Arlington, Virginia, USA, 4 July 2018: Four lawsuits were filed recently to stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) from rolling back hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) regulations, AHRI said in a Press communiqué.

On June 25, 2018, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and industry manufacturers Honeywell International Inc., and Chemours Co., filed petitions for a Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to review and reverse the D.C. Circuit Panel’s August 2017 decision vacating the US EPA’s rule to limit the use of HFCs under the agency’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) programme, the communiqué said. The D.C. Circuit Panel ruled that the agency had exceeded its authority to regulate HFCs under Section 612 of the Clean Air Act, the communiqué further said. The NRDC and the two companies’ filings are an attempt to keep the US EPA’s 2015 rule banning the use of certain HFCs from being tossed out and responses to both petitions are due on July 26 and July 30, 2018, the communiqué added.

According to AHRI, on June 26, 2018, the District of Columbia and 11 states filed a petition, as did the NRDC to the D.C. Circuit requesting the court to review the US EPA’s April 27, 2018, guidance indicating that the agency would suspend its final rule prohibiting the use of certain HFCs. The states and the NRDC argue that the US EPA can still enforce limits for manufacturers and users that have not switched to HFCs, the communiqué said.

The communiqué also said that AHRI’s Legal Department will continue to monitor the lawsuits and keep members updated as it receives relevant information.