G/TBT/N/USA/1049/Rev.1  
 
5 October 2018  
(18-6161) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
Revision  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.  
 
1. Notifying Member: UNITED STATES OF AME RICA 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [  ], 5.7.1 [  ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  
Refrigerants ; Environmental protection (ICS 13.020), Products of the chemical industry 
(ICS 71.100).  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Protection of 
Stratospheric Oz one: Revisions to the Refrigerant Management Program's Extension to 
Substitutes (13 page(s), in English)  
6. Description of content: The Clean Air Act (CAA) prohibits knowingly venting or releasing 
ozone -depleting and substitute refrigerants in the course of maintaining, servicing, 
repairing, or disposing of appliances or industrial process refrigeration. On 18 November 
2016, EPA finalized a rule that updated the existing refrigerant management requirements 
and extended requirements that previously applied only to refrigerants containing an 
ozone -depleting substance (ODS) to substitute refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons 
that are subject to the venting prohibition (i.e., those that have not been exempted from 
that prohibition). The Agency is revisiting t he aspects of the 2016 Rule that apply to 
equipment containing such substitute refrigerants. This action proposes changes to the 
legal interpretation that supported that rule and amendments to the regulations based on 
the revised interpretation. More speci fically, in connection with the proposed changes to 
the legal interpretation, EPA is proposing to revise the appliance maintenance and leak 
repair provisions so they apply only to equipment using refrigerant containing a class I or 
class II substance. Base d on this proposed limitation of the leak repair requirements, this 
document further proposes to revise the list of practices that must be followed in order 
for refrigerant releases to be considered de minimis to clarify that the reference to 
following lea k repair practices only applies to equipment that contains ODS refrigerant. 
EPA is also taking comment on whether, in connection with the proposed changes to the 
legal interpretation, the 2016 Rule's extension of subpart F refrigerant management 
requiremen ts to such substitute refrigerants should be rescinded in full. Additionally, EPA 
is proposing to extend by six to twelve months the 1 January 2019 compliance date for 
when appliances containing only substitute refrigerants subject to the venting prohibiti on 
must comply with the appliance maintenance and leak repair provisions.  G/TBT/N/USA/1049/Rev.1  
 
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  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable:  Protection of the environment  
8. Relevant documents: 83 Federal Register (FR) 49332, 1 October  2018; Title 40 Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 82. Will appear in the Federal Register when adopted.   
9. Proposed date of adoption:  To be determined  
Proposed date of entry into force:  To be determined  
10. Final date for comments: 15 November 2018  
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [  ] or address, telephone or fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2018/TBT/USA/18_5197_00_e.pdf