Petition Requesting Ban on Use and Production of Atrazine; Notice of Availability, 56754-56756 [2011-23516]
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56754
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 14, 2011 / Notices
Table 2 of this unit includes the
names and addresses of record for all
registrants of the products in Table 1 of
this unit, in sequence by EPA company
number. This number corresponds to
the first part of the EPA registration
numbers of the products listed in this
unit.
TABLE 2—REGISTRANTS OF AMENDED PRODUCTS
EPA company No.
Company name and address
5481 ................................................
10163 ..............................................
70506 ..............................................
81964 ..............................................
83558 ..............................................
84229 ..............................................
Amvac Chemical Corporation, 4695 MacArthur Ct., Suite 1250, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
Gowan Company, P.O. Box 5569, Yuma, AZ 85366–5569.
United Phosphorus, Inc., 630 Freedom Business Center, Suite 402, King of Prussia, PA 19406.
ChemStarr, LLC, 21 Hubble, Irvine, CA 92618.
Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc., 4515 Falls of Neuse Rd, Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27609.
Tide International, USA, Inc., 21 Hubble, Irvine, CA 92618.
III. Summary of Public Comments
Received and Agency Response to
Comments
VI. Provisions for Disposition of
Existing Stocks
During the public comment period
provided, EPA received no comments in
response to the July 13, 2011 Federal
Register notice (76 FR 41250) (FRL–
8879–7) announcing the Agency’s
receipt of the requests for voluntary
amendments to delete uses of products
listed in Table 1 of Unit II.
IV. Cancellation Order
Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(f), EPA
hereby approves the requested
amendments to terminate uses of
formetanate HCl and acephate
registrations identified in Table 1 of
Unit II. Accordingly, the Agency hereby
orders that the product registrations
identified in Table 1 of Unit II. are
amended to terminate the affected uses.
The effective date of the cancellations
that are subject of this notice is
September 14, 2011. Any distribution,
sale, or use of existing stocks of the
products identified in Table 1 of Unit II.
in a manner inconsistent with any of the
provisions for disposition of existing
stocks set forth in Unit VI. will be a
violation of FIFRA.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
V. What is the Agency’s authority for
taking this action?
Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that
a registrant of a pesticide product may
at any time request that any of its
pesticide registrations be canceled or
amended to terminate one or more uses.
FIFRA further provides that, before
acting on the request, EPA must publish
a notice of receipt of any such request
in the Federal Register. Thereafter,
following the public comment period,
the EPA Administrator may approve
such a request. The notice of receipt for
this action was published for comment
on July 13, 2011. The comment period
closed on August 15, 2011.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:00 Sep 13, 2011
Jkt 223001
Existing stocks are those stocks of
registered pesticide products which are
currently in the United States and
which were packaged, labeled, and
released for shipment prior to the
effective date of the action. The existing
stocks provision for the products subject
to this order is as follows.
Since the EPA has approved product
labels reflecting the requested
amendments to delete uses, formetanate
HCl registrants will now be permitted to
sell and distribute existing stocks of
products under the previously approved
labeling until November 30, 2011.
Thereafter, registrants will be prohibited
from selling or distributing the products
whose labels include the deleted uses
identified in Table 1 of Unit II., except
for export consistent with FIFRA section
17 or for proper disposal. Persons other
than the registrant may sell, distribute,
or use existing stocks of products
(including those of (24c) Special Local
Needs registrations) whose labels
include the deleted uses until December
31, 2013, provided that such sale,
distribution, or use is consistent with
the terms of the previously approved
labeling on, or that accompanied, the
deleted uses.
Now that EPA has approved product
labels reflecting the requested
amendments to delete uses, acephate
registrants are permitted to sell or
distribute products listed in Table 1 of
Unit II. under the previously approved
labeling until March 14, 2013, unless
other restrictions have been imposed.
Thereafter, registrants will be prohibited
from selling or distributing the products
whose labels include the deleted uses
identified in Table 1 of Unit II., except
for export consistent with FIFRA section
17 or for proper disposal.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides
and pests.
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Frm 00025
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Dated: September 7, 2011.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division,
Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011–23338 Filed 9–13–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2011–0586; FRL–8887–6]
Petition Requesting Ban on Use and
Production of Atrazine; Notice of
Availability
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
EPA is seeking public
comment on a request from the
environmental advocacy group Save the
Frogs that EPA ban the use and
production of atrazine.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before November 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2011–0586, 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.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
14SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 14, 2011 / Notices
Instructions: Direct your comments to
docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2011–
0586. 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 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melanie Biscoe, Pesticide Re-evaluation
Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide
Programs, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:00 Sep 13, 2011
Jkt 223001
number: (703) 305–7106; fax number:
(703) 308–8005; e-mail address:
biscoe.melanie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
You may be potentially affected by
this action if you manufacture,
distribute, sell, or use pesticides; are an
environmental, human health, or
agricultural advocate; or are a general
member of the public. Potentially
affected entities may include, but are
not limited to:
• Pesticide Manufacturers (NAICS
code 325320), e.g., herbicides
manufacturing.
• Pesticides, agricultural, merchant
wholesalers and lawn care supplies
merchant wholesalers (NAICS code
424910).
• Corn farming (NAICS codes 111150,
111219).
• Sorghum farming (NAICS code
111199).
• Sugarcane farming (NAICS code
111930).
• Environment, conservation, and
wildlife organizations (NAICS code
813312).
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. 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
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56755
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. What action is the Agency taking?
EPA seeks public comment on a
petition from environmental advocacy
group Save the Frogs requesting that
EPA ban the use and production of
atrazine. This petition, available in
EPA–HQ–OPP–2011–0586, was
submitted on May 6, 2011 during a
meeting with Save the Frogs founder Dr.
Kerry Kriger. The presentation and
participant list from the meeting is also
available in docket EPA–HQ–OPP–
2011–0586.
The Save the Frogs petition includes
over 10,000 signatures; select statements
from the public; and two brief
summaries of published literature, one
by Dr. Jason Rohr and one by Dr. Tyrone
Hayes that is co-authored by 39 other
scientists.
In conjunction with this petition, EPA
received nearly 50,000 emails from
supporters of the Center for Biological
Diversity and the Natural Resources
Defense Council requesting that EPA
‘‘immediately take steps to phase out
atrazine use in the United States,’’
stating that atrazine poses an
unreasonable risk to the environment.
The emails express concern for impacts
on amphibians and other aquatic
species as well as concern for potential
risks to human health.
Information on EPA’s regulation of
atrazine with regard to amphibians,
E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
14SEN1
56756
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 14, 2011 / Notices
aquatic ecosystems and human health
can be found on its atrazine Web page:
https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/
reregistration/atrazine/
atrazine_update.htm.
The Agency asks that comments on
the Save the Frogs petition’s request to
ban the use and production of atrazine
be submitted to docket EPA–HQ–OPP–
2011–0586 within 60 days. EPA will
review all comments submitted before
responding to the petition.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, pesticides,
and pests.
Dated: September 6, 2011.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division,
Office of Pesticide Programs.
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the
Proposed Consent Decree
[FRL–9463–3]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air
Act Citizen Suit
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Consent
Decree; Request for Public Comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with section
113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended
(‘‘CAA’’), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is
hereby given of a proposed consent
decree to resolve a lawsuit filed by the
WildEarth Guardians (‘‘Plaintiff’’) in the
United States District Court for the
District of New Mexico: WildEarth
Guardians v. Jackson, No. 1:11-cv-00461
(D. NM). Plaintiff’s filed a deadline suit
to compel the Administrator to respond
to an administrative petition seeking
EPA’s objection to a CAA Title V
operating permit issued by the New
Mexico Environmental Department, Air
Quality Bureau to the Public Service
Company of New Mexico to operate the
San Juan Generating Station. Under the
proposed consent decree, EPA would
agree to respond to the petition by
February 15, 2012, or within 30 days
after entry of the consent decree by the
Court, whichever is later.
DATES: Written comments on the
proposed consent decree must be
received by October 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID number EPA–
HQ–OGC–2011–0764, online at https://
www.regulations.gov (EPA’s preferred
method); by e-mail to
oei.docket@epa.gov; by mail to EPA
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Stahle, Office of General Counsel
(Mail Code 2344A), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564–1272; fax number
(202) 564–5603; e-mail address:
stahle.susan@epa.gov.
[FR Doc. 2011–23516 Filed 9–13–11; 8:45 am]
SUMMARY:
Docket Center, Environmental
Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460–0001; or by
hand delivery or courier to EPA Docket
Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. Comments on a disk or CD–
ROM should be formatted in Word or
ASCII file, avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption,
and may be mailed to the mailing
address above.
This proposed consent decree would
resolve a lawsuit alleging that the
Administrator failed to perform a
nondiscretionary duty to grant or deny,
within 60 days of submission, an
administrative petition to object to a
CAA Title V permit issued by the New
Mexico Environmental Department, Air
Quality Bureau to the Public Service
Company of New Mexico to operate the
San Juan Generating Station. Under the
proposed consent decree, EPA would
agree to respond to the petition by
February 15, 2012, or within 30 days
after entry of the consent decree by the
Court, whichever is later, and pay
specified attorneys fees to the Plaintiffs.
The Court would then dismiss the case
with prejudice once EPA has fulfilled
these obligations under the consent
decree.
For a period of thirty (30) days
following the date of publication of this
notice, the Agency will accept written
comments relating to the proposed
consent decree from persons who were
not named as parties or intervenors to
the litigation in question. EPA or the
Department of Justice may withdraw or
withhold consent to the proposed
consent decree if the comments disclose
facts or considerations that indicate that
such consent is inappropriate,
improper, inadequate, or inconsistent
with the requirements of the Act. Unless
EPA or the Department of Justice
determines that consent to this consent
decree should be withdrawn, the terms
of the consent decree will be affirmed.
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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II. Additional Information About
Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree
A. How can I get a copy of the consent
decree?
The official public docket for this
action (identified by Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–OGC–2011–0764) contains a
copy of the proposed consent decree.
The official public docket is available
for public viewing at the Office of
Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
in the EPA Docket Center, EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket
Center Public Reading Room is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744,
and the telephone number for the OEI
Docket is (202) 566–1752.
An electronic version of the public
docket is available through https://
www.regulations.gov. You may use the
https://www.regulations.gov to submit or
view public comments, access the index
listing of the contents of the official
public docket, and to access those
documents in the public docket that are
available electronically. Once in the
system, select ‘‘search,’’ then key in the
appropriate docket identification
number.
It is important to note that EPA’s
policy is that public comments, whether
submitted electronically or in paper,
will be made available for public
viewing online at https://
www.regulations.gov without change,
unless the comment contains
copyrighted material, CBI, or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Information
claimed as CBI and other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute
is not included in the official public
docket or in the electronic public
docket. EPA’s policy is that copyrighted
material, including copyrighted material
contained in a public comment, will not
be placed in EPA’s electronic public
docket but will be available only in
printed, paper form in the official public
docket. Although not all docket
materials may be available
electronically, you may still access any
of the publicly available docket
materials through the EPA Docket
Center.
B. How and to whom do I submit
comments?
You may submit comments as
provided in the ADDRESSES section.
Please ensure that your comments are
submitted within the specified comment
period. Comments received after the
E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56754-56756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23516]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586; FRL-8887-6]
Petition Requesting Ban on Use and Production of Atrazine; Notice
of Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is seeking public comment on a request from the
environmental advocacy group Save the Frogs that EPA ban the use and
production of atrazine.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586, 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.
[[Page 56755]]
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2011-0586. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Biscoe, Pesticide Re-
evaluation Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-7106; fax
number: (703) 308-8005; e-mail address: biscoe.melanie@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
You may be potentially affected by this action if you manufacture,
distribute, sell, or use pesticides; are an environmental, human
health, or agricultural advocate; or are a general member of the
public. Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited
to:
Pesticide Manufacturers (NAICS code 325320), e.g.,
herbicides manufacturing.
Pesticides, agricultural, merchant wholesalers and lawn
care supplies merchant wholesalers (NAICS code 424910).
Corn farming (NAICS codes 111150, 111219).
Sorghum farming (NAICS code 111199).
Sugarcane farming (NAICS code 111930).
Environment, conservation, and wildlife organizations
(NAICS code 813312).
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. 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. What action is the Agency taking?
EPA seeks public comment on a petition from environmental advocacy
group Save the Frogs requesting that EPA ban the use and production of
atrazine. This petition, available in EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586, was
submitted on May 6, 2011 during a meeting with Save the Frogs founder
Dr. Kerry Kriger. The presentation and participant list from the
meeting is also available in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586.
The Save the Frogs petition includes over 10,000 signatures; select
statements from the public; and two brief summaries of published
literature, one by Dr. Jason Rohr and one by Dr. Tyrone Hayes that is
co-authored by 39 other scientists.
In conjunction with this petition, EPA received nearly 50,000
emails from supporters of the Center for Biological Diversity and the
Natural Resources Defense Council requesting that EPA ``immediately
take steps to phase out atrazine use in the United States,'' stating
that atrazine poses an unreasonable risk to the environment. The emails
express concern for impacts on amphibians and other aquatic species as
well as concern for potential risks to human health.
Information on EPA's regulation of atrazine with regard to
amphibians,
[[Page 56756]]
aquatic ecosystems and human health can be found on its atrazine Web
page: https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/atrazine/atrazine_update.htm.
The Agency asks that comments on the Save the Frogs petition's
request to ban the use and production of atrazine be submitted to
docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0586 within 60 days. EPA will review all
comments submitted before responding to the petition.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, pesticides, and pests.
Dated: September 6, 2011.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-23516 Filed 9-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P