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Request for Applications for Essential Use Exemptions to the Production and Import Phaseout of Ozone Depleting Substances Under the Montreal Protocol
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: September 30, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 190)] [Notices] [Page 51110-51112] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-5618-3] Request for Applications for Essential Use Exemptions to the Production and Import Phaseout of Ozone Depleting Substances Under the Montreal Protocol AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: Through this notice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requesting applications for consideration at the Ninth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to be held in September 1997 for exemptions to the production and import phaseout in 1998 and subsequent years for ozone-depleting substances (including halons 1211 and [[Page 51111]] 1301, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, CFC-114, CFC-115, CFC-13, CFC-111, CFC- 112, CFC-211, CFC-212, CFC-213, CFC-214, CFC-215, CFC-216, CFC-217, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform). DATES: Applications for essential use exemptions must be submitted to EPA no later than October 30, 1996 in order for the U.S. government to complete its review and to submit nominations to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Protocol Parties in a timely manner. ADDRESSES: Send eight copies of application materials to: Nina Bonnelycke, Stratospheric Protection Division (6205J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Send one copy of application materials to: Air Docket A-93-39, 401 M Street, S.W. (6102), Room M1500, Washington, D.C. 20460. CONFIDENTIALITY: Applications should not contain confidential or proprietary information. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Bonnelycke at the above address or at (202) 233-9079 ph, (202) 233-9637 fax, or bonnelycke.nina@epamail.epa.gov. General information may be obtained from the Stratospheric Ozone Hotline at 1-800-296-1996. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents I. Background--The Essential Use Nomination Process II. Information Required for Essential Use Applications for Production or Importation of Class I Substances in 1998 and Subsequent Years I. Background--The Essential Use Nomination Process As described in previous Federal Register notices (58 FR 29410, May 20, 1993; 59 FR 52544, October 18, 1994; and 60 FR 54349, October 23, 1995), the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Parties) agreed during the Fourth Meeting in Copenhagen on November 23-25, 1992, to accelerate the phaseout schedules for Class I ozone-depleting substances. Specifically, the Parties agreed to phase out the production of halons by January 1, 1994, and the production of other Class I substances, except methyl bromide, by January 1, 1996. The Parties also reached decisions and adopted resolutions on a variety of other matters, including the criteria to be used for allowing ``essential use'' exemptions from the phaseout of production and importation of controlled substances. Language regarding essential uses was added to the Protocol provisions in Article 2 governing the control measures. Decision IV/25 of the Fourth Meeting of the Protocol details the specific criteria and review process for granting essential use exemptions. At the Fifth Meeting of the Parties in 1993, the Parties modified the timetable for nomination of essential uses. Pursuant to Decision V/ 18, Parties may nominate a controlled substance for an exemption from the production phaseout by January 1 of each year. The UNEP committees then review the nominations at their spring meetings and forward their recommendations for decision at the Meeting of the Parties later that year. The Parties may choose to grant the exemption for one or more of the nominated years, but each approved or pending application may be reconsidered and modified by the Parties at their annual meetings. Since the Parties in 1997 will be considering nominations for the year 1998 and beyond, today's notice solicits requests for those years. Further detail on the essential uses process is provided later in this section.
Decision IV/25 states that ``a use of a controlled substance should qualify as essential only if: (i) It is necessary for the health, safety or is critical for the functioning of society (encompassing cultural and intellectual aspects); and (ii) there are no available technically and economically feasible alternatives or substitutes that are acceptable from the standpoint of environment and health''. In addition, the Parties agreed ``that production and consumption, if any, of a controlled substance, for essential uses should be permitted only if: (i) all economically feasible steps have been taken to minimize the essential use and any associated emission of the controlled substance; and (ii) the controlled substance is not available in sufficient quantity and quality from the existing stocks of banked or recycled controlled substances.''
Any essential use exemptions also have to comply with the provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA). Sec. 604 authorizes the granting of specific exemptions from the phaseout schedules contained in the CAAA. With respect to halons, the CAAA allows exemptions from the phaseout for aviation safety [Sec. 604(d)(3)], national security [Sec. 604(f)], and fire suppression and explosion prevention [Sec. 604(g)]. Other exemptions specified in Sec. 604 include essential uses of methyl chloroform [Sec. 604(d)(1)]; uses of Class I substances in medical devices [Sec. 604(d)(2)]; and uses of CFC-114 for national security [Sec. 604(f)]. To the extent that an accelerated phaseout schedule has been adopted under the Montreal Protocol, EPA can legally provide exemptions for uses authorized by the Protocol but not otherwise specified in the CAAA as long as any additional production does not exceed the production reduction schedule contained in Sec. 604(a).
The first step in the process to qualify a use as essential under the Protocol is for the user to ascertain whether the use of the controlled substance meets the Decision IV/25 criteria. The user should then notify EPA of the candidate use and provide information for U.S. government agencies and the Protocol Parties to evaluate that use according to the criteria under Decision IV/25. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Technology and Economic Assessment Panel has issued a handbook entitled ``Handbook on Essential Use Nominations,'' available from EPA, to guide applicants. Applicants should follow the guidelines in the handbook when preparing their exemption requests.
Upon receipt of the exemption request, EPA reviews the application and works with other interested federal agencies to determine whether it meets the essential use criteria and as a result warrants being nominated for an exemption. Applicants should be aware that, to date, the Parties to the Montreal Protocol have only granted the U.S. essential use exemptions for CFCs for metered dose inhalers (MDIs) for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and for methyl chloroform for the Space Shuttle.
In the case of multiple exemption requests for a single use, such as CFCs for metered dose inhalers (MDIs), EPA aggregates exemption requests received from individual entities into a single U.S. request. An important part of the EPA review is to determine that the aggregate request for a particular out-year adequately reflects the market penetration potential and expected availability of non-CFC substitutes by that point in time. If the sum of individual requests does not incorporate such assumptions, the U.S. government may adjust the aggregate request to better reflect true market needs. Nominations submitted to the Ozone Secretariat by the U.S. and other Parties are then forwarded to the UNEP Technical and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and its Technical Options Committees (TOCs), which review the submissions and make recommendations to the Parties for exemptions. Those recommendations are then considered by the Parties at [[Page 51112]] their annual meeting for final decision. If the Parties declare a specified use of a controlled substance as essential and issue the necessary exemptions from the production phaseout, EPA may propose regulatory changes to reflect the decisions by the Parties consistent with the CAAA.
The timing of the reviews is such that in any given year the Parties review nominations for exemption from the production phaseout intended for the following year and any subsequent years. This means that, if nominated, applications submitted in response to today's notice for CFC production in 1998 and beyond will be considered by the Parties in 1997 for final action at the Meeting of the Parties in September of that year. II. Information Required for Essential Use Applications for Production or Importation of Class I Substances in 1998 and Subsequent Years Through this notice, EPA requests applications for essential use exemptions for all class I substances for 1998 and subsequent years. All requests for exemptions submitted to EPA must present the information relevant to the application as prescribed in the TEAP Handbook mentioned in the previous section, since the U.S. government does not forward incomplete or inadequate nominations to the Ozone Secretariat. In brief, the TEAP Handbook states that applicants must present information on:
Role of use in society. Alternatives to use, including education programs on alternatives.
Steps to minimize use, including development of CFC-free alternatives.
Steps to minimize emissions. Amount of substance available through recycling and stockpiling.
Quantity of controlled substances requested by year. EPA anticipates that the 1997 review by the Parties of MDI essential use requests will focus extensively on research efforts underway to develop alternatives to CFC MDIs, on education programs to inform patients and providers of the phaseout and the transition to alternatives, and on steps taken to minimize CFC use and emissions including efforts to recapture or reprocess the controlled substance. Accordingly, applicants are strongly advised to present detailed information on these points including the scope and cost of such efforts and the medical and patient organizations involved in the work. Applicants can strengthen their exemption requests by submitting a complete set of education materials and including copies of printed, electronic or audio-visual tools. Applicants are given notice that exemption requests without adequate information on research and education will not be considered complete. Applicants should submit their exemption requests to EPA as noted in the Addresses section at the beginning of today's notice. Dated: September 23, 1996.
Mary D. Nichols, Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation. [FR Doc. 96-25001 Filed 9-27-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P