[Federal Register: September 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 175)]
[Notices]
[Page 53370-53371]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10se03-61]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-2003-0313; FRL-7326-3]
EPA-USDA Committee to Advise on Reassessment and Transition;
Notice of Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency-United States Department
of Agriculture Committee to Advise on Reassessment and Transition (EPA-
USDA CARAT) will hold a public meeting on October 1-2, 2003. An agenda
is being developed and will be posted by September 22, 2003, on EPA's
website. This meeting will focus on recent case studies for the
following selected commodities: Almonds, carrots,
[[Page 53371]]
cranberries, peaches, potatoes, and walnuts. This first round of case
studies was selected because of current pest management problems either
from regulatory action, pest resistance, or a lack of adequate control
measures. The CARAT Transition Work Group met on July 17-18, 2003, to
discuss these case studies and to develop recommendations for
presentation to EPA and USDA at this meeting.
DATES: The meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 1, 2003, from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday, October 2, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Washington, 515
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number to the
hotel is (202) 638-5900. The Hotel Washington is approximately
21/89/21/13/23/85/83/8 blocks from the Metro Center Station
and about a 15 minute taxi ride from Ronald Reagan Washington National
Airport.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margie Fehrenbach, Office of Pesticide
Programs, Mail code 7501C, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-
308-4775; fax number: 703-308-4776; e-mail address:
Fehrenbach.Margie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general; however, persons
may be interested who work in agricultural settings or persons who are
concerned about implementation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(FFDCA); and the amendments to both of these major pesticide laws by
the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. 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 person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. Potentially affected entities may include but are
not limited to: Agricultural workers and farmers; pesticide industry
and trade associations; environmental, consumer and farmworker groups;
pesticide users and growers; pest consultants; State, local and Tribal
governments; academia; public health organizations; food processors;
and the public. 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. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?
1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this
action under docket identification (ID) number OPP-2003-0313. The
official public docket consists of the documents specifically
referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other
information related to this action. Although a part of the official
docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials
that is available for public viewing at the Public Information and
Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 2,
1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. This docket facility is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The docket telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
2. Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register''
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
An agenda is being developed and will be posted by September 22,
2003, on EPA's website at www.epa.gov/pesticides/carat.
An electronic version of the public docket is available through
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to view public comments,
access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket,
and to access those documents in the public docket that are available
electronically. Although not all docket materials may be available
electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available
docket materials through the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1.
Once in the system, select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate
docket ID number.
II. Background
The Committee to Advise on Reassessment and Transition (CARAT) was
established in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act to
provide advice and counsel to the Administrator of EPA and the
Secretary of Agriculture regarding strategic approaches for pest
management planning and tolerance reassessment for pesticides as
required by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). Through
CARAT, EPA and the USDA are working together to ensure smooth
implementation of FQPA through use of sound science, consultation with
stakeholders, increased transparency, and reasonable transition for
agriculture. CARAT is composed of a balanced group of participants from
the following sectors: Pesticide user, grower and commodity groups;
industry and trade associations; food processors and distributors;
environmental/public interest and farmworker groups; Federal, State and
Tribal governments; public health organizations; and academia. The
CARAT Work Group on Transition was established to identify barriers to
the development and adoption by users of new, safer and effective pest
management techniques and to formulate recommendations for Federal
agency actions that, in partnership with the range of stakeholders,
will reduce or eliminate these barriers.
III. How Can I Request to Participate in this Meeting?
This meeting will be open to the public. Opportunity will be
provided for questions and comments by the public. Any person who
wishes to file a written statement may do so before or after the
meeting. These statements will become part of the permanent record and
will be available for public inspection at the address listed under
Unit I.B.1.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Agricultural workers, Agriculture,
Chemicals, Foods, Pesticides, Pests, Risk assessment.
Dated: September 2, 2003.
Jim Jones,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 03-22936 Filed 9-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S