[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71023-71026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29602]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0898; FRL-9326-7]


FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: There will be a 3-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to 
consider and review Common Effects Assessment Methodology developed in 
the Office of Pesticide Programs and Office of Water.

DATES: The meeting will be held on January 31, 2012 to February 2, 
2012, from 9 a.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m.
    Comments. The Agency encourages that written comments be submitted 
by January 17, 2012 and requests for oral comments be submitted by 
January 24, 2012. However, written comments and requests to make oral 
comments may be submitted until the date of the meeting, but anyone 
submitting written comments after January 17, 2012 should contact the 
Designated Federal Official (DFO) listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. For additional instructions, see Unit I.C. of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Nominations. Nominations of candidates to serve as ad hoc members 
of FIFRA SAP for this meeting should be provided on or before November 
30, 2011.
    Webcast. This meeting may be webcast. Please refer to the FIFRA 
SAP's Web site, http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/SAP for information on how 
to access the webcast. Please note that the webcast is a supplementary 
public process provided only for convenience. If difficulties arise 
resulting in webcasting outages, the meeting will continue as planned.
    Special accommodations. For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT at least 10 days prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time 
as possible to process your request.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 
2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
    Comments. Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0898, 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-
2011-

[[Page 71024]]

0898. If your comments contain any information that you consider to be 
CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the DFO listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special instructions before 
submitting your comments. 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 email. The regulations.gov Web site 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 email comment directly to EPA without 
going through regulations.gov, your email 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.
    Nominations, requests to present oral comments, and requests for 
special accommodations. Submit nominations to serve as ad hoc members 
of FIFRA SAP, requests for special seating accommodations, or requests 
to present oral comments to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharlene R. Matten, Office of Science 
Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(202) 564-0130; fax number: (202) 564-8382; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, 
however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to 
conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), FIFRA, and the Food Quality Protection Act of 
1996 (FQPA). Since other entities may also 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 DFO 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    When submitting comments, remember to:
    1. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    2. 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.
    3. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    4. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    5. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    6. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
    7. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    8. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline 
identified.

C. How may I participate in this meeting?

    You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions 
in this unit. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that 
you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0898 in the subject line 
on the first page of your request.
    1. Written comments. The Agency encourages that written comments be 
submitted, using the instructions in ADDRESSES, no later than January 
17, 2012, to provide FIFRA SAP the time necessary to consider and 
review the written comments. Written comments are accepted until the 
date of the meeting, but anyone submitting written comments after 
January 17, 2012 should contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Anyone submitting written comments at the meeting 
should bring 30 copies for distribution to FIFRA SAP.
    2. Oral comments. The Agency encourages that each individual or 
group wishing to make brief oral comments to FIFRA SAP submit their 
request to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no 
later than January 24, 2012, in order to be included on the meeting 
agenda. Requests to present oral comments will be accepted until the 
date of the meeting and, to the extent that time permits, the Chair of 
FIFRA SAP may permit the presentation of oral comments at the meeting 
by interested persons who have not previously requested time. The 
request should identify the name of the individual making the 
presentation, the organization (if any) the individual will represent, 
and any requirements for audiovisual equipment (e.g., overhead 
projector, 35 mm projector, chalkboard). Oral comments before FIFRA SAP 
are limited to approximately 5 minutes unless prior arrangements have 
been made. In addition, each speaker should bring 30 copies of his or 
her comments and presentation slides for distribution to the FIFRA SAP 
at the meeting.
    3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be open and 
on a first-come basis.
    4. Request for nominations to serve as ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP 
for this meeting. As part of a broader process for developing a pool of 
candidates for each meeting, FIFRA SAP staff routinely solicits the 
stakeholder community for nominations of prospective candidates for 
service as ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP. Any interested person or 
organization may nominate qualified individuals to be considered as 
prospective candidates for a specific meeting. Individuals nominated 
for this

[[Page 71025]]

meeting should have expertise in one or more of the following areas: 
Aquatic toxicity estimation tools, aquatic plant toxicity, aquatic 
animal toxicity, statistics, species sensitivity distributions, and 
application of toxicity data to development of aquatic life criteria. 
Nominees should be scientists who have sufficient professional 
qualifications, including training and experience, to be capable of 
providing expert comments on the scientific issues for this meeting. 
Nominees should be identified by name, occupation, position, address, 
and telephone number. Nominations should be provided to the DFO listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or before November 30, 2011. 
The Agency will consider all nominations of prospective candidates for 
this meeting that are received on or before this date. However, final 
selection of ad hoc members for this meeting is a discretionary 
function of the Agency.
    The selection of scientists to serve on FIFRA SAP is based on the 
function of the panel and the expertise needed to address the Agency's 
charge to the panel. No interested scientists shall be ineligible to 
serve by reason of their membership on any other advisory committee to 
a Federal department or agency or their employment by a Federal 
department or agency except the EPA. Other factors considered during 
the selection process include availability of the potential panel 
member to fully participate in the panel's reviews, absence of any 
conflicts of interest or appearance of lack of impartiality, 
independence with respect to the matters under review, and lack of 
bias. Although financial conflicts of interest, the appearance of lack 
of impartiality, lack of independence, and bias may result in 
disqualification, the absence of such concerns does not assure that a 
candidate will be selected to serve on FIFRA SAP. Numerous qualified 
candidates are identified for each panel. Therefore, selection 
decisions involve carefully weighing a number of factors including the 
candidates' areas of expertise and professional qualifications and 
achieving an overall balance of different scientific perspectives on 
the panel. In order to have the collective breadth of experience needed 
to address the Agency's charge for this meeting, the Agency anticipates 
selecting approximately 10 to12 ad hoc scientists.
    FIFRA SAP members are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 2634, 
Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA in 5 
CFR part 6401. In anticipation of this requirement, prospective 
candidates for service on the FIFRA SAP will be asked to submit 
confidential financial information which shall fully disclose, among 
other financial interests, the candidate's employment, stocks and 
bonds, and where applicable, sources of research support. The EPA will 
evaluate the candidate's financial disclosure form to assess whether 
there are financial conflicts of interest, appearance of a lack of 
impartiality or any prior involvement with the development of the 
documents under consideration (including previous scientific peer 
review) before the candidate is considered further for service on FIFRA 
SAP. Those who are selected from the pool of prospective candidates 
will be asked to attend the public meetings and to participate in the 
discussion of key issues and assumptions at these meetings. In 
addition, they will be asked to review and to help finalize the meeting 
minutes. The list of FIFRA SAP members participating at this meeting 
will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web site at http://epa.gov/scipoly/sap 
or may be obtained from the OPP Regulatory Public Docket at http://www.regulations.gov.

II. Background

A. Purpose of FIFRA SAP

    FIFRA SAP serves as the primary scientific peer review mechanism of 
EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is 
structured to provide scientific advice, information and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides and pesticide-
related issues as to the impact of regulatory actions on health and the 
environment. FIFRA SAP is a Federal advisory committee established in 
1975 under FIFRA that operates in accordance with requirements of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act. FIFRA SAP is composed of a permanent 
panel consisting of seven members who are appointed by the EPA 
Administrator from nominees provided by the National Institutes of 
Health and the National Science Foundation. FIFRA, as amended by FQPA, 
established a Science Review Board consisting of at least 60 scientists 
who are available to the SAP on an ad hoc basis to assist in reviews 
conducted by the SAP. As a peer review mechanism, FIFRA SAP provides 
comments, evaluations and recommendations to improve the effectiveness 
and quality of analyses made by Agency scientists. Members of FIFRA SAP 
are scientists who have sufficient professional qualifications, 
including training and experience, to provide expert advice and 
recommendation to the Agency.

B. Public Meeting

    Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Office of 
Pesticide Programs (OPP) and the Office of Water (OW) assess the 
effects of pesticides on aquatic ecosystems using approaches that 
afford a high degree of protection for aquatic life. EPA's stakeholders 
have identified differences in the approaches that the OW and the OPP 
use to evaluate possible effects from pesticides on fish, other aquatic 
organisms, and aquatic plants. While there are differences in the 
effects characterization approaches used by EPA under the Clean Water 
Act (CWA) and FIFRA, both were developed with high quality data using 
rigorously peer-reviewed assessment methodologies. In characterizing 
pesticide effects, both programs consider acute effects as well as 
chronic and sub-lethal effects on growth, survival, and reproduction in 
their risk assessments.
    EPA is now exploring how to build on the substantial high quality 
science already developed by both programs to develop additional 
toxicity estimation tools and approaches to support a consistent and 
common set of effects characterization methods using best available 
information. EPA's goal in this effort is to develop tools, methods, 
and approaches that:
     Continue to be based upon sound science and utilize 
available data,
     Are legally defensible under our statutory mandates,
     Are based upon methodologies that are as consistent and 
practical as possible,
     Are implementable at the Federal and State levels,
     Are developed as quickly and efficiently as possible, and
     Reflect stakeholder input and comments.
    In order to characterize potential adverse effects of chemicals in 
the aquatic environment, EPA uses available toxicity data from studies 
involving individual test species, which serve as surrogates for 
untested species. These data are collected for individual organisms 
exposed to chemicals (e.g., pesticides) and are then frequently 
extended to represent effects to populations of the same species, 
populations of similar genera/taxa, or to aquatic ecosystems. The focus 
of the current efforts is to examine how limited test results can best 
be used to characterize adverse effects on aquatic animals and plants. 
To that end, EPA is exploring two general types of methods that may be 
used to extrapolate from

[[Page 71026]]

toxicity test results to taxa-specific and community-based measures of 
effects relevant to the regulatory needs of OPP and OW, as well as the 
ability of predictive tools to augment in data limited situations. 
These methods include sensitivity distributions and assessment factors 
(AFs) both of which may be used to account for uncertainty, 
particularly in situations where toxicity data are limited. A portion 
of this work will address the derivation of an ``Aquatic Life Screening 
Value'' (ALSV) that is related to the fifth percentile in a sensitivity 
distribution. ALSVs may be used to screen concentrations of pesticides 
and effluents in ambient waters and may be used by States and Tribes in 
the development of water quality standards. Other portions of this work 
will address other percentiles in sensitivity distributions that can be 
used to evaluate concentrations of pesticides in ambient water in other 
ways.
    EPA is requesting the SAP provide advice on several proposed tools 
and methods to characterize the toxicity and effects of chemical 
stressors on aquatic animals and plants.
    1. Use of Predictive Toxicology Tools in Characterizing Effects of 
Chemical Stressors to Aquatic Animals;
    2. Use of Assessment Factors (AF) in Characterizing Acute Effects 
of Chemical Stressors on Aquatic Animals;
    3. Use of Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSD) in Characterizing 
Acute Effects of Chemical Stressors on Aquatic Animals;
    4. Evaluation of Chronic Toxicity Data and the Estimation of Acute 
to Chronic Ratios (ACR) in Characterizing Chronic Effects of Stressors 
on Aquatic Animals;
    5. Methods for Characterizing Effects of Chemical Stressors to 
Aquatic Plants; and
    6. Approaches for Characterizing Effects of Chemicals with Limited 
Data.

C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting Minutes

    EPA's background paper, related supporting materials, charge/
questions to FIFRA SAP, FIFRA SAP composition (i.e., members and ad hoc 
members for this meeting), and the meeting agenda will be available in 
early January 2012. In addition, the Agency may provide additional 
background documents as the materials become available. You may obtain 
electronic copies of these documents, and certain other related 
documents that might be available electronically, at http://www.regulations.gov and the FIFRA SAP homepage at http://www.epa.gov/
scipoly/sap.
    FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its 
recommendations to the Agency approximately 90 days after the meeting. 
The meeting minutes will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web site or may be 
obtained from the OPP Regulatory Public Docket at http://www.regulations.gov.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: November 3, 2011.
Frank Sanders,
Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011-29602 Filed 11-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P