[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 204 (Friday, October 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63110-63111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27072]


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

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science

[Public Notice No. 3451]


Public Meeting on An International Agreement on Prior Informed 
Consent for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides

SUMMARY: This public meeting will provide an overview of ongoing 
efforts to implement a binding agreement on the application of a prior 
informed consent (PIC) procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and 
pesticides. A total of 73 countries have signed the binding PIC 
agreement, with 11 countries completing ratification. The purpose of 
the public meeting is to discuss preparations for the seventh session 
of the PIC intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-7) which will 
take place from October 30 to November 3, 2000. The INC-7 meeting will 
address a number of timely issues

[[Page 63111]]

related to the PIC agreement: status and implementation issues related 
to the interim PIC procedure, applicability to pesticides containing 
contaminants, activities of the interim chemical review committee, and 
preparation for the first conference of the parties. The public meeting 
will take place from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on October 25 in Room 3519, 
U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 
Attendees should use the entrance at C Street, and should provide 
Eunice Mourning (202-647-9266) with their date of birth and social 
security number by noon on October 24. Attendees should bring picture 
identification to the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Dr. Marie Ricciardone, 
U.S. Department of State, OES/ENV, Room 4325, 2201 C Street NW, 
Washington D.C. 20520. Phone 202-736-4660, fax 202-647-5947.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States, through an interagency 
working group chaired by the State Department, has been involved in 
preparations for implementation of the Rotterdam Convention on the 
Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals 
and Pesticides in International Trade. The text of the PIC Convention 
was adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in September 1998. 
The Convention will make binding the current interim voluntary scheme 
contained in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 
International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides 
and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) London Guidelines for 
the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade. The 
PIC procedure was developed in recognition of the fact that many 
countries in the developing world have inadequate capacity to generate 
information necessary to make decisions regarding how to effectively 
manage risks of hazardous chemicals, and in certain cases to ensure 
adequate compliance with risk management decisions. The procedure 
assists countries in learning more about the characteristics of certain 
hazardous chemicals that may be shipped to them, initiates a decision-
making process on the future import of these chemicals, and facilitates 
the dissemination of this decision to other countries.
    Chemicals eligible for the PIC procedure include those which have 
been banned or severely restricted by participating countries, as well 
as certain acutely hazardous pesticides. Under the procedure, countries 
notify the PIC secretariat of their decision on importation for each of 
the PIC chemicals. In their decision, countries indicate whether they 
will permit use and importation, prohibit use and importation, or 
permit importation only under specified conditions. Importing countries 
are expected to ensure that their decisions are applied to all sources 
of import and to domestic production for domestic use; exporting 
countries are expected to ensure that exports do not occur contrary to 
the decisions of importing countries. So far, 27 chemicals have been 
included in the procedure, and it is likely that more will be covered 
in the future. Additional information on the voluntary procedure, PIC 
text, PIC chemicals, and the agenda for INC-7 is located on the 
internet on the PIC Home Page (http://www.pic.int).
    The Department of State is issuing this notice to help ensure that 
potentially affected parties are aware of and knowledgeable about the 
parameters of these negotiations. In the future, we will be contacting 
interested organizations about planned briefings by mail or fax. Those 
organizations which cannot attend the meeting, but wish to remain 
informed, should provide Dr. Marie Ricciardone of the Department of 
State with their address, telephone and fax numbers.

    Dated: October 17, 2000.
Dan Fantozzi,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy.
[FR Doc. 00-27072 Filed 10-19-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-U