[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2351-2352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-893]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-2004-0002; FRL-7341-6]


Public Workshop on Plant-Incorporated Protectant Experimental Use 
Permits; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA is holding a public workshop entitled Plant-Incorporated 
Protectant (PIP) Experimental Use Permits (EUP): Process and 
Compliance. EPA recognizes that some PIP EUP regulatory issues require 
review and clarification, and is seeking public participation and input 
to help identify the best approaches to regulatory improvements 
pertaining to PIP EUPs.

DATES: The meeting will be held on February 10 and 11, 2004 from 8:30 
a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Requests to participate in the meeting, identified by docket ID 
number OPP-2004-0002, must be received on or before February 2, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Crystal City Hilton, 2399 
Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202. Telephone number: (703) 418-
6800.
    Requests to participate in the meeting may be submitted to the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Heisler, Region 9 (CMD-1) 75 
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; telephone number: 415-947-4240; 
fax number: 415-947-3583; e-mail address: [email protected]. To 
preregister for the workshop by February 2, 2004 contact Teresa Bullock 
at American Farmland Trust by e-mail: [email protected], by telephone: 
(815) 753-9347 or by fax: (815) 753-9348).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the general public, and may be of 
particular interest to persons who apply for, manage, or conduct 
research under a PIP Experimental Use Permit, or whose work involves 
issues related to biotechnology-derived PIP EUPs. Potentially affected 
entities may include, but are not limited to: applicants for PIP 
experimental use permits; Federal, State, and local regulators of 
biotechnology; government, industry, and academic researchers working 
in the field of agricultural biotechnology; non-governmental 
organizations; agricultural/agronomic associations, and the 
biotechnology trade association. 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 person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?

    1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this 
action under docket identification (ID) number OPP-2004-0002. The 
official public docket consists of the documents specifically 
referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other 
information related to this action. Although a part of the official 
docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials 
that is available for public viewing at the Public Information and 
Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 2, 
1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. This docket facility is open 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The docket telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    2. Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the EPA Internet under the Federal Register 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to view public comments, 
access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, 
and to access those documents in the public docket that are available 
electronically. Although not all docket materials may be available 
electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available 
docket materials through the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. 
Once in the system, select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate 
docket ID number.

II. Background

A. What Topics Will the Workshop Address?

    The basic goal of this workshop is to address and clarify certain 
aspects of PIP EUPs such as the definition of terms and permit 
conditions so that the PIP EUP program, including associated field 
obligations, is clear to EUP applicants and researchers. The workshop 
is expected to improve the PIP EUP process and result in increased 
compliance, thereby enhancing protection of the environment and human 
health. The workshop will address the PIP EUP application and 
permitting process, and associated compliance issues. EPA will provide 
background on its PIP EUP regulatory goals, and a preselected panel 
comprised of stakeholders from industry, academia, and public interest 
groups will discuss their goals and needs. EPA will solicit input from 
workshop participants on specific topics, including the PIP EUP 
application and permitting process; permit terminology and definitions; 
the enforceability of EUP language and activities; containment and 
confinement issues; and content and data requirements. Participants 
will be asked to identify concerns and recommend potential solutions. 
EPA anticipates holding panel discussions on three additional topics: 
The comparability of U.S. Department of Agriculture and EPA 
experimental biotechnology programs; the balancing of proprietary 
information with public transparency; and compliance issues and needs. 
These topics are directly related to ensuring environmental protection, 
maintaining a healthy climate for experimental research, and promoting 
public confidence; information from the workshop may be used as 
guidance in further Agency deliberations of these topics. To ensure 
that a diversity of views are represented in these

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discussions, panelists will be preselected from stakeholder groups, 
including industry, government, academia, and public interest groups.

B. How Should I Prepare for the Workshop?

    The workshop will be a working meeting, with participants expected 
to provide thoughtful discussion and concrete suggestions on the topics 
identified above. EPA requests attendees to participate in all sessions 
to ensure productive collaboration and adequate representation of 
stakeholder perspectives. EPA also requests that participants review 
relevant background documents prior to the meeting. A tentative agenda 
and related documents will be made available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides. EPA supports the goals of green conferencing 
and strongly encourages participants at this meeting to recycle, reduce 
the use of paper products and bulk mailings, and use mass transit. The 
meeting location is within walking distance of the Crystal City Metro 
Stop on the Blue and Yellow Lines. More about green conferencing can be 
found at: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings/.

III. How Can I Request to Participate in this Meeting?

    Preregister for this workshop by contacting Teresa Bullock at 
American Farmland Trust by email [email protected], by telephone (815-
753-9347) or by fax (815- 753-9348). You must preregister on or before 
February 2, 2004 or you can register on site the day of the workshop.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, FIFRA, Plant-Incorporated Pesticides, 
Experimental Use Permits, Biotechnology, Biopesticides.

    Dated: January 8, 2004.
Janet L. Andersen,
Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division.
[FR Doc. 04-893 Filed 1-14-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S