Minor Amendments to the Regulations Implementing the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC Production, Import, and Export

On July 13, 2006, EPA amended the current regulations governing the production, import, and export of certain ozone-depleting substances through a direct final rulemaking and a concurrent proposal.
These minor amendments concern the export of previously imported material, heels, the exemption allowance petition process for (hydochlorofluorocarbon) HCFC-141b for military and space vehicle applications, and the definition of “importer.”
These adjustments to the existing regulations will reduce burden for stakeholders where the integrity of the requirements can still be sufficiently maintained.

Title VI of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 authorize EPA to promulgate regulations to manage the consumption and production of HCFCs as the United States moves toward the total phaseout of HCFCs in 2030. HCFCs are class II ozone-depleting substances.
EPA promulgated final regulations establishing an allowance tracking system for HCFCs on January 21, 2003 (68 FR 2820). These regulations were amended on June 17, 2004 (69 FR 34024) to ensure U.S. compliance with new decisions taken under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.