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Dicamba Reregistration Eligibility Decision; Notice of Availability
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: July 14, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 135)]
[Notices]
[Page 40097-40099]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14jy06-70]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0479; FRL-8078-6]
Dicamba Reregistration Eligibility Decision; 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 dicamba acid and its
associated salts and opens a public comment period on this document.
The Agency's risk assessments and other related documents also are
available in the dicamba Docket. Dicamba (2-methoxy-3,6-dichlorobenzoic
acid) is a selective benzoic acid herbicide registered for pre-emergent
control of broadleaf weeds and woody plants. EPA has reviewed dicamba
through 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 September 12, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0479, 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-
2005-0479. 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
[[Page 40098]]
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 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 Facility telephone number is (703)
305-5805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kendra Tyler, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0125; fax
number: (703) 308-8041; e-mail address: tyler.kendra@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. EPA
has completed a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the
pesticide dicamba under section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA.
Dicamba is an acid which forms salts in aqueous solutions. Various
dicamba salts are formulated for herbicidal use and the following
compounds are considered in the RED document: Dimethylamine (DMA) salt,
sodium (NA) salt, isopropylamine (IPA) salt, diglycolamine (DGA) salt,
and potassium (K) salt. Dicamba is widely used in agricultural,
industrial, and residential settings. Different forms of dicamba (acid
and salts) have registered uses on rights-of-way areas, asparagus,
barley, corn (field and pop), grasses grown in pasture and rangeland,
oats, proso millet, rye, sorghum, soybeans, sugarcane, and wheat.
Residential uses include broadcast and spot treatment on golf courses
and lawns. The completion of the Dicamba RED does not result in any
additional tolerances being reassessed; tolerances were reassessed in
2000 when a new use was granted.
EPA has determined that the data base to support reregistration is
substantially complete and that products containing dicamba are
eligible for reregistration provided the risks are mitigated in the
manner described in the RED. 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 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 dicamba.
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, EPA 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.
Due to its uses, risks, and other factors, dicamba was reviewed through
the modified 4-Phase process. Through this process, EPA worked
extensively with stakeholders and the public to reach the regulatory
decisions for dicamba.
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. The Agency is issuing the dicamba
RED for public comment. This comment period is intended to provide an
additional opportunity for public input and a mechanism for initiating
any necessary
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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
dicamba. Comments received after the close of the comment period will
be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
The Agency 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
dicamba 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.''
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: July 6, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-11117 Filed 7-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S