Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Incorporation of Clean Air Act Amendments for Reductions in Class I, Group VI Controlled Substances

Résumé

With this action, EPA is proposing revisions to the accelerated phaseout regulations that govern the production, import, export, transformation and destruction of substances that deplete the ozone layer under the authority of Title VI of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA or the Act). We are proposing these revisions to implement recent changes to the CAA (Oct. 21, 1998), which direct EPA to conform the U.S. methyl bromide phasedown schedule to the schedule for industrialized nations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol). Specifically, today's proposed amendments reflect the Protocol's reductions in the production and consumption of class I, Group VI controlled substances (methyl bromide) for the 2001 calendar year and subsequent calendar years, as follows: beginning January 1, 2001, a 50 percent reduction in baseline levels; beginning January 1, 2003, a 70 percent reduction in baseline levels; and, beginning January 1, 2005, the complete phaseout of class I, Group VI controlled substances. In the "Rules and Regulations" section of today's Federal Register, we are amending the phaseout schedule as a direct final rule without prior