[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62848-62850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5527]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1011; FRL-8155-7]


Denatonium Benzoate; Notice of Receipt of Request to Voluntarily 
Cancel a Pesticide Registration

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a 
notice of receipt of a request by the registrant to voluntarily cancel 
its registration of a product containing the pesticide denatonium 
benzoate. The request would terminate denatonium benzoate use in or on 
conifers and deciduous, non-bearing trees, shrubs, flowers, and other 
ornamental plants. The request would terminate the last pesticide 
product registered for use in the United States containing denatonium 
benzoate as an active ingredient. EPA intends to grant this request at 
the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency 
receives substantive comments within the comment period that would 
merit its further review of the request, or unless the registrant 
withdraws their request within this period. Upon acceptance of this 
request, any sale, distribution, or use of the product listed in this 
notice will be permitted only if such sale, distribution, or use is 
consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 7, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1011, 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 Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2007-1011. 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 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 
website 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 Facility telephone number is (703) 
305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Carone, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0122; 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

[[Page 62849]]

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 on the Receipt of Request to Cancel

    This notice announces receipt by EPA of a request from the 
registrant Becker Underwood to cancel one denatonium benzoate product 
registration. Becker Underwood's product, Tree Guard, is used to repel 
deer from feeding on conifers and deciduous, non-bearing trees, shrubs, 
flowers and other ornamental plants. In a letter dated October 16, 
2007, Becker Underwood requested EPA to cancel the registration for its 
product Tree Guard, EPA Reg. No. 66676-1. The terms of the cancellation 
include the following:
    1. Beginning with the 2007 calendar year, Becker Underwood shall 
limit the total amount of Tree Guard that it distributes or sells in 
the United States in any given calendar year to 300 pounds of the 
active ingredient denatonium benzoate;
    2. The voluntary cancellation of all uses of Tree Guard will be 
effective December 1, 2009. The registrant's request will terminate the 
last pesticide product registered in the United States containing 
denatonium benzoate as an active ingredient.

III. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    This notice announces receipt by EPA of a request from Becker 
Underwood to cancel their denatonium benzoate product registration. The 
affected product and the registrant making the request are identified 
in Tables 1 and 2 of this unit.
    Under section 6(f)(1)(A) of FIFRA, registrants may request, at any 
time, that their pesticide registrations be canceled or amended to 
terminate one or more pesticide uses. Section 6(f)(1)(B) of FIFRA 
requires that before acting on a request for voluntary cancellation, 
EPA must provide a 30-day public comment period on the request for 
voluntary cancellation or use termination. In addition, section 
6(f)(1)(C) of FIFRA requires that EPA provide a 180-day comment period 
on a request for voluntary cancellation or termination of any minor 
agricultural use before granting the request, unless:
    1. The registrants request a waiver of the comment period, or
    2. The Administrator determines that continued use of the pesticide 
would pose an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
    The denatonium benzoate registrant has requested that EPA waive the 
180-day comment period. EPA will provide a 30-day comment period on the 
proposed requests.
    Unless a request is withdrawn by the registrant within 30 days of 
publication of this notice, or if the Agency determines that there are 
substantive comments that warrant further review of this request, an 
order will be issued canceling the affected registrations.

    Table 1.--Denatonium Benzoate Product Registration with a Pending
                        Request for Cancellation
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       Registration Number           Product Name           Company
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66676-1                           Tree Guard          Becker Underwood
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    Table 2 of this unit includes the name and address of record for 
the registrant of the product listed in Table 1 of this unit.

         Table 2.--Registrant Requesting Voluntary Cancellation
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            EPA Company Number                Company Name and Address
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66676                                       Becker Underwood, Inc.
                                            801 Dayton Avenue
                                             Ames, IA 50010
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IV. 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 a notice 
of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register. Thereafter, 
following the public comment period, the Administrator may approve such 
a request.

V. Procedures for Withdrawal of Request and Considerations for 
Reregistration of denatonium benzoate

    A registrant who chooses to withdraw a request for cancellation 
must submit such withdrawal in writing to the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, postmarked before December 7, 2007. This 
written withdrawal of the request for cancellation will apply only to 
the applicable FIFRA section 6(f)(1) request listed in this notice. If 
the product has been subject to a previous cancellation action, the 
effective date of cancellation and all other provisions of any earlier 
cancellation action are controlling.

VI. Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks

    Existing stocks are those stocks of once-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.
    In any order issued in response to this request for amendment to 
terminate

[[Page 62850]]

products, the Agency proposes to include the following provisions for 
the treatment of any existing stocks of the products identified or 
referenced in Table 1 in Unit III. For EPA Registration No. 66676-1, 
sale by the registrant of existing stocks will be allowed for a period 
of 24 months, starting from the effective voluntary cancellation date, 
December 1, 2009.
    If the request for voluntary cancellation is granted as discussed 
in this unit, the Agency intends to issue a cancellation order that 
will allow persons other than the registrant to continue to sell and/or 
use existing stocks of cancelled products until such stocks are 
exhausted, provided that such use is consistent with the terms of the 
previously approved labeling on, or that accompanied, the cancelled 
product. The order will specifically prohibit any use of existing 
stocks that is not consistent with such previously approved labeling. 
If, as the Agency currently intends, the final cancellation order 
contains the existing stocks provision just described, the order will 
be sent only to the affected registrants of the cancelled products. If 
the Agency determines that the final cancellation order should contain 
existing stocks provisions different than the ones just described, the 
Agency will publish the cancellation order in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: October 31, 2007.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 07-5527 Filed 11-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S