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FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: September 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 184)]
[Notices]
[Page 55836-55839]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23se05-40]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-2005-0249; FRL-7735-1]
FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: There will be a meeting of the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to
consider and review plant-incorporated protectants based on virus coat
protein genes: science issues associated with a review of proposed rules.
DATES: The meeting will be held from December 6-7, 2005, from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m, eastern time.
1. Comments: For the deadlines for submission of requests to
present oral comments and submission of written comments, see Unit I.E.
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
2. Nominations: Nominations of scientific experts to serve as ad
hoc members of the FIFRA SAP for this meeting should be provided on or
before October 5, 2005.
3. 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, preferably at least 12 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 Holiday Inn-National
Airport Hotel, 2650 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202. The
telephone number for the Holiday Inn-National Airport is (703) 684-7200.
1. Comments: Written comments may be submitted electronically
(preferred), or through hand delivery/courier, or by mail. Follow the
detailed instructions as provided in Unit I. of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
2. Nominations, requests to present oral comments, and special
seating: To submit nominations for ad hoc member of the FIFRA SAP for
this meeting, requests for special seating arrangements, or requests to
present oral comments, notify the Designated Federal Official (DFO)
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. To ensure proper receipt
by EPA, your request must identify docket identification (ID) number
OPP-2005-0249 in the subject line on the first page of your response.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Lewis, DFO, Office of Science
Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202)
564-8450; fax number: (202) 564-8382; e-mail addresses:
lewis.paul@epa.gov.
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. 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 ID number OPP-2005-0249. 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, 1801 S. Bell St., 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/.
EPA's position paper, 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 as soon as possible, but no later than
mid November 2005. 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, from the FIFRA SAP
Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap.
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.regulations.gov/ to submit or 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. Once in the system, select ``search,''
then key in the appropriate docket ID number.
Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets.
[[Page 55837]]
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public
docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic
public docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be
placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in
printed, paper form in the official public docket. To the extent
feasible, publicly available docket materials will be made available in
EPA's electronic public docket. When a document is selected from the
index list in EPA Dockets, the system will identify whether the
document is available for viewing in EPA's electronic public docket.
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. EPA intends to work
towards providing electronic access to all of the publicly available
docket materials through EPA's electronic public docket.
For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper,
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public
docket. Public comments in hard copy that are mailed or delivered to
the docket will be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public
docket. Where practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the
photograph will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with
a brief description written by the docket staff.
C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments electronically (preferred), through hand
delivery/courier, or by mail. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify
the appropriate docket ID number in the subject line on the first page
of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within
the specified comment period. Comments received after the close of the
comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider
these late comments. Do not use EPA Dockets or e-mail to submit CBI or
information protected by statute.
1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as
prescribed in this unit, EPA recommends that you include your name,
mailing address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in
the body of your comment. Also include this contact information on the
outside of any disk or CD ROM you submit, and in any cover letter
accompanying the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be
identified as the submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact
you in case EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties
or needs further information on the substance of your comment. EPA's
policy is that EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or
contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included
as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket,
and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. 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.
i. EPA Dockets. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to
submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for
receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/
edocket/, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Once in the system, select ``search,'' and then key in docket ID number
OPP-2005-0249. The system is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
ii. E-mail. Comments may be sent by e-mail to opp-docket@epa.gov,
Attention: Docket ID Number OPP-2005-0249. In contrast to EPA's
electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an ``anonymous
access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to the docket
without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail
system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses
that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as
part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and
made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
iii. Disk or CD ROM. You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM
that you deliver as described in Unit I.C.2. or mail to the address
provided in Unit I.C.3. These electronic submissions will be accepted
in WordPerfect or ASCII file format. Avoid the use of special
characters and any form of encryption.
2. By hand delivery or courier. Deliver your comments to: Public
Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Office of Pesticide
Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall
#2, 1801 S. Bell St., Arlington, VA, Attention: Docket ID
Number OPP-2005-0249. Such deliveries are only accepted during the
docket's normal hours of operation as identified in Unit I.B.1.
3. By mail. Due to potential delays in EPA's receipt and processing
of mail, respondents are strongly encouraged to submit comments either
electronically or by hand delivery or courier. We cannot guarantee that
comments sent via mail will be received prior to the close of the
comment period. If mailed, please send your comments to: Public
Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB) (7502C), Office of
Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001, Attention: Docket ID
Number OPP-2005-0249.
D. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your
comments:
1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used
that support your views.
4. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
5. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this document.
6. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal
Register citation.
E. 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 OPP-2005-0249 in the subject line on the
first page of your request.
[[Page 55838]]
1. Oral comments. Oral comments presented at the meetings should
not be repetitive of previously submitted oral or written comments.
Although requests to present oral comments are accepted until the date
of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), to the extent that time
permits, interested persons may be permitted by the Chair of FIFRA SAP
to present oral comments at the meeting. Each individual or group
wishing to make brief oral comments to the FIFRA SAP is strongly
advised to submit their request to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT no later than noon, eastern time, November 30,
2005, in order to be included on the meeting agenda. 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 presented before the 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
members at the meeting.
2. Written comments. Although submission of written comments are
accepted until the date of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), the
Agency encourages that written comments be submitted, using the
instructions in Unit I.C., no later than noon, eastern time, November
30, 2005, to provide the FIFRA SAP members the time necessary to
consider and review the written comments. It is requested that persons
submitting comments directly to the docket also notify the DFO listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. There is no limit on the extent
of written comments for consideration by the FIFRA SAP. Persons wishing
to submit written comments at the meeting should contact the DFO listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and submit 30 copies.
3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be on a
first-come basis. For information on access or services for individuals
with disabilities, please contact Paul Lewis at (202) 564-8450 or
lewis.paul@epa.gov). To request accommodation of a disability, please
contact Paul Lewis, preferably at least 12 days prior to the meeting,
to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.
4. Request for nominations to serve as ad hoc members of the FIFRA
SAP for this meeting. As part of a broader process for developing a
pool of candidates for each meeting, the FIFRA SAP staff routinely
solicit the stakeholder community for nominations of prospective
candidates for service as ad hoc members of the 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 meeting should have expertise in one or
more of the following areas: risk assessment of virus-resistant
transgenic plants, plant virology, plant virus recombination, gene
flow/weed issues, post-transcriptional gene silencing and human/non-
target exposure to novel proteins. 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 October 5, 2005. 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 the 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. Though 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 the 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 12 ad hoc scientists.
If a prospective candidate for service on the FIFRA SAP is
considered for participation in a particular session, the candidate is
subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 2634, Executive Branch
Financial Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA in 5 CFR part 6401. As
such, the FIFRA SAP candidate is required to submit a Confidential
Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on
Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA Form 3110-48 [5-02]) 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 candidates financial disclosure form to assess that there are no
financial conflicts of interest, no appearance of lack of impartiality
and no prior involvement with the development of the documents under
consideration (including previous scientific peer review) before the
candidate is considered further for service on the 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 or may be obtained by
contacting the PIRIB at the address or telephone number listed in Unit I.
II. Background
A. Purpose of the FIFRA SAP
Amendments to FIFRA enacted November 28, 1975 (7 U.S.C. 136w(d)),
include a requirement under section 25(d) of FIFRA that notices of
intent to cancel or reclassify pesticide regulations pursuant to
section 6(b)(2) of FIFRA, as well as proposed and final forms of
rulemaking pursuant to section 25(a) of FIFRA, be submitted to a SAP
prior to being made public or issued to a registrant. In accordance
with section 25(d) of FIFRA, the FIFRA SAP is to have an opportunity to
comment on the health and environmental impact of such actions. The
FIFRA SAP also shall make comments, evaluations, and recommendations
for operating guidelines to improve the effectiveness and quality of
analyses made by Agency scientists. Members are scientists who
[[Page 55839]]
have sufficient professional qualifications, including training and
experience, to be capable of providing expert comments as to the impact
on health and the environment of regulatory actions under sections 6(b)
and 25(a) of FIFRA. The Deputy Administrator appoints seven individuals
to serve on the FIFRA SAP for staggered terms of 4 years, based on
recommendations from the National Institutes of Health and the National
Science Foundation.
Section 104 of FQPA (Public Law 104-170) established the FQPA
Science Review Board (SRB). These scientists shall be available to the
FIFRA SAP on an ad hoc basis to assist in reviews conducted by the
FIFRA SAP.
B. Public Meeting
The FIFRA SAP will meet to consider and review plant-incorporated
protectants based on virus coat protein genes: science issues
associated with a review of proposed rules. A plant-incorporated
protectant (PIP) is a pesticidal substance that is intended to be
produced and used in a living plant, or in the produce thereof, and the
genetic material necessary for production of such a pesticidal
substance. The term includes both active and inert ingredients. PIPs
are regulated as pesticides by EPA under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) because they meet the FIFRA
definition of a pesticide, being intended for preventing, destroying,
repelling, or mitigating a pest. Residues of PVCP-PIPs in or on food
are also subject to FFDCA section 408 because PIPs meet the FFDCA
definition of a pesticide chemical.
PIPs may occur naturally or be introduced into plants by
conventional breeding or genetic engineering. PVCP-PIPs are PIPs in
which inserted genetic material is derived from a plant virus sequence
that encodes a plant virus coat protein. Plant virus coat proteins
encapsidate the viral nucleic acid and are known to have a role in
nearly every stage of viral infection including replication, movement
throughout an infected plant, and transport from plant to plant.
Incorporation of plant virus coat protein gene sequences into plant
genomes has been found to confer resistance to the virus from which it
was derived and often to related viruses.
EPA is seeking the assistance of the FIFRA SAP in evaluating
several issues associated with the review of proposed rules that would
exempt certain PVCP-PIPs from regulation under FFDCA and/or FIFRA.
These issues include the potential human health effects from exposure
to residues of PVCP-PIPs, the potential for non-target impacts, and the
potential environmental consequences associated with gene flow and
recombination.
C. FIFRA SAP Meeting Minutes
The FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its
recommendations to the Agency in approximately 90 days after the
meeting. The meeting minutes will be posted on the FIFRA SAP web site
or may be obtained by contacting the PIRIB at the address or telephone
number listed in Unit I.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: September 19, 2005.
Clifford J. Gabriel,
Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 05-19129 Filed 9-22-05; 8:45 am]
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