Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Listing of Substitutes Under the Significant New Alternatives Policy Program; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule

Résumé

On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a supplemental proposed rulemaking under the Significant New Alternatives Policy program to list certain substitutes to ozone- depleting substances in the foam blowing sector, extruded polystyrene: Boardstock and billet end-use, as acceptable, subject to narrowed use limits, from the effective date of a subsequent final rule until January 1, 2023. This followed EPA's June 12, 2020, initial proposal which proposed to list three foam blowing agents, which are hydrofluorocarbon blends, as acceptable. Taking into consideration information available to EPA since issuance of that initial proposal, EPA proposed narrowed use limits and time-limited use of the substitutes in the supplemental proposal. Based on further information available to EPA, EPA is now withdrawing the proposed listings for the three foam blowing agents described in the initial and supplemental proposals. This document summarizes the proposed listings and provides an explanation for the Agency's decision not to finalize the proposed actions.