Quinoclamine; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, Solicitation of Public Comment, 5709-5710 [E7-1733]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5709-5710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1733]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0028; FRL-8112-4]


Quinoclamine; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:  Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific exemption request from the Oregon 
Department of Agriculture to use the pesticide quinoclamine (CAS No. 
2797-51-5) to treat up to 600 acres of ornamental plants grown in 
containers in commercial greenhouses to control liverwort. The 
Applicant proposes the use of a new chemical which has not been 
registered by the EPA. EPA is soliciting public comment before making 
the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

DATES:  Comments must be received on or before February 22, 2007.

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0028, 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-
2007-0028. 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:  Andrea Conrath, Registration Division 
7505P, Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: 703-308-9356; fax number: 703-305-0599; e-mail address: 
conrath.andrea@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited to:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111).
     Animal production (NAICS code 112).
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).
    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this 
action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could also be 
affected. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 
codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining 
whether this action might apply to certain entities. To determine 
whether

[[Page 5710]]

you or your business may be affected by this action, you should 
carefully examine the applicability provisions in Unit II. 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 
www.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

What Action is the Agency Taking?

    Under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of the 
Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from any 
provision of FIFRA if the Administrator determines that emergency 
conditions exist which require the exemption. The Oregon Department of 
Agriculture has requested the Administrator to issue a specific 
exemption for the use of quinoclamine on greenhouse ornamentals to 
control liverwort. Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was 
submitted as part of this request.
    As part of this request, the Applicant asserts that liverwort 
infestations are becoming more severe in Oregon, resulting in crop 
losses and difficulty for many operations to grow their crop 
successfully. Entire crops can be rejected due to suspicion that 
liverwort spores are infesting the crop. There are currently no 
chemical controls registered for this use, and the Applicant asserts 
that quinoclamine can reliably remove liverwort and its propagules from 
a containerized plant. Economic losses can occur due to the following:
    1. The excessive costs for hand weeding,
    2. Failure of plants to grow or thrive, and
    3. Losses from reduced quality or outright rejection of crops sold 
from one nursery to another. The Applicant states that significant 
economic losses will be suffered without the requested use.
    The Applicant proposes to make no more than 4 applications of 
quinoclamine, on up to 600 acres of greenhouse area in the state of 
Oregon. The use would potentially occur year-round, and a total of up 
to 65,400 lbs. of formulated product (16,350 lb. active ingredient) 
could be used under this exemption, if authorized.
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
application itself. The regulations governing section 18 of FIFRA 
require publication of a notice of receipt of an application for a 
specific exemption proposing use of a new chemical (i.e., an active 
ingredient) which has not been registered by the EPA. The notice 
provides an opportunity for public comment on the application.
    The Agency, will review and consider all comments received during 
the comment period in determining whether to issue the specific 
exemption requested by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: January 24, 2007.
Lois Rossi,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-1733 Filed 2-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S