Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (40 CFR part 82, subpart G) (Renewal)

Title VI of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (the Act) provides authority for implementing the obligation of the United States under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to phase out the use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and includes complementary measures. Section 612 of the Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a program for evaluating alternatives to ozone-depleting substances. Under CAA Section 612, EPA is authorized to identify and restrict the use of substitutes for class I and class II ODS (listed in 40 CFR part 82, subpart A, appendices A and B) where EPA determines other alternatives are available or potentially available that reduce overall risk to human health and the environment. Any producer of a new substitute must submit a notice of intent to introduce a substitute into interstate commerce 90 days prior to such introduction. The producer must also provide EPA with information covering a wide range of health and environmental factors. The SNAP program, based on information collected from the manufacturers, formulators, and/or sellers of such substitutes, identifies acceptable substitutes. Responses to the collection of information are mandatory under Section 612 for anyone who sells or, in certain cases, uses substitutes for an ODS after April 18, 1994, the effective date of the final rule. Measures to protect confidentiality of information collected under the SNAP program are based on EPAs confidentiality regulations (40 CFR 2.201 et seq., or Subpart B). Submitters may designate all or portions of their forms or petitions as confidential. EPA requires the submitters to substantiate their claim of confidentiality. To develop the lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes, the Agency must assess and compare "overall risks to human health and the environment" posed by use of substitutes in the context of particular applications. EPA requires submission of information covering a wide range of health and environmental factors. These include intrinsic properties such as physical and chemical information, atmospheric effects including ozone depleting potential and global warming potential, toxicity, and flammability, and use-specific data such as substitute applications, process description, environmental release data, exposure data during use of a substitute, environmental fate and transport, and cost information of the substitute. Once a completed submission has been received, the SNAP program will commence its review. Any substitute which is a new chemical must also be submitted to the Agency under the Premanufacture Notice program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Alternatives that will be used as sterilants must be filed jointly with EPAs Office of Pesticide Programs and with SNAP.

The latest form for Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program (40 CFR part 82, subpart G) (Renewal) expires 2023-08-31 and can be found here.