To ensure the viability and competitiveness of the United States agricultural sector.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``U.S. Agricultural Sector Relief Act 
of 2012''.

SEC. 2. ENSURING THE AVAILABILITY OF METHYL BROMIDE FOR CRITICAL USES.

    (a) Critical Use Exemptions and Emergency Events.--Subsection (h) 
of section 604 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7671c(h)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) Critical use exemptions and emergency events.--
                    ``(A) Critical use exemptions.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For each calendar year, 
                        beginning with 2013, the Administrator, 
                        pursuant to an application submitted by any 
                        person, shall take all appropriate actions 
                        within the authority of the Environmental 
                        Protection Agency to seek a critical use 
                        exemption under the Montreal Protocol in order 
                        to allow the production, importation, and 
                        consumption of methyl bromide--
                                    ``(I) for any use of methyl bromide 
                                that--
                                            ``(aa) is an approved 
                                        critical use; and
                                            ``(bb) is determined by the 
                                        Administrator to be a critical 
                                        use for the applicant; and
                                    ``(II) in the amount necessary for 
                                the use described in subclause (I).
                            ``(ii) Applications.--The Administrator 
                        shall not deny any application referred to in 
                        clause (i), or reduce the amount requested 
                        under any such application, unless the 
                        Administrator--
                                    ``(I) has substantial evidence to 
                                establish that there is a technically 
                                and economically feasible alternative 
                                available to the applicant for the use 
                                of methyl bromide for which the 
                                application was submitted; and
                                    ``(II) provides such evidence to 
                                the applicant in writing.
                            ``(iii) Alternatives.--The Administrator, 
                        when evaluating the technical and economic 
                        feasibility of any alternative pursuant to 
                        clause (ii), shall consider--
                                    ``(I) cost and commercial 
                                availability of the alternative to the 
                                applicant;
                                    ``(II) demonstrated effectiveness 
                                of the alternative for the applicant's 
                                specific intended use;
                                    ``(III) demonstrated effectiveness 
                                of the alternative in the geographic 
                                region of the applicant's intended use; 
                                and
                                    ``(IV) State or local regulations 
                                that may restrict use of the 
                                alternative for the applicant's 
                                intended use.
                    ``(B) Emergency events.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For each calendar year, 
                        beginning with 2013, the Administrator, 
                        pursuant to an application submitted by any 
                        person, shall allow the production, 
                        importation, and consumption in the United 
                        States of methyl bromide--
                                    ``(I) for any use described in 
                                subparagraph (A)(i)(I) in response to 
                                an emergency event; and
                                    ``(II) in an amount necessary for 
                                such use.
                            ``(ii) Limits on use per emergency event.--
                        The amount of methyl bromide allowed pursuant 
                        to clause (i) for use per emergency event at a 
                        specific location shall not exceed 20 metric 
                        tons.
                            ``(iii) Limit on aggregate amount.--The 
                        aggregate amount of methyl bromide allowed 
                        pursuant to clause (i) for use in the United 
                        States in a calendar year shall not exceed the 
                        total amount authorized by the parties to the 
                        Montreal Protocol pursuant to the Montreal 
                        Protocol process for critical uses in the 
                        United States in calendar year 2011.
                    ``(C) International obligations.--The Administrator 
                shall take such actions as may be necessary to carry 
                out this paragraph in accordance with the Montreal 
                Protocol.
                    ``(D) Research.--For each calendar year, beginning 
                with 2013, the Administrator shall take all appropriate 
                actions within the authority of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency to ensure that sufficient quantities 
                of methyl bromide are available for research on methyl 
                bromide alternatives for the agricultural sector.
                    ``(E) Adjustments to critical use nominations.--The 
                Administrator shall review and, as appropriate, take 
                action to adjust any critical use nomination that has 
                been submitted to the Parties to the Montreal Protocol 
                (for production, importation, or consumption of methyl 
                bromide in the United States) if--
                            ``(i) a methyl bromide alternative is 
                        removed from the United States market; and
                            ``(ii) on the basis of the availability of 
                        such alternative, the Administrator denied, or 
                        reduced the amount requested under, any 
                        application for production, importation, or 
                        consumption of methyl bromide for the year 
                        covered by such nomination.
                    ``(F) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) The term `approved critical use' 
                        means a use that--
                                    ``(I) as of January 1, 2005, was an 
                                approved critical use in appendix L to 
                                subpart A of part 82 of title 40, Code 
                                of Federal Regulations; or
                                    ``(II) during the period following 
                                such date and ending on the date of 
                                enactment of this clause, was added as 
                                an approved critical use in such 
                                appendix.
                            ``(ii) The term `critical use' means a 
                        circumstance in which--
                                    ``(I) there are no technically and 
                                economically feasible alternatives or 
                                substitutes for methyl bromide 
                                available that are acceptable from the 
                                standpoint of environment and health 
                                and are suitable to the crops and 
                                circumstances involved; and
                                    ``(II) the lack of availability of 
                                methyl bromide for a particular use 
                                would result in significant market 
                                disruption.
                            ``(iii) The term `emergency event' means a 
                        situation--
                                    ``(I) that occurs at a farm, 
                                nursery, food processing facility, or 
                                commodities storage facility;
                                    ``(II) for which there is no 
                                critical use exemption in effect for 
                                such site, or for which there are not 
                                sufficient quantities of methyl bromide 
                                available under an existing critical 
                                use exemption for such site, as 
                                described in subparagraph (A); and
                                    ``(III) that requires the use of 
                                methyl bromide to control a pest or 
                                disease because there is no technically 
                                and economically feasible alternative 
                                to methyl bromide available for such 
                                use.''.
    (b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, acting through the Director of the Office of 
Pesticide Programs, and in consultation with the Secretary of 
Agriculture, shall--
            (1) issue such final regulations as may be necessary to 
        implement the amendment made by subsection (a); and
            (2) include in such regulations--
                    (A) criteria for identifying an emergency event, as 
                defined in section 604(h)(2)(D)(iii) of the Clean Air 
                Act, as added by such amendment; and
                    (B) provisions to ensure that each application for 
                use of methyl bromide in response to an emergency event 
                under section 604(h)(2)(B) of the Clean Air Act, as 
                added by such amendment, is approved or disapproved in 
                a timely manner.

Summary: U.S. Agricultural Sector Relief Act of 2012 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pursuant to an application submitted by any person, to seek a critical use exemption under the Montreal Protocol to allow the production, importation, and consumption of methyl bromide: (1) for any approved critical use that is determined by the Administrator to be a critical use for the applicant, and (2) in the amount necessary for such use.

Prohibits the Administrator from denying such an application or reducing the amount requested unless the Administrator: (1) has substantial evidence that there is a technically and economically feasible alternative available to the applicant for such use of methyl bromide, and (2) provides such evidence to the applicant in writing. Requires the Administrator, when evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of any alternative, to consider: (1) cost and commercial availability of the alternative, (2) demonstrated effectiveness of the alternative for the applicant's specific intended use, (3) demonstrated effectiveness of the alternative in the geographic region of the applicant's intended use, and (4) state or local regulations that may restrict use of the alternative for the applicant's intended use.

Requires the Administrator, pursuant to an application, to allow the production, importation, and consumption of methyl bromide for any approved critical use in response to an emergency event, in an amount necessary for such use, not to exceed: (1) per emergency event at a specific location, 20 metric tons, or (2) in the aggregate for emergency use in the United Sates in a year, the total amount authorized pursuant to the Montreal Protocol process for critical uses in the United States in calendar year 2011.

Requires the Administrator to ensure that sufficient quantities of methyl bromide are available for research on methyl bromide alternatives for the agricultural sector.

Requires the Administrator to review and adjust as appropriate, any critical use nomination for production, importation, or consumption of methyl bromide in the United States that has been submitted to the Parties to the Montreal Protocol if: (1) a methyl bromide alternative is removed from the U.S. market; and (2) on the basis of the availability of such alternative, the Administrator denied, or reduced the amount requested under, any application for production, importation, or consumption of methyl bromide for the year covered by such nomination.