[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18237-18238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6627]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0954; FRL-8122-6]


Dikegulac Sodium Reregistration Eligibility Decision; Notice of 
Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY:  This notice announces the availability of EPA's 
Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the pesticide dikegulac 
sodium, and opens a public comment period on this document. The 
Agency's risk assessments and other related documents also are 
available in the dikegulac sodium Docket. Dikegulac sodium is a plant 
growth regulator used in greenhouses, nurseries, and on landscape 
trees, ornamentals, and plants. EPA has reviewed dikegulac sodium 
through a modified low risk version of the Agency's public 
participation process with a public comment period following the 
publication of the RED. Through this process, EPA is ensuring that all 
pesticides meet current health and safety standards.

DATES:  Comments must be received on or before June 11, 2007.

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0954, 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. Crystal Dr., 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-
2006-0954. 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 
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket 
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the 
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov web 
site to view the docket index or access available documents. 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 Dr., 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:  Jacqueline Guerry, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (215) 814-2184; fax 
number: (215) 814-3113; 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 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.

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    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 
pesticide, dikegulac sodium, under section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. 
Dikegulac sodium is a plant growth regulator used in greenhouses, 
nurseries, and on landscape trees, ornamentals, and plants. Dikegulac 
sodium is applied either as a foliar spray or by pressure injection. 
Landscape use sites include parks, school campuses, city streets, and 
similar recreational, institutional, or industrial areas. EPA has 
determined that the data base to support reregistration is 
substantially complete and that products containing dikegulac sodium 
are eligible for reregistration, provided that the risk mitigation 
measures outlined in the RED document are adopted, and label amendments 
are made to reflect these measures. 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 dikegulac sodium.
     EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all 
pesticides undergoing reregistration. The Agency's Pesticide Tolerance 
Reassessment and Reregistration; Public Participation Process, 
published in the Federal Register on 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 low volume/minor uses, low 
human health and ecological risks, and other factors, the low risk 
pesticide dikegulac sodium was reviewed through a modified version of 
the Agency's public participation process.
    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 
dikegulac sodium RED for public comment. This comment period is 
intended to provide an 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 dikegulac sodium. 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 also will publish an amendment to the RED in the Federal 
Register. In the absence of substantive comments requiring changes, the 
dikegulac sodium RED will be implemented as it is now presented.

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

    Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended directs that, after submission 
of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, the Administrator 
shall determine whether pesticides containing such active ingredient 
are eligible for reregistration, before calling in product specific 
data on individual end-use products and either reregistering products 
or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: April 2, 2007.
 Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-6627 Filed 4-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S