[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34115-34117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14517]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0030; FRL-8809-5]
Pesticides; Availability of Updated Schedule for Registration
Review
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 34116]]
SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of an updated schedule for
the pesticide registration review program, the periodic review of all
registered pesticides mandated by section 3(g) of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The updated
schedule provides the timetable for opening dockets for the next 4
years of the registration review program - FY 2010 to 2013-and includes
information on the FY 2007 through FY 2009 registration review cases.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Costello, Pesticide Re-
Evaluation Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-5026; fax
number: (703) 308-8090; e-mail address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human
health, farm worker, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry;
pesticide users; and members of the public interested in the sale,
distribution, or use of pesticides. Since others also may 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 person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?
EPA has established a docket for this action under docket
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0030. Publicly available
docket materials are available either in the electronic docket at
http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the
Office of Pesticide Programs (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.
II. Background
A. What Action is the Agency Taking?
EPA is issuing an updated schedule for the registration review
program, the Agency's periodic review of all registered pesticides
mandated by section 3(g) of FIFRA. This updated schedule provides the
timetable for opening dockets for the next 4 years of the program, FY
2010 to FY 2013.
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 as amended in
2007 (PRIA II) requires EPA to complete registration review decisions
by October 1, 2022 for all pesticides registered as of October 1, 2007.
To ensure meeting this requirement, EPA will continue to open
approximately 70 pesticide registration review dockets annually
continuing through 2017, so that almost all pesticides registered at
the start of the program will have dockets opened by 2017. Some
biopesticide dockets will be opened in 2018 through 2020. The Agency
anticipates that this scheduling will provide adequate lead times to
complete registration review decisions by October 1, 2022 for all
pesticides registered as of October 1, 2007. EPA expects a total of
about 721 pesticide cases comprising 1,135 pesticide active ingredients
to undergo registration review by 2022.
Each pesticide's place on the schedule is generally determined by
its baseline date -- the date of its last substantive review -- with
the oldest cases going first. The baseline date for a pesticide that
was subject to reregistration is the date of the Reregistration
Eligibility Decision (RED). The baseline date for pesticides that were
not subject to reregistration is the registration date of the first
product containing the active ingredient. Although, the schedule
generally is constructed chronologically, some registration review
cases are grouped in the schedule for greater efficiency. For example,
pesticides that are chemically related or use-related (e.g.,
organophosphate and carbamate chemical classes, the coppers group, and
the pyrethroids, pyrethrins, and syngergists group) generally will be
reviewed during the same time frame.
The updated registration review schedule reflects EPA's decision
to review all pesticides in two groups -- the fumigants and the
triazines -- within the same time frame. In recent years, the Agency
moved these pesticides ahead in the schedule so that dockets for all
pesticides in these groups will open in FY 2013. While EPA is
implementing risk mitigation decisions for the soil fumigants, new
research is underway to address current data gaps and to refine
understanding of factors that affect how fumigants move in the
environment. New methods and technologies for fumigation are emerging.
By moving the soil fumigants forward in registration review from 2017
to 2013, the Agency will be able to consider new data and new
technologies sooner, determine whether mitigation included in its
decisions is effectively addressing risks as EPA believes it will, and
include other fumigants that were not part of the reregistration review
of these pesticides.
EPA initiated a reevaluation of the triazine pesticide atrazine in
fall 2009. Given the availability of new scientific information as well
as the documented presence of atrazine in both drinking water sources
and other bodies of water, EPA has determined it appropriate to
consider the new research and to ensure that the Agency's regulatory
decisions about atrazine protect health and the environment. EPA's
reevaluation process is based on transparency and sound science,
including independent scientific peer review. The current atrazine
reevaluation will help address aspects of the atrazine registration
review scheduled to begin in 2013 that involve human health risk
assessment. As a result, the current reevaluation should reduce the
scope and resources needed to complete the atrazine registration
review.
The registration review schedule for FY 2010 to FY 2013 and an
explanation of the schedule are available at: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/schedule.htm. Information about the
status of individual pesticides in registration review is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/reg_ review_
status.htm. Background information on the registration review program
is provided at: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/.
B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
EPA is announcing this updated schedule for the registration
review program as provided in 40 CFR 155.42(d) and 155.44 of the
Procedural Regulations for Registration Review: Final Rule, document
number EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0404-0052 at: http://www.regulations.gov. The
Agency may consider issues raised by the public or registrant when
reviewing a posted schedule, to schedule a pesticide registration
review, or to modify the schedule of a pesticide registration review as
appropriate. This schedule will be updated at least once every year.
[[Page 34117]]
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and
pests.
Dated: June 7, 2010.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2010-14517 Filed 6-15-10; 8:45 a.m.]
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