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Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Process for Exempting Critical Uses of Methyl Bromide
Related Material
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: May 10, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 91)]
[Notices]
[Page 31798-31801]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10my02-55]
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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/in_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]
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