The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued guidance stating that it plans to abide by the recent court decision that ruled EPA is not authorized to ban HFC refrigerants under the Clean Air Act. EPA stated the guidance was necessary to “dispel confusion and provide regulatory certainty for stakeholders affected by the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program final rule issued on July 20, 2015, which changed the listings for certain HFCs.”
The court vacated the 2015 Rule “to the extent it requires manufacturers to replace HFCs with a substitute substance” and remanded the rule to EPA for further proceedings. This means that in the near-term, EPA will not apply the HFC listings in the 2015 Rule pending a rulemaking process, which will begin with a stakeholder meeting in May.