WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency next week plans to announce long-awaited proposed amendments to the refrigerant leak-repair regulations in Section 608 of the Clean Air Act.
The announcement will take place on Dec. 16 at 1 pm EST during a free webinar hosted by Julius Banks, the EPA's acting branch chief, Alternatives and Emissions Reduction Branch. The webinar can be accessed at http://www.epa.gov/greenchill/events.html.
Under current EPA leak repair regulations, supermarkets that experience an annual refrigerant leak rate in excess of 35% must take steps to repair those leaks. That threshold percentage is expected to come down in the announcement next week. The industry average is about 25%, according to the EPA, though many retailers have lowered their leak rates through participation in the EPA’s GreenChill program.
Following the webinar, Banks will be taking a new position at the EPA, becoming chief for the Air Branch within the Monitoring, Assistance and Media Programs Division.
