40 CFR 82.157 – Appliance maintenance and leak repair
(a) Applicability. This section applies as of January 1, 2019. As of April 10, 2020, this section applies only to appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of any class I or class II refrigerant or blend containing a class I or class II refrigerant. Notwithstanding the use of the term refrigerant in this section, the requirements of this section do not apply to appliances containing solely substitute refrigerants. Unless otherwise specified, the requirements of this section apply to the owner or operator of the appliance.
(b) Leak Rate Calculation. Persons adding or removing refrigerant from an appliance must, upon conclusion of that service, provide the owner or operator with documentation that meets the applicable requirements of paragraph (l)(2) of this section. The owner or operator must calculate the leak rate every time refrigerant is added to an appliance unless the addition is made immediately following a retrofit, installation of a new appliance, or qualifies as a seasonal variance.
(c) Requirement to Address Leaks through Appliance Repair, or Retrofitting or Retiring an Appliance. (1) Owners or operators must repair appliances with a leak rate over the applicable leak rate in this paragraph in accordance with paragraphs (d) through (f) of this section unless the owner or operator elects to retrofit or retire the appliance in compliance with paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section. If the owner or operator elects to repair leaks, but fails to bring the leak rate below the applicable leak rate, the owner or operator must create and implement a retrofit or retirement plan in accordance with paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section.
(2) Leak Rates:
(i) 20 percent leak rate for commercial refrigeration equipment;
(ii) 30 percent leak rate for industrial process refrigeration equipment; and
(iii) 10 percent leak rate for comfort cooling appliances or other appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of refrigerant not covered by (c)(2)(i) or (ii) of this section.
(d) Appliance Repair. Owners or operators must identify and repair leaks in accordance with this paragraph within 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) of when refrigerant is added to an appliance exceeding the applicable leak rate in paragraph (c) of this section.
(1) A certified technician must conduct a leak inspection, as described in paragraph (g) of this section, to identify the location of leaks.
(2) Leaks must be repaired such that the leak rate is brought below the applicable leak rate. This must be confirmed by the leak rate calculation performed upon the next refrigerant addition. The leaks will be presumed to be repaired if there is no further refrigerant addition for 12 months after the repair or if the leak inspections required under paragraph (g) do not find any leaks in the appliance. Repair of leaks must be documented by both an initial and a follow-up verification test or tests.
(3) The time frames in paragraphs (d) through(f) of this section are temporarily suspended when an appliance is mothballed. The time will resume on the day additional refrigerant is added to the appliance (or component of an appliance if the leaking component was isolated).
(e) Verification tests. The owner or operator must conduct both initial and follow-up verification tests on each leak that was repaired under paragraph (d) of this section.
(1) Initial verification test. Unless granted additional time, an initial verification test must be performed within 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) of an appliance exceeding the applicable leak rate in paragraph (c) of this section. An initial verification test must demonstrate that leaks where a repair attempt was made are repaired.
(i) For repairs that can be completed without the need to open or evacuate the appliance, the test must be performed after the conclusion of the repair work and before any additional refrigerant is added to the appliance.
(ii) For repairs that require the evacuation of the appliance or portion of the appliance, the test must be performed before adding any refrigerant to the appliance.
(iii) If the initial verification test indicates that the repairs have not been successful, the owner or operator may conduct as many additional repairs and initial verification tests as needed within the applicable time period.
(2) Follow-up verification test. A follow-up verification test must be performed within 10 days of the successful initial verification test or 10 days of the appliance reaching normal operating characteristics and conditions (if the appliance or isolated component was evacuated for the repair(s)). Where it is unsafe to be present or otherwise impossible to conduct a follow-up verification test when the system is operating at normal operating characteristics and conditions, the verification test must, where practicable, be conducted prior to the system returning to normal operating characteristics and conditions.
(i) A follow-up verification test must demonstrate that leaks where a repair attempt was made are repaired. If the follow-up verification test indicates that the repairs have not been successful, the owner or operator may conduct as many additional repairs and verification tests as needed to bring the appliance below the leak rate within the applicable time period and to verify the repairs.
(f) Extensions to the appliance repair deadlines. Owners or operators are permitted more than 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) to comply with paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section if they meet the requirements of (f)(1) through (4) of this section or the appliance is mothballed. The request will be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owners or operators otherwise.
(1) One or more of the following conditions must apply:
(i) The appliance is located in an area subject to radiological contamination or shutting down the appliance will directly lead to radiological contamination. Additional time is permitted to the extent needed to conduct and finish repairs in a safe working environment.
(ii) Requirements of other applicable Federal, state, or local regulations make a repair within 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) impossible. Additional time is permitted to the extent needed to comply with the pertinent regulations.
(iii) Components that must be replaced as part of the repair are not available within 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required). Additional time is permitted up to 30 days after receiving delivery of the necessary components, not to exceed 180 days (or 270 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) from the date the appliance exceeded the applicable leak rate.
(2) Repairs to leaks that the technician has identified as significantly contributing to the exceedance of the leak rate and that do not require additional time must be completed and verified within the initial 30 day repair period (or 120 day repair period if an industrial process shutdown is required);
(3) The owner or operator must document all repair efforts and the reason for the inability to make the repair within the initial 30 day repair period (or 120 day repair period if an industrial process shutdown is required); and
(4) The owner or operator must request an extension from EPA at the address specified in paragraph (m) of this section within 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) of the appliance exceeding the applicable leak rate in paragraph (c) of this section. Extension requests must include: Identification and address of the facility; the name of the owner or operator of the appliance; the leak rate; the method used to determine the leak rate and full charge; the date the appliance exceeded the applicable leak rate; the location of leak(s) to the extent determined to date; any repair work that has been performed thus far, including the date that work was completed; the reasons why more than 30 days (or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required) are needed to complete the repair; and an estimate of when the work will be completed. If the estimated completion date is to be extended, a new estimated date of completion and documentation of the reason for that change must be submitted to EPA within 30 days of identifying that the completion date must be extended. The owner or operator must keep a dated copy of this submission.
(g) Leak Inspections. (1) The owner or operator must conduct a leak inspection in accordance with the following schedule on any appliance exceeding the applicable leak rate in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
(i) For commercial refrigeration and industrial process refrigeration appliances with a full charge of 500 or more pounds, leak inspections must be conducted once every three months until the owner or operator can demonstrate through the leak rate calculations required under paragraph (b) of this section that the appliance has not leaked in excess of the applicable leak rate for four quarters in a row.
(ii) For commercial refrigeration and industrial process refrigeration appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds but less than 500 pounds, leak inspections must be conducted once per calendar year until the owner or operator can demonstrate through the leak rate calculations required under paragraph (b) of this section that the appliance has not leaked in excess of the applicable leak rate for one year.
(iii) For comfort cooling appliances and other appliances not covered by paragraphs (g)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section, leak inspections must be conducted once per calendar year until the owner or operator can demonstrate through the leak rate calculations required under paragraph (b) of this section that the appliance has not leaked in excess of the applicable leak rate for one year.
(2) Leak inspections must be conducted by a certified technician using method(s) determined by the technician to be appropriate for that appliance.
(3) All visible and accessible components of an appliance must be inspected, with the following exceptions:
(i) Where components are insulated, under ice that forms on the outside of equipment, underground, behind walls, or are otherwise inaccessible;
(ii) Where personnel must be elevated more than two meters above a support surface; or
(iii) Where components are unsafe to inspect, as determined by site personnel.
(4) Quarterly or annual leak inspections are not required on appliances, or portions of appliances, continuously monitored by an automatic leak detection system that is audited or calibrated annually. An automatic leak detection system may directly detect refrigerant in air, monitor its surrounding in a manner other than detecting refrigerant concentrations in air, or monitor conditions of the appliance.
(i) For systems that directly detect the presence of a refrigerant in air, the system must:
(A) Only be used to monitor components located inside an enclosed building or structure;
(B) Have sensors or intakes placed so that they will continuously monitor the refrigerant concentrations in air in proximity to the compressor, evaporator, condenser, and other areas with a high potential for a refrigerant leak;
(C) Accurately detect a concentration level of 10 parts per million of vapor of the specific refrigerant or refrigerants used in the refrigeration appliance(s); and
(D) Alert the owner or operator when a refrigerant concentration of 100 parts per million of vapor of the specific refrigerant or refrigerants used in the refrigeration appliance(s) is reached.
(ii) For a system that monitors its surrounding in a manner other than detecting refrigerant concentrations in air or monitor conditions of the appliance, the system must automatically alert the owner or operator when measurements indicate a loss of 50 pounds of refrigerant or 10 percent of the full charge, whichever is less.
(iii) When automatic leak detection equipment is only being used to monitor portions of an appliance, the remainder of the appliance continues to be subject to any applicable leak inspection requirements.
(h) Retrofit or retirement plans. (1) The owner or operator must create a retrofit or retirement plan within 30 days of:
(i) an appliance leaking above the applicable leak rate in paragraph (c) of this section if the owner or operator intends to retrofit or retire rather than repair the leak;
(ii) an appliance leaking above the applicable leak rate in paragraph (c) of this section if the owner or operator fails to take any action to identify or repair the leak; or
(iii) an appliance continues to leak above the applicable leak rate after having conducted the required repairs and verification tests under paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section.
(2) A retrofit or retirement plan must, at a minimum, contain the following information:
(i) Identification and location of the appliance;
(ii) Type and full charge of the refrigerant used in the appliance;
(iii) Type and full charge of the refrigerant to which the appliance will be converted, if retrofitted;
(iv) Itemized procedure for converting the appliance to a different refrigerant, including changes required for compatibility with the new substitute, if retrofitted;
(v) Plan for the disposition of recovered refrigerant;
(vi) Plan for the disposition of the appliance, if retired; and
(vii) A schedule, not to exceed one-year, for completion of the appliance retrofit or retirement.
(3) The retrofit or retirement plan must be signed by an authorized company official, dated, accessible at the site of the appliance in paper copy or electronic format, and available for EPA inspection upon request.
(4) All identified leaks must be repaired as part of any retrofit under such a plan.
(5)(i) Unless granted additional time, all work performed in accordance with the plan must be finished within one year of the plan’s date (not to exceed 13 months from when the plan was required in paragraph (h)(1) of this section).
(ii) The owner or operator may request that EPA relieve it of the obligation to retrofit or retire an appliance if the owner or operator can establish within 180 days of the plan’s date that the appliance no longer exceeds the applicable leak rate and if the owner or operator agrees in writing to repair all identified leaks within one year of the plan’s date consistent with paragraph (h)(4) and (h)(5)(i) of this section. The owner or operator must submit to EPA the retrofit or retirement plan as well as the following information: The date that the requirement to develop a retrofit or retirement plan was triggered; the leak rate; the method used to determine the leak rate and full charge; the location of the leak(s) identified in the leak inspection; a description of repair work that has been completed; a description of repair work that has not been completed; a description of why the repair was not conducted within the time frames required under paragraphs (d) and (f) of this section; and a statement signed by an authorized official that all identified leaks will be repaired and an estimate of when those repairs will be completed (not to exceed one year from date of the plan). The request will be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owners or operators within 60 days of receipt of the request that it is not approved.
(i) Extensions to the one-year retrofit or retirement schedule. Owners or operators may request more than one year to comply with paragraph (h) of this section if they meet the requirements of this paragraph. The request will be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owners or operators within 60 days of receipt of the request that it is not approved. The request must be submitted to EPA at the address specified in § 82.157(m) within seven months of discovering the appliance exceeded the applicable leak rate. The request must include the identification of the appliance; name of the owner or operator; the leak rate; the method used to determine the leak rate and full charge; the date the appliance exceeded the applicable leak rate; the location of leaks(s) to the extent determined to date; any repair work that has been finished thus far, including the date that work was finished; a plan to finish the retrofit or retirement of the appliance; the reasons why more than one year is necessary to retrofit or retire the appliance; the date of notification to EPA; and an estimate of when retrofit or retirement work will be finished. A dated copy of the request must be available on-site in either electronic or paper copy. If the estimated completion date is to be revised, a new estimated date of completion and documentation of the reason for that change must be submitted to EPA at the address specified in § 82.157(m) within 30 days. Additionally, the time frames in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section are temporarily suspended when an appliance is mothballed. The time will resume running on the day additional refrigerant is added to the appliance (or component of an appliance if the leaking component was isolated).
(1) Extensions available to any appliance. Owners or operators of commercial refrigeration, industrial process refrigeration, comfort-cooling, or other equipment are automatically allowed 18 months to retire an appliance if the replacement appliance uses a substitute refrigerant exempted under § 82.154(a).
(2) Extensions available to industrial process refrigeration. Owners or operators of industrial process refrigeration equipment may request additional time beyond the one-year period in paragraph (h) of this section to finish the retrofit or retirement under the following circumstances.
(i) Requirements of other applicable Federal, state, or local regulations make a retrofit or retirement within one year impossible. Additional time is permitted to the extent needed to comply with the pertinent regulations;
(ii) The new or the retrofitted equipment is custom-built as defined in this subpart and the supplier of the appliance or one of its components has quoted a delivery time of more than 30 weeks from when the order is placed. The appliance or appliance components must be installed within 120 days after receiving delivery of the necessary parts; or
(iii) After receiving an extension under paragraph (i)(2)(ii) of this section, owners or operators may request additional time if necessary to finish the retrofit or retirement of equipment. The request must be submitted to EPA before the end of the ninth month of the initial extension and must include the same information submitted for that extension, with any necessary revisions. A dated copy of the request must be available on-site in either electronic or paper copy. The request will be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owners or operators within 60 days of receipt of the request that it is not approved.
(3) Extensions available to Federally owned equipment. Owners or operators of federally owned commercial or comfort-cooling equipment may request an additional year beyond the one-year period in paragraph (h) of this section to finish the retrofit or retirement under the following circumstances:
(i) A delivery time of more than 30 weeks from the beginning of the official procurement process is quoted due to complications presented by the Federal agency appropriations and/or procurement process;
(ii) The appliance is located in an area subject to radiological contamination and creating a safe working environment will require more than 30 weeks; or
(iii) After receiving a one-year extension under paragraphs (i)(3)(i) or (ii) of this section, additional time may be requested if necessary to finish the retrofit or retirement of equipment. The request must be submitted to EPA before the end of the ninth month of the one-year extension and must include the same information submitted for that one-year extension, with any necessary revisions. A dated copy of the request must be available on-site in either electronic or paper copy. The request will be considered approved unless EPA notifies the owners or operators within 60 days of receipt of the request that it is not approved.
(j) Chronically leaking appliances. Owners or operators of appliances containing 50 pounds or more of refrigerant that leak 125 percent or more of the full charge in a calendar year must submit a report to EPA at the address in paragraph (m) of this section. This report must be submitted by March 1 of the subsequent year and describe efforts to identify leaks and repair the appliance.
(k) Purged refrigerant. In calculating annual leak rates, purged refrigerant that is destroyed at a verifiable destruction efficiency of 98 percent or greater will not be counted toward the leak rate.
(l) Recordkeeping. All records identified in this paragraph must be kept for at least three years in electronic or paper format, unless otherwise specified.
(1) Owners or operators must determine the full charge of all appliances with 50 or more pounds of refrigerant and maintain the following information for each appliance until three years after the appliance is retired:
(i) The identification of the owner or operator of the appliance;
(ii) The address where the appliance is located;
(iii) The full charge of the appliance and the method for how the full charge was determined;
(iv) If using method 4 (using an established range) for determining full charge, records must include the range for the full charge of the appliance, its midpoint, and how the range was determined;
(v) Any revisions of the full charge, how they were determined, and the dates such revisions occurred.
(2) Owners or operators must maintain a record including the following information for each time an appliance with a full charge of 50 or more pounds is maintained, serviced, repaired, or disposed of, when applicable. If the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal is done by someone other than the owner or operator, that person must provide a record containing the following information, with the exception of (l)(2)(vii) and (viii) of this section, to the owner or operator:
(i) The identity and location of the appliance;
(ii) The date of the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal performed;
(iii) The part(s) of the appliance being maintained, serviced, repaired, or disposed;
(iv) The type of maintenance, service, repair, or disposal performed for each part;
(v) The name of the person performing the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal;
(vi) The amount and type of refrigerant added to, or in the case of disposal removed from, the appliance;
(vii) The full charge of the appliance; and
(viii) The leak rate and the method used to determine the leak rate (not applicable when disposing of the appliance, following a retrofit, installing a new appliance, or if the refrigerant addition qualifies as a seasonal variance).
(3) Owners or operators must keep records of leak inspections that include the date of inspection, the method(s) used to conduct the leak inspection, a list of the location of each leak that was identified, and a certification that all visible and accessible parts of the appliance were inspected. Technicians conducting leak inspections must, upon conclusion of that service, provide the owner or operator of the appliance with documentation that meets these requirements.
(4) If using an automatic leak detection system, the owner or operator must maintain records regarding the installation and the annual audit and calibration of the system, a record of each date the monitoring system identified a leak, and the location of the leak.
(5) Owners or operators must maintain records of the dates and results of all initial and follow-up verification tests. Records must include the location of the appliance, the date(s) of the verification tests, the location(s) of all repaired leaks that were tested, the type(s) of verification test(s) used, and the results of those tests. Technicians conducting initial or follow-up verification tests must, upon conclusion of that service, provide the owner or operator of the appliance with documentation that meets these requirements.
(6) Owners or operators must maintain retrofit or retirement plans developed in accordance with paragraph (h) of this section.
(7) Owners or operators must maintain retrofit and/or extension requests submitted to EPA in accordance with paragraph (i) of this section.
(8) Owners or operators that suspend the deadlines in this section by mothballing an appliance must keep records documenting when the appliance was mothballed and when additional refrigerant was added to the appliance (or isolated component).
(9) Owners or operators who exclude purged refrigerants that are destroyed from annual leak rate calculations must maintain records to support the amount of refrigerant claimed as sent for destruction. Records must be based on a monitoring strategy that provides reliable data to demonstrate that the amount of refrigerant claimed to have been destroyed is not greater than the amount of refrigerant actually purged and destroyed and that the 98 percent or greater destruction efficiency is met. Records must include flow rate, quantity or concentration of the refrigerant in the vent stream, and periods of purge flow. Records must include:
(i) The identification of the facility and a contact person, including the address and telephone number;
(ii) A description of the appliance, focusing on aspects relevant to the purging of refrigerant and subsequent destruction;
(iii) A description of the methods used to determine the quantity of refrigerant sent for destruction and type of records that are being kept by the owners or operators where the appliance is located;
(iv) The frequency of monitoring and data-recording; and
(v) A description of the control device, and its destruction efficiency.
(10) Owners or operators that exclude additions of refrigerant due to seasonal variance from their leak rate calculation must maintain records stating that they are using the seasonal variance flexibility and documenting the amount added and removed under § 82.157(l)(2).
(11) Owners or operators that submit reports to EPA in accordance with paragraph (m) of this section must maintain copies of the submitted reports and any responses from EPA.
(m) Reporting. All notifications must be submitted electronically to 608reports@epa.gov unless the notification contains confidential business information. If the notification contains confidential business information, the information should be submitted to: Section 608 Program Manager; Stratospheric Protection Division; Mail Code: 6205T; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460.
(1) Owners or operators must notify EPA at this address in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section when seeking an extension of time to complete repairs.
(2) Owners or operators must notify EPA at this address in accordance with paragraph (h)(5)(ii) of this section when seeking relief from the obligation to retrofit or retire an appliance.
(3) Owners or operators must notify EPA at this address in accordance with paragraph (i) of this section when seeking an extension of time to complete the retrofit or retirement of an appliance.
(4) Owners or operators must notify EPA at this address in accordance with paragraph (j) of this section for any appliance that leaks 125 percent or more of the full charge in a calendar year.
(5) When excluding purged refrigerants that are destroyed from annual leak rate calculations, owners or operators must notify EPA at this address within 60 days after the first time the exclusion is used by the facility where the appliance is located. The report must include the information included in paragraph (l)(9) of this section.