[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39517-39518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19389]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-64034; FRL 5729-8]


Cancellation of Pesticides for Non-Payment of 1997 Registration 
Maintenance Fees

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Since the amendments of October, 1988, the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) has required 
payment of an annual maintenance fee to keep pesticide registrations in 
effect. The fee due last January 15 has gone unpaid for about 1,113 
registrations. Section 4(i)(5)(D) of FIFRA provides that the 
Administrator may cancel these registrations by order and without a 
hearing; orders to cancel all but a few of them have been issued within 
the past few days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the 
maintenance fee program in general, contact by mail: John Jamula, 
Office of Pesticide Programs (7504C), Environmental Protection Agency, 
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Office location, telephone 
number, and e-mail: Rm. 226, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis 
Highway South, Arlington, VA, (703) 305-6426; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    Section 4(i)(5) of FIFRA as amended in October, 1988, and again in 
December, 1991 requires that all pesticide registrants pay an annual 
registration maintenance fee, due by January 15 of each year, to keep 
their registrations in effect. This requirement applies to all 
registrations granted under section 3 as well as those granted under 
section 24(c) to meet special local needs. Registrations for which the 
fee is not paid are subject to cancellation by order and without a 
hearing.
    The 1990 Farm Bill amended FIFRA to allow the Administrator to 
reduce or waive maintenance fees for minor agricultural use pesticides 
when she determines that the fee would be likely to cause significant 
impact on the availability of the pesticide for the use. The Agency has 
waived the fee for 82 minor agricultural use registrations at the 
request of the registrants.
    In late November, 1996, all holders of either section 3 
registrations or section 24(c) registrations were sent lists of their 
active registrations, along with forms and instructions for responding. 
They were asked to identify which of their registrations they wished to 
maintain in effect, and to calculate and remit the appropriate 
maintenance fees. Most responses were received by the statutory 
deadline of January 15.
    A notice of intent to cancel was sent in mid-March to companies who 
did not respond and to companies who responded, but paid for less than 
all of their registrations. Late payments of the fees were accepted 
until May 15, when the actual process of cancellation was begun. Since 
mailing the notices, EPA has maintained a toll-free inquiry number 
through which the questions of affected registrants have been answered.
    Maintenance fees have been paid for about 16,381 section 3 
registrations, or about 94 percent of the registrations on file in 
November. Fees have been paid for about 2,512 section 24(c) 
registrations, or about 88 percent of the total on file in November. 
Cancellations for non-payment of the maintenance fee affect about 849 
section 3 registrations and about 264 section 24(c) registrations.

II. Product Cancellations not Affecting Status of Active Ingredient

    In cases where the active ingredients will remain available in 
other registered products, we anticipate two types of impact for the 
bulk of these cancellations. First, some of these disappearing 
registrations will be survived in the market by substantially identical 
registrations. These substantially identical products may not, however, 
be readily available wherever a disappearing product was sold, so there 
may be local or regional disruptions while distribution patterns are 
adjusted. We expect these disruptions to be minor and temporary.
    The cancellation orders generally permit registrants to continue to 
sell and distribute existing stocks of the canceled products until the 
due date for the next annual registration maintenance fee, January 15, 
1998. Existing stocks already in the hands of dealers or users, 
however, can generally be distributed, sold or used legally until they 
are exhausted. Existing stocks are defined as those stocks of a 
registered pesticide product which are currently in the U.S. and which 
have been packaged, labeled and released for shipment prior to the 
effective date of the action.
    The exceptions to these general rules are cases where more 
stringent restrictions on sale, distribution, or use of the products 
have already been imposed, through Special Reviews or other Agency 
actions. These general provisions for disposition of stocks should 
serve in most cases to cushion the impact of these cancellations while 
the market adjusts.
    Second, in some cases unique non-agricultural uses will disappear, 
although the active ingredients will remain available for different 
uses in other products. When this situation occurs, there may be more 
serious impacts on users of the canceled products. Once again, existing 
stocks of the canceled products already in channels of trade will be 
usable to mitigate these impacts in the short term. For the longer term 
the mechanisms of section 3 amendments and 24(c) registrations will 
remain available to obtain replacement registrations.
    Neither of these types of impact leaves users without the means to 
replace lost registrations; neither is considered to justify further 
deferral of cancellations for non-payment of the maintenance fee. Thus 
all these registrations for which the active ingredient will remain in 
other products have been canceled.

III. Cancellations Leading to Disappearance of Active Ingredients

    A second type of impact arises if an active ingredient that is now 
or has recently been available for one or more minor agricultural uses 
disappears from the marketplace. The Agency believes that no active 
ingredients registered for minor use will disappear because of the 
cancellation actions described in this notice.

IV. Public Docket

    Because so many registrations are involved, it would be impractical 
to list those which have been canceled in this notice. Complete lists 
of registrations canceled for non-payment of the maintenance fee will, 
however, be available for reference during normal business hours in the 
OPP Public Docket, Room 1128, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis 
Highway South, Arlington VA, and at each EPA Regional

[[Page 39518]]

Office. Product-specific status inquiries may be made by telephone by 
calling toll-free 1-800-444-7255.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and 
pests.

    Dated: July 9, 1997.

Linda A. Travers,
Director, Information Resources and Services Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 97-19389 Filed 7-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F