[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4561-4562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2017]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-34173A; FRL-6490-4]


Phosmet, Revised Pesticide Risk Assessment; Notice of Public 
Meeting

AGENCY:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:  Notice.

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SUMMARY:  EPA will hold a public meeting to present the revised risk 
assessments for one organophosphate pesticide, phosmet, to interested 
stakeholders. This public meeting, called a ``Technical Briefing,'' 
will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to learn about the data, 
information, and methodologies that the Agency used in revising its 
risk assessments for phosmet. In addition, representatives of the 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) will also provide ideas on possible 
risk management for phosmet.

DATES:  The technical briefing will be held on February 10, 2000, from 
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES:  The technical briefing will be held at the Doubletree 
Hotel, 2525 North 20th Ave., Pasco, Washington, 99301; telephone 
number: (509) 547-0701.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  By mail: Karen Angulo, Special Review 
and Registration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Bldg., 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., 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 
organophosphate pesticides, 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, a brief 
summary of the phosmet revised risk assessment is now available 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 under 
docket control number OPP-34173A. 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.

[[Page 4562]]

II. What Action Is the Agency Taking?

    This document announces the Agency's intention to hold a technical 
briefing for the organophosphate pesticide, phosmet. The Agency is 
presenting the revised risk assessments for phosmet 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 pesticide 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.
    The Agency will issue a Federal Register notice to provide an 
opportunity for public viewing of the phosmet revised risk assessments 
and related documents in the Public Information and Records Integrity 
Branch and on the OPP Internet web site that are described in Unit 
I.B.1, and 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: January 21, 2000.
Lois Rossi,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 00-2017 Filed 1-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F