[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 164 (Friday, August 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54651-54653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21569]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-2002-0228; FRL-7196-9]


FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: There will be a 1-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Food Quality Protection Act 
(FQPA) Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP)) to consider and review a 
proposed methodology for projecting domestic percent-crop-treated with 
pesticides for dietary risk assessment.

DATES: The meeting will be held on October 1, 2002, from 8:30 a.m. to 
approximately 5 p.m., eastern standard time.
    For dates on requests to present oral comments, submission of 
written comments, or requests for special seating arrangements, see 
Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, 
1800 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. The telephone number for the 
Sheraton Crystal City Hotel is: (703) 486-1111.
    Requests to present oral comments, submission of written comments, 
or requests for special seating arrangements may be submitted by mail, 
electronically, or in person. Please follow the detailed instructions 
for each method as provided in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, your request must 
identify docket ID number OPP-2002-0228 in the subject line on the 
first page of your response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Knott, Designated Federal 
Official (DFO), Office of Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-8450; fax number: 
(202) 564-8382; e-mail addresses: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, 
however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to 
conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), FIFRA, and FQPA. Since other entities may 
also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the 
specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any 
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
entity, consult the DFO 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/.
    A meeting agenda, EPA's background paper, questions to FIFRA SAP, 
and FIFRA SAP composition (i.e., members and consultants) will be 
available as soon as possible, but no later than early September. In 
addition, the Agency may provide additional background documents as the 
materials become available. You may obtain electronic copies of these 
documents, and certain other related documents that might be available 
electronically, from the FIFRA SAP Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap.
    2. In person. The Agency has established an official record for 
this meeting under docket ID number OPP-2002-0228. The official record 
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this notice, any 
public comments received during an applicable comment period, and other 
material information, 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. In addition, the Agency may 
provide additional background documents as the material becomes 
available. The public version of the official record, which includes 
printed, paper versions of any electronic comments that may be 
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.

C. How May I Participate in this Meeting?

    You may submit requests to present oral comments, written comments, 
or requests for special seating arrangements through the mail, in 
person, or electronically. Do not submit any information in your 
request that is considered CBI. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is 
imperative that you identify docket ID number OPP-2002-0228 in the 
subject line on the first page of your request.
    1. Oral comments. Although requests to present oral comments are 
accepted until the date of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), to 
the extent that time permits, interested persons may be permitted by 
the Chair of FIFRA SAP to present oral comments at the meeting. Each 
individual or group wishing to make brief oral comments to FIFRA SAP is 
strongly advised to submit their request to the DFO listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no later than noon, eastern standard time, 
September 24, 2002, in order to be included on the meeting agenda. The 
request should identify the name of the individual making the 
presentation, the organization (if any) the individual will represent, 
and any requirements for audiovisual equipment (e.g., overhead 
projector, 35 mm projector, chalkboard). Oral comments before FIFRA SAP 
are limited to approximately 5 minutes unless prior arrangements have 
been made. In addition, the speaker should bring to the meeting 30 
copies of the oral comments and presentation slides for distribution to 
FIFRA SAP at the meeting.
    2. Written comments. Although submission of written comments are 
accepted until the date of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), the 
Agency encourages that written comments be submitted no later than 
noon, eastern standard time, September 24, 2002, to provide FIFRA SAP 
the time necessary to consider and review the written comments. There 
is no limit on the extent of written comments for consideration by 
FIFRA SAP. Persons

[[Page 54652]]

wishing to submit written comments at the meeting should contact the 
DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and submit 30 copies.
    3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be on a 
first-come basis. Individuals requiring special accommodations at this 
meeting, including wheelchair access, should contact the DFO at least 5 
business days prior to the meeting using the information under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT so that appropriate arrangements can be 
made.

D. Submission of Requests and Written Comments

    1. By mail. Submit your request or written comments to: Public 
Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources 
and Services Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460.
    b. In person or by courier. Deliver your request or written 
comments to: Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), 
Information Resources and Services Division (7502C), Office of 
Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, 
Crystal Mall 2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. The 
PIRIB is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    c. Electronically. You may submit your request or written comments 
electronically by e-mail to: [email protected]. Do not submit any 
information electronically that you consider to be CBI. Use WordPerfect 
6.1/8.0/9.0 or ASCII file format and avoid the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Be sure to identify by docket ID 
number OPP-2002-0228. You may also file a request online at many 
Federal Depository Libraries.

II. Background

A. Purpose of the FIFRA SAP

    The FIFRA SAP is an independent scientific peer review group that 
provides technical advice for EPA's consideration. Amendments to the 
FIFRA, enacted November 28, 1975, (7 U.S.C. 136w(d)), include a 
requirement under section 25(d) that notices of intent to cancel or 
reclassify pesticide regulations pursuant to section 6(b)(2), as well 
as proposed and final forms of rulemaking pursuant to section 25(a), be 
submitted to a SAP prior to being made public or issued to a 
registrant. In accordance with FIFRA section 25(d), the SAP is to have 
an opportunity to comment on the health and environmental impact of 
such actions. The Panel shall also make comments, evaluations, and 
recommendations for operating guidelines to improve the effectiveness 
and quality of analyses made by Agency scientists. Members are 
scientists who have sufficient professional qualifications, including 
training and experience, to be capable of providing expert comments as 
to the impact on health and the environment of regulatory actions under 
sections 6(b) and 25(a) of FIFRA. The Deputy Administrator appoints 
seven individuals to serve on the Panel for staggered terms of 4 years, 
based on recommendations from the National Institute of Health (NIH) 
and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

B. Purpose of the Meeting

    The FIFRA SAP will meet to consider and review a proposed 
methodology for projecting domestic percent-crop-treated with 
pesticides for dietary risk assessment. The percentage of a given crop 
which is treated (or, more precisely, not treated) is a critical 
parameter in OPP's recently instituted, probabilistic human health 
exposure assessments because this factor determines the proportion of a 
crop which is assumed to have (or not have) residues. These residues, 
or expected residues, determine the dietary exposure to pesticides, 
which is a key component of dietary risk assessment.
    EPA has historical data on domestic percent-crop-treated for a 
large number of crop/chemical combinations. This data can provide a 
basis for projecting future usage of pesticides (e.g., percent-crop-
treated) for regulatory decisions based on dietary risk. Given EPA's 
mandate to assess pesticide food tolerances on a periodic basis, it is 
important for EPA to be able to project expected percent-crop-treated 
using these historical data. There are a number of statistical and/or 
mathematical methods for projecting future values from a historical 
record. EPA currently has methods for conducting these projections, but 
believes that EPA's refinements in these methods are warranted. 
Therefore, EPA has explored and developed methods that EPA believes, 
could serve the purpose for refining projected domestic percent-crop-
treated, and is seeking SAP input on these method developments.
    Previously, EPA has analyzed percent-crop-treated data using a 
distributed lag, whereby 1-year projections of percent-crop-treated 
were based on weighted historical data, with older data receiving lower 
weight and more recent data receiving higher weight. The confidence 
intervals associated with these projections are based on the 
variability of these historical data. While these methods have been 
shown to generate reasonable estimates, in cases where usage is 
trending upwards (or downwards), the uncertainty of the estimates can 
increase substantially. Therefore, EPA is seeking to develop a more 
robust method for projecting/estimating percent-crop-treated.
    EPA is proposing to use exponential smoothing as the analytical 
tool for projecting percent-crop-treated to better reflect upward or 
downward trends in the data. The size of existing data sets (usually 10 
or fewer observations) precludes some regression techniques, and 
exponential smoothing has been shown to be a robust method in settings 
where small data sets are common. EPA is also proposing a method for 
estimating prediction intervals that is consistent with exponential 
smoothing projections. As part of the development of these techniques, 
EPA has been working with and testing sets of historical data and plans 
to present comparisons of results in addition to the theoretical 
discussion.

C. FIFRA SAP Meeting Minutes

    The FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its 
recommendations to the Agency in approximately 60 days. The report will 
be posted on the FIFRA SAP web site or may be obtained by contacting 
the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch at the address or 
telephone number listed in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

D. Request for Nominations to Serve on Food Quality Protection Act 
Science Review Board (SRB)

    The Agency solicits nominations of scientists to serve on the SRB 
for this meeting. Any interested person or organization may nominate 
qualified individuals to serve on the SRB. No interested person shall 
be ineligible to serve on the SRB by reason of their membership on any 
other advisory committee to a Federal department or agency or their 
employment by a Federal department or agency (except EPA). Individuals 
should have expertise in one or more of the following areas: 
agricultural economics, pesticide use, pesticide exposure, and 
forecasting. In addition, nominees should be scientists who have 
sufficient professional qualifications, including training and 
experience, to be capable of providing expert comments as to the impact 
on

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health and the environment of regulatory actions under sections 6(b) 
and 25 (a) of FIFRA. Nominees should be identified by name, occupation, 
position, address, and telephone number. To be considered, all nominees 
should include a current resume providing the nominee's background, 
experience and qualifications.
    The criteria for selecting scientists to serve on the SRB are that 
these persons be recognized experts in their fields; that they be as 
impartial and objective as possible; that they represent an array of 
backgrounds and perspectives (within their disciplines); and that they 
be available to participate fully in the review, which will be 
conducted over a relatively short time frame. Nominees will be asked to 
attend one public meeting and to participate in the discussion of key 
issues and assumptions at this meeting. Finally, they will be asked to 
review and to help finalize the products and outputs of the FIFRA SAP.
    If a SRB nominee is considered to assist in a review by the SAP for 
a particular session, the SRB nominee is subject to the provisions of 5 
CFR part 2634, Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, as supplemented 
by the EPA in 5 CFR part 6401. As such, the SRB nominee is required to 
submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, which shall fully 
disclose, among other financial interests, the nominee's employment, 
stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources of research support. 
EPA will evaluate the nominee's financial disclosure form prior to the 
nominee being appointed to a panel reviewing agency actions. This 
evaluation will identify conflicts that may arise between the member's 
financial interests and the agency actions under review. If the SRB 
nominee's financial disclosure form is approved by the EPA, the nominee 
will be assigned to a SAP session and be hired as a special government 
employee. Nominations should be provided to the DFO listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by September 6, 2002. The Agency will not 
formally acknowledge or respond to nominations.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: August 20, 2002.
  Sherella Sterling,
Acting Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 02-21569 Filed 8-20-02; 4:01 pm]
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