14 - Appendix 10 - Refrigeration Maintenance Compliance.pdf

Appendix XX Refrigeration Maintenance Compliance 1 | P a g e

Appendix 10

DeCA

Refrigeration Maintenance Compliance

Appendix XX Refrigeration Maintenance Compliance 2 | P a g e

Table of Contents Refrigeration Maintenance Compliance

1.0 Compliance Laws

1.1 Clean Air Act

2.0 Leak Rate Calculation

3.0 Requirement to Address Leaks through Appliance Repair, or Retrofitting or Retiring an Appliance

3.1 Leak Repairs

3.2 Leak Rates Triggering Regulatory Repair Requirement

4.0 Appliance Repair

5.0 Verification tests

5.1 Initial verification test

6.0 Follow-up verification test

7.0 Extensions to the appliance repair deadlines

8.0 Leak Inspections

8.1 Certified Technician

8.2 Exceptions

8.3 Leak Detection System

9.0 Retrofit or Retirement Plans

10.0 Chronically leaking appliances

11.0 Purged Refrigerant

12.0 Recordkeeping

13.0 Reporting

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Refrigeration Maintenance Compliance

1.0 Compliance Laws

1.1 Clean Air Act

The Contractor shall accomplish all work in accordance with Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, as implemented by 40 CFR § 82.157. This section applies to all appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of all refrigerants.

The Contractor shall furnish and install only new non-recycled refrigerants.

The Contractor is responsible for safe handling, dismantling, removal, and disposal of all refrigeration equipment identified for removal as part of the task order unless otherwise specified.

Prior to dismantling and removal of refrigeration equipment, the Contractor shall recover all refrigerants in accordance with Section 608 of the Clean Air Act.

2.0 Leak Rate Calculation

The Contractor shall provide the Government with documentation upon the conclusion of adding or removing refrigerant from any and all appliances. The Contractor must calculate the leak rate every time refrigerant is added or removed to an appliance unless the addition is made immediately following a retrofit, installation of a new appliance.

3.0 Requirement to Address Leaks through Appliance

Repair, or Retrofitting or Retiring an Appliance

3.1 Leak Repairs

The Contractor shall repair all leaking appliances, regardless of the leak amount, unless the Government elects to retrofit or retire the appliance in compliance with 40 CFR 82.157. If the Contractor repairs a leak but fails to bring the leak rate below the requirements stated in paragraph 3.2, applicable leak rate, the Contractor shall notify the Government within 72 hours.

3.2 Leak Rates Triggering Regulatory Repair Requirement

For appliances with a full charge of 50 or more pounds of refrigerant:

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• 20 percent leak rate or over for commercial refrigeration equipment;

• 10 percent leak rate or over for comfort cooling appliances or other appliances

4.0 Appliance Repair

The Contractor shall identify and repair all leaks within 3 days of when refrigerant is added to any appliance.

• A certified technician must conduct a leak inspection, as described in paragraph

8, to identify the location of leaks.

• Leaks must be repaired such that there is no additional leakage and, at a minimum, is brought below the applicable regulator leak rate. This must be confirmed by the leak rate calculation performed at the next refrigerant addition.

• The leaks shall be presumed to be repaired if there is no further refrigerant addition for 12 months after the repair or if the leak inspections do not reveal any leaks in the appliance.

• Repair of leaks must be documented by both an initial and a follow-up verification test or tests.

• The time frames are temporarily suspended when an appliance is determined by the Government to be mothballed. The time shall resume on the day additional refrigerant is added to the appliance (or component of an appliance if the leaking component was isolated).

5.0 Verification tests

The Contractor shall conduct both initial and follow-up verification tests on each leak repaired.

5.1 Initial verification test

An initial verification test must be performed in accordance with the following:

• 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.

• 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.

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• If the initial verification test indicates that the repairs have not been successful, the Government shall require as many additional repairs and tests as needed to demonstrate that leaks were repaired.

• The Contractor must conduct initial testing as soon as an appliance is found to be leaking.

6.0 Follow-up verification test

A follow-up verification test shall be performed within 10 days of the successful initial verification test or 10 days after the appliance reaches 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.

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 Contractor must conduct as many additional repairs and verification tests as needed to show that the appliance is not leaking.

7.0 Extensions to the appliance repair deadlines

Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer if repairs to lower the regulatory leak rate cannot be completed within 10 days.

The Contractor must document all repair efforts and the reason for the inability to make the repairs.

8.0 Leak Inspections

The Contractor must conduct a leak inspection in accordance with the following schedule on all appliances:

• For commercial refrigeration appliances with a full charge of 500 or more pounds, leak inspections must be conducted once every three months.

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• For commercial 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.

• For comfort cooling appliances and other appliances not covered above, leak inspections must be conducted once per calendar year.

8.1 Certified Technician

Leak inspections must be conducted by a certified technician using method(s) determined by the technician to be appropriate for that appliance.

8.2 Exceptions

All visible and accessible components of an appliance must be inspected, with the following exceptions:

• Where components are insulated, under ice that forms on the outside of equipment, underground, behind walls, or are otherwise in accessible;

• Where personnel must be elevated more than two meters above a support surface; or

• Where components are unsafe to inspect, as determined by site personnel.

8.3 Leak Detection System

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 it’s surrounding in a manner other than detecting refrigerant concentrations in air, or monitor conditions of the appliance.

For systems that directly detect the presence of a refrigerant in air, the system must:

• Only be used to monitor components located inside an enclosed building or structure;

• Have sensors or intakes placed so that they shall 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;

• Accurately detect a concentration level of 10 parts per million of vapor of the specific refrigerant or refrigerants used in the refrigeration appliance(s);

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• Alert the Government 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.

• The Refrigeration Monitoring and Control System (RMCS) is to monitor the refrigeration systems for leaks. The Contractor is to maintain the refrigeration system’s refrigerant liquid level at 30%, the RMCS is to alarm when a refrigerant system’s liquid level is below 20%.

• 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.

9.0 Retrofit or Retirement Plans

The Contractor must create a retrofit or retirement plan within 30 days of:

• Appliance leaking above the applicable regulatory leak rate if the government intends to retrofit or retire rather than repair the leak;

• Appliance leaking above the applicable regulatory leak rate if the government fails to take any action to identify or repair the leak; or

• Appliance continues to leak above the applicable regulatory leak rate after the required repairs and verification tests have been conducted.

A retrofit or retirement plan must, at a minimum, contain the following information:

• Identification and location of the appliance;

• Type and full charge of the refrigerant used in the appliance;

• Type and full charge of the refrigerant to which the appliance shall be converted, if retrofitted;

• Itemized procedure for converting the appliance to a different refrigerant, including changes required for compatibility with the new substitute, if retrofitted;

• Plan for the disposition of recovered refrigerant;

• Plan for the disposition of the appliance, if retired; and

• A schedule, not to exceed one-year, for completion of the appliance retrofit or retirement.

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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.

• All identified leaks must be repaired as part of any retrofit under such a plan.

• 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).

The Contractor may request that the Government relieve it of the obligation to retrofit or retire an appliance if the Contractor can establish within 180 days of the plan’s date that the appliance no longer exceeds the applicable leak rate and if the Contractor agrees in writing to repair all identified leaks within one year of the plan’s date.

The Contractor must submit to the Government 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;

• and a statement signed by an authorized official that all identified leaks shall be repaired and an estimate of when those repairs shall be completed (not to exceed one year from date of the plan).

The request shall be considered approved unless the Government notifies the Contractor within 60 days of receipt of the request that it is not approved.

10.0 Chronically leaking appliances

• The Contractor shall immediately notify the Government of appliances containing 50 pounds or more of refrigerants that leak 125 percent or more of the full charge in a calendar year.

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• The Contractor shall submit a quarterly report to the Contracting Officer that identifies the date the leak was discovered, date at which the Government was notified, describes efforts to identify leaks and repair the appliances, current annual leak rate, and dates of quarterly or annual leak inspections.

11.0 Purged Refrigerant

• In calculating annual leak rates, purged refrigerant that is destroyed at a verifiable destruction efficiency of 98 percent or greater shall not be counted toward the leak rate.

12.0 Recordkeeping

All records identified or required for the purposes of accomplishing the tasks must be maintained for at least three years in electronic format, unless otherwise specified.

The Contractor 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:

The identification of the owner or operator of the appliance;

• The address where the appliance is located;

• The full charge of the appliance and the method for how the full charge was determined;

• 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;

• Any revisions of the full charge, how they were determined, and the dates such revisions occurred.

The Contractor 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.

The Contractor shall provide a record containing the following information to the Government:

• The identity and location of the appliance;

• The date of the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal performed;

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• The part(s) of the appliance being maintained, serviced, repaired, or disposed;

• The type of maintenance, service, repair, or disposal performed for each part;

• The name of the person performing the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal;

• The amount and type of refrigerant added to, or in the case of disposal removed from, the appliance;

• The full charge of the appliance; and

• 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).

The Contractor 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 Government with documentation that meets these requirements.

If using an automatic leak detection system, the Contractor 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.

The Contractor 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 Government with documentation that meets these requirements.

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When directed by the Government, the Contractor must keep records documenting when an appliance is mothballed and when additional refrigerant was added to the appliance (or isolated component).

Contractors 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:

• The identification of the facility, and

• a contact person, including the address and telephone number

The Contractor 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.

The Contractor shall provide a record containing the following information to the Government:

• The identity and location of the appliance;

• The date of the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal performed;

• The part(s) of the appliance being maintained, serviced, repaired, or disposed;

• The type of maintenance, service, repair, or disposal performed for each part;

• The name of the person performing the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal;

• The amount and type of refrigerant added to, or in the case of disposal removed from, the appliance;

• The full charge of the appliance; and

• 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).

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The Contractor 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 Government with documentation that meets these requirements.

If using an automatic leak detection system, the Contractor 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.

The Contractor 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 Government with documentation that meets these requirements.

When directed by the Government, the Contractor must keep records documenting when an appliance is mothballed and when additional refrigerant was added to the appliance (or isolated component).

Contractors 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.

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Records must include:

• The identification of the facility and a contact person, including the address and telephone number;

• A description of the appliance, focusing on aspects relevant to the purging of refrigerant and subsequent destruction;

• 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 Contractor where the appliance is located;

• The frequency of monitoring and data-recording; and

• A description of the control device, and its destruction efficiency.

13.0 Reporting

The Contractor shall make available, electronically, all necessary documents for either download by the Government or for direct submission to EPA. The Contractor shall submit all notifications to the Contracting Officer. Contractors must notify the Government when seeking an extension of time to complete repairs.

• Contractors must notify the Government when seeking relief from the obligation to retrofit or retire an appliance.

• Contractors must notify the Government when seeking an extension of time to complete the retrofit or retirement of an appliance.

• Contractors must notify the Government for any appliance that leaks 125 percent or more of the full charge in a calendar year.

• When excluding purged refrigerants that are destroyed from annual leak rate calculations, Contractors must notify the Government within 45 days after the first time the exclusion is used by the facility where the appliance is located.

For DeCA facilities in California, the Contractor shall be responsible for compliance of DeCA facilities, equipment, and systems covered under this contract with regulations and requirements of the California Air Resources Board Refrigerant Management Program (RMP), including leak inspection and any other reporting requirements.

The Contractor shall use the California Air Resources Board Refrigerant Registration and Reporting System (R3) in meeting reporting requirements.

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The Contractor shall notify the Government when reports or other documents are uploaded to the R3 website and shall provide a comprehensive report of items uploaded, along with a copy of all such items, to the Contracting Officer no later than February 15 of each.