United States Environmental Protection Agency

Air and Radiation
Stratospheric Protection Division
(6205J)

April, 1995

SUMMARY OF RULES & NOTICES

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

Section 612 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires EPA to establish a
program to identify alternatives to Class I (CFC, Halon, Carbon
Tetrachloride, Methyl Chloroform, Methyl Bromide, HBFC) and Class II
(HCFC) ozone-depleting substances and to publish lists of acceptable and
unacceptable substitutes.  Upon promulgation of the final rule, it is
illegal to replace a Class I or Class II substance with any substitute
which the Administrator determines may present adverse effects to human
health or the environment where other substitutes have been identified
that reduce overall risk and are currently or potentially available.
Any person may petition EPA to add a substitute to either of the lists.
Such petitions will be granted or denied within 90 days of receipt of a
complete petition.  In addition, any person who produces a substitute
for a Class I substance must notify EPA at least 90 days before
alternatives are introduced into interstate commerce for significant new
use as substitutes for a Class I or Class II substance.

THE FINAL RULE

On March 18, 1994 EPA published the Final Rulemaking (FRM) (59 FR 13044)
which described the process for administering the SNAP program and
issued EPA's first acceptability lists for substitutes in the major
industrial use sectors.  These sectors include refrigeration and air
conditioning, solvents, foam blowing, fire suppression and explosion
protection, sterilants, aerosols, adhesives, coatings, and inks, and
tobacco  expansion. To assess the acceptability of a substitute, the
Agency completes a screening analysis in which overall risks to human
health and the environment in use-specific applications were examined.

QUARTERLY UPDATES

EPA intends to publish Quarterly Updates to the SNAP rule.  These
updates may be in two parts, a 'Notice' or a 'Rulemaking.'  A 'Notice'
contains no regulatory controls and thus does not need to go through the
public comment process.  It enters into force upon publication in the
Federal Register.

A Rulemaking requires a public notice-and-comment process, beginning
with a 'Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)'.  An NPRM contains
proposed lists of agents deemed 'Acceptable Subject to Use Conditions,'
'Acceptable Subject to Narrowed Use Limits,' and 'Unacceptable'.  There
is a 30-day public comment period beginning on the date of publication
in the Federal Register, after which a 'Final Rulemaking' is published.

Notices were published on August 26, 1994 (59 FR 44240) and January 13,
1995 (60 FR 3318). A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published on
September 26, 1994 (59 FR 49180).

WHO MUST APPLY FOR LISTING

Under SNAP, the Agency defines a "substitute" as any chemical, product,
substitute, or alternative manufacturing process, whether existing or
new, that could replace a Class I or Class II substance.  Anyone who
produces a substitute must provide the Agency with health and safety
studies, as well as notify the Agency at least 90 days before
introducing it into interstate commerce for use as an alternative.  This
requirement applies to chemical manufacturers, but may include
importers, formulators or end-users when they are responsible for
introducing a substitute into commerce.

INFORMATION FOR SNAP SUBMISSION

To develop the lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes, the
Agency must assess and compare "overall risks to human health and the
environment" posed by use of substitutes in the context of particular
applications.  EPA requires submission of information covering a wide
range of health and environmental factors.  These include intrinsic
properties such as physical and chemical information, ozone depleting
potential, global warming potential, toxicity, and flammability, and
use-specific data such as substitute applications, process description,
environmental release data, environmental fate and transport, and cost
information.

Once a completed submission has been received, a 90 day review period
under the SNAP program will commence.  Any substitute which is a new
chemical must also be submitted to the Agency under the Premanufacture
Notice (PMN) program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
Alternatives that will be used in pesticide formulations must be filed
jointly with EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs and with SNAP.

Any information submitted as Confidential Business Information (CBI)
will be treated in a manner consistent with 40 CFR Part 2, Subpart B.
All claims of confidentiality must be substantiated at the time of
submission.

SNAP Notification Forms and the SNAP notification guidance manual may be
requested from the Stratospheric Hotline at 1-800-296-1996 or contact
the SNAP Coordinator at (202) 233-9152.

THE SNAP LISTS

EPA has identified three mechanisms for revising or expanding the list
of SNAP determinations published in the final regulation:

-First, as new substitutes are developed for commercial sale, producers
must notify EPA at least 90 days before introduction of a chemical into
interstate commerce for significant new use as an alternative to Class I
or Class II substances;

-Second, any person may petition EPA to add or delete substances from
the SNAP lists of acceptable and unacceptable alternatives; and

-Third, EPA may revise the SNAP lists outside the context of petitions
or notifications, based on new data or on characteristics of substitutes
previously reviewed. FOR MORE INFORMATION

Lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes for the industrial use
sectors covered under the SNAP program can be obtained from the
Stratospheric Protection Hotline at 1-800-296-1996, M-F 10:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. (EST).  International callers dial direct (202) 783-1100.

The SNAP Federal Register notices can be ordered from the Government
Printing Office Order Desk (202) 783-3238; the citations for each are:
March 18, 1994 (Final Rule); August 26, 1994 (Notice); January 13, 1995
(Notice) and Sept. 26, 1994 (Proposed Rule).

Each Rule and Notice can be retrieved electronically from EPA's
Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Bulletin Board.  For a 1200 or 2400
bps modem, dial (919) 541-5742.  For a 9600 bps modem dial (919)
541-1447.  For assistance, call (919) 541-5384 during normal business
hours, EST.