[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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
                                                      ------------------
    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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  ..................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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