[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56754-56756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23516]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586; FRL-8887-6]
Petition Requesting Ban on Use and Production of Atrazine; Notice
of Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EPA is seeking public comment on a request from the
environmental advocacy group Save the Frogs that EPA ban the use and
production of atrazine.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586, 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 Facility'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.
[[Page 56755]]
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2011-0586. 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 Web site 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 at http://www.regulations.gov. 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: Melanie Biscoe, Pesticide Re-
evaluation Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-7106; fax
number: (703) 308-8005; e-mail address: biscoe.melanie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
You may be potentially affected by this action if you manufacture,
distribute, sell, or use pesticides; are an environmental, human
health, or agricultural advocate; or are a general member of the
public. Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited
to:
Pesticide Manufacturers (NAICS code 325320), e.g.,
herbicides manufacturing.
Pesticides, agricultural, merchant wholesalers and lawn
care supplies merchant wholesalers (NAICS code 424910).
Corn farming (NAICS codes 111150, 111219).
Sorghum farming (NAICS code 111199).
Sugarcane farming (NAICS code 111930).
Environment, conservation, and wildlife organizations
(NAICS code 813312).
This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this
action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could also be
affected. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS)
codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining
whether this action might apply to certain entities. 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. What action is the Agency taking?
EPA seeks public comment on a petition from environmental advocacy
group Save the Frogs requesting that EPA ban the use and production of
atrazine. This petition, available in EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586, was
submitted on May 6, 2011 during a meeting with Save the Frogs founder
Dr. Kerry Kriger. The presentation and participant list from the
meeting is also available in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586.
The Save the Frogs petition includes over 10,000 signatures; select
statements from the public; and two brief summaries of published
literature, one by Dr. Jason Rohr and one by Dr. Tyrone Hayes that is
co-authored by 39 other scientists.
In conjunction with this petition, EPA received nearly 50,000
emails from supporters of the Center for Biological Diversity and the
Natural Resources Defense Council requesting that EPA ``immediately
take steps to phase out atrazine use in the United States,'' stating
that atrazine poses an unreasonable risk to the environment. The emails
express concern for impacts on amphibians and other aquatic species as
well as concern for potential risks to human health.
Information on EPA's regulation of atrazine with regard to
amphibians,
[[Page 56756]]
aquatic ecosystems and human health can be found on its atrazine Web
page: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/atrazine/atrazine_update.htm.
The Agency asks that comments on the Save the Frogs petition's
request to ban the use and production of atrazine be submitted to
docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586 within 60 days. EPA will review all
comments submitted before responding to the petition.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, pesticides, and pests.
Dated: September 6, 2011.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-23516 Filed 9-13-11; 8:45 am]
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