Sixteen AGs Filed Comments Opposing EPA’s Proposed Rollback of Hydrofluorocarbons Rule

NOVEMBER 15, 2018

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a coalition of 16 state attorneys general in submitting comments calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its proposed rule rolling back appliance-maintenance and leak-repair standards for refrigerants. The AGs’ comments noted that, if finalized, the EPA’s rollback would lead to an increase in emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) — a family of powerful greenhouse gases, and the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The attorneys general also called on the EPA to drop its proposal to delay compliance deadlines for the 2016 Obama-era rule the rollback would replace, noting that the agency has “failed to provide any lawful basis” for its proposed delay.