Environmental Protection Agency September 29, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA has established registration review dockets for the pesticides listed in the table in Unit III.A. With this document, EPA is opening the public comment period for these registration reviews. Registration review is EPA's periodic review of pesticide registrations to ensure that each pesticide continues to satisfy the statutory standard for registration, that is, the pesticide can perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment. Registration review dockets contain information that will assist the public in understanding the types of information and issues that the Agency may consider during the course of registration reviews. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that each pesticide's registration is based on current scientific and other knowledge, including its effects on human health and the environment.

There will be a 1-day consultation meeting of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to consider and review scientific issues associated with pesticide exposure models and climate change. The purpose of the meeting is for the Agency to seek advice on models for predicting human and ecological exposures to pesticides that might be appropriate to account for the effects of climate change.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this action announces that EPA is planning to submit a new Information Collection Request to the Office of Management and Budget. Before submitting the Information Collection Request to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). This SIP revision consists of an addition to Maryland's Volatile Organic Compounds from Specific Processes Regulation. MDE has adopted standards for industrial solvent cleaning operations that satisfy the reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements for sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) covered by control techniques guidelines (CTG). This amendment reduces VOC emissions from industrial solvent cleaning operations which will help Maryland attain and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of request for amendments by registrants to delete uses in certain pesticide registrations. Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that a registrant of a pesticide product may at any time request that any of its pesticide registrations be amended to delete one or more uses. FIFRA further provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a notice of receipt of any request in the Federal Register.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List (``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the Agency'') in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further investigations will allow EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be appropriate. This rule adds six sites to the NPL, all to the General Superfund Section.

EPA is revoking certain tolerances for the fungicides dicloran and thiophanate-methyl; the herbicides EPTC, hexazinone, picloram, and propazine; the defoliant and herbicide cacodylic acid; the plant growth regulator and herbicide diquat, the insecticides disulfoton, methamidophos, methomyl, phosmet, piperonyl butoxide, pyrethrins, and thiodicarb; the fumigant antimicrobial and insecticide methyl bromide, and the nematicides/insecticides ethoprop and fenamiphos, and the tolerance exemptions for the insecticide/miticide pyrethrum and insecticide synergist N-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide. However, EPA will not revoke specific malathion tolerances at this time. In addition, EPA is removing certain expired tolerances for disulfoton, fenamiphos, and thiophanate-methyl. Also, EPA is modifying certain tolerances for the fungicide thiophanate-methyl, herbicides dicamba, EPTC, hexazinone and picloram, and insecticide synergist N-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide. In addition, EPA is establishing new tolerances for the fungicide thiophanate-methyl and the herbicides EPTC, hexazinone, and picloram. Also, EPA is reinstating specific tolerances for methamidophos residues as a result of the application of the insecticide acephate. The regulatory actions finalized in this document are in follow-up to the Agency's reregistration program under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and tolerance reassessment program under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), section 408(q).