[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35669-35671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9462]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0151; FRL-8065-2]


Simazine; Reregistration Eligibility Decision; Notice of 
Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's Reregistration 
Eligibility Decision (RED) for the chlorinated triazine pesticide 
simazine, and opens a public comment period on this document, related 
risk assessments, and other support documents. Simazine is a systemic 
herbicide that is usually applied to soil, absorbed through leaves and 
roots, and acts by inhibiting photosynthesis within the targeted plant. 
It is widely used as a selective herbicide to control most annual 
grasses and broadleaf weeds before they emerge or after removal of weed 
growth. EPA has reviewed simazine through the public participation 
process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing 
pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through 
these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health 
and safety standards.
    The Agency is concurrently issuing for public comment the Triazine 
Cumulative Risk Assessment; see EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0481 in the Notice 
section of this issue of the Federal Register.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 21, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0151, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 
Docket (7502P),

[[Page 35670]]

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The 
Docket telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2005-0151. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The Federal regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through 
regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and 
included as part of the comment that is placed in the docket and made 
available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA 
recommends that you include your name and other contact information in 
the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, 
any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index. 
Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly 
available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either in the electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov,or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP 
Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA. The hours of operation 
of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket telephone number is (703) 
305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Diane Sherman, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0128; fax 
number: (703) 308-8005; 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. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD ROM that you mail to EPA, 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 claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes 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. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    Under section 4 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is reevaluating existing pesticides to 
ensure that they meet current scientific and regulatory standards. EPA 
has completed a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the 
chlorinated triazine pesticide, simazine, under section 4(g)(2)(A) of 
FIFRA. Simazine is widely used as a selective herbicide and registered 
for use on a variety of food and feed crops, including, but not limited 
to, fruit and nut crops in addition to corn. Simazine can also be 
applied at forestry sites and on turfgrass grown commercially for sod. 
Simazine is registered for residential use on turfgrass including both 
commercial use on recreational lawns such as golf courses and 
commercial or homeowner use on lawns. An algaeicide use exists for 
ornamental ponds and aquariums of 1,000 gallons or less. End-use 
products containing simazine are formulated as pellets/tablets, dry 
flowables, emulsifiable concentrates, flowable concentrates, and ready-
to-use liquids. These product formulations may be applied on the ground 
by broadcast across an area, as a spot treatment, or in rows, which is 
also referred to as band treatment.
    The simazine RED presents the Agency's conclusions on the risks 
posed by exposure to simazine alone; however, section 408(b)(2)(D)(v) 
of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) directs the Agency 
also to consider available information on the cumulative risk from 
substances sharing a common

[[Page 35671]]

mechanism of toxicity. Simazine shares a neuroendocrine mechanism of 
toxicity, which results in both reproductive and developmental 
consequences, with the structurally-related chlorinated triazine 
pesticides atrazine and propazine. Because these chlorinated triazine 
pesticides share a common mechanism of toxicity, the Agency evaluated 
the cumulative risk posed by this group while making final 
reregistration eligibility decisions on individual chlorinated 
triazines.
    EPA has determined that the data base to support reregistration is 
substantially complete and that products containing simazine are 
eligible for reregistration provided the risks are mitigated either in 
the manner described in the RED or by another means that achieves 
equivalent risk reduction. Upon submission of any required product 
specific data under section 4(g)(2)(B) and any necessary changes to the 
registration and labeling (either to address concerns identified in the 
RED or as a result of product specific data), EPA will make a final 
reregistration decision under section 4(g)(2)(C) for products 
containing simazine.
    EPA must review tolerances and tolerance exemptions that were in 
effect when the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) was enacted in 
August 1996, to ensure that these existing pesticide residue limits for 
food and feed commodities meet the safety standard established by the 
new law. Tolerances are considered reassessed once the safety finding 
has been made or a revocation occurs. EPA has reviewed and made the 
requisite safety finding for the simazine tolerances included in this 
notice.
    EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all 
pesticides undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment. The 
Agency's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment and Reregistration; Public 
Participation Process, published in the Federal Register of May 14, 
2004, (69 FR 26819)(FRL-7357-9) explains that in conducting these 
programs, EPA is tailoring its public participation process to be 
commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of 
issues, and degree of public concern associated with each pesticide. 
Due to its refined risk assessment and the relatively limited risk 
management issues associated with this pesticide, simazine was reviewed 
through the modified four-phase process. Through this process, EPA 
worked extensively with stakeholders and the public to reach the 
regulatory decisions for simazine.
    The reregistration program is being conducted under Congressionally 
mandated time frames, and EPA recognizes the need both to make timely 
decisions and to involve the public. The Agency is issuing the simazine 
RED for public comment. This comment period is intended to provide an 
additional opportunity for public input and a mechanism for initiating 
any necessary amendments to the RED. All comments should be submitted 
using the methods in ADDRESSES, and must be received by EPA on or 
before the closing date. These comments will become part of the Agency 
Docket for simazine. Comments received after the close of the comment 
period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these 
late comments.
    The Agency will carefully consider all comments received by the 
closing date and will provide a Response to Comments Memorandum in the 
Docket and regulations.gov. If any comment significantly affects the 
document, EPA will also publish an amendment to the RED in the Federal 
Register. In the absence of substantive comments requiring changes, the 
simanzine RED will be implemented as it is now presented.

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

     Section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA, as amended, requires the Aministrator 
to make ``a determination as to the eligibility for reregistration (i) 
for all active ingredients subject to reregistration under this section 
for which tolerances or exemptions from tolerances are required under 
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), not 
later than the last date for tolerance reassessment established under 
section 408(q)(1)(C) of that Act (21 U.S.C. 346a(q)(1)(C)) . . . .''
    Section 408(q) of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a(q), requires EPA to 
review tolerances and exemptions for pesticide residues in effect as of 
August 2, 1996, to determine whether the tolerance or exemption meets 
the requirements of section 408(b)(2) or (c)(2) of FFDCA. This review 
is to be completed by August 3, 2006. A tolerance or exemption meets 
the requirements of section 408(b)(2) or (c)(2), respectively, if ``the 
Administrator determines [the pesticide chemical residue] is safe'', 
i.e., ``that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result 
from aggregate exposure to the pesticide chemical residue, including 
all anticipated dietary exposures and all other exposures for which 
there is reliable information.'' 21 U.S.C. 346a(b)(2)(A), (c)(2)(A). In 
making this safety finding, FFDCA requires the Administrator to 
consider, among other factors, ``available information concerning the 
cumulative effects of such residues and other substances that have a 
common mechanism of toxicity . . . .'' 21 U.S.C. 346a(b)(2)(D)(v), 
(c)(2)(B).

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: June 9, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-9462 Filed 6-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S