Collection of data to support establishment of the HFC allowance allocation and trading program

The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, enacted by Congress on December 27, 2020, directs EPA to address the environmental impact of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). EPA issued a rule in the Federal Register on May 19, 2021, that among other provisions, proposes an allowance allocation and trading program to phase down the production and consumption of bulk HFCs. Learn more about the proposed rule here. 

 

The AIM Act directs EPA to issue a final rule within 270 days of enactment (i.e., by September 23, 2021). If you produce or import bulk HFCs, you may need allowances, issued by EPA, to continue producing and/or importing HFCs beginning January 1, 2022. These allowances will allow you to legally produce and/or import HFCs. You may be eligible for allowances under the AIM Act if you use HFCs in an application solely for:

 

Currently, EPA is collecting company-level data on past HFC production, import, export, destruction and, in a small subset of applications, use. EPA is also collecting information from companies that supply HFCs to companies who use HFCs in one of the above applications. This data could be relevant for determining allowance allocations. Responding to this request for information is voluntary, but failure to do so may prevent EPA from being able to issue allowances to your company or may affect the levels of allocation. For this reason, EPA encourages individuals and companies to submit data as soon as possible about their historical HFC production, import, export, destruction, and/or use. 

 

If you submit data to EPA, the Agency may also require records to verify any reported data (e.g., bills of lading and other Customs records). Likewise, EPA may contact you further to request verification of additional information. The Agency encourages you to be prepared to respond to any such requests in a timely manner. Please be aware that if you are issued allowances under this program, EPA will release a list of companies and their allowance levels. The Agency’s request for data should not be interpreted to signal a particular course of action for the issuance of HFC allowances. EPA is not prejudging the outcome of the final rule nor the Agency’s review and verification of any information it receives. 

 

EPA is collecting HFC data through two platforms: the electronic Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool (e-GGRT) and the Ozone Depleting Substances Tracking System (ODSTS). You may need to submit data to one or both of these systems, depending on your circumstances. 

 

In particular, any data on the production, import, export, or destruction of bulk HFCs should be reported through e-GGRT. You can find instructions about how to do that here. On that page, you can find details about which particular reporting forms you may need to submit, based on your circumstances. You will also find supplemental pages that have step-by-step directions, with screen shots, about how to submit data through e-GGRT. You can find a list of companies that have reported imports, exports, production, or destruction of HFCs to GHGRP here, and GHGRP data that is relevant to the AIM Act can be found here.

 

If you use HFCs in any of the applications identified in the list above, you should submit data on these “application-specific uses” through the ODSTS using one of the relevant questionnaires listed below. This means that if you produce, import, export, or destroy bulk HFCs and use HFCs in one of the “application-specific uses,” you should submit data to both e-GGRT and the ODSTS. Conversely, if you use HFCs in an application-specific use, but do not import, export, produce, or destroy bulk HFCs, you may only need to submit data to the ODSTS. You can find instructions about how to submit data through ODSTS here. That page explains how to register with EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX), how to prepare submissions, and how to submit data through CDX/ODSTS. It also answers common questions about the ODSTS and CDX.

 

Questionnaires for application-specific use of HFCs:

 

After you have filled out one of the questionnaires, please submit your information electronically through the ODSTS:

 

Immediately following the submission of your documents, you will receive an email from CDX to acknowledge the transfer of the files. Once EPA has downloaded the documents, you will receive another email to notify you that your document submission has been received.