Regulations last checked for updates: May 02, 2025

Title 40 - Protection of Environment last revised: Nov 02, 2025
§ 98.97 - Records that must be retained.

In addition to the information required by § 98.3(g), you must retain the following records:

(a) All data used and copies of calculations made as part of estimating gas consumption and emissions, including all spreadsheets.

(b) If you use HC fuel CECS purchased and installed on or after January 1, 2025, to control emissions from tools that use either NF3 as an input gas in remote plasma cleaning processes or F2 as an input gas in any process, and if you use a value less than 1 for either aF2,j or aNF3,RPC in equation I-9 to § 98.93, certification and documentation that the model for each of the systems that you claim does not form CF4 from F2 has been tested and verified to produce less than 0.1% CF4 from F2, and certification that the site maintenance plan includes the HC fuel CECS manufacturer's recommendations and specifications for installation, operation, and maintenance of those systems. If you are relying on your own testing to make the certification that the model produces less than 0.1% CF4 from F2, the documentation must include the model tested, the method used to perform the testing (e.g., EPA 430-R-10-003, modified to calculate the formation rate of CF4 from F2 rather than the DRE), complete documentation of the results of any initial and subsequent tests, and a final report similar to that specified in EPA 430-R-10-003 (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7), with appropriate adjustments to reflect the measurement of the formation rate of CF4 from F2 rather than the DRE. If you are relying on testing by the HC fuel CECS manufacturer to make the certification that the system produces less than 0.1% CF4 from F2, the documentation must include the model tested, the method used to perform the testing, and the results of the test.

(c) Documentation for the fab-specific engineering model used to apportion fluorinated GHG and N2O consumption. This documentation must be part of your site GHG Monitoring Plan as required under § 98.3(g)(5). At a minimum, you must retain the following:

(1) A clear, detailed description of the fab-specific model, including how it was developed; the quantifiable metric used in the model; all sources of information, equations, and formulas, each with clear definitions of terms and variables; all apportioning factors used to apportion fluorinated GHG and N2O; and a clear record of any changes made to the model while it was used to apportion fluorinated GHG and N2O consumption across process sub-types, process types, tools with and without abatement systems, stack systems, and/or fabs.

(2) Sample calculations used for developing the gas apportioning factors (fij) for the two fluorinated GHGs used at your facility in the largest quantities, on a mass basis, during the reporting year.

(3) If you develop apportioning factors through the use of direct measurement according to § 98.94(c)(3), calculations and data used to develop each gas apportioning factor.

(4) Calculations and data used to determine and document that the fab was operating at representative operating levels, as defined in § 98.98, during the apportioning model verification specified in § 98.94(c).

(d) For all abatement systems through which fluorinated GHGs or N2O flow at your facility, and for which you are reporting controlled emissions, the following in paragraphs (d)(1) to (9) of this section:

(1) Records of the information in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) though (iv) of this section:

(i) Documentation to certify that each abatement system or group of abatement systems is installed, maintained, and operated in accordance with the site maintenance plan for abatement systems that is specified in paragraph (d)(9) of this section.

(ii) Documentation from the abatement system supplier describing the abatement system's designed purpose and emission control capabilities for fluorinated GHG and N2O for which the systems or group of systems is certified to abate, where available.

(iii) If you use either default destruction or removal efficiency values or certified destruction or removal efficiency values that are lower than the default values in your emissions calculations under § 98.93(a), (b), and/or (i), certification that the abatement systems for which emissions are being reported were specifically designed for fluorinated GHG and N2O abatement, as required under § 98.94(f)(3), certification that the site maintenance plan includes the abatement system manufacturer's recommendations and specifications for installation, operation, and maintenance, and the certified destruction and removal efficiency values for all applicable abatement systems. For abatement systems purchased and installed on or after January 1, 2025, also include records of the method used to measure the destruction and removal efficiency values.

(iv) Certification that you have included and accounted for all abatement systems and any respective downtime in your emissions calculations under § 98.93(i)(3), as required under § 98.94(f)(3).

(2) Abatement system calibration and maintenance records.

(3) Where either the default destruction or removal efficiency value or a certified destruction or removal efficiency value that is lower than the default is used, documentation from the abatement system supplier describing the equipment's designed purpose and emission control capabilities for fluorinated GHG and N2O.

(4) Where properly measured site-specific destruction or removal efficiencies are used to report emissions, the information in paragraphs (d)(4)(i) though (vi) of this section:

(i) Dated certification by the technician who made the measurement that the destruction or removal efficiency is calculated in accordance with methods in EPA 430-R-10-003 (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7) and, if applicable Appendix A of this subpart, or an alternative method approved by the Administrator as specified in § 98.94(k), complete documentation of the results of any initial and subsequent tests, the final report as specified in EPA 430-R-10-003 (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7) and, if applicable, the records and documentation specified in Appendix A of this subpart including the information required in paragraph (b)(7) of Appendix A of this subpart, or a final report as specified in an alternative method approved by the Administrator as specified in § 98.94(k).

(ii) The average destruction or removal efficiency of the abatement systems operating during the reporting year for each process type and gas combination.

(iii) A description of the calculation used to determine the average destruction or removal efficiency for each process type and gas combination, including all inputs to the calculation.

(iv) The records of destruction or removal efficiency measurements for abatement systems for all tests that have been used to determine the site-specific destruction or removal efficiencies currently being used.

(v) A description of the method used for randomly selecting abatement systems for testing.

(vi) The total number of systems for which destruction or removal efficiency was properly measured for each process type and gas combination for the reporting year.

(5) In addition to the inventory specified in § 98.96(p), the information in paragraphs (d)(5)(i) through (iii) of this section:

(i) The number of abatement systems of each manufacturer, and model numbers, and the manufacturer's certified fluorinated GHG and N2O destruction or removal efficiency, if any.

(ii) Records of destruction or removal efficiency measurements over the in-use life of each abatement system.

(iii) A description of the tool, with the process type or sub-type, for which the abatement system treats exhaust.

(6) Records of all inputs and results of calculations made accounting for the uptime of abatement systems used during the reporting year, in accordance with equations I-15 or I-23 to § 98.93, as applicable. The inputs should include an indication of whether each value for destruction or removal efficiency is a default value, lower manufacturer-verified value, or a measured site-specific value.

(7) Records of all inputs and results of calculations made to determine the average weighted fraction of each gas destroyed or removed in the abatement systems for each stack system using equations I-24A and I-24B to § 98.93, if applicable. The inputs should include an indication of whether each value for destruction or removal efficiency is a default value, lower manufacturer-verified value, or a measured site-specific value.

(8) Records of all inputs and the results of the calculation of the facility-wide emission destruction or removal efficiency factor calculated according to Equations I-26, I-27, and I-28 of this subpart.

(9) A site maintenance plan for abatement systems, which must be maintained on-site at the facility as part of the facility's GHG Monitoring Plan as described in § 98.3(g)(5), and be developed and implemented according to paragraphs (d)(9)(i) through (iii) of this section.

(i) The site maintenance plan for abatement systems must be based on the abatement system manufacturer's recommendations and specifications for installation, operation, and maintenance if you use default or lower manufacturer-verified destruction and removal efficiency values in your emissions calculations under § 98.93(a), (b), and/or (i). If the manufacturer's recommendations and specifications for installation, operation, and maintenance are not available, you cannot use default destruction and removal efficiency values or lower manufacturer-verified value in your emissions calculations under § 98.93(a), (b), and/or (i). If you use an average of properly measured destruction or removal efficiencies determined in accordance with the procedures in § 98.94(f)(4)(i) through (vi), the site maintenance plan for abatement systems must be based on the abatement system manufacturer's recommendations and specifications for installation, operation, and maintenance, where available. If you deviate from the manufacturer's recommendations and specifications, you must include documentation that demonstrates how the deviations do not negatively affect the performance or destruction or removal efficiency of the abatement systems.

(ii) The site maintenance plan for abatement systems must include a defined preventative maintenance process and checklist.

(iii) The site maintenance plan for abatement systems must include a corrective action process that you must follow whenever an abatement system is found to be not operating properly.

(e) Purchase records for gas purchased.

(f) Invoices for gas purchases and sales.

(g) Documents and records used to monitor and calculate abatement system uptime.

(h) GHG Monitoring Plans, as described in § 98.3(g)(5), must be completed by April 1, 2011. You must update your GHG Monitoring Plan to comply with § 98.94(c) consistent with the requirements in § 98.3(g)(5)(iii).

(i) Retain the following records for each fab for which you elect to calculate fab-level emissions of fluorinated GHG using the procedures specified in § 98.93(i)(3) or (4).

(1) [Reserved]

(2) For each stack system, identify the method used to calculate annual emissions; either § 98.93(i)(3) or (4).

(3) The identity and total annual consumption of each gas identified as an intermittent low use fluorinated GHG as specified in § 98.93(i)(4)(i) and defined in § 98.98.

(4) The emissions test data and reports (see § 98.94(j)(4)) and the calculations used to determine the fab-specific emission factor, including the actual fab-specific emission factor, the average hourly emission rate of each fluorinated GHG from the stack system during the test and the stack system activity rate during the test. The report must also contain any changes in the stack system configuration during or between tests in a reporting year.

(5) The fab-specific emission factor and the calculations and data used to determine the fab-specific emission factor for each fluorinated GHG and by-product, as calculated using equations I-19A, I-19B, I-19C and I-20 to § 98.93(i)(3).

(6) Calculations and data used to determine annual emissions of each fluorinated GHG for each fab.

(7) Calculations and data used to determine and document that the fab was operating at representative operating levels, as defined in § 98.98, during the stack testing period.

(8) A copy of the certification that no significant changes in stack system flow configuration occurred between tests conducted for any particular fab in a reporting year, as required by § 98.94(j)(1)(iv) and any calculations and data supporting the certification.

(9) The number of tools vented to each stack system in the fab and all inputs and results for the calculations accounting for the fraction of gas exhausted through abatement systems using equations I-24C and I-24D to § 98.93.

(j) If you report the approximate percentage of total GHG emissions from research and development activities under § 98.96(x), documentation for the determination of the percentage of total emissions of each fluorinated GHG and/or N2O attributable to research and development activities, as defined in § 98.6.

(k) Annual gas consumption for each fluorinated GHG and N2O as calculated in equation I-11 to § 98.93, including where your fab used less than 50 kg of a particular fluorinated GHG or N2O used at your facility for which you have not calculated emissions using equations I-6, I-7, I-8A, I-8B, I-9, I-10, I-21, or I-22 to § 98.93, the chemical name of the GHG used, the annual consumption of the gas, and a brief description of its use.

(l) All inputs used to calculate gas consumption in Equation I-11 of this subpart, for each fluorinated GHG and N2O used.

(m) Annual amount of each fluorinated GHG consumed for process sub-type, process type, stack system, or fab, as appropriate, and the annual amount of N2O consumed for the aggregate of all chemical vapor deposition processes and for the aggregate of all other electronics manufacturing production processes, as calculated using Equation I-13 of this subpart.

(n) Disbursements for each fluorinated GHG and N2O during the reporting year, as calculated using Equation I-12 of this subpart and all inputs used to calculate disbursements for each fluorinated GHG and N2O used in Equation I-12 of this subpart, including all fab-wide gas-specific heel factors used for each fluorinated GHG and N2O. If your fab used less than 50 kg of a particular fluorinated GHG during the reporting year, fab-wide gas-specific heel factors do not need to be reported for those gases.

(o) Fraction of each fluorinated GHG or N2O fed into a process sub-type, process type, stack system, or fab that is fed into tools connected to abatement systems.

(p) Fraction of each fluorinated GHG or N2O destroyed or removed in abatement systems connected to process tools where process sub-type, process type j is used, or to process tools vented to stack system j or fab f.

(q) All inputs and results of calculations made accounting for the uptime of abatement systems used during the reporting year, or during an emissions sampling period, in accordance with Equations I-15 and/or I-23 of this subpart, as applicable.

(r) For fluorinated heat transfer fluid emissions, inputs to the fluorinated heat transfer fluid mass balance equation, Equation I-16 of this subpart, for each fluorinated heat transfer fluid used.

(s) Where missing data procedures were used to estimate inputs into the fluorinated heat transfer fluid mass balance equation under § 98.95(b), the estimates of those data.

[75 FR 74818, Dec. 1, 2010, as amended at 78 FR 68218, Nov. 13, 2013; 81 FR 9255, Dec. 9, 2016; 89 FR 31918, Apr. 25, 2024]
source: 74 FR 56374, Oct. 30, 2009, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 40 CFR 98.97