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Aliphatic Solvents; Reregistration Eligibility Decision for Low Risk Pesticide; Notice of Availability
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: August 23, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 49443-49445]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23au06-60]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0284; FRL-8085-6]
Aliphatic Solvents; Reregistration Eligibility Decision for Low
Risk Pesticide; Notice of Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's
Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the pesticide aliphatic
solvents, and opens a public comment period on this document, related
risk assessments, and other support documents. EPA has reviewed the low
risk pesticide aliphatic solvents through a modified, streamlined
version of the public participation process that the Agency uses to
involve the public in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance
reassessment decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that
all pesticides meet current health and safety standards.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 23, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0284, 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 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-
2006-0284. 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
[[Page 49444]]
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 Web site is an
³anonymous access³ 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 Bldg.), 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: Bentley Gregg, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8178; fax
number: (703) 308-8005); e-mail address: gregg.bentley@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 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?
Under section 4 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is reevaluating existing pesticides to
ensure that they meet current scientific and regulatory standards.
Using a modified, streamlined version of its public participation
process, EPA has completed a RED for the low risk pesticide, aliphatic
solvents under section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. Aliphatic solvents are the
product of petroleum distillations processes, and thus, they are
complex mixtures of long-chain aliphatic (paraffinic) compounds. They
are formulated for use as insecticides and/or larvicides on crops,
animal premises, commercial/industrial premises, medical premises,
aquatic areas, and residential premises, as well as occupational and
residential uses as acaricides, fungicides, herbicides, and virucides
(for plant pathogen. The aquatic area applications are for usage as a
mosquito larvicide/pupacide. EPA has determined that the data base to
support reregistration is substantially complete and that products
containing aliphatic solvents will be eligible for reregistration. Upon
submission of any required product specific data under section
4(g)(2)(B) and any necessary changes to the registration and labeling
(either to address any concerns identified in the RED or as a result of
product specific data), EPA will make a final reregistration decision
under section 4(g)(2)(C) for products containing aliphatic solvents.
EPA must review tolerances and tolerance exemptions that were in
effect when the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) was enacted in
August 1996, to ensure that these existing pesticide residue limits for
food and feed commodities meet the safety standard established by the
new law. Tolerances are considered reassessed once the safety finding
has been made or a revocation occurs. EPA has reviewed and made the
requisite safety finding for the aliphatic solvents tolerances.
Although, the aliphatic solvents RED was signed on July 12, 2006,
certain components of the document, which did not affect the final
regulatory decision, were undergoing final editing at that time. These
components, including the list of additional generic data requirements,
summary of labeling changes, appendices, and other relevant
information, have been added to the aliphatic solvents RED document. In
addition, subsequent to signature, EPA identified several minor errors
and ambiguities in the document. Therefore,
[[Page 49445]]
for the sake of accuracy, the Agency also has included the appropriate
error corrections, amendments, and clarifications. None of these
additions or changes alter the conclusions documented in the July 12,
2006 aliphatic solvents RED. All of these changes are described in
detail in an errata memorandum which is included in the public docket
for aliphatic solvents.
EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all
pesticides undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment. The
Agency's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment and Reregistration; Public
Participation Process, published in the Federal Register on May 14,
2004, (69 FR 26819)(FRL-7357-9) explains that in conducting these
programs, the Agency is tailoring its public participation process to
be commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of
issues, and degree of public concern associated with each pesticide.
EPA can expeditiously reach decisions for pesticides like aliphatic
solvents, which pose few risk concerns, and require little risk
mitigation. Once EPA assesses uses and risks for such low risk
pesticides, the Agency may go directly to a decision and prepare a
document summarizing its findings, such as the aliphatic solvents RED.
The reregistration program is being conducted under
Congressionally mandated time frames, and EPA recognizes the need both
to make timely decisions and to involve the public in finding ways to
effectively mitigate pesticide risks. Aliphatic solvents, however,
poses few risks that require mitigation. The Agency therefore is
issuing the aliphatic solvents RED, its risk assessments, and related
support materials simultaneously for public comment. The comment period
is intended to provide an opportunity for public input and a mechanism
for initiating any necessary amendments to the RED. All comments should
be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES, and must be received by
EPA on or before the closing date. These comments will become part of
the Agency Docket for aliphatic solvents. Comments received after the
close of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not
required to consider these late comments.
EPA will carefully consider all comments received by the closing
date and will provide a response to Comments Memorandum in the Docket
and regulations.gov. If any comment significantly affects the document,
EPA also will publish an amendment to the RED in the Federal Register.
In the absence of substantive comments requiring changes, the aliphatic
solvents RED will be implemented as it is now presented.
B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended directs that, after submission
of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, ``the
Administrator shall determine whether pesticides containing such active
ingredient are eligible for reregistration,'' before calling in product
specific data on individual end-use products and either reregistering
products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''
Section 408(q) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a(q), requires EPA to review tolerances and
exemptions for pesticide residues in effect as of August 2, 1996, to
determine whether the tolerance or exemption meets the requirements of
section 408(b)(2) or (c)(2) of FFDC.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: August 15, 2006.
Peter Caulkins,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-13856 Filed 8-22-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S