A chronological list of events involving the regional standards rulemaking process and subsequent lawsuit.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is reducing the amount of HCFC-22 that can be produced or imported to 62.8 million pounds in 2013. 

For the first time, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering creating minimum efficiency standards for clean-water commercial and industrial pumps — and they’re calling on industry leaders, manufacturers, industry associations, and other organizations for input.

Ongoing discussions are currently underway, examining ways to incorporate HFCs into the protocol in order to phase down their use due to relatively high global warming potential (GWP). 

A recent letter to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is requesting that ANSI withdraw Building Performance Institute Inc.’s (BPI) accreditation as a Standards Development Organization for “repeated violations of BPI’s approved operating procedures and specific requirements of the ANSI essential requirements.”

The only things certain in life are death and taxes — and this year, it’s also certain that small business owners are going to bear the brunt of even more taxes. 

As the country continues to claw its way out of a recession, a small number of multiemployer pension plans are still teetering on the precipice of insolvency. And, if those pension plans fail, beneficiaries would be forced to rely on the taxpayer-funded federal pension insurance system, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), which could lead to reduced benefits and added uncertainty. 

In addition to saving energy and reducing pollution, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hopes the Build Smart NY initiative will also generate thousands of jobs, stimulate the economy, and save the state money in the long run.

The Departments of Energy and the Treasury recently announced they will be reallocating more than $150 million in tax credits for investments in manufacturing facilities for clean-energy technologies in Phase II of the 48C Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit. 

Designed to force a highly partisan Congress to agree to fiscal matters or face steep cuts, the ripple effects of the sequester may be felt by some in the HVACR industry, though many acknowledge that the degree to which the cuts are felt is yet to be determined.