[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63035-63036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29900]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-34208; FRL-6394-7]


Methidathion and Oxydemethon-Methyl, Revised Pesticide Risk 
Assessments; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY:Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: EPA will hold a public meeting to present the revised risk 
assessments for two organophosphate pesticides, methidathion and 
oxydemethon-methyl, to interested stakeholders. This public meeting, 
called a ``Technical Briefing,'' will provide an opportunity for 
stakeholders

[[Page 63036]]

to learn about the data, information, and methodologies that the Agency 
used in revising its risk assessments for methidathion and oxydemethon-
methyl. In addition, representatives of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) will also provide ideas on possible risk management 
for methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl.

DATES: The technical briefing will be held on Wednesday, December 8, 
1999, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The technical briefing will be held at the Holiday Inn 
Capital Plaza, 300 J St., Sacramento, CA ((916) 446-0100).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Karen Angulo, Special Review 
and Registration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone number: (703) 308-8004; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action applies to the public in general. As such, the Agency 
has not attempted to specifically describe all the entities potentially 
affected by this action. The Agency believes that a wide range of 
stakeholders will be interested in technical briefings on 
organophosphates, including environmental, human health, and 
agricultural advocates, the chemical industry, pesticide users, and 
members of the public interested in the use of pesticides on food. 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. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this 
Document and Other Related Documents?

    1.Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this 
document, and certain other related documents that might be available 
electronically, from the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/. 
To access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and 
Regulations'' and then look up the entry for this document under the 
``Federal Register--Environmental Documents.'' You can also go directly 
to the Federal Register listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
     To access information about organophosphate pesticides, you can 
also go directly to the Home Page for the Office of Pesticide Programs 
(OPP) at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/. In addition, there is a 
brief summary now available for both methidathion and oxydemethon-
methyl revised risk assessments at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/
status.htm/, as well as in paper as part of the public version of the 
official record as described in Unit I.B.2.
    2. In person. The Agency has established an official record for 
organophosphates methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl under docket 
control numbers OPP-34172A for methidathion and OPP-34167A for 
oxydemethon-methyl. The official record consists of the documents 
specifically referenced in this action, and other information related 
to this action, including any information claimed as Confidential 
Business Information (CBI). This official record includes the documents 
that are physically located in the docket, as well as the documents 
that are referenced in those documents. The public version of the 
official record does not include any information claimed as CBI. The 
public version of the official record, which includes printed, paper 
versions of any electronic comments submitted during an applicable 
comment period is available for inspection in the Public Information 
and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 
Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is 
(703) 305-5805.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    This document announces the Agency's intention to hold a technical 
briefing for the organophosphate pesticides, methidathion and 
oxydemethon-methyl. The Agency is presenting the revised risk 
assessments for methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl to interested 
stakeholders. This technical briefing is designed to provide 
stakeholders with an opportunity to become even more informed about an 
organophosphate's risk assessment. EPA will describe in detail the 
revised risk assessments: Including the major points (e.g., 
contributors to risk estimates); how public comment on the preliminary 
risk assessment affected the revised risk assessment; and the pesticide 
use information/data that was used in developing the revised risk 
assessment. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to ask clarifying 
questions. In addition, representatives of the USDA will provide ideas 
on possible risk management.
    The technical briefing is part of the pilot public participation 
process that EPA and USDA are now using for involving the public in the 
reassessment of pesticide tolerances under the Food Quality Protection 
Act (FQPA), and the reregistration of individual organophosphate 
pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 
Act (FIFRA). The pilot public participation process was developed as 
part of the EPA-USDA Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee (TRAC), 
which was established in April 1998 as a subcommittee under the 
auspices of EPA's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy 
and Technology. A goal of the pilot public participation process is to 
find a more effective way for the public to participate at critical 
junctures in the Agency's development of organophosphate risk 
assessment and risk management decisions. EPA and USDA began 
implementing this pilot process in August 1998 in response to Vice 
President Gore's directive to increase transparency and opportunities 
for stakeholder consultation.
     On the day of the technical briefing, in addition to making copies 
available at the meeting site, the Agency will also release for public 
viewing the methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl revised risk 
assessments and related documents to the Public Information and Records 
Integrity Branch and the OPP Internet web site that are described in 
Unit I.B.1. In addition, the Agency will issue a Federal Register 
notice to provide an opportunity for a 60-day public participation 
period during which the public may submit risk management and 
mitigation ideas, and recommendations and proposals for transition.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: November 9, 1999.

Jack E. Housenger,

Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 99-29900 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F