FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting, 65336-65339 [E7-22612]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
65336
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices
of Scientific and Technical
Information—OAQPS Staff Paper (Final
Lead Staff Paper, November 2007), in
accordance with a court-ordered
schedule; and the related technical
support document, Lead: Human
Exposure and Health Risk Assessments
for Selected Case Studies (Final Lead
Risk Assessment Report, November
2007).
The Agency is implementing its new
and improved process for conducting
NAAQS reviews (https://www.epa.gov/
ttn/naaqs/) during the course of the
Lead NAAQS review. As part of this
revised NAAQS review process, the
Agency intends to issue an ANPR on the
NAAQS for Lead around the end of
November 2007 for publication in the
Federal Register. The ANPR, which
draws heavily from EPA’s Final Lead
Staff Paper and the Final Lead Risk
Assessment Report, presents the range
of policy options that the Agency is
considering with respect to the NAAQS
for Lead. The purpose of this public
advisory meeting is for the CASAC to
provide independent advice and
recommendations on these policy
options under consideration by EPA.
Technical Contacts: Any questions
concerning the ANPR or the Agency’s
Final Lead Staff Paper or Final Lead
Risk Assessment Report can be directed
to Dr. Deirdre Murphy, OAQPS, at
telephone: 919–541–0729, or e-mail:
murphy.deirdre@epa.gov.
Availability of Meeting Materials: The
Final Lead Staff Paper and the Final
Lead Risk Assessment Report are posted
on the Agency’s Technology Transfer
Network (TTN) Web site at URL:
https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/
standards/pb/s_pb_index.html, in the
‘‘Documents from Current Review’’
section under ‘‘Staff Papers’’ and
‘‘Technical Documents,’’ respectively.
Around the end of November 2007, the
Agency will sign the ANPR for
publication in the Federal Register, and
will also post this on the same Web site
at the URL above, in the ‘‘Documents
from Current Review’’ section under
‘‘Federal Register Notices.’’ A copy of
the draft agenda and other materials for
this CASAC meeting will be posted on
the SAB Web site prior to the meeting.
Procedures for Providing Public Input:
Interested members of the public may
submit relevant written or oral
information for the CASAC Lead Review
Panel to consider during the advisory
process. Oral Statements: In general,
individuals or groups requesting an oral
presentation at a public meeting will be
limited to five minutes per speaker,
with no more than a total of one hour
for all speakers. Interested parties
should contact Mr. Butterfield, DFO, in
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:01 Nov 19, 2007
Jkt 214001
writing (preferably via e-mail), by
Wednesday, December 5, 2007, at the
contact information noted above, to be
placed on the list of public speakers for
these meetings. Written Statements:
Written statements should be received
in the SAB Staff Office by Friday,
December 7, 2007, so that the
information may be made available to
the CASAC Panel for their consideration
prior to these meetings. Written
statements should be supplied to the
DFO in the following formats: one hard
copy with original signature (optional),
and one electronic copy via e-mail
(acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat
PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS
PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM–
PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format).
Accessibility: For information on
access or services for individuals with
disabilities, please contact Mr.
Butterfield at the phone number or email address noted above, preferably at
least ten days prior to the first meeting,
to give EPA as much time as possible to
process your request.
Dated: November 14, 2007.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff
Office.
[FR Doc. E7–22665 Filed 11–19–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2007–1088; FRL–8339–7]
FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel;
Notice of Public Meeting
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: There will be a 4–day meeting
of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory
Panel (FIFRA SAP) to consider and
review the Scientific Issues Associated
with the Agency’s Proposed Action
under FIFRA 6(b) Notice of Intent to
Cancel Carbofuran.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
February 5-8, 2008, from approximately
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Standard
Time.
Comments. The Agency encourages
that written comments be submitted by
January 22, 2008 and requests for oral
comments be submitted by January 29,
2008. Written comments and requests to
make oral comments are accepted until
the date of the meeting, but anyone
submitting written comments after
January 22, 2008 should contact the
Designated Federal Official (DFO) listed
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. For additional instructions,
see Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
Nominations. Nominations of
candidates to serve as ad hoc members
of the FIFRA SAP for this meeting
should be provided on or before
December 3, 2007.
Special accommodations. For
information on access or services for
individuals with disabilities, and to
request accommodation of a disability,
please contact the DFO listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least
10 days prior to the meeting to give EPA
as much time as possible to process
your request.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
Environmental Protection Agency
Conference Center, Lobby Level, One
Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777
Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
Comments. Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2007–1088, 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 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
docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2007–
1088. If your comments contain any
information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected, please contact
the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special
instructions before submitting your
comments. 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
E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
20NON1
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices
protected through regulations.gov or email. 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 a docket index available in
regulations.gov. To access the electronic
docket, go to https://
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 a docket 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 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 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.
Nominations, requests to present oral
comments, and requests for special
accommodations. Submit nominations
to serve as an ad hoc member of the
FIFRA SAP, requests for special seating
accommodations, or requests to present
oral comments to the DFO listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sharlene R. Matten, DFO, Office of
Science Coordination and Policy
(7201M), Environmental Protection
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:01 Nov 19, 2007
Jkt 214001
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone
number: (202) 564–0130; fax number:
(202) 564–8382; e-mail addresses:
matten.sharlene@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public
in general. This action may, however, be
of interest to persons who are or may be
required to conduct testing of chemical
substances under the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA),
FIFRA, and the Food Quality Protection
Act of 1996 (FQPA). Since other entities
may also 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 DFO
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare
My Comments for EPA?
When submitting comments,
remember to:
1. Identify the document by docket ID
number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal
Register date and page number).
2. 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.
3. Explain why you agree or disagree;
suggest alternatives and substitute
language for your requested changes.
4. Describe any assumptions and
provide any technical information and/
or data that you used.
5. If you estimate potential costs or
burdens, explain how you arrived at
your estimate in sufficient detail to
allow for it to be reproduced.
6. Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns and suggest
alternatives.
7. Explain your views as clearly as
possible, avoiding the use of profanity
or personal threats.
8. Make sure to submit your
comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
C. How May I Participate in this
Meeting?
You may participate in this meeting
by following the instructions in this
unit. To ensure proper receipt by EPA,
it is imperative that you identify docket
ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2007–1088 in
the subject line on the first page of your
request.
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
65337
1. Written comments. The Agency
encourages that written comments be
submitted, using the instructions in
ADDRESSES, no later than January 22,
2008, to provide FIFRA SAP the time
necessary to consider and review the
written comments. Written comments
are accepted until the date of the
meeting, anyone submitting written
comments after January 22, 2008 should
contact the DFO listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Anyone
submitting written comments of the
meeting should bring 30 copies for
distribution to the FIFRA SAP.
2. Oral comments. The Agency
encourages that each individual or
group wishing to make brief oral
comments to FIFRA SAP submit their
request to the DFO listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no later
than January 29, 2008, in order to be
included on the meeting agenda.
Requests to present oral comments will
be accepted until the date of the meeting
and, to the extent that time permits, the
Chair of the FIFRA SAP may permit the
presentation of oral comments at the
meeting by interested persons who have
not previously requested time. The
request should identify the name of the
individual making the presentation, the
organization (if any) the individual will
represent, and any requirements for
audiovisual equipment (e.g., overhead
projector, 35 mm projector, chalkboard).
Oral comments before FIFRA SAP are
limited to approximately 5 minutes
unless prior arrangements have been
made. In addition, each speaker should
bring 30 copies of his or her comments
and presentation slides for distribution
to the FIFRA SAP at the meeting.
3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at
the meeting will be on a first-come
basis.
4. Request for nominations to serve as
ad hoc members of the FIFRA SAP for
this meeting. As part of a broader
process for developing a pool of
candidates for each meeting, the FIFRA
SAP staff routinely solicits the
stakeholder community for nominations
of prospective candidates for service as
ad hoc members of the FIFRA SAP. Any
interested person or organization may
nominate qualified individuals to be
considered as prospective candidates for
a specific meeting. Individuals
nominated for this meeting should have
expertise in one or more of the
following areas: Wildlife epidemiology
with avian incident familiarity, avian
agro-ecology, wildlife toxicology,
environmental chemistry and drinking
water exposure to chemicals,
deterministic and probabilistic
ecological risk assessment of chemicals
(including terrestrial risk assessment),
E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
20NON1
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
65338
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices
human toxicology with experience in
pesticides causing acetylcholinesterase
inhibition, human toxicology with
experience with N-methyl carbamates
(these pesticides pose specific
challenges in the laboratory), dermal
toxicology with particular experience
with using animal toxicology data to
extrapolate human risk, statistics and/or
BMD modeling, and human health risk
assessment and approaches to hazard
assessment of chemicals. Nominees
should be scientists who have sufficient
professional qualifications, including
training and experience, to be capable of
providing expert comments on the
scientific issues for this meeting.
Nominees should be identified by name,
occupation, position, address, and
telephone number. Nominations should
be provided to the DFO listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or
before December 3, 2007. The Agency
will consider all nominations of
prospective candidates for this meeting
that are received on or before this date.
However, final selection of ad hoc
members for this meeting is a
discretionary function of the Agency.
The selection of scientists to serve on
the FIFRA SAP is based on the function
of the panel and the expertise needed to
address the Agency’s charge to the
panel. No interested scientists shall be
ineligible to serve by reason of their
membership on any other advisory
committee to a Federal department or
agency or their employment by a
Federal department or agency except the
EPA. Other factors considered during
the selection process include
availability of the potential panel
member to fully participate in the
panel’s reviews, absence of any conflicts
of interest or appearance of lack of
impartiality, independence with respect
to the matters under review, and lack of
bias. Although financial conflicts of
interest, the appearance of lack of
impartiality, lack of independence, and
bias may result in disqualification, the
absence of such concerns does not
assure that a candidate will be selected
to serve on the FIFRA SAP. Numerous
qualified candidates are identified for
each panel. Therefore, selection
decisions involve carefully weighing a
number of factors including the
candidates’ areas of expertise and
professional qualifications and
achieving an overall balance of different
scientific perspectives on the panel.
In order to have the collective breadth
of experience needed to address the
Agency’s charge for this meeting, the
Agency anticipates selecting
approximately 12 to 15 ad hoc
scientists. FIFRA SAP members are
subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:01 Nov 19, 2007
Jkt 214001
2634, Executive Branch Financial
Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA
in 5 CFR part 6401. In anticipation of
this requirement, prospective
candidates for service on the FIFRA
SAP will be asked to submit
confidential financial information
which shall fully disclose, among other
financial interests, the candidate’s
employment, stocks and bonds, and
where applicable, sources of research
support. The EPA will evaluate the
candidates financial disclosure form to
assess whether there are financial
conflicts of interest, appearance of a
lack of impartiality or any prior
involvement with the development of
the documents under consideration
(including previous scientific peer
review) before the candidate is
considered further for service on the
FIFRA SAP. Those who are selected
from the pool of prospective candidates
will be asked to attend the public
meetings and to participate in the
discussion of key issues and
assumptions at these meetings. In
addition, they will be asked to review
and to help finalize the meeting
minutes. The list of FIFRA SAP
members participating at this meeting
will be posted on the FIFRA SAP
website at https://epa.gov/scipoly/sap or
may be obtained from the OPP
Regulatory Public Docket at https://
www.regulations.gov.
II. Background
A. Purpose of the FIFRA SAP
The FIFRA SAP serves as the primary
scientific peer review mechanism of
EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides
and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) and is
structured to provide scientific advice,
information and recommendations to
the EPA Administrator on pesticides
and pesticide-related issues as to the
impact of regulatory actions on health
and the environment. The FIFRA SAP is
a Federal advisory committee
established in 1975 under FIFRA that
operates in accordance with
requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act. The FIFRA SAP is
composed of a permanent panel
consisting of seven members who are
appointed by the EPA Administrator
from nominees provided by the National
Institutes of Health and the National
Science Foundation. FIFRA, as
amended by FQPA, established a
Science Review Board consisting of at
least 60 scientists who are available to
the Scientific Advisory Panel on an ad
hoc basis to assist in reviews conducted
by the Scientific Advisory Panel. As a
peer review mechanism, the FIFRA SAP
provides comments, evaluations and
PO 00000
Frm 00051
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
recommendations to improve the
effectiveness and quality of analyses
made by Agency scientists. Members of
the FIFRA SAP are scientists who have
sufficient professional qualifications,
including training and experience, to
provide expert advice and
recommendation to the Agency.
B. Public Meeting
In August, 2006, EPA published its
Interim Reregistration Eligibility
Decision (IRED) document announcing
EPA’s intention to cancel all uses of
carbofuran due to ecological and
occupational risks of concern, as well as
dietary risks from residues on food
crops and in contaminated drinking
water. The IRED summarized the
Agency’s revised human health and
ecological risk assessments of
carbofuran based on available data,
public comments, and other information
received in response to the preliminary
risk assessments. In developing its
decision, the Agency used risk
assessment methodologies that have
been previously vetted by the Scientific
Advisory Panel (SAP). Since the
issuance of the IRED, the registrant has
submitted for Agency review a number
of studies addressing ecological and
human dietary risk as well as other
informational documents. EPA has
reviewed all submitted data and
documents, as well as additional data
developed at the EPA Office of Research
and Development. New data include
comparative cholinesterase data in
juvenile and adult rats, dermal toxicity
in adult rats, brain acetylcholinesterase
inhibition and recovery in birds, the
effect of food-matrix on carbofuran
toxicity in birds, and the effects of
carbofuran on feeding behavior in birds.
While these submissions have resulted
in certain refinements to EPA’s
assessment, EPA continues to believe
that all uses of carbofuran should be
canceled for the reasons identified
above. Therefore, pursuant to section
25(d) of FIFRA, EPA will be submitting
for SAP review the action proposed in
a draft FIFRA 6(b) Notice of Intent to
Cancel carbofuran registrations.
Accordingly, EPA is requesting the SAP
panel members to review the underlying
scientific assessments, and to render an
opinion on the questions posed by the
Agency, relating to the impact on health
and the environment of the actions
proposed.
C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting
Minutes
EPA’s background paper, related
supporting materials, charge/questions
to the FIFRA SAP, FIFRA SAP
composition (i.e., members and ad hoc
E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
20NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices
members for this meeting), and the
meeting agenda will be available by
mid-January 2008. In addition, the
Agency may provide additional
background documents as the materials
become available. You may obtain
electronic copies of these documents,
and certain other related documents that
might be available electronically, at
https://www.regulations.gov and the
FIFRA SAP homepage at https://
www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap.
The FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting
minutes summarizing its
recommendations to the Agency
approximately 90 days after the
meeting. The meeting minutes will be
posted on the FIFRA SAP website or
may be obtained from the OPP
Regulatory Public Docket at https://
www.regulations.gov.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides
and pests.
Dated: November 13, 2007.
Elizabeth Resek,
Acting Director, Office of Science
Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. E7–22612 Filed 11–19–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–S
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8497–8]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office;
Notification of a Public Teleconference
of the Science Advisory Board
Ecological Processes and Effects
Committee
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA or Agency) Science
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office
announces a public teleconference of
the SAB Ecological Processes and
Effects Committee to discuss advisory
activities for the coming year.
DATES: The SAB will hold a public
teleconference on December 17, 2007.
The teleconference will begin at 11 a.m.
and end at 1 p.m. (Eastern Time).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any
member of the public wishing further
information regarding the public
teleconference may contact Dr. Thomas
Armitage, Designated Federal Officer
(DFO). Dr. Armitage may be contacted at
the EPA Science Advisory Board
(1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:01 Nov 19, 2007
Jkt 214001
NW., Washington, DC 20460; or via
telephone/voice mail: (202) 343–9995;
fax (202) 233–0643; or e-mail at:
armitage.thomas@epa.gov. General
information about the EPA SAB, as well
as any updates concerning the
teleconference announced in this notice,
may be found in the SAB Web Site at:
https://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to the Federal Advisory Committee Act,
Public Law 92–463, notice is hereby
given that the SAB Ecological Processes
and Effects Committee (EPEC) will hold
a public teleconference to discuss
advisory activities for the coming year.
The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C.
4365 to provide independent scientific
and technical advice to the
Administrator on the technical basis for
Agency positions and regulations. The
SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee
chartered under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5
U.S.C., App. The SAB will comply with
the provisions of FACA and all
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural
policies.
Background: The SAB EPEC has been
asked to provide advice on two EPA
activities in the coming year. To
acquaint the EPEC with these activities,
EPA will provide introductory briefings
on: (1) The EPA Office of Research and
Development Ecological Research
Strategy and Multiyear Plan; (2) A
methodology for deriving water quality
criteria for protection of aquatic life
based on mode of action. Preliminary
background information on these
activities follow. EPEC will also discuss
possible additional self-initiated work.
Ecological Research Strategy and
Multiyear Plan—EPA’s Office of
Research and Development (ORD) has
requested that the SAB review the
Agency’s proposed Ecological Research
Program Strategy and Multi-year Plan.
The proposed research strategy is
focused on developing an
understanding of the ways in which
management choices affect the type,
quality, and magnitude of the goods and
services received from ecosystems. ORD
has requested that the SAB review the
proposed approach and components of
the research strategy and multiyear
plan. ORD has also asked the SAB to
comment on emerging research issues
relative to ecosystem services.
Methodology for deriving water
quality criteria for protection of aquatic
life based on mode of action—EPA’s
Office of Water has developed a white
paper that provides a scientific
assessment of issues facing the Agency
in deriving water quality criteria for
chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and
PO 00000
Frm 00052
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
65339
personal care products, particularly
those exhibiting endocrine disrupting
activity. The Office of Water has
requested advice from the SAB on the
overall approach and proposed
scientific methodology for deriving
water quality criteria for these
compounds.
Availability of Meeting Materials: The
draft agenda and other materials will be
posted on the SAB Web Site at: https://
www.epa.gov/sab prior to the
teleconference.
Procedures for Providing Public Input:
Interested members of the public may
submit relevant written or oral
information for the SAB Panel to
consider during the public
teleconference. Oral Statements: In
general, individuals or groups
requesting an oral presentation at a
public teleconference will be limited to
three minutes per speaker, with no more
than a total of 30 minutes for all
speakers. Interested parties should
contact Dr. Armitage, DFO, in writing
(preferably via e-mail) at the contact
information noted above, no later than
December 10, 2007 to be placed on a list
of public speakers for the
teleconference. Written Statements:
Written statements should be received
in the SAB Staff Office by December 10,
2007 so that the information may be
made available to the SAB Panel
members for their consideration.
Written statements should be supplied
to the DFO in the following formats: one
hard copy with original signature, and
one electronic copy via e-mail
(acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat
PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS
PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM–
PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format).
Accessibility: For information on
access or services for individuals with
disabilities, please contact Dr. Armitage
at the phone number or e-mail address
noted above, preferably at least ten days
prior to the meeting to give EPA as
much time as possible to process your
request.
Dated: November 13, 2007.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff
Office.
[FR Doc. E7–22661 Filed 11–19–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
20NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65336-65339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22612]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1088; FRL-8339-7]
FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: There will be a 4-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to
consider and review the Scientific Issues Associated with the Agency's
Proposed Action under FIFRA 6(b) Notice of Intent to Cancel Carbofuran.
DATES: The meeting will be held on February 5-8, 2008, from
approximately 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Comments. The Agency encourages that written comments be submitted
by January 22, 2008 and requests for oral comments be submitted by
January 29, 2008. Written comments and requests to make oral comments
are accepted until the date of the meeting, but anyone submitting
written comments after January 22, 2008 should contact the Designated
Federal Official (DFO) listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
For additional instructions, see Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
Nominations. Nominations of candidates to serve as ad hoc members
of the FIFRA SAP for this meeting should be provided on or before
December 3, 2007.
Special accommodations. For information on access or services for
individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a
disability, please contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT at least 10 days prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time
as possible to process your request.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at Environmental Protection Agency
Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777
Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
Comments. Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1088, 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
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 docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2007-1088. If your comments contain any information that you consider
to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the DFO listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special instructions before
submitting your comments. 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
[[Page 65337]]
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 a docket index
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to
https://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 a docket 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 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 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.
Nominations, requests to present oral comments, and requests for
special accommodations. Submit nominations to serve as an ad hoc member
of the FIFRA SAP, requests for special seating accommodations, or
requests to present oral comments to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharlene R. Matten, DFO, Office of
Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001;
telephone number: (202) 564-0130; fax number: (202) 564-8382; e-mail
addresses: matten.sharlene@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general. This action may,
however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to
conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), FIFRA, and the Food Quality Protection Act of
1996 (FQPA). Since other entities may also 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 DFO
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
When submitting comments, remember to:
1. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
2. 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.
3. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
4. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
5. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
6. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
7. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
8. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline
identified.
C. How May I Participate in this Meeting?
You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions
in this unit. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that
you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1088 in the subject line
on the first page of your request.
1. Written comments. The Agency encourages that written comments be
submitted, using the instructions in ADDRESSES, no later than January
22, 2008, to provide FIFRA SAP the time necessary to consider and
review the written comments. Written comments are accepted until the
date of the meeting, anyone submitting written comments after January
22, 2008 should contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. Anyone submitting written comments of the meeting should bring
30 copies for distribution to the FIFRA SAP.
2. Oral comments. The Agency encourages that each individual or
group wishing to make brief oral comments to FIFRA SAP submit their
request to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no
later than January 29, 2008, in order to be included on the meeting
agenda. Requests to present oral comments will be accepted until the
date of the meeting and, to the extent that time permits, the Chair of
the FIFRA SAP may permit the presentation of oral comments at the
meeting by interested persons who have not previously requested time.
The request should identify the name of the individual making the
presentation, the organization (if any) the individual will represent,
and any requirements for audiovisual equipment (e.g., overhead
projector, 35 mm projector, chalkboard). Oral comments before FIFRA SAP
are limited to approximately 5 minutes unless prior arrangements have
been made. In addition, each speaker should bring 30 copies of his or
her comments and presentation slides for distribution to the FIFRA SAP
at the meeting.
3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be on a
first-come basis.
4. Request for nominations to serve as ad hoc members of the FIFRA
SAP for this meeting. As part of a broader process for developing a
pool of candidates for each meeting, the FIFRA SAP staff routinely
solicits the stakeholder community for nominations of prospective
candidates for service as ad hoc members of the FIFRA SAP. Any
interested person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to
be considered as prospective candidates for a specific meeting.
Individuals nominated for this meeting should have expertise in one or
more of the following areas: Wildlife epidemiology with avian incident
familiarity, avian agro-ecology, wildlife toxicology, environmental
chemistry and drinking water exposure to chemicals, deterministic and
probabilistic ecological risk assessment of chemicals (including
terrestrial risk assessment),
[[Page 65338]]
human toxicology with experience in pesticides causing
acetylcholinesterase inhibition, human toxicology with experience with
N-methyl carbamates (these pesticides pose specific challenges in the
laboratory), dermal toxicology with particular experience with using
animal toxicology data to extrapolate human risk, statistics and/or BMD
modeling, and human health risk assessment and approaches to hazard
assessment of chemicals. Nominees should be scientists who have
sufficient professional qualifications, including training and
experience, to be capable of providing expert comments on the
scientific issues for this meeting. Nominees should be identified by
name, occupation, position, address, and telephone number. Nominations
should be provided to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT on or before December 3, 2007. The Agency will consider all
nominations of prospective candidates for this meeting that are
received on or before this date. However, final selection of ad hoc
members for this meeting is a discretionary function of the Agency.
The selection of scientists to serve on the FIFRA SAP is based on
the function of the panel and the expertise needed to address the
Agency's charge to the panel. No interested scientists shall be
ineligible to serve by reason of their membership on any other advisory
committee to a Federal department or agency or their employment by a
Federal department or agency except the EPA. Other factors considered
during the selection process include availability of the potential
panel member to fully participate in the panel's reviews, absence of
any conflicts of interest or appearance of lack of impartiality,
independence with respect to the matters under review, and lack of
bias. Although financial conflicts of interest, the appearance of lack
of impartiality, lack of independence, and bias may result in
disqualification, the absence of such concerns does not assure that a
candidate will be selected to serve on the FIFRA SAP. Numerous
qualified candidates are identified for each panel. Therefore,
selection decisions involve carefully weighing a number of factors
including the candidates' areas of expertise and professional
qualifications and achieving an overall balance of different scientific
perspectives on the panel.
In order to have the collective breadth of experience needed to
address the Agency's charge for this meeting, the Agency anticipates
selecting approximately 12 to 15 ad hoc scientists. FIFRA SAP members
are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 2634, Executive Branch
Financial Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA in 5 CFR part 6401. In
anticipation of this requirement, prospective candidates for service on
the FIFRA SAP will be asked to submit confidential financial
information which shall fully disclose, among other financial
interests, the candidate's employment, stocks and bonds, and where
applicable, sources of research support. The EPA will evaluate the
candidates financial disclosure form to assess whether there are
financial conflicts of interest, appearance of a lack of impartiality
or any prior involvement with the development of the documents under
consideration (including previous scientific peer review) before the
candidate is considered further for service on the FIFRA SAP. Those who
are selected from the pool of prospective candidates will be asked to
attend the public meetings and to participate in the discussion of key
issues and assumptions at these meetings. In addition, they will be
asked to review and to help finalize the meeting minutes. The list of
FIFRA SAP members participating at this meeting will be posted on the
FIFRA SAP website at https://epa.gov/scipoly/sap or may be obtained from
the OPP Regulatory Public Docket at https://www.regulations.gov.
II. Background
A. Purpose of the FIFRA SAP
The FIFRA SAP serves as the primary scientific peer review
mechanism of EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances (OPPTS) and is structured to provide scientific advice,
information and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides
and pesticide-related issues as to the impact of regulatory actions on
health and the environment. The FIFRA SAP is a Federal advisory
committee established in 1975 under FIFRA that operates in accordance
with requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The FIFRA SAP
is composed of a permanent panel consisting of seven members who are
appointed by the EPA Administrator from nominees provided by the
National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
FIFRA, as amended by FQPA, established a Science Review Board
consisting of at least 60 scientists who are available to the
Scientific Advisory Panel on an ad hoc basis to assist in reviews
conducted by the Scientific Advisory Panel. As a peer review mechanism,
the FIFRA SAP provides comments, evaluations and recommendations to
improve the effectiveness and quality of analyses made by Agency
scientists. Members of the FIFRA SAP are scientists who have sufficient
professional qualifications, including training and experience, to
provide expert advice and recommendation to the Agency.
B. Public Meeting
In August, 2006, EPA published its Interim Reregistration
Eligibility Decision (IRED) document announcing EPA's intention to
cancel all uses of carbofuran due to ecological and occupational risks
of concern, as well as dietary risks from residues on food crops and in
contaminated drinking water. The IRED summarized the Agency's revised
human health and ecological risk assessments of carbofuran based on
available data, public comments, and other information received in
response to the preliminary risk assessments. In developing its
decision, the Agency used risk assessment methodologies that have been
previously vetted by the Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP). Since the
issuance of the IRED, the registrant has submitted for Agency review a
number of studies addressing ecological and human dietary risk as well
as other informational documents. EPA has reviewed all submitted data
and documents, as well as additional data developed at the EPA Office
of Research and Development. New data include comparative
cholinesterase data in juvenile and adult rats, dermal toxicity in
adult rats, brain acetylcholinesterase inhibition and recovery in
birds, the effect of food-matrix on carbofuran toxicity in birds, and
the effects of carbofuran on feeding behavior in birds. While these
submissions have resulted in certain refinements to EPA's assessment,
EPA continues to believe that all uses of carbofuran should be canceled
for the reasons identified above. Therefore, pursuant to section 25(d)
of FIFRA, EPA will be submitting for SAP review the action proposed in
a draft FIFRA 6(b) Notice of Intent to Cancel carbofuran registrations.
Accordingly, EPA is requesting the SAP panel members to review the
underlying scientific assessments, and to render an opinion on the
questions posed by the Agency, relating to the impact on health and the
environment of the actions proposed.
C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting Minutes
EPA's background paper, related supporting materials, charge/
questions to the FIFRA SAP, FIFRA SAP composition (i.e., members and ad
hoc
[[Page 65339]]
members for this meeting), and the meeting agenda will be available by
mid-January 2008. In addition, the Agency may provide additional
background documents as the materials become available. You may obtain
electronic copies of these documents, and certain other related
documents that might be available electronically, at https://
www.regulations.gov and the FIFRA SAP homepage at https://www.epa.gov/
scipoly/sap.
The FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its
recommendations to the Agency approximately 90 days after the meeting.
The meeting minutes will be posted on the FIFRA SAP website or may be
obtained from the OPP Regulatory Public Docket at https://
www.regulations.gov.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: November 13, 2007.
Elizabeth Resek,
Acting Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. E7-22612 Filed 11-19-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
