Still Possible for HCFC Rules to be Finished in '09

While we all await the completion of the final rules for the next stage in the phaseout of HCFCs in the US, time is getting tight, but the EPA still has time to get them done in 2009. The HCFC Allocation rule and the Ban on Pre-Charged Appliances rule are both under review by the Administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which has returned initial comments to the various agencies for their responses. As long as OMB completes its review of the two rules by mid-December, the EPA should have enough time to finalize the rules and have them signed by the Administrator. Jan. 1, 2010 is an important deadline because if the Allocation rule is not finalized before then, there is no legal way of producing or importing HCFCs in the US until it is.