Industry Wins Relief On EPA's HFC Leak Prevention Rule But Doubts Legality

摘要

EPA's recently issued rule restricting leaks of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants from commercial equipment has provided industry groups with some relief compared to the proposed version but industry sources continue to doubt the agency's authority to regulate the substances under the air act. The agency softened provisions in the final rule, such as the leak mitigation provisions, after meeting Sept. 8 with representatives of the National Environmental Development Association's Clean Air Project (NEDA/CAP) - a group whose members include Boeing Company, BP America, Koch Industries, Inc., Eli Lilly, Proctor & Gamble and others - that argued that the proposed version of the rule was overly stringent and EPA lacks authority to regulate the substances. In their comments on the proposed version of the section 608 rule, NEDA/CAP called the leak detection and prevention provisions both "punitive" because of their stringency, and "arbitrary."