Naptalam Sodium; Reregistration Eligibility Decision for Low Risk
Pesticide; Notice of Availability
[Federal Register: June 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 124)]
[Notices]
[Page 36786-36787]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28jn06-77]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0294; FRL-8059-3]
Naptalam Sodium; 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 naptalam sodium, and opens
a public comment period on this document, related risk assessments, and
other support documents. EPA has reviewed the low risk pesticide
naptalam sodium 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 August 28, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0294, 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-
2006-0294. 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: Mark Perry, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW.,Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8024; fax
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: perry.mark@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.
[[Page 36787]]
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, naptalam
sodium under section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. Naptalam sodium is registered
for use as liquid as a pre-emergent herbicide for control of broadleaf
weeds in cucurbits and woody nursery stock. Naptalam sodium may be
applied as a broadcast application at planting and/or over the top of
the cucurbits in the early season before they begin to vine. For weed
control in woody nursery stock, the product label indicates that it may
be applied as a broadcast spray prior to transplanting or as a soil-
directed spray around established stock. For both cucurbits and woody
nursery stock application, the product label recommends watering-in
following application. EPA has determined that the data base to support
reregistration is substantially complete and that products containing
naptalam sodium will be eligible for reregistration, provided the risks
are mitigated either in the manner described in the RED or by another
means that achieves equivalent risk reduction. 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 naptalam sodium.
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 naptalam sodium tolerances included in
this notice.
Although the naptalam sodium RED was signed on September 30, 2004,
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 naptalam sodium RED document. In
addition, subsequent to signature, EPA identified several minor errors
and ambiguities in the document. Therefore, 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 September 30, 2004, naptalam
sodium RED. All of these changes are described in detail in an errata
memorandum which is included in the public docket for naptalam sodium.
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 naptalam
sodium, which pose few risk concerns, have low use, affect few if any
stakeholders, 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 naptalam sodium 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. Naptalam sodium, however, poses few or no
risks that require mitigation. The Agency therefore is issuing the
naptalam sodium 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 naptalam sodium. 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 naptalam
sodium 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 FFDCA. This review is to be completed by August 3, 2006.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: June 19, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 06-5862 Filed 6-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
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