[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40871-40873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16266]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0518; FRL-8372-3]


Chloropicrin, Dazomet, Metam Sodium/Potassium, and Methyl Bromide 
Reregistration Eligibility Decisions; 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 Decisions (REDs) for the soil fumigant pesticides 
chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide, and 
opens a public comment period on these documents. The Agency's risk 
assessments and other related documents also are available in the 
Dockets for these pesticides, listed in the Table in Unit II. Soil 
fumigants are used to kill soil-borne pests in producing many crops, 
including primarily potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries carrots, and 
peppers. EPA has reviewed chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/
potassium, and methyl bromide through the public participation process 
that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing pesticide 
reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions. Through these 
programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides meet current health and 
safety standards.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by the docket 
identification (ID) number(s) for the specific pesticide(s) of interest 
provided in the Table in Unit II., 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 the Docket ID number(s) 
listed in the Table in Unit II. for the pesticide(s) you are commenting 
on. 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

[[Page 40872]]

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: For pesticide-specific information 
contact the Chemical Review Manger identified in the Table in Unit II. 
for the pesticide of interest.
     For general information contact: John Leahy, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-6703; fax 
number: (703) 308-8090; e-mail address: leahy.john @epa.gov.

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?

    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 REDs for the soil fumigant pesticides, chloropicrin, 
dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide under section 
4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. Soil fumigants are used to kill soil-borne pests 
in producing many crops, including primarily potatoes, tomatoes, 
strawberries, carrots, and peppers. EPA has determined that the data 
base to support reregistration is substantially complete and that 
products containing these pesticides are eligible for reregistration, 
provided the risks are mitigated either in the manner described in the 
RED or by another means that achieves equivalent risk reduction. Upon 
submission of any required product specific data under section 
4(g)(2)(B) of FIFRA 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) of FIFRA for products containing 
chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide.

      Table 1.--Reregistration Eligibility Decision Dockets Opening
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                                                        Chemical Review
  Reregistration Case Name and                        Manager, Telephone
             Number                Docket ID Number     Number, E-mail
                                                            Address
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Chloropicrin, 0040                EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-03  Andrea Carone
                                   50                 (703) 308-0122
                                                      *COM001*[email protected]
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Dazomet, 2135                     EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-01  Cathryn O'Connell
                                   28                 (703) 308-0136
                                                      o'[email protected]
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Metam sodium/potassium, 2390      EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-01  Dirk Helder
                                   25                 (703) 305-4610
                                                      [email protected]
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[[Page 40873]]

 
Methyl bromide, 0335              EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-01  Steven Weiss
                                   23                 (703) 308-8293
                                                      [email protected]
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     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 their uses, risks, and other 
factors, chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl 
bromide were reviewed through the full 6-Phase process. Through this 
process, EPA worked extensively with stakeholders and the public to 
reach the regulatory decisions for these pesticides.
    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 
chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide REDs 
for public comment. This comment period is intended to provide an 
additional opportunity for public input in particular with regard to 
implementation of risk mitigation measures, and a mechanism for 
initiating any necessary amendments to the REDs. To assist readers in 
providing information that would be most useful to the Agency, EPA is 
providing a Commenter's Guide to the Soil Fumigant REDs. This document 
is available in the individual dockets listed in the Table in this 
Unit, and on EPA's soil fumigants Web page, http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/soil_fumigants/ . All comments should be 
submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES and the Docket ID numbers in 
the Table in this Unit, and must be received by EPA on or before the 
closing date. These comments will become part of the Agency Dockets for 
these pesticides. Comments received after the close of the comment 
period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these 
late comments.
    For each pesticide, 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 chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/
metam potassium, and methyl bromide REDs will be implemented as 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: July 8, 2008.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-16266 Filed 7-15-08; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S