Pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) Reregistration Eligibility Decision; Notice of Availability, 43746-43748 [E6-12485]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43746-43748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12485]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0202; FRL-8066-6]


Pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) Reregistration Eligibility 
Decision; 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 PCNB, and opens a public 
comment period on this document. The Agency's risk assessments and 
other related documents also are available in the PCNB Docket. PCNB is 
an organochlorine fungicide used to control plant diseases on 
vegetables (predominantly green beans and cole crops), field crops 
(cotton, potatoes, and peanuts), and seeds (seed treatments of barley, 
beans, corn, cotton, oats, peas, peanut, rice, safflower, sorghum, 
soybean, sugar beet, and wheat). EPA has reviewed PCNB 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 October 2, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0202, 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-
2004-0202. 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

[[Page 43747]]

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: Jill Bloom, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8019; fax 
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: bloom.jill@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 a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the 
pesticide, PCNB under section 4(g)(2)(A) of FIFRA. PCNB is an 
organochlorine fungicide used to control plant diseases on vegetables 
(predominantly green beans and cole crops), field crops (cotton, 
potatoes, and peanuts), and seeds (seed treatments of barley, beans, 
corn, cotton, oats, peas, peanut, rice, safflower, sorghum, soybean, 
sugar beet, and wheat). EPA has determined that the data base to 
support reregistration is substantially complete and that products 
containing PCNB are eligible or not eligible for reregistration 
depending on their specific uses. Most uses of PCNB have been found to 
be ineligible for reregistration. These uses are: turf, residential 
ornamentals, cole crops (unless registered for control of clubroot 
only), green beans, cotton, potatoes, dry beans and peas, garlic, 
peanuts, tomatoes, peppers, and ornamentals in commercial production 
(except for flowering bulbs). The following uses of PCNB are eligible 
for reregistration provided the risk mitigation measures noted in the 
RED are implemented and product labels are amended accordingly: cole 
crops (registered for control of clubroot only), ornamental bulbs for 
commercial production, and seed treatments of PCNB. 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 
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 PCNB.
    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 PCNB 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 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 its uses, risks, and other factors, PCNB was reviewed through 
the full 6-Phase process. Through this process, EPA worked extensively 
with stakeholders and the public to reach the regulatory decisions for 
PCNB.
    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 PCNB RED 
for public comment. This comment period is intended to provide an 
additional opportunity for public input and a mechanism for initiating 
any necessary amendments to the RED. All comments

[[Page 43748]]

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 PCNB. Comments received after the 
close of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not 
required to consider these late comments.In particular, during the 60-
day comment period following the publication of this Notice, the Agency 
is soliciting comments on the benefits associated with several minor 
uses of PCNB. The Agency has based its reregistration eligibility 
decision for most uses of PCNB on an evaluation of the risk-benefit 
relationships for those uses. The Agency is soliciting information on 
benefits for specific minor uses of PCNB in order to confirm that the 
Agency's reregistration decisions for these uses are supported by an 
accurate understanding of their risk-benefit relationships, and to 
determine if amendments should be made to this eligibility decision 
based on comments which inform these risk-benefit evaluations. The 
specific kinds of benefits information that the Agency believes will be 
helpful in this regard and the specific uses for which the Agency is 
soliciting such information are discussed below.The use sites of PCNB 
for which the Agency is soliciting information on benefits at this time 
are: dry beans and peas, peanuts, tomatoes, peppers (all types), and 
ornamentals in commercial production (all types except for flowering 
bulbs). The types of information that the Agency believes could be 
useful in informing the risk-benefit evaluations for these uses include 
data from comparative efficacy trials for different pesticides used to 
control diseases on these sites, information about the relative costs 
of using PCNB and potential alternatives, production cost data, 
information on why registered alternatives are not appropriate for 
specific diseases in a particular State or under particular climatic 
conditions, and documentation of the lack of alternatives for 
controlling a particular disease.
    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 
PCNB 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: July 26, 2006.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-12485 Filed 8-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 656050-S