UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 

REGION IX
 

75 Hawthorne Street
 

San Francisco, CA 94105·3901
 

JUN 1 0 2011 

CERTIFIED MAIL: 7010309000012472 5131 

RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED 

Mr. Dennis O'Meara 

Manager 

Refrigerant Exchange, Inc. 

5314 3rd Street 

Irwindale, California 91706 

RE:	 Information Request Pursuant to Section 114 of the Clean Air Act 

Dear Mr. O'Meara: 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 ("EPA") hereby requires Refrigerant 

Exchange, Inc. ("RefEx") to provide certain information as part of an EPA investigation to determine the 

Clean Air Act ("CAA" or the "Act") compliance status of RefEx's refrigerant-related facilities, 

including facilities used for refrigerant reclaiming and refrigerant storage. This request concerns all 

facilities owned or operated by RefEx, including those located in Irwindale, California, North Las 

Vegas, Nevada, and any other locations where RefEx operates in the United States. 

Pursuant to Section 114(a) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. § 7414(a), the Administrator of EPA is authorized to 

require any person who owns and/or operates an emission source to establish and maintain records, make 

reports and provide such other information as he or she may reasonably require for the purposes of 

determining whether such person is in violation of any provision of the Act. In order for EPA to 

determine whether a violation has occurred, you are hereby required, pursuant to Section 1l4(a) of the 

CAA and this information request, to provide responses to the following requests for information 

regarding RefEx facilities. Please see Enclosure 1 for instructions and definitions. 

1.	 Provide a list of all shipments of refrigerant received by RefEx in the 12 months prior to the date
 

of this letter, including:
 

a.	 the date the shipment was received; 

b.	 the name and address of the source; 

c.	 the refrigerant type (e.g. R-11, R-12, R-22 etc); 

d.	 the quantity of material received (i.e. the mass of refrigerant + contaminants); and, 

Prinud on R~cyc/~d Papu 
Dennis O'Meara 

Refrigerant Exchange, Inc. 

e.	 if this refrigerant transaction represents an import, documents demonstrating that 

appropriate allowances were obtained per 40 CFR 82.4(d) or 40 CFR 82.15(b). 

2.	 For each shipment of refrigerant sold or otherwise distributed or transferred by RefEx in the 2 

years prior to the date of this letter, provide: 

a.	 the date the refrigerant was sold, distributed or transferred; 

b.	 the name and location of the buyer I recipient; 

c.	 the refrigerant type (e.g. R-11, R-12, R-22 etc); 

d.	 the quantity of refrigerant; 

e.	 documentation that verifies that the shipment met the ARI 700 standard, including thirdparty analytical lab results. 

IfRefEx seeks to withhold any documents based on a claim of attorney-client communications privilege 

or the attorney work product doctrine in its response to this information request, provide a privilege log 

for each document containing the following information: (i) the date, author(s), every individual to 

whom the document was originally sent, every individual who subsequently acquired the document, the 

purpose for which the document was sent to or obtained by those individuals, and the employment titles 

of the authors and recipients; (ii) the subject matter of the document; (iii) the privilege claimed for the 

document and all facts supporting the claim of privilege; (iv) the primary purpose(s), including any 

business purposes, for which the document was made; (v) the question(s) in this information request that 

the document is responsive to; and (vi) all facts contained in the document that are responsive to a 

question in this information request. 

EPA requires RefEx to postmark its full response to this information request no later than fourteen (14) 

calendar days after receipt of this letter. Please submit your response to this information request to: 

Ms. Deborah Jordan
 

Director
 

Environmental Protection Agency
 

75 Hawthorne Street
 

San Francisco, California 94105
 

ATTN: Joe Westersund (Air-5)
 

The response to this information request must be certified by a duly authorized officer or agent of
 

RefEx by signing the enclosed Statement of Certification (see Enclosure 2) and returning it with the
 

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Dennis O'Meara 

Refrigerant Exchange, Inc. 

response. All information submitted in response to this information request must be certified as true, 

correct, accurate, and complete by an individual with sufficient knowledge and authority to make 

such representations on behalf of RefEx. 

If you anticipate not being able to respond fully to this information request within the time period 

specified, you must submit a statement by a responsible corporate official within ten (10) calendar 

days after your receipt of this letter specifying what information will be provided within the time 

specified, describing what efforts have been/are being made to obtain other responsive information 

and providing a detailed schedule of when such other responsive information can be provided. Upon 

receipt and based upon such declaration, EPA may extend the time in which responsive information 

must be provided. Based upon such notification, EPA may modify the scope of documents required 

to be produced. 

Please be advised that under Section 113(a) of the Act, failure to provide the information required by 

this letter may result in an Order requiring compliance, an Order assessing an administrative penalty, 

or a civil action for appropriate relief. In addition, Section 113(c) of the Act provides criminal 

penalties for knowingly making any false statements or omission in any response required under the 

Act. EPA may also seek criminal penalties from any person who knowingly alters, destroys, 

mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible 

object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of 

any matter within the jurisdiction of EPA or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or 

case. See 18 U.S.C. § 1519 (2004). The information provided by you may be used by the United 

States in administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings. 

You may, if you desire, assert a business confidentiality claim on behalf of RefEx covering part or all 

of the information provided to EPA in response to this letter. Any such claim to confidentiality must 

conform to the requirements set forth in 40 C.F.R. part 2, especially 40 C.F.R. § 2.203. You are 

advised that certain information may be made available to the public pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7414(c) 

and 40 C.F.R. § 2.301, notwithstanding a claim that such information is entitled to confidential 

treatment. If no claim of confidentiality is received with your reply, the information may be made 

available to the public without notice to RefEx. 

The requirements of this letter are not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. § 

3501 et seq. 

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Dennis O'Meara 

Refrigerant Exchange, Inc. 

If you have any questions regarding this information request, please contact Joe Westersund of my 

staff at (415) 972-3841, or have your attorney contact Dan Reich of our Office of Regional Counsel 

at (415) 972-3911. 

Sincerely, ;{)4wr

Deborah Jordan 

Director, Air Division 

Enclosures: Instructions and Definitions 

Statement of Certification 

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