[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13143-13144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6853]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-34237B; FRL-6828-2]


Atrazine; 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 
assessment for atrazine 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 assessment for 
atrazine.

DATES: The technical briefing will be held on, April 16, 2002, from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The technical briefing will be held at the National Rural 
Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, 
VA, telephone number (703) 907-5933. Metro accessibility--Ballston 
Metro Stop.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Kimberly Nesci Lowe, Special 
Review and Registration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 308-8059; 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 the technical briefing on atrazine 
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,'' ``Regulations and Proposed Rules,'' 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/.

[[Page 13144]]

    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. In addition, a brief summary of 
the atrazine revised risk assessment is now available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides, 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-34237B. 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 atrazine. The Agency is presenting the revised risk 
assessment for atrazine to interested stakeholders. This technical 
briefing is designed to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to 
become even more informed about the risk assessment. EPA will describe 
in detail the revised risk assessment: 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.
    The technical briefing is part of the pilot public participation 
process that EPA and the United States Department of Agriculture (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 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 
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.
    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 atrazine revised risk assessment 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: March 13, 2002.
  Betty Shackleford,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 02-6853 Filed 3-20-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S