[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40871-40873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16266]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0518; FRL-8372-3]
Chloropicrin, Dazomet, Metam Sodium/Potassium, and Methyl Bromide
Reregistration Eligibility Decisions; Notice of Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's Reregistration
Eligibility Decisions (REDs) for the soil fumigant pesticides
chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide, and
opens a public comment period on these documents. The Agency's risk
assessments and other related documents also are available in the
Dockets for these pesticides, listed in the Table in Unit II. Soil
fumigants are used to kill soil-borne pests in producing many crops,
including primarily potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries carrots, and
peppers. EPA has reviewed chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/
potassium, and methyl bromide through the public participation process
that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide
reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these
programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and
safety standards.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 15, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by the docket
identification (ID) number(s) for the specific pesticide(s) of interest
provided in the Table in Unit II., by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to the Docket ID number(s)
listed in the Table in Unit II. for the pesticide(s) you are commenting
on. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
docket without change and may be made available on-line at http://
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-mail. The
regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means
EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment
directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your e-mail
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov
[[Page 40872]]
website to view the docket index or access available documents.
Although, listed in the index, some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are
available either in the electronic docket at http://
www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP
Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.),
2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this
Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703)
305-5805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For pesticide-specific information
contact the Chemical Review Manger identified in the Table in Unit II.
for the pesticide of interest.
For general information contact: John Leahy, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-6703; fax
number: (703) 308-8090; e-mail address: leahy.john @epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human
health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution,
or use of pesticides. Since others also may be interested, the Agency
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be
affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
Under section 4 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is reevaluating existing pesticides to
ensure that they meet current scientific and regulatory standards. EPA
has completed REDs for the soil fumigant pesticides, chloropicrin,
dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide under section
4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. Soil fumigants are used to kill soil-borne pests
in producing many crops, including primarily potatoes, tomatoes,
strawberries, carrots, and peppers. EPA has determined that the data
base to support reregistration is substantially complete and that
products containing these pesticides are eligible for reregistration,
provided the risks are mitigated either in the manner described in the
RED or by another means that achieves equivalent risk reduction. Upon
submission of any required product specific data under section
4(g)(2)(B) of FIFRA and any necessary changes to the registration and
labeling (either to address concerns identified in the RED or as a
result of product specific data), EPA will make a final reregistration
decision under section 4(g)(2)(C) of FIFRA for products containing
chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide.
Table 1.--Reregistration Eligibility Decision Dockets Opening
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Chemical Review
Reregistration Case Name and Manager, Telephone
Number Docket ID Number Number, E-mail
Address
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Chloropicrin, 0040 EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-03 Andrea Carone
50 (703) 308-0122
*COM001*carone.and
rea@epa.gov
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Dazomet, 2135 EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-01 Cathryn O'Connell
28 (703) 308-0136
o'connell.cathryn@
epa.gov
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Metam sodium/potassium, 2390 EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-01 Dirk Helder
25 (703) 305-4610
helder.dirk@epa.go
v
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[[Page 40873]]
Methyl bromide, 0335 EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-01 Steven Weiss
23 (703) 308-8293
weiss.steven@epa.g
ov
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EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all
pesticides undergoing reregistration . The Agency's Pesticide Tolerance
Reassessment and Reregistration; Public Participation Process,
published in the Federal Register on May 14, 2004, (69 FR 26819) (FRL-
7357-9) explains that in conducting these programs, EPA is tailoring
its public participation process to be commensurate with the level of
risk, extent of use, complexity of issues, and degree of public concern
associated with each pesticide. Due to their uses, risks, and other
factors, chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl
bromide were reviewed through the full 6-Phase process. Through this
process, EPA worked extensively with stakeholders and the public to
reach the regulatory decisions for these pesticides.
The reregistration program is being conducted under congressionally
mandated time frames, and EPA recognizes the need both to make timely
decisions and to involve the public. The Agency is issuing the
chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide REDs
for public comment. This comment period is intended to provide an
additional opportunity for public input in particular with regard to
implementation of risk mitigation measures, and a mechanism for
initiating any necessary amendments to the REDs. To assist readers in
providing information that would be most useful to the Agency, EPA is
providing a Commenter's Guide to the Soil Fumigant REDs. This document
is available in the individual dockets listed in the Table in this
Unit, and on EPA's soil fumigants Web page, http://www.epa.gov/
oppsrrd1/reregistration/soil_fumigants/ . All comments should be
submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES and the Docket ID numbers in
the Table in this Unit, and must be received by EPA on or before the
closing date. These comments will become part of the Agency Dockets for
these pesticides. Comments received after the close of the comment
period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these
late comments.
For each pesticide, the Agency will carefully consider all comments
received by the closing date and will provide a Response to Comments
Memorandum in the Docket and regulations.gov. If any comment
significantly affects the document, EPA also will publish an amendment
to the RED in the Federal Register. In the absence of substantive
comments requiring changes, the chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/
metam potassium, and methyl bromide REDs will be implemented as now
presented.
B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA, as amended, directs that, after
submission of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, the
Administrator shall determine whether pesticides containing such active
ingredient are eligible for reregistration, before calling in product
specific data on individual end-use products and either reregistering
products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: July 8, 2008.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-16266 Filed 7-15-08; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S