[Federal Register: June 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 111)]
[Notices]
[Page 33448-33449]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09jn06-34]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0061; FRL-8072-9]
Azinphos-methyl and Phosmet Proposed Decisions; Notice of
Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's proposed re-
evaluation decisions for the pesticides azinphos-methyl and phosmet,
the grower impact assessments, human health documents, environmental
fate and effects documents, and other related documents, and opens a
60-day public comment period. These proposed decisions implement the
2001 IREDs for these pesticides as well as the 2001 Memorandum of
Agreement between EPA and the phosmet technical registrants and the
2002 Memorandum of Agreement between EPA and the azinphos-methyl
technical registrants. EPA is proposing a schedule to phase out the
remaining uses of azinphos-methyl and is proposing to lengthen some
restricted-entry intervals (REIs) and seek additional biomonitoring
data for the nine time-limited uses of phosmet. EPA is also proposing
certain additional restrictions on the use of azinphos-methyl and
phosmet.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 8, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0061 for azinphos-methyl, or identified by
docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2002-0354 for phosmet, 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
Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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 telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2005-0061 for azinphos-methyl and to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2002-
0354 for phosmet. 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 Federal 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.
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
Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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 telephone number is (703)
305-5805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Myers, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001;
[[Page 33449]]
telephone number: 703-308-8589, fax number: 703-308-8041; e-mail
address: myers.tom@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, farmworker, 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?
EPA is making available the proposed decision documents and related
supporting documents for azinphos-methyl and phosmet.
In the azinphos-methyl 2001 IRED, and subsequent Memorandum of
Agreement, the Agency concluded, based on evaluation of the risks and
benefits of the use of azinphos-methyl, that 35 uses should either be
immediately canceled or phased out over a four-year period. The
remaining ten time-limited azinphos-methyl uses (almonds, apples/
crabapples, highbush and lowbush blueberries, Brussels sprouts,
cherries, nursery stock, parsley, pears, pistachios, and walnuts) were
eligible for reregistration for a period of four years, after which EPA
would accept and evaluate applications for renewal of the
registrations.
In the phosmet 2001 IRED EPA determined that three uses should be
canceled and that 33 uses were eligible for reregistration. EPA made a
time-limited determination for nine uses (apples, crabapples, peaches,
pears, nectarines, apricots, plums/prunes, grapes, and highbush
blueberries) and would reconsider those uses in 2006. The IRED provided
that this reconsideration would involve a determination whether the
restricted-entry intervals (REIs) for workers that were imposed as a
result of the IRED should be maintained indefinitely or whether longer
``default'' REIs, or other appropriate REIs, should be adopted.
These IREDs were implemented through Memoranda of Agreements with
the phosmet and azinphos-methyl technical registrants in 2001 and 2002,
respectively.
After consideration of the risks and benefits of these pesticides,
as provided in the IREDs, EPA is proposing that the remaining uses of
azinphos-methyl be phased out according to the following schedule:
almonds, pistachios, walnuts, Brussels sprouts, and nursery stock in
2007 and apples/crabapples, blueberries, cherries, pears, and parsley
in 2010. EPA is also proposing certain additional risk-mitigation
restrictions and activities, including larger buffers, reducing annual
application rates, and eliminating the few remaining aerial uses.
EPA is proposing to increase the REIs for most of the nine time-
limited uses of phosmet and to require additional biomonitoring data
and additional use restrictions.
The decision documents, including the Agency's supporting rationale
for these proposed decisions can be found in docket identification
number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0061 for azinphos-methyl, and docket
identification number EPA-HQ-OPP-2002-0354 for phosmet at http://www.regulations.gov
.
EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide comments and input on the Agency's
proposed decisions for azinphos-methyl and phosmet.
Comments should be limited to issues raised by the proposed
decisions and associated documents. All comments should be submitted
using the methods in ADDRESSES, and must be received by EPA on or
before the closing date. Comments will become part of the Agency Docket
for azinphos-methyl and phosmet.
B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
EPA is reevaluating these uses of AZM and phosmet pursuant to
section 3c(5) of FIFRA, which provides, among other things, that the
EPA Adminstrator shall register a pesticide when its use will not cause
unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: June 5, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-8929 Filed 6-8-06; 8:45 am]
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