Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Listing of Substitutes Under the Significant New Alternatives Policy Program in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning and Fire Suppression

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 82</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0503; FRL-12207-01-OAR]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2060-AW45</RIN> <SUBJECT>Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Listing of Substitutes Under the Significant New Alternatives Policy Program in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning and Fire Suppression</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> Pursuant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy program, this action proposes to list several substitutes as acceptable, subject to use conditions, for residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps, chillers, household refrigerators and freezers, motor vehicle air conditioning, and fire suppression and explosion protection. This action also proposes to update use conditions for substitutes previously listed for certain air conditioning end-uses and for water coolers. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before December 26, 2025 unless a public hearing is held. If a public hearing is held, comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received on or before date 30 days after date of public hearing. <E T="03">Public hearing:</E> Any party requesting a public hearing must notify the contact listed in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section, which is Emily Maruyama at email address: <E T="03">maruyama.emily@epa.gov</E> by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on or before November 17, 2025. If a public hearing is held, it will take place on or around November 25, 2025. Please refer to the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section for additional information on the public hearing. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0503 by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov</E> (our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • <E T="03">Email: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov.</E> Include Docket ID No. EPA HQ-OAR-2024-0503 in the subject line of the message. • <E T="03">Mail:</E> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. • <E T="03">Hand Delivery or Courier:</E> EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays). <E T="03">Instructions:</E> All submissions received must include the Docket ID No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> including personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the “Public Participation” heading of the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section of this document. For information on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us online at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/dockets.</E> If a public hearing is requested on or before November 17, 2025, the EPA will post an update at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/snap.</E> The EPA does not intend to publish a document in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> announcing updates. The public hearing will be held on or around November 25, 2025. Information on the hearing including the time and URL will be posted at EPA's Stratospheric Ozone website at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/snap.</E> Refer to the section titled, Public Participation for additional information. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For information about this proposed rule, contact Emily Maruyama, Stratospheric Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Protection (Mail Code 6205A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-2809; email address: <E T="03">maruyama.emily@epa.gov.</E> Notices and rulemakings under the EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program are available on the EPA's SNAP website at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/snap/snap-regulations.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <E T="03">Preamble acronyms and abbreviations.</E> Throughout this preamble the use of “we,” “us,” or “our” is intended to refer to the EPA. We use multiple acronyms and terms in this preamble. While this list may not be exhaustive, to ease the reading of this preamble and for reference purposes, the EPA defines the following terms and acronyms here: <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">2-BTP—2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoropropene</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AC—Air Conditioning</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AIHA—American Industrial Hygiene Association</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AIM—American Innovation and Manufacturing</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ANSI—American National Standards Institute</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">APU—Auxiliary Power Unit</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ASHRAE—American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ASTM—American Society for Testing and Materials</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">BTMS—Battery Thermal Management Systems</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CAA—Clean Air Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CAS Reg. No.—Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Identification Number</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CBI—Confidential Business Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFC—Chlorofluorocarbon</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR—Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CMAQ—Community Multiscale Air Quality</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> CO <E T="52">2</E> —Carbon Dioxide </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CRP—Cooperative Research Program</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DIY—Do it yourself</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DOT—United States Department of Transportation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EEAP—Environmental Effects Assessment Panel</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EPA—United States Environmental Protection Agency</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ER&R—Emissions Reduction and Reclamation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EV—Exchange Value</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FMEA—Failure Mode and Effects Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FR—Federal Register</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">GHG—Greenhouse Gas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">GSHP—Ground-Source Heat Pump</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HC—Hydrocarbon</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HCFC—Hydrochlorofluorocarbon</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HCFO—Hydrochlorofluoroolefin</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HCR—Hydrocarbon Refrigerant</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HD—Heavy-Duty</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HDOH—Heavy-Duty On-Highway</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HFC—Hydrofluorocarbon</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HFO—Hydrofluoroolefin</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ICF—ICF International, Inc.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IEC—International Electrotechnical Commission</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IPCC—Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IPR—Industrial Process Refrigeration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IRC—International Residential Code</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LD—Light-Duty</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LFL—Lower Flammability Limit</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LMDV—Light- and Medium-Duty Vehicle</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MIR—Maximum Incremental Reactivity</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MVAC—Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning or Motor Vehicle Air Conditioner</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MY—Model Year</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NAAQS—National Ambient Air Quality Standard</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NAICS—North American Industrial Classification System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NCEL—New Chemical Exposure Limit</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NFPA—National Fire Protection Association</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NRTL—Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ODP—Ozone Depletion Potential</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ODS—Ozone-Depleting Substances</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OECD—Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OEL—Occupational Exposure Limit</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OEM—Original Equipment Manufacturer</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OMB—United States Office of Management and Budget</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OSHA—United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PBI—Proprietary Business Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PEL—Permissible Exposure Limit</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> PFAS—Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PFC—Perfluorocarbon</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PMN—Pre-Manufacture Notice</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PMS—Pantone® Matching System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PPE—Personal Protective Equipment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ppm—Parts Per Million</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PRA—Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PTAC—Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PTHP—Packaged Terminal Heat Pump</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RAL—“Reichs-Ausschuß für Lieferbedingungen und Gütesicherung,” Germany's National Commission for Delivery Terms and Quality Assurance</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RCRA—Resource Conservation and Recovery Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFA—Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RfC—Reference Concentration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SAE—SAE International, previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SDS—Safety Data Sheet</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SIP—State Implementation Plan</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SNAP—Significant New Alternatives Policy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SNUR—Significant New Use Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">TEAP—Technology and Economic Assessment Panel</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">TFA—Trifluoroacetic Acid</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">TLV—Threshold Limit Value</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">TWA—Time Weighted Average</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UL—UL, formerly known as Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UMRA—Unfunded Mandates Re ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 357k characters. 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