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Home » 2023 Issues » 88 FR (10/19/2023) » 2023-22163. Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Notice of 2024 Allowance Allocations for Production and Consumption of Regulated Substances Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, and Notice of Final Administrative Consequences

  2023-22163. Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Notice of 2024 Allowance Allocations for Production and Consumption of Regulated Substances Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, and Notice of Final Administrative Consequences  

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    AGENCY:

    Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

    ACTION:

    Notice.

    SUMMARY:

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued calendar year 2024 allowances for the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons in accordance with the Agency's regulations. This issuance of allowances is undertaken pursuant to the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which directs the Environmental Protection Agency by October 1 of each calendar year to determine the quantity of production and consumption allowances for the following calendar year. In this notice, the Agency is also providing notice of separate Agency actions finalizing administrative consequences for certain entities. These administrative consequences were applied to withhold, retire, and revoke entities' remaining calendar year 2023 and newly issued calendar year 2024 allowances in accordance with the administrative consequence regulatory provisions.

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    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    Andy Chang, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection Division, telephone number: 202–564–6658; email address: chang.andy@epa.gov. You may also visit EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/​climate-hfcs-reduction for further information.

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    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Subsection (e)(2)(D)(i) of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act) directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine, by October 1 of each calendar year, the quantity of allowances for the production and consumption of regulated substances that may be used for the following calendar year. EPA has codified the production and consumption baselines and phasedown schedules for regulated substances in 40 CFR 84.7. Under the phasedown schedule, for 2024, total production allowances may not exceed 229,521,263 metric tons of exchange value equivalent (MTEVe) and total consumption allowances may not exceed 181,522,990 MTEVe.

    EPA regulations at 40 CFR part 84, subpart A, outline the process by which the Agency determines the number of allowances each entity is allocated. EPA allocated allowances consistent with this process for calendar year 2024, and has posted entity-specific allowance allocations on its website at https://www.epa.gov/​climate-hfcs-reduction. An allowance allocated under the AIM Act does not constitute a property right and is a limited authorization for the production or consumption of a regulated substance.

    Note that while allowances may be transferred or conferred once they are allocated, they can only be expended to cover imports and production in the calendar year for which they are allocated. In other words, calendar year 2024 allowances may only be expended for production and import of bulk HFCs between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024.

    Application-Specific Allowances

    EPA established the methodology for issuing application-specific allowances in the 2021 final rule titled Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Establishing the Allowance Allocation and Trading Program Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (86 FR 55116) and codified the methodology for issuing allowance allocations in 40 CFR 84.13. Because application-specific allowances can be expended to either produce or import HFCs, and application-specific allowances must be provided from within the overall annual production and consumption caps, EPA subtracts the amount of application-specific allowances allocated from both the production and consumption general allowance pools. EPA issues application-specific allowances to end users in five applications established by the AIM Act: propellants in metered dose inhalers (MDIs), defense sprays, structural composite preformed polyurethane foam for marine use and trailer use, etching of semiconductor material or wafers and the cleaning of chemical vapor deposition chambers within the semiconductor manufacturing sector, and onboard aerospace fire suppression. Additionally, EPA issues application-specific allowances to the U.S. Department of Defense for mission-critical military end uses.

    EPA's 2023 final rule titled Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Allowance Allocation Methodology for 2024 and Later Years (88 FR 46836), updated the methodology for how the Agency would issue production and consumption allowances for 2024 through 2028. These updates are codified in 40 CFR 84.9 (production) and 40 CFR 84.11 (consumption), and EPA is issuing allowances to entities who meet the criteria in the regulations, including those who were previously issued consumption allowances as new market entrants pursuant to 40 CFR 84.15.

    EPA's final calculations for allocation of allowances for each entity on September 29, 2023, follows below. EPA followed the methodology from the applicable regulations in determining allocations, i.e.,40 CFR 84.13 for application-specific allowances, 40 CFR 84.9 for production allowances, and 40 CFR 84.11 for consumption allowances.

    Applying the methodology codified in 40 CFR 84.13, EPA allocated the number of application-specific allowances shown in Table 1. Start Printed Page 72061

    Table 1—Number of Calendar Year 2024 Application-Specific Allowances Allocated per Entity

    EntityApplicationApplication- specific allowances (MTEVe) allocated
    Analog devicesSemiconductors18,130.0
    Applied MaterialsSemiconductors10,666.7
    Armstrong PharmaceuticalsPropellants in MDIs230,001.2
    ASML USSemiconductors1,033.8
    AstraZeneca PharmaceuticalsPropellants in MDIs3,848.9
    Aurobindo Pharma USAPropellants in MDIs28,316.9
    BroadcomSemiconductors213.1
    CompsysStructural Composite Preformed Polyurethane Foam19,928.6
    Defense TechnologyDefense Sprays1,537.4
    Diodes IncorporatedSemiconductors2,584.5
    General ElectricSemiconductors73.9
    GlaxoSmithKlinePropellants in MDIs523,906.9
    GlobalFoundriesSemiconductors152,916.2
    Guardian Protective DevicesDefense Sprays7,467.0
    Hitachi High-Tech AmericaSemiconductors537.9
    IBM CorporationSemiconductors369.4
    Intel CorporationSemiconductors597,502.0
    Invagen PharmaceuticalsPropellants in MDIs156,427.2
    Jireh SemiconductorSemiconductors1,600.2
    Keysight TechnologiesSemiconductors537.7
    Kindeva Drug DeliveryPropellants in MDIs335,693.4
    LA SemiconductorSemiconductors2,584.5
    Lam Research CorpSemiconductors182,210.4
    LupinPropellants in MDIs21,415.7
    Medtronic Tempe CampusSemiconductors457.1
    Microchip TechnologySemiconductors43,757.2
    Micron TechnologySemiconductors40,557.8
    Newport Fab DBA TowerJazzSemiconductors6,414.4
    Northrop Grumman CorporationSemiconductors2,116.0
    NXP SemiconductorSemiconductors72,169.2
    Odin PharmaceuticalsPropellants in MDIs1,075.7
    Polar SemiconductorSemiconductors11,718.5
    Proteng DistributionOnboard Aerospace Fire Suppression6,723.4
    Qorvo TexasSemiconductors1,065.3
    Raytheon TechnologiesOnboard Aerospace Fire Suppression1,535.4
    Renesas Electronics AmericaSemiconductors1,065.3
    Samsung Austin SemiconductorSemiconductors334,439.8
    Security Equipment CorporationDefense Sprays53,652.3
    Semiconductor Components Industries DBA ON SemiconductorSemiconductors19,001.0
    SkyWater TechnologySemiconductors18,718.8
    Skyworks SolutionsSemiconductors536.8
    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Arizona Corporation (TSMC Arizona Corporation)Semiconductors34,250.1
    Texas InstrumentsSemiconductors193,836.7
    The Research Foundation for The State University of New York OBO SUNY Polytechnic InstituteSemiconductors1,034.4
    Tokyo Electron AmericaSemiconductors558.8
    Tower Semiconductor San AntonioSemiconductors8,502.2
    UDAP IndustriesDefense Sprays37,629.1
    Wabash National CorporationStructural Composite Preformed Polyurethane Foam66,340.0
    WaferTechSemiconductors18,103.3
    WolfspeedSemiconductors48,648.1
    X–FAB TexasSemiconductors2,432.6
    Department of DefenseMission-critical Military End Uses2,511,081.5
    Total IssuedAll5,836,924.3

    EPA has denied requests for application-specific allowances from Apple Inc. and Zarc International, Inc. because they are ineligible under 40 CFR 84.13. The requests were ineligible for at least one of the following reasons:

    (1) Did not report purchases of regulated substances in the past three years; or

    (2) Failed to submit a request by the deadline.

    General Pool Allowances for Production

    Applying the methodology codified in 40 CFR 84.9, EPA allocated the number of production allowances shown in Table 2. Start Printed Page 72062

    Table 2—Number of Calendar Year 2024 Production Allowances Allocated per Entity

    EntityProduction allowances allocated (MTEVe)
    Application-specific allowancesa  5,836,924.3
    Arkema26,990,669.0
    Chemours50,038,369.2
    Honeywell International113,275,864.9
    Iofina Chemical1,160.9
    Mexichem Fluor DBA Koura33,378,274.7
    Total Issued229,521,263.0
    a  See Table 1; this value corresponds to the total number of application-specific allowances allocated.

    General Pool Allowances for Consumption

    Applying the methodology codified in 40 CFR 84.11, EPA allocated the number of consumption allowances shown in Table 3.

    Table 3—Number of Calendar Year 2024 Consumption Allowances Allocated per Entity

    EntityConsumption allowances allocated (MTEVe)
    Application-specific allowancesa  5,836,924.3
    A.C.S. Reclamation & Recovery (Absolute Chiller Services)128,987.8
    Ability Refrigerants128,987.8
    ACT Commodities50.4
    Advance Auto Parts461,215.3
    Advanced Specialty Gases184,102.8
    AFK & Co124,689.8
    AFS Cooling128,987.8
    A-Gas2,199,784.7
    Air Liquide USA321,682.9
    AllCool Refrigerant Reclaim128,987.8
    American Air Components128,987.8
    Arkema20,051,844.9
    Artsen663,053.3
    Automart Distributors DBA Refrigerant Plus128,987.8
    AutoZone Parts1,304,000.7
    AW Product Sales & Marketing77,991.8
    Bluon21,590.6
    CC Packaging125,118.2
    Chemours22,115,332.4
    Chemp Technology128,987.8
    ChemPenn14,336.2
    ComStar International232,510.8
    Creative Solution128,987.8
    Cross World Group128,987.8
    Daikin America2,013,820.3
    EDX Industry370,884.7
    Electronic Fluorocarbons67,293.9
    Fireside Holdings DBA American Refrigerants128,973.9
    First Continental International496,747.8
    FluoroFusion Specialty Chemicals1,647,053.3
    Freskoa USA128,987.8
    GlaxoSmithKline347,339.2
    Golden Refrigerant128,987.8
    Harp USA493,996.4
    Honeywell International53,136,510.9
    Hudson Technologies1,928,081.5
    Hungry Bear128,987.8
    ICool USA2,198,406.6
    IGas Holdings16,846,810.7
    Iofina Chemical817.1
    Kidde-Fenwal128,987.8
    Lenz Sales & Distribution716,447.4
    Lina Trade128,987.8
    Linde343,607.9
    Matheson Tri-Gas22,015.7
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    MEK Chemical Corporation53,572.5
    Meraki Group128,987.8
    Metalcraft103,835.2
    Mexichem Fluor DBA Koura16,441,211.7
    Mondy Global205,649.7
    National Refrigerants12,780,590.6
    Nature Gas Import and Export528,873.0
    North American Refrigerants128,987.8
    O23 Energy Plus128,987.8
    Perfect Score Too DBA Perfect Cycle24,427.9
    Reclamation Technologies256,685.4
    Resonac America (formerly Showa Chemicals of America)42,851.2
    RGAS (formerly listed as Combs Gas)2,951,990.2
    RMS of Georgia1,063,455.0
    Sciarra Laboratories5,604.6
    SDS Refrigerant Services128,987.8
    Solvay Fluorides711,375.5
    Summit Refrigerants128,987.8
    SynAgile Corporation725.8
    Technical Chemical2,203,622.1
    TradeQuim128,987.8
    Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling11.0
    Tulstar Products473,694.4
    Tyco Fire Products128,987.8
    USA United Suppliers of America DBA USA Refrigerants273,401.8
    USSC Acquisition Corp84,777.8
    Walmart1,471,574.6
    Waysmos USA361,839.8
    Wego Chemical Group36,492.6
    Weitron4,089,895.7
    Wesco HMB128,987.8
    Wilhelmsen Ships Service26,063.9
    Total Issued181,522,990.0
    a See Table 1; this value corresponds to the total number of application-specific allowances allocated.

    Administrative Consequences

    Separate from the allocation of calendar year 2024 allowances, EPA also took administrative consequences against certain entities. Each administrative consequence is an independent stand-alone action, but for administrative efficiency EPA is providing notice of these independent actions through this notice as well. The requirements surrounding administrative consequences are codified in 40 CFR 84.35. Using this authority, EPA can retire, revoke, or withhold the allocation of allowances, or ban an entity from receiving, transferring, or conferring allowances. A retired allowance is one that must go unused and expire at the end of the year; a revoked allowance is one that EPA takes back from an allowance holder and redistributes to all the other allowance holders; and a withheld allowance is one that is retained by the Agency until an allowance holder that has failed to meet a regulatory requirement comes back into compliance, at which point EPA allocates it to the allowance holder. A withheld allowance could become a revoked allowance if the allowance holder fails to meet the regulatory requirement at issue within the timeframe specified by EPA.[1] More information on EPA's approach to administrative consequences can be found at 86 FR 55168.

    EPA finalized administrative consequences for certain entities that were allocated consumption allowances, listed in Table 3 for calendar year 2024, effective concurrently with the issuance of calendar year 2024 allowances. Specifically, the following entities failed to submit complete HFC reports as required in 40 CFR 84.31 and therefore EPA has withheld a portion of their consumption allowances until the missing reports are filed and verified by EPA: Air Liquide USA; Creative Solution; and Matheson Tri-gas, Inc.

    The following entities imported regulated HFCs without expending the requisite number of consumption allowances at the time of import and therefore EPA has retired and/or revoked consumption allowances commensurate with the quantities of regulated substances imported without allowances: American Air Components; AFK & Co.; Artsen; Bluon, Inc.; Electronic Fluorocarbons; Fluorofusion Specialty Chemicals; and Resonac America, Inc. Lastly, Honeywell International produced and imported regulated substances without expending the requisite number of consumption allowances at the time of production or import.

    In some of these cases, EPA finalized administrative consequences that totaled more than was allocated to an entity. For example, American Air Components, Bluon, Inc., and Resonac America, Inc. imported regulated HFCs without the necessary allowances at the time of import in such quantities that exceed their initial allocation of calendar year 2024 allowances. With Start Printed Page 72064 respect to one entity, the Agency decided to apply the administrative consequence across multiple years. EPA made this determination given the size of the administrative consequence and as a result of considerations related to the step reduction in 2024 and implications for the market as a whole regarding access to chemicals that are anticipated to be impacted by EPA HFC regulations. A summary of these administrative consequences is included in Table 4.

    Table 4—Summary of Administrative Consequences Effective on September 29, 2023, Pursuant to 40 CFR 84.35

    EntityNumber of affected allowances (MTEVe)Applicable year(s)Administrative consequence actionReasoning
    American Air Components208,516.5 a  104,258.32024 and future years as needed 2025 and future years as neededRetire Revoke.Imported regulated HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances; Will retire and revoke allowances until the full administrative consequence is covered.
    AFK & Co5,701.9 a  2,851.02024 2024Retire Revoke.Imported regulated HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances.
    Artsen346.7 a  173.42024 2024Retire Revoke.Imported regulated HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances.
    Bluon575,800.7 a  288,855.82024 and future years as needed As early as 2025 and future years as neededRetire Revoke.Imported regulated HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances; Will retire and revoke allowances until the full administrative consequence is covered.
    Electronic Fluorocarbons64,931.9 a  32,466.02023 2024Retire Revoke.Imported regulated HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances.
    Fluorofusion Specialty Chemicalsa  5,505.22024RevokeImported regulated HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances.
    Resonac America200,070.5 a  100,035.32024 and future years as needed As early as 2025 and future years as neededRetire Revoke.Imported regulated HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances; Will retire and revoke allowances until the full administrative consequence is covered.
    Honeywell Internationala  231,334.0 a  462,668.1 a  925,336.2 a  1,388,004.3 a  1,619,338.42024 2025 2026 2027 2028Revoke Revoke. Revoke. Revoke. Revoke.Produced and imported HFCs without expending requisite number of allowances; b Will spread the administrative consequence over five years.
    Air Liquide USA64,336.62024WithholdFailure to submit complete HFC reports as required in 40 CFR 84.31.
    Creative Solution25,797.62024WithholdFailure to submit complete HFC reports as required in 40 CFR 84.31.
    Matheson Tri-Gas4,403.12024WithholdFailure to submit complete HFC reports as required in 40 CFR 84.31.
    a  As stated in the HFC Allocation Framework Rule (86 FR 55116), EPA explained it would take a 50% premium in first instances of administrative consequences. These values correspond to 50% of the full amount of consumption without requisite allowances at the time of production and/or import.
    b  EPA only finalized administrative consequences for Honeywell International that affect the company's consumption allowances, since the company did not produce regulated substances in a quantity that exceeded the quantity of available production allowances that it had in its possession.

    The allowance adjustments by way of withholding, retiring, and/or revoking a portion of entities' calendar year 2024 allowances effective September 29, 2023, are reflected below in Table 5.

    Table 5—Calendar Year 2024 Allowances Adjusted Through Administrative Consequences Effective September 29, 2023

    EntityNumber of withheld consumption allowances (MTEVe)Number of retired consumption allowances (MTEVe)Number of revoked consumption allowances (MTEVe)
    Air Liquide USA64,336.6
    Creative Solution25,797.6
    Matheson Tri-Gas4,403.1
    Electronic Fluorocarbons32,466.0
    Honeywell International231,334.0
    AFK & Co5,701.92,851.0
    American Air Components128,987.8
    Artsen346.7173.4
    Bluon21,590.6
    Fluorofusion Specialty Chemicals5,505.2
    Resonac America42,851.2
    Start Printed Page 72065

    Adjustments to Consumption Allowances

    EPA notes that entities in Table 4 who either imported or produced (or both) without expending the requisite number of consumption allowances at the time of production or import were not eligible to receive allowances that were redistributed as a result of allowances revoked for calendar year 2024. Further, an entity is not eligible to receive redistributed allowances if they were subject to administrative consequences that resulted in the revocation of allowances that contributed to the overall total of allowances being redistributed at the time. For example, if EPA revoked 50 MTEVe allowances from company A and 50 MTEVe allowances from company B, effective on the same day, EPA's redistribution of that single pool of 100 MTEVe allowances would go to all general pool allowances holders except company A and company B. This applies regardless of whether the revocation happens in one year or over multiple years. However, entities who only had allowances withheld by the Agency as a result of failure to comply with certain HFC reporting requirements as contained in 40 CFR 84.31 were eligible to receive allowances that were redistributed as a result of allowances revoked for calendar year 2024. For 2024, the total number of revoked and redistributed allowances is 272,329.6 MTEVe, which are being apportioned to eligible consumption allowance holders based on their relative market share, and the total number of retired allowances in 2024 is 199,478.2 MTEVe.

    Table 6 reflects consumption allowance totals available to each entity as of September 29, 2023, after taking into account the administrative consequences shown in Table 5.

    Table 6—Total Number of Calendar Year 2024 Consumption Allowances Available to Each Entity as of September 29, 2023, Adjusted for Administrative Consequences

    EntityAvailable consumption allowances, adjusted for administrative consequences (MTEVe)
    Application-specific allowancesa  5,836,924.3
    A.C.S. Reclamation & Recovery (Absolute Chiller Services)129,280.9
    Ability Refrigerants129,280.9
    ACT Commodities50.5
    Advance Auto Parts462,263.3
    Advanced Specialty Gases184,521.1
    AFK & Co.116,136.9
    AFS Cooling129,280.9
    A-Gas2,204,783.0
    Air Liquide USA258,077.2
    AllCool Refrigerant Reclaim129,280.9
    American Air Components0.0
    Arkema20,097,406.2
    Artsen662,533.2
    Automart Distributors DBA Refrigerant Plus129,280.9
    AutoZone Parts1,306,963.6
    AW Product Sales & Marketing78,169.0
    Bluon0.0
    CC Packaging125,402.5
    Chemours22,165,582.4
    Chemp Technology129,280.9
    ChemPenn14,368.8
    ComStar International233,039.1
    Creative Solution103,483.3
    Cross World Group129,280.9
    Daikin America2,018,396.1
    EDX Industry371,727.4
    Electronic Fluorocarbons34,827.9
    Fireside Holdings DBA American Refrigerants129,266.9
    First Continental International497,876.5
    FluoroFusion Specialty Chemicals1,641,548.1
    Freskoa USA129,280.9
    GlaxoSmithKline348,128.4
    Golden Refrigerant129,280.9
    Harp USA495,118.8
    Honeywell International52,905,176.9
    Hudson Technologies1,932,462.4
    Hungry Bear129,280.9
    ICool USA2,203,401.8
    IGas Holdings16,885,089.6
    Iofina Chemical819.0
    Kidde-Fenwal129,280.9
    Lenz Sales & Distribution718,075.3
    Lina Trade129,280.9
    Linde344,388.6
    Matheson Tri-Gas17,662.6
    MEK Chemical Corporation53,694.2
    Meraki Group129,280.9
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    Metalcraft104,071.1
    Mexichem Fluor DBA Koura16,478,569.0
    Mondy Global206,117.0
    National Refrigerants12,809,630.4
    Nature Gas Import and Export530,074.7
    North American Refrigerants129,280.9
    O23 Energy Plus129,280.9
    Perfect Score Too DBA Perfect Cycle24,483.4
    Reclamation Technologies257,268.6
    Resonac America (formerly Showa Chemicals of America)0.0
    RGAS (formerly listed as Combs Gas)2,958,697.6
    RMS of Georgia1,065,871.4
    Sciarra Laboratories5,617.3
    SDS Refrigerant Services129,280.9
    Solvay Fluorides712,991.9
    Summit Refrigerants129,280.9
    SynAgile Corporation727.4
    Technical Chemical2,208,629.1
    TradeQuim129,280.9
    Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling11.0
    Tulstar Products474,770.7
    Tyco Fire Products129,280.9
    USA United Suppliers of America DBA USA Refrigerants274,023.0
    USSC Acquisition Corp84,970.4
    Walmart1,474,918.3
    Waysmos USA362,662.0
    Wego Chemical Group36,575.5
    Weitron4,099,188.7
    Wesco HMB129,280.9
    Wilhelmsen Ships Service26,123.1
    Total Available181,228,974.5

    Judicial Review

    The AIM Act provides that certain sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA) “shall apply to” the AIM Act and actions “promulgated by the Administrator of [EPA] pursuant to [the AIM Act] as though [the AIM Act] were expressly included in title VI of [the CAA].” 42 U.S.C. 7675(k)(1)(C). Among the applicable sections of the CAA is section 307, which includes provisions on judicial review. Section 307(b)(1) provides, in part, that petitions for review must only be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: (i) When the agency action consists of “nationally applicable regulations promulgated, or final actions taken, by the Administrator,” or (ii) when such action is locally or regionally applicable, but “such action is based on a determination of nationwide scope or effect and if in taking such action the Administrator finds and publishes that such action is based on such a determination.” For locally or regionally applicable final actions, the CAA reserves to the EPA complete discretion whether to invoke the exception in (ii).

    The issuance of calendar year 2024 allowances for the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons herein noticed is “nationally applicable” within the meaning of CAA section 307(b)(1). The AIM Act imposes a national cap on the total number of allowances available for each year for all entities nationwide. 42 U.S.C. 7675(e)(2)(B)–(D). For 2024, there was a national pool of 229,521,263 production allowances and 181,522,990 consumption allowances available to distribute. The allocation action noticed herein distributed that finite set of allowances consistent with the methodology EPA established in the nationally applicable framework rule. As such, the allowance allocation is the division and assignment of a single, nationwide pool of HFC allowances to entities across the country according to the uniform, national methodology established in EPA's regulations. Each entity's allowance allocation is a relative share of that pool; thus, any additional allowances awarded to one entity directly affects the allocations to others.

    In the alternative, to the extent a court finds the final action to be locally or regionally applicable, the Administrator is exercising the complete discretion afforded to him under the CAA to make and publish a finding that the allocation action is based on a determination of “nationwide scope or effect” within the meaning of CAA section 307(b)(1).[2] In deciding to invoke this exception, the Administrator has taken into account a number of policy considerations, including his judgment regarding the benefit of obtaining the D.C. Circuit's authoritative centralized review, rather than allowing development of the issue in other contexts, in order to ensure consistency in the Agency's approach to Start Printed Page 72067 allocation of allowances in accordance with EPA's national regulations in 40 CFR part 84. The final action treats all affected entities consistently in how the 40 CFR part 84 regulations are applied. The allowance allocation is the division and assignment of a single, nationwide pool of HFC allowances to entities across the country according to the uniform, national methodology established in EPA's regulations, and each entity's allowance allocation is a relative share of that pool; thus, any additional allowances awarded to one entity directly affect the allocations to others. The Administrator finds that this is a matter on which national uniformity is desirable to take advantage of the D.C. Circuit's administrative law expertise and facilitate the orderly development of the basic law under the AIM Act and EPA's implementing regulations. The Administrator also finds that consolidated review of the action in the D.C. Circuit will avoid piecemeal litigation in the regional circuits, further judicial economy, and eliminate the risk of inconsistent results for different regulated entities. The Administrator also finds that a nationally consistent approach to the allocation of allowances constitutes the best use of agency resources. The Administrator is publishing his finding that the allocation action is based on a determination of nationwide scope or effect in the Federal Register as part of this notice in addition to inclusion on the website announcing allocations.

    For these reasons, the final action of the Agency allocating hydrofluorocarbon allowances to entities located throughout the country is nationally applicable or, alternatively, the Administrator is exercising the complete discretion afforded to him by the CAA and finds that the final action is based on a determination of nationwide scope or effect for purposes of CAA section 307(b)(1) and is hereby publishing that finding in the Federal Register .

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of this allocation action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by December 18, 2023. Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review of the administrative consequence actions noticed herein must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by December 18, 2023. Filing a petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect the finality of this action for purposes of judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be filed and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its requirements. See CAA section 307(b)(2).

    Start Signature

    Paul Gunning,

    Director, Office of Atmospheric Protection.

    End Signature End Supplemental Information

    Footnotes

    1.  Administrative consequences that the Agency has finalized can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/​climate-hfcs-reduction/​administrative-consequences-under-hfc-allocation-rule.

    Back to Citation

    2.  In the report on the 1977 Amendments that revised section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, Congress noted that the Administrator's determination that the “nationwide scope or effect” exception applies would be appropriate for any action that has a scope or effect beyond a single judicial circuit. See H.R. Rep. No. 95–294 at 323, 324, reprinted in 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1402–03.

    Back to Citation

    [FR Doc. 2023–22163 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

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Document Information

Published:
10/19/2023
Department:
Environmental Protection Agency
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice.
Document Number:
2023-22163
Pages:
72060-72067 (8 pages)
Docket Numbers:
EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0669, FRL-9116-04-OAR
PDF File:
2023-22163.pdf