[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 2, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35760-35762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17369]
[[Page 35760]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-300503; FRL-5722-3]
40 CFR Parts 180 and 186
2070-AC18
Revocation of Tolerances for Commodities No Longer Regulated for
Pesticide Residues
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed Rule.
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SUMMARY: This notice proposes to revoke tolerances for pesticide
residues in or on livestock feed commodities that have been removed
from the list of significant livestock feed commodities in Table I of
Pesticide Assessment Guideline 860.1000. In implementing the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), EPA does not require data on or
set individual tolerance levels for minor, non-significant livestock
animal commodities. As explained in this document, EPA considers
residues in minor, non-significant livestock feed commodities to be
covered by the tolerances for the pesticide on the principal
commodities of a crop.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to EPA by September 2, 1997.
ADDRESSES: By mail, submit comments to the Public Information and
Records Integrity Branch, Information Resources and Services Division
(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC
20460. In person, deliver comments to room 1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921
Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA.
Comments and data may also be submitted electronically by following
the instructions under Unit V. No Confidential Business Information
(CBI) should be submitted through e-mail.
Information submitted and any comment(s) concerning this notice may
be claimed confidential by marking any part or all of that information
as ``Confidential Business Information'' (CBI). Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2. A copy of the comment(s) that does not contain CBI must
be submitted for inclusion in the public record. Information not marked
confidential may be disclosed publicly by EPA without prior notice to
the submitter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Jeff Morris, Special Review
and Reregistration Division (7508W), Environmental Protection Agency,
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Office location, telephone number
and e-mail address: Crystal Station #1, 3rd floor, 2800 Crystal Drive,
Arlington, VA (703) 308-8029; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Legal Authority
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 301 et
seq., as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, Pub. L.
104-170) authorizes the establishment of tolerances (maximum residue
levels), exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance, modifications
in tolerances, and revocation of tolerances for residues of pesticide
chemicals in or on raw agricultural commodities and processed foods
pursuant to section 408 of the FFDCA (21 U.S.C. 346(a), as amended).
Without a tolerance or exemption, food containing pesticide residues is
considered to be unsafe and therefore ``adulterated'' under section
402(a) of the FFDCA, and hence may not legally be moved in interstate
commerce (21 U.S.C. 342). For a pesticide to be sold and distributed,
the pesticide must not only have appropriate tolerances or exemptions
under the FFDCA, but also must be registered under section 3 of the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA, 7 U.S.C.
136a(3)(a)).
II. Regulatory Background
Most agricultural crops and their corresponding raw agricultural
and processed commodities can be, and are, fed to livestock. EPA,
however, only requires pesticide residue data on, and sets individual
tolerances for, significant livestock feed commodities. EPA considers a
livestock feed commodity to be significant if it has the potential to
contribute to the human diet (through the consumption of livestock
commodities) more than a negligible quantity of pesticide residue.
EPA's listing of significant food and feed commodities (raw and
processed) can be found in Table I of Pesticide Assessment Guideline
860.1000. Because of minor nomenclature variations, the tolerances as
written in title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations may not coincide
precisely with the commodity names as listed in Table I of Pesticide
Assessment Guideline 860.1000.
EPA revised Table I (formerly Table II) in June of 1994 because of
the significant changes in agricultural, processing, and feeding
practices that had occurred over the past decade. The June 1994 update
was further revised in September of 1995 in order to reflect the most
recent data and to address comments received in response to the June
1994 update. This September 1995 revision of Table I resulted in the
removal of numerous commodities from the table. Data used to update
Table I came from such sources as Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP)
files, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), academia, industry,
and trade associations throughout the United States. In the June 1994
revisions, EPA used the following criteria to decide what feedstuffs
are considered ``significant'': (1) The annual U.S. production of a
particular raw agricultural commodity (RAC) (e.g., wheat grain, or
wheat straw) is greater than or equal to 250,000 tons and the maximum
amount in the livestock diet is greater than or equal to 10 percent, or
(2) the commodity is grown mainly as a feedstuff. Processed commodities
with less than 250,000 tons annual U.S. production were considered
significant feeds in the 1994 revisions if the RAC from which they were
derived exceeded 250,000 tons. For the September 1995 revisions to
Table I, EPA in response to comments and in consultation with USDA and
industry representatives amended the criteria as follows: The amount of
a commodity (raw agricultural or processed) produced or diverted for
use as a feedstuff is at least 0.04 percent of the total annual tonnage
of all feedstuffs available for livestock utilization in the United
States. For feedstuffs less than 0.04 percent of the total estimated
annual tonnage of all feedstuffs available, the 1995 revisions stated
that those feedstuffs are to be included in Table I and therefore
considered to be significant if: (a) the feedstuff is listed and
routinely traded on the commodities exchange markets; (b) there is
regional production, seasonal considerations, or an incident history
for use of the feedstuff; or the feedstuff is grown exclusively for
livestock feeding in quantities greater than 10,000 tons (0.0015
percent of the total estimated annual tonnage of all feedstuffs
available in the United States). EPA determined that any livestock feed
commodities that met these criteria for exclusion from the list of
significant feed commodities were likely to contribute no greater than
a negligible amount of pesticide residue to the human diet. Moreover,
EPA believes that the residue contribution from livestock feed
commodities judged to be insignificant will contribute a negligible
amount of pesticide residue to the human diet relative to the residues
contributed by other portions of the same crop.
EPA expects that Table I, after being revised based on the above
criteria, now
[[Page 35761]]
accounts for greater than 99 percent of the available tonnage (on a
dry-matter basis) of feedstuffs used in the domestic production of
greater than 95 percent of beef and dairy cattle, poultry, swine, milk,
and eggs.
III. Proposed Actions
In this document EPA proposes to revoke the tolerances for specific
livestock feed items dropped from Table I due to a determination that
they were not significant livestock feed commodities.
It is not EPA's intention that this proposed revocation should have
the effect of rendering the affected commodities adulterated due to the
absence of a tolerance. Rather, EPA interprets its tolerance regulation
for the principal RAC of a crop as covering any insignificant livestock
feed commodities (i.e. those not on Table I) of that crop as provided
below. Pesticide residues in an insignificant livestock feed commodity
would be in compliance with the tolerance for the RAC of the same crop
if the residues in the RAC from which the feedstuff is derived or with
which it is associated (e.g., straw harvested at the same crop stage as
grain, the RAC) are at or below the appropriate tolerance level. If no
information is available regarding the residue level in the RAC from
which the feedstuff is derived or with which it is associated, then
pesticide residues in an insignificant livestock feed commodity would
be considered in compliance with the RAC tolerance of that crop if the
residue level in the insignificant livestock feed commodity is
consistent with the RAC from which the feedstuff is derived or with
which it is associated containing residues at or below the appropriate
tolerance. This interpretation applies only to insignificant livestock
feed commodities.
IV. Effective Dates
These proposed revocations will become effective upon the date of
publication in the Federal Register of a final rule revoking the
tolerances.
V. Public Comment Procedures
EPA invites interested persons to submit written comments,
information, or data in response to this proposed rule. EPA will
consider all relevant comments. After consideration of comments, EPA
will issue a final order. Such order will be subject to objections.
Failure to file an objection within the appointed period will
constitute waiver of the right to raise in future proceedings issues
resolved in the final order.
The official record for this rulemaking, as well as the public
version, has been established for this rulemaking under docket number
``[OPP-300503]'' (including comments and data submitted electronically
as described below). A public version of this record, including
printed, paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include
any information claimed as CBI, is available for inspection from 8:30
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
official rulemaking record is located at the address in ``ADDRESSES''
at the beginning of this document.
Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
[email protected]
Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the
use of special characters and any form of encryption. Comment and data
will also be accepted on disks in Wordperfect 5.1 file format or ASCII
file format. All comments and data in electronic form must be
identified by the docket number (insert docket number). Electronic
comments on this proposed rule may be filed online at many Federal
Depository Libraries.
VI. Regulatory Assessment Requirements
This action proposes the revocation of specific tolerance
requirements under section 408 of the FFDCA and therefore does not
impose any other regulatory requirements. As such, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted these types of actions from
review under Executive Order 12866, entitled Regulatory Planning and
Review (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993). Since this proposed rule does
not impose any requirements, it does not contain any information
collections subject to approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., or require any other action under Title
II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) (Pub. L. 104-4).
Nor does it require any prior consultation as specified by Executive
Order 12875, entitled Enhancing the Intergovernmental Partnership (58
FR 58093, October 28, 1993), or special considerations as required by
Executive Order 12898, entitled Federal Actions to Address
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994), or require OMB review in
accordance with Executive Order 13045, entitled Protection of Children
from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks (62 FR 19885, April
23, 1997).
In addition, pursuant to section 605(b) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Agency hereby
certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant adverse
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This
determination is based on the fact that this action does not impose any
requirements and therefore does not have any adverse economic impacts.
In accordance with Small Business Administration (SBA) policy, this
determination will be provided to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
SBA upon request.
List of Subjects
40 CFR Part 180
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and pests, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
40 CFR Part 186
Animal feeds, Pesticide and pest.
Dated: June 18, 1997.
Daniel M. Barolo,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
Therefore, it is proposed that 40 CFR parts 180 and 186 be amended
as follows:
PART 180--[AMENDED]
1. In part 180:
a. The authority citation for part 180 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 346a and 371.
b. Part 180 is amended as follows:
i. By removing the phrase ``alfalfa, chafe, or seed,'' wherever it
appears in part 180.
ii. By removing the phrase ``barley, fodder, green,'' wherever it
appears in part 180.
iii. By removing the phrase ``barley, forage,'' wherever it appears
in part 180.
iv. By removing the phrases ``barley, forage, green,'' and the
phrase ``barley green forage,'' wherever they appear in part 180.
v. By removing the phrases ``buckwheat, fodder,'' and ``buckwheat,
forage,'' wherever they appear in part 180.
vi. By removing the phrases ``lentils, forage,'' or ``lentil,
forage,'' wherever they appear in part 180.
vii. By removing the phrases ``lupine, hay (PRE-H),'' and ``lupine,
straw (pre-H),''wherever they appear in part 180.
viii. By removing the phrases ``peanuts, hulls,'' ``peanut, vine
hulls,'' ``peanut hulls'' or ``peanuts (hulls) pre-H,'' wherever they
appear in part 180.
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ix. By removing the phrase ``peppermint, hay,'' wherever it appears
in part 180.
x. By removing the phrases ``safflower, fodder (fodder, forage, and
grain),'' and ``safflower, forage,'' wherever they appear in part 180.
xi. By removing the phrase ``spearmint, hay,'' wherever it appears
in part 180.
xii. By removing the phrase ``sunflower, forage,'' wherever it
appears in part 180.
Sec. 180.106 [Amended]
xiii. In Sec. 180.106, in the entry for ``2 parts per million...''
revise the phrase ``forage, and straw of barley'' to read ``straw of
barley.''
Sec. 180.277 [Amended]
xiv. In Sec. 180.277 revise the phrase ``barley (grain, forage, and
straw)'' to read ``barley (grain and straw).''
Sec. 180.288 [Amended]
xv. In Sec. 180.288 by revising the phrase ``barley (fodder,
forage, grain and straw)'' to read ``barley (fodder, grain and
straw).''
Sec. 180.230 [Amended]
xvi. In Sec. 180.230 by removing the phrase ``peanut hulls and.''
Sec. 180.236 [Amended]
xvii. In Sec. 180.236 by removing the phrase ``0.4 parts per
million in or on peanut hulls.''
Sec. 180.361 [Amended]
xviii. In Sec. 180.361 by removing paragraph (b).
PART 186--[AMENDED]
2. In part 186:
a. The authority citation for part 186 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 348.
b. Part 186 is amended as follows:
i. By removing the phrase ``apple, pomace (dry)'' wherever it
appears in part 186.
ii. By removing the phrase ``citrus, molasses,'' wherever it
appears in part 186.
iii. By removing the phrase ``corn soapstock'' wherever it appears
in part 186.
iv. By removing the phrases ``grape pomace,'' ``grapes, pomace,
dried,''``grapes, pomace, (wet and dry),'' ``grapes, pomace, (wet and
dried),'' ``grape pomace (dry or wet),'' ``grape pomace (wet),''
``grape pomace (dry),'' and ``grape pomace, wet and dry,'' wherever
they appear in part 186.
v. By removing the phrases ``raisin, waste,'' and ``grape, raisin
waste,'' wherever they appears in part 186.
vi. By removing the phrase ``hops, spent,'' wherever it appears in
part 186.
vii. By removing the phrase ``peanuts, soapstock,'' wherever it
appears in part 186.
viii. By removing the phrase ``peanuts, soapstock, fatty acids,''
wherever it appears in part 186.
ix. By removing the phrase ``soapstock'' wherever it appears in
part 186.
x. By removing the phrase ``soybeans, soapstock,'' wherever it
appears in part 186.
xi. By removing the phrase ``soybeans, soapstock, fatty acids,''
wherever it appears in part 186.
xii. By removing the phrase ``spent mint hay,'' wherever it appears
in part 186.
xiii. By removing the phrase ``sugarcane, bagasse,'' wherever it
appears in part 186.
xiv. By removing the phrase ``sunflower, seeds, hulls,'' wherever
it appears in part 186.
xv. By removing the phrase ``sunflower, seeds, soapstock,''
wherever it appears in part 186.
xvi. By removing the phrase ``tomatoes, pomace, dried,'' wherever
it appears in part 186.
xvii. By removing the phrase ``tomatoes, pomace, wet,'' wherever it
appears in part 186.
Sec. 186.450 [Amended]
xviii. In Sec. 186.450 by removing the phrase ``citrus molasses
and.''
Sec. 186.3450 [Removed]
xix. By removing Sec. 186.3450.
Sec. 186.350 [Amended]
xx. In Sec. 186.350 by removing the entry beginning with ``125
parts per million....''
Sec. 186.1650 [Amended]
xxi. In Sec. 186.1650 by removing the entry beginning with ``20
parts per million....''
Sec. 186.4800 [Amended]
xxii. In Sec. 186.4800 by removing the entry beginning with ``45
parts per million....''
Sec. 186.1450 [Amended]
xxiii. In Sec. 186.1450 the entry for ``5 parts per million,'' is
amended by removing the phrase ``sugarcane bagasse and.''
Sec. 186.2225 [Amended]
xxiv. In Sec. 186.2225 by removing the entry ``1.5 parts per
million in sugarcane baggase.''
Sec. 186.3350 [Removed]
xxv. By removing Sec. 186.3350.
[FR Doc. 97-17369 Filed 7-1-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F