The EPA announced in the Federal Register it 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 the agency with technical and economic information to support a "critical use" claim by Sept. 13, 2010, even if they have applied for an exemption in a previous year.

The notice also invites interested parties to provide the agency with new data on the technical and economic feasibility of methyl bromide alternatives.

Thus far, the 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.

The agency noted it is leaning toward accepting exemptions for 2014, but would like some comments on which year it should stop doing this.

Source: Federal Register Notice