[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71042-71045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26730]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-2004-0365; FRL-7688-3]


Tributyltin Methacrylate; Notice of Receipt of Request to 
Voluntarily Cancel a Pesticide Registration

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY:  In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is 
issuing a notice of receipt of a request by New Nautical Coatings, Inc. 
to voluntarily cancel its pesticide registration for an antifouling 
product containing tributyltin methacrylate. This is the last 
tributyltin methacrylate product registered for use in the U.S. EPA 
intends to grant this request at the close of the comment period for 
this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments 
within the comment period that would merit its further review of this 
request. Upon acceptance of this request, any sale, distribution, or 
use of product listed in this notice will be permitted only if such 
sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in 
the final order.

DATES:  Comments, identified by the docket ID number OPP-2004-0365, 
must be received on or before January 7, 2005.

[[Page 71043]]


ADDRESSES:  Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, or 
through hand delivery/courier. Follow the detailed instructions as 
provided in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Jill Bloom, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8019; e-mail 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human 
health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide 
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution, 
or use of pesticides. Since others also may 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-2004-0365. The 
official public docket consists of the document 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, 1801 S. Bell St., 
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 submit or 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. Once in the system, select ``search,'' 
then key in the appropriate docket ID number.
    Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets. 
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public 
docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic 
public docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be 
placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in 
printed, paper form in the official public docket. To the extent 
feasible, publicly available docket materials will be made available in 
EPA's electronic public docket. When a document is selected from the 
index list in EPA Dockets, the system will identify whether the 
document is available for viewing in EPA's electronic public docket. 
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. EPA intends to work 
towards providing electronic access to all of the publicly available 
docket materials through EPA's electronic public docket.
    For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is 
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, 
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public 
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment 
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment 
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that 
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's 
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the 
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
    Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or 
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public 
docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the docket will 
be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where 
practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph 
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief 
description written by the docket staff.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?

    You may submit comments electronically, by mail, or through hand 
delivery or courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the 
appropriate docket ID number in the subject line on the first page of 
your comment. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the close of the 
comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider 
these late comments. If you wish to submit CBI or information that is 
otherwise protected by statute, please follow the instructions in Unit 
I.D. Do not use EPA Dockets or e-mail to submit CBI or information 
protected by statute.
    1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as 
prescribed in this unit, EPA recommends that you include your name, 
mailing address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in 
the body of your comment. Also include this contact information on the 
outside of any disk or CD ROM you submit, and in any cover letter 
accompanying the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be 
identified as the submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact 
you in case EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties 
or needs further information on the substance of your comment. EPA's 
policy is that EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or 
contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included 
as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, 
and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. If EPA cannot 
read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you 
for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment.
    i. EPA Dockets. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to 
submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for 
receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets athttp://www.epa.gov/edocket/, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. 
Once in the system, select ``search,'' and then key in docket ID number 
OPP-2004-0365. The system is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.

[[Page 71044]]

    ii. E-mail. Comments may be sent by e-mail to[email protected], 
Attention: Docket ID Number OPP-2004-0365. In contrast to EPA's 
electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an ``anonymous 
access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to the docket 
without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail 
system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses 
that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as 
part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and 
made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
    iii. Disk or CD ROM. You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM 
that you mail to the mailing address identified in Unit I.C.2. These 
electronic submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file 
format. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of encryption.
    2. By mail. Send your comments to: Public Information and Records 
Integrity Branch (PIRIB) (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001, Attention: Docket ID Number OPP-2004-0365.
    3. By hand delivery or courier. Deliver your comments to: Public 
Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Office of Pesticide 
Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 
2, 1801 S. Bell St., Arlington, VA, Attention: Docket ID 
Number OPP-2004-0365. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
docket's normal hours of operation as identified in Unit I.B.1.

D. How Should I Submit CBI to the Agency?

    Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI 
electronically through EPA's electronic public docket or by e-mail. You 
may claim information that you submit to EPA as CBI by marking any part 
or all of that information as CBI (if you submit CBI on disk or CD ROM, 
mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify 
electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that 
is CBI). Information so marked will not be disclosed except in 
accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes 
any information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not 
contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion 
in the public docket and EPA's electronic public docket. If you submit 
the copy that does not contain CBI on disk or CD ROM, mark the outside 
of the disk or CD ROM clearly that it does not contain CBI. Information 
not marked as CBI will be included in the public docket and EPA's 
electronic public docket without prior notice. If you have any 
questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI, please consult 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide any technical information and/or data you used that 
support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate.
    5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
    6. Offer alternatives.
    7. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline.
    8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number in the subject line on the first page of your response. It 
would also be helpful if you provided the name, date, and Federal 
Register citation related to your comments.

II. Background on the Receipt of Request to Cancel

    This notice announces receipt by EPA of a request from New Nautical 
Coatings, Inc. to cancel a tributyltin methacrylate product 
registration. This product is registered as an antifouling paint for 
use on ship and boat hulls to deter the growth of fouling organisms. 
New Nautical Coatings, Inc. requested the voluntary cancellation of its 
EPA Registration Number 44891-6 in a letter to the Agency dated 
September 28, 2004, and further requested that it be allowed to 
continue to sell its product with this registration number for an 18-
month period. Subsequently, on October 28, 2004, New Nautical Coatings, 
Inc. replaced the earlier letter with a new letter in which it 
requested the voluntary cancellation of EPA Registration Number 44891-6 
with an existing stocks provision to end as of January 1, 2006. This 
product is the final remaining tributyltin antifouling paint 
registration. After the Agency's action on this request for voluntary 
cancellation, all U.S. tributyltin antifouling paint registrations will 
have been terminated.

III. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    This notice announces receipt by EPA of a request from a registrant 
to cancel a tributyltin methacrylate product registration. The affected 
product and the registrant making the request are identified in Tables 
1 and 2 of this unit.
    Under section 6(f)(1)(A) of FIFRA, registrants may request, at any 
time, that their pesticide registrations be canceled or amended to 
terminate one or more pesticide uses. Section 6(f)(1)(B) of FIFRA 
requires that before acting on a request for voluntary cancellation, 
EPA must provide a 30-day public comment period on the request for 
voluntary cancellation or use termination. In addition, section 
6(f)(1)(C) of FIFRA requires that EPA provide a 180-day comment period 
on a request for voluntary cancellation or termination of any minor 
agricultural use before granting the request, unless:
    1. The registrants request a waiver of the 180-day comment period, 
or
    2. The Administrator determines that continued use of the pesticide 
would pose an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
    New Nautical Coatings, Inc. has requested that EPA waive the 180-
day comment period. EPA will provide a 30-day comment period on the 
proposed request. New Nautical Coatings, Inc. has also made its request 
irrevocable. Unless the Agency determines that there are substantive 
comments that warrant further review of this request, an order will be 
issued canceling the affected registration after the close of the 30-
day public comment period.

  Table 1.--Product Registration with Pending Request for Cancellation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      EPA Registration No.           Product Name           Company
------------------------------------------------------------------------
44891-6                           Sea Hawk Biocop     New Nautical
                                   Antifouling         Coatings, Inc.
                                   Coating
------------------------------------------------------------------------


         Table 2.--Registrant Requesting Voluntary Cancellation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             EPA Company No.                 Company Name and Address
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
44891                                      New Nautical Coatings,
                                            Inc., 14805 49th Street,
                                            North Clearwater, FL 33762
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 71045]]

IV. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?

    Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that a registrant of a pesticide 
product may at any time request that any of its pesticide registrations 
be canceled or amended to terminate one or more uses. FIFRA further 
provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a notice 
of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register. Thereafter, 
following the public comment period, the Administrator may approve such 
a request.

V. Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks

    Existing stocks are those stocks of registered pesticide products 
which are currently in the United States and which were packaged, 
labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the 
cancellation action.
    In any order issued in response to this request for cancellation of 
a product registration, EPA proposes to include the following 
provisions for the treatment of any existing stocks of the product 
identified in Table 1. New Nautical Coatings, Inc. will be permitted to 
sell or distribute existing stocks of its product, EPA Registration 
Number 44891-6, through December 31, 2005.
    If the request for voluntary cancellation is granted, the Agency 
intends to issue a cancellation order that will allow persons other 
than the registrant to continue to sell and/or use existing stocks of 
canceled products until such stocks are exhausted, provided that such 
use is consistent with the terms of the previously approved labeling 
on, or that accompanied, the canceled product. The order will 
specifically prohibit any use of existing stocks that is not consistent 
with such previously approved labeling. If, as the Agency currently 
intends, the final cancellation order contains the existing stocks 
provision just described, the order will be sent only to the affected 
registrant of the canceled products. If the Agency determines that the 
final cancellation order should contain existing stocks provisions 
different than the ones just described, the Agency will publish the 
cancellation order in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: November 17, 2004.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 04-26730 Filed 12-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S