Pesticides; Draft Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Web-Distributed Labeling for Pesticide Products, 3418-3420 [2013-00560]
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3418
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 16, 2013 / Notices
the iodomethane registrations identified
in Tables 1 and 2 of Unit II.
Accordingly, the Agency hereby orders
that the product registrations identified
in Tables 1 and 2 of Unit II. are canceled
and the product registration identified
in Table 2 of Unit II. is amended. The
effective date of the cancellation for the
following products that are subject of
this notice, EPA Registration Numbers
66330–43, 66330–57, 66330–58, 66330–
59 and 66330–60, is December 31, 2012.
The effective date of the cancellation for
EPA Registration Number 66330–44 is
December 1, 2015. Any distribution,
sale, or use of existing stocks of the
products identified in Tables 1 and 2 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. Within 30 days
of the date of publication of this order,
Arysta shall send the following
documents by certified mail, return
receipt requested, to every person who
purchased any such product directly
from Arysta since December 31, 2011;
and to every retailer known to Arysta to
have sold any end-use product since
December 31, 2011: A letter that
identifies or indicates:
1. The iodomethane product(s) that
were purchased and the dates of such
purchase.
2. That any distribution or sale of
Arysta’s end-use iodomethane products
will be unlawful under FIFRA after
December 31, 2012.
3. That Arysta’s end-use iodomethane
products in users’ possession may not
be used after December 31, 2012.
4. That after December 31, 2012, all
remaining existing stocks of Arysta’s
iodomethane end-use products must be
disposed of in accordance with all
applicable state and Federal laws or
returned to Arysta; and a hard copy of
the actual cancellation order as
published in the Federal Register.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with
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 November 21, 2012 (77 FR 69840)
(FRL–9370–2). The comment period
closed on December 21, 2012.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:01 Jan 15, 2013
Jkt 229001
VI. Provisions for Disposition of
Existing Stocks
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.
As of December 1, 2015, all sale and
distribution of existing stocks of
Arysta’s iodomethane technical/
manufacturing-use product, EPA Reg.
No. 66330–44, by Arysta shall be
prohibited unless the sale or
distribution is for proper disposal or is
solely for purposes of export consistent
with the requirements of section 17 of
FIFRA.
As of December 31, 2012, Arysta is
prohibited from distributing or selling
existing stocks of end-use products, EPA
Registration Nos. 66330–43, 66330–57,
66330–58, 66330–59 and 66330–60
unless the sale or distribution is for
proper disposal, or is solely for export
consistent with the requirements of
FIFRA section 17; persons other than
Arysta are prohibited from distributing
or selling existing stocks of Arysta’s
end-use products, EPA Registration
Number 66330–43, 66330–57, 66330–
58, 66330–59 and 66330–60, unless the
sale or distribution is for proper
disposal, return to Arysta, or is intended
solely for export consistent with the
requirements of FIFRA section 17; and
no person may use any existing stocks
of any of Arysta’s end-use products EPA
Registration Numbers. 66330–43,
66330–57, 66330–58, 66330–59 and
66330–60.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides
and pests.
Dated: December 28, 2012.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division,
Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2013–00732 Filed 1–15–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0906; FRL–9374–4]
Pesticides; Draft Guidance for
Pesticide Registrants on WebDistributed Labeling for Pesticide
Products
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The Agency is announcing
the availability of and seeking public
comment on a draft Pesticide
Registration Notice (PR Notice) titled
‘‘Web-Distributed Labeling for Pesticide
Products.’’ PR Notices are issued by the
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to
inform pesticide registrants and other
interested persons about important
policies, procedures, and registration
related decisions, and serve to provide
guidance to pesticide registrants and
OPP personnel. This particular draft PR
Notice provides guidance concerning
the process by which registrants can
make legally valid versions of pesticide
labeling available through the Internet.
Web-distributed labeling would allow
users to retrieve a streamlined version of
the pesticide product labeling,
containing the directions for use and
necessary information related to the
user’s specific state and intended site of
use. Shorter, relevant labeling could be
clearer and easier for the user to
understand, improving compliance with
pesticide labeling requirements and
thereby protecting human health and
the environment from unintentional
misuse of pesticides. Web-distributed
labeling would also allow for more
rapid updates to pesticide labeling,
meaning risk mitigation measures and
new uses can reach the user more
quickly than under the current paperbased system.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before April 16, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0906, by
one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute.
• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/
DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001.
• Hand Delivery: To make special
arrangements for hand delivery or
delivery of boxed information, please
follow the instructions at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.htm.
Additional instructions on
commenting or visiting the docket,
along with more information about
dockets generally, is available at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle Arling, Field and External
Affairs Division (7506P), Office of
Pesticide Programs, Environmental
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\16JAN1.SGM
16JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 16, 2013 / Notices
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001;
telephone number: (703) 308–5891; fax
number: (703) 308–2962; email address:
arling.michelle@epa.gov@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action is directed to the public
in general, although this action may be
of particular interest to those persons
who register and use pesticide products
and to state regulators of pesticide
products. 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 information in this notice,
consult the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with
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 email. 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.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:01 Jan 15, 2013
Jkt 229001
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.
3. Specific Areas for Comment. EPA
has identified questions about the PR
Notice on which the Agency would like
to receive specific input from
commenters. These questions and topic
areas are presented below.
i. Would an appendix with sample
master labeling and web-distributed
labeling rendered output assist in
understanding the PR Notice and how to
follow the recommendations in the PR
Notice?
ii. The PR Notice suggests that it ‘‘is
targeted towards pesticide products
marketed primarily to applicators for
use in the course of commercial
activity.’’ Please comment on the scope
of coverage. Should the Agency expand
or contract the targeted products? Are
there alternate ways to describe the
targeted products?
iii. Should the Agency consider
combining the released for shipment
date and the unique identifier into a
single alpha-numeric combination? If
so, why? Please provide suggested
definitions for any proposed alternative.
iv. Should the released for shipment
date and unique identifier have a
standard location on the container or
pesticide labeling? If so, where? If not,
why?
v. Should EPA approve webdistributed labeling for one or some, but
not all, uses listed on a product’s
labeling? If so, how would users know
that no web-distributed labeling was
available for their intended use?
vi. Should EPA consider only
accepting WDL submissions to the
Agency for review as electronic files?
vii. Please provide comments on the
web-distributed labeling statements and
their recommended location. Should
they be located at the beginning of the
directions for use? Should they be a
separate section on the labeling, similar
to the Agricultural Use Box that conveys
information about the Worker Protection
Standard? Would either approach make
the user more likely to read and comply
with the information?
viii. Please provide comments on the
minimum functionality discussed in
Unit IV. ix. Are the proposed standards
reasonable? If not, please suggest
alternative guidelines.
x. Please provide any other comments
on the PR Notice. If you disagree with
or do not understand any aspect of the
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
3419
PR Notice, please describe the area and
an alternative that incorporates your
suggestions.
C. How can I get copies of this
document and other related
information?
A copy of the draft PR notice is
available in the docket under docket
identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–
OPP–2012–0906.
II. What guidance does this PR notice
provide?
A. Background
Since 2007, the Agency has been
exploring the feasibility and advisability
of allowing registrants to make legally
enforceable pesticide product labeling
available to users via the Internet, an
initiative referred to as ‘‘web-distributed
labeling’’ (WDL). At the end of 2010,
EPA initiated a ‘‘user acceptance pilot.’’
(75 FR 51058, August 18, 2010; EPA–
HQ–OPP–2010–0632) The user
acceptance pilot involved a simulation
of a WDL Web site that users could visit
and on which they could provide
feedback. The user acceptance pilot did
not involve any changes to existing
pesticide labeling on containers or
legally valid electronic versions of
pesticide labeling. EPA also published a
Federal Register notice which outlined
EPA’s positions on issues related to
WDL and sought comment on a number
of these issues. (75 FR 82011, December
29, 2010; EPA–HQ–OPP–2010–0648).
Based on its review of the comments
and other feedback received from the
Federal Register notice and the user
acceptance pilot, EPA is proposing a
voluntary approach to WDL that would
allow registrants to distribute pesticide
products with labeling that refers the
user to the Web site from which the user
may download legally valid, enforceable
labeling. The container would still be
accompanied by a physical copy of the
EPA-accepted labeling sufficient for the
correct use of the product, but a user
could access the most current version of
the state- and site-specific labeling from
a Web site identified on the container
label. Offering WDL while retaining the
full labeling on or accompanying
pesticide containers would allow users,
registrants, and EPA to acquire a better
understanding of the strengths and
limitations of WDL and possibly serve
as a transition to a system which relies
more heavily on the Internet and other
technologies to provide users with
legally enforceable labeling. For
example, registrants could determine
whether specific types of products
would be better suited to WDL and
users could evaluate the relative benefit
E:\FR\FM\16JAN1.SGM
16JAN1
3420
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 16, 2013 / Notices
of WDL versus the current pesticide
product labeling.
As considered by EPA, WDL would
make available via the Internet site- and
state-specific use directions for
pesticide products as downloadable
electronic files. To access this labeling,
a user would visit the Web site
identified on the pesticide label, enter
information identifying the product, and
select the intended state and use site.
The Web site would return a
streamlined version of the pesticide
labeling containing the language
applicable to all uses of the product,
such as hazard statement and first aid,
and the relevant state/site specific
directions for use (e.g., application to
cranberries in Maine). Sufficient
labeling for the correct use of the
product would still be available with
the pesticide either on the container
label or in accompanying material.
B. Overview of PR Notice
III. Do PR notices contain binding
requirements?
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with
The PR Notice discussed in this
notice is intended to provide guidance
to EPA personnel and decisionmakers
and to pesticide registrants. While the
requirements in the statutes and Agency
regulations are binding on EPA and the
applicants, this PR Notice is not binding
on either EPA or pesticide registrants,
and EPA may depart from the guidance
where circumstances warrant and
without prior notice. Likewise, pesticide
registrants may assert that the guidance
is not appropriate generally or not
applicable to a specific pesticide or
situation.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection,
Administrative practice and procedure,
Agricultural commodities, Pesticides
and pests.
17:01 Jan 15, 2013
[FR Doc. 2013–00560 Filed 1–15–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
Jkt 229001
2 https://www.epa.gov/irmpoli8/policies/
21060.pdf
Monica D. Jones,
Director, Quality Staff.
[FR Doc. 2013–00836 Filed 1–15–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9770–5]
Office of Environmental Information;
Announcement of Availability and
Comment Period for the Draft Quality
Standard for Environmental Data
Collection, Production, and Use by
Non-EPA (External) Organizations and
Two Associated QA Handbooks;
Correction
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability & request
for comment; extension of comment
period and correction.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency published a document in the
Federal Register of December 26, 2012,
concerning request for comments for the
Draft Quality Standard for
Environmental Data Collection,
Production, and Use by Non-EPA
(External) Organizations and two
associated QA Handbooks. The notice of
availability is being extended to a 45
day review and comment period and the
document contained incorrect Web site
links in the footnotes.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before February 11, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
Warren, Environmental Protection
Agency; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, MC
2811R; Washington, DC 20460; Phone:
202–564–6876.
SUMMARY:
This PR Notice provides guidance
about how EPA intends to implement
WDL under this system. First, the PR
Notice defines terms used related to
WDL in this notice. It includes
suggested language that registrants can
use on the labeling affixed to or
accompanying the pesticide container to
reference the WDL portion of labeling.
It recommends content, function, and
security for the Web site associated with
a product’s WDL. Finally, the PR Notice
suggests a process by which registrants
can request that a product’s labeling
include WDL and outlines what
information EPA expects to receive.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
Dated: January 3, 2013.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
Correction
In the Federal Register of December
26, 2012 in FRL 9764–3, page 76035,
second column correct line after
SUMMARY to read:
‘‘SUMMARY: Notice of availability for a 45 day
review and comment period is hereby given
for the draft Quality Standard for
Environmental Data Collection, Production,
and Use by Non-EPA (External)
Organizations and two associated draft QA
Handbooks; 1) draft Handbook for Preparing
Quality Management Plans (QMPs) and 2)
draft Handbook for Preparing Quality
Assurance (QA) Project Plans (QAPPs).’’
In the Federal Register of December
26, 2012 in FRL 9764–3, on page 76036,
at the bottom of the first column; correct
the Web site references for footnotes one
and two to read:
1 https://www.epa.gov/irmpoli8/policies/
21050.pdf
PO 00000
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Sfmt 4703
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0019; FRL–9375–2]
Pesticide Emergency Exemptions;
Agency Decisions and State and
Federal Agency Crisis Declarations
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
EPA has granted emergency
exemptions under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act (FIFRA) for use of pesticides as
listed in this notice. The exemptions
were granted during the period July 1,
2012 to September 30, 2012 to control
unforeseen pest outbreaks.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: See
each emergency exemption for the name
of a contact person. The following
information applies to all contact
persons: Team Leader, Emergency
Response Team, Registration Division
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington,
DC 20460–0001; telephone number:
(703) 308–8050.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
You may be potentially affected by
this action if you are an agricultural
producer, food manufacturer, or
pesticide manufacturer. The following
list of North American Industrial
Classification System (NAICS) codes is
not intended to be exhaustive, but rather
provides a guide to help readers
determine whether this document
applies to them. Potentially affected
entities may include:
• Crop production (NAICS code 111).
• Animal production (NAICS code
112).
• Food manufacturing (NAICS code
311).
• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS
code 32532).
If you have any questions regarding
the applicability of this action to a
particular entity, consult the person
listed at the end of the emergency
exemption.
E:\FR\FM\16JAN1.SGM
16JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3418-3420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00560]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0906; FRL-9374-4]
Pesticides; Draft Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Web-
Distributed Labeling for Pesticide Products
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Agency is announcing the availability of and seeking
public comment on a draft Pesticide Registration Notice (PR Notice)
titled ``Web-Distributed Labeling for Pesticide Products.'' PR Notices
are issued by the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to inform
pesticide registrants and other interested persons about important
policies, procedures, and registration related decisions, and serve to
provide guidance to pesticide registrants and OPP personnel. This
particular draft PR Notice provides guidance concerning the process by
which registrants can make legally valid versions of pesticide labeling
available through the Internet. Web-distributed labeling would allow
users to retrieve a streamlined version of the pesticide product
labeling, containing the directions for use and necessary information
related to the user's specific state and intended site of use. Shorter,
relevant labeling could be clearer and easier for the user to
understand, improving compliance with pesticide labeling requirements
and thereby protecting human health and the environment from
unintentional misuse of pesticides. Web-distributed labeling would also
allow for more rapid updates to pesticide labeling, meaning risk
mitigation measures and new uses can reach the user more quickly than
under the current paper-based system.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 16, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0906, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute.
Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC
20460-0001.
Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the
instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.htm.
Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along
with more information about dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Arling, Field and External
Affairs Division (7506P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
[[Page 3419]]
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 308-5891; fax number: (703) 308-2962;
email address: arling.michelle@epa.gov@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action is directed to the public in general, although this
action may be of particular interest to those persons who register and
use pesticide products and to state regulators of pesticide products.
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 information in
this notice, 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 email. 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.
3. Specific Areas for Comment. EPA has identified questions about
the PR Notice on which the Agency would like to receive specific input
from commenters. These questions and topic areas are presented below.
i. Would an appendix with sample master labeling and web-
distributed labeling rendered output assist in understanding the PR
Notice and how to follow the recommendations in the PR Notice?
ii. The PR Notice suggests that it ``is targeted towards pesticide
products marketed primarily to applicators for use in the course of
commercial activity.'' Please comment on the scope of coverage. Should
the Agency expand or contract the targeted products? Are there
alternate ways to describe the targeted products?
iii. Should the Agency consider combining the released for shipment
date and the unique identifier into a single alpha-numeric combination?
If so, why? Please provide suggested definitions for any proposed
alternative.
iv. Should the released for shipment date and unique identifier
have a standard location on the container or pesticide labeling? If so,
where? If not, why?
v. Should EPA approve web-distributed labeling for one or some, but
not all, uses listed on a product's labeling? If so, how would users
know that no web-distributed labeling was available for their intended
use?
vi. Should EPA consider only accepting WDL submissions to the
Agency for review as electronic files?
vii. Please provide comments on the web-distributed labeling
statements and their recommended location. Should they be located at
the beginning of the directions for use? Should they be a separate
section on the labeling, similar to the Agricultural Use Box that
conveys information about the Worker Protection Standard? Would either
approach make the user more likely to read and comply with the
information?
viii. Please provide comments on the minimum functionality
discussed in Unit IV. ix. Are the proposed standards reasonable? If
not, please suggest alternative guidelines.
x. Please provide any other comments on the PR Notice. If you
disagree with or do not understand any aspect of the PR Notice, please
describe the area and an alternative that incorporates your
suggestions.
C. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?
A copy of the draft PR notice is available in the docket under
docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0906.
II. What guidance does this PR notice provide?
A. Background
Since 2007, the Agency has been exploring the feasibility and
advisability of allowing registrants to make legally enforceable
pesticide product labeling available to users via the Internet, an
initiative referred to as ``web-distributed labeling'' (WDL). At the
end of 2010, EPA initiated a ``user acceptance pilot.'' (75 FR 51058,
August 18, 2010; EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0632) The user acceptance pilot
involved a simulation of a WDL Web site that users could visit and on
which they could provide feedback. The user acceptance pilot did not
involve any changes to existing pesticide labeling on containers or
legally valid electronic versions of pesticide labeling. EPA also
published a Federal Register notice which outlined EPA's positions on
issues related to WDL and sought comment on a number of these issues.
(75 FR 82011, December 29, 2010; EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0648).
Based on its review of the comments and other feedback received
from the Federal Register notice and the user acceptance pilot, EPA is
proposing a voluntary approach to WDL that would allow registrants to
distribute pesticide products with labeling that refers the user to the
Web site from which the user may download legally valid, enforceable
labeling. The container would still be accompanied by a physical copy
of the EPA-accepted labeling sufficient for the correct use of the
product, but a user could access the most current version of the state-
and site-specific labeling from a Web site identified on the container
label. Offering WDL while retaining the full labeling on or
accompanying pesticide containers would allow users, registrants, and
EPA to acquire a better understanding of the strengths and limitations
of WDL and possibly serve as a transition to a system which relies more
heavily on the Internet and other technologies to provide users with
legally enforceable labeling. For example, registrants could determine
whether specific types of products would be better suited to WDL and
users could evaluate the relative benefit
[[Page 3420]]
of WDL versus the current pesticide product labeling.
As considered by EPA, WDL would make available via the Internet
site- and state-specific use directions for pesticide products as
downloadable electronic files. To access this labeling, a user would
visit the Web site identified on the pesticide label, enter information
identifying the product, and select the intended state and use site.
The Web site would return a streamlined version of the pesticide
labeling containing the language applicable to all uses of the product,
such as hazard statement and first aid, and the relevant state/site
specific directions for use (e.g., application to cranberries in
Maine). Sufficient labeling for the correct use of the product would
still be available with the pesticide either on the container label or
in accompanying material.
B. Overview of PR Notice
This PR Notice provides guidance about how EPA intends to implement
WDL under this system. First, the PR Notice defines terms used related
to WDL in this notice. It includes suggested language that registrants
can use on the labeling affixed to or accompanying the pesticide
container to reference the WDL portion of labeling. It recommends
content, function, and security for the Web site associated with a
product's WDL. Finally, the PR Notice suggests a process by which
registrants can request that a product's labeling include WDL and
outlines what information EPA expects to receive.
III. Do PR notices contain binding requirements?
The PR Notice discussed in this notice is intended to provide
guidance to EPA personnel and decisionmakers and to pesticide
registrants. While the requirements in the statutes and Agency
regulations are binding on EPA and the applicants, this PR Notice is
not binding on either EPA or pesticide registrants, and EPA may depart
from the guidance where circumstances warrant and without prior notice.
Likewise, pesticide registrants may assert that the guidance is not
appropriate generally or not applicable to a specific pesticide or
situation.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: January 3, 2013.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2013-00560 Filed 1-15-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
