A final rule involving the recovery of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) from auto air conditioning systems was adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on August 13, 1992. The rule includes numerous provisions of interest to auto repair dealers including:

• Equipment used to recover and/or recycle CFCs must be approved by EPA (effective 1/1/92).

• Technicians who repair or service auto air conditioning systems must be trained and certified by an EPA-approved organization (i.e., ASE) (effective 1/1/92).

• Small businesses (those which performed less than 100 service jobs in 1990) have until January 1, 1993 to purchase equipment. To request an extension, those small businesses were required to certify to the EPA by August 13, 1992 that they serviced less than 100 air conditioners in 1990 (effective 8/13/92).

• Only a certified technician may purchase CFCs in containers weighing less than 20 pounds (effective 11/15/92).

• Requires service shops to certify to the EPA that they own approved equipment and keep records of the name and address of any CFC reclamation facility where refrigerant is sent. EPA will consider all relevant factors when deciding whether to take enforcement action for violations that occurred between January 1 and November 15, 1992 (effective 11/15/92).

If you have any questions regarding the CFC program requirements call EPA toll-free at 1-800-296-1996.

Repair dealers may wish to consult their local air pollution control districts, air quality management districts, city or county governments to determine if there are local CFC regulations that also affect their businesses. The following districts and cities have adopted CFC rules that may differ from those adopted by the EPA:

• South Coast Air Quality Management District (includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and a portion of San Bernardino Counties) (714) 396-2000

• Bay Area Air Quality Management District (includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma Counties) (415) 749-4697

•  Cities of San Jose (408) 277-5533, San Francisco (requires a separate permit) (415) 554-2794 and Berkeley (510) 644-7719

The following districts and cities have proposed CFC rules that may also differ from those adopted by the EPA:

• San Bernardino county APCD (Southeast Desert Air Basin) (619) 243-8921

• San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (includes Fresno, Kings, Kern, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties) (209) 488-3330

• Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (includes Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties) (408) 647-9411