31910 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / Notices

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPP–181077; FRL–6559–4]

Thiamethoxam; Receipt of Application

for Emergency Exemption, Solicitation

of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific

exemption request from the Mississippi

Department of Agriculture and

Commerce to use the pesticide

thiamethoxam (CAS No. 153719–23–4)

to treat up to 1,000,000 acres of cotton

to control cotton aphids. The Applicant

proposes the use of a new chemical

which has not been registered by the

EPA; this would also be a first food use

of this pesticide. EPA is soliciting

public comment before making the

decision whether or not to grant the

exemption.

DATES: Comments, identified by docket

control number OPP–181077, must be

received on or before June 5, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be

submitted by mail, electronically, or in

person. Please follow the detailed

instructions for each method as

provided in Unit I. of the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To ensure

proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative

that you identify docket control number

OPP–181077 in the subject line on the

first page of your response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen Schaible, Registration Division

(7505C), Office of Pesticide Programs,

Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel

Rios Bldg., 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.,

NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone

number: 703 308–9362; fax number: 703

308–5433; e-mail address:

schaible.stephen@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

You may be potentially affected by

this action if you petition EPA for

emergency exemption under section 18

of FIFRA. Potentially affected categories

and entities may include, but are not

limited to:

Categories NAICS

codes

Examples of potentially affected entities

State government9241 State agencies that

petition EPA for

section 18 pesticide exemption

This listing is not intended to be

exhaustive, but rather provides a guide

for readers regarding entities likely to be

regulated by this action. Other types of

entities not listed in the table in this

unit could also be regulated. The North

American Industrial Classification

System (NAICS) codes have been

provided to assist you and others in

determining whether or not this action

applies to certain entities. To determine

whether you or your business is affected

by this action, you should carefully

examine the applicability provisions in

this document. 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 Additional

Information, Including Copies of this

Document and Other Related

Documents?

1. Electronically. You may obtain

electronic copies of this document, and

certain other related documents that

might be available electronically, from

the EPA Internet Home Page at http://

www.epa.gov/. To access this

document, on the Home Page select

‘‘Laws and Regulations’’ and then look

up the entry for this document under

the ‘‘Federal Register—Environmental

Documents.’’ You can also go directly to

the Federal Register listings at http://

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.

2. In person. The Agency has

established an official record for this

action under docket control number

OPP–181077. The official record

consists of the documents specifically

referenced in this action, any public

comments received during an applicable

comment period, and other information

related to this action, including any

information claimed as Confidential

Business Information (CBI). This official

record includes the documents that are

physically located in the docket, as well

as the documents that are referenced in

those documents. The public version of

the official record does not include any

information claimed as CBI. The public

version of the official record, which

includes printed, paper versions of any

electronic comments submitted during

an applicable comment period, is

available for inspection in the Public

Information and Records Integrity

Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall

#2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy.,

Arlington, VA, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. The PIRIB telephone number

is (703) 305–5805.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit

Comments?

You may submit comments through

the mail, in person, or electronically. To

ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is

imperative that you identify docket

control number OPP–181077 in the

subject line on the first page of your

response.

1. By mail. Submit your comments to:

Public Information and Records

Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information

Resources and Services Division

(7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs

(OPP), Environmental Protection

Agency, Ariel Rios Bldg., 1200

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,

DC 20460.

2. In person or by courier. Deliver

your comments to: Public Information

and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB),

Information Resources and Services

Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide

Programs (OPP), Environmental

Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal

Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy.,

Arlington, VA. The PIRIB is open from

8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The

PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305–

5805.

3. Electronically. You may submit

your comments electronically by e-mail

to: ‘‘opp-docket@epa.gov,’’ or you can

submit a computer disk as described

above. Do not submit any information

electronically that you consider to be

CBI. Avoid the use of special characters

and any form of encryption. Electronic

submissions will be accepted in

WordPerfect 6.1/8.0 or ASCII file

format. All comments in electronic form

must be identified by docket control

number OPP–181077. Electronic

comments may also be filed online at

many Federal Depository Libraries.

D. How Should I Handle CBI that I Want

to Submit to the Agency?

Do not submit any information

electronically that you consider to be

CBI. You may claim information that

you submit to EPA in response to this

document as CBI by marking any part or

all of that information as CBI.

Information so marked will not be

disclosed except in accordance with

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

In addition to one complete version of

the comment that includes any

information claimed as CBI, a copy of

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / Notices 31911

the comment that does not contain the

information claimed as CBI must be

submitted for inclusion in the public

version of the official record.

Information not marked confidential

will be included in the public version

of the official record without prior

notice. If you have any questions about

CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI,

please consult the person listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare

My Comments for EPA?

You may find the following

suggestions helpful for preparing your

comments:

1. Explain your views as clearly as

possible.

2. Describe any assumptions that you

used.

3. Provide copies of any technical

information and/or data you used that

support your views.

4. If you estimate potential burden or

costs, explain how you arrived at the

estimate that you provide.

5. Provide specific examples to

illustrate your concerns.

6. Offer alternative ways to improve

the proposed rule or collection activity.

7. Make sure to submit your

comments by the deadline in this

document.

8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA,

be sure to identify the docket control

number assigned to this action in the

subject line on the first page of your

response. You may also provide the

name, date, and Federal Register

citation.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

Under section 18 of the Federal

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide

Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the

discretion of the Administrator, a

Federal or State agency may be

exempted from any provision of FIFRA

if the Administrator determines that

emergency conditions exist which

require the exemption. The Mississippi

Department of Agriculture and

Commerce has requested the

Administrator to issue a specific

exemption for the use of thiamethoxam

on cotton to control cotton aphids.

Information in accordance with 40 CFR

part 166 was submitted as part of this

request.

As part of this request, the Applicant

asserts that cotton aphid has developed

resistance to most currently labeled and

recommended insecticides in

Mississippi. It is claimed that laboratory

assays, field experiments, and field

experience indicate that insecticides

currently recommended for cotton

aphid control are variable in

effectiveness to the extent that

agricultural consultants and cotton

producers consider them to be

unreliable. Studies suggest aphids may

be initially controlled with registered

alternatives such as dicrotophos,

endosulfan, methomyl and

imidacloprid, but that populations

resurge rapidly following application.

Aphids are naturally controlled by the

fungal disease Neozygites fresenii once

aphid populations have reached high

infestation levels, but it is often difficult

to predict when disease epizootics will

occur. Recently, participation in the

Boll Weevil Eradication Program has

resulted in greater risk of yield

threatening outbreaks of cotton aphids.

Because of the intensive use of

malathion for eradication of the boll

weevil, the early years of eradication

effort are considered to be years of

increased risk of secondary pest

outbreak; survey data collected in

Mississippi in 1998 support this claim.

The Applicant estimates that in the

event of a severe aphid outbreak yield

losses as high as 50 lbs per acre could

be sustained using currently available

products. It is claimed that yield losses

using thiamethoxam under similar

conditions would be around 10 lbs. per

acre. These yield losses would result in

a projected difference in net returns to

the producer of $25 per acre, in the

event of heavy, sustained aphid

infestations.

The Applicant proposes to make no

more than two applications of the

product Centric, containing 25% of the

active ingredient thiamethoxam, to a

maximum of 1,000,000 acres of cotton

in Mississippi, between June 15 and

September 15, 2000; a maximum of

94,000 lbs. a.i. (375,000 lbs. of product)

would be used under this exemption.

This notice does not constitute a

decision by EPA on the application

itself. The regulations governing section

18 of FIFRA require publication of a

notice of receipt of an application for a

specific exemption proposing ‘‘use of a

new chemical (i.e., an active ingredient)

which has not been registered by the

EPA’’, and also ‘‘ a first food use of a

chemical.’’ The notice provides an

opportunity for public comment on the

application.

The Agency, will review and consider

all comments received during the

comment period in determining

whether to issue the emergency

exemption requested by the Mississippi

Department of Agriculture and

Commerce.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Pesticides

and pests.

Dated: May 10, 2000.

James Jones,

Director, Registration Division, Office of

Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 00–12650 Filed 5–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6702–8]

South Bay Asbestos Superfund Site;

Proposed Notice of Administrative

Settlement

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for public

comment.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation and Liability

Act of 1980, as amended by the

Superfund Amendments and

Reauthorization Act of 1986

(‘‘CERCLA’’), 42 U.S.C. 9600 et seq.,

notice is hereby given that a proposed

prospective purchaser agreement

associated with the South Bay Asbestos

Superfund Site was executed by the

United States Environmental Protection

Agency (’’EPA)’’) on May 5, 2000. The

proposed prospective purchaser

agreement would resolve certain

potential claims of the United States

under sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA,

42 U.S.C. 9606 and 9607, and section

7003 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as

amended, 42 U.S.C. 6973, against WCSJ

LLC (the ‘‘Purchaser’’). The subject

property is the Highway 237 Disposal

Site (formerly known as the Marshland

Landfill). The purchaser intends to

develop 45 acres for commercial use, to

be known as the Legacy Terrace

Development, and 23 acres will be

preserved and maintained as open

space. The proposed settlement would

require the purchaser to pay EPA a onetime payment of $250,000.

For thirty (30) calendar days

following the date of publication of this

notice, EPA will receive written

comments relating to the proposed

settlement. If requested prior to the

expiration of this public comment

period, EPA will provide an opportunity

for a public meeting in the effected area.

EPA’s response to any comments

received will be available for public

inspection at the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.