[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15731-15732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4569]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0061; FRL-7771-4]


Azinphos-methyl; Order to Amend Registrations to Terminate 
Certain Uses

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the order to amend registrations to 
terminate certain uses, voluntarily requested by the registrant(s) and 
accepted by the Agency, of end-use products containing the pesticide 
azinphos-methyl, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This 
cancellation order follows an August 17, 2005, Federal Register Notice 
of Receipt of Requests (70 FR 48395) (FRL-7733-3) from the azinphos-
methyl registrants to amend their product registrations to terminate 
certain uses of azinphos-methyl from their product registrations. In 
the August 17, 2005 Notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order 
implementing the amendments to terminate uses, unless the Agency 
received substantive comments within the 60-day comment period that 
would merit its further review of these requests. The Agency received 
two comments on the notice. These comments have been reviewed and taken 
into consideration in the Agency's decision to proceed with this 
termination order, and a response was sent to each commentor and placed 
in the public docket. EPA's decision is discussed in Unit III. of this 
notice. Any distribution, sale, or use of the azinphos-methyl products 
subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with 
the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

DATES: The cancellations are effective March 29, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diane Isbell, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8154; fax 
number: (703) 308-8041; 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 a docket for this action under 
Docket identification number (ID) EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0061; FRL-7771-4. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 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.

[[Page 15732]]

    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/.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    In May of 2002, Bayer CropScience, Makheteshim Chemical Works, 
Gowan Company, and Micro-Flo Corporation signed a Memorandum of 
Agreement with EPA implementing the provisions of the Azinphos-methyl 
Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision by dividing the universe of 
uses into three groups. Group 1 contained 23 crops with little use that 
were deleted from product labels immediately. Group 2 consists of the 
seven uses that are the subject of this order, and are scheduled to be 
phased out in September, 2006. The Group 2 uses included: caneberries, 
cotton, cranberries, peaches/nectarines, potatoes, and Southern pine 
seed orchards. Group 3 is comprised of the only 10 remaining uses which 
have time-limited registrations that are currently in the process of 
being reevaluated. This Order implements the Agency's decision on the 
Group 2 uses for azinphos-methyl.
    Table 1 includes the product registration numbers, the names of the 
products requested to be terminated and the name of the registrants in 
sequence by EPA number.

 Table 1.-- Azinphos-methyl Product Registration Amendments to Terminate
                                  Uses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Registration No.             Product name           Company
------------------------------------------------------------------------
264-733                           Guthion Solupak     Bayer Cropscience
                                   50% Wettable
                                   Powder
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-78                          Gowan Azinphos-M    Gowan Company
10163-138.......................   50 WSB
10163-139.......................  Gowan Azinphos-M
10163-180.......................   35 WP.
                                  Gowan Azinphos-M
                                   35 WSB.
                                  Gowan Azinphos 50
                                   PVA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11678-53                          Cotnion-Methyl      Makhteshim
66222-11........................  Azinphos-methyl      Chemical Works
                                   50W.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
51036-164                         Azinphos-methyl     Microflo Company
                                   50W
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 2 includes the names and addresses of record for the 
registrants that requested use terminations for their products, in 
sequence by EPA company number.

       Table 2.-- Registrants of Amended Azinphos-methyl Products
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              EPA Company No.                 Company Name and Address
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264                                         Bayer CropScience
                                            2 T.W. Alexander Drive
                                            Research Triangle Park,
                                             North Carolina 27709
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163                                       Gowan Company
                                            P.O. Box 5569
                                            Yuma, Arizona 85366-5569
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11678                                       Makhteshim Chemical Works
66222.....................................  4515 Falls of Neuse Road,
                                             Suite 300
                                            Raleigh, North Carolina
                                             27609
------------------------------------------------------------------------
51036                                       Micro-Flo Corporation, LLC
                                            Oak Court Drive
                                            Memphis, Tennessee 38117
------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Summary of Public Comments Received and Agency Response to 
Comments

    During the public comment period provided, EPA received two 
comments in response to the August 17, 2005 Federal Register notice 
announcing the Agency's receipt of the requests to terminate certain 
uses of azinphos-methyl. The Agency has responded individually to each 
of those comments and placed copies of the responses in the public 
docket.

IV. Cancellation Order

    Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(f), EPA hereby approves the requested 
cancellations and amendments to terminate uses of azinphos-methyl 
registrations identified in Table 1 of Unit II. Accordingly, the Agency 
orders that the azinphos-methyl product registrations identified in 
Table 1 of Unit II. are hereby amended to terminate the affected uses. 
Any distribution, sale, or use of the products identified in Table 1 of 
Unit II. in a manner inconsistent with this order, including any of the 
provisions for disposition of existing stocks set forth below in Unit 
VI., will be considered a violation of FIFRA.

V. 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 for 
public comment a notice of receipt of any such request in the Federal 
Register. Thereafter, following the public comment period, the 
Administrator may act on such a request.

VI. 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.
    The Agency proposed to include the following provisions for the 
treatment of any existing stocks of the azinphos-methyl end-use 
products identified in Table 1: The distribution or sale of these 
products is permitted until March 31, 2006. The use of existing stocks 
of these products in the United States is permitted until September 30, 
2006 provided such use is in a manner consistent with the labeling of 
these products.
    Section III B 3 of the 2002 Memorandum of Agreement provides for 
extension of sale and distribution of existing stocks of end-use 
products by an equal period of time if EPA issues the termination order 
after August 31, 2005. Distribution or sale of existing stocks of end-
use products, is allowed until March 31, 2006. Use of these end-use 
products is allowed until September 30, 2006, to avoid difficulties and 
confusion to growers that could result from a mid-use season existing 
stocks date. The existing stocks dates in this notice for end-use 
products are compatible with those established for the corresponding 
manufacturing-use products.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: March 23, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-4569 Filed 3-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S