[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 135 (Thursday, July 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41177-41179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17151]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0280; FRL-9173-9]


Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Request for Methyl Bromide 
Critical Use Exemption Applications for 2013

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 for 2013. Critical use exemptions 
last only one year. All entities interested in obtaining a critical use 
exemption for 2013 must provide EPA with technical and economic 
information to support a ``critical use'' claim and must do so by the 
deadline specified in this notice even if they have applied for an 
exemption in a previous year. Today's notice also invites interested 
parties to provide EPA with new data on the technical and economic 
feasibility of methyl bromide alternatives. The U.S. critical use 
exemption program has cushioned the U.S. transition in an important 
way. Thus far, EPA has allocated critical use methyl bromide through 
rulemaking for each of the six years (2005-2010) since the U.S. 
phaseout, and plans to do so for another four years (2011-2014). 
Critical use nominations must be approved each year at the 
international level by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, and the 
U.S. is one of five remaining developed countries requesting such 
exemptions; several of these countries have announced final dates for 
all or part of their requests in the years between now and 2015, the 
year that developing countries are required to phase out methyl 
bromide. While EPA with this notice is seeking applications for 2013 
and will likely request applications for 2014, EPA believes it is 
appropriate at this time to consider a year in which the Agency will 
stop requesting applications for critical use exemptions. EPA will seek 
comment on this issue in the proposed rule for the 2011 critical use 
exemption.

DATES: Applications for the 2013 critical use exemption must be 
postmarked on or before September 13, 2010.

ADDRESSES: EPA encourages users to submit their applications 
electronically to Jeremy Arling, Stratospheric Protection Division, at 
[email protected]. If the application is submitted electronically, 
applicants must fax a signed copy of Worksheet 1 to 202-343-9055 by the 
application deadline. Applications for the methyl bromide critical use 
exemption can also be submitted by mail to: U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, Attention Methyl Bromide Team, Mail Code 6205J, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460 or by courier delivery 
(other than U.S. Post Office overnight) to: U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Stratospheric 
Protection Division, Attention Methyl Bromide Review Team, 1310 L St., 
NW., Room 1047E, Washington, DC 20005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    General Information: U.S. EPA Stratospheric Ozone Information 
Hotline, 1-800-296-1996; also http://www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr.
    Technical Information: Bill Chism, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs (7503P), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC 20460, 703-308-8136. E-mail: [email protected].
    Regulatory Information: Jeremy Arling, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Stratospheric Protection Division (6205J), 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, 202-343-9055. E-mail: 
[email protected].

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?
    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?
    F. What if I submit an incomplete application?
    G. What if I applied for a critical use exemption in a previous 
year?
II. What is the legal authority for the critical use exemption?
    A. What is the Clean Air Act (CAA) authority for the critical 
use exemption?
    B. What is the Montreal Protocol authority for the critical use 
exemption?
III. How will the U.S. implement the critical use exemption in 2013 
and beyond?
    A. What is the timing for applications for the 2013 control 
period?
    B. How might EPA implement the critical use exemption after the 
2013 control period?

I. What do I need to know to respond to this request for applications?

A. Who can respond to this request for information?

    Entities interested in obtaining a critical use exemption must 
complete the application form available at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr. The application may be submitted either by a consortium 
representing multiple users who have similar circumstances or by 
individual users who anticipate needing methyl bromide in 2013 and have 
evaluated alternatives and as a result of that evaluation, believe they 
have no technically and economically feasible alternatives. EPA 
encourages groups of 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).

B. Who can I contact to find out whether a consortium is submitting an 
application for my methyl bromide use?

    You should contact your local, state, regional, or national 
commodity association to find out whether it plans to submit an 
application on behalf of your commodity group.
    Additionally, you should contact your state regulatory agency 
(generally this will be the state's agriculture or environmental 
protection agency) to receive information about its involvement in the 
process. If your state agency has chosen to participate, EPA recommends 
that you first submit your application to the state agency, which will 
then forward applications to EPA. The National Pesticide Information 
Center Web site identifies the lead pesticide agency in each state 
(http://npic.orst.edu/state1.htm).

[[Page 41178]]

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 and Microsoft Excel at EPA's Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr/cueinfo.html;
    2. Hard copy ordered through the Stratospheric Ozone Protection 
Hotline at 1-800-296-1996;
    3. Hard-copy format at DOCKET ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0280. The 
docket can be accessed at the http://www.regulations.gov site. To 
obtain copies of materials in hard copy, please e-mail the EPA Docket 
Center: [email protected].

D. Which 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 for that 
use. The Parties to the Montreal Protocol have developed an 
``International Index'' of methyl bromide alternatives, which lists 
chemical and non-chemical alternatives by crop. In 2009, the United 
States submitted an index of alternatives, which includes the current 
registration status of available and potential alternatives, that is 
available on the Ozone Secretariat Web site: http://ozone.unep.org/Exemption_Information/Critical_use_nominations_for_methyl_bromide/methyl bromide--Submissions/USA-Alternatives-Ex4-1-2008.pdf.
    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 
or use within the ``U.S. Index'' of Methyl Bromide Alternatives.

E. What portions of the applications will be considered confidential 
business information?

    You 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.'' You 
should clearly identify the allegedly confidential portions of 
otherwise non-confidential documents, and you may submit them 
separately to facilitate identification and handling by EPA. If you 
desire confidential treatment only until a certain date or until the 
occurrence of a certain event, your notice should state that. 
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 36752, 43 FR 40000, 50 FR 51661. If no 
claim of confidentiality accompanies the information when EPA receives 
it, EPA may make it available to the public without further notice.
    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. Any information on Worksheet 6 shall not be considered 
confidential and will not be treated as such by the Agency. EPA will 
place a copy of Worksheet 6 in the public domain. Please note, claiming 
business confidentiality may delay EPA's ability to review your 
application.

F. What if I submit an incomplete application?

    EPA will not accept any applications postmarked after September 13, 
2010. If the application is postmarked by the deadline but is 
incomplete or missing any data elements, EPA will not accept the 
application and will not include the application in the U.S. nomination 
submitted for international consideration. If the application is 
substantially complete with only minor errors, corrections will be 
accepted. EPA reviewers may also call an applicant for further 
clarification of an application, even if it is complete.
    All consortia or users who did not apply to EPA for the 2009 
control period (calendar year 2009) must submit an entire completed 
application with all Worksheets.

G. What if I applied for a critical use exemption in a previous year?

    Critical use exemptions are valid for only one year and do not 
renew automatically. Users desiring to obtain an exemption for 2013 
must apply to EPA. However, if a user group submitted a complete 
application to EPA in 2009, the user is only required to submit revised 
copies of the Worksheets listed below, though the entire application 
with all Worksheets must be on file with EPA. You must submit 
Worksheets 1, 2B, 2C, 2D, 4, 5, and 6 in full regardless of whether you 
submitted an application in 2009. You need only complete the remaining 
worksheets if any information has changed since 2009. If you submitted 
a critical use exemption application to EPA in 2002 through 2008 but 
did not submit an application in 2009, then you must submit all of the 
worksheets in the application again in their entirety.

II. What is the legal authority for the critical use exemption?

A. What is the Clean Air Act (CAA) authority for the critical use 
exemption?

    In October 1998, Congress amended the Clean Air Act to require EPA 
to conform the U.S. phaseout schedule for methyl bromide to the 
provisions of the Montreal Protocol for industrialized countries and to 
allow EPA to provide a critical use exemption. These amendments were 
codified in Section 604 of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7671c. Under 
EPA implementing regulations, methyl bromide production and consumption 
were phased out as of January 1, 2005. Section 604(d)(6), as added in 
1998, allows EPA to exempt the production and import of methyl bromide 
from the phaseout for critical uses, to the extent consistent with the 
Montreal Protocol.

B. What is the Montreal Protocol authority for the critical use 
exemption?

    The Montreal Protocol provides that the Parties may exempt ``the 
level of production or consumption that is necessary to satisfy uses 
agreed by them to be critical uses'' (Art. 2H para 5). The Parties to 
the Protocol included this language in the treaty's methyl bromide 
phaseout provisions in recognition that alternatives might 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 and an exemption from the production and 
consumption phaseout:
    (a) That a use of methyl bromide should qualify as ``critical'' 
only if the nominating Party 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

[[Page 41179]]

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., developed countries, including the U.S.] must 
demonstrate that research programs are in place to develop and 
deploy alternatives and substitutes. * * *

    EPA has defined ``critical use'' in its regulations at 40 CFR 82.3 
in a manner similar to Decision IX/6 paragraph (a).

III. How will the U.S. implement the critical use exemption in 2013 and 
beyond?

    EPA regulations at 40 CFR 82.4 prohibit the production and import 
of methyl bromide in excess of the amount of unexpended critical use 
allowances held by the producer or importer, unless authorized under a 
separate exemption. Methyl bromide produced or imported by expending 
critical use allowances may be used only for the appropriate category 
of approved critical uses as listed in Appendix L to the regulations 
(40 CFR 82.4(p)(2)). The use of methyl bromide that was produced or 
imported through the expenditure of production or consumption 
allowances prior to 2005 is not confined to critical uses under EPA's 
phaseout regulations; however, other restrictions may apply.

A. What is the timing for applications for the 2013 control period?

    There is both a domestic and international component to the 
critical use exemption process. The following outline projects a 
timeline for the process for the 2013 critical use exemption.
    July 15, 2010: Solicit applications for the methyl bromide critical 
use exemption for 2013.
    September 13, 2010: Deadline for submitting critical use exemption 
applications to EPA.
    Fall 2010: U.S. Government (through EPA, Department of State, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, and other interested Federal agencies) 
prepares U.S. Critical Use Nomination package.
    January 24, 2011: Deadline for U.S. Government to submit U.S. 
nomination package to the Protocol Parties.
    Early 2011: Technical and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and 
Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC) reviews Parties' 
nominations for critical use exemptions.
    Mid 2011: Parties consider TEAP/MBTOC recommendations.
    November 2011: Parties decide whether to authorize critical use 
exemptions for methyl bromide for production and consumption in 2013.
    Mid 2012: EPA publishes proposed rule for allocating critical use 
exemptions in the U.S. for 2013.
    Late 2012: EPA publishes final rule allocating critical use 
exemptions in the U.S. for 2013.
    January 1, 2013: Critical use exemption permits the limited 
production and import of methyl bromide for specified uses for the 2013 
control period.

B. How might EPA implement the critical use exemption after the 2013 
control period?

    U.S. consumption of methyl bromide in the U.S. has declined 
significantly over the last 20 years. Production and import was phased 
out in 2005 in the U.S. and all other developed countries under the 
Montreal Protocol. Since then, consumption by developed country Parties 
has been subject to limited annual exceptions for critical uses, which 
have declined steadily from year to year. In 1991, the baseline year, 
the U.S. consumption was approximately 25,500 metric tons of methyl 
bromide. In 2010, the amount authorized for critical uses declined to 
approximately 3,000 metric tons; for 2012, the U.S. nominated only 
approximately 1,200 metric tons. This transition from methyl bromide--
formerly one of the most commonly used pesticides in the U.S.--to 
ozone-safe alternatives has been a remarkable achievement for U.S. 
agriculture.
    The critical use exemption program has, thus far, provided U.S. 
manufacturers and growers six additional years (2005-2010) beyond the 
January 1, 2005, phaseout date to develop and market alternatives and 
implement practices that reduce the need for fumigants in general. The 
Parties have already approved a U.S. critical use amount for 2011, and 
the U.S. submitted a nomination for 2012 this January. EPA expects that 
the U.S. will submit a nomination for 2013 based on applications 
received in response to this notice. However, the international context 
for consideration of critical use exemption requests from developed 
country Parties is an important consideration for the program's future, 
since annual approval by the Parties is required for any additional 
production and consumption of otherwise banned ozone depleting 
substances. In 2006, there were 20 countries with approved CUEs. In 
2010, that number has decreased to five: the United States, Australia, 
Canada, Israel, and Japan. Israel has announced that 2011 will be its 
last year of CUE methyl bromide use and Japan has indicated that 2013 
will be the last year for which it will seek a critical use exemption 
authorization for soil fumigation. Australia and Canada each use only 1 
percent of CUE MeBr.
    Further, developing countries face their own phaseout deadline for 
methyl bromide under the Montreal Protocol in 2015. While the Protocol 
contains a provision allowing the Parties to permit critical use 
exemptions for developing countries, the extent to which developing 
countries will request such exemptions is not yet known. By 2008, the 
last year for which data are available, developing countries had 
already reduced methyl bromide consumption for soil and post-harvest 
uses by 66% relative to their baselines. Furthermore, of the 86 
developing countries that have baselines, only 34 continued to use 
methyl bromide as of 2008.
    Given this international context and that the critical use 
exemption process for a particular control period takes three years, as 
shown in the schedule in Section III.A above, EPA believes it is 
appropriate at this time to consider a year in which the U.S. 
Government will stop requesting applications for critical use 
exemptions. EPA is not making a final decision at this time whether to 
accept applications for subsequent control periods. EPA will seek 
comment on this issue in the proposed rule for the 2011 critical use 
exemption.

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

    Dated: July 1, 2010.
Gina McCarthy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2010-17151 Filed 7-14-10; 8:45 am]
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