31900 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / Notices

Funding and COE Section 404 Permit,

Transportation Systems Management

(TSM) and Light Rail Transit (LRT), City

and County of Sacramento, CA.

Summary: No formal comment letter

was sent to the preparing agency.

ERP No. F–FTA–K54023–CA Vasona

Corridor Light Rail Transit Project,

Extension of existing Light Rail Transit

(LRT), in portion of the Cities of San

Jose, Campbell and Los Gatos, Santa

Clara County, CA.

Summary: No formal comment letter

was sent to the preparing agency.

ERP No. F–IBR–K39054–CA

Groundwater Replenishment System,

Implementation to Repurifying Water

from Orange County Water District

(OCWD) Orange County Sanitation

District (OCSD), Funding and COE

Section 404 Permit, Orange County, CA.

Summary: EPA continues to express

concern regarding (1) potential

emergency response procedures and

contingency plans, (2) how the injection

process would improve the effectiveness

of the saltwater intrusion barrier, and (3)

a preliminary monitoring plan to be

implemented by the project operators.

ERP No. F–SFW–L64046–WA Little

Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge,

Implementation, Comprehensive

Conservation Plan, Stevens and Pend

Oreille Counties, WA.

Summary: No formal comment letter

was sent to the preparing agency.

ERP No. F–TVA–E09805–TN Addition

of Electric Generation Peaking and

Baseload Capacity at Greenfield Sites,

Construction and Operation of

Combustion Turbines (CTs), Haywood

County, TN.

Summary: EPA expressed concern

with the proposal to develop new power

plants proposed for greenfields as

opposed to brownfields or the

expansion/repowering of existing

plants. EPA also expressed concern that

the project would likely induce growth

with associated impacts. EPA

recommended that TVA continue to

coordinate with local community

leaders regarding environmental justice

issues.

ERP No. F–USN–K11083–CA Hunters

Point (Former) Naval Shipyard Disposal

and Reuse, Implementation, City of San

Francisco, San Francisco County, CA.

Summary: EPA continues to object to

the FEIS based upon inadequate

mitigation on potential impacts to the

environmental justice community at

Hunters Point.

ERP No. FS–UAF–A11074–00 Evolved

Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)

Program, Development, Operation and

Deployment, Proposed Launch

Locations are Cape Canaveral Air

Station (AS), Florida and Vandenberg

Air Force Base (AFB), California,

Federal Permits and Licenses, FL and

CA.

Summary: EPA had no objection to

the Final document.

Dated: May 16, 2000.

Joseph C. Montgomery,

Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office

of Federal Activities.

[FR Doc. 00–12681 Filed 5–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPPTS–42212; FRL–6559–9]

Priority-Setting Workshop for the

Endocrine Disruptor Screening

Program; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice invites public

participation in a workshop to discuss

the development of a priority-setting

system for the selection of chemicals for

testing in the Endocrine Disruptor

Screening Program (EDSP). The

Agency’s 1998 Proposed Statement of

Policy for the EDSP contains a set of

principles and a general strategy for

setting priorities for testing. The Agency

has developed a draft version of a

priority-setting system and seeks public

input on the further design and

implementation of the system. The

workshop will also provide an overall

update and invite general comment on

other aspects of the EDSP, including the

status of the standardization and

validation efforts and the approach for

pesticide active ingredients.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

Monday, June 5, 2000, from 10 a.m. to

5 p.m.; on June 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

and on June 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Your request to participate in the

meeting must be received by EPA on or

before May 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

Crystal City Hilton, 2399 Jefferson Davis

Hwy., Arlington VA, (703) 418–6800.

Requests to participate may be

submitted by mail, electronically, or in

person. Please follow the detailed

instructions for each method as

provided in Unit III. of the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To ensure

proper receipt by EPA, your request

must identify docket control number

OPPTS–42212 in the subject line on the

first page of your response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information contact: Barbara

Cunningham, Director, Office of

Program Management and Evaluation,

Office of Pollution Prevention and

Toxics (7401), Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20460; telephone

number: (202) 554–1404; e-mail address:

TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.

For technical information contact: For

information related to the overall

program status of the EDSP: Gary Timm,

telephone number: (202) 260–1859, email: timm.gary@epa.gov or Anthony

Maciorowski, telephone number: (202)

260–3048, e-mail:

maciorowski.anthony@epa.gov, Office

of Science Coordination and Policy

(7101), Environmental Protection

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20460.

For information on pesticide activities

under the EDSP: Penny Fenner-Crisp,

telephone number: (703) 605–0654, email: fenner-crisp.penelope@epa.gov,

Office of Pesticide Programs (7501C),

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington,

DC 20460.

For information on the Endocrine

Disruptor Priority-Setting Database

(EDPSD): Jim Darr, telephone number:

(202) 260–3441, e-mail:

darr.james@epa.gov or Patrick Kennedy,

telephone number: (202) 260–3916, email: kennedy.patrick@epa.gov,

Economics, Exposure, and Technology

Division (7406), Office of Pollution

Prevention and Toxics, Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Does this Notice Apply to Me?

This action is directed to the public

in general. This action may, however, be

of interest to persons who manufacture,

import, or use chemical substances that

are addressed by the EDPSD. The

general public may also have an interest

in the design and implementation of the

EDPSD and in other aspects of the

Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program

covered at the workshop. 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

technical person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

II. How Can I Get Additional

Information, Including Copies of this

Document or Other Related Documents?

A. 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://

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / Notices 31901

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/.

The EDPSD can be downloaded on or

after May 22, 2000, from http://

www.ergweb.com/endocrine.

B. In person. The Agency has

established an official record for this

meeting under docket control number

OPPTS–42212. The official record

consists of the documents specifically

referenced in this notice, any public

comments received during an applicable

comment period, and other information

related to the EDPSD, 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, which includes

printed, paper versions of any electronic

comments that may be submitted during

an applicable comment period, is

available for inspection in the TSCA

Nonconfidential Information Center,

North East Mall Rm. B–607, Waterside

Mall, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC.

The Center is open from noon to 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. The telephone number of the

Center is (202) 260–7099.

III. How Can I Request to Participate in

this Meeting?

You may submit a request to

participate in this meeting through the

mail, in person, or electronically. Do not

submit any information in your request

that is considered CBI. Please indicate if

you would like to make oral comments

at the meeting so that adequate time can

be reserved on the agenda. To ensure

proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative

that you identify docket control number

OPPTS–42212 in the subject line on the

first page of your request.

A. By mail. You may submit a written

request to: Document Control Office

(7407), Office of Pollution Prevention

and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.

B. In person or by courier. You may

deliver a written request to: OPPT

Document Control Office (DOC) in the

East Tower Rm. G–099, Waterside Mall,

401 M St., SW., Washington, DC. The

DOC is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. The telephone number for the

DOC is (202) 260–7093.

C. Electronically. You may submit

your request electronically by e-mail to:

‘‘oppt.ncic@epa.gov.’’ Do not submit

any information electronically that you

consider to be CBI. Use WordPerfect

6.1/8.0 or ASCII file format and avoid

the use of special characters and any

form of encryption. All comments in

electronic form must be identified by

docket control number OPPTS–42212.

You may also file a request online at

many Federal Depository Libraries.

IV. Background Information on the

Workshop

The Agency described the major

elements of a proposed EDSP and the

Agency’s plan for implementation in a

December 28, 1998, Federal Register

notice (63 FR 42208) (FRL–6052–9). The

EDSP has five major components:

1. Sorting, in which chemicals are

classified according to the availability of

information on each chemical’s

endocrine disrupting potential.

2. Priority Setting, in which EPA will

determine the priority order for entry

into Tier 1 Screening.

3. Tier 1 Screening, a battery of in

vitro and in vivo assays designed to

identify those chemicals that are not

likely to interact with the estrogen,

androgen, or thyroid hormone systems.

4. Tier 2 Testing, a battery of assays

designed to determine whether a

chemical may have an effect in humans

similar to that of naturally occurring

hormones and to identify, characterize,

and quantify those effects for estrogen,

androgen, and thyroid hormone effects.

5. Hazard Assessment, a weight-ofevidence evaluation of Tier 1 and Tier

2 results.

It is expected that the Sorting step

will result in a relatively small number

of chemicals proceeding directly to Tier

2 Testing or to Hazard Assessment and

that the vast majority of chemicals will

be placed in Priority Setting for Tier 1

Screening. The universe of chemicals of

concern to EPA as potential endocrine

disruptors is estimated to number more

than 87,000 and includes pesticides,

commercial chemicals, cosmetic

ingredients, food additives, nutritional

supplements, and certain mixtures. The

Agency’s initial priority-setting efforts

are focusing on two groups of

chemicals:

1. Pesticide active ingredients (∼900

chemicals).

2. High production volume chemicals

used as inert ingredients in pesticides

(HPV Inerts, ∼620 chemicals).

The EDPSD is being developed to

help set Tier 1 priorities. At present, the

EDPSD contains data on potential

endocrine-related toxicity for only HPV

Inerts. The Agency plans to incorporate

predictions of toxicity based on

quantitative structure-activity relations

(QSAR) into the EDPSD when

appropriate QSAR models are agreed

upon. Incorporation of QSAR data will

allow the EDPSD to rank a much larger

number of chemicals on both effects and

exposure factors. The Agency plans to

hold a workshop on the use of QSAR in

the EDSP later this year. Hazard and

exposure data on pesticide active

ingredients may be included in future

versions of the EDPSD as a means of

increasing the accessibility of these

data, but there are no near-term plans to

use the EDPSD to set testing priorities

for pesticide active ingredients. The

EDPSD will undergo a formal peer

review after implementation of final

decisions regarding its scope and

content.

The EDPSD utilizes a ‘‘compartmentbased priority-setting strategy’’ that

builds upon distinct compartments of

exposure- and effects-related

information and criteria as well as a

category of specially targeted priorities.

The EDPSD presently contains the

following compartments:

Exposure Data Compartments

Human Biological Monitoring Data

Ecological Biological Monitoring Data

Chemicals in Food and Drinking Water

Chemicals in Consumer/Cosmetic Products

Occupational Exposure Chemicals

Surface Water Monitoring Data

Indoor Air Monitoring Data

Outdoor Air Monitoring Data

Sediments/Soil Monitoring Data

Superfund Data

Environmental Releases/Environmental

Fate

Production/Import Volumes/

Environmental Fate

Exposure Multi-Hit Compartment

Effects Data Compartments

Epidemiological and Clinical Data on

Endocrine-Related Effects

Reproductive/Developmental Toxicity in

Laboratory Animals

Chronic/Subchronic Toxicity in Laboratory

Animals

Carcinogenicity in Endocrine Target

Tissues in Laboratory Animals

Ecotoxicity Effects

Effects Multi-Hit Compartment

Combined Compartments

Rank in Human Biological Monitoring x

Highest Rank in Any Health Effects

Compartment

Highest Rank in Any Other Human

Exposure Compartment x Highest Rank in

Any Health Effect Compartment

Rank in Ecological Biological Monitoring

Compartment x Highest Rank in a Related

Ecotoxicity Effects Compartment

31902 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / Notices

Highest Rank in Any Other Ecological

Exposure Compartment x Highest Rank in a

Related Ecotoxicity Effects Compartment

Specially Targeted Priorities

Mixtures

Naturally Occurring Non-Steroidal

Estrogens

Nominations

V. Purpose and Structure of the

Workshop

The first day of the workshop will

provide an overview of the EDSP,

including a discussion of the Agency’s

overall approach to priority setting, how

pesticide active ingredients are being

addressed differently than other

chemicals, the current status of

standardization and validation

activities, and the projected time lines

for chemical selection and testing. The

second and third days of the workshop

will focus on the EDPSD. The Agency

held a workshop in January 1999, to

discuss the basic design of the EDPSD.

The EDPSD is now a functional database

and the Agency seeks comment on the

specific hazard and exposure data

elements included in the database, the

ranking algorithms, and the priority lists

that result from various ranking options.

The workshop will be structured

around discussion of the specific issues

listed in the agenda by invited

participants. A limited amount of time

will be allotted for additional comment

by other meeting attendees. Participants

may also submit written comments

during or after the meeting. Please

submit comments no later than 30 days

following the workshop. Comments

should be sent to the docket address

listed in Unit III. and should reference

the docket control number OPPTS–

42212.

VI. Agenda

Monday, June 5 Overview of the

Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program

10:00 a.m. Welcome

10:15 a.m. Overview of the Endocrine

Disruptor Screening Program

10:45 a.m. Standardization and Validation

Activities

11:00 a.m. Overview of Priority Setting

11:15 a.m. Questions

11:30 a.m. OPP Activities to Prioritize

Pesticide Active Ingredients

12:00 noon Questions on Prioritization of

Active Ingredients

12:15 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. Public Comments on the

Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program,

Standardization/Validation Activities, or the

OPP Actives Approach

3:00 p.m. Break

3:15 p.m. Demo of EDPSD version 2

5:00 p.m. End of Demo

Tuesday, June 6 Panel Discussion of the

Priority Setting Database (Exposure and

Effects)

9:00 a.m. Overview of the Current Status of

the EDPSD

9:15 a.m. Completeness of Data Sources

used in Exposure Compartments

10:30 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m. Ranking Algorithms Used in

Exposure Compartments

12:00 noon Lunch

1:30 p.m Quality of the Data in Exposure

Compartments

2:30 p.m. Break

2:45 p.m. Completeness of Data Sources

used in Effects Compartments

4:00 p.m. Ranking Algorithms Used in

Effects Compartments

5:00 p.m. End of day

Wednesday, June 7 Panel Discussion of

the Priority Setting Database (Effects,

Combined Exposure and Effects

Compartments, and Weights)

9:00 a.m. Quality of the Data in Effects

Compartments

10:00 a.m. Definition and Ranking

Procedure of the Combined Compartments

10:45 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. Discussion of Database Default

Weights and Ranked List of HPV/Inerts

12:00 noon Lunch

1:30 p.m. Continue Discussion of Database

Default Weights and Ranked List of HPV/

Inerts

3:00 p.m. Public Comments on EDPSD

4:00 p.m. End of Workshop

The overall objective of the panel

discussions is to address the key issues

that bear upon the ability of the EDPSD

to accomplish its intended purpose of

setting Tier 1 priorities. These issues

include:

Are the exposure and effects data

sources adequate? Are any important

data sources missing?

Are the compartment definitions

clear? Should any compartments be

added? Should any existing

compartments be split or combined?

Does the ranking algorithm for each

compartment make sense, e.g., rank

based on average concentration in

monitoring compartments, rank based

on lowest observed adverse effect level

(LOAEL) in effects compartments?

Certain compartments have a lot of

ties in their rankings. How should you

break ties in rankings in the chemical

selection process, e.g., if you want to

pick the top 10 chemicals from a given

compartment and there are 15 chemicals

tied at rank #6, what do you do?

With respect to the EPA default

scenario: Do the overall category

weightings make sense, i.e., cumulative

weights for exposure vs. effects vs.

combined compartments? Do the

cumulative weights for human health

vs. ecological concerns make sense? Do

the individual compartment weights

make sense? Suggested alternatives?

Is the EDPSD sufficiently transparent

in terms of its operation and

documentation, i.e., is the basis of the

ranking readily understandable to the

user?

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Chemicals,

Endocrine disruptors, Pesticides.

Dated: May 15, 2000.

Stephen L. Johnson,

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of

Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

[FR Doc. 00–12632 Filed 5–16–00; 1:33 pm]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPP–34225; FRL–6588–7]

Organophosphate Pesticide;

Availability of Preliminary Risk

Assessments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

availability of documents that were

developed as part of the EPA’s process

for making reregistration eligibility

decisions for the organophosphate

pesticides and for tolerance

reassessments consistent with the

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

(FFDCA), as amended by the Food

Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).

These documents are the preliminary

human health and ecological risk

assessments and related documents for

diazinon. This notice also starts a 60-

day public comment period for the

preliminary risk assessments.

Comments and data are to be limited to

issues directly associated with the

organophosphate pesticide, diazinon,

and its preliminary risk assessments. By

allowing access and opportunity for

comment on the preliminary risk

assessments, EPA is seeking to

strengthen stakeholder involvement and

help ensure our decisions under FQPA

are transparent and based on the best

available information. The tolerance

reassessment process will ensure that

the United States continues to have the

safest and most abundant food supply.

The Agency cautions that these risk

assessments are preliminary

assessments only and that further

refinements of the risk assessments may

be appropriate. These documents reflect

only the work and analysis conducted