FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting, 55381-55384 [2011-22843]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55381-55384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22843]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0718; FRL-8886-9]


FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: There will be a 3-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to 
consider and review scientific conclusions supporting EPA's FIFRA 
Section 6(b) Notice of Intent to Cancel Twenty Homeowner Rodenticide 
Bait Products.

DATES: The meeting will be held on November 29, 2011, through December 
1, 2011, from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Comments. The Agency encourages that written comments be submitted 
by November 15, 2011, and requests for oral comments be submitted by 
November 22, 2011. However, written comments and requests to make oral 
comments may be submitted until the date of the meeting, but anyone 
submitting written comments after November 15, 2011, 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 FIFRA SAP for this meeting should be provided on or before September 
21, 2011.
    Webcast. This meeting may be webcast. Please refer to the FIFRA 
SAP's Web site, https://www.epa.gov/scipoly/SAP for information on how 
to access the webcast. Please note that the webcast is a supplementary 
public process provided only for convenience. If difficulties arise 
resulting in webcasting outages, the meeting will continue as planned.
    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 the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 
2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
    Comments. Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0718, 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 Facility'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-
2011-0718. If your comments contain any

[[Page 55382]]

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 
protected through regulations.gov or e-mail. The regulations.gov Web 
site 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 
available at https://www.regulations.gov. 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 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 ad hoc members 
of 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: Joseph E. Bailey, DFO, Office of 
Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; 
telephone number: (202) 564-2045; fax number: (202) 564-8382; e-mail 
address: bailey.joseph@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-2011-0718 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 November 
15, 2011, to provide FIFRA SAP the time necessary to consider and 
review the written comments. Written comments are accepted until the 
date of the meeting, but anyone submitting written comments after 
November 15, 2011, should contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Anyone submitting written comments should bring 30 
copies to the meeting 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 November 22, 2011, 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 
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 the 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 open and 
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, 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

[[Page 55383]]

nominated for this meeting should have expertise in one or more of the 
following areas: Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Biology (including 
assessment of poisoning incidents and case evaluation of mortality); 
Toxicology/Pharmacology of Rodenticides; Veterinarian Science 
(including pet poisoning incident surveillance); Human Poisoning 
Surveillance; and Rodent Biology and Control. 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 September 21, 2011. 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 10 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 the FIFRA SAP members 
participating at this meeting will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web site 
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 FIFRA SAP

    FIFRA SAP serves as the primary scientific peer review mechanism of 
EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) 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. FIFRA SAP is a Federal advisory committee established in 
1975 under FIFRA that operates in accordance with requirements of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act. 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 SAP on an ad hoc basis to assist in reviews 
conducted by the SAP. 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

    The EPA's 2008 Risk Mitigation Decision for Ten Rodenticides (RMD) 
concluded more than a decade of Agency review of commensal 
rodenticides. The RMD concluded that registrants of commensal 
rodenticide products needed to adopt certain risk mitigation measures 
in order to meet the FIFRA registration standard of not causing 
unreasonable adverse effects on the environment. In 2008, EPA gave 
registrants of commensal rodenticide bait products 3 years to research, 
develop, and register new consumer/homeowner products that adopted 
these risk mitigation measures designed to greatly reduce child, pet, 
and non-target wildlife exposure to rodenticides. The Agency intends to 
propose a Notice of Intent to Cancel (NOIC) for 20 consumer/homeowner 
rodenticide products for which registrants have refused to voluntarily 
adopt the risk mitigation measures. The Agency will be seeking advice 
and recommendations from the SAP on the following scientific issues 
associated with the proposed NOIC:
     EPA's evaluation of human and pet incidents of accidental 
exposure to rodenticides.
     EPA's evaluation of ecological incidents of accidental 
exposure to rodenticides.
     The differences in uptake and clearance of first-
generation anticoagulant rodenticides, non-anticoagulant rodenticides, 
and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, in target and non-
target wildlife.
     EPA's ecological risk assessments for rodenticides, 
including ecological risks of first-generation anticoagulant 
rodenticides, non-anticoagulant rodenticides, and second-generation 
anticoagulant rodenticides.
     The differences in secondary ecological exposure between 
first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, non-anticoagulant 
rodenticides, and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides.

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 members for this meeting), and the meeting agenda will be available 
by late October. In addition, the Agency may provide additional 
background

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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 within 90 days after the meeting. The 
meeting minutes will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web site or may be 
obtained from the OPP Regulatory Public Docket at https://www.regulations.gov.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: August 30, 2011.
Frank Sanders,
Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011-22843 Filed 9-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P