[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44249-44251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17236]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0524; FRL-8373-4]


Calcium Hydroxide; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received a quarantine exemption request from the 
Hawaii Department of Agriculture to use the pesticide calcium hydroxide 
(CAS No. 1305-62-0) to treat up to 4,000 acres of outdoor plants in 
nurseries, residential areas, parks, hotels and resorts, forest 
habitats, and natural areas to control Coqui and Greenhouse frogs. The 
applicant proposes the use of a new chemical which has not been 
registered by EPA. This is the second request by the State of Hawaii.
    EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether 
or not to grant the exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 13, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0524, 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-
2008-0524. 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: Stacey Groce, Registration Division 
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: (703) 305-2505; fax number: (703) 605-0781; 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).

[[Page 44250]]

     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 
www.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?

    Under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of the 
Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from any 
provision of FIFRA if the Administrator determines that emergency 
conditions exist which require the exemption. The Hawaii Department of 
Agriculture has requested the Administrator to issue a quarantine 
exemption for the use of calcium hydroxide on outdoor plants in 
nurseries and residential areas, parks, hotels and resorts, forest 
habitats, and natural areas to control Coqui and Greenhouse frogs. 
Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted as part of 
this request.
    As part of this request, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture 
asserts that it is necessary to control the Coqui and Greenhouse frogs 
(Eleutherodactylus coqui and E. planirostris) in areas of Hawaii where 
they have accidentally been introduced via infected nursery plants. 
These tropical frogs are not native to Hawaii, but come from the 
Caribbean, although one or both species is established on the 
continental United States in Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama. There is 
great concern that the frogs have the potential to cause serious damage 
to the native Hawaiian forest ecosystems, including endangered and 
threatened species. E. Coqui is now firmly established on Maui and the 
island of Hawaii with smaller populations on Kaui and Oahu. E. 
planirostris is also found on Kaui, Oahu, Maui, and the island of 
Hawaii. The sites where they are established include commercial plant 
nurseries, residential areas, resorts, hotels, parks, forest habitats 
and natural areas. These species are spread to additional sites 
primarily through the transportation of infested plant materials to 
uninfested sites.
    The applicant asserts that these frogs pose a serious threat to 
both agriculture and to the native Hawaiian forest ecosystems, 
including many endangered species. In particular, Eleutherodactylus 
frogs have the potential to be a serious threat to native endangered 
bird species. The E. cocqi may exert predation pressure on a wide 
variety of native anthropods, many of which are already stressed due to 
the establishment of other alien predators and parasitoids. 
Additionally, these frog species will compete for insect food sources 
with the native birds, the majority of which are partially or 
completely insectivorous. The Hawaiian hoary bat and many anthropod 
species also depend upon insects and spiders as a food source, 
According to the quarantine exemption application, another concern is 
that the rapid increase in populations of these frog species could 
provide a food source for and enhance the already large populations of 
introduced predators, such as rats and mongooses.
    In 2005, EPA granted the Hawaii Department of Agriculture a 
quarantine exemption for use of calcium hydroxide to control the 
Eleutherodactylus frogs. This quarantine exemption program expired on 
April 26, 2008.
    In this request, the applicant's projected acreage for 2008-2010 is 
4,000 acres on outdoor plant nurseries, residential areas, resorts and 
hotels, parks, forest habitats, and natural areas throughout the entire 
state of Hawaii. According to the current request, use of calcium 
hydroxide is proposed for application as follows:
    1. As dust application (to soil surface only) at a maximum rate of 
500 lbs. of product per acre (485 lbs. a.i. per acre);
    2. In combination with water as soil drench with application 
equipment at a maximum rate of 950 lbs. of product per acre (921.5 lbs. 
a.i. per acre); or
    3. In combination with water as foliar application with ground 
equipment at a maximum rate of 500 lbs. of product per acre (485 lbs. 
a.i. per acre). A maximum of twelve applications may be made per year. 
Therefore, a total maximum of 136,800,000 lbs. of product or 
132,696,000 lbs. a.i of calcium hydroxide could be applied to treated 
areas under this request.
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
application itself. The regulations governing section 18 of FIFRA 
require publication of a notice of receipt of an application for a 
quarantine exemption proposing use of calcium hydroxide, which has not 
been registered by EPA.
    An analogous exemption program intended to control introduced frogs 
in Hawaii involving calcium hydroxide recently expired and drew public 
interest. The notice provides an opportunity for public comment on this 
proposed application.
    The Agency, will review and consider all comments received during 
the comment period in determining whether to issue the quarantine 
exemption requested by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.


[[Page 44251]]



List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.


    Dated: July 15, 2008.
Lois Rossi,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-17236 Filed 7-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S