Benomyl; Cancellation Order
[Federal Register: January 15, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 10)]
[Notices]
[Page 1976-1977]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15ja02-53]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-66295A; FRL-6817-7]
Benomyl; Cancellation Order
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces a cancellation order for product
cancellations requested by the American Mushroom Institute, Amvac
Chemical Corp., Pursell Industries, Inc., the Scotts Company, Value
Garden Supply LLC, and Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc. for their
registrations of pesticide products containing methyl 1-
(butylcarbamoyl)-2-benzimidazole carbamate, or benomyl, and accepted by
EPA, pursuant to section 6(f) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This order follows up an October 12, 2001,
notice of receipt of request for the above-mentioned voluntary
registration cancellations. In that notice, EPA requested comments on
the proposed cancellations and indicated that it would issue an order
confirming the cancellations. Any distribution, sale, or use of
canceled benomyl products is only permitted in accordance with the
terms of the existing stocks provisions of this cancellation order.
DATES: The cancellations are effective January 15, 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Demson Fuller, Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508C),
Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, telephone number: (703)
308-8062; fax number: (703) 308-7042; e-mail address:
fuller.demson@epamail.epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general. You may be
potentially affected by this action if you manufacture, sell,
distribute, or use benomyl products. The Congressional Review Act, 5
U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, does not apply because this action is
not a rule, for purposes of 5 U.S.C. 804(3). 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.
B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this
Document and Other Related Documents?
1. Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this
document, and certain other related documents that might be available
electronically, from the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/.
To access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and
Regulations,'' ``Regulations and Proposed Rules,'' and then look up the
entry for this document under the ``Federal Register--Environmental
Documents.'' You can also go directly to the Federal Register listings
at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
2. In person. The Agency has established an official record for
this action under docket control number OPP-66295A. The official record
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any
public comments received during an applicable comment period, and other
information related to this action, including any information claimed
as Confidential Business Information (CBI). This official record
includes the documents that are physically located in the docket, as
well as the documents that are referenced in those documents. The
public version of the official record does not include any information
claimed as CBI. The public version of the official record, which
includes printed, paper versions of any electronic comments submitted
during an applicable comment period, is available for inspection in the
Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119,
Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA, from 8:30
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
II. Receipt of Request to Cancel Registrations
A. Background
Benomyl is a benzimidazole carbamate and systemic foliar fungicide
registered for use on a variety of fruit and vegetable crops.
The technical registrant, E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company
(DuPont), met with the Agency on April 18, 2001, and requested a
voluntary cancellation of all their registrations for products
containing benomyl. DuPont stated that this decision was based on
business reasons. Following a public comment period on the proposed
cancellations and consideration of comments received, the cancellation
order was published in the Federal Register and became effective on
August 8, 2001.
The Agency also received letters from the following registrants
requesting voluntary cancellation of all their products containing
benomyl: American Mushroom Institute, Amvac Chemical Corp., Pursell
Industries, Inc., the Scotts Company, Value Garden Supply LLC, and
Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc.
In their letters, Pursell and Amvac stated that they no longer
manufacture or distribute end use products that contain benomyl and
therefore, no end use products should be in the channels of trade.
Likewise, in their letter, Value Garden Supply noted that their benomyl
products are no longer being sold and they are not aware of any stocks
of the products in the channels of trade. The American Mushroom
Institute requested cancellation of its 24(c) registration due to the
cancellation of DuPont's registrations. The Scotts Company and
Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc. had end-use products that were
suspended on April 13, 1994, and May 20, 1998, respectively. Both
registrants failed to comply with a Data Call-In that was issued on
June 16, 1992. The Agency contacted both The Scotts Company and
Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc. to notify them that DuPont canceled
all its benomyl registrations, and both registrants subsequently
submitted letters requesting voluntary cancellations.
Pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA announced receipt of these requests
from the American Mushroom Institute, Amvac Chemical Corp., Pursell
Industries, Inc., The Scotts Company, Value Garden Supply LLC, and
Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc., in a Federal Register Notice
published on October 12, 2001 (66 FR 52132) (FRL-6805-3). In that
Notice, EPA provided a 30-day comment period. All of the registrants
requested the Administrator waive the 180-day comment period provided
under FIFRA section 6(f)(1)(c), and EPA granted this request. No public
comments were received during the 30-day comment period.
B. Requests for Voluntary Cancellation of Products
Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(f)(1)(A), American Mushroom Institute,
Amvac Chemical Corp., Pursell Industries Inc., the Scotts Company,
Value Garden Supply LLC, and Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc., have
submitted requests for voluntary cancellation of registrations for
their products containing benomyl. The registrations
[[Page 1977]]
for which cancellations were requested are identified in the following
table.
Product Registration Cancellation Requests
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Company Registration No. Product
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American Mushroom Institute PA-97000200 Dupont
Benlate ®
SP Fungicide
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Amvac Chemical Corp. 5481-138 ALCO ®
Systemic
Fungicide
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Pursell Industries Inc. 8660-75 VertaGreen
Systemic Disease
Control
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The Scotts Company 538-66 Scotts Proturf 28
0 - 7 Fertilizer
Plus Fungicide
DSB
538-132 Scotts Proturf DSB
Fungicide
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Value Garden Supply LLC 769-874 Pratt Benomyl 50W
Systemic
Fungicide
769-921 Science Benomyl
50W Systemic
Fungicide
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Voluntary Purchasing Groups, 7401-225 Fertilome ® Systemic
Fungicide with
Benomyl
7401-407 American
Brand ®
Benomyl Systemic
Fungicide
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III. Cancellation Order
Pursuant to section 6(f)(1)(A) of FIFRA, EPA is approving the
requested cancellations. Accordingly, EPA orders that the registrations
identified in Table 1, are hereby canceled. Any distribution, sale, or
use of existing stocks of the products identified in the table above in
a manner inconsistent with the terms of this Order or the Existing
Stock Provisions in Unit IV. of this Federal Register Notice will be
considered a violation of section 12(a)(2)(K) of FIFRA and/or section
12(a)(1)(A) of FIFRA.
IV. Existing Stocks Provisions
For purposes of this Order, the term ``existing stocks'' is
defined, pursuant to EPA's existing stocks policy June 26, 1991 (56 FR
29362) (FRL-3846-4), as those stocks of a registered pesticide product
which are currently in the United States and which have been packaged,
labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of
cancellation.
A. Distribution or Sale by the Registrant
Cancellation orders generally permit a registrant to sell or
distribute existing stocks for 1 year after the date the cancellation
request was received. However, the registrants have stated that they no
longer manufacture or distribute end use products that contain benomyl.
Therefore, the distribution or sale of existing stocks by registrants
will not be lawful under FIFRA after January 15, 2002 except for the
purposes of returns and relabeling, shipping such stocks for export
consistent with the requirements of section 17 of FIFRA, or for proper
disposal.
B. Distribution and Sale by Other Persons
Sale or distribution by any person of existing stocks of any
products identified in the table above will not be lawful under FIFRA
after December 31, 2002.
V. Notification of Intent to Revoke Tolerances
This Notice also serves as an advance notification that the Agency
intends to revoke the related tolerances for the canceled registrations
listed in this Notice unless there is a request from the public to
support the tolerances for import purposes. EPA believes that
production of technical benomyl ended in April 2001, and use of any
remaining existing stocks of these products will likely end in 2003
given that the sale and distribution of benomyl products will end on
December 31, 2002. EPA will determine how long treated food containing
residues of benomyl could remain in the channels of trade assuming that
the last treatment occurred on December 31, 2003, and will set the
expiration date accordingly.
It is EPA's general practice to propose revocation of tolerances
for residues of pesticide active ingredients for which FIFRA
registrations no longer exist, to protect the food supply of the U.S.
and to discourage the misuse of pesticides within the United States. In
many cases the cancellation of a food use in the U.S. indicates that
there are insufficient domestic residue data or other information to
support the continuation of the tolerance and an uncertain amount of
relevant data concerning residues on imported food. In the absence of
relevant data, EPA is unable to make a safety finding regarding the
treated food entering the U.S. Upon request, EPA will provide
interested parties with its import tolerance policy and data
requirements, explaining how an interested party should go about
seeking to retain a tolerance for import purposes.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: January 3, 2002.
Lois A. Rossi,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 02-958 Filed 1-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
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