[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65504-65506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18777]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0644; FRL-8082-7]


Notice of Filing of Pesticide Petitions for Establishment of 
Regulations for Residues of Thiophanate-methyl in or on Various 
Commodities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the initial filing of pesticide petition 
proposing the establishment and amendment of regulations for residues 
of pesticide thiophanate-methyl in or on bushberry subgroup 13B; 
juneberry; lingonberry; salal; caneberry subgroup 13A; brassica, leafy 
greens, subgroup 5B; turnip greens; cotton, undelinted seed; cotton, 
gin byproducts; citrus; ginseng; mushroom; nut, tree, group 14; 
pistachio; sunflower; vegetable, tuberous and corm, subgroup 1C; 
tomato; tomatillo; and mustard.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 8, 2006.

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0644 and pesticide petition number (PP) 
6E7075 and 6F7069 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 
Bldg.), 2777 S.

[[Page 65505]]

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-
2006-0644. 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 Bldg.), 
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:  Shaja Brothers, Registration Division 
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: (703) 308-3194; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited to:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111).
     Animal production (NAICS code 112).
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).
    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this 
action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could also be 
affected. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 
codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining 
whether this action might apply to certain entities. 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. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    EPA is printing each summary of each pesticide petition received 
under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 
21 U.S.C. 346a, proposing the establishment of regulations in 40 CFR 
part 180 for residues of pesticide chemical thiophanate-methyl in or on 
bushberry subgroup 13B; juneberry; lingonberry; salal; caneberry 
subgroup 13A; brassica, leafy greens, subgroup 5B; turnip, tops; 
cotton, undelinted seed; cotton, gin byproducts; citrus; ginseng; 
mushroom; nut, tree, group 14; pistachio; sunflower; vegetable, 
tuberous and corm, subgroup 1C; tomato; tomatillo; and mustard. EPA has 
determined that this pesticide petition contains data or information 
regarding the elements set forth in FFDCA section 408(d)(2); however, 
EPA has not fully evaluated the sufficiency of the submitted data at 
this time or whether the data support granting of the pesticide 
petition. Additional data may be needed before EPA rules on this 
pesticide petition.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a summary of the petitions included in 
this notice, prepared by the petitioner along with a description of the 
analytical method available for the detection and measurement of the 
thiophanate-methyl residues is available on EPA's Electronic Docket at 
http://www.regulations.gov. To locate this information on the home page 
of EPA's

[[Page 65506]]

Electronic Docket, select ``Quick Search'' and type the OPP docket ID 
number. Once the search has located the docket, clicking on the 
``Docket ID'' will bring up a list of all documents in the docket for 
the pesticide including the petition summary.

New Tolerances

    1. PP 6E7075. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4), 500 
College Rd., East, Princeton, NJ 08540, proposes to establish 
tolerances for residues of the fungicide thiophanate-methyl, (dimethyl 
[(1,2-phenylene)-bis(iminocarbonothioyl)] bis[carbamate]), its oxygen 
analogue dimethyl-4,4-o-phenylene bis(allophonate), and its 
benzimidazole-containing metabolites] in or on the following raw 
agricultural commodities: Bushberry subgroup 13B at 4.0 parts per 
million (ppm); juneberry, lingonberry, and salal at 4.0 ppm; caneberry 
subgroup 13A at 25 ppm; brassica, leafy greens, subgroup 5B at 7.0 ppm; 
turnip greens at 7.0 ppm; fruit, citrus, group 10 at 6.0 ppm; ginseng 
at 0.3 ppm; mushroom at 0.09 ppm; nut, tree, group 14 at 0.2 ppm; 
sunflower at 0.05 ppm; vegetable, tuberous and corm, subgroup 1C at 0.1 
ppm; tomato, tomatillo at 1.4 ppm; and mustard (grown for seed) at 0.1 
ppm. The IR-4 pesticide petition also proposes to amend 40 CFR 180.371 
by amending the existing tolerance for the raw agricultural commodity 
pistachio currently at 0.1 ppm to 0.9 ppm, and the existing tolerance 
for almond hulls currently at 1.0 ppm to 14.0 ppm.
    2. PP 6F7069. Cerexagri, Inc., agent for Nisso TM, LLC, 630 Freedom 
Business Center, Suite 402, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406 also 
proposes to establish tolerances for residues of the fungicide 
thiophanate-methyl, (dimethyl [(1,2-phenylene)-bis(iminocarbonothioyl)] 
bis[carbamate]), its oxygen analogue dimethyl-4,4-o-phenylene 
bis(allophonate), and its benzimidazole-containing metabolites] in or 
on cotton, undelinted seed at 0.05 ppm, and cotton, gin byproducts at 
14.0 ppm.
     An adequate method for purposes of enforcement of the proposed 
thiophanate-methyl tolerances is available. The method uses an HPLC 
system employing column-switching capabilities. It consists of reverse 
phase HPLC with UV detection, and is capable of analyzing for residues 
of thiophanate-methyl and its metabolite, MBC.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Agricultural commodities, Feed additives, 
Food additives, Pesticides and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: October 26, 2006.
Lois Rossi,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-18777 Filed 11-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S