[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 231 (Wednesday, December 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75455-75456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30363]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0771; FRL-9939-41-OAR]
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Notice of Revocation of
Certification for Refrigerant Reclaimers
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of revocation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with 40 CFR 82.164, no person may sell or offer
for sale or use as a refrigerant, any class I or class II ozone-
depleting substance consisting wholly or in part of used refrigerant
unless the substance has been reclaimed by an Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)-certified refrigerant reclaimer. All persons reclaiming
used refrigerant for sale to a new owner are required to certify to the
EPA Administrator in accordance with 40 CFR 82.164 and to maintain
records and submit reports in accordance with 40 CFR 82.166.
Through this action, the EPA is giving notice of the impending
revocation of one refrigerant reclaimer, Refrigerants Exchange, Inc.
(RefEx) of Irwindale, CA, in accordance with 40 CFR part 82, subpart F.
In addition, the EPA is announcing the previous revocation of
certification of eight refrigerant reclaimers. An up-to-date list of
EPA-certified refrigerant reclaimers is available online at
www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/608/reclamation/reclist.html.
DATES: If RefEx wishes to request a hearing for the impending
revocation of its reclaimer certification, it must request a hearing in
writing on or before January 4, 2016. If a written request and
supporting data are not received by that date, RefEx's certification to
reclaim refrigerants is revoked effective February 1, 2016.
The following entities had their certification as refrigerant
reclaimers revoked previously, effective as of the dates listed below
and on EPA's Web site:
November 2009: Polar Refrigerant in South Hampton, NH
March 19, 2009: Refrigerant Services, Inc in Imperial Beach, CA
January 10, 2008: Rocky Mountain Reclamation, Inc in Denver, CO; Star
Refrigerants in Fort Worth, TX
March 9, 2007: Teris, LLC in El Dorado, AR
March 13, 2006: Cryo-Line Supplies USA, Inc. in Henderson, NV;
Refrigerant Recovery, Inc. in Milwaukee, WI; South Florida Trane
Service in Miami, FL
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Luke Hall-Jordan, Stratospheric
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, (6205T), 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (202)
343-9591; email address [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Impending Revocation
On June 10, 2011, the EPA issued a request for information (June
10, 2011 Request or Request, available in the docket for this notice)
to RefEx pursuant to Section 114 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Section
114 of the CAA authorizes the EPA to request such information from
anyone who is subject to any requirement of the CAA in order to
determine the compliance status of that person or entity. RefEx is
subject to regulations at 40 CFR 82.164 and 82.166 implementing section
608 of the Clean Air Act.
The June 10, 2011 Request asked, in part, for records documenting
that reclaimed refrigerant sold by RefEx met the ARI 700 standard (upon
which the Specifications for Fluorocarbon and Other Refrigerants in
appendix A to 40 CFR part 82, subpart F are based), for the two-year
period prior to RefEx's receipt of the request. RefEx responded to the
Request in part on July 7, 2011. Records provided by RefEx in its
response did not demonstrate that all refrigerant sold by RefEx in the
relevant time frame was reprocessed to meet all of the applicable
specifications in appendix A to 40 CFR part 82, subpart F. As part of
its reclaimer certification, RefEx is required to verify that the
reprocessed refrigerant meets all of the specifications in appendix A.
See 40 CFR 82.164(b), (e)(3), and (g). In addition, among other things,
the June 10, 2011 Request asked for the names and addresses of persons
that sent RefEx material for reclamation in the 12 months prior to the
Request. RefEx's July 7, 2011 response also did not provide that
information. RefEx is required to keep this information under 40 CFR
82.164(e)(3) and 82.166(g).
EPA sent two follow-up letters (also available in the docket for
this notice), dated August 19, 2011 and October 25, 2011, noting
deficiencies in RefEx's July 7, 2011 response and requesting a full and
complete response to the June 10, 2011 Request. Further, EPA offered
RefEx the opportunity to provide any additional documentation in
response to the June 10, 2011 Request that EPA may use to determine
RefEx's compliance with 40 CFR 82.164 and 82.166 in a letter dated
March 16, 2015 (also available in the docket for this notice). To date,
EPA has not received the requested information.
In the March 16, 2015 letter, the EPA warned that if RefEx did not
provide additional information to demonstrate compliance with 40 CFR
82.164, EPA would consider initiating procedures to revoke RefEx's
status as a certified reclaimer pursuant to 40 CFR 82.164(g) and
82.169. Since many of the letters sent to RefEx have been returned as
undeliverable, in addition to the copy of the letter sent by certified
mail, the EPA emailed the March 16, 2015 letter to the email address
that RefEx uses to provide its annual report of the amount of
refrigerant reclaimed on May 7, 2015. The last report was received by
the EPA from this email address on March 24, 2015.
Since RefEx failed to fully respond to the information requests and
has not shown that it is complying with 40 CFR 82.164 and 82.166,
including particularly 40 CFR 82.164(b) and 82.166(g), the EPA is
revoking RefEx's certification to reclaim refrigerants. Under 40 CFR
82.169, the EPA has the ability to revoke a reclaimer's certification
for failing ``to abide by any of the provisions of this subpart . . . .
In such cases, the Administrator or her or his designated
representative shall give notice of an impending suspension [or
revocation] to the person or organization setting forth the facts or
conduct that provide the basis for the revocation or suspension.'' See
also 40 CFR 82.164(g) (providing that ``[f]ailure to abide by any of
the provisions of this subpart may result in revocation . . . of the
certification of the reclaimer in accordance with 40 CFR 82.169'' and
including an analogous notice requirement).
If RefEx believes that its certification to reclaim refrigerants
should not be revoked, it may request a hearing under 40 CFR 82.169 by
filing a written request within 30 days of this notice to the
individual identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The request
must include RefEx's objections to the revocation and data to support
the objections. If the Agency does not receive a written request for a
hearing within 30 days of the date of this notice, the revocation will
become effective 60 days after the publication of this notice.
Notice of Previous Revocations
To ensure that all stakeholders are aware of past revocations, EPA
is also
[[Page 75456]]
providing notice in this action of eight former refrigerant reclaimers
that no longer are certified to reclaim refrigerants. All of these
revocations have previously been noted on EPA's Web site at
www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/608/reclamation/recrevoke.html. Six of these
reclaimers have requested to be removed from the list of certified
reclaimers. They are: Rocky Mountain Reclamation, Inc. in Denver, CO;
Star Refrigerants in Fort Worth, TX; Teris, LLC in El Dorado, AR; Cryo-
Line Supplies USA, Inc. in Henderson, NV; Refrigerant Recovery, Inc. in
Milwaukee, WI; and South Florida Trane Service in Miami, FL.
Two other reclaimers, Polar Refrigerant in South Hampton, NH, and
Refrigerant Services, Inc. in Imperial Beach, CA, had their
certification revoked for failing to comply with the recordkeeping and
reporting requirements in 40 CFR 82.166. The dates of revocation are
noted on EPA's Web site and in the DATES section of this notice. EPA
sent letters to these two companies in November 2009, and February 12,
2009, respectively, that included an explanation of the basis for EPA's
decision.
Dated: November 16, 2015.
Drusilla Hufford,
Director, Stratospheric Protection Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-30363 Filed 12-1-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P