California's Big Freeze on Refrigerants

For HVACR distributors in California who distribute or receive commonly used CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs, life has gotten more complicated since the beginning of the year. A new program instituted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requires distributors to keep detailed records and invoices of all these refrigerants, including documents to prove that the refrigerants they sell are to businesses that have at least one EPA-certified technician on-staff.

The new program, which took effect Jan. 1, has created a lot of extra work for California HVACR distributors; it's also left them scratching their heads as they try to determine how exactly the program will be monitored and enforced. While this regulation only affects California HVACR distributors, all distributors in the United States should pay attention to what's happening because the EPA looks closely at California environmental regulations for potential adaptation on a national level.

With so many questions posed by California HVACR distributors, HARDI is working with its members to educate them on the new rules, prepare them for an upcoming rule that will take effect in 2012 and continue to work with CARB, other government agencies, legislators and industry associations to defend and protect the interests of HVACR distributors and dealers.

Called the Refrigerant Management Program, the initiative aims to reduce emissions of high-Global Warming Potential (high-GWP) gases from stationary refrigeration systems and air-conditioning units. CARB cites leaking refrigeration systems as California's single largest source of these gases, and the new regulation aims to track the gases to ensure that they are properly used. It adopted the regulation in December 2009 as part of the state's Global Warming Solutions Act.

For HVACR distributors in California, the refrigerant management program is “just another thing they have to deal with,” says Jon Melchi, HARDI's manager of government affairs, who has worked closely with HARDI members in California on this new program. Specifically, all HVACR distributors must:

• Retain on-site for at least five years all invoices of high-GWP refrigerants (CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs). Invoices must include purchaser's name, sale date(s) and type and quantity of the refrigerant.

• Records of refrigerant sales or transfers to a company that services refrigeration systems must include documentation showing that the company employs at least one U.S. EPA-certified technician.

• Annual reports submitted to CARB, starting in 2012, should also be kept on-site.

• Records must be made available to CARB's executive office upon request.

These requirements add a new level of bureaucracy to HVACR distributors, and Melchi says that they don't really address the issue of greenhouse gases. “While certainly burdensome, these final regulations are far more palatable than CARB's original proposals, which absolutely would have threatened a lot of HVACR businesses.” Melchi continues, “these new regulations provide a decent model for preventing emissions from commercial HVACR systems but without knowing the enforcement mechanism behind them, it's uncertain how effective they'll be.”

While California distributors must comply with the new rule, many are unclear about the specifics. “They're up in arms over the new regulation, and there's a lot of confusion about the specifics,” says Emily Saving, HARDI's education services manager. To that end, HARDI has developed a series of informational documents to help its members as well as its dealers and contractor customers. “There has been a massive amount of confusion, and CARB has not done a great job of communicating. That puts the burden on our distributors to educate their customers and their customers' customers about the regulation,” she adds.

HARDI's comprehensive educational campaign around the regulations includes one-page sheets that distributor members and their customers can brand and distribute to their customers as well as an electronic learning course aimed at distributors' customers. HARDI has been working closely with CARB throughout the process to ensure that materials are accurate and timely. “Members are clamoring for this type of information,” Saving says of HARDI's informational campaign. HARDI's Refrigeration & Refrigerants Council and the members of its three subcommittees — Refrigerants, Refrigeration Equipment and Recovery and Reclamation — are working with HARDI staff to help educate its California members.