[Federal Register: August 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 162)]
[Notices]
[Page 49194-49196]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20au08-53]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: perry.tracy@epa.gov.
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