JULY 2026 ISSUE

Complying with WA State Regs

The next RMS training called “Complying with WA State Refrigerant Regulations” will be held on August 19 at 11 AM MT. Those of you in the HVACR industry in the state of Washington hopefully know that there are some pretty serious state refrigerant regulations that come on top of the federal regs. Things can get pretty confusing in these situations. The training is live with the opportunity for questions at the end.

RMS Trainings Available On-Demand

All past RMS trainings are available on demand for everyone who was not able to attend the live training or those of you who just need refreshers. The training on Compliance with Construction-Related Refrigerant Regs which covers new facilities, retrofit projects, facility shutdowns, and equipment replacement projects was especially popular and deemed to be “the best training yet.”

Lawsuits Over Reconsidered TTR

Nineteen states sued the U.S. EPA over its delayed HFC transition deadlines in the final "Reconsidered" TTR that was issued in May. These states joined legal action by AHRI, The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy (mainly chemical manufacturers), and US Contractor groups petitioned the courts for judicial review. Several food retail special interest groups filed motions defending the rule’s extended compliance deadlines. Stuck in the middle: The EPA. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t.

More Tariff Confusion for HVACR

The new 50% Canadian tariffs to “offset the burden or disadvantage from [Canada’s] discrimination against or unequal imposition on the commerce of the United States” affect HVACR equipment including refrigerated/frozen display cases. Here we go again.

DoL Grants for Skills Training

The US Department of Labor has nearly $40 million in new grants available to support industry-driven skills training. The funding is available for employee training across various industry sectors, with employers eligible for reimbursement after meeting outcome-based requirements. Applicants must partner with eligible employers who commit to recruit and train workers and report on training and employment outcomes. Grant applications are due on August 17th.

Unlicensed HVAC Contractors

A new Georgia law that bars unlicensed HVAC contractors from advertising their services begs the question, “There are unlicensed HVAC contractors?” Yes! Sixteen states do NOT have state licensing programs.

Legionnaire’s Disease Is Still a Thing??

If you grew up in PA like I did, you may remember the terrible Legionnaire’s disease outbreak in Philly in 1976 that killed 34 people and sickened hundreds. The recent outbreak in NY City, which killed 5 people, put the disease back in the headlines. The city’s investigation of 160 buildings revealed that 57 of them tested positive for the legionella bacteria. The NYC Health Department says the outbreak has been eliminated, but legionella bacteria is a continuing concern for HVAC.

NASRC R-TRADE Results

The new NASRC’s R-TRADE Impact Report is now available. The Refrigeration Technician Recruitment, Advancement, Development, and Education program is an NASRC program founded and funded by supermarket end user companies to cultivate a sustainable refrigeration technician workforce. This report shares key program outcomes, including technician recruiting, HVACR school support, and training.

This Month’s “Just Because It’s Interesting” Bonus Blurb

According to UNEP, the Earth has two soccer pitches of land for every human (evidently the rest of the world thinks about land in terms of soccer fields). Unfortunately, 40% of the land is officially classified as degraded. Every second, another 4 soccer pitches wither. Since the start of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2020-2030), hundreds of millions of hectares have been put under restoration. Check out how you can support restoration projects.

Need Some Help?

If you need help with these or any other topics related to refrigerant management, feel free to reach out to me (Keilly Witman). We’re a friendly bunch and happy to help!