request must show that the appliance has a minimal history of leakage,
and is remotely located or is otherwise difficult to access for routine
maintenance. Additionally, the extension request should explain why
automatic leak detection equipment could not be used and what leak
inspection schedule would be reasonable given the circumstances (not to
be less frequent than one inspection every three years).
     Requesting Approval to Certify Recovery/Recycling
Equipment: Any organization wishing to certify refrigerant recovery
and/or recycling equipment must submit an application to EPA.
Applications must include information on the facilities used, the
qualifications, experience and procedures used to perform
certifications, and that there are no conflicts of interest in
certifying equipment.
     Previously-certified Recovery/Recycling Equipment:
Organizations that are approved to certify refrigerant recovery and/or
recycling equipment must inform EPA if subsequent tests indicate a
previously-certified recovery and/or recycling device does not meet EPA
requirements.
     Technician Certification Programs: Any organizations
wishing to certify technicians under section 608 must submit an
application to EPA describing how they will meet all the required
standards in appendix D. Organizations that certify technicians must
publish online lists/databases of the people that they certify.
Organizations must report to EPA twice a year the pass/fail rate and
testing schedules. If a previously-approved technician certifying
organization stops certifying technicians for any reason, they must
ensure those records are transferred to another certifying program or
EPA. Organizations that receive records from a program that no longer
offers the certification test must inform EPA within 30 days of
receiving these records. The notification must include the name and
address of the program to which the records have been transferred.
     Reclaimer Certification: Any organization that wishes to
reclaim refrigerants must certify to EPA that they will reclaim
refrigerants to the required purity standards (based on AHRI Standard
700-2015), verify each batch of refrigerant they sell meets those
standards, not release more than 1.5 percent of the refrigerant they
receive during the reclamation process, dispose of wastes from the
reclamation process in accordance with all applicable laws and
regulations, and maintain records as required.
     Reclaimer Change of Business Information, Location or
Contact Information: If a reclaimer changes address or management, they
must notify EPA within 30 days. Since reclaimer certification is not
transferable, if ownership changes, the new owner must certify to EPA
that they will meet the reclaimer certification requirements.
     Amounts Reclaimed: Reclaimers must report annually the
aggregate quantity of material sent to them for reclamation (the
combined mass of refrigerant and contaminants) by refrigerant type, the
mass of each refrigerant reclaimed, and the mass of waste products.
    EPA seeks comments on the clarity and necessity of these reporting
requirements to ensure compliance with the section 608 regulatory
requirements.

M. Proposed Effective and Compliance Dates

    EPA is proposing that the final rule become effective on January 1,
2017. However, EPA recognizes that for certain requirements,
stakeholders will likely need additional time to comply. The below
paragraphs describe the requirements for which EPA is proposing a
delayed compliance date and the specific time periods EPA is
considering. In addition to those compliance dates discussed below, EPA
seeks comments on whether other portions of the revised regulations

should have earlier or later compliance dates.
1. Proposed Section 82.154(c)--Sale of Small Cans of Refrigerant for
MVAC Servicing
    For manufacture and import of small cans of refrigerant for MVAC
servicing, EPA is proposing a compliance date of one year from
publication of the final rule. EPA is also proposing to allow small
cans manufactured and placed into initial inventory or imported before
that date to be sold for one additional year. For example, if the rule
is published on July 1, 2016, small can manufacturers would have until
July 1, 2017, to transition their manufacturing lines to add self-
sealing valves. Manufacturers, distributors, and auto parts stores
would be able to sell all small cans manufactured and placed into
initial inventory or imported prior to July 1, 2017, until July 1,
2018. EPA seeks comments on this proposed implementation timeline.
2. Proposed Section 82.155--Safe Disposal of Small Appliances, MVAC,
and MVAC-Like Appliances
    For the revisions to the requirements for the recovery of
refrigerant prior to disposal/recycling of small appliances, EPA is
proposing a compliance date of one year from publication of the final
rule. This should provide time for final disposers such as scrap
recyclers to learn about the updated requirement, make any adjustments
needed to start maintaining records associated with disposal of
appliances containing non-exempt substitutes, and to obtain certified
recovery equipment for use with non-exempt substitutes.
    EPA is not proposing more than one year because (1) EPA is not
proposing significant changes to the requirements for the recovery of
refrigerant prior to disposal/recycling of small appliances, MVAC,
MVAC-like appliances, (2) final disposers/recyclers of these appliances
already must in effect recover HFCs and other non-exempt substitutes
prior to disposing of an appliance, and (3) the existing recordkeeping
systems and practices used by final disposers can be used to implement
the safe disposal requirement to appliances containing non-exempt
substitutes. EPA seeks comments on this proposed implementation
schedule.
3. Proposed Section 82.156--Proper Evacuation of Refrigerant From
Appliances
    For proposed provisions related to the evacuation of refrigerant
before maintenance, servicing, repair, and disposal of appliances, EPA
is proposing a compliance date of one year from publication of the
final rule. This would provide time for affected entities to learn
about the required practices, set up a recordkeeping program to track
the amount of refrigerant recovered from appliances that are disposed
of in the field, and to obtain certified recovery equipment for use
with non-exempt substitutes. EPA seeks comments on this proposed
implementation schedule.
4. Proposed Section 82.157--Appliance Maintenance and Leak Repair
    EPA is proposing significant revisions to the leak repair
provisions, including lowering the applicable leak rate, requiring leak
inspections, and modifying the recordkeeping requirements. Because
these changes are extensive, EPA is proposing a later compliance date
for the appliance maintenance and leak repair requirements than for
most other proposed provisions. EPA is proposing a compliance date 18
months from publication of the final rule. This would give owners and
operators of appliances with 50 or more pounds of refrigerant time to
learn about the updated requirements; update systems, standard
operating procedures, and training materials to best implement the
requirements; and fix leakier systems prior to the more stringent
requirements taking place. EPA could consider a shorter or longer
timeframe by approximately six to twelve months (in other words, the
compliance dates could be between six months and two and half years
after a final rule is published in the Federal Register), but would
need commenters to provide details on why the shorter or longer
timeframe is warranted (e.g., cost, logistics, environmental effects,
or other verifiable and compelling rationales). EPA seeks comments on
its proposed compliance date for the appliance maintenance and leak
repair provisions.
5. Proposed Section 82.161--Technician Certification Requirements
    EPA is proposing that the compliance date for the revisions to
Sec.  82.161 be one year after publication of a final rule. Providing
more time will allow EPA to update the test bank and certifying
organizations to update their tests to use the updated questions. EPA
does not anticipate that more than one year would be necessary because
HVACR contractors are generally working on both ODS refrigerants and
non-exempt substitute refrigerants, and there is not likely to be a
rush of contractors needing to be certified. EPA is also proposing to
require that any person certified as a technician on January 1, 2017,
or later be included in a publicly-accessible database of certified
technicians. Under the proposed timelines, technician certification
programs would have to make this database available starting January 1,
2018. EPA seeks comments on these proposed compliance dates.
6. Sunset Dates for Requirements That Will Be Superseded in Future
    For the majority of the requirements in this rule, the new
requirements will apply as of the effective date of the rule. For
requirements with a delayed compliance date, EPA intends to indicate
when those requirements will apply. EPA is proposing to sunset the
corresponding existing requirements as of the dates the new
requirements apply. EPA seeks comments on other approaches.

V. Economic Analysis

    While selecting regulatory actions that would achieve the goals of
this proposed rule, EPA considered the costs of different actions to
individual entities and the United States economy as a whole. A full
description of the cost analyses is included in the technical support
document Analysis of the Economic Impact and Benefits of Proposed
Revisions to the National Recycling and Emission Reduction Program,
which can be found in the docket.
    To estimate the incremental costs of the proposed regulatory
changes, the Agency developed a set of model entities with a
distribution of different model facilities, each of which could contain
a set of model appliances. This set of model entities was used to
represent the potentially affected entities in a variety of economic
sectors in the United States, and they were developed based on EPA's
Vintaging Model and cross-checked with a large dataset of repair
records developed under California's RMP. Each model entity reflects
information about the typical number of facilities in a given sector
and size category and the number of pieces of equipment in each
equipment category that are likely to be owned and/or operated by each
facility. By combining the model entities with economic data on
potentially affected industries from the United States Census, EPA
obtained a model for the potentially affected population. By applying
the costs of leak inspections, repairs, recordkeeping and reporting,
self-sealing cans for MVAC servicing, and other regulatory changes to
this population, EPA estimated the costs to individual entities and the
total cost to the economy.

    Some proposed regulatory changes in this action, e.g. providing
extensions to owners or operators of comfort cooling and commercial
refrigeration before having to replace leaking appliances, would reduce
the cost of compliance to owners of ODS-containing equipment. These
reductions were included in the incremental cost of the proposed
action.
    Based on this analysis, EPA estimates that the total annual cost to
comply with the proposed requirements is $63 million (all costs in 2014
dollars); this includes $61 million in cost to owners and operators of
equipment using HFCs, and $2 million for those using ODS. Total
annualized costs includes new compliance costs of approximately $113
million associated with the proposed rulemaking, less avoided
compliance costs of approximately $50 million associated with the
proposed removal of some existing regulatory requirements and provision
of additional flexibility that are expected to reduce regulatory
burden. The distribution of aggregate costs among different economic
sectors and among the regulatory changes is detailed in the technical
support document.
    Some proposed regulatory changes would reduce financial outlays by
owners or operators of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment,
for example, by reducing the amount of refrigerant lost to leaks and
thus saving equipment owners or operators the cost of purchasing more
refrigerant to replace it. For the money saved in refrigerant purchases
alone, EPA estimates that affected entities would avoid spending over
$52 million due to the proposed regulatory changes. Thus, the
compliance costs and refrigerant savings combined are estimated to be
$11 million per year. The financial outlay from affected entities would
additionally be lower because appliances running with the correct
amount of refrigerant are generally more energy efficient to operate
and last longer.
    The aggregate costs and savings for the economy as a whole given
above would not be expected to be distributed evenly across affected
entities. For example, owners of equipment containing ODS that leak at
a rate less than 5% of their full charge per year might only incur
costs for recordkeeping. However, owners of equipment containing HFCs
that leak at a rate of 30% of their full charge per year might incur
costs of repairing leaks, while also realizing savings due to reduced
refrigerant replacement purchases.
    Under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
(SBREFA), Federal agencies must consider the effects regulations may
have on small entities. If a rule may have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities (SISNOSE), the Agency
would be required to take certain steps to ensure that the interests of
small entities were represented in the rulemaking process. To determine
if this was necessary, EPA used the model's entity analysis to
ascertain the likelihood that the proposed changes would have a
SISNOSE. EPA estimates that approximately 140 of the approximately
950,000 affected small businesses could incur costs in excess of 1% of
annual sales and that fewer than 80 small businesses could incur costs
in excess of 3% of annual sales. These levels are below the thresholds
used in other Title VI rulemakings under which it can be presumed that
an action will have no SISNOSE. Nevertheless, EPA consulted numerous
stakeholders, including small businesses, in the development of this
proposed rule.
    The full description of the cost analyses, including sensitivity
analyses of key assumptions and alternate proposed options, is included
in the technical support document Analysis of the Economic Impact and
Benefits of Proposed Revisions to the National Recycling and Emission
Reduction Program, which can be found in the docket for this action.
EPA specifically requests comments on all aspects of that analysis.

VI. Possible Future Changes to Subpart F

    In addition to the proposals outlined in this notice, EPA is also
seeking input on other aspects of the National Recycling and Emission
Reduction Program. EPA is not proposing these changes at this time, but
specifically solicits comments on whether the ideas have merit and how
the potential changes might be implemented in a future rulemaking.

A. Appliance Maintenance and Leak Repair

    In meetings with stakeholders prior to the issuance of this
proposed rule, EPA discussed the possibility of establishing a
voluntary program for supermarkets based on their corporate-wide
average leak rate (CWALR) instead of focusing on the leak rate of each
individual appliance. The Agency and several stakeholders indicated
that there could be value in regulating commercial refrigeration
appliances at the corporate level instead of the individual appliance
level. Currently, owners and operators of commercial refrigeration
equipment must repair leaks on equipment with 50 pounds or more of
refrigerant within 30 days if the leak rate is above 35%, and EPA is
proposing in this notice to lower this leak rate to 20%. Under a
program like this, EPA could relax the existing leak repair
requirements for individual commercial refrigeration appliances if a
supermarket chain was able to keep their CWALR below a certain level
(for example, 15%) for a full calendar year.
    Supermarkets would still have to keep records of refrigerant
additions and the full charge of each appliance, but they would not be
required to follow the other requirements for commercial refrigeration
facilities under the amended Sec.  82.157. For example, if an appliance
was leaking more than 20%, they would not have to repair it within 30
days so long as their CWALR was below 15% (or some other level) in the
previous calendar year. However, they would have to report to EPA
annually their total refrigerant additions, their corporate-wide full
charge, and the facilities that are included in the full charge. EPA
would use this information to determine if their corporate-wide leak
rate was below the required level. If it was not, the supermarket chain
would have to follow the requirements at Sec.  82.157 for the next
calendar year. Supermarkets would still have to comply with the leak
repair requirements for comfort cooling appliances.
    A program like this could have advantages for both supermarkets and
EPA. Supermarkets would have greater flexibility to determine how they
would reduce leaks so long as they are achieving an established level
of environmental performance. EPA would receive additional data that it
could use to better characterize the industry's emissions profile.
Additionally, EPA could use the information to better target its
enforcement action. This type of program also fits in well with the
Agency's Next Generation Compliance initiative as it incentivizes
better environmental performance.
    While EPA finds this type of program appealing, there are several
reasons this idea is not being proposed in this action. First,
establishing the universe of stores within the corporate-wide boundary
could be difficult if there are multiple chains held by one parent
company. At what level should the boundary be drawn? Second,
supermarket chains frequently buy and sell stores to other chains,
which may be difficult to address when calculating annual leak rates.
Would the newly-purchased stores automatically be included in the CWALR
or would they be subject to the requirements for individual appliances?

    Some stakeholders expressed interest in a program like this if the
Agency would agree not to take any enforcement actions against them.
However, the Agency would still want to ensure it could bring
enforcement action if a supermarket chain was misreporting its CWALR.
    Some stakeholders also appreciated that the Agency was considering
ways to reduce burden but felt the Agency should not relax
recordkeeping requirements that may help a company reduce leaks. Others
were disinterested in the program and did not see an incentive to join.
EPA considered this feedback, and the possible benefits of the program,
and has decided not to propose this option at this time. However, the
Agency seeks comments on whether such an idea could be workable and
whether it is worth exploring in a future proposed rule. EPA also seeks
comments on other ways the Agency could incentivize compliance or
performance that exceeds the regulatory requirements as well as ways to
reduce burden for companies with low leak rates, while still ensuring
compliance.

B. Refrigerant Reclamation

    EPA has received suggestions for how the reclaimer program could be
strengthened. Some of these suggestions include more stringent
certification requirements for reclaimers and third party audits to
ensure reclamation facilities are following the required practices.
Some of these suggestions are in the docket to this rule. These
suggestions, combined with the principles of Next Generation
Compliance, have encouraged EPA to take comment on those two ideas.
    EPA is also considering ways to promote the use of reclaimed
refrigerant so as to increase the financial incentive to recover and
reclaim refrigerant. EPA requests comments on a way to distinguish
reclaimed refrigerant from virgin refrigerant. This could potentially
include establishing a labeling program for reclaimed material, much
like other recycled products.
1. More Stringent Certification Requirements for Reclaimers
    EPA has received feedback that the requirements to become a
certified reclaimer are not stringent enough. Some have suggested that
the Agency require that reclaimers provide more information in their
certification on how they will comply with other potentially applicable
regulations such as those related to the transport and disposal of
hazardous materials. Stakeholders have also suggested that EPA cite
compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA)
requirements. EPA seeks comment on whether it should develop more
stringent certification requirements in a separate proposed rule, and
what those requirements should look like.
    Some stakeholders have also suggested that EPA redefine the term
reclaim to cover entities other than those historically seen as
reclaimers, for example separation facilities. EPA seeks comment on
whether the term reclaim should be amended in future to cover
separation facilities. EPA also seeks comment on whether the agency
should in future require reporting from separation facilities as part
of the reclamation program or elsewhere in subpart F to better
understand where refrigerant goes after it is recovered. EPA also seeks
comment on whether there are other types of facilities that should be
covered under a program like this.
2. Establishing a Third Party Certification or Audit Program for
Reclaimers
    In developing this proposed rule, EPA considered establishing a
third party certification program for reclaimers. In addition, one
organization has recently urged EPA to require that a third party audit
all reclaimers. The specific proposal is included in a letter from
Intertek available in the docket. Under a program like this, EPA would
certify independent auditors that would review reclaimers' compliance
with the section 608 requirements. To reduce costs, EPA could require
that in-person site audits occur once every few years. A program like
this could help ensure compliance with the section 608 reclamation
requirements. While EPA is not proposing this action in today's
proposed rule, the Agency seeks comment on the establishment of a third
party audit program for reclaimers in a future action.
3. Labeling of Reclaimed Refrigerant
    Refrigerant reclaimers and environmental organizations have
encouraged EPA to further promote the reclamation of refrigerant. The
Agency notes that existing regulations promote HCFC reclamation by
requiring refrigerant be recovered rather than vented and that used
refrigerant be reclaimed before being sold. Through today's proposal,
EPA would be extending that requirement to HFCs and other substitutes,
further increasing the supply and types of refrigerants for
reclamation. Having said that, the Agency is considering whether
labeling could allow for broader recognition, use of, and demand for
reclaimed refrigerant.
    EPA seeks comments on the value of proposing in a separate
rulemaking a voluntary labeling program for reclaimed refrigerant.
Under this program, EPA would certify third parties who would then
verify that the refrigerant being sold was in fact reclaimed. The
reclaimer would have to document receipt of used refrigerant, the
amount of that refrigerant that was reclaimed (and not a waste
product), and that each batch of reclaimed refrigerant was tested and
meets AHRI-700 standards. Alternatively, a program like this could be
developed by industry.
    There are several situations where reclaimed refrigerant labeled as
such could be valuable. First, given the existing restrictions at Sec.
82.15(g) on the manufacture of new appliances using HCFC-22, owners of
appliances that expand their system after January 1, 2010, would know
that the refrigerant was reclaimed and could be used in compliance with
HCFC phaseout requirements.\14\ Second, certified reclaimed refrigerant
could be marketed to consumers seeking to purchase environmentally
preferable products. This type of program could also be useful to
Federal, state, or local governments that have directives to purchase
recycled content materials by providing verification that the
refrigerant they are purchasing is in fact reclaimed.
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    \14\ For more information on how EPA treats supermarkets that
have remodeled and expanded the capacity of their system, please see
http://epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/Supermarket_Q&A_for_R-22.html.
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    EPA seeks comments on whether reclaimers, refrigerant wholesalers,
or owners or operators of appliances would be interested in such a
program. EPA also seeks comments on whether any organization would be
interested in becoming a third party verifier for this program. The
Agency also seeks comment on what criteria it could establish to ensure
refrigerant was in fact reclaimed, and other potential approaches that
the Agency could consider if it develops a program like this in future.

C. Safe Disposal of Small Appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-Like Appliances

    After conversations with scrap recyclers, EPA considered ways it
could improve the requirements for the disposal of small appliances,
MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances. While EPA is not proposing any of
these changes at this time, EPA is seeking comments on ways that it
could ensure refrigerant is

recovered from appliances that enter the waste stream with their
refrigerant circuit intact, while reducing burden on the final
disposer, who is often relying on someone upstream to recover the
refrigerant. EPA considered several options to move the recordkeeping
requirements upstream, but EPA needs additional feedback before
proposing these options.
1. Move Responsibility of Ensuring Proper Recovery to the First
Collector
    One idea EPA considered was moving the requirement to ensure
refrigerant is recovered from the final disposer to the first collector
of the appliance. The first collector could include the retailer that
delivers a new refrigerator and takes away the old one. The first
collector could also include municipal waste collection facilities or
others that pick up used appliances from homes, offices, or curbside.
Under such a program, the first collector would have to ensure the
refrigerant was properly recovered and keep a record documenting that
fact. EPA could also create a requirement where the first collector and
the final disposer would have to keep a record.
    EPA seeks comment on whether this would be an appropriate change to
make in future and whether this would improve compliance with the safe
disposal requirements (Sec. Sec.  82.155 and 82.156 as proposed in this
notice). EPA also seeks comment on how it could ensure compliance with
such a program.
2. Require a Certified Recovery Location for All Appliances
    EPA also considered whether to require the establishment of third-
party certified appliance recovery centers. These recovery centers
would have to be certified by EPA or a third party certifier and would
have to document every appliance they receive, the amount of
refrigerant recovered from each appliance or each shipment of
appliances, and report to EPA on the amount of refrigerant recovered
and where that recovered refrigerant was sent for either destruction or
reclamation. EPA would also have to require that all small appliances,
MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances bound for disposal or recycling would
have to be sent to such a certified recovery center. Scrap recyclers,
landfills, or other final disposal facilities would only be allowed to
receive appliances from certified appliance recovery centers to work
effectively.
    One advantage to such a program is that scrap recyclers and other
final disposers would not have to verify that refrigerant was properly
recovered from appliances they receive. EPA would also have more
information on how much refrigerant is being recovered from these
appliances when they are disposed of. However, EPA has also considered
the ongoing transition to lower-GWP alternatives like hydrocarbons,
CO2, and HFO-1234yf in small appliances and MVACs. The
benefit of requiring that appliances go through a certified recovery
center may decline in the future, and could be potentially disruptive
to the existing supply chain today. EPA weighed these factors and has
decided not to propose a program like this in today's notice, but is
requesting comment on such a program. EPA is particularly interested in
whether this type of program would reduce emissions of refrigerants, be
easy or difficult to establish and transition to, be difficult to set
up in rural areas, and if any organizations would be interested in
either becoming a certified appliance refrigerant recovery center or
certifying appliance refrigerant recovery centers.

D. Technician Certification

1. Recertification
    EPA considered whether to require currently certified technicians
to recertify based on the changes proposed in this rule. EPA states at
Sec.  82.161(c)(2) that the Administrator reserves the right to specify
the need for technician recertification at some future date, if
necessary, by placing a notice in the Federal Register. At this time,
EPA is not proposing that technicians currently certified to work with
ODS refrigerants be recertified to work with substitute refrigerants.
    In pre-proposal discussions with stakeholders, EPA found both
support and opposition to requiring recertification. One argument
expressed in favor of recertification is that many changes have
occurred in the twenty-two years since the first technicians took the
certification exam. For example, many new refrigerants have entered the
market, including flammable refrigerants, and air-conditioning and
refrigeration equipment has changed.
    While more substitutes have been introduced, the techniques for
properly handling fluorocarbon substitute refrigerants is very similar
to that for ODS refrigerants. As many stakeholders noted at the
November 12, 2014, stakeholder meeting, technicians currently handle
all refrigerants in a similar manner, regardless of whether they are an
ODS or a substitute. EPA's SNAP program has only recently listed a
number of flammable refrigerants as acceptable, subject to use
conditions, and only in narrow product categories. The benefits of any
recertification requirement would probably be small, and would likely
be outweighed by the costs of requiring every technician to recertify.
EPA requests comments on this approach for currently certified
technicians. EPA also seeks comments on the possibility of developing a
one-time online recertification that could be more limited in scope
than the existing certification test if the Agency did decide to
require recertification in future.
2. Flammable Refrigerants
    While EPA has not ruled out the possibility of establishing
requirements under 40 CFR part 82, subpart F for flammable exempt
substitute refrigerants, EPA has not proposed in this rulemaking to
extend any of the requirements under section 608, including the
technician certification program and the sales restriction, to
refrigerants that are exempt from the statutory venting prohibition
(CO2, hydrocarbons in certain SNAP-approved applications,
ammonia, etc.). Some in the industry have told EPA that the Agency
should require training and certification of HVACR contractors that
work with flammable refrigerants. The primary concern is the safety of
the technicians working on appliances, the owners and operators of
those appliances, and anyone recovering or reclaiming refrigerant from
those appliances that may not be labeled properly or mixed with
flammable refrigerants.
    EPA appreciates the concerns raised by stakeholders about flammable
refrigerants and is planning to add questions on this topic to the
technician certification test bank when the Agency updates those
questions. These questions would cover proper handling practices to
prevent mixing with ODS and substitute refrigerants, as well as safety.
EPA has also proposed to broaden the definition of substitute so that
it covers all refrigerants used by any person as replacements for a
class I or II ozone-depleting substance whether or not SNAP-approved.
This is to ensure that substitutes found to be unacceptable in a given
refrigerant end-use under SNAP will still be covered by the safe
handling requirements of subpart F.
    EPA is not proposing, however, to extend the sales restriction in
today's proposal to hydrocarbon refrigerants for sale in the approved
end-uses under SNAP. EPA is also not revisiting in this proposed rule
the determination that venting, releasing, or disposing of hydrocarbon
refrigerants in the limited

end-uses for which is it allowed, does not pose a threat to the
environment. EPA also seeks comments on whether the Agency should
establish through a future rulemaking a technician certification
requirement for flammable refrigerants, or extend the sales restriction
(as a way to enforce the certification requirement) or other 608
requirements to flammable refrigerants that are exempt from the venting
prohibition. Commenters should provide as much detail as possible,
including the requirements that the Agency should establish, and what
the environmental benefits might be.

VII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This action is a significant regulatory action that was submitted
to OMB for review. This action was deemed to raise novel legal or
policy issues. Any changes made in response to OMB recommendations have
been documented in the docket. EPA prepared an economic analysis of the
potential costs and benefits associated with this action. This analysis
is summarized in Section V of the preamble and is available in the
docket.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection activities in this proposed rule have
been submitted for approval to OMB under the PRA. The Information
Collection Request (ICR) document that EPA prepared has been assigned
EPA ICR number 1626.13. You can find a copy of the ICR in the docket
for this rule.
    All recordkeeping and reporting requirements under this program are
specifically described in Section IV.L. of this preamble. In order to
facilitate compliance with and enforce the requirements of section 608
of the CAA, EPA requires reporting and recordkeeping requirements of
technicians, technician certification programs, refrigerant recovery/
recycling equipment testing organizations, refrigerant wholesalers and
purchasers, refrigerant reclaimers, refrigeration and air-conditioning
equipment owners, and other establishments that perform refrigerant
removal, service, or disposal. EPA has used and will continue to use
these records and reports to ensure that refrigerant releases are
minimized during the recovery, recycling, and reclamation processes.
The handling and confidentiality of the reporting requirements follow
EPA's confidentiality regulations at 40 CFR 2.201 et seq. for assuring
computer data security, preventing disclosure, proper storage, and
proper disposal.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities required to comply with
reporting and recordkeeping requirements include technicians;
technician certification programs; refrigerant wholesalers; refrigerant
reclaimers; refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment owners and/or
operators; and other establishments that perform refrigerant removal,
service, or disposal.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (40 CFR part 82,
subpart F).
    Estimated number of respondents: The total number of respondents is
estimated to be approximately 1,050,390.
    Frequency of response: The frequency of responses vary from once a
year to daily. Public reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to vary from one minute to 9.5 hours per
response, including time for reviewing instructions and gathering,
maintaining, and submitting information.
    Total estimated burden: The total estimated burden is 797,314 hours
(per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    Total estimated cost: The total estimated cost is $35,931,685 (per
year). There are no estimated annualized capital or operation &
maintenance costs associated with the reporting or recordkeeping
requirements.
    Most of this burden is already covered by the existing requirements
in 40 CFR part 82, subpart F, and the existing ICR, which was last
approved by OMB in December 2014.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's
regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9. The OMB control
number for this information collection is 2060-0256.
    Submit your comments on the Agency's need for this information, the
accuracy of the provided burden estimates and any suggested methods for
minimizing respondent burden to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0453. You
may also send your ICR-related comments to OMB's Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs via email to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
Attention: Desk Officer for EPA. Since OMB is required to make a
decision concerning the ICR between 30 and 60 days after receipt, OMB
must receive comments no later than December 9, 2015. EPA will respond
to any ICR-related comments in the final rule.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    I certify that this action will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. The
small entities subject to the requirements of this action are
businesses and small governmental jurisdictions that own or service
comfort cooling, commercial refrigeration, or IPR equipment. EPA
estimates that approximately 140 of the approximately 950,000 affected
small businesses could incur costs in excess of 1% of annual sales and
that fewer than 80 small businesses could incur costs in excess of 3%
of annual sales. These levels are below the thresholds under which it
can be presumed that an action will have no SISNOSE, as used in other
Title VI rulemakings. Details of this analysis are presented in the
Analysis of the Economic Impact and Benefits of Proposed Revisions to
the National Recycling and Emission Reduction Program available in the
docket to this rule.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)

    This action does not contain an unfunded mandate of $100 million or
more as described in UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. This rule
supplements the statutory self-effectuating prohibition against venting
refrigerants by ensuring that certain service practices are conducted
that reduce the emissions of ozone-depleting refrigerants and their
substitutes. This rule also proposes to strengthen the leak repair
requirements, establish recordkeeping requirements for the disposal of
appliances containing five to 50 pounds of refrigerant, and modify the
technician certification program.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between
the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications as specified in
Executive Order 13175. This rule does not significantly or uniquely
affect the communities of Indian tribal governments. This rule
supplements the

statutory self-effectuating prohibition against venting refrigerants by
ensuring that certain service practices are conducted that reduce the
emissions of ozone-depleting refrigerants and their substitutes. This
rule also proposes to strengthen the leak repair requirements,
establish recordkeeping requirements for the disposal of appliances
containing five to 50 pounds of refrigerant, and modify the technician
certification program. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to
this action.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health and Safety Risks

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it is not economically significant as defined
in Executive Order 12866. The agency nonetheless has reason to believe
that the environmental health or safety risk addressed by this action
may have a disproportionate effect on children. Depletion of
stratospheric ozone results in greater transmission of the sun's
ultraviolet (UV) radiation to the earth's surface. The following
studies describe the effects of excessive exposure to UV radiation on
children: (1) Westerdahl J, Olsson H, Ingvar C. ``At what age do
sunburn episodes play a crucial role for the development of malignant
melanoma,'' Eur J Cancer 1994: 30A: 1647-54; (2) Elwood JM Japson J.
``Melanoma and sun exposure: an overview of published studies,'' Int J
Cancer 1997; 73:198-203; (3) Armstrong BK, ``Melanoma: childhood or
lifelong sun exposure,'' In: Grobb JJ, Stern RS Mackie RM, Weinstock
WA, eds. ``Epidemiology, causes and prevention of skin diseases,'' 1st
ed. London, England: Blackwell Science, 1997: 63-6; (4) Whiteman D.,
Green A. ``Melanoma and Sunburn,'' Cancer Causes Control, 1994: 5:564-
72; (5) Heenan, PJ. ``Does intermittent sun exposure cause basal cell
carcinoma? A case control study in Western Australia,'' Int J Cancer
1995; 60: 489-94; (6) Gallagher, RP, Hill, GB, Bajdik, CD, et al.
``Sunlight exposure, pigmentary factors, and risk of nonmelanocytic
skin cancer I, Basal cell carcinoma,'' Arch Dermatol 1995; 131: 157-63;
(7) Armstrong, DK. ``How sun exposure causes skin cancer: an
epidemiological perspective,'' Prevention of Skin Cancer. 2004. 89-116.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not a ``significant energy action'' because it is
not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply,
distribution or use of energy.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act and 1 CFR Part 51

    This action involves technical standards. In some instances, EPA is
proposing to adopt a modified version of an industry standard for
purposes of this rule; in others, EPA is proposing to incorporate an
industry standard by reference exactly as written. First, EPA is
proposing that all new recovery and/or recycling equipment used during
the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of appliances
manufactured or imported after the effective date of this rule be
required to meet the standard based on AHRI Standard 740-2015,
Performance Rating of Refrigerant Recovery Equipment and Recovery/
Recycling Equipment. This standard establishes methods of testing for
rating and evaluating the performance of refrigerant recovery equipment
and recovery/recycling equipment. The standard is available at
www.ahrinet.org or by mail at Air-Conditioning, Heating, and
Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 500,
Arlington, VA 22201.
    EPA's lead proposal is to include this AHRI Standard with minor
modifications in appendix B3. EPA is also proposing to establish in
appendix B4 a modified version of the appendix B3 standard that could
be used to certify recovery/recycling equipment used to recover/recycle
flammable refrigerants. As proposed, the standard in appendix B4 would
base the recovery/recycling performance on AHRI 740-2015 and the safety
performance standards in UL 1963, Supplement SB, Requirements for
Refrigerant Recovery/Recycling Equipment Intended for Use with a
Flammable Refrigerant. UL 1963, Supplement SB establishes standards for
refrigerant recovery and refrigerant recovery/recycling equipment to
ensure the equipment can be used safely with flammable refrigerants.
The standard is available at http://www.comm-2000.com or by writing to
Comm 2000, 151 Eastern Avenue, Bensenville, IL 60106.
    In addition, EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference many of
the standards referenced in appendix B3 and B4, including:

--ASHRAE Terminology, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and
Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. This Web site provides a glossary of
technical terms used by ASHRAE and is available at https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/free-resources/ashrae-terminology.
--UL Standard 1963, Refrigerant Recovery/Recycling Equipment, First
Edition, 2011, American National Standards Institute/Underwriters
Laboratories, Inc. This standard establishes safety requirements for
and methods to evaluate refrigerant recovery and refrigerant recovery/
recycling equipment. The standard is available at http://www.comm-2000.com or by writing to Comm 2000, 151 Eastern Avenue, Bensenville,
IL 60106.
_AHRI Standard 110-2012, Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigerating
Equipment Nameplate Voltages, 2012, Air-Conditioning, Heating, and
Refrigeration Institute. This standard establishes voltage rating
requirements, equipment performance requirements, and conformance
conditions for air-conditioning, heating, and refrigerating equipment.
The standard is available at www.ahrinet.org or by mail at Air-
Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), 2111 Wilson
Boulevard, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22201.
--International Standard IEC 60038, IEC Standard Voltages, 2009,
International Electrotechnical Commission.

    This standard specifies standard voltage values which are intended
to serve as preferential values for the nominal voltage of electrical
supply systems, and as reference values for equipment and system
design. The standard is available at www.techstreet.com or by writing
to Techstreet, 6300 Interfirst Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.
    EPA seeks comments on the use of these standards, especially
whether to incorporate the UL standard by reference into appendix B4
alongside the appendix B3 requirements or whether to establish a
standard in appendix B4 that is based on that standard.
    Second, reclaimers are required to reprocess refrigerant to
standards based on ARI Standard 700-1995, Specification for
Fluorocarbons and Other Refrigerants. AHRI Standard 700 establishes
purity specifications for refrigerants, and to specify the associated
methods of testing for acceptability of refrigerants. EPA is proposing
to update appendix A to include HFCs, PFCs, HFOs, and other
refrigerants based on the standards contained in AHRI Standard 700-
2015, Specifications for Refrigerants, but not incorporate the full
standard by reference because EPA intends to keep the older unsaturates
limit. The standard is available at www.ahrinet.org or by mail at Air-
Conditioning, Heating,

and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), 2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500,
Arlington, VA 22201.
    EPA is proposing to incorporate by reference the additional
standards referenced in AHRI 700-2015. Specifically, EPA is proposing
to incorporate by reference the following standards:

--Appendix C to AHRI Standard 700-2015: Analytical Procedures for AHRI
Standard 700-2015, Normative, Specification for Fluorocarbon
Refrigerants. This document establishes definitive test procedures for
determining the quality of new, reclaimed and/or repackaged
refrigerants in support of the standards established in AHRI-700, and
is available at www.ahrinet.org or by mail at Air-Conditioning,
Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), 2111 Wilson Boulevard,
Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22201.
--Appendix D Gas Chromatograms for AHRI Standard 700-2015--Informative,
Specification for Fluorocarbon Refrigerants, 2012, Air-Conditioning,
Heating, and Refrigeration Institute. This appendix provides figures
for the gas chromatograms used with Appendix C to AHRI Standard 700-
2015: Analytical Procedures for AHRI Standard 700-2015, Normative,
Specification for Fluorocarbon Refrigerants. The appendix is available
at www.ahrinet.org or by mail at Air-Conditioning, Heating, and
Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), 2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500,
Arlington, VA 22201.
--Federal Specification for ``Fluorocarbon Refrigerants,'' BB-F-1421 B,
dated March 5, 1982, section 4.4.3. This section of this standard
establishes a method to determine the boiling point and boiling point
range of a refrigerant. The standard is available in the docket for
this rulemaking.
--GPA STD-2177, Analysis of Natural Gas Liquid Mixtures Containing
Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide by Gas Chromatography, 2013, Gas Processors
Association. This standard establishes methods for analyzing
demethanized liquid hydrocarbon streams containing nitrogen/air and
carbon dioxide, and purity products such as ethane/propane mix that
fall within compositional ranges indicated in the standard. The
standard is available at www.techstreet.com or by writing to
Techstreet, 6300 Interfirst Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.
_ASTM Standard D1296-01-2012, Standard Test Method for Odor of
Volatile Solvents and Diluents, 2012, ASTM International. This test
method covers a comparative procedure for observing the characteristic
and residual odors of volatile organic solvents and diluents to
determine their odor acceptability in a solvent system. The standard is
available at www.astm.org or by writing to ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Drive,
PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959.

    EPA seeks comments on whether to incorporate the updated standards
by reference or whether appendix A should be updated based on AHRI 700-
2015 to include HFCs, PFCs, HFOs, and other refrigerants.
    Third, EPA is proposing to create in appendix E a standard for
self-sealing valves that is based largely on CARB's Test Procedure for
Leaks from Small Containers of Automotive Refrigerant, TP-503, as
amended January 5, 2010. The standard establishes methods for assessing
the leak rate from small containers of refrigerant. A copy of this
standard is available in the docket and www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2009/hfc09/hfc09.htm. EPA requests comment on the use of this CARB standard
for self-sealing valves.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    EPA believes this action will not have disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects on minority or low-income
populations, because it affects the level of environmental protection
equally for all affected populations without having any
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects on any population, including any minority or low-income
population. This rule would amend the leak repair requirements for
appliances using ozone-depleting substances, which would protect human
health and the environment from increased amounts of UV radiation and
increased incidence of skin cancer. The effects of exposure to UV
radiation and the estimated reduction in emissions of ozone-depleting
substances from this proposed rule is contained in section II.D.1 of
this preamble.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 82

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals,
Incorporation by reference, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 15, 2015.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, EPA proposes to amend 40
CFR part 82 as follows:

PART 82--PROTECTION OF STRATOSPHERIC OZONE

0
1. The authority citation for part 82 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7414, 7601, 7671-7671q.

0
2. Revise Sec.  82.150 to read as follows:

Sec.  82.150  Purpose and scope.

    (a) The purpose of this subpart is to reduce emissions of class I
and class II refrigerants and their substitutes to the lowest
achievable level by maximizing the recapture and recycling of such
refrigerants during the maintenance, service, repair, and disposal of
appliances and restricting the sale of refrigerants consisting in whole
or in part of a class I or class II ozone-depleting substance or their
substitutes in accordance with Title VI of the Clean Air Act.
    (b) This subpart applies to any person maintaining, servicing, or
repairing appliances. This subpart also applies to persons disposing of
appliances, including small appliances and motor vehicle air
conditioners. In addition, this subpart applies to refrigerant
reclaimers, technician certifying programs, appliance owners and
operators, manufacturers of appliances, manufacturers of recovery and/
or recycling equipment, approved recovery and/or recycling equipment
testing organizations, and persons buying, selling, or offering to sell
class I, class II, or substitute refrigerants.
0
3. Amend Sec.  82.152:
0
a. by adding definitions for ``Class I,'' ``Class II,'' ``Comfort
cooling,'' ``Component,'' ``Leak inspection,'' ``Mothball,'' ``Normal
operating characteristics and conditions,'' ``Reclaim,'' ``Recover,''
``Recycle,'' ``Retire,'' ``Retrofit,'' ``Seasonal variance,'' ``Self-
sealing valve,'' and ``System receiver.''
0
b. by revising the definitions for ``Appliance,'' ``Apprentice,''
``Commercial refrigeration,'' ``Custom-built,'' ``Disposal,'' ``Follow-
up verification test,'' ``Full charge,'' ``High-pressure appliance,''
``Industrial process refrigeration,'' ``Industrial process shutdown,''
``Initial verification test,'' ``Leak rate,'' ``Low-loss fitting,''
``Low-pressure appliance,'' ``Medium-pressure appliance,'' ``MVAC-like
appliance,'' ``One-time expansion device,''

``Opening an appliance,'' ``Recovery efficiency,'' ``Refrigerant,''
``Self-contained recovery equipment,'' ``Small appliance,''
``Substitute,'' ``Technician,'' and ``Very high-pressure appliance.''
0
c. by removing the definitions for ``Critical Component,'' ``Normal
operating characteristics or conditions,'' ``Normally containing a
quantity of refrigerant,'' ``Reclaim refrigerant,'' ``Recover
refrigerant,'' ``Recycle refrigerant,'' ``Suitable replacement
refrigerant,'' ``System mothballing,'' and ``Voluntary certification
program.''
    The revisions and additions to read as follows:

Sec.  82.152  Definitions.

    As used in this subpart, the term:
    Appliance means any device which contains and uses a class I or
class II substance or substitute as a refrigerant and which is used for
household or commercial purposes, including any air conditioner, motor
vehicle air conditioner, refrigerator, chiller, or freezer.
    Apprentice means any person who is currently registered as an
apprentice in maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of appliances
with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship (or a
State Apprenticeship Council recognized by the Office of
Apprenticeship). A person may only be an apprentice for two years from
the date of first registering with that office.
* * * * *
    Class I refers to an ozone-depleting substance that is listed in 40
CFR part 82 subpart A, appendix A.
    Class II refers to an ozone-depleting substance that is listed in
40 CFR part 82 subpart A, appendix B.
    Comfort cooling means the air-conditioning appliances used to
provide cooling in order to control heat and/or humidity in facilities
including but not limited to office buildings and commercial buildings.
Comfort cooling appliances include building chillers and roof-top self-
contained units. They may be used for the comfort of occupants or for
climate control to protect equipment within a facility, including but
not limited to computer rooms.
    Commercial refrigeration means the refrigeration appliances used in
the retail food and cold storage warehouse sectors. Retail food
includes the refrigeration equipment found in supermarkets, convenience
stores, restaurants and other food service establishments. Cold storage
includes the refrigeration equipment used to store meat, produce, dairy
products, and other perishable goods.
    Component means a part of the refrigerant loop within an appliance
including, but not limited to, compressors, condensers, evaporators,
receivers, and all of its connections and subassemblies.
    Custom-built means that the equipment or any of its components
cannot be purchased and/or installed without being uniquely designed,
fabricated and/or assembled to satisfy a specific set of industrial
process conditions.
    Disposal means the process leading to and including:
    (1) The discharge, deposit, dumping or placing of any discarded
appliance into or on any land or water;
    (2) The disassembly of any appliance for discharge, deposit,
dumping or placing of its discarded component parts into or on any land
or water;
    (3) The destruction of any appliance such that the refrigerant
would be released into the environment if it had not been recovered
prior to the destructive activity, or
    (4) The disassembly of any appliance for reuse or recycling of its
component parts.
    Follow-up verification test means those tests that involve checking
the repairs to an appliance after a successful initial verification
test and after the appliance has returned to normal operating
characteristics and conditions to verify that the repairs were
successful. Follow-up verification tests include, but are not limited
to, the use of soap bubbles, electronic or ultrasonic leak detectors,
pressure or vacuum tests, fluorescent dye and black light, infrared or
near infrared tests, and handheld gas detection devices.
    Full charge means the amount of refrigerant required for normal
operating characteristics and conditions of the appliance as determined
by using one or a combination of the following four methods:
    (1) Use of the equipment manufacturer's determination of the full
charge;
    (2) Use of appropriate calculations based on component sizes,
density of refrigerant, volume of piping, and other relevant
considerations;
    (3) Use of actual measurements of the amount of refrigerant added
to or evacuated from the appliance, including for seasonal variances;
and/or
    (4) Use of an established range based on the best available data
regarding the normal operating characteristics and conditions for the
appliance, where the midpoint of the range will serve as the full
charge.
    High-pressure appliance means an appliance that uses a refrigerant
with a liquid phase saturation pressure between 170 psia and 355 psia
at 104[emsp14][deg]F. Examples include but are not limited to
appliances using R-22, R-407A, R-407C, R-410A, and R-502.
    Industrial process refrigeration means complex customized
appliances that are directly linked to the processes used in, for
example, the chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and manufacturing
industries. This sector also includes industrial ice machines,
appliances used directly in the generation of electricity, and ice
rinks. Where one appliance is used for both industrial process
refrigeration and other applications, it will be considered industrial
process refrigeration equipment if 50 percent or more of its operating
capacity is used for industrial process refrigeration.
    Industrial process shutdown means when an industrial process or
facility temporarily ceases to operate or manufacture whatever is being
produced at that facility.
    Initial verification test means those leak tests that are conducted
as soon as practicable after the repair is finished to verify that a
leak or leaks have been repaired before refrigerant is added back to
the appliance.
    Leak inspection means the examination of all visible components of
an appliance using a calibrated leak detection device, a bubble test,
or visual inspection for oil residue in order to determine the presence
and location of refrigerant leaks.
    Leak rate means the rate at which an appliance is losing
refrigerant, measured between refrigerant charges. The leak rate is
expressed in terms of the percentage of the appliance's full charge
that would be lost over a 12-month period if the current rate of loss
were to continue over that period. The rate is calculated using only
one of the following methods for all appliances subject to the leak
repair requirements located at an operating facility.
    (1) Annualizing Method. Step 1. Take the number of pounds of
refrigerant added to the appliance to return it to a full charge,
whether in one addition or if multiple additions related to same leak,
and divide it by the number of pounds of refrigerant the appliance
normally contains at full charge;
    Step 2. Take the shorter of the number of days that have passed
since the last day refrigerant was added or 365 days and divide that
number by 365 days;
    Step 3. Take the number calculated in Step 1 and divide it by the
number calculated in Step 2; and
    Step 4. Multiply the number calculated in Step 3 by 100 to
calculate a percentage. This method is summarized in the following
formula:

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09NO15.300

    (2) Rolling Average Method. Step 1. Take the sum of the pounds of
refrigerant added to the appliance over the previous 365-day period (or
over the period that has passed since the last successful follow-up
verification test showing all leaks in the appliance were repaired, if
that period is less than one year);
    Step 2. Divide the result of Step 1 by the pounds of refrigerant
the appliance normally contains at full charge; and
    Step 3. Multiply the result of Step 2 by 100 to obtain a
percentage. This method is summarized in the following formula:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP09NO15.301

    Low-loss fitting means any device that is intended to establish a
connection between hoses, appliances, or recovery and/or recycling
machines and that is designed to close automatically or to be closed
manually when disconnected, minimizing the release of refrigerant from
hoses, appliances, and recovery and/or recycling machines.
    Low-pressure appliance means an appliance that uses a refrigerant
with a liquid phase saturation pressure below 45 psia at
104[emsp14][deg]F. Examples include but are not limited to appliances
using R-11, R-123, R-113, and R-245fa.
* * * * *
    Medium-pressure appliance means an appliance that uses a
refrigerant with a liquid phase saturation pressure between 45 psia and
170 psia at 104[emsp14][deg]F. Examples include but are not limited to
appliances using R-114, R-124, R-12, R-134a, and R-500.
    Mothball means to evacuate refrigerant from an appliance, or the
affected isolated section or component of an appliance, to at least
atmospheric pressure, and to temporarily shut down that appliance.
* * * * *
    MVAC-like appliance means a mechanical vapor compression, open-
drive compressor appliance with a full charge of 20 pounds or less of
refrigerant used to cool the driver's or passenger's compartment of an
off-road motor vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to, the air-
conditioning equipment found on agricultural or construction vehicles.
This definition is not intended to cover appliances using R-22
refrigerant.
    Normal operating characteristics and conditions means appliance
operating temperatures, pressures, fluid flows, speeds, and other
characteristics, including full charge of the appliance, that would be
expected for a given process load and ambient condition during normal
operation. Normal operating characteristics and conditions are marked
by the absence of atypical conditions affecting the operation of the
appliance.
    One-time expansion device means an appliance that relies on the
release of its refrigerant charge to the environment in order to
provide a cooling effect. These are typically single releases but could
also include products that are designed to release refrigerant to the
environment through multiple individual charges.
    Opening an appliance means any maintenance, service, repair, or
disposal of an appliance that would release any refrigerant in the
appliance to the atmosphere. Connecting and disconnecting hoses and
gauges to measure pressures, add refrigerant, or recover refrigerant
from the appliance are not considered ``opening an appliance.''
* * * * *
    Reclaim means to reprocess recovered refrigerant to all of the
specifications in appendix A of this subpart (based on AHRI Standard
700-2015, Specifications for Refrigerants) that are applicable to that
refrigerant and to verify that the refrigerant meets these
specifications using the analytical methodology prescribed in section 5
of appendix A of this subpart.
    Recover means to remove refrigerant in any condition from an
appliance and to store it in an external container without necessarily
testing or processing it in any way.
    Recovery efficiency means the percentage of refrigerant in an
appliance that is recovered by a piece of recovery and/or recycling
equipment.
    Recycle, when referring to refrigerant, means to extract
refrigerant from an appliance and clean it for reuse in equipment of
the same owner without meeting all of the requirements for reclamation.
In general, recycled refrigerant is cleaned using oil separation and
single or multiple passes through devices, such as replaceable core
filter-driers, which reduce moisture, acidity, and particulate matter.
    Refrigerant means, for purposes of this subpart, any substance,
including blends and mixtures, consisting in part or whole of a class I
or class II ozone-depleting substance or substitute that is used for
heat transfer purposes and provides a cooling effect.
    Refrigerant circuit means the parts of an appliance that are
normally connected to each other (or are separated only by internal
valves) and are designed to contain refrigerant.
    Retire, when referring to an appliance, means the disassembly of
the entire appliance including its major components, such that the
appliance as a whole cannot be used by any person in the future.
    Retrofit means to convert an appliance from one refrigerant to
another refrigerant. Retrofitting includes the conversion of the
appliance to achieve system compatibility with the new refrigerant and
may include, but is not limited to, changes in lubricants, gaskets,
filters, driers, valves, o-rings or appliance components.

    Seasonal variance means the addition of refrigerant to an appliance
due to a change in ambient conditions caused by a change in season,
followed by the subsequent removal of an equal amount of refrigerant in
the corresponding change in season, where both the addition and removal
of refrigerant occurs within one consecutive 12-month period.
    Self-contained recovery equipment means refrigerant recovery and/or
recycling equipment that is capable of removing the refrigerant from an
appliance without the assistance of components contained in the
appliance.
    Self-sealing valve means a valve affixed to a container of
refrigerant that automatically seals when not dispensing refrigerant
and meets or exceeds established performance criteria as identified in
Sec.  82.154(c)(2).
    Small appliance means any appliance that is fully manufactured,
charged, and hermetically sealed in a factory with five (5) pounds or
less of refrigerant, including, but not limited to, refrigerators and
freezers (designed for home, commercial, or consumer use), medical or
industrial research refrigeration equipment, room air conditioners
(including window air conditioners, portable air conditioners, and
packaged terminal air heat pumps), dehumidifiers, under-the-counter ice
makers, vending machines, and drinking water coolers.
    Substitute means any chemical or product, whether existing or new,
that is used as a refrigerant to replace a class I or II ozone-
depleting substance.
    System-dependent recovery equipment means refrigerant recovery
equipment that requires the assistance of components contained in an
appliance to remove the refrigerant from the appliance.
    System receiver means the isolated portion of the appliance, or a
specific vessel within the appliance, that is used to hold the
refrigerant charge during the servicing or repair of that appliance.
    Technician means any person who in the course of maintenance,
service, or repair of an appliance could be reasonably expected to
violate the integrity of the refrigerant circuit and therefore release
refrigerants into the environment. Technician also means any person who
disposes of an appliance that could be reasonably expected to violate
the integrity of the refrigerant circuit and therefore release
refrigerants from the appliance into the environment, except for
persons who only dispose of appliances that are small appliances,
MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances. Activities reasonably expected to
violate the integrity of the refrigerant circuit include but are not
limited to: Attaching and detaching hoses and gauges to and from the
appliance; adding or removing refrigerant; adding or removing
components; and cutting the refrigerant line. Activities such as
painting the appliance, rewiring an external electrical circuit,
replacing insulation on a length of pipe, or tightening nuts and bolts
are not reasonably expected to violate the integrity of the refrigerant
circuit. Activities conducted on appliances that have been properly
evacuated pursuant to Sec.  82.156 are not reasonably expected to
release refrigerants unless the activity includes adding refrigerant to
the appliance. Technicians could include but are not limited to
installers, contractor employees, in-house service personnel, and in
some cases owners and/or operators of appliances.
    Very high-pressure appliance means an appliance that uses a
refrigerant with a critical temperature below 104 [deg]F or with a
liquid phase saturation pressure above 355 psia at 104 [deg]F. Examples
include but are not limited to appliances using R-13, R-23, R-503, R-
508A, and R-508B.
0
4. Revise Sec.  82.154 to read as follows:

Sec.  82.154  Prohibitions.

    (a) Venting Prohibition. (1) No person maintaining, servicing,
repairing, or disposing of an appliance or industrial process
refrigeration may knowingly vent or otherwise release into the
environment any refrigerant from such appliances. Notwithstanding any
other provision of this subpart, the following substitutes in the
following end-uses are exempt from this prohibition and from the
requirements of this subpart:
    (i) Carbon dioxide in any application;
    (ii) Nitrogen in any application;
    (iii) Water in any application;
    (iv) Ammonia in commercial or industrial process refrigeration or
in absorption units;
    (v) Chlorine in industrial process refrigeration (processing of
chlorine and chlorine compounds);
    (vi) Hydrocarbons in industrial process refrigeration (processing
of hydrocarbons);
    (vii) Ethane (R-170) in very low temperature refrigeration
equipment and equipment for non-mechanical heat transfer;
    (viii) Propane (R-290) in retail food refrigerators and freezers
(stand-alone units only); household refrigerators, freezers, and
combination refrigerators and freezers; self-contained room air
conditioners for residential and light commercial air-conditioning;
heat pumps; and vending machines;
    (ix) Isobutane (R-600a) in retail food refrigerators and freezers
(stand-alone units only) and vending machines;
    (x) R-441A in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone
units only); self-contained room air conditioners for residential and
light commercial air-conditioning; heat pumps; and vending machines.
    (2) De minimis releases associated with good faith attempts to
recycle or recover refrigerants are not subject to this prohibition.
Refrigerant releases are de minimis only if they occur when:
    (i) The required practices in Sec.  82.155, Sec.  82.156, and Sec.
82.157 are observed, recovery and/or recycling machines that meet the
requirements in Sec.  82.158 are used whenever refrigerant is removed
from an appliance, the technician certification provisions in Sec.
82.161 are observed, and the reclamation requirements in Sec.  82.164
are observed; or
    (ii) The requirements in subpart B of this part are observed.
    (3) The knowing release of a refrigerant after its recovery from an
appliance is a violation of the venting prohibition.
    (b) No person may maintain, service, repair, or dispose of an
appliance without:
    (1) Observing the required practices in Sec.  82.155, Sec.  82.156,
and Sec.  82.157; and
    (2) Using recovery and/or recycling equipment that is certified for
that type of refrigerant and appliance under Sec.  82.158.
    (c) Sales Restriction. (1) No person may sell or distribute, or
offer for sale or distribution, any substance that consists in whole or
in part of a class I or class II substance or substitute for use as a
refrigerant unless:
    (i) The buyer has been certified as a Type I, Type II, Type III, or
Universal technician under Sec.  82.161;
    (ii) The buyer employs at least one technician who is certified as
a Type I, Type II, Type III, or Universal technician under Sec.  82.161
and provides proof of such to the seller;
    (iii) The buyer has been certified in accordance with 40 CFR part
82, subpart B and the refrigerant is acceptable for use in MVACs under
40 CFR part 82, subpart G;
    (iv) The buyer employs at least one technician who is certified
under 40 CFR part 82, subpart B, and provides proof of such to the
seller and the refrigerant is acceptable for use in MVACs under 40 CFR
part 82, subpart G. Nothing in this provision relieves persons of the
requirements of Sec.  82.34(b) or Sec.  82.42(b);
    (v) The refrigerant is sold only for eventual resale to certified
technicians

or to appliance manufacturers (e.g., sold by a manufacturer to a
wholesaler, sold by a technician to a reclaimer);
    (vi) The refrigerant is sold to an appliance manufacturer;
    (vii) The refrigerant is contained in an appliance with a fully
assembled refrigerant circuit or an appliance component;
    (viii) The refrigerant is charged into an appliance by a certified
technician or an apprentice during maintenance, service, or repair of
the appliance;
    (ix) The refrigerant is exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this
section; or
    (x) The substitute refrigerant is intended for use in an MVAC and
is sold in a container designed to hold two pounds or less of
refrigerant, has a unique fitting, and has a self-sealing valve.
    (2) Self-sealing valve specifications. This provision will apply
starting [ONE YEAR FROM PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL
REGISTER] for all containers holding two pounds or less of substitute
refrigerant for use in an MVAC that are manufactured and placed into
initial inventory or imported on or after that date. All containers
holding two pounds or less of substitute refrigerant for use in an MVAC
that are manufactured and placed into initial inventory or imported
prior to that date must be sold prior to [TWO YEARS FROM PUBLICATION OF
A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
    (i) Each container holding two pounds or less of substitute
refrigerant for use in an MVAC must be equipped with a single self-
sealing valve that automatically closes and seals when not dispensing
refrigerant.
    (ii) The leakage rate from each container must not exceed 3.00
grams per year when the self-sealing valve is closed. This leakage rate
applies to new, full containers as well as containers that may be
partially full.
    (iii) The leakage rate must be determined using the standards
described in appendix E.
    (iv) All testing to demonstrate compliance with this paragraph must
be conducted by an independent test laboratory in the United States.
For purposes of this requirement, an independent test laboratory is one
that is not owned, operated, or affiliated with the applicant
certifying equipment and/or products.
    (3) Recordkeeping. (i) Persons who sell or distribute, or offer to
sell or distribute, refrigerant must keep invoices that indicate the
name of the purchaser, the date of sale, and the quantity of
refrigerant purchased unless they are selling exempt substitutes or
small cans of MVAC refrigerant in accordance with paragraph (c)(1)(ix)
and (x) of this section. In instances where the buyer employs a
certified technician, the seller must keep the documentation provided
by the buyer that he or she employs at least one technician that is
properly certified. All records must be kept for three years.
    (ii) Electronic or paper copies of all records described in
appendix E must be maintained by manufacturers of containers holding
two pounds or less of substitute refrigerant for use in an MVAC to
verify self-sealing valves meet the requirements specified in paragraph
(c)(2) of this section. All records must be kept for three years.
    (d) Sale of Used Refrigerant. No person may sell or distribute, or
offer for sale or distribution, for use as a refrigerant any class I or
class II substance or substitute consisting wholly or in part of used
refrigerant unless the refrigerant:
    (1) Has been reclaimed by a person who has been certified as a
reclaimer under Sec.  82.164;
    (2) was used only in an MVAC or MVAC-like appliance and is to be
used only in an MVAC or MVAC-like appliance and recycled in accordance
with Sec.  82.34(d);
    (3) is contained in an appliance that is sold or offered for sale
together with a fully assembled refrigerant circuit;
    (4) is being transferred between or among a parent company and one
or more of its subsidiaries, or between or among subsidiaries having
the same parent company;
    (5) is being transferred between or among a Federal agency or
department and a facility or facilities owned by the same Federal
agency or department; or
    (6) is exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
    (e) Manufacture and Sale of Appliances. (1) No person may sell or
distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, any appliance (except
small appliances) unless it is equipped with a servicing aperture to
facilitate the removal of refrigerant at servicing and disposal.
    (2) No person may sell or distribute, or offer for sale or
distribution, any small appliance unless it is equipped with a process
stub to facilitate the removal of refrigerant at servicing and
disposal.
    (f) One-time expansion devices. No person may manufacture or import
a one-time expansion device unless the only refrigerants it contains
have been exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
    (g) Rules stayed for consideration. Notwithstanding any other
provisions of this subpart, the effectiveness of 40 CFR 82.154(c), only
as it applies to refrigerant contained in appliances without fully
assembled refrigerant circuits, is stayed from April 27, 1995, until
EPA takes final action on its reconsideration of these provisions. EPA
will publish any such final action in the Federal Register.
0
5. Add Sec.  82.155 to subpart F to read as follows:

Sec.  82.155  Safe disposal of appliances.

    Until [ONE YEAR FROM PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL
REGISTER], this section applies only to disposal of appliances
containing class I and class II refrigerants. Starting on [ONE YEAR
FROM PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER], this section
applies to disposal of appliances containing any refrigerant as defined
in Sec.  82.152.
    (a) Persons who take the final step in the disposal process
(including but not limited to scrap recyclers and landfill operators)
of a small appliance, MVAC, or MVAC-like appliance (the final
processor) must either:
    (1) Recover any remaining refrigerant from the appliance in
accordance with paragraph (b) of this section; or
    (2) Verify using a signed statement or a contract that all
refrigerant that had not leaked previously has been recovered from the
appliance or shipment of appliances in accordance with paragraph (b) of
this section. This statement must include the name and address of the
person who recovered the refrigerant and the date the refrigerant was
recovered. The signed contract between the supplier and the final
processor must state that the supplier will recover any remaining
refrigerant from the appliance or shipment of appliances in accordance
with this paragraph prior to delivery.
    (i) It is a violation of this subpart to accept a signed statement
or contract if the person receiving the statement or contract knew or
had reason to know that the signed statement or contract is false.
    (ii) Persons complying with this paragraph must notify suppliers of
appliances that refrigerant must be properly recovered in accordance
with paragraph (b) of this section before delivery of the items to the
facility. The form of this notification may be signs, letters to
suppliers, or other equivalent means.
    (b) Persons recovering refrigerant from a small appliance, MVAC, or
MVAC-like appliance for purposes of disposal of these appliances must
evacuate refrigerant to the levels in Sec.  82.156(b) or

(c) using recovery equipment that meets the standards in Sec.
82.158(e)-(g), as applicable.
    (c) Recordkeeping. Persons who take the final step in the disposal
process of a small appliance, MVAC, or MVAC-like appliance must keep a
copy of all the signed statements or contracts obtained under paragraph
(a)(2) of this section on site, in paper or electronic format, for at
least three years.
0
6. Revise Sec.  82.156 to read as follows:

Sec.  82.156  Proper evacuation of refrigerant from appliances.

    Until [ONE YEAR FROM PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL
REGISTER], this section applies only to proper evacuation of
refrigerant from appliances containing class I and class II
refrigerants. Starting on [ONE YEAR FROM PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN
THE FEDERAL REGISTER], this section applies to proper evacuation of
refrigerant from appliances containing any refrigerant as defined in
Sec.  82.152, except that the leak repair provisions in Sec.  82.157
apply in lieu of paragraph (i) of this section.
    (a) Appliances other than small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like
appliances. Before opening such appliances, or disposing of such
appliances, persons must evacuate the refrigerant, including all the
liquid refrigerant (except as provided in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this
section), to the levels in Table 1 using a recovery and/or recycling
machine certified pursuant to Sec.  82.158 unless the situations in
paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) apply. Persons may evacuate either the
entire appliance or the part to be serviced, if the refrigerant in the
part can be isolated to a system receiver. A technician must verify
that the applicable level of evacuation has been reached in the
appliance or the part before it is opened.
    (1) If evacuation of the appliance to the atmosphere is not to be
performed after completion of the maintenance, service, or repair, and
if the maintenance, service, or repair is not major as defined at Sec.
82.152, the appliance must:
    (i) Be evacuated to a pressure no higher than 0 psig before it is
opened if it is a medium-, high- or very high-pressure appliance;
    (ii) Be pressurized to a pressure no higher than 0 psig before it
is opened if it is a low-pressure appliance. Persons must cover
openings when isolation is not possible. Persons pressurizing low-
pressure appliances that use refrigerants with boiling points at or
below 85 degrees Fahrenheit at 29.9 inches of mercury (standard
atmospheric pressure), must not use methods such as nitrogen that
require subsequent purging. Persons pressurizing low-pressure
appliances that use refrigerants with boiling points above 85 degrees
Fahrenheit at 29.9 inches of mercury, must use heat to raise the
internal pressure of the appliance as much as possible, but may use
nitrogen to raise the internal pressure of the appliance from the level
attainable through use of heat to atmospheric pressure; or
    (iii) For the purposes of oil changes, be evacuated or pressurized
to a pressure no higher than 5 psig, before it is opened; or drain the
oil into a system receiver to be evacuated or pressurized to a pressure
no higher than 5 psig.
    (2) If leaks in the appliance make evacuation to the levels in
Table 1 unattainable or would substantially contaminate the refrigerant
being recovered, persons opening or disposing of the appliance must:
    (i) Isolate leaking from non-leaking components wherever possible;
    (ii) Evacuate non-leaking components to be opened or disposed of to
the levels specified in Table 1; and
    (iii) Evacuate leaking components to be opened or disposed of to
the lowest level that can be attained without substantially
contaminating the refrigerant. This level may not exceed 0 psig.
    (3) Recordkeeping. Persons evacuating refrigerant from appliances
with a full charge of more than 5 and less than 50 pounds of
refrigerant for purposes of disposal of that appliance must keep
records documenting the following for three years:
    (i) The company name, location of the equipment, date of recovery,
amount and type of refrigerant recovered for each appliance; and
    (ii) The quantity and type of refrigerant transferred for
reclamation and/or destruction, to whom it was transferred, and the
date of transfer.

                              Table 1--Required Levels of Evacuation for Appliances
                         [Except for small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Inches of Hg vacuum  (relative to standard atmospheric pressure of 29.9
                                                                       inches Hg)
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Type of appliance                                                   Using recovery and/or recycling
                                          Using recovery and/or recycling         equipment  manufactured or
                                             equipment  manufactured or       imported on or after November 15,
                                         imported before  November 15, 1993                  1993
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Very high-pressure appliance..........  0..................................  0
High-pressure appliance, or isolated    0..................................  0
 component of such appliance, with a
 full charge of less than 200 pounds
 of refrigerant.
High-pressure appliance, or isolated    4..................................  10
 component of such appliance, with a
 full charge of 200 pounds or more of
 refrigerant.
Medium-pressure appliance, or isolated  4..................................  10
 component of such appliance, with a
 full charge of less than 200 pounds
 of refrigerant.
Medium-pressure appliance, or isolated  4..................................  15
 component of such appliance, with a
 full charge of 200 pounds or more of
 refrigerant.
Low-pressure appliance................  25 mm Hg absolute..................  25 mm Hg absolute.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) Small appliances. Before opening a small appliance or when
disposing of a small appliance, persons must use a recovery and/or
recycling machine certified pursuant to Sec.  82.158 that meets the
following conditions:
    (1) When using recovery equipment manufactured before November 15,

1993, recover 80% of the refrigerant in the small appliance; or
    (2) When using recovery equipment manufactured on or after November
15, 1993, recover 90% of the refrigerant in the appliance when the
compressor in the appliance is functioning, or 80% of the refrigerant
in the appliance when the compressor in the appliance is not
functioning; or
    (3) Evacuate the appliance to four inches of mercury vacuum.
    (c) MVACs and MVAC-like appliances. Persons may only open MVAC and
MVAC-like appliances while properly using, as defined at Sec.
82.32(e), recovery and/or recycling equipment certified pursuant to
Sec.  82.158(f) or (g), as applicable. All persons recovering
refrigerant from MVACs and MVAC-like appliances for purposes of
disposal of these appliances must reduce the system pressure to or
below 102 mm of mercury vacuum.
    (d) System-dependent equipment may not be used with appliances with
a full charge of more than 15 pounds of refrigerant, unless the system-
dependent equipment is permanently attached to the appliance as a pump-
out unit.
    (e) Persons who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of only
appliances that they own and that contain pump-out units are exempt
from the requirement to use certified, self-contained recovery and/or
recycling equipment.
    (f) All recovery and/or recycling equipment must be used in
accordance with the manufacturer's directions unless such directions
conflict with the requirements of this subpart.
    (g) Refrigerant may be returned to the appliance from which it is
recovered or to another appliance owned by the same person without
being recycled or reclaimed, unless the appliance is an MVAC or MVAC-
like appliance.
    (h) [Reserved]
    (i) The provisions in this paragraph (i) of this section apply to
owners and operators of appliances containing more than 50 pounds of
class I and class II refrigerants only until [18 MONTHS FROM
PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. The appliance
maintenance and leak repair provisions in Sec.  82.157 apply as of [18
MONTHS FROM PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
* * * * *
0
7. Add Sec.  82.157 to Subpart F to read as follows:

Sec.  82.157  Appliance maintenance and leak repair.

    (a) Applicability. This section applies as of [18 MONTHS FROM
PUBLICATION OF A FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. This section
applies only to appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of
refrigerant. Unless otherwise specified, the requirements of this
section apply to the owner or operator of the appliance.
    (b) Leak Inspections. (1) Commercial refrigeration and industrial
process refrigeration equipment with a full charge of 500 or more
pounds of refrigerant must be inspected for leaks once every three
months.
    (i) Such equipment may be inspected once per year if no refrigerant
has been added in the past 365 days (excluding refrigerant added for
seasonal variances). The equipment may continue to be inspected once
per year if no refrigerant has been added in the past 365 days
(excluding refrigerant added for seasonal variances).
    (ii) If refrigerant is added to an appliance that is on an annual
leak inspection schedule under paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, the
appliance owner or operator must resume quarterly leak inspections.
    (2) Commercial refrigeration and industrial process refrigeration
equipment with a full charge of 50 or more pounds but less than 500
pounds of refrigerant must be inspected for leaks once per year.
    (3) Comfort cooling appliances or other appliances not covered by
paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of
refrigerant must be inspected for leaks once per year.
    (4) Quarterly or annual leak inspections as described in paragraphs
(b)(1)-(3) of this section are not required on appliances continuously
monitored by an automatic leak detection system that is audited and
calibrated annually. An automatic leak detection system may directly
detect refrigerant in air, monitor its surrounding in a manner other
than detecting refrigerant concentrations in air, or monitor conditions
of the appliance.
    (i) For systems that directly detect the presence of a refrigerant
in air, the system must:
    (A) Only be used on systems where the entire appliance or the
compressor, evaporator, condenser, or other component with a high
potential to leak is located inside an enclosed building or structure;
    (B) Have sensors or intakes placed so that they will continuously
monitor the refrigerant concentrations in air in proximity to the
compressor, evaporator, condenser, and other areas with a high
potential for a refrigerant leak;
    (C) Accurately detect a concentration level of 10 parts per million
of vapor of the specific refrigerant or refrigerants used in the
refrigeration appliance(s); and
    (D) Alert the owner or operator when a refrigerant concentration of
100 parts per million of vapor of the specific refrigerant or
refrigerants used in the refrigeration appliance(s) is reached.
    (ii) For a system that monitors its surrounding in a manner other
than detecting refrigerant concentrations in air or monitor conditions
of the appliance, the system must automatically alert the owner or
operator when measurements indicate a loss of 50 pounds of refrigerant
or 10 percent of the full charge, whichever is less.
    (5) Owners or operators of federally-owned appliances may submit a
request to EPA at the address specified in paragraph (m) of this
section to conduct leak inspections less frequently than described in
paragraphs (b)(1)-(3) of this section. The frequency of inspections
cannot be less than one inspection every three years. The request will
be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owner or operator of the
appliance within 60 days of receipt of the request that it has been
disapproved. Requests must include an alternate leak inspection
schedule and demonstrate that:
    (i) The appliance has a history of minimal leakage;
    (ii) The appliance is remotely located or is otherwise difficult to
access for routine maintenance; and
    (iii) Use of automatic leak detection equipment is not practical.
    (c) Leak Rate Calculation. Persons adding or removing refrigerant
from an appliance must, upon conclusion of that service, provide the
owner or operator with documentations that meets the requirements of
paragraph (l)(4) of this section. The leak rate must be calculated
every time refrigerant is added to an appliance unless the addition is
made immediately following a retrofit, installation of a new appliance,
or qualifies as a seasonal variance.
    (d) Requirement to Address Significant Leaks through Appliance
Repair, or Retrofitting or Retiring an Appliance. (1) Appliances with a
leak rate over the applicable leak rate in paragraph (d)(2) of this
section must be repaired in accordance with paragraphs (e)-(g) of this
section unless the owner elects to retrofit or retire the appliance in
compliance with paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section. If the owner or
operator elects to repair leaks, but fails to successfully comply with
paragraphs (e)-(g) of this section, the owner or

operator must create and implement a retrofit or retirement plan in
accordance with paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section.
    (2) Applicable Leak Rates: (i) 20 percent leak rate for commercial
refrigeration equipment;
    (ii) 20 percent leak rate for industrial process refrigeration
equipment; and
    (iii) 10 percent leak rate for comfort cooling appliances or other
appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of refrigerant not
covered by (2)(i) or (ii) of this subsection.
    (e) Appliance Repair. All leaks must be identified and repaired in
accordance with this paragraph within 30 days (or 120 days if an
industrial process shutdown is required) of an appliance exceeding the
applicable leak rate in paragraph (d) of this section.
    (1) A leak inspection must be conducted to identify the location of
leaks.
    (2) All identified leaks must be repaired such that there are no
longer any detectable leaks, as documented by an initial and follow-up
verification test or tests.
    (f) Verification tests. Initial and follow-up verification tests
are required on each identified leak required to be repaired in
paragraph (e) of this section.
    (1) Initial verification test. Unless granted additional time, an
initial verification test must be performed within 30 days (or 120 days
if an industrial process shutdown is required) of an appliance
exceeding the applicable leak rate in paragraph (d) of this section. An
initial verification test must demonstrate that all identified leaks on
the appliance are repaired.
    (i) For repairs that can be completed without the need to open or
evacuate the appliance, the test must be performed as soon as
practicable after the conclusion of the repair work and before any
additional refrigerant is added to the appliance.
    (ii) For repairs that require the evacuation of the appliance or
portion of the appliance, the test must be performed before adding any
refrigerant to the appliance.
    (iii) If the initial verification test indicates that the repairs
have not been successful, the owner or operator may conduct as many
additional repairs and initial verification tests as needed within the
applicable time period.
    (2) Follow-up verification test. A follow-up verification test must
be performed within 10 days of the successful initial verification test
or 10 days of the appliance reaching normal operating characteristics
and conditions (if appliance or isolated component was evacuated for
the repair(s)).
    (i) A follow-up verification test must demonstrate that all
identified leaks on the appliance are repaired. If the follow-up
verification test indicates that the repairs have not been successful,
the owner or operator may conduct as many additional repairs and
follow-up verification tests as needed within the applicable time
period.
    (ii) [Reserved].
    (g) Extensions to the appliance repair deadlines in paragraphs (e)-
(g) of this section. The timeframes in paragraphs (e)-(g) of this
section are temporarily suspended when an appliance is mothballed. The
time will resume on the day additional refrigerant is added to the
appliance (or component of an appliance if the leaking component was
isolated). Additionally, owners or operators may request more than 30
days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) to
comply with paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section if they meet the
requirements of (g)(1) through (g)(4) of this section. The request will
be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owners or operators
within 30 days of receipt of the request.
    (1) One or more of the following conditions applies:
    (i) The appliance is located in an area subject to radiological
contamination or shutting down the appliance will directly lead to
radiological contamination. Additional time is permitted to the extent
needed to conduct and finish repairs in a safe working environment.
    (ii) Requirements of other applicable Federal, state, or local
regulations make a repair within 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial
process shutdown is required) impossible. Additional time is permitted
to the extent needed to comply with the pertinent regulations.
    (iii) Necessary parts are unavailable. Additional time is permitted
up to 30 days after receiving delivery of the necessary parts, not to
exceed 180 days (or 270 days if an industrial process shutdown is
required) from the date the appliance exceeded the applicable leak
rate.
    (2) All repairs that do not require additional time must be
completed and verified within the initial 30 day repair period (or 120
day repair period if an industrial process shutdown is required);
    (3) The owner or operator must document all repair efforts and the
reason for the inability to make the repair within the initial 30 day
repair period (or 120 day repair period if an industrial process
shutdown is required); and
    (4) The owner or operator must request an extension from EPA at the
address specified in paragraph (m) of this section within 30 days (or
120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) of the
appliance exceeding the applicable leak rate in paragraph (d) of this
section. Requests must include: Identification and address of the
facility; the name of the owner or operator of the appliance; the leak
rate; the method used to determine the leak rate and full charge; the
date the appliance exceeded the applicable leak rate; the location of
leak(s) to the extent determined to date; any repair work that has been
performed thus far, including the date that work was completed; the
reasons why more than 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process
shutdown is required) are needed to complete the repair; and an
estimate of when the work will be completed. If the estimated
completion date is to be extended, a new estimated date of completion
and documentation of the reason for that change must be submitted to
EPA within 30 days. The owner or operator must keep a dated copy of
this submission.
    (h) Retrofit or retirement plans. The retrofit or retirement plan
must be signed by an authorized company official, dated, accessible at
the site of the appliance in paper copy or electronic format, and
available for EPA inspection upon request.
    (1) A retrofit or retirement plan must be created within 30 days
of:
    (i) discovering that an appliance is leaking above the applicable
leak rate in paragraph (d) of this section if the owner or operator
intends to retrofit or retire rather than repair the leak; or
    (ii) failing to comply with paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section.
    (2) A retrofit or retirement plan must, at a minimum, contain the
following information:
    (i) Identification and location of the appliance;
    (ii) Type and full charge of the refrigerant used in the appliance;
    (iii) Type and full charge of the refrigerant to which the
appliance will be converted, if retrofitted;
    (iv) Itemized procedure for converting the appliance to a different
refrigerant, including changes required for compatibility with the new
substitute, if retrofitted;
    (v) Plan for the disposition of recovered refrigerant;
    (vi) Plan for the disposition of the appliance, if retired; and
    (vii) A schedule, not to exceed one-year, for completion of the
appliance retrofit or retirement.
    (3) Unless granted additional time, all work performed in
accordance with the

plan must be finished within one year of the plan's date (not to exceed
13 months from when the plan was required in paragraph (h)(1) of this
section).
    (4) All identified leaks must be repaired as part of any retrofit
under such a plan.
    (i) Extensions to the one-year retrofit or retirement schedule. The
timeframes in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section are temporarily
suspended when an appliance is mothballed. The time will resume on the
day additional refrigerant is added to the appliance (or component of
an appliance if the leaking component was isolated). Additionally,
owners or operators may request more than one year to comply with
paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section if they meet the requirements of
this paragraph. The request will be considered approved unless EPA
notifies the owners or operators within 60 days of receipt of the
request. The request must be submitted to EPA at the address specified
in Sec.  82.157(m) within seven months of discovering the appliance
exceeded the applicable leak rate. The request must include the
identification of the appliance; name of the owner or operator; the
leak rate; the method used to determine the leak rate and full charge;
the date the appliance exceeded the applicable leak rate; the location
of leaks(s) to the extent determined to date; any repair work that has
been finished thus far, including the date that work was finished; a
plan to finish the retrofit or retirement of the appliance; the reasons
why more than one year is necessary to retrofit or retire the
appliance; the date of notification to EPA; and an estimate of when
retrofit or retirement work will be finished. A dated copy of the
request must be available on-site in either electronic or paper copy.
If the estimated completion date is to be revised, a new estimated date
of completion and documentation of the reason for that change must be
submitted to EPA at the address specified in Sec.  82.157(m) within 30
days.
    (1) Extensions available to any appliance. Owners or operators of
commercial refrigeration, industrial process refrigeration, comfort-
cooling, or other equipment are automatically allowed 18 months to
retire an appliance if the replacement uses a refrigerant exempt from
the venting prohibition in Sec.  82.154(a).
    (2) Extensions available to industrial process refrigeration.
Owners or operators of industrial process refrigeration equipment may
request additional time beyond the one-year period in paragraph (h) of
this section to finish the retrofit or retirement under the following
circumstances.
    (i) Requirements of other applicable Federal, state, or local
regulations make a retrofit or retirement within one year impossible.
Additional time is permitted to the extent needed to comply with the
pertinent regulations; or
    (ii) The new or the retrofitted equipment is custom-built as
defined in this subpart and the supplier of the appliance or one of its
components has quoted a delivery time of more than 30 weeks from when
the order is placed. The appliance or appliance components must be
installed within 120 days after receiving delivery of the necessary
parts.
    (3) Extensions available to Federally-owned equipment. Owners or
operators of Federally-owned commercial or comfort-cooling equipment
may request an additional year beyond the one-year period in paragraph
(h) of this section to finish the retrofit or retirement under the
following circumstances:
    (i) A delivery time of more than 30 weeks from the beginning of the
official procurement process is quoted due to complications presented
by the Federal agency appropriations and/or procurement process;
    (ii) The appliance is located in an area subject to radiological
contamination and creating a safe working environment will require more
than 30 weeks; or
    (iii) After receiving a one-year extension under subparagraphs
(i)(3)(i) or (ii) of this section, additional time is necessary to
finish the retrofit or retirement of equipment. The request must be
submitted to EPA before the end of the ninth month of the one-year
extension and must include the same information submitted for that one-
year extension, with any necessary revisions. A dated copy of the
request must be available on-site in either electronic or paper copy.
The request will be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owners
or operators within 60 days of receipt of the request.
    (j) Two-year leak limit. Appliances containing 50 pounds or more of
refrigerant are prohibited from leaking more than 75 percent of the
full charge in each of two consecutive twelve-month periods. Under
paragraph (c) of this section, the leak rate must be calculated every
time refrigerant is added to an appliance. By the end of the second
twelve-month period, appliances that exceed this limit must be retired
or mothballed until retired.
    (k) Purged refrigerant. In calculating annual leak rates, purged
refrigerant that is destroyed at a verifiable destruction efficiency of
98 percent or greater will not be counted toward the leak rate.
    (l) Recordkeeping. All records identified in this paragraph must be
kept for three years in electronic or paper format.
    (1) Owners or operators must keep records of leak inspections that
include the date of inspection, the method used to conduct the leak
inspection, a list of the location of each leak that was identified,
and a certification that all visible parts of the appliance were
inspected.
    (2) If using an automatic leak detection system, the owner or
operator must maintain records regarding the installation and the
annual audit and calibration of the system. They also must keep a
record of each date the monitoring system identified a leak and the
location of the leak.
    (3) Owners or operators must determine the full charge of all
appliances with 50 or more pounds of refrigerant (as defined in Sec.
82.152), and maintain the following information for each appliance:
    (i) The identification of the owner or operator of the appliance;
    (ii) The address where the appliance is located;
    (iii) The full charge of the appliance and the method for how the
full charge was determined;
    (iv) The range for the full charge of the appliance, its midpoint,
and how the range was determined (if using method 4, as defined in
Sec.  82.152, for determining full charge);
    (v) Any revisions of the full charge and how they were determined;
and
    (vi) The dates such revisions occurred.
    (4) Owners or operators are required to maintain a record including
the following information for each time an appliance with a full charge
of 50 or more pounds is maintained, serviced, repaired, or disposed of,
when applicable. If the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal is
done by someone other than the owner, that person must provide a record
containing the following information to the owner or operator, when
applicable:
    (i) The identity and location of the appliance;
    (ii) The date of the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal
performed;
    (iii) The part(s) of the appliance being serviced and for each
part, the type of maintenance, service, repair, or disposal performed;
    (iv) The name of the person performing the maintenance, service,
repair or disposal;
    (v) The amount and type of refrigerant added to or removed from the
appliance;

    (vi) The full charge of the appliance; and
    (vii) The leak rate and the method used to determine the leak rate
(not applicable when disposing of the appliance, following a retrofit,
installation of a new appliance, or if the refrigerant addition
qualifies as a seasonal variance).
    (5) Owners or operators must maintain records of the dates and
results of all initial and follow-up verification tests. Records must
include at minimum the location of the appliance, the date of the
verification test or tests, the location of all repaired leaks that
were tested, the type of verification test used, and the results of
those tests.
    (6) Owners or operators must maintain retrofit or retirement plans
developed in accordance with paragraph (h) of this section.
    (7) Owners or operators must maintain retrofit and/or extension
requests submitted to EPA in accordance with paragraph (i) of this
section.
    (8) Owners or operators that suspend the deadlines in this section
by mothballing an appliance must keep records documenting when the
appliance was mothballed and when additional refrigerant was added to
the appliance (or isolated component).
    (9) Owners or operators who exclude purged refrigerants that are
destroyed from annual leak rate calculations must maintain records to
support the amount of refrigerant claimed as sent for destruction.
Records must be based on a monitoring strategy that provides reliable
data to demonstrate that the amount of refrigerant claimed to have been
destroyed is not greater than the amount of refrigerant actually purged
and destroyed and that the 98 percent or greater destruction efficiency
is met. Records must include flow rate, quantity or concentration of
the refrigerant in the vent stream, and periods of purge flow. Records
must include:
    (i) the identification of the facility and a contact person,
including the address and telephone number;
    (ii) A description of the appliance, focusing on aspects relevant
to the purging of refrigerant and subsequent destruction;
    (iii) A description of the methods used to determine the quantity
of refrigerant sent for destruction and type of records that are being
kept by the owners or operators where the appliance is located;
    (iv) The frequency of monitoring and data-recording; and
    (v) A description of the control device, and its destruction
efficiency.
    (10) Owners or operators that exclude additions of refrigerant due
to seasonal variance from their leak rate calculation must maintain
records in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section.
    (11) Owners or operators that submit reports to EPA in accordance
with paragraph (m) of this section, must maintain copies of the
submitted reports and any responses from EPA.
    (12) Owners or operators of federally-owned appliances that request
an alternate leak inspection schedule in accordance with paragraph
(b)(5) of this section must maintain copies of the submitted requests
and all responses from EPA until three years after the less frequent
leak inspection schedule is no longer being followed.
    (m) Reporting. All notifications must be submitted electronically
to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>unless the notification contains confidential
business information. If the notification contains confidential
business information, the information should be submitted to: Section
608 Program Manager; Stratospheric Protection Division; Mail Code:
6205T; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW.; Washington, DC 20460.
    (1) Owners or operators must notify EPA at this address in
accordance with paragraph (b)(5) of this section when seeking an
alternate leak inspection schedule.
    (2) Owners or operators must notify EPA at this address in
accordance with paragraph (g) of this section when seeking an extension
of time to complete repairs.
    (3) Owners or operators must notify EPA at this address in
accordance with paragraph (i) of this section when seeking an extension
of time to complete the retrofit or retirement of an appliance.
    (4) When excluding purged refrigerants that are destroyed from
annual leak rate calculations, owners or operators must notify EPA at
this address within 60 days after the first time the exclusion is used
by the facility where the appliance is located. The report must include
the information included in paragraph (l)(9) of this section.
0
8. Revise Sec.  82.158 to read as follows:

Sec.  82.158  Standards for recovery and/or recycling equipment.

    (a) No person may manufacture or import recovery and/or recycling
equipment for use during the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal
of appliances unless the equipment is certified in accordance with this
section.
    (b) No person may alter the design of certified refrigerant
recovery and/or recycling equipment in a way that would affect the
equipment's ability to meet the certification standards in this section
without resubmitting the altered design for certification testing.
Until it is tested and shown to meet the certification standards in
this section, equipment so altered will be considered uncertified.
    (c) Recovery and/or recycling equipment manufactured or imported
before November 15, 1993, intended for use during the maintenance,
service, repair, or disposal of appliances (except small appliances,
MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances) will be considered certified if it is
capable of achieving the level of evacuation specified in Table 2 of
this section when tested using a properly calibrated pressure gauge.
    (d) Manufacturers and importers of recovery and/or recycling
equipment must have such equipment certified by an approved equipment
testing organization as follows:
    (1) Recovery and/or recycling equipment manufactured or imported on
or after November 15, 1993, and before September 22, 2003, intended for
use during the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of appliances
(except small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances) must be
certified by an approved equipment testing organization as being
capable of achieving the level of evacuation specified in Table 2 of
this section under the conditions of appendix B1 of this subpart (based
upon the ARI Standard 740-1993, Performance of Refrigerant Recovery,
Recycling and/or Reclaim Equipment).
    (2) Recovery and/or recycling equipment manufactured or imported on
or after September 22, 2003, and before January 1, 2017, intended for
use during the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of appliances
(except small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances) must be
certified by an approved equipment testing organization as being
capable of achieving the level of evacuation specified in Table 2 of
this section under the conditions of appendix B2 of this subpart (based
upon the ARI Standard 740-1995, Performance of Refrigerant Recovery,
Recycling and/or Reclaim Equipment).
    (3) Recovery and/or recycling equipment manufactured or imported on
or after January 1, 2017, intended for use during the maintenance,
service, repair, or disposal of appliances (except small appliances,
MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances) must be certified by an approved
equipment testing

organization as being capable of achieving the level of evacuation
specified in Table 2 of this section under the conditions of appendix
B3 (for non-flammable refrigerants) or appendix B4 (for flammable
refrigerants) of this subpart.

 Table 2--Levels of Evacuation Which Must Be Achieved by Recovery and/or
                           Recycling Equipment
     [Except for small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Inches of Hg vacuum (relative to
                                   standard atmospheric pressure of 29.9
                                                inches Hg)
  Type of appliance with which   ---------------------------------------
    recovery and/or recycling                           Manufactured or
 machine is intended to be used     Manufactured or     imported on or
                                    imported before   after November 15,
                                   November 15, 1993         1993
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HCFC-22 appliances, or isolated   0.................  0
 component of such appliances,
 with a full charge of less than
 200 pounds of refrigerant.
HCFC-22 appliances, or isolated   4.................  10
 component of such appliances,
 with a full charge of 200
 pounds or more of refrigerant.
Very high-pressure appliances...  0.................  0
Other high-pressure appliances,   4.................  10
 or isolated component of such
 appliances, with a full charge
 of less than 200 pounds of
 refrigerant.
Other high-pressure appliances,   4.................  15
 or isolated component of such
 appliances, with a full charge
 of 200 pounds or more of
 refrigerant.
Medium-pressure appliances, or    4.................  10
 isolated component of such
 appliances, with a full charge
 of less than 200 pounds of
 refrigerant.
Medium-pressure appliances, or    4.................  15
 isolated component of such
 appliances, with a full charge
 of 200 pounds or more of
 refrigerant.
Low-pressure appliances.........  25 mm Hg absolute.  25 mm Hg absolute.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (4) Recovery and/or recycling equipment whose recovery efficiency
cannot be tested according to the procedures in appendix B1, B2, B3, or
B4 of this subpart as applicable may be certified if an approved third-
party testing organization adopts and performs a test that
demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Administrator, that the
recovery efficiency of that equipment is equal to or better than that
of equipment that:
    (i) Is intended for use with the same type of appliance; and
    (ii) Achieves the level of evacuation in Table 2. The
manufacturer's instructions must specify how to achieve the required
recovery efficiency, and the equipment must be tested when used
according to these instructions.
    (5) The equipment must meet the minimum requirements for
certification under appendix B1, B2, B3, or B4 of this subpart as
applicable.
    (6) If the equipment is equipped with a noncondensables purge
device, the equipment must not release more than 3 percent of the
quantity of refrigerant being recycled through noncondensables purging
under the conditions of appendix B1, B2, B3, or B4 of this subpart as
applicable.
    (7) The equipment must be equipped with low-loss fittings on all
hoses.
    (8) The equipment must have its liquid recovery rate and its vapor
recovery rate measured under the conditions of appendix B1, B2, B3, or
B4 as applicable, unless the equipment has no inherent liquid or vapor
recovery rate.
    (e) Small Appliances. Equipment used during the maintenance,
service, repair, or disposal of small appliances must be certified by
an approved equipment testing organization to be capable of recovering
90% of the refrigerant in the test stand when the compressor of the
test stand is operational and 80% of the refrigerant when the
compressor of the test stand is not operational, when used in
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions under the conditions of
appendix C, Method for Testing Recovery Devices for Use with Small
Appliances.
    (1) Equipment manufactured or imported before November 15, 1993,
will be considered certified if it is capable of either recovering 80%
of the refrigerant in the system, whether or not the compressor of the
test stand is operational, or achieving a four-inch vacuum when tested
using a properly calibrated pressure gauge.
    (2) Equipment manufactured or imported on or after November 15,
1993, may also be certified if it is capable of achieving a four-inch
vacuum under the conditions of appendix B1 of this subpart, based upon
ARI Standard 740-1993.
    (3) Equipment manufactured or imported on or after September 22,
2003, and before January 1, 2017, may also be certified if it is
capable of achieving a four-inch vacuum under the conditions of
appendix B2 of this subpart, based upon ARI Standard 740-1995.
    (4) Equipment manufactured or imported on or after January 1, 2017,
may also be certified if it is capable of achieving a four-inch vacuum
under the conditions of appendix B3 (for non-flammable refrigerants) or
appendix B4 (for flammable refrigerants) of this subpart.
    (5) Equipment used to evacuate refrigerant from small appliances
before they are disposed of may also be certified if it is capable of
achieving a four-inch vacuum when tested using a properly calibrated
pressure gauge.
    (f) MVAC-like appliances. (1) Manufacturers and importers of
recovery and/or recycling equipment intended for use during the
maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of MVAC-like appliances must
certify such equipment in accordance with Sec.  82.36(a).
    (2) Equipment manufactured or imported before November 15, 1993,
intended for use during the maintenance, service, or repair of MVAC-
like appliances must be capable of reducing the system pressure to 102
mm of mercury vacuum under the conditions of the SAE Standard, SAE
J1990 (appendix A to 40 CFR part 82, subpart B).
    (g) MVACs. Equipment used to evacuate refrigerant from MVACs before
they are disposed of must be certified in accordance with Sec.
82.36(a).
    (h) Labeling. Manufacturers and importers of equipment certified
under paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section must place a label on each
piece of equipment stating the following:
    THIS EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN CERTIFIED BY [APPROVED EQUIPMENT TESTING
ORGANIZATION] TO MEET EPA's

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR RECYCLING OR RECOVERY EQUIPMENT INTENDED FOR
USE WITH [APPROPRIATE CATEGORY OF APPLIANCE].
    The label must also show the date of manufacture and the serial
number (if applicable) of the equipment. The label must be affixed in a
readily visible or accessible location, be made of a material expected
to last the lifetime of the equipment, present required information in
a way that it is likely to remain legible for the lifetime of the
equipment, and be affixed in such a way that it cannot be removed from
the equipment without damage to the label.
    (i) Retesting. At least once every three years, manufacturers or
importers of recovery and/or recycling equipment intended for use
during the maintenance, service, or repair of appliances (except MVACs
or MVAC-like appliances) or during the disposal of appliances (except
small appliances, MVACs, and MVAC-like appliances) must have approved
equipment testing organizations conduct either:
    (1) Retests of certified recovery and/or recycling equipment in
accordance with paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section; or
    (2) Inspections of recovery and/or recycling equipment at
manufacturing facilities to ensure that each equipment model line that
has been certified under this section continues to meet the
certification criteria.
    (j) Revocation. An equipment model line that has been certified
under this section may have its certification revoked if it is
subsequently determined to fail to meet the certification criteria. In
such cases, the Administrator must give notice to the manufacturer or
importer setting forth the basis for the determination.
    (k) Equipment that is advertised or marketed as ``recycling
equipment'' must be capable of recycling the standard contaminated
refrigerant sample of appendix B2, B3, or B4 of this subpart (as
applicable) to the levels in the following table when tested under the
conditions of appendix B2, B3 or B4 of this subpart:

       Maximum Levels of Contaminants Permissible in Refrigerant Processed Through Equipment Advertised as
                                             ``Recycling'' Equipment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Low-pressure (R-11, R-123,
            Contaminants                    R-113) systems             R-12 Systems          All other systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acid Content (by wt.)..............  1.0 PPM....................  1.0 PPM...............  1.0 PPM.