Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Revision to References for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector To Incorporate Latest Edition of Certain Industry, Consensus-Based Standards

On December 11, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a direct final rule and an accompanying notice of proposed rulemaking entitled "Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Revision to References for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector To Incorporate Latest Edition of Certain Industry, Consensus-based Standards." EPA proposed to modify the use conditions required for use of three flammable refrigerants--isobutane (R-600a), propane (R-290), and R-441A--in new household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program to reflect an updated standard from Underwriters Laboratories. Because EPA received adverse comment, EPA withdrew the direct final rule through a separate notice. In this action, EPA is addressing relevant comments and finalizing the proposed use conditions with no changes.