Pressure Points
The winds are changing
at the Federal level
My original focus for this column was on the upcoming
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) rulemaking directed by a portion
of an omnibus bill that was passed at the end of the
Trump Administration. However, because of numerous initiatives
put forth by the Biden Administration, changes were needed.
During his campaign and the transition period following the election,
there was a clear indication that Climate Change would be a
key focus for government agencies under President Biden. However,
this would not just be a focus for the organizations you would
expect, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Instead, all government agencies would be required to examine how
their actions impact the climate.
On his first day in office, President Biden signed Executive Order
13990i, Protecting Public Health & the Environment & Restoring Science
to Tackle the Climate Crisis. Contained in this executive order are
several decisions aimed at combating Climate Change, including
rejoining the Paris Agreement. Much to my surprise, HFCs were not
mentioned in this initial action.
SPRAY readers will recall previous articlesii that discussed various
court decisionsiii that left the Federal government without an HFC
rule and led to a significant number of States undergoing their own
rulemakings to restrict the use of high global warming potential
(GWP) HFCs. The Household & Commercial Products Association
(HCPA) has engaged in every one of these activities to ensure consistency
across the States to avoid a patchwork of requirements.
We expected the Biden Administration to proceed with regulating
the use of HFCs; however, we did not expect President Trump to
sign an omnibus appropriations bill into law that also included HFC
directives near the end of his term. I certainly couldn’t predict that a
bill intended to provide economic stimulus initiatives in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic would also include language to phasedown
the production of HFCs. Nevertheless, this was a significant action.
That legislation directed the EPA to issue a final rule and establish
an allowance allocation program to phase down the production and
consumption of HFCs within 270 days from the date of enactment.
In order to meet the intent of Congress, the EPA would need to issue
a final rule by September 2021, so we expected the EPA to move
quickly.
However, a week into office, President Biden made his mark on
the future of regulating HFCs in the U.S. by signing the Executive
Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home & Abroad.iv This executive
order requires the Secretary of State to send the Senate a package
to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol within
60 days.v The Kigali Amendment extends the Montreal Protocol
to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs. Sounds
familiar to the legislation signed by President Trump, doesn’t it?
With several Republican Senators co-sponsoring the Federal
legislation to phase down HFCs, there’s a possibility that the Senate
will ratify the Kigali Amendment. Regardless of action in Congress,
the EPA is going to have to act quickly to promulgate rules to reduce
the production and consumption of HFCs in the U.S. by 85% over
the next 15 years. More than that, though, President Biden is proving
through his actions that addressing Climate Change is not just a
talking point on his agenda, and that the U.S. government is going
to be a leader in this space.
HCPA will continue to work with each and every State to regulate
the use of HFCs so that the aerosol industry has consistency across
the U.S. and avoids a patchwork of requirements.
It’s even possible that my map will achieve a uniform
color—however, even after President Biden’s
first week in office, that will still require plenty of
work at the Federal level.
I knew 2021 would be a busy year, particularly
from a standpoint of State activity, but it’s clear
that there’s a shift here in Washington, D.C., and,
if these first few weeks are any indication, it seems
like it will be even busier than I anticipated.
Now I need to go revamp a planned webinar on
this topic, but please contact me at ngeorges@thehcpa.
org with any questions or to learn more about
all of HCPA’s activities and how get involved.
Spray
iAvailable at https://www.Federalregister.gov/documents/
2021/01/25/2021-01765/protecting-public-health-andthe
environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-the-climatecrisis.
iiGeorges, N. (2019, Sept.) What does global warming
potential mean for the aerosol industry? Spray Technology &
Marketing, p. 10. and Georges, N. (2020, April). Avoiding a patchwork of State regulations
for high GWP HFCs. Spray Technology & Marketing, p. 10.
iiiMexichem Fluor, Inc. v. EPA, No. 15-1328 (D.C. Circ. 2017); Mexichem Fluor, Inc. iv.
EPA, No. 17-1024 (D.C. Cir. 2019); Natural Resource Defense Fund v. Wheeler, No. 18-
1172 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 7, 2020)
ivAvailable at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/
2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/
vAvailable at https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_
no=XXVII-2-f&chapter=27&clang=_en
10 Spray March 2021
NICHOLAS GEORGES
HCPA VP of Scientific
& International Affairs
ngeorges@thehcpa.org
Overview of HFC State Activity
(Current as of 1/26/2021)