[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 201 (Thursday, October 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72060-72067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22163]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0669; FRL-9116-04-OAR]
Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Notice of 2024 Allowance
Allocations for Production and Consumption of Regulated Substances
Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, and Notice
of Final Administrative Consequences
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued calendar
year 2024 allowances for the production and consumption of
hydrofluorocarbons in accordance with the Agency's regulations. This
issuance of allowances is undertaken pursuant to the American
Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which directs the Environmental
Protection Agency by October 1 of each calendar year to determine the
quantity of production and consumption allowances for the following
calendar year. In this notice, the Agency is also providing notice of
separate Agency actions finalizing administrative consequences for
certain entities. These administrative consequences were applied to
withhold, retire, and revoke entities' remaining calendar year 2023 and
newly issued calendar year 2024 allowances in accordance with the
administrative consequence regulatory provisions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andy Chang, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection Division, telephone number:
202-564-6658; email address: [email protected]. You may also visit
EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction for further
information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Subsection (e)(2)(D)(i) of the American
Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act) directs the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine, by October 1 of
each calendar year, the quantity of allowances for the production and
consumption of regulated substances that may be used for the following
calendar year. EPA has codified the production and consumption
baselines and phasedown schedules for regulated substances in 40 CFR
84.7. Under the phasedown schedule, for 2024, total production
allowances may not exceed 229,521,263 metric tons of exchange value
equivalent (MTEVe) and total consumption allowances may not exceed
181,522,990 MTEVe.
EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 84, subpart A, outline the process
by which the Agency determines the number of allowances each entity is
allocated. EPA allocated allowances consistent with this process for
calendar year 2024, and has posted entity-specific allowance
allocations on its website at https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction. An allowance allocated under the AIM Act does not constitute
a property right and is a limited authorization for the production or
consumption of a regulated substance.
Note that while allowances may be transferred or conferred once
they are allocated, they can only be expended to cover imports and
production in the calendar year for which they are allocated. In other
words, calendar year 2024 allowances may only be expended for
production and import of bulk HFCs between January 1, 2024, and
December 31, 2024.
Application-Specific Allowances
EPA established the methodology for issuing application-specific
allowances in the 2021 final rule titled Phasedown of
Hydrofluorocarbons: Establishing the Allowance Allocation and Trading
Program Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (86 FR
55116) and codified the methodology for issuing allowance allocations
in 40 CFR 84.13. Because application-specific allowances can be
expended to either produce or import HFCs, and application-specific
allowances must be provided from within the overall annual production
and consumption caps, EPA subtracts the amount of application-specific
allowances allocated from both the production and consumption general
allowance pools. EPA issues application-specific allowances to end
users in five applications established by the AIM Act: propellants in
metered dose inhalers (MDIs), defense sprays, structural composite
preformed polyurethane foam for marine use and trailer use, etching of
semiconductor material or wafers and the cleaning of chemical vapor
deposition chambers within the semiconductor manufacturing sector, and
onboard aerospace fire suppression. Additionally, EPA issues
application-specific allowances to the U.S. Department of Defense for
mission-critical military end uses.
EPA's 2023 final rule titled Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons:
Allowance Allocation Methodology for 2024 and Later Years (88 FR
46836), updated the methodology for how the Agency would issue
production and consumption allowances for 2024 through 2028. These
updates are codified in 40 CFR 84.9 (production) and 40 CFR 84.11
(consumption), and EPA is issuing allowances to entities who meet the
criteria in the regulations, including those who were previously issued
consumption allowances as new market entrants pursuant to 40 CFR 84.15.
EPA's final calculations for allocation of allowances for each
entity on September 29, 2023, follows below. EPA followed the
methodology from the applicable regulations in determining allocations,
i.e., 40 CFR 84.13 for application-specific allowances, 40 CFR 84.9 for
production allowances, and 40 CFR 84.11 for consumption allowances.
Applying the methodology codified in 40 CFR 84.13, EPA allocated
the number of application-specific allowances shown in Table 1.
[[Page 72061]]
Table 1--Number of Calendar Year 2024 Application-Specific Allowances
Allocated per Entity
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application-
specific
Entity Application allowances
(MTEVe) allocated
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analog devices.................. Semiconductors..... 18,130.0
Applied Materials............... Semiconductors..... 10,666.7
Armstrong Pharmaceuticals....... Propellants in MDIs 230,001.2
ASML US......................... Semiconductors..... 1,033.8
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals..... Propellants in MDIs 3,848.9
Aurobindo Pharma USA............ Propellants in MDIs 28,316.9
Broadcom........................ Semiconductors..... 213.1
Compsys......................... Structural 19,928.6
Composite
Preformed
Polyurethane Foam.
Defense Technology.............. Defense Sprays..... 1,537.4
Diodes Incorporated............. Semiconductors..... 2,584.5
General Electric................ Semiconductors..... 73.9
GlaxoSmithKline................. Propellants in MDIs 523,906.9
GlobalFoundries................. Semiconductors..... 152,916.2
Guardian Protective Devices..... Defense Sprays..... 7,467.0
Hitachi High-Tech America....... Semiconductors..... 537.9
IBM Corporation................. Semiconductors..... 369.4
Intel Corporation............... Semiconductors..... 597,502.0
Invagen Pharmaceuticals......... Propellants in MDIs 156,427.2
Jireh Semiconductor............. Semiconductors..... 1,600.2
Keysight Technologies........... Semiconductors..... 537.7
Kindeva Drug Delivery........... Propellants in MDIs 335,693.4
LA Semiconductor................ Semiconductors..... 2,584.5
Lam Research Corp............... Semiconductors..... 182,210.4
Lupin........................... Propellants in MDIs 21,415.7
Medtronic Tempe Campus.......... Semiconductors..... 457.1
Microchip Technology............ Semiconductors..... 43,757.2
Micron Technology............... Semiconductors..... 40,557.8
Newport Fab DBA TowerJazz....... Semiconductors..... 6,414.4
Northrop Grumman Corporation.... Semiconductors..... 2,116.0
NXP Semiconductor............... Semiconductors..... 72,169.2
Odin Pharmaceuticals............ Propellants in MDIs 1,075.7
Polar Semiconductor............. Semiconductors..... 11,718.5
Proteng Distribution............ Onboard Aerospace 6,723.4
Fire Suppression.
Qorvo Texas..................... Semiconductors..... 1,065.3
Raytheon Technologies........... Onboard Aerospace 1,535.4
Fire Suppression.
Renesas Electronics America..... Semiconductors..... 1,065.3
Samsung Austin Semiconductor.... Semiconductors..... 334,439.8
Security Equipment Corporation.. Defense Sprays..... 53,652.3
Semiconductor Components Semiconductors..... 19,001.0
Industries DBA ON Semiconductor.
SkyWater Technology............. Semiconductors..... 18,718.8
Skyworks Solutions.............. Semiconductors..... 536.8
Taiwan Semiconductor Semiconductors..... 34,250.1
Manufacturing Company Arizona
Corporation (TSMC Arizona
Corporation).
Texas Instruments............... Semiconductors..... 193,836.7
The Research Foundation for The Semiconductors..... 1,034.4
State University of New York
OBO SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
Tokyo Electron America.......... Semiconductors..... 558.8
Tower Semiconductor San Antonio. Semiconductors..... 8,502.2
UDAP Industries................. Defense Sprays..... 37,629.1
Wabash National Corporation..... Structural 66,340.0
Composite
Preformed
Polyurethane Foam.
WaferTech....................... Semiconductors..... 18,103.3
Wolfspeed....................... Semiconductors..... 48,648.1
X-FAB Texas..................... Semiconductors..... 2,432.6
Department of Defense........... Mission-critical 2,511,081.5
Military End Uses.
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Total Issued................ All................ 5,836,924.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA has denied requests for application-specific allowances from
Apple Inc. and Zarc International, Inc. because they are ineligible
under 40 CFR 84.13. The requests were ineligible for at least one of
the following reasons:
(1) Did not report purchases of regulated substances in the past
three years; or
(2) Failed to submit a request by the deadline.
General Pool Allowances for Production
Applying the methodology codified in 40 CFR 84.9, EPA allocated the
number of production allowances shown in Table 2.
[[Page 72062]]
Table 2--Number of Calendar Year 2024 Production Allowances Allocated
per Entity
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Production
allowances
Entity allocated
(MTEVe)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application-specific allowances......................... \a\
5,836,924.3
Arkema.................................................. 26,990,669.0
Chemours................................................ 50,038,369.2
Honeywell International................................. 113,275,864.9
Iofina Chemical......................................... 1,160.9
Mexichem Fluor DBA Koura................................ 33,378,274.7
Total Issued............................................ 229,521,263.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Table 1; this value corresponds to the total number of
application-specific allowances allocated.
General Pool Allowances for Consumption
Applying the methodology codified in 40 CFR 84.11, EPA allocated
the number of consumption allowances shown in Table 3.
Table 3--Number of Calendar Year 2024 Consumption Allowances Allocated
per Entity
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumption
allowances
Entity allocated
(MTEVe)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application-specific allowances......................... \a\
5,836,924.3
A.C.S. Reclamation & Recovery (Absolute Chiller 128,987.8
Services)..............................................
Ability Refrigerants.................................... 128,987.8
ACT Commodities......................................... 50.4
Advance Auto Parts...................................... 461,215.3
Advanced Specialty Gases................................ 184,102.8
AFK & Co................................................ 124,689.8
AFS Cooling............................................. 128,987.8
A-Gas................................................... 2,199,784.7
Air Liquide USA......................................... 321,682.9
AllCool Refrigerant Reclaim............................. 128,987.8
American Air Components................................. 128,987.8
Arkema.................................................. 20,051,844.9
Artsen.................................................. 663,053.3
Automart Distributors DBA Refrigerant Plus.............. 128,987.8
AutoZone Parts.......................................... 1,304,000.7
AW Product Sales & Marketing............................ 77,991.8
Bluon................................................... 21,590.6
CC Packaging............................................ 125,118.2
Chemours................................................ 22,115,332.4
Chemp Technology........................................ 128,987.8
ChemPenn................................................ 14,336.2
ComStar International................................... 232,510.8
Creative Solution....................................... 128,987.8
Cross World Group....................................... 128,987.8
Daikin America.......................................... 2,013,820.3
EDX Industry............................................ 370,884.7
Electronic Fluorocarbons................................ 67,293.9
Fireside Holdings DBA American Refrigerants............. 128,973.9
First Continental International......................... 496,747.8
FluoroFusion Specialty Chemicals........................ 1,647,053.3
Freskoa USA............................................. 128,987.8
GlaxoSmithKline......................................... 347,339.2
Golden Refrigerant...................................... 128,987.8
Harp USA................................................ 493,996.4
Honeywell International................................. 53,136,510.9
Hudson Technologies..................................... 1,928,081.5
Hungry Bear............................................. 128,987.8
ICool USA............................................... 2,198,406.6
IGas Holdings........................................... 16,846,810.7
Iofina Chemical......................................... 817.1
Kidde-Fenwal............................................ 128,987.8
Lenz Sales & Distribution............................... 716,447.4
Lina Trade.............................................. 128,987.8
Linde................................................... 343,607.9
Matheson Tri-Gas........................................ 22,015.7
[[Page 72063]]
MEK Chemical Corporation................................ 53,572.5
Meraki Group............................................ 128,987.8
Metalcraft.............................................. 103,835.2
Mexichem Fluor DBA Koura................................ 16,441,211.7
Mondy Global............................................ 205,649.7
National Refrigerants................................... 12,780,590.6
Nature Gas Import and Export............................ 528,873.0
North American Refrigerants............................. 128,987.8
O23 Energy Plus......................................... 128,987.8
Perfect Score Too DBA Perfect Cycle..................... 24,427.9
Reclamation Technologies................................ 256,685.4
Resonac America (formerly Showa Chemicals of America)... 42,851.2
RGAS (formerly listed as Combs Gas)..................... 2,951,990.2
RMS of Georgia.......................................... 1,063,455.0
Sciarra Laboratories.................................... 5,604.6
SDS Refrigerant Services................................ 128,987.8
Solvay Fluorides........................................ 711,375.5
Summit Refrigerants..................................... 128,987.8
SynAgile Corporation.................................... 725.8
Technical Chemical...................................... 2,203,622.1
TradeQuim............................................... 128,987.8
Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling.................. 11.0
Tulstar Products........................................ 473,694.4
Tyco Fire Products...................................... 128,987.8
USA United Suppliers of America DBA USA Refrigerants.... 273,401.8
USSC Acquisition Corp................................... 84,777.8
Walmart................................................. 1,471,574.6
Waysmos USA............................................. 361,839.8
Wego Chemical Group..................................... 36,492.6
Weitron................................................. 4,089,895.7
Wesco HMB............................................... 128,987.8
Wilhelmsen Ships Service................................ 26,063.9
---------------
Total Issued........................................ 181,522,990.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Table 1; this value corresponds to the total number of
application-specific allowances allocated.
Administrative Consequences
Separate from the allocation of calendar year 2024 allowances, EPA
also took administrative consequences against certain entities. Each
administrative consequence is an independent stand-alone action, but
for administrative efficiency EPA is providing notice of these
independent actions through this notice as well. The requirements
surrounding administrative consequences are codified in 40 CFR 84.35.
Using this authority, EPA can retire, revoke, or withhold the
allocation of allowances, or ban an entity from receiving,
transferring, or conferring allowances. A retired allowance is one that
must go unused and expire at the end of the year; a revoked allowance
is one that EPA takes back from an allowance holder and redistributes
to all the other allowance holders; and a withheld allowance is one
that is retained by the Agency until an allowance holder that has
failed to meet a regulatory requirement comes back into compliance, at
which point EPA allocates it to the allowance holder. A withheld
allowance could become a revoked allowance if the allowance holder
fails to meet the regulatory requirement at issue within the timeframe
specified by EPA.\1\ More information on EPA's approach to
administrative consequences can be found at 86 FR 55168.
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\1\ Administrative consequences that the Agency has finalized
can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/administrative-consequences-under-hfc-allocation-rule.
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EPA finalized administrative consequences for certain entities that
were allocated consumption allowances, listed in Table 3 for calendar
year 2024, effective concurrently with the issuance of calendar year
2024 allowances. Specifically, the following entities failed to submit
complete HFC reports as required in 40 CFR 84.31 and therefore EPA has
withheld a portion of their consumption allowances until the missing
reports are filed and verified by EPA: Air Liquide USA; Creative
Solution; and Matheson Tri-gas, Inc.
The following entities imported regulated HFCs without expending
the requisite number of consumption allowances at the time of import
and therefore EPA has retired and/or revoked consumption allowances
commensurate with the quantities of regulated substances imported
without allowances: American Air Components; AFK & Co.; Artsen; Bluon,
Inc.; Electronic Fluorocarbons; Fluorofusion Specialty Chemicals; and
Resonac America, Inc. Lastly, Honeywell International produced and
imported regulated substances without expending the requisite number of
consumption allowances at the time of production or import.
In some of these cases, EPA finalized administrative consequences
that totaled more than was allocated to an entity. For example,
American Air Components, Bluon, Inc., and Resonac America, Inc.
imported regulated HFCs without the necessary allowances at the time of
import in such quantities that exceed their initial allocation of
calendar year 2024 allowances. With
[[Page 72064]]
respect to one entity, the Agency decided to apply the administrative
consequence across multiple years. EPA made this determination given
the size of the administrative consequence and as a result of
considerations related to the step reduction in 2024 and implications
for the market as a whole regarding access to chemicals that are
anticipated to be impacted by EPA HFC regulations. A summary of these
administrative consequences is included in Table 4.
Table 4--Summary of Administrative Consequences Effective on September 29, 2023, Pursuant to 40 CFR 84.35
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
affected Administrative
Entity allowances Applicable year(s) consequence action Reasoning
(MTEVe)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Air Components......... 208,516.5 2024 and future Retire............... Imported regulated
\a\ 104,258.3 years as needed. Revoke............... HFCs without
2025 and future expending
years as needed. requisite number
of allowances;
Will retire and
revoke allowances
until the full
administrative
consequence is
covered.
AFK & Co........................ 5,701.9 2024............... Retire............... Imported regulated
\a\ 2,851.0 2024............... Revoke............... HFCs without
expending
requisite number
of allowances.
Artsen.......................... 346.7 2024............... Retire............... Imported regulated
\a\ 173.4 2024............... Revoke............... HFCs without
expending
requisite number
of allowances.
Bluon........................... 575,800.7 2024 and future Retire............... Imported regulated
\a\ 288,855.8 years as needed. Revoke............... HFCs without
As early as 2025 expending
and future years requisite number
as needed. of allowances;
Will retire and
revoke allowances
until the full
administrative
consequence is
covered.
Electronic Fluorocarbons........ 64,931.9 2023............... Retire............... Imported regulated
\a\ 32,466.0 2024............... Revoke............... HFCs without
expending
requisite number
of allowances.
Fluorofusion Specialty Chemicals \a\ 5,505.2 2024............... Revoke............... Imported regulated
HFCs without
expending
requisite number
of allowances.
Resonac America................. 200,070.5 2024 and future Retire............... Imported regulated
\a\ 100,035.3 years as needed. Revoke............... HFCs without
As early as 2025 expending
and future years requisite number
as needed. of allowances;
Will retire and
revoke allowances
until the full
administrative
consequence is
covered.
Honeywell International......... \a\ 231,334.0 2024............... Revoke............... Produced and
\a\ 462,668.1 2025............... Revoke............... imported HFCs
\a\ 925,336.2 2026............... Revoke............... without expending
\a\ 2027............... Revoke............... requisite number
1,388,004.3 2028............... Revoke............... of allowances;
\a\ \b\ Will spread
1,619,338.4 the
administrative
consequence over
five years.
Air Liquide USA................. 64,336.6 2024............... Withhold............. Failure to submit
complete HFC
reports as
required in 40
CFR 84.31.
Creative Solution............... 25,797.6 2024............... Withhold............. Failure to submit
complete HFC
reports as
required in 40
CFR 84.31.
Matheson Tri-Gas................ 4,403.1 2024............... Withhold............. Failure to submit
complete HFC
reports as
required in 40
CFR 84.31.
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\a\ As stated in the HFC Allocation Framework Rule (86 FR 55116), EPA explained it would take a 50% premium in
first instances of administrative consequences. These values correspond to 50% of the full amount of
consumption without requisite allowances at the time of production and/or import.
\b\ EPA only finalized administrative consequences for Honeywell International that affect the company's
consumption allowances, since the company did not produce regulated substances in a quantity that exceeded the
quantity of available production allowances that it had in its possession.
The allowance adjustments by way of withholding, retiring, and/or
revoking a portion of entities' calendar year 2024 allowances effective
September 29, 2023, are reflected below in Table 5.
Table 5--Calendar Year 2024 Allowances Adjusted Through Administrative Consequences Effective September 29, 2023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of withheld Number of retired Number of revoked
Entity consumption consumption consumption
allowances (MTEVe) allowances (MTEVe) allowances (MTEVe)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air Liquide USA..................................... 64,336.6 .................. ..................
Creative Solution................................... 25,797.6 .................. ..................
Matheson Tri-Gas.................................... 4,403.1 .................. ..................
Electronic Fluorocarbons............................ .................. .................. 32,466.0
Honeywell International............................. .................. .................. 231,334.0
AFK & Co............................................ .................. 5,701.9 2,851.0
American Air Components............................. .................. 128,987.8 ..................
Artsen.............................................. .................. 346.7 173.4
Bluon............................................... .................. 21,590.6 ..................
Fluorofusion Specialty Chemicals.................... .................. .................. 5,505.2
Resonac America..................................... .................. 42,851.2 ..................
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[[Page 72065]]
Adjustments to Consumption Allowances
EPA notes that entities in Table 4 who either imported or produced
(or both) without expending the requisite number of consumption
allowances at the time of production or import were not eligible to
receive allowances that were redistributed as a result of allowances
revoked for calendar year 2024. Further, an entity is not eligible to
receive redistributed allowances if they were subject to administrative
consequences that resulted in the revocation of allowances that
contributed to the overall total of allowances being redistributed at
the time. For example, if EPA revoked 50 MTEVe allowances from company
A and 50 MTEVe allowances from company B, effective on the same day,
EPA's redistribution of that single pool of 100 MTEVe allowances would
go to all general pool allowances holders except company A and company
B. This applies regardless of whether the revocation happens in one
year or over multiple years. However, entities who only had allowances
withheld by the Agency as a result of failure to comply with certain
HFC reporting requirements as contained in 40 CFR 84.31 were eligible
to receive allowances that were redistributed as a result of allowances
revoked for calendar year 2024. For 2024, the total number of revoked
and redistributed allowances is 272,329.6 MTEVe, which are being
apportioned to eligible consumption allowance holders based on their
relative market share, and the total number of retired allowances in
2024 is 199,478.2 MTEVe.
Table 6 reflects consumption allowance totals available to each
entity as of September 29, 2023, after taking into account the
administrative consequences shown in Table 5.
Table 6--Total Number of Calendar Year 2024 Consumption Allowances
Available to Each Entity as of September 29, 2023, Adjusted for
Administrative Consequences
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Available
consumption
allowances,
Entity adjusted for
administrative
consequences
(MTEVe)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application-specific allowances...................... \a\ 5,836,924.3
A.C.S. Reclamation & Recovery (Absolute Chiller 129,280.9
Services)...........................................
Ability Refrigerants................................. 129,280.9
ACT Commodities...................................... 50.5
Advance Auto Parts................................... 462,263.3
Advanced Specialty Gases............................. 184,521.1
AFK & Co............................................. 116,136.9
AFS Cooling.......................................... 129,280.9
A-Gas................................................ 2,204,783.0
Air Liquide USA...................................... 258,077.2
AllCool Refrigerant Reclaim.......................... 129,280.9
American Air Components.............................. 0.0
Arkema............................................... 20,097,406.2
Artsen............................................... 662,533.2
Automart Distributors DBA Refrigerant Plus........... 129,280.9
AutoZone Parts....................................... 1,306,963.6
AW Product Sales & Marketing......................... 78,169.0
Bluon................................................ 0.0
CC Packaging......................................... 125,402.5
Chemours............................................. 22,165,582.4
Chemp Technology..................................... 129,280.9
ChemPenn............................................. 14,368.8
ComStar International................................ 233,039.1
Creative Solution.................................... 103,483.3
Cross World Group.................................... 129,280.9
Daikin America....................................... 2,018,396.1
EDX Industry......................................... 371,727.4
Electronic Fluorocarbons............................. 34,827.9
Fireside Holdings DBA American Refrigerants.......... 129,266.9
First Continental International...................... 497,876.5
FluoroFusion Specialty Chemicals..................... 1,641,548.1
Freskoa USA.......................................... 129,280.9
GlaxoSmithKline...................................... 348,128.4
Golden Refrigerant................................... 129,280.9
Harp USA............................................. 495,118.8
Honeywell International.............................. 52,905,176.9
Hudson Technologies.................................. 1,932,462.4
Hungry Bear.......................................... 129,280.9
ICool USA............................................ 2,203,401.8
IGas Holdings........................................ 16,885,089.6
Iofina Chemical...................................... 819.0
Kidde-Fenwal......................................... 129,280.9
Lenz Sales & Distribution............................ 718,075.3
Lina Trade........................................... 129,280.9
Linde................................................ 344,388.6
Matheson Tri-Gas..................................... 17,662.6
MEK Chemical Corporation............................. 53,694.2
Meraki Group......................................... 129,280.9
[[Page 72066]]
Metalcraft........................................... 104,071.1
Mexichem Fluor DBA Koura............................. 16,478,569.0
Mondy Global......................................... 206,117.0
National Refrigerants................................ 12,809,630.4
Nature Gas Import and Export......................... 530,074.7
North American Refrigerants.......................... 129,280.9
O23 Energy Plus...................................... 129,280.9
Perfect Score Too DBA Perfect Cycle.................. 24,483.4
Reclamation Technologies............................. 257,268.6
Resonac America (formerly Showa Chemicals of America) 0.0
RGAS (formerly listed as Combs Gas).................. 2,958,697.6
RMS of Georgia....................................... 1,065,871.4
Sciarra Laboratories................................. 5,617.3
SDS Refrigerant Services............................. 129,280.9
Solvay Fluorides..................................... 712,991.9
Summit Refrigerants.................................. 129,280.9
SynAgile Corporation................................. 727.4
Technical Chemical................................... 2,208,629.1
TradeQuim............................................ 129,280.9
Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling............... 11.0
Tulstar Products..................................... 474,770.7
Tyco Fire Products................................... 129,280.9
USA United Suppliers of America DBA USA Refrigerants. 274,023.0
USSC Acquisition Corp................................ 84,970.4
Walmart.............................................. 1,474,918.3
Waysmos USA.......................................... 362,662.0
Wego Chemical Group.................................. 36,575.5
Weitron.............................................. 4,099,188.7
Wesco HMB............................................ 129,280.9
Wilhelmsen Ships Service............................. 26,123.1
------------------
Total Available.................................. 181,228,974.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judicial Review
The AIM Act provides that certain sections of the Clean Air Act
(CAA) ``shall apply to'' the AIM Act and actions ``promulgated by the
Administrator of [EPA] pursuant to [the AIM Act] as though [the AIM
Act] were expressly included in title VI of [the CAA].'' 42 U.S.C.
7675(k)(1)(C). Among the applicable sections of the CAA is section 307,
which includes provisions on judicial review. Section 307(b)(1)
provides, in part, that petitions for review must only be filed in the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit:
(i) When the agency action consists of ``nationally applicable
regulations promulgated, or final actions taken, by the
Administrator,'' or (ii) when such action is locally or regionally
applicable, but ``such action is based on a determination of nationwide
scope or effect and if in taking such action the Administrator finds
and publishes that such action is based on such a determination.'' For
locally or regionally applicable final actions, the CAA reserves to the
EPA complete discretion whether to invoke the exception in (ii).
The issuance of calendar year 2024 allowances for the production
and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons herein noticed is ``nationally
applicable'' within the meaning of CAA section 307(b)(1). The AIM Act
imposes a national cap on the total number of allowances available for
each year for all entities nationwide. 42 U.S.C. 7675(e)(2)(B)-(D). For
2024, there was a national pool of 229,521,263 production allowances
and 181,522,990 consumption allowances available to distribute. The
allocation action noticed herein distributed that finite set of
allowances consistent with the methodology EPA established in the
nationally applicable framework rule. As such, the allowance allocation
is the division and assignment of a single, nationwide pool of HFC
allowances to entities across the country according to the uniform,
national methodology established in EPA's regulations. Each entity's
allowance allocation is a relative share of that pool; thus, any
additional allowances awarded to one entity directly affects the
allocations to others.
In the alternative, to the extent a court finds the final action to
be locally or regionally applicable, the Administrator is exercising
the complete discretion afforded to him under the CAA to make and
publish a finding that the allocation action is based on a
determination of ``nationwide scope or effect'' within the meaning of
CAA section 307(b)(1).\2\ In deciding to invoke this exception, the
Administrator has taken into account a number of policy considerations,
including his judgment regarding the benefit of obtaining the D.C.
Circuit's authoritative centralized review, rather than allowing
development of the issue in other contexts, in order to ensure
consistency in the Agency's approach to
[[Page 72067]]
allocation of allowances in accordance with EPA's national regulations
in 40 CFR part 84. The final action treats all affected entities
consistently in how the 40 CFR part 84 regulations are applied. The
allowance allocation is the division and assignment of a single,
nationwide pool of HFC allowances to entities across the country
according to the uniform, national methodology established in EPA's
regulations, and each entity's allowance allocation is a relative share
of that pool; thus, any additional allowances awarded to one entity
directly affect the allocations to others. The Administrator finds that
this is a matter on which national uniformity is desirable to take
advantage of the D.C. Circuit's administrative law expertise and
facilitate the orderly development of the basic law under the AIM Act
and EPA's implementing regulations. The Administrator also finds that
consolidated review of the action in the D.C. Circuit will avoid
piecemeal litigation in the regional circuits, further judicial
economy, and eliminate the risk of inconsistent results for different
regulated entities. The Administrator also finds that a nationally
consistent approach to the allocation of allowances constitutes the
best use of agency resources. The Administrator is publishing his
finding that the allocation action is based on a determination of
nationwide scope or effect in the Federal Register as part of this
notice in addition to inclusion on the website announcing allocations.
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\2\ In the report on the 1977 Amendments that revised section
307(b)(1) of the CAA, Congress noted that the Administrator's
determination that the ``nationwide scope or effect'' exception
applies would be appropriate for any action that has a scope or
effect beyond a single judicial circuit. See H.R. Rep. No. 95-294 at
323, 324, reprinted in 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1402-03.
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For these reasons, the final action of the Agency allocating
hydrofluorocarbon allowances to entities located throughout the country
is nationally applicable or, alternatively, the Administrator is
exercising the complete discretion afforded to him by the CAA and finds
that the final action is based on a determination of nationwide scope
or effect for purposes of CAA section 307(b)(1) and is hereby
publishing that finding in the Federal Register.
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review
of this allocation action must be filed in the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by December 18, 2023.
Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of
the administrative consequence actions noticed herein must be filed in
the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by
December 18, 2023. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the
Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this
action for purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time
within which a petition for judicial review may be filed and shall not
postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not
be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. See CAA
section 307(b)(2).
Paul Gunning,
Director, Office of Atmospheric Protection.
[FR Doc. 2023-22163 Filed 10-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P