[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62845-62846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21854]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1078; FRL-8156-2]


Prometon Risk Assessments; Notice of Availability, and Risk 
Reduction Options

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's risk 
assessments and related documents for the pesticide prometon, and opens 
a public comment period on these documents. The public is encouraged to 
suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks 
identified. EPA is developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision 
(RED) for prometon through a modified, 4-Phase public participation 
process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing 
pesticide reregistration decisions. This is Phase 3 of the 4-Phase 
Process. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet 
current health and safety standards.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 7, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1078, 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-
2007-1078. 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: Rosanna Louie, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0037; 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

[[Page 62846]]

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 is releasing for public comment its human health and 
environmental fate and effects risk assessments and related documents 
for prometon, a triazine pesticide, and soliciting public comment on 
risk management ideas or proposals. Prometon is a nonselective ``bare-
ground'' herbicide used to manage annual and perennial grasses and 
broadleaf weeds. EPA developed the risk assessments and risk 
characterization for prometon through a modified version of its public 
process for making pesticide reregistration eligibility decisions. 
Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that pesticides meet current 
standards under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 
(FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as 
amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
    Prometon is a nonselective ``bare-ground'' herbicide labeled for 
pre- and post-emergence applications to manage annual and perennial 
grasses and broadleaf weeds. Products containing prometon are 
formulated as emulsifiable concentrates, Ready-to-Use, water-based 
flowable concentrates, and pelleted granules. Prometon is registered 
for weed control around buildings, storage areas, fences, pumps, 
machinery, fuel tanks, recreational areas, roadways, guard rails, 
airports, military installations, highway medians, pipelines, 
railroads, lumberyards, rights-of-way, and industrial sites (such as 
cross connects, pedestals, transformers, vaults, buried cable closures, 
telephone booths, fire plugs).
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide comments and input on the Agency's risk 
assessments for prometon. Such comments and input could address, for 
example, the availability of additional data to further refine the risk 
assessments, such as typical sizes of treatment areas, any use sites 
that prometon is no longer used on, and alternative pesticides or weed 
management methods that would be utilized in place of applying 
prometon, or could address the Agency's risk assessment methodologies 
and assumptions as applied to this specific pesticide.
    Through this notice, EPA also is providing an opportunity for 
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise 
comment on risk management for prometon. Risks of concern associated 
with the use of prometon are various ecological risks and some human 
health exposure scenarios in residential settings. In targeting these 
risks of concern, the Agency solicits information on effective and 
practical risk reduction measures.
    EPA seeks to achieve environmental justice, the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income, in the development, implementation, and 
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. To help 
address potential environmental justice issues, the Agency seeks 
information on any groups or segments of the population who, as a 
result of their location, cultural practices, or other factors, may 
have atypical, unusually high exposure to prometon, compared to the 
general population.
    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 on 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 
the issues, and degree of public concern associated with each 
pesticide. For prometon, a modified, 4-Phase process with 1 comment 
period and ample opportunity for public consultation seems appropriate 
in view of its limited use, few complex issues, and other factors. 
However, if as a result of comments received during this comment period 
EPA finds that additional issues warranting further discussion are 
raised, the Agency may lengthen the process and include a second 
comment period, as needed. Although prometon is part of the triazine 
group of pesticides, it did not meet the criterion for inclusion into 
the triazine cumulative risk assessment (71 FR 35664), based on its 
toxicity profile. It was therefore excluded from the triazine 
cumulative risk assessment.
    All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES, 
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments 
will become part of the Agency Docket for prometon. Comments received 
after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is 
not required to consider these late comments.

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: October 31, 2007.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-21854 Filed 11-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S