24290 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 2, 2007 / Notices 

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? 

1. Docket. EPA has established a 

docket for this action under docket 

identification (ID) number EPA–HQ– 

OPP–2007–0343. 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 Building), 2777 S. 

Crystal Drive 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 telephone number 

is (703) 305–5805. 

2. Electronic access. You may access 

this Federal Register document 

electronically through the EPA Internet 

under the ‘‘Federal Register’’ listings at 

http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr. 

II. Background 

EPA is currently reviewing six soil 

fumigant pesticides. Four of the six are 

in review for reregistration, including 

chloropicrin, dazomet, metam sodium, 

metam potassium, and methyl bromide. 

A fifth chemical, iodomethane, is being 

reviewed for registration and is a 

possible alternative to methyl bromide. 

Reregistration for 1,3-dichloropropene 

(1,3-D or Telone) was completed in 

1998, but is included in the review for 

comparative purposes. EPA is reviewing the soil fumigant 

pesticides using the 6-Phase Public 

Participation Process described in the 

Agency’s May 14, 2004 Federal Register 

notice (69 FR 26819)(FRL–7357–9). 

During Phase 5, the Agency is issuing 

for public comment revised risk 

assessments, benefits assessments, and a 

paper outlining risk management 

options for the soil fumigants. To obtain 

additional, first-hand input from 

stakeholders, EPA is holding meetings 

during the Phase 5 public comment 

period in areas of high soil fumigant 

use. EPA will begin each public meeting 

with a brief overview of predicted risks 

and benefits of soil fumigant use, as 

well as possible measures that the 

Agency expects will reduce risks. After 

providing guidelines for making 

comments, the Agency will take 

comments from the public during the 

remainder of the day. EPA plans to 

transcribe the meetings so that 

comments received can be placed in the 

docket where they will be available to 

other members of the public. 

EPA also plans to participate in a 

stakeholder meeting held by the 

California Department of Pesticide 

Regulation on May 30, 2007, focusing 

on California’s risk management 

proposals for soil fumigants that 

produce MITC, specifically metam 

sodium and metam potassium. 

California and EPA have been working 

together on soil fumigant issues during 

the last several years. Because the 

mitigation proposals for these chemicals 

include similar approaches to reduce 

exposures, EPA will also consider 

public comments provided by 

stakeholders during this meeting. Please 

visit the California Department of 

Pesticide Regulation website for more 

information: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/. 

After considering all information and 

comments received during Phase 5 

through the public meetings and the 

docket, EPA plans to develop risk 

management decisions for the soil 

fumigant pesticides later in 2007. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, Pesticides 

and pests. 

Dated: April 24, 2007. 

Peter Caulkins, 

Acting Director, Special Review and 

Reregistration Division, Office of Pesticide 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. E7–8277 Filed 5–1–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125; FRL–8127–7] 

Metam Sodium and Metam Potassium; 

Revised Human Health Risk 

Assessment, Notice of Availability and 

Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

availability and seeks comments on 

EPA’s revised human health risk 

assessment for the pesticide fumigants 

metam sodium and metam potassium. 

In addition, this notice solicits public 

comment on the risk reduction options 

paper for fumigants including metam 

sodium and metam potassium and 

EPA’s benefits assessments for the soil 

fumigants. The Agency is also seeking 

comments on the ecological risk 

assessment which was not revised since 

the last public comment period. The 

public is encouraged to suggest risk 

management ideas or proposals to 

address the risks identified. EPA is 

developing a Reregistration Eligibility 

Decision (RED) for metam sodium and 

metam potassium through the full, 6- 

Phase public participation process that 

the Agency uses to involve the public in 

developing pesticide reregistration and 

tolerance reassessment decisions. EPA 

also is concurrently assessing the risks 

of four other soil fumigant pesticides to 

ensure that its assessment approaches 

are consistent, and to ensure that risk 

tradeoffs and economic outcomes can be 

adequately predicted in reaching risk 

management decisions. The Agency is 

seeking the same input from the public 

on these pesticides on a similar 

schedule. Through these programs, EPA 

is ensuring that all pesticides meet 

current health and safety standards. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 2, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125, by 

one of the following methods: 

<bullet≤ Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

<bullet≤ Mail: Office of Pesticide 

Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 

Docket (7502P), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001. 

<bullet≤ 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’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 telephone number is (703) 305- 

5805. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005– 

0125. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the docket 

without change and may be made 

available on-line at http:// 

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 Federal regulations.gov 

website is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ 

system, which means EPA will not 

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 2, 2007 / Notices 24291 

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 email 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 

in regulations.gov. To access the 

electronic docket, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, select ‘‘Advanced 

Search,’’ then ‘‘Docket Search.’’ Insert 

the docket ID number where indicated 

and select the ‘‘Submit’’ button. Follow 

the instructions on the regulations.gov 

web site to view the docket index or 

access available documents. 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 http:// 

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 telephone number 

is (703) 305-5805. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Veronique LaCapra, Special Review and 

Reregistration Division (7508P), Office 

of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; 

telephone number: (703) 605-1525; fax 

number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: 

lacapra.veronique@epa.gov. 

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, 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. 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. Background 

A. What Action is the Agency Taking? 

EPA is making available the Agency’s 

revised human health risk assessment 

and ecological risk assessment, initially 

issued for comment through a Federal 

Register notice published on July 13, 

2005, (70 FR 40333) (FRL–7722–1); a 

response to comments; and related 

documents for metam sodium and 

metam potassium. EPA also is soliciting 

public comment on the risk reduction 

options paper and benefits assessments 

for the soil fumigants. EPA developed 

the risk assessments for metam sodium 

and metam potassium as part of its 

public process for making pesticide 

reregistration eligibility and tolerance 

reassessment decisions. Through these 

programs, EPA is ensuring that 

pesticides meet current standards under 

the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the 

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

(FFDCA), as amended by the Food 

Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). 

Metam sodium and metam potassium 

are non-selective pre-plant soil 

fumigants with fungicidal, herbicidal, 

insecticidal, and nematicidal properties. 

They are registered for use on all food, 

feed and fiber crops including turf and 

ornamentals. Metam sodium’s major 

agricultural use sites include potatoes, 

carrots, tomatoes, onions, and peanuts. 

Metam potassium’s major use sites are 

lettuce, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and 

watermelons. Metam sodium is also 

registered for use in orchard replant, on 

golf course turf, and for small areas of 

turf and soil. In addition, metam sodium 

is used as a root-control agent in drains 

and sewers. Metam sodium and metam 

potassium are also registered for a 

variety of antimicrobial and industrial 

uses. Metam sodium and metam 

potassium are converted to methyl 

isothiocyanate (MITC) in the 

environment, particularly in the 

presence of moisture (such as in soil 

after application). It is MITC that 

performs the fumigating activity. The 

volatility of metam sodium and metam 

potassium in the environment, and 

results of metabolism studies in plants, 

assure that there is no reasonable 

expectation of finite residues to be 

incurred in/on any raw agricultural 

commodity when the products are 

applied according to label directions. 

EPA is providing an opportunity, 

through this notice, for interested 

parties to provide risk management 

proposals or otherwise comment on risk 

management for metam sodium and 

metam potassium. Risks of concern 

associated with the use of metam 

sodium and metam potassium include 

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24292 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 2, 2007 / Notices 

bystander and worker risks. A complete 

list of the risks and the mitigation 

options can be found in the Risk 

Mitigation Options Document docket 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125. A 

Readers Guide has been created to 

provide an organizational structure to 

the metam sodium and metam 

potassium docket, to allow readers to 

more easily access and navigate the 

various entries contained in the metam 

sodium and metam potassium docket, 

and to facilitate public comment. You 

may find this guide in docket number 

EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0125. In targeting 

these risks of concern, the Agency 

solicits information on effective and 

practical risk reduction measures. 

EPA is applying the principles of 

public participation to all pesticides 

undergoing reregistration and tolerance 

reassessment. The Agency’s Pesticide 

Tolerance Reassessment and 

Reregistration; Public Participation 

Process, published in the Federal 

Register on May 14, 2004, (69 FR 

26819)(FRL–7357–9) explains that in 

conducting these programs, EPA is 

tailoring its public participation process 

to be commensurate with the level of 

risk, extent of use, complexity of issues, 

and degree of public concern associated 

with each pesticide. Due to its uses, 

risks, and other factors, metam sodium 

and metam potassium are being 

reviewed through the full 6-Phase 

public participation process. 

All comments should be submitted 

using the methods in ADDRESSES, and 

must be received by EPA on or before 

the closing date. Comments and 

proposals will become part of the 

Agency Docket for metam sodium and 

metam potassium. Comments received 

after the close of the comment period 

will be marked ‘‘late’’ EPA is not 

required to consider these late 

comments. 

After considering comments received, 

EPA will develop and issue the metam 

sodium and metam potassium RED. 

B. What is the Agency’s Authority for 

Taking this Action? 

Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA as amended 

directs that, after submission of all data 

concerning a pesticide active ingredient, 

‘‘the Administrator shall determine 

whether pesticides containing such 

active ingredient are eligible for 

reregistration,’’ before calling in product 

specific data on individual end-use 

products and either reregistering 

products or taking other ‘‘appropriate 

regulatory action.’’ 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, Pesticides 

and pests. 

Dated: April 25, 2007. 

Peter Caulkins, 

Acting Director, Special Review and 

Reregistration Division, Office of Pesticide 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. E7–8269 Filed 5–1–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0128; FRL–8126–7] 

Dazomet Revised Human Health Risk 

Assessment; Notice of Availability and 

Solicitation of Risk Reduction Options 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

availability and seeks comments on 

EPA’s revised human health risk 

assessment for the pesticide fumigant 

dazomet. In addition, this notice solicits 

public comment on the risk reduction 

options paper for dazomet and EPA’s 

benefits assessments for the soil 

fumigants. The Agency is also seeking 

comments on the ecological risk 

assessment. The public is encouraged to 

suggest risk management ideas or 

proposals to address the risks identified. 

EPA is developing a Reregistration 

Eligibility Decision (RED) for dazomet 

through the full, 6-Phase public 

participation process that the Agency 

uses to involve the public in developing 

pesticide reregistration and tolerance 

reassessment decisions. EPA also is 

concurrently assessing the risks of five 

other soil fumigant pesticides to ensure 

that its assessment approaches are 

consistent, and to ensure that risk 

tradeoffs and economic outcomes can be 

adequately predicted in reaching risk 

management decisions. The Agency is 

seeking the same input from the public 

on these pesticides on a similar 

schedule. Through these programs, EPA 

is ensuring that all pesticides meet 

current health and safety standards. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 2, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005–0128, by 

one of the following methods: <bullet≤ Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

<bullet≤ Mail: Office of Pesticide 

Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 

Docket (7502P), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001. <bullet≤ 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’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 telephone number is (703) 305– 

5805. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2005– 

0128. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

received will be included in the docket 

without change and may be made 

available on-line at http:// 

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 Federal regulations.gov 

website 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 email 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 

in regulations.gov. To access the 

electronic docket, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, select ‘‘Advanced 

Search,’’ then ‘‘Docket Search.’’ Insert 

the docket ID number where indicated 

and select the ‘‘Submit’’ button. Follow 

the instructions on the regulations.gov 

web site to view the docket index or 

access available documents. 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 

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