[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36771-36773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5854]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0371; FRL-8073-1]


Ethephon; Tolerance Reassessment Decision for Low Risk Pesticide; 
Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's Tolerance 
Reassessment Decision (TRED) for the pesticide ethephon, and opens a 
public comment period on this document, related risk assessments, and 
other support documents. EPA has reviewed this pesticide ethephon 
through a modified, streamlined version of the public participation 
process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing 
pesticide tolerance reassessment and reregistration decisions. Through 
the tolerance reassessment program, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides 
meet current health and food safety standards.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 28, 2006.

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0371, 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), 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-
2004-0371. 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: Wilhelmena Livingston, Special Review 
and Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8025 fax number: 
(703) 308-8005; e-mail address: [email protected].

[[Page 36772]]


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 ID 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?

    EPA has reassessed the uses of ethephon, reassessed 45 existing 
tolerances or legal residue limits, and on June 15, 2006, reached a 
tolerance reassessment decision for this pesticide. Ethephon (an 
organophosphonate) is a plant growth regulator. It regulates phases of 
plant growth and development by application at various growth stages 
and sites. Ethephon is used to promote fruit ripening, abscission, 
flower induction, breaking of apical dominance (inhibition of the 
growth of lateral buds by the terminal bud of a shoot), and other plant 
responses. Ethephon is registered on a number of terrestrial food, 
feed, and nonfood crops, greenhouse nonfood crops, and outdoor plants.
    The Agency is now issuing for comment the resulting Report on Food 
Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Tolerance Reassessment and Risk 
Management Decision for ethephon, known as a TRED, as well as related 
risk assessments and technical support documents.
    EPA developed the ethephon TRED through a modified, streamlined 
version of its public process for making tolerance reassessment and 
reregistration eligibility decisions. Through these programs, the 
Agency is ensuring that pesticides meet current standards under the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended by 
FQPA. EPA must review tolerances and tolerance exemptions that were in 
effect when the FQPA was enacted, 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 
ethephon 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, the Agency 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. 
EPA can expeditiously reach decisions for pesticides like ethephon, 
which pose no risk concerns and require no risk mitigation. Once EPA 
assesses uses and risks for such pesticides, the Agency may go directly 
to a decision and prepare a document summarizing its findings, such as 
the ethephon TRED.
    The tolerance reassessment program is being conducted under 
Congressionally mandated time frames, and EPA recognizes the need both 
to make timely decisions and to involve the public in finding ways to 
effectively mitigate pesticide risks. Ethephon, however, poses no risks 
that require mitigation. The Agency therefore is issuing the ethephon 
TRED, its risk assessments, and related support documents 
simultaneously for public comment. The comment period is intended to 
provide an opportunity for public input and a mechanism for initiating 
any necessary amendments to the TRED. 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 ethephon. Comments received after the close of the comment 
period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these 
late comments.
    EPA will carefully consider all comments received by the closing 
date. If any comment significantly affects the document, EPA also will 
publish an amendment to the TRED in the Federal Register. In the 
absence of substantive comments requiring changes, the decisions 
reflected in the TRED will be implemented as presented.

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

    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.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.


[[Page 36773]]


    Dated: June 20, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 06-5854 Filed 6-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S