EPA Sends Methyl Bromide 2014 Critical Exception NPRM to OMB

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received EPA’s draft NPRM for Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: The 2014 Critical Use Exemption From the Phaseout of Methyl Bromide, This rule is an annual requirement to authorize the production and importation of methyl bromide for use as a fumigant.

With the NPRM just now going to OMB it will be some time next summer when the EPA final rule will actually be published allowing the 2014 production or importation of  methyl bromide for use in areas where there is no suitable substitute. This means that EPA will again have to issue an extra-legal written authorization for such production or importation pending the publication of the final rule.

OMB Approves EPA Final Rule on 2012 Methyl Bromide Exceptions

Yesterday the web site of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a notice that it had approved, ‘consistent with change’, the final rule for the EPA’s 2012 Critical Use Exemption from the Phaseout of Methyl Bromide. As has been routine for this program at EPA, this rule is way too late to be effective in controlling the amount of methyl bromide produced in or imported into the United States. I would assume that, as was done for the 2011 rule,  EPA sent out a letter authorizing producers of methyl bromide to make/import a pre-determined amount of methyl bromide to meet the critical use needs of agricultural producers in the lead up to this year’s planting season.

I think that I’ll skip my normal screed about methyl bromide and the DHS list of chemicals of interest for this blog post. I’ll get a better chance in a week or so when this actual final rule is published in the Federal Register.