Ethephon; Tolerance Reassessment Decision for Low Risk Pesticide; Notice of Availability, 36771-36773 [06-5854]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 28, 2006 / Notices
link. Enter the docket number,
excluding the last three digits, in the
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2145–060.
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Stan Wilmoth.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8189–8]
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Notice of Charter Renewal
Agency: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
Notice is hereby given that the Charter
for the Environmental Protection
Agency’s National Advisory Council for
Environmental Policy and Technology
(NACEPT) will be renewed for an
additional two-year period. This
committee has been determined to be in
the public interest, in accordance with
the provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2
§ 9(c). The purpose of NACEPT is to
provide advice and recommendations to
the Administrator of EPA on a broad
range of environmental policy,
technology and management issues.
Inquiries may be directed to Sonia
Altieri, U.S. EPA, (Mail Code 1601-E),
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460, telephone (202)
233–0061, or altieri.sonia@epa.gov.
1 One of two e-mails from Laura Dean, Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation.
Jkt 208001
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2004–0371; FRL–8073–1]
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
16:52 Jun 27, 2006
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
Ethephon; Tolerance Reassessment
Decision for Low Risk Pesticide;
Notice of Availability
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–10120 Filed 6–27–06; 8:45 am]
VerDate Aug<31>2005
Dated: June 20, 2006.
Rafael DeLeon,
Director, Office of Cooperative Environmental
Management.
[FR Doc. 06–5852 Filed 6–27–06; 8:45 am]
SUMMARY: This notice announces the
availability of EPA’s Tolerance
Reassessment Decision (TRED) for the
pesticide ethephon, and opens a public
comment period on this document,
related risk assessments, and other
support documents. EPA has reviewed
this pesticide ethephon through a
modified, streamlined version of the
public participation process that the
Agency uses to involve the public in
developing pesticide tolerance
reassessment and reregistration
decisions. Through the tolerance
reassessment program, EPA is ensuring
that all pesticides meet current health
and food 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–2004–0371, by
one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
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) 3055805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2004–
0371. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the docket
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36771
without change and may be made
available on-line at https://
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 email. 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 email 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 https://
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:
Wilhelmena Livingston, Special Review
and Reregistration Division (7508P),
Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460-0001; telephone number:
(703) 308-8025 fax number: (703) 3088005; e-mail address:
livingston.wilhelmena@epa.gov.
E:\FR\FM\28JNN1.SGM
28JNN1
36772
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 28, 2006 / Notices
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.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
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.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:52 Jun 27, 2006
Jkt 208001
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?
EPA has reassessed the uses of
ethephon, reassessed 45 existing
tolerances or legal residue limits, and on
June 15, 2006, reached a tolerance
reassessment decision for this pesticide.
Ethephon (an organophosphonate) is a
plant growth regulator. It regulates
phases of plant growth and
development by application at various
growth stages and sites. Ethephon is
used to promote fruit ripening,
abscission, flower induction, breaking of
apical dominance (inhibition of the
growth of lateral buds by the terminal
bud of a shoot), and other plant
responses. Ethephon is registered on a
number of terrestrial food, feed, and
nonfood crops, greenhouse nonfood
crops, and outdoor plants.
The Agency is now issuing for
comment the resulting Report on Food
Quality Protection Act (FQPA)
Tolerance Reassessment and Risk
Management Decision for ethephon,
known as a TRED, as well as related risk
assessments and technical support
documents.
EPA developed the ethephon TRED
through a modified, streamlined version
of its public process for making
tolerance reassessment and
reregistration eligibility decisions.
Through these programs, the Agency is
ensuring that pesticides meet current
standards under the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended
by FQPA. EPA must review tolerances
and tolerance exemptions that were in
effect when the FQPA was enacted, 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 ethephon tolerances included in this
notice.
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 of May 14, 2004 (69 FR 26819)
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(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 ethephon, which pose no
risk concerns and require no 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 ethephon TRED.
The tolerance reassessment 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. Ethephon,
however, poses no risks that require
mitigation. The Agency therefore is
issuing the ethephon TRED, its risk
assessments, and related support
documents 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 TRED. 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 ethephon. 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.
If any comment significantly affects the
document, EPA also will publish an
amendment to the TRED in the Federal
Register. In the absence of substantive
comments requiring changes, the
decisions reflected in the TRED will be
implemented as presented.
B. What is the Agency’s Authority for
Taking this Action?
Section 408(q) of the 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.
E:\FR\FM\28JNN1.SGM
28JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 28, 2006 / Notices
Dated: June 20, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration
Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 06–5854 Filed 6–27–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–S
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2006–0084; FRL–8073–6]
Notice of Receipt of Requests to
Voluntarily Cancel Certain Pesticide
Registrations
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: 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 by registrants
to voluntarily cancel certain pesticide
registrations and providing a public
comment period.
DATES: Unless a request is withdrawn by
December 26, 2006 or July 28, 2006 for
registrations for which the registrant
requested a waiver of the 180-day
comment period, orders will be issued
canceling these registrations. The
Agency will consider withdrawal
requests postmarked no later than
December 26, 2006 or July 28, 2006,
whichever is applicable. Comments
must be received on or before December
26, 2006 or July 28, 2006, for those
registrations where the 180–day
comment period has been waived.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments and
your withdrawal request, identified by
docket identification (ID) number EPA–
HQ–OPP–2006–0084, by one of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
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. Written withdrawal
requests should be to the Attention of:
John Jamula, Information Technology
and Resources Management Division
(7502P), at the address under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
• 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,
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:52 Jun 27, 2006
Jkt 208001
excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket telephone number is (703) 3055805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2006–
0084. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the docket
without change and may be made
available on-line at https://
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 email. 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 email 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 https://
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.
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36773
John
Jamula, Information Technology and
Resources Management Division
(7502P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460-0001; telephone number:
(703) 305-6426; e-mail address:
jamula.john@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public
in general. Although this action may be
of particular interest to persons who
produce or use pesticides, 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 information in this notice,
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.
E:\FR\FM\28JNN1.SGM
28JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36771-36773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5854]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0371; FRL-8073-1]
Ethephon; Tolerance Reassessment Decision for Low Risk Pesticide;
Notice of Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's Tolerance
Reassessment Decision (TRED) for the pesticide ethephon, and opens a
public comment period on this document, related risk assessments, and
other support documents. EPA has reviewed this pesticide ethephon
through a modified, streamlined version of the public participation
process that the Agency uses to involve the public in developing
pesticide tolerance reassessment and reregistration decisions. Through
the tolerance reassessment program, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides
meet current health and food 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-2004-0371, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://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-
2004-0371. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at
https://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 https://
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: Wilhelmena Livingston, Special Review
and Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8025 fax number:
(703) 308-8005; e-mail address: livingston.wilhelmena@epa.gov.
[[Page 36772]]
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?
EPA has reassessed the uses of ethephon, reassessed 45 existing
tolerances or legal residue limits, and on June 15, 2006, reached a
tolerance reassessment decision for this pesticide. Ethephon (an
organophosphonate) is a plant growth regulator. It regulates phases of
plant growth and development by application at various growth stages
and sites. Ethephon is used to promote fruit ripening, abscission,
flower induction, breaking of apical dominance (inhibition of the
growth of lateral buds by the terminal bud of a shoot), and other plant
responses. Ethephon is registered on a number of terrestrial food,
feed, and nonfood crops, greenhouse nonfood crops, and outdoor plants.
The Agency is now issuing for comment the resulting Report on Food
Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Tolerance Reassessment and Risk
Management Decision for ethephon, known as a TRED, as well as related
risk assessments and technical support documents.
EPA developed the ethephon TRED through a modified, streamlined
version of its public process for making tolerance reassessment and
reregistration eligibility decisions. Through these programs, the
Agency is ensuring that pesticides meet current standards under the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended by
FQPA. EPA must review tolerances and tolerance exemptions that were in
effect when the FQPA was enacted, 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
ethephon tolerances included in this notice.
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 of 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 ethephon,
which pose no risk concerns and require no 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 ethephon TRED.
The tolerance reassessment 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. Ethephon, however, poses no risks
that require mitigation. The Agency therefore is issuing the ethephon
TRED, its risk assessments, and related support documents
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 TRED. 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 ethephon. 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. If any comment significantly affects the document, EPA also will
publish an amendment to the TRED in the Federal Register. In the
absence of substantive comments requiring changes, the decisions
reflected in the TRED will be implemented as presented.
B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
Section 408(q) of the 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.
[[Page 36773]]
Dated: June 20, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 06-5854 Filed 6-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
