[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 91 (Friday, May 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31798-31801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11738]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7210-5]


Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Process for Exempting Critical 
Uses of Methyl Bromide

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of solicitation of applications and information on 
alternatives.

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SUMMARY: EPA is soliciting applications for the Critical Use Exemption 
from the phaseout of methyl bromide. This application process offers 
users of methyl bromide the opportunity to provide technical and 
economic information to support a ``critical use'' claim.
    Methyl bromide is a chemical pesticide that has been identified 
under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 
and the Clean Air Act, as an ozone-depleting substance. It is scheduled 
for complete phaseout by January 1, 2005. The Critical Use Exemption is 
designed to allow continued production and import of methyl bromide 
after the phaseout for those uses that have no technically and 
economically feasible alternatives. Because Critical Use Exemptions are 
exemptions from the January 1, 2005 methyl bromide phaseout, they will 
become effective after that date.
    Applicants for the exemption are requested to submit technical and 
economic information to EPA for U.S. review. The U.S. will then create 
a national nomination for review by the Parties to the Montreal 
Protocol. EPA encourages users with similar circumstances of use to 
submit a single application. Please contact your state regulatory 
agency to receive information about their involvement in the process.

DATES: Applications for the Critical Use Exemption must be postmarked 
on or before September 9, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Applications for the methyl bromide Critical Use Exemption 
should be submitted in duplicate (two copies) by mail to: U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Methyl Bromide Critical Use Exemption, 
Global Programs Division, Mail Code 6205J, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001 or by courier delivery (other than U.S. Post 
Office overnight) to: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Methyl 
Bromide Critical Use Exemption, Global Programs Division, 501 3rd St., 
NW., Washington, DC 20001, phone: (202) 564-9410.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    General Information: U.S. EPA Stratospheric Ozone Information 
Hotline, 1-800-296-1996.
    Technical Information: Bill Chism, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs (7503C), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC, 20460, 703-308-8136.
    Economic Information: David Widawsky, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs (7503C), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC, 20460, 703-308-8150.
    Regulatory Information: Amber Moreen, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Global Programs Division (6205J), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC, 20460, 202-564-9295.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. What Do I need to Know To Respond to This Request for 
Applications?
    A. Who Can Respond to This Request for Information?

[[Page 31799]]

    B. Who Can I Contact to Find Out If a Consortium Is Submitting 
an Application Form for My Methyl Bromide Use?
    C. How Do I Obtain an Application Form for the Methyl Bromide 
Critical Use Exemption?
    D. What Alternatives Must Applicants Address When Applying for a 
Critical Use Exemption?
    E. What Portions of the Applications Will Be Considered 
Confidential Business Information?
II. What Is the Legal Authority for the Critical Use Exemption?
    A. What Is the Clean Air Act (CAA) Authority for Implementing 
the Critical Use Exemption to the Methyl Bromide Phaseout?
    B. What Is the Montreal Protocol Authority for Granting a 
Critical Use Exemption After the Methyl Bromide Phaseout?
III. How Will the U.S. Implement the Critical Use Exemption?
    A. When Will the Exemption Become Available to U.S. Users of 
Methyl Bromide?
    B. What Is the Projected Timeline for the Critical Use Exemption 
Application Process?

I. What Do I Need to Know To Respond to This Request for 
Applications?

A. Who Can Respond to This Request for Information?

    The Application Form may be submitted either by a consortium 
representing multiple users or by individual users who anticipate 
needing methyl bromide in 2005 and believe there are no technically and 
economically feasible alternatives. EPA encourages users with similar 
circumstances of use to submit a single application (for example, any 
number of pre-plant users with similar soil, pest, and climactic 
conditions can join together to submit a single application). In some 
instances, state agencies will assist users with the application 
process (see discussion of voluntary state involvement in Part I.B. 
below).
    In addition to requesting information from applicants for the 
Critical Use Exemption, this solicitation for information provides an 
opportunity for any interested party to provide EPA with information on 
methyl bromide alternatives (e.g. technical and/or economic feasibility 
research). The Application Form for the methyl bromide Critical Use 
Exemption and other information on research relevant to alternatives 
must be sent to the addresses specified above.

B. Who Can I Contact To Find Out if a Consortium Is Submitting an 
Application Form for My Methyl Bromide Use?

    Please contact your local, state, regional or national commodity 
association to find out if they plan on submitting an application on 
behalf of your commodity group.
    Additionally, you should contact your state regulatory agency 
(generally this will be the State Department of Agriculture or State 
Environmental Protection Agency) to receive information about their 
involvement in the process. If your state agency has chosen to 
participate, EPA encourages all applicants to first submit their 
applications to the state regulatory agency, which will then forward 
them to EPA. The National Pesticide Information Center website is one 
resource available for identifying the lead pesticide agency in your 
state (http://ace.orst.edu/info/npic/state1.htm).

C. How Do I Obtain an Application Form for the Methyl Bromide Critical 
Use Exemption?

    An Application Form for the methyl bromide Critical Use Exemption 
can be obtained either in electronic or hard-copy form.
    EPA encourages use of the electronic form. Applications can be 
obtained in the following ways:
    1. PDF format at EPA website: www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr;
    2. Microsoft Excel and other electronic spreadsheet formats at EPA 
website: www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr;
    3. Mailed hard-copy ordered through the Stratospheric Ozone 
Protection Hotline at 1-800-296-1996;
    4. Hard-copy format at Air Docket No. A-2000-24. The docket is 
located in room M-1500, First Floor, Waterside Mall, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington DC 20460. The Docket 
Office is open from 8:30am until 5:30pm Monday through Friday. A 
reasonable fee may be charged by EPA for copying docket materials.

D. What Alternatives Must Applicants Address When Applying for a 
Critical Use Exemption?

    To support the assertion that a specific use of methyl bromide is 
``critical'', applicants are expected to demonstrate that there are no 
technically and economically feasible alternatives available to the 
user of methyl bromide. The Parties to the Montreal Protocol have 
developed an ``International Index'' of Methyl Bromide Alternatives 
which lists chemical and non-chemical alternatives, by crop (http://www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr/alt_in.html). The chemicals and non-chemical 
practices included on this index were identified by the international 
technical advisory groups under the Montreal Protocol: the Methyl 
Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC) and the Technical and 
Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP). The MBTOC and the TEAP determined 
that alternatives in the International Index have the ``technical 
potential'' to replace methyl bromide in at least one circumstance of 
use on the identified crop (Report of the Technical and Economic 
Assessment Panel, 1997) (http://www.teap.org/html/teap_reports.html). A 
corresponding U.S. Index of alternatives (also listed by crop) has been 
developed by the U.S. government regarding chemical alternatives 
(http://www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr). This U.S. Index reflects whether 
chemical alternatives included in the International Index have been 
registered for use in the United States.
    Applicants must address technical, regulatory, and economic issues 
that limit the adoption of ``chemical alternatives'' and combinations 
of ``chemical'' and ``non-chemical alternatives'' listed for their crop 
within the ``U.S. Index'' of Methyl Bromide Alternatives. Applicants 
must also address technical, regulatory, and economic issues that limit 
the adoption of ``non-chemical alternatives'' and combinations of 
``chemical'' and ``non-chemical alternatives'' listed for their crop in 
the ``International Index''.

E. What Portions of the Applications Will Be Considered Confidential 
Business Information?

    The person submitting information to EPA in response to this Notice 
may assert a business confidentiality claim covering part or all of the 
information by placing on (or attaching to) the information, at the 
time it is submitted to EPA, a cover sheet, stamped or typed legend, or 
other suitable form of notice employing language such as trade secret, 
proprietary, or company confidential. Allegedly confidential portions 
of otherwise non-confidential documents should be clearly identified by 
the applicant, and may be submitted separately to facilitate 
identification and handling by EPA. If the applicant desires 
confidential treatment only until a certain date or until the 
occurrence of a certain event, the notice should so state. Information 
covered by a claim of confidentiality will be disclosed by EPA only to 
the extent, and by means of the procedures, set forth under 40 CFR Part 
2 Subpart B; 41 FR 36902, 43 FR 40000, 50 FR 51661. If no claim of 
confidentiality accompanies the information when it is received by EPA, 
it may be made available to the public by EPA without further notice to 
the applicant.

[[Page 31800]]

    If you are asserting a business confidentiality claim covering part 
or all of the information in the application, please submit a non-
confidential version that EPA can place in the public docket for 
reference by other interested parties. Do not include on the 
``Worksheet Six: Application Summary'' page of the application any 
information that you wish to claim as confidential business 
information. These application information summary sheets will be 
posted on the EPA website (www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr) and included in Air 
Docket No. A-2000-24.

II. What Is the Legal Authority for the Critical Use Exemption?

A. What Is the Clean Air Act (CAA) Authority For Implementing the 
Critical Use Exemption to the Methyl Bromide Phaseout?

    In October 1998, the U.S. Congress amended the Clean Air Act by 
adding CAA Sections 604(d)(6), 604(e)(3), and 604(h) (Section 764 of 
the 1999 Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations 
Act (Pub. L. No. 105-277; October 21, 1998)). The amendment requires 
EPA to conform the U.S. phaseout schedule for methyl bromide to the 
provisions of the Montreal Protocol for industrialized countries. 
Specifically, the amendment requires EPA to make regulatory changes to 
implement the following phaseout schedule:

25% reduction (from 1991 baseline) in 1999
50% reduction in 2001
70% reduction in 2003
100% reduction in 2005

    EPA published regulations in the Federal Register on June 1, 1999 
(64 FR 29240) and November 28, 2000 (65 FR 70795), instituting the 
phaseout reductions in the production and import of methyl bromide in 
accordance with the schedule listed above. Additionally, the 1998 
amendment allowed EPA to exempt the production and import of methyl 
bromide from the phaseout for critical uses starting January 1, 2005 
``to the extent consistent with the Montreal Protocol'' (Section 764 of 
the 1999 Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations 
Act (Pub. L. 105-277, October 21, 1998)(Section 604(d)(6) of the Clean 
Air Act).

B. What Is the Montreal Protocol Authority For Granting a Critical Use 
Exemption After the Methyl Bromide Phaseout?

    The Montreal Protocol provides an exemption to the phaseout of 
methyl bromide for critical uses in Article 2H, paragraph 5. The 
Parties to the Protocol included provisions for such an exemption in 
recognition that substitutes for methyl bromide may not be available by 
2005 for certain uses of methyl bromide agreed by the Parties to be 
``critical uses''.
    In their Ninth Meeting (1997), the Parties to the Protocol agreed 
to Decision IX/6, setting forth the following criteria for a ``critical 
use'' determination:

    (a) That a use of methyl bromide should qualify as `critical' 
only if the nominating Party [e.g. U.S.] determines that:
    (i) The specific use is critical because the lack of 
availability of methyl bromide for that use would result in a 
significant market disruption; and
    (ii) There are no technically and economically feasible 
alternatives or substitutes available to the user that are 
acceptable from the standpoint of environment and health and are 
suitable to the crops and circumstances of the nomination.
    (b) That production and consumption, if any, of methyl bromide 
for a critical use should be permitted only if:
    (i) All technically and economically feasible steps have been 
taken to minimize the critical use and any associated emission of 
methyl bromide;
    (ii) Methyl bromide is not available in sufficient quantity and 
quality from existing stocks of banked or recycled methyl bromide, 
also bearing in mind the developing countries need for methyl 
bromide;
    (iii) It is demonstrated that an appropriate effort is being 
made to evaluate, commercialize and secure national regulatory 
approval of alternatives and substitutes, taking into consideration 
the circumstances of the particular nomination * * * Non-Article 5 
Parties [e.g., the U.S.] must demonstrate that research programmes 
are in place to develop and deploy alternatives and substitutes. * * 
*

    In the context of the phaseout program, the use of the term 
consumption may be misleading. Consumption does not mean the ``use'' of 
a controlled substance, but rather is defined as the formula: 
consumption = production + imports - exports, of controlled substances 
(Article 1 of the Protocol and Section 601 of the CAA). Class I 
controlled substances that were produced or imported through the 
expenditure of allowances prior to their phaseout date can continue to 
be used by industry and the public after that specific chemical's 
phaseout under EPA's phaseout regulations, unless otherwise precluded 
under separate regulations.
    In addition to the language quoted above, the Parties further 
agreed to request the TEAP to review nominations and make 
recommendations for approval based on the criteria established in 
paragraphs (a)(ii) and (b) of Decision IX/6.

III. How will the U.S. Implement the Critical Use Exemption?

D. When Will the Exemption Become Available to U.S. Users of Methyl 
Bromide?

    Under the provisions of both the CAA and the Montreal Protocol, the 
Critical Use Exemption will be available to approved uses on January 1, 
2005. Until that date, all production and import of methyl bromide 
(except for those quantities that qualify for the quarantine and 
preshipment exemption) must conform to the phasedown schedule listed 
above (see Supplementary Information Section II A). For more 
information on the quarantine and preshipment exemption, please refer 
to 66 FR 37752 (July 19, 2001).

B. What Is the Projected Timeline For the Critical Use Exemption 
Application Process?

    There is both a domestic and international component to the 
Critical Use Exemption process. The following outline represents a 
projected timeline for the process:

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May 10, 2002...........................  Solicit applications for the
                                          methyl bromide Critical Use
                                          Exemption for 2005.
September 9, 2002......................  Deadline for submitting
                                          Critical Use Exemption
                                          applications to EPA.
Late 2002..............................  U.S. government (EPA,
                                          Department of State, U.S.
                                          Department of Agriculture, and
                                          other interested federal
                                          agencies) create U.S. Critical
                                          Use nomination package.
January 31, 2003.......................  Deadline for U.S. government to
                                          submit U.S. nomination package
                                          to the Protocol Parties.
Early 2003.............................  Review of the nominations
                                          packages for Critical Use
                                          Exemptions by the Technical
                                          and Economic Assessment Panel
                                          (TEAP) and Methyl Bromide
                                          Technical Options Committee
                                          (MBTOC).
Mid 2003...............................  Parties consider TEAP/MBTOC
                                          recommendations.
Late 2003..............................  Parties authorize Critical Use
                                          Exemptions for methyl bromide.
Early 2004.............................  EPA publishes proposed rule for
                                          allocating Critical Use
                                          Exemptions in the U.S.
Late 2004..............................  EPA publishes final rule
                                          allocating Critical Use
                                          Exemptions in the U.S.
January 1, 2005........................  Critical Use Exemption permits
                                          the limited production and
                                          import of methyl bromide
                                          beyond the phaseout date for
                                          specific uses.
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[[Page 31801]]

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7414, 7601, 7671-7671q.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Chemicals, Methyl Bromide, Ozone layer, 
Reporting and Recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: April 18, 2002.
Robert Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 02-11738 Filed 5-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P