



Mr. Marco Gonzalez
Executive Secretary
Ozone Secretariat
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Avenue
P.O. Box 30552
Nairobi, Kenya


Dear Mr. Gonzalez:

	Consistent with provisions of the Montreal Protocol and of Decision IX/6 of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, the United States submits the enclosed nomination for a methyl bromide critical use exemption (CUE) in 2013.  This nomination is intended for consideration by the Parties to the Protocol at their Twenty Third meeting in 2011.  The enclosed document includes separate chapters that describe each of the sectors for which the United States is making a nomination.  We hope that this organization provides the information in the most accessible manner to facilitate the efforts of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee during their review.

	The United States is making steady progress on reducing our CUE exemption and this year's nomination represents a reduction of more than 93% since our first approved exemption for 2005.  I also want to inform you and the MBTOC members that we are taking a further look at our Southeastern sectors of cucurbits, eggplant, peppers, and tomato to gather additional information.  We have made a substantial cut in these sectors because overall the alternatives available for use look promising in that region, although further time may be needed to fully transition.  We intend to submit additional information on these 4 Southeastern vegetable sectors no later than July 15 to further inform the MBTOC in their deliberations.

      We appreciate your consideration of this application, and look forward to working with you and others to answer any questions that may arise during the review process.   Best regards.
      
      
      						Sincerely,
      
      
      
      						John Thompson
      						Deputy Director	
      						Office of Environmental Policy

