[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51470-51472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-20395]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0610; FRL-8378-1]


Nosema locustae Registration Review Proposed Decision; Notice of 
Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's proposed 
registration review decision for the pesticides case, Nosema locustae, 
and opens a public comment period on the proposed registration review 
decision. Registration review is EPA's periodic review of pesticide 
registrations to ensure that each pesticide continues to satisfy the 
statutory standard for registration, that is, that the pesticide can 
perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on 
human health or the environment. Through this program, EPA is ensuring 
that each pesticide's registration is based on current scientific and 
other knowledge, including its effects on human health and the 
environment.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 3, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) numbers EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0997 for Nosema locustae, 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 and the 
regulatory contact listed under Table 1 for the case to which you are 
submitting a comment. 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

[[Page 51471]]

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 information about the 
biopesticides included in this document, contact the specific 
Regulatory contact, as identified in the Table in Unit II.A. for the 
biopesticide of interest. The mailing address and additional contact 
information is Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, 
(7511P); Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: (703) 308-8712; fax number: (703) 308-7026.
    For general questions on the registration review program, contact 
Peter Caulkins, Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508P), 
Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(703) 305-6550; fax number: (703) 308-8090; 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, farm worker, 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?

    This notice opens a 60-day public comment period on the subject 
proposed registration review decision. The Agency is proposing a 
registration review decision for the pesticide case shown in the 
following Table 1.

     Table 1.--Registration Review Dockets; Proposed final decisions
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                                                      Regulatory Contact
  Registration Review Case Name    Pesticide Docket       name, Phone
           and Number                  ID Number        Number, E-mail
                                                            Address
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Nosema locustae; Case 4104        EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-09  Jeannine Kausch
                                   97                 (703) 347-8920;
                                                      [email protected]
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    The docket for registration review of this pesticide case includes 
earlier documents related to the registration review of the subject 
case. For example, the review opened with the posting of a Summary 
Document, containing a Preliminary Work Plan (PWP), for public comment. 
A Final Work Plan (FWP) was posted to the docket following public 
comment on the initial docket. The documents in the initial docket 
described the Agency's rationales for not conducting new risk 
assessments for the registration review of Nosema locustae. This 
proposed registration review decision now included in the docket 
continues to be supported by those rationales included in documents in 
the initial docket. Following public comment, the Agency will issue a 
final registration review decision for this case.
    The registration review program is being conducted under 
congressionally mandated time frames, and EPA recognizes the need both 
to make timely decisions and to involve the public. Section 3(g) of the 
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as amended 
in 1996 required EPA to establish by regulation procedures for 
reviewing pesticide registrations, originally with a goal of reviewing 
each pesticide's registration every 15 years to ensure that a pesticide 
continues to meet the FIFRA standard for registration. The Agency's 
final rule to implement this program was issued in August 2006 and 
became effective in October 2006 and appears at 40 CFR 155.40.

[[Page 51472]]

    The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 (PRIA) was 
amended and extended in September 2007. FIFRA as amended by PRIA in 
2007 requires EPA to complete registration review decisions by October 
1, 2022 for all pesticides registered as of October 1, 2007. The 
registration review final rule provides for a minimum 60-day public 
comment period for all proposed registration review decisions.
    This comment period is intended to provide an opportunity for 
public input and a mechanism for initiating any necessary amendments to 
the proposed decision. All comments should be submitted using the 
methods in ADDRESSES, and must be received by EPA on or before the 
closing date. These comments will become part of the Agency Docket for 
Nosema locustae. Comments received after the close of the comment 
period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these 
late comments.
    The Agency will carefully consider all comments received by the 
closing date and will provide a Response to Comments Memorandum in the 
Dockets and www.regulations.gov. The final registration review 
decisions will explain the effect that any comments have had on the 
decisions. Background on the registration review program is provided 
at: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/. Quick links to 
earlier documents related to the registration review of this pesticide 
are provided at: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/reg_review_status.htm/. Additional information about biopesticides can be 
obtained by an alphabetical search of the Biopesticide Active 
Ingredient Fact Sheets on http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/biopesticides/ingredients/index.htm

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

    FIFRA Section 3(g) and 40 CFR 155.40 provide authority for this 
action.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, registration review, pesticides, and 
pests.

    Dated: August 21, 2008.
Janet L. Andersen,
Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-20395 Filed 9-2-08; 8:45 am]
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