[Federal Register: February 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 34)]
[Notices]
[Page 9320-9322]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20fe08-63]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1160; FRL-8348-7]
Ammonium Thiosulfate; Reregistration Eligibility Decision; Notice
of Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's Reregistration
Eligibility Decision (RED) for the pesticide ammonium thiosulfate, and
opens a public comment period on this document, related risk
assessments, and other support documents. EPA has reviewed the
pesticide ammonium thiosulfate 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 April 21, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1160, 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 Dr., 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 Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2007-1160. 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.
[[Page 9321]]
Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through regulations.gov or e-mail. The 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
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov
website to view the docket index or access available documents.
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 Dr., 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: Tom Myers, Special Review and
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8589; fax
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: myers.tom@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 pesticide, ammonium
thiosulfate under section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. Ammonium thiosulfate is
an inorganic thiosulfate herbicide used to kill oxalis and spurge weeds
on lawns in the western United States. There is one registered ammonium
thiosulfate product registered in the U.S. Two other pesticides are
included in the inorganic thiosulfate case: Potassium thiosulfate and
calcium thiosulfate. There are currently no active potassium
thiosulfate or calcium thiosulfate products registered in the US. EPA
has determined that the database to support reregistration is
substantially complete and the products containing ammonium thiosulfate
will be eligible for reregistration, provided label language outlined
in the RED is incorporated onto ammonium thiosulfate labels. Upon
submission of any required product specific data under section
4(g)(2)(B) of FIFRA 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) of FIFRA for products containing
ammonium thiosulfate.
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 ammonium
thiosulfate, which pose few risk concerns, have low use, affect few
stakeholders, and require
[[Page 9322]]
little risk mitigation. Once EPA assesses uses and risks for such
pesticides, the Agency may go directly to a decision and prepare a
document summarizing its findings, such as the ammonium thiosulfate
RED.
The reregistration program is being conducted under congressionally
mandated timeframes, and EPA recognizes the need both to make timely
decisions and to involve the public in finding ways to effectively
mitigate pesticide risks. Ammonium thiosulfate, however, poses no risks
that require mitigation. The Agency therefore is issuing the ammonium
thiosulfate 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 ammonium thiosulfate. 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 ammonium
thiosulfate 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: January 30, 2008.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-2785 Filed 2-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S