?
    [cir] What are the current practices for refrigerant recovery at 
equipment end-of-life?
     Supply chain:
    [cir] What are the primary sources of recovered refrigerant 
(technicians, distributors, wholesalers, etc.)? Stationary vs. motor 
vehicle air conditioning systems?
    [cir] Are Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) purchasing 
reclaimed HFCs for initial equipment charge?
    [cir] Besides refrigeration and air conditioning (e.g., fire 
suppression), are there other sectors where reclaimed or reprocessed 
HFCs are being used?
     Barriers and challenges to recovery and reclamation:
    [cir] What are major barriers to increasing the amount of 
refrigerant recovered and reclaimed? For example, increasing the amount 
of reclaimed material re-entering the market or the increased use of 
reclaimed material in other sectors (i.e., beyond refrigeration and air 
conditioning)?
    [cir] What are the losses of refrigerant during recovery and/or the 
reclamation process (e.g., chronic leaking) and what steps can be taken 
to minimize the losses (e.g., best practices, technologies)?
    [cir] How are multi-component refrigerant blends handled during 
recovery and/or the reclamation process?
    EPA requests that commenters provide corrected information or 
suggested language on the draft report, along with the rationale as to 
why the existing text was incorrect or incomplete. In addition, please 
provide any published studies or raw data supporting your comments.

Cynthia A. Newberg,
Director, Stratospheric Protection Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-22458 Filed 10-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P