SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

( printed page 47237)

Preamble acronyms and abbreviations. 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:

AIM Act American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020

CBI Confidential Business Information

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

FTP File Transfer Protocol

HFC Hydrofluorocarbon

MTCO₂ e Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent

MTEVe Metric Tons of Exchange Value Equivalent

OCAP Office of Clean Air Programs

NODA Notice of Data Availability

PBI Proprietary Business Information

RACA Request for Additional Consumption Allowances

I. Public Participation

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-1948, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket.

Submitting CBI. Do not submit information containing CBI to the EPA through https://www.regulations.gov. Clearly mark the part or all the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on any digital storage media that you mail to the EPA, note the docket ID, mark the outside of the digital storage media as CBI, and identify electronically within the digital storage media the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comments that includes information claimed as CBI, you must submit a copy of the comments that does not contain the information claimed as CBI directly to the public docket through the procedures outlined in the ADDRESSES section of this preamble. If you submit any digital storage media that does not contain CBI, mark the outside of the digital storage media clearly that it does not contain CBI and note the docket ID. Information not marked as CBI will be included in the public docket and the EPA's electronic public docket without prior notice. Information marked as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2.

Our preferred method to receive CBI is for it to be transmitted electronically using email attachments, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or other online file sharing services ( e.g., Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive). Electronic submissions must be transmitted directly to the Office of Clean Air Programs (OCAP) at the email address: ocapcbi@epa.gov and, as described earlier in this preamble, should include clear CBI markings and note the docket ID. If assistance is needed with submitting large electronic files that exceed the file size limit for email attachments, and if you do not have your own file sharing service, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this preamble to receive instructions.

II. Background

The EPA is seeking comment on the data and analyses presented in the draft report in the docket to this notice and welcomes input on those data and potential data gaps. The EPA is only soliciting comments about the data presented in the draft report provided in the docket through this notice. The EPA plans to issue a notice and comment rulemaking in the future, which will be a separate action under the AIM Act.^[1] At that time, the Agency will solicit comment on the issuance of HFC allowances starting in 2029, as well as other potential adjustments to the HFC Allocation Program.

III. What is the EPA taking comment on?

The EPA requests comment on the draft report, Analysis of HFC Allocation Program Data for 2022-2025. Specifically, the EPA requests comment on questions related to topics contained in the draft report, including but not limited to:

• HFC Allowance Allocation and Usage

○ Meeting the AIM Act HFC Phasedown Schedule

What phasedown implementation strategies, if any, have contributed to the United States' successful compliance with the phasedown over two reduction targets to date?

○ Production Allowance Activity

What might be driving the year-over-year trends when evaluating how production allowances are used?

○ Consumption Allowance Activity

What might be driving the yearly trends when evaluating how consumption allowances are used or unused?

○ Allowance Transfers

There are a sizeable volume of allowance transfers each year, with some entities being substantial net recipients of allowances compared to the number of allowances they were issued and others transferring away all of their allowances; what might be driving these trends?

○ Application-specific Allowance (ASA) Usage

What are some reasons why suppliers ^[2] may be ending the year with unexpended ASAs?

What are some reasons why ASA holders may be ending the year with unused ASAs?

What are some reasons why an HFC supplier may choose to use production/consumption allowances rather than ASAs?

• Production and Import Trends:

○ What are some anticipated changes in domestic production, imports, or exports of specific HFCs? For example, how might the proportion of domestic production relative to imports shift for specific HFCs? How might the mix of which HFCs are produced domestically shift?

○ What factors influence the decision for importers to import HFC blends versus the neat HFCs that are components of that blend?

○ How might import behaviors in the United States shift with respect to the proportion of HFCs imported as neat HFCs as compared to HFCs as part of blends? How might the quantities of imported HFCs for each reported use (in-house destruction, in-house transformation, transhipment, other) change? E.g., Are imports of HFCs to the United States for in-house destruction expected to continue increasing?

○ In recent years, there has been HFC production in one additional country. Should we anticipate additional countries will start producing HFCs?

○ Given the variety of regulated HFCs that can be created, including as unintended byproducts, are there any regulated substances, including unlisted isomers, that are produced or imported but not listed on the EPA's HFC Data Hub? ^[3] Which other unlisted regulated substances may be intentionally produced or imported in the future for use, including for internal purposes such as research and development?

• Other Reported Data

○ Data on Requests for Additional Consumption Allowances (RACAs) ( printed page 47238)

In 2025, approximately 12 percent of HFCs listed on RACA reports, in metric tons, came from pre-2022 inventory (or 26 percent on an MTEVe basis). Do stakeholders expect this proportion to change over time? If so, how?

○ Reclamation and Fire Suppression Recycling

For entities that report the reclamation and/or recycling of HFCs used as fire suppression agents ( i.e., HFC-227ea, HFC-236fa, HFC-125, and HFC-23) under 40 CFR 84, subpart A, how do entities determine which report to submit?

Acknowledging that industry standards set different minimum purity requirements for refrigerants and fire suppression agents, do reclaimers and/or recyclers typically reprocess HFCs to a different purity level depending on the sector in which the HFCs will be used?

• Projected Demand for HFCs

○ The EPA is requesting input on its current modeling assumptions and projections for HFC demand. Are the modeling projections and the underlying assumptions ( e.g., rates of transition and market penetration, rates of chemical recovery, equipment leak rates) included in the draft report consistent with industry experience and projections?

○ Are there other modeling or updated data available that could better inform the EPA's analysis of future HFC demand, including, but not limited to, information on refrigerant choice, leak rates, and recovery/reuse rates?

○ Are there additional chemicals or blends that should be included in the projections for the period from 2025-2050?

○ Are there any expected trends in domestic and global production, reclamation, manufacturing, marketing, etc. as the United States moves to the next phasedown step in 2029?

○ In the EPA's market penetration assumptions, are there technology options that may be over- or underrepresented in the EPA projections?

○ In the EPA's projection of virgin HFC demand, are there additional measures that the EPA should model ( e.g., reliance on stockpiled HFCs, greater adoption of alternatives, improved leak detection and maintenance practices) for a more accurate projection of future HFC demand?

91 FR 47236