Chloropicrin, Dazomet, Metam Sodium/Potassium, and Methyl Bromide Reregistration Eligibility Decisions; Notice of Availability

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the availability of EPA's Reregistration Eligibility Decisions (REDs) for the soil fumigant pesticides chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide, and opens a public comment period on these documents. The Agency's risk assessments and other related documents also are available in the Dockets for these pesticides, listed in the Table in Unit II. Soil fumigants are used to kill soil-borne pests in producing many crops, including primarily potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries carrots, and peppers. EPA has reviewed chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide 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 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by the docket identification (ID) number(s) for the specific pesticide(s) of interest provided in the Table in Unit II., 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 the Docket ID number(s) listed in the Table in Unit II. for the pesticide(s) you are commenting on. 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 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:

For pesticide-specific information contact the Chemical Review Manger identified in the Table in Unit II. for the pesticide of interest.

For general information contact: John Leahy, Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-6703; fax number: (703) 308-8090; e-mail address: leahy.john @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 REDs for the soil fumigant pesticides, chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide under section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. Soil fumigants are used to kill soil-borne pests in producing many crops, including primarily potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, and peppers. EPA has determined that the data base to support reregistration is substantially complete and that products containing these pesticides are 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) of FIFRA 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) of FIFRA for products containing chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide.

EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all pesticides undergoing reregistration . 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 their uses, risks, and other factors, chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide were reviewed through the full 6-Phase process. Through this process, EPA worked extensively with stakeholders and the public to reach the regulatory decisions for these pesticides.

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 chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/potassium, and methyl bromide REDs for public comment. This comment period is intended to provide an additional opportunity for public input in particular with regard to implementation of risk mitigation measures, and a mechanism for initiating any necessary amendments to the REDs. To assist readers in providing information that would be most useful to the Agency, EPA is providing a Commenter's Guide to the Soil Fumigant REDs. This document is available in the individual dockets listed in the Table in this Unit, and on EPA's soil fumigants Web page, http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/soil_fumigants/ . All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES and the Docket ID numbers in the Table in this Unit, and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. These comments will become part of the Agency Dockets for these pesticides. Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked “late.” EPA is not required to consider these late comments.

For each pesticide, 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 chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium/metam potassium, and methyl bromide REDs will be implemented as 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