Part 9. Halogenated Refrigerants of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 26. >> Part 9.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) For the first time in human history, the use and disposal of
certain manmade products are actively destroying a layer of the earth'
s atmosphere without which human life cannot continue to exist.
(2) These products, known as chlorofluorocarbons and halons, have
already begun to deplete the ozone layer which protects human and
other life forms from cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation. Above
California, the ozone shield has been depleted about 3 percent over
the last 20 years.
(3) On January 1, 1989, a 24-nation agreement (the Montreal
Protocol) became effective, calling for the reduction in use of most
CFCs and halons, and the Environmental Protection Agency has issued
regulations designed to freeze production of these products at
current levels.
(4) The Montreal Protocol was amended in 1990 calling for a
reduction of CFC manufacturing to 50 percent of 1986 levels by 1995,
further reduction to 15 percent of 1986 levels by 1997, and complete
elimination by the year 2000. Due to the severity of the ozone
depletion problem, however, this phaseout schedule is to be reviewed
in 1992 with the objective of accelerating it still further.
(5) It is essential to the health and safety of all Californians
to take such steps as are necessary to further decrease and halt the
destruction of the ozone layer by CFCs and halons.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares the following:
(1) CFCs and halons contribute actively to global warming trends
which could dramatically affect the economy and stability of
California, including the flooding of coastal lands, loss of crop
winters, and destruction of coastal wetlands and forests.
(2) Twenty-five percent of the total amount of CFCs produced every
year in the United States are needlessly released into the
atmosphere through mobile air-conditioning servicing, maintenance,
and leaking.
(3) CFC-12 accounts for 46 percent of California's contribution to
ozone depletion from CFCs. Emissions from mobile air-conditioners
are estimated to account for 27 percent of all of California's CFC-12
emissions.
(4) Actions required by the federal Clean Air Act amendments of
1990 (Public Law 101-549) will result in programs which require the
recycling of CFCs used as refrigerants in existing motor vehicles and
stationary systems, beginning in 1992. The severity of the ozone
depletion problem, however, compels us to shift to the use of
alternative refrigerants as soon as possible.
(5) Most vehicle manufacturers have indicated that they can equip
a portion or all of their vehicle fleets with an alternative
refrigerant by the mid- to late 1990s, if alternative products
successfully complete toxicity testing by the Environmental
Protection Agency by 1992.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature by the enactment of this
part to phase out the use of CFC-based refrigerants in mobile
air-conditioning systems by banning the sale of any new automobile,
truck, or other motor vehicle in California which utilizes CFC-based
refrigerants after January 1, 1995, except as otherwise specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 44473.
(a) This part applies to products containing or manufactured
with CFC-11, CFC-12, and HCFC-22 which have an ozone depletion
potential (ODP) of greater than .1, and have been identified by the
Environmental Protection Agency as substances controlled by the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Any
reference in this part to CFC, or CFCs, means these substances.
(b) As used in this part, "vehicle air-conditioner" means
mechanical vapor compression refrigeration equipment used to cool the
driver's or passenger compartment of any motor vehicle.
(a) On and after January 1, 1993, and prior to January 1,
1994, not more than 90 percent of the new 1993 model year or later
motor vehicles equipped with vehicle air-conditioners which are
certified for sale, sold, or offered for sale in this state shall
utilize CFC-based products described in subdivision (a) of Section
44471.
(b) On and after January 1, 1994, and prior to January 1, 1995,
not more than 75 percent of the new 1994 model year or later motor
vehicles equipped with vehicle air-conditioners which are certified
for sale, sold, or offered for sale in this state shall utilize those
CFC-based products.
(c) On or after September 1, 1994, not more than 10 percent of all
model year 1995 vehicles shall utilize those CFC-based products.
(d) On and after January 1, 1995, no person or business shall
certify for sale, sell, or offer to sell a new 1995 or later model
year motor vehicle equipped with a vehicle air-conditioner utilizing
those CFC-based products.
(a) Manufacturers of all motor vehicle models described in
Section 44472 shall submit quarterly records and an annual report to
the state board detailing the percentage of new models certified for
sale, sold, or offered for sale in California with CFC-alternative
mobile air-conditioning systems not using the CFC-based products
enumerated in subdivision (a) of Section 44471. Compliance with
Section 44472 shall be based on the total number of new motor vehicle
models with non-CFC-based vehicle air-conditioners certified for
sale, sold, or offered for sale versus the total number of new motor
vehicle models with vehicle air-conditioners certified for sale,
sold, or offered for sale in California each year.
(b) Each of the deadlines set forth in Section 44472 may be
extended for a period of not more than two years upon a determination
by the state board that chemical or technological alternatives to
CFC-based products are not yet available and in sufficient supply, or
that manufacturers of new motor vehicles require additional time to
redesign vehicle air-conditioning systems.
(c) The state board shall adopt regulations by March 1, 1992,
providing for the enforcement of this part.
Any person or business that violates this part is liable for
a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) per incident, not to
exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day.