Environmental Protection Agency July 15, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR which is abstracted below describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost.

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.

EPA is taking final action to disapprove revisions to the SIP submitted by the State of Texas that relate to the State's Flexible Permits Program (the Texas Flexible Permits Program or the Program). EPA is disapproving the Texas Flexible Permits Program because it does not meet the Minor NSR SIP requirements nor does it meet the NSR SIP requirements for a substitute Major NSR SIP revision. We are taking this action under section 110, part C, and part D, of Title I of the Federal Clean Air Act (the Act or CAA).