[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17735-17737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7508]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0723; FRL-8819-1]


Methidathion; Notice of Receipt of Requests to Voluntarily Cancel 
Pesticide Registrations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is 
issuing a notice of receipt of requests by the registrants to 
voluntarily cancel their methidathion registrations. The requests would 
terminate the last methidathion products registered for use in the 
United States. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the 
comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives 
substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its 
further review of the requests, or unless the registrants withdraw 
their requests within this period. Upon acceptance of these requests, 
any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will 
be permitted only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with 
the terms as described in the final order.

DATES:  Comments must be received on or before May 7, 2010.

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0723, 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 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-
2008-0723. 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.
     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:  Jose Gayoso, Pesticide Re-evaluation 
Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 347-8652; 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 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.

[[Page 17736]]

    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 on the Receipt of Requests to Cancel Registrations

     This notice announces receipt by EPA of requests from registrants 
to cancel methidathion product registrations. Methidathion is a non-
systemic, organophosphate (OP) used as an insecticide/acaricide on a 
wide variety of terrestrial food and feed crops and terrestrial non-
food crops. The pesticide acts through inhibition of 
acetylcholinesterase and is used to kill a broad range of insects and 
mites. In letters received by the Agency, the registrants have 
requested EPA to cancel affected product registrations identified in 
this notice in Table 1. Specifically, the registrants have requested 
voluntary cancellation of all products containing methidathion. The 
registrants requests will terminate the last methidathion products 
registered in the United States.

III. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    This notice announces receipt by EPA of requests from registrants 
to cancel methidathion product registrations. The affected products and 
the registrants making the requests are identified in Tables 1 and 2 of 
this unit.
    Under section 6(f)(1)(A) of FIFRA, registrants may request, at any 
time, that their pesticide registrations be canceled or amended to 
terminate one or more pesticide uses. Section 6(f)(1)(B) of FIFRA 
requires that before acting on a request for voluntary cancellation, 
EPA must provide a 30-day public comment period on the request for 
voluntary cancellation or use termination. In addition, section 
6(f)(1)(C) of FIFRA requires that EPA provide a 180-day comment period 
on a request for voluntary cancellation or termination of any minor 
agricultural use before granting the request, unless:
    1. The registrants request a waiver of the comment period, or
    2. The Administrator determines that continued use of the pesticide 
would pose an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
    The methidathion registrants have requested that EPA waive the 180-
day comment period. EPA will provide a 30-day comment period on the 
proposed requests.
    Unless a request is withdrawn by the registrant within 30 days of 
publication of this notice, or if the Agency determines that there are 
substantive comments that warrant further review of this request, an 
order will be issued canceling the affected registrations.

 Table 1.--Methidathion Product Registrations with Pending Requests for
                              Cancellation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Registration Number           Product Name        Chemical Name
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100-530                           Methidathion        Methidathion
                                   Technical
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-236                         Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
---------------------------------=====================
---------------------------------
---------------------------------=====================
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-CA-01-0002                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-CA-01-0009                  Supracide 25-W      Methidathion
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-CA-01-0011                  Supracide 25-W      Methidathion
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-CA-02-0002                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-CA-04-0023                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-CO-01-0003                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-FL-99-0013                  Supracide 25-W      Methidathion
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-ID-00-0005                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-ID-04-0007                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-KS-05-0006                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-MT-00-0008                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-NV-00-0001                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-NV-01-0001                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-OK-05-0003                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-OR-00-0010                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-OR-02-0018                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 17737]]

 
10163-TX-05-0003                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-UT-00-0006                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-WA-00-0006                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10163-WY-05-0001                  Supracide 2E        Methidathion
                                   Insecticide
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 2 of this unit includes the names and addresses of record for 
the registrants of the products listed in Table 1 of this unit.

     Table 2.--Registrants Requesting Voluntary Cancellation and/or
                               Amendments
------------------------------------------------------------------------
            EPA Company Number                Company Name and Address
------------------------------------------------------------------------
000100                                      Sygenta Crop Protection,
                                             Inc.
                                            Attn: Regulatory Affairs,
                                            PO Box 18300,
                                            Greensboro, NC 27419-8300
------------------------------------------------------------------------
010163                                      Gowan Company,
                                            PO Box 5569,
                                            Yuma, AZ 85366-5569
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that a registrant of a pesticide 
product may at any time request that any of its pesticide registrations 
be canceled or amended to terminate one or more uses. FIFRA further 
provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a notice 
of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register. Thereafter, 
following the public comment period, the Administrator may approve such 
a request.

V. Procedures for Withdrawal of Request and Considerations for 
Reregistration of Methidathion

    Registrants who choose to withdraw a request for cancellation must 
submit such withdrawal in writing to the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, postmarked before May 7, 2010. This 
written withdrawal of the request for cancellation will apply only to 
the applicable FIFRA section 6(f)(1) request listed in this notice. If 
the products(s) have been subject to a previous cancellation action, 
the effective date of cancellation and all other provisions of any 
earlier cancellation action are controlling.

VI. Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks

    Existing stocks are those stocks of registered pesticide products 
which are currently in the United States and which were packaged, 
labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the 
cancellation action.
    In any order issued in response to these requests for cancellation 
of product registrations, EPA proposes to include the following 
provisions for the treatment of any existing stocks of the products 
identified or referenced in Table 1 in Unit III:
     After December 31, 2012, registrants are prohibited from selling 
or distributing existing stocks of products containing methidathion.
     After December 31, 2014, persons other than registrants are 
prohibited from selling or distributing existing stocks of products 
containing methidathion.
     After December 31, 2014, existing stocks of products containing 
methidathion already in the hands of users can be used legally until 
they are exhausted, provided that such use complies with the EPA-
approved label and labeling of the affected product.
     If the request for voluntary cancellation is granted, the Agency 
intends to publish the cancellation order in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: March 26, 2010.
 Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2010-7508 Filed 4-6-10; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S