[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49194-49196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19166]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0615; FRL-8378-7]


Petitions to Revoke All Tolerances Established for Endosulfan; 
Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice asks the public to comment on requests from the 
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Pesticide Action Network 
North America (PANNA) that EPA revoke all tolerances for the 
organochlorine pesticide endosulfan. In addition, this notice solicits 
information on endosulfan residues in or on commodities consumed by 
Alaska Natives.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 20, 2008.

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0615, 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

[[Page 49195]]

are only accepted during the Docket Facility'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-
2008-0615. 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 at http://www.regulations.gov. 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: Tracy L. Perry, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0128; 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 the 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?

    EPA seeks public comment on petitions from the National Resources 
Defense Council (NRDC) and Pesticide Action Network North America 
(PANNA) requesting that EPA revoke all tolerances for endosulfan. These 
petitions, available in EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0615, were submitted on 
February 19, 2008 in response to EPA's 2007 human health and ecological 
effects assessment updates for endosulfan (Federal Register of November 
16, 2007; 72 FR 64624; FRL-8339-5). The updated assessments, as well as 
the 2002 endosulfan registration eligibility decision, are available in 
the electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov under docket number 
EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0944.
    Although the petitions requested both cancellation and revocation 
of tolerances, this notice is seeking public comment only on the 
requests to revoke all tolerances for residues of endosulfan 
established under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic 
Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) and 
codified at 40 CFR 180.182.
    EPA will issue a separate Federal Register notice in early 2009 
soliciting public comment on the NRDC and PANNA petitions' requests to 
cancel all uses of endosulfan under section 6 of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136d(b)). 
The notice will be issued in conjunction with a request for public 
comment on findings from an October 2008 Scientific Advisory Panel 
(SAP) meeting on Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxicants (PBTs).
    Through this current notice, EPA is also soliciting information 
from the public on endosulfan residues in/on commodities consumed by 
Alaska

[[Page 49196]]

Natives, as well as additional information on endosulfan 
bioaccumulation, persistence, toxicity, monitoring and transport, and 
ecological incidents. This information will support EPA compliance with 
Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice 
in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations.
    To-date, EPA has received and reviewed the following studies to 
better assess dietary risk to Alaska Natives from endosulfan residues:
    1. Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Fish Monitoring 
Program: Analysis of Organic Contaminants;
    2. EPA Region 10 Columbia River Basin Fish Contaminant Survey 1996-
1998;
    3. EPA Region 10 Survey of Chemical Contaminants in Fish, 
Invertebrates, and Plants Collected in the Vicinity of Tyonek, 
Seldovia, Port Graham and Nanwalek and Cook Inlet, Alaska;
    4. National Park Service Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment 
Project (WACAP) data; and
    5. Kelly, et al. ``Food Web-Specific Biomagnification of Persistent 
Organic Pollutants,'' published July 13, 2007 in Science , vol. 317, 
no. 5835, pp. 236 - 239.
The studies listed in this unit are available in docket ID number EPA-
HQ-OPP-2008-0615.
    EPA asks that comments on the NRDC and PANNA petitions' requests to 
revoke all tolerances for residues of endosulfan be submitted within 60 
days. Submission of information on endosulfan residues in/on 
commodities consumed by Alaska Natives should also be submitted within 
60 days.

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

    FFDCA section 408(d)(3), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(3)

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.


    Dated: August 12, 2008.
 Steven Bradbury,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-19166 Filed 8-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S