Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Request for Applications for Essential Use Exemptions, 32728-32729 [2014-13235]
Download as PDF
32728
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 109 / Friday, June 6, 2014 / Notices
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.). An agency may not
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of
information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Courtney Kerwin at (202) 566–1669 or
email at Kerwin.Courtney@epa.gov and
please refer to the appropriate EPA
Information Collection Request (ICR)
Number.
The OMB
control numbers for EPA regulations are
listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR
chapter 15.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Responses to Agency Clearance
Requests
OMB Approvals
EPA ICR Number 2456.02;
Willingness to Pay for Improved Water
Quality in the Chesapeake Bay
(Revised); was approved on 04/11/2014;
OMB Number 2010–0043; expires on
09/30/2015; Approved with change.
EPA ICR Number 2405.01;
Underground Storage Tank: Information
Request Letters, Pacific Southwest
Region (Region IX) (New); 40 CFR part
280; was approved on 04/11/2014; OMB
Number 2050–0210; expires on 08/31/
2014; Approved.
EPA ICR Number 1230.29; Prevention
of Significant Deterioration and NonAttainment New Source Review
(Renewal); 40 CFR 51.160–51.164; 40
CFR 51.166; 40 CFR part 52.21; 40 CFR
51.165; 40 CFR part 51 Appendix S; 40
CFR 52.24; and 40 CFR 49.166–49.173
and 49.151–49.161; was approved on
04/02/2014; OMB Number 2060–0003;
expires on 04/30/2017; Approved with
change.
Dated: May 16, 2014.
Erin Collard,
Acting Director, Collections Strategies
Division.
[FR Doc. 2014–12462 Filed 6–5–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
[FRL–9911–77–OAR]
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone:
Request for Applications for Essential
Use Exemptions
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In this notice, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
is providing information about the
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
13:59 Jun 05, 2014
Jkt 232001
process for submitting applications for
essential use exemptions. Essential use
exemptions are exceptions to the
phaseout of production and import of
controlled class I ozone-depleting
substances (ODS). Essential use
exemptions must be authorized by the
Parties to the Montreal Protocol on
Substances That Deplete the Ozone
Layer and must be in accordance with
the Clean Air Act. Applications received
in accordance with this notice will be
considered as the basis for submitting
potential nominations for essential use
exemptions to future Meetings of the
Parties to the Montreal Protocol.
DATES: Applications for essential use
exemptions must be submitted to EPA
no later than September 30 of each year,
in order for the U.S. Government to
complete its consideration for
nomination to the United Nations
Environment Programme and the Parties
to the Montreal Protocol in a timely
manner.
ADDRESSES: Send application materials
to: Essential Use Exemption
Coordinator, Stratospheric Protection
Division (6205J), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Confidentiality: Application materials
that are confidential should be
submitted under separate cover and be
clearly identified as ‘‘confidential
business information.’’ Information
covered by a claim of business
confidentiality will be treated in
accordance with the procedures for
handling information claimed as
confidential under 40 CFR part 2,
subpart B, and will be disclosed only to
the extent and by means of the
procedures set forth in that subpart. If
no claim of confidentiality accompanies
the information when it is received by
EPA, the information may be made
available to the public by EPA without
further notice to the company (40 CFR
2.203).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeremy Arling at the addresses above, by
telephone at (202) 343–9055, or by
email at arling.jeremy@epa.gov.
Information about essential uses may be
obtained from EPA’s stratospheric
protection Web site at www.epa.gov/
ozone/title6/exemptions/essential.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Essential Use
Exemption
The Parties to the Montreal Protocol
on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer (Montreal Protocol) agreed during
the Fourth Meeting in Copenhagen in
1992 that non-Article 5 Parties
(developed countries) would phase out
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the production and consumption of
halons by January 1, 1994, and phase
out the production and consumption of
other substances referred to under the
Clean Air Act as class I substances,
except methyl bromide, by January 1,
1996. The control measures for many of
these substances, however, allow
exemptions from the phaseout ‘‘to the
extent the Parties decide to permit the
level of production or consumption that
is necessary to satisfy uses agreed by
them to be essential.’’ See, e.g. art. 2A
para 4. The Parties also decided on the
criteria to be used for allowing
‘‘essential use’’ exemptions from the
phaseout of production and import of
controlled substances. Decision IV/25 of
the Fourth Meeting of the Parties details
the specific criteria and review process
for granting essential use exemptions.
Paragraph 1(a) of Decision IV/25
states that ‘‘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, Paragraph 1(b) of Decision
IV/25 states 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 . . .’’
The Clean Air Act in section 604
contemplates exemptions from the
phaseout of Class I controlled
substances in the United States,
including exemptions for essential
uses.1 The Clean Air Act sets sunset
dates for three of these uses that are now
in the past: (1) Methyl chloroform use
generally (ending January 1, 2005); (2)
halons for fire suppression and
explosion prevention generally (ending
December 31, 1999); and (3) halons for
fire suppression and explosion
prevention for oil production on the
North Slope of Alaska (ending
December 31, 2004). Two other uses do
not have statutory sunset dates: (1) Class
I substances for medical devices (section
604(d)(2)), and (2) halons for aviation
safety (section 604(d)(3)). Each of these
1 This notice does not address all exemptions in
section 604 such as the exemptions for critical uses,
sanitation and food protection, or national security.
E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM
06JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 109 / Friday, June 6, 2014 / Notices
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
provisions has its own criteria and
process that must be followed; no
exceptions are automatic.
Prior essential use applications were
typically for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
for metered dose inhalers (MDIs). The
Parties last authorized an essential use
exemption for the United States
allowing the production of CFCs for
MDIs in 2008 for the 2010 calendar year.
Effective December 31, 2013, all CFCcontaining MDIs have been removed
from the Food and Drug
Administration’s (FDA’s) list of
essential uses found at 21 CFR 2.125(e).
The United States has not nominated
halons for aviation safety as an essential
use. If EPA were to receive an
application for halons for aviation
safety, EPA would work with other
relevant Federal agencies to establish
the process for reviewing applications
for this use.
II. Essential Use Nomination Process
Entities requesting essential use
exemptions should send a completed
application to EPA on the candidate use
by September 30, three years prior to the
year of the intended use. Upon receipt
of applications, EPA will review the
information and work with other
interested Federal agencies as required
in section 604 of the Clean Air Act to
determine whether the candidate use
satisfies Clean Air Act requirements, as
well as whether it meets the essential
use criteria adopted by the Parties to the
Montreal Protocol and warrants
nomination by the United States for an
exemption.
All Parties, including the United
States, must transmit nominations to the
UNEP Ozone Secretariat by January 31
to be considered by the Parties at their
annual meeting at the end of that year.
The UNEP Ozone Secretariat forwards
nominations to the Montreal Protocol’s
Technical and Economic Assessment
Panel (TEAP) and its relevant Technical
Options Committee (TOC). The TOC
and the TEAP review the nomination to
determine whether it meets the criteria
for an essential use established by
Decisions IV/25, XII/2, XV/5, and XVI/
12, and to make recommendations to the
Parties for essential use exemptions.
The Parties then consider those
recommendations at their annual
meeting before making a final decision.
An essential use exemption is granted
to the nominating Party for a specific
quantity of a specified ODS for a
specific time period. If the Parties
determine that a specified use of a
controlled substance is essential and
authorize an exemption from the
Protocol’s production and consumption
phaseout, EPA may then take domestic
VerDate Mar<15>2010
13:59 Jun 05, 2014
Jkt 232001
action to allow the production and
consumption to the extent consistent
with the Clean Air Act.
III. Information Required for Essential
Use Applications
In the past, EPA had annually issued
a notice requesting applications for
essential use exemptions. Through this
action, EPA provides the opportunity to
submit applications for essential use
exemptions for class I substances for all
future control periods (calendar years).
Applications requesting essential use
allowances should include information
that U.S. Government agencies and the
Parties to the Protocol can use to
evaluate the candidate use according to
the criteria in the Decisions described
above. Applications that fail to include
sufficient information may not be
nominated.
Specifically, all applications
submitted to EPA should include the
information requested in the current
version of the TEAP Handbook on
Essential Use Nominations, which as of
the date of this notice was last updated
in 2009. The handbook is available
electronically on the internet at https://
ozone.unep.org/teap/Reports/TEAP_
Reports/EUN-Handbook2009.pdf. EPA
requests that applications contain the
following information, as described in
the handbook, in order for the U.S. to
provide sufficient information to the
Montreal Protocol’s technical review
bodies within the nomination:
1. A detailed description of the use
that is the subject of the nomination;
2. Details of the type, quantity, and
quality of the controlled substance that
is requested to satisfy the use;
3. The period of time and the annual
quantities of the controlled substances
that are requested;
4. An explanation of why the
nominated volumes and the intended
use of these quantities are necessary for
health and/or safety, or critical for the
functioning of society;
5. An explanation of what other
alternatives and substitutes are
currently available and what steps are
being taken to implement those
alternatives and substitutes;
6. An explanation of why alternatives
and substitutes are not sufficient or
appropriate to eliminate the proposed
use;
7. A description of the measures that
are proposed to eliminate all
unnecessary emissions, including
design considerations and maintenance
procedures;
8. An explanation of what efforts are
being undertaken to employ other
measures for this application in the
future;
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
32729
9. A description of the efforts that
have been made to acquire stockpiled or
recycled controlled substance for this
application both domestically and
internationally as well as an explanation
of what efforts have been made to
establish banks for the controlled
substance; and
10. A description of any other barriers
encountered in attempts to eliminate the
use of the controlled substance for this
application.
In addition, applicants should specify
which exemption in CAA section 604
they are seeking: the exemption for
medical devices at section 604(d)(2) or
the exemption for aviation safety at
section 604(d)(3). Each of these statutory
exemptions has its own process and
criteria that would need to be satisfied
prior to any regulatory action
authorizing the exemption.
The Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) has approved the information
collection requirements contained in
this notice under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq. and has assigned OMB
control number 2060–0170.
Dated: May 30, 2014.
Paul Gunning,
Acting Director, Office of Atmospheric
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014–13235 Filed 6–5–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[ER–FRL–9015–3]
Environmental Impact Statements;
Notice of Availability
Responsible Agency: Office of Federal
Activities, General Information (202)
564–7146 or https://www.epa.gov/
compliance/nepa/.
Weekly receipt of Environmental Impact
Statements
Filed 05/27/2014 Through 05/30/2014
Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9.
Notice
Section 309(a) of the Clean Air Act
requires that EPA make public its
comments on EISs issued by other
Federal agencies. EPA’s comment letters
on EISs are available at: https://
www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/
eisdata.html.
EIS No. 20140162, Final EIS, FAA, TX,
SpaceX Texas Launch Site, Review
Period Ends: 07/07/2014, Contact:
Stacey Zee 202–267–9305.
EIS No. 20140163, Draft EIS (Tiering),
NASA, FL, Tier 2—Mars 2020
Mission, Comment Period Ends: 07/
E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM
06JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 109 (Friday, June 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32728-32729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13235]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9911-77-OAR]
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Request for Applications for
Essential Use Exemptions
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In this notice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
providing information about the process for submitting applications for
essential use exemptions. Essential use exemptions are exceptions to
the phaseout of production and import of controlled class I ozone-
depleting substances (ODS). Essential use exemptions must be authorized
by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the
Ozone Layer and must be in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
Applications received in accordance with this notice will be considered
as the basis for submitting potential nominations for essential use
exemptions to future Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.
DATES: Applications for essential use exemptions must be submitted to
EPA no later than September 30 of each year, in order for the U.S.
Government to complete its consideration for nomination to the United
Nations Environment Programme and the Parties to the Montreal Protocol
in a timely manner.
ADDRESSES: Send application materials to: Essential Use Exemption
Coordinator, Stratospheric Protection Division (6205J), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
Confidentiality: Application materials that are confidential should
be submitted under separate cover and be clearly identified as
``confidential business information.'' Information covered by a claim
of business confidentiality will be treated in accordance with the
procedures for handling information claimed as confidential under 40
CFR part 2, subpart B, and will be disclosed only to the extent and by
means of the procedures set forth in that subpart. If no claim of
confidentiality accompanies the information when it is received by EPA,
the information may be made available to the public by EPA without
further notice to the company (40 CFR 2.203).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Arling at the addresses above,
by telephone at (202) 343-9055, or by email at arling.jeremy@epa.gov.
Information about essential uses may be obtained from EPA's
stratospheric protection Web site at www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/exemptions/essential.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Essential Use Exemption
The Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) agreed during the Fourth Meeting in
Copenhagen in 1992 that non-Article 5 Parties (developed countries)
would phase out the production and consumption of halons by January 1,
1994, and phase out the production and consumption of other substances
referred to under the Clean Air Act as class I substances, except
methyl bromide, by January 1, 1996. The control measures for many of
these substances, however, allow exemptions from the phaseout ``to the
extent the Parties decide to permit the level of production or
consumption that is necessary to satisfy uses agreed by them to be
essential.'' See, e.g. art. 2A para 4. The Parties also decided on the
criteria to be used for allowing ``essential use'' exemptions from the
phaseout of production and import of controlled substances. Decision
IV/25 of the Fourth Meeting of the Parties details the specific
criteria and review process for granting essential use exemptions.
Paragraph 1(a) of Decision IV/25 states that ``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, Paragraph 1(b) of Decision IV/25 states 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 . . .''
The Clean Air Act in section 604 contemplates exemptions from the
phaseout of Class I controlled substances in the United States,
including exemptions for essential uses.\1\ The Clean Air Act sets
sunset dates for three of these uses that are now in the past: (1)
Methyl chloroform use generally (ending January 1, 2005); (2) halons
for fire suppression and explosion prevention generally (ending
December 31, 1999); and (3) halons for fire suppression and explosion
prevention for oil production on the North Slope of Alaska (ending
December 31, 2004). Two other uses do not have statutory sunset dates:
(1) Class I substances for medical devices (section 604(d)(2)), and (2)
halons for aviation safety (section 604(d)(3)). Each of these
[[Page 32729]]
provisions has its own criteria and process that must be followed; no
exceptions are automatic.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This notice does not address all exemptions in section 604
such as the exemptions for critical uses, sanitation and food
protection, or national security.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prior essential use applications were typically for
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for metered dose inhalers (MDIs). The
Parties last authorized an essential use exemption for the United
States allowing the production of CFCs for MDIs in 2008 for the 2010
calendar year. Effective December 31, 2013, all CFC-containing MDIs
have been removed from the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) list
of essential uses found at 21 CFR 2.125(e). The United States has not
nominated halons for aviation safety as an essential use. If EPA were
to receive an application for halons for aviation safety, EPA would
work with other relevant Federal agencies to establish the process for
reviewing applications for this use.
II. Essential Use Nomination Process
Entities requesting essential use exemptions should send a
completed application to EPA on the candidate use by September 30,
three years prior to the year of the intended use. Upon receipt of
applications, EPA will review the information and work with other
interested Federal agencies as required in section 604 of the Clean Air
Act to determine whether the candidate use satisfies Clean Air Act
requirements, as well as whether it meets the essential use criteria
adopted by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol and warrants nomination
by the United States for an exemption.
All Parties, including the United States, must transmit nominations
to the UNEP Ozone Secretariat by January 31 to be considered by the
Parties at their annual meeting at the end of that year. The UNEP Ozone
Secretariat forwards nominations to the Montreal Protocol's Technical
and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and its relevant Technical Options
Committee (TOC). The TOC and the TEAP review the nomination to
determine whether it meets the criteria for an essential use
established by Decisions IV/25, XII/2, XV/5, and XVI/12, and to make
recommendations to the Parties for essential use exemptions. The
Parties then consider those recommendations at their annual meeting
before making a final decision.
An essential use exemption is granted to the nominating Party for a
specific quantity of a specified ODS for a specific time period. If the
Parties determine that a specified use of a controlled substance is
essential and authorize an exemption from the Protocol's production and
consumption phaseout, EPA may then take domestic action to allow the
production and consumption to the extent consistent with the Clean Air
Act.
III. Information Required for Essential Use Applications
In the past, EPA had annually issued a notice requesting
applications for essential use exemptions. Through this action, EPA
provides the opportunity to submit applications for essential use
exemptions for class I substances for all future control periods
(calendar years). Applications requesting essential use allowances
should include information that U.S. Government agencies and the
Parties to the Protocol can use to evaluate the candidate use according
to the criteria in the Decisions described above. Applications that
fail to include sufficient information may not be nominated.
Specifically, all applications submitted to EPA should include the
information requested in the current version of the TEAP Handbook on
Essential Use Nominations, which as of the date of this notice was last
updated in 2009. The handbook is available electronically on the
internet at https://ozone.unep.org/teap/Reports/TEAP_Reports/EUN-Handbook2009.pdf. EPA requests that applications contain the following
information, as described in the handbook, in order for the U.S. to
provide sufficient information to the Montreal Protocol's technical
review bodies within the nomination:
1. A detailed description of the use that is the subject of the
nomination;
2. Details of the type, quantity, and quality of the controlled
substance that is requested to satisfy the use;
3. The period of time and the annual quantities of the controlled
substances that are requested;
4. An explanation of why the nominated volumes and the intended use
of these quantities are necessary for health and/or safety, or critical
for the functioning of society;
5. An explanation of what other alternatives and substitutes are
currently available and what steps are being taken to implement those
alternatives and substitutes;
6. An explanation of why alternatives and substitutes are not
sufficient or appropriate to eliminate the proposed use;
7. A description of the measures that are proposed to eliminate all
unnecessary emissions, including design considerations and maintenance
procedures;
8. An explanation of what efforts are being undertaken to employ
other measures for this application in the future;
9. A description of the efforts that have been made to acquire
stockpiled or recycled controlled substance for this application both
domestically and internationally as well as an explanation of what
efforts have been made to establish banks for the controlled substance;
and
10. A description of any other barriers encountered in attempts to
eliminate the use of the controlled substance for this application.
In addition, applicants should specify which exemption in CAA
section 604 they are seeking: the exemption for medical devices at
section 604(d)(2) or the exemption for aviation safety at section
604(d)(3). Each of these statutory exemptions has its own process and
criteria that would need to be satisfied prior to any regulatory action
authorizing the exemption.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the
information collection requirements contained in this notice under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and
has assigned OMB control number 2060-0170.
Dated: May 30, 2014.
Paul Gunning,
Acting Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-13235 Filed 6-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P