6750 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 1997 / Proposed Rules

public hearing relating to proposed

regulations under chapter 1 of the

Internal Revenue Code will be held

Tuesday, February 25, 1997, beginning

at 10:00 a.m. in the IRS Commissioner’s

Conference Room, room 3313, Internal

Revenue Building, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW, Washington, DC and that

requests to speak and outlines of oral

comments should be received by

Tuesday, February 4, 1997.

The location of the public hearing has

changed. The hearing is being held in

room 2615 on Tuesday, February 25,

1997, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The

requests to speak and outlines of oral

comments should have been received by

Tuesday, February 4, 1997. Because of

controlled access restrictions, attenders

cannot be admitted beyond the lobby of

the Internal Revenue Building until 9:45

a.m.

Copies of the agenda are available free

of charge at the hearing.

Michael L. Slaughter,

Acting Chief, Regulations Unit, Assistant

Chief Counsel (Corporate).

[FR Doc. 97–3655 Filed 2–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[TN–155–1–7178; TN-MEM–149–3–970;

FRL–5669–4]

Approval and Promulgation of

Implementation Plans; State of

Tennessee and Memphis-Shelby

County, Tennessee

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA proposes to approve the

State Implementation Plan (SIP)

revision submitted by the State of

Tennessee and by Memphis-Shelby

County for the purpose of establishing a

federally enforceable state operating

permit (FESOP) program and a federally

enforceable local operating permit

(FELOP) program. In order to extend the

Federal enforceability of Tennessee’s

FESOP and Memphis-Shelby County’s

FELOP to hazardous air pollutants

(HAP), EPA is also proposing approval

of the State’s FESOP and County’s

FELOP regulations pursuant to section

112 of the Clean Air Act as amended in

1990 (CAA). In the final rules section of

this Federal Register, EPA is approving

Tennessee’s and Memphis-Shelby

County’s SIP revisions as a direct final

rule without prior proposal because the

Agency views this as noncontroversial

revision amendments and anticipates no

adverse comments. A detailed rationale

for the approvals is set forth in the

direct final rule. If no adverse comments

are received in response to that direct

final rule, no further activity is

contemplated in relation to this

proposed rule. If EPA receives adverse

comments, the direct final rule will be

withdrawn and all public comments

received will be addressed in a

subsequent final rule based on this

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a

second comment period on this

approval action. Any parties interested

in commenting on this action should do

so at this time.

DATES: To be considered, comments

must be received by March 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to:Gracy R. Danois, Air

and Radiation Technology Branch, Air,

Pesticides & Toxics Management

Division, Region 4, Environmental

Protection Agency, Atlanta Federal

Center, 100 Alabama Street, SW.,

Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

Copies of the material submitted by

the State of Tennessee and by MemphisShelby County may be examined during

normal business hours at the following

locations:

Air and Radiation Docket and

Information Center (Air Docket 6102),

U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, 401 M Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20460.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 4, Air and Radiation

Technology Branch, Atlanta Federal

Center, 100 Alabama Street, SW.,

Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

Tennessee Department of

Environmental Protection, Tennessee

Division of Air Pollution Control, 9th

Floor L&C Annex, 401 Church Street,

Nashville, Tennessee, 37243–1531.

Memphis and Shelby County Health

Department, 814 Jefferson Avenue,

Memphis, Tennessee, 38105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gracy R. Danois, Air and Radiation

Technology Branch, Air, Pesticides &

Toxics Management Division, Region 4,

Environmental Protection Agency,

Atlanta Federal Center, 100 Alabama

Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia, 30303.

The telephone number is 404/562–9119.

Reference files TN–155 and TN–149–3.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For

additional information, refer to the

direct final rule which is published in

the rules section of this Federal

Register.

Dated: December 16, 1996.

A. Stanley Meiburg,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–3578 Filed 2–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

40 CFR Parts 180, 185, and 186

[OPP–300432; FRL–5381–9]

RIN 2070–AC18

Propargite; Proposed Revocation of

Certain Tolerances

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed Rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to revoke

tolerances for residues of the pesticide

Propargite in or on the following

commodities: apples, dried apple

pomace, apricots, cranberries, figs, dried

figs, peaches, pears, plums (fresh

prunes), strawberries, and succulent

beans. EPA is proposing these

revocations because the uses associated

with the tolerances have been

voluntarily deleted from propargite

labels by Uniroyal Chemical Company.

Uniroyal deleted the uses to address risk

concerns raised by EPA.

DATES: Written comments should be

submitted to EPA by April 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: By mail, submit comments

to Public Response and Program

Resources Branch, Field Operations

Division (7506C), Office of Pesticide

Programs, 401 M St., SW., Washington,

DC 20460. In person, bring comments to

Rm. 1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921

Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.

Comments and data may also be

submitted electronically by sending

electronic mail (e-mail) to: oppdocket@epamail.epa.gov. Electronic

comments must be submitted as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Comments and data will also be

accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1

file format or ASCII file format. All

comments and data in electronic form

must be identified by the docket number

[OPP–300432]. No Confidential

Business Information (CBI) should be

submitted through e-mail. Electronic

comments on this proposed rule may be

filed online at many Federal Depository

Libraries. Additional information on

electronic submissions can be found in

Unit VII. of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: Jeff Morris, Special Review and

Reregistration Division (7508W),

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 1997 / Proposed Rules 6751

Office location, telephone number and

e-mail address: Special Review Branch,

Crystal Station #1, 3rd floor, 2800

Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202,

telephone: (703) 308–8029; e-mail:

morris.jeffrey@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

Propargite (trade names Omite and

Comite) is a pesticide that was

registered in 1969 for the control of

mites on a number of agricultural

commodities and ornamental plants.

EPA classifies propargite as a B2

(probable) human carcinogen.

II. Legal Authorization

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq., as

amended by the Food Quality Protection

Act of 1996 (FQPA), Pub. L. 104–170,

authorizes the establishment of

tolerances (maximum residue levels),

exemptions from the requirement of a

tolerance, modifications in tolerances,

and revocation of tolerances for residues

of pesticide chemicals in or on raw

agricultural commodities and processed

foods pursuant to section 408 [21 U.S.C.

346(a), as amended]. Without a

tolerance or exemption, food containing

pesticide residues is considered to be

unsafe and therefore ‘‘adulterated’’

under section 402(a) of the FFDCA, and

hence may not legally be moved in

interstate commerce [21 U.S.C. 342]. For

a pesticide to be sold and distributed,

the pesticide must not only have

appropriate tolerances under the

FFDCA, but also must be registered

under section 3 of the Federal

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide

Act (FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.).

III. Regulatory Background

EPA published a Registration

Standard for propargite in 1986, and

FIFRA reregistration is ongoing.

Through the reregistration process, in

1992 EPA received from Uniroyal

Chemical Company, the sole propargite

registrant in the United States, a

voluntarily submitted market basket

survey examining residue levels in

selected commodities in a nation-wide

cross section of grocery stores. The

survey attempted to better reflect

propargite residues in these

commodities as purchased by

consumers. Uniroyal’s market basket

survey, as well as other sampling data

used by EPA, indicated propargite

residues on certain foods such as apples

and peaches that were far below

tolerance levels but nevertheless

resulted in dietary risks of concern for

those foods. Based on this and other

information, EPA conducted an

intensive dietary risk assessment and

concluded that long-term exposure to

propargite posed an unreasonable

dietary cancer risk to persons who

consume propargite-treated foods.

A. Use Deletions

EPA discussed its risk findings with

Uniroyal, and Uniroyal responded in an

April 5, 1996 letter by requesting,

among other things, voluntary deletion

of the following uses from all applicable

propargite labels: apples, apricots,

cranberries, figs, green beans, lima

beans, peaches, pears, plums (including

plums grown for prune production), and

strawberries. EPA agreed to this request,

and the deletions were announced in a

Federal Register notice dated May 3,

1996 (61 FR 19936) (FRL–5367–4). EPA

received comments both supporting and

opposing the use deletions; those

comments were considered prior to the

requested use deletions taking effect on

August 1, 1996. The comments are

available in the public record under

docket number OPP–64029. As part of

its use-deletion agreement with EPA,

Uniroyal also agreed not to challenge

revocation of tolerances for any of the

deleted uses.

B. Previous Actions

EPA previously proposed to revoke

the apple and fig tolerances listed under

40 CFR 180.259, because apples and figs

had or needed food additive regulations

(FAR) that were prohibited by the

Delaney clause. Under EPA’s

coordination policy, EPA proposed to

revoke the tolerances for apples and figs

(61 FR 8174, March 1, 1996) (FRL–

5351–6). On March 22, 1996, EPA

issued a final rule, subject to objections,

revoking the FARs for dried figs and tea,

also on grounds that the FARs violated

the Delaney clause (61 FR 11994)(FRL–

5357–7). The propargite registrant filed

objections to the ‘‘induces cancer’’

ground for the final revocation and

requested a hearing. Those revocations

were stayed. In the same notice, EPA

revoked the FAR for raisins because it

was not needed. However, the August 3,

1996 enactment of the FQPA removed

pesticides from coverage under FFDCA

section 409 and the Delaney clause.

Therefore, the proposed and final

revocations based on Delaney clause

grounds have no basis in law.

Accordingly, EPA published a notice in

the Federal Register (61 FR 50684,

September 26, 1996)(FRL–5397–4)

withdrawing the proposed and final

revocations for apples and figs that were

premised on the Delaney clause.

The dried apple pomace tolerance

listed under 40 CFR 186.5000 was

proposed for revocation on September

21, 1995 (60 FR 49142)(FRL–4977–3) on

the ground that dried apple pomace is

no longer listed on Table 1 of Series

860--Residue Chemistry Test Guidelines

(formerly Table II of Subdivision O of

EPA’s Pesticide Assessment

Guidelines), and therefore a tolerance is

not needed.

IV. Current Proposal

This notice proposes to revoke the

following tolerances established under

sections 408 and 409 of FFDCA (as a

matter of law, these tolerances are now

all considered to be under section 408)

for residues of the pesticide propargite

(2-(p-tert-butylphenoxy) cyclohexyl 2-

propynyl sulfite) in or on the following

commodities listed under 40 CFR

180.259, 185.5000, and 186.5000:

Under § 180.259: apples, 3 parts per

million (ppm); apricots, 7 ppm; beans,

succulent, 20 ppm; cranberries, 10 ppm;

figs, 3 ppm; peaches, 7 ppm; pears, 3

ppm; plums (fresh prunes), 7 ppm;

strawberries, 7 ppm.

Under § 185.5000: figs, dried, 9 ppm.

Under § 186.5000: apple pomace,

dried, 80 ppm.

EPA is proposing these revocations

because the registrant requested that the

uses associated with the above

tolerances be formally deleted from all

of its propargite registrations, and those

uses have been deleted. End-use

propargite labels no longer list as

registered uses the commodities

associated with these tolerances. It is

EPA’s general practice to revoke

tolerances where the associated

pesticide use has been deleted from all

FIFRA labels. See 40 CFR 180.32(b).

An additional ground for revoking the

dried apple pomace tolerance is that

dried apple pomace is no longer listed

on Table 1 of Series 860--Residue

Chemistry Test Guidelines, because it is

no longer considered to be a significant

livestock feed item and therefore does

not require a feed additive regulation.

Documentation explaining EPA’s

conclusions on what animal feeds are

significant has been included in the

public record.

Propargite degrades in soil with a

half-life of less than 60 days. Based on

this lack of persistence, there is no

expectation of unavoidable residues.

Codex maximum residue limits exist

for propargite. Propargite is a candidate

for Codex re-evaluation, but review has

not yet been scheduled. EPA requests

comments on whether residues are

present in or on imported commodities.

V. Effective Dates of Proposed

Tolerance Revocations

Prior to the amendment of the

FFDCA, it was generally the practice of
6752 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 1997 / Proposed Rules

EPA in similar instances to establish an

effective date for each tolerance

revocation that takes into consideration

the time needed for legally treated food

to pass entirely through the channels of

trade. That is no longer necessary

because under section 408(l)(5), food

lawfully treated will not be rendered

adulterated despite the lack of a

tolerance so long as the residue on the

food complies with the tolerance in

place at the time of treatment.

At this time, EPA estimates that

legally treated commodities should clear

the channels of trade within 3 years of

issuance of a final order revoking these

tolerances. This is based on a

preliminary EPA estimate that food

processors attempt to deliver their

products to grocery stores within 2 years

of production, and that the products in

general remain on store shelves for less

than 1 year. EPA also estimates that no

fresh market commodities are expected

to be in the channels of trade 3 years

after treatment with propargite.

However, because it is important to FDA

as the agency that monitors residues in

food to have accurate information

regarding the length of time required for

each affected commodity to move

through commerce, EPA specifically

requests comment from growers,

processors, and other interested parties

on this matter. The procedure for filing

comments is described below in unit VI

of this preamble.

VI. Public Comment Procedures

EPA invites interested persons to

submit written comments, information,

or data in response to this proposed

rule. After consideration of comments,

EPA will issue a final rule. Such rule

will be subject to objections. Failure to

file an objection within the appointed

period will constitute waiver of the right

to raise in future proceedings issues

resolved in the final rule.

Comments must be submitted by

April 14, 1997, and must bear a notation

indicating the docket number [OPP–

300432]. Three copies of the comments

should be submitted to either location

listed under ADDRESSES at the beginning

of this notice.

Information submitted as a comment

concerning this notice may be claimed

confidential by marking any or all of

that information as CBI. EPA will not

disclose information so marked, except

in accordance with procedures set forth

in 40 CFR part 2. A second copy of such

comments, with the CBI deleted, also

must be submitted for inclusion in the

public record. EPA may publicly

disclose without prior notice

information not marked confidential.

VII. Public Record

A record has been established for this

notice under docket number [OPP–

300432] (including comments and data

submitted electronically as described

below). A public version of this record,

including printed, paper versions of

electronic comments, that does not

include any information claimed as CBI

is available for inspection from 8:30

a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding legal holidays. The public

record is located in Rm. 1132 of the

Public Response and Program Resources

Branch, Field Operations Division

(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs,

Environmental Protection Agency,

Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis

Highway, Arlington, VA.

Electronic comments can be sent

directly to EPA at:

opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov.

Electronic comments must be

submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption.

The official record for this notice, as

well as the public version, as described

above will be kept in paper form.

Accordingly, EPA will transfer all

comments received electronically into

printed, paper form as they are received

and will place the paper copies in the

official record, which will also include

all comments submitted directly in

writing. The official rulemaking record

is the paper record maintained at the

address in ‘‘ADDRESSES’’ at the

beginning of this notice.

VIII. Regulatory Assessment

Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735, October 4, 1993), this action is

not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

and, since this action does not impose

any information collection requirements

subject to approval under the Paperwork

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,

it is not subject to review by the Office

of Management and Budget. In addition,

this action does not impose any

enforceable duty, or contain any

‘‘unfunded mandates’’ as described in

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4), or

require prior consultation as specified

by Executive Order 12875 (58 FR 58093,

October 28, 1993), entitled Enhancing

the Intergovernmental Partnership, or

special considerations as required by

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629,

February 16, 1994).

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Administrator

has determined that there will be no

economic impacts from revocation of

the tolerances in this notice, because the

registrant has cancelled the uses.

Despite the revocation, commodities

legally treated under FIFRA and

consistent with the tolerance in place at

time of treatment are allowed by the

statute to clear the channels of trade.

Therefore, EPA certifies that this action

will not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 180

Environmental protection,

Administrative practice and procedure,

Agricultural commodities, Pesticides

and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

40 CFR Part 185

Food additives, Pesticide and pest.

40 CFR Part 186

Animal feeds, Pesticide and pest.

Dated: January 31, 1997.

Daniel M. Barolo,

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.

Therefore, it is proposed that 40 CFR

parts 180, 185, and 186 be amended to

read as follows:

PART 180—[Amended]

1. In part 180:

a. The authority citation for part 180

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 346a and 371.

§ 180.259 [Amended]

b. In § 180.259, the table in paragraph

(a) is amended by removing the entries

for apples; apricots; beans, succulent;

cranberries; figs; peaches; pears; plums

(fresh prunes); and strawberries.

PART 185—[AMENDED]

2. In part 185:

a. The authority citation for part 185

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 348.

§ 185.5000 [Amended]

b. Section 185.5000 is amended by

removing the entry for ‘‘Figs, dried.’’

PART 186—[AMENDED]

3. In part 186:

a. The authority citation for part 186

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 348.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 1997 / Proposed Rules 6753

§ 186.5000 [Amended]

b. Section 186.5000 is amended by

removing the entry for ‘‘Apple pomace,

dried.’’

[FR Doc. 97–3518 Filed 2–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

49 CFR Parts 383 and 391

[FHWA Docket No. MC–93–23]

RIN 2125–AD20

Commercial Driver Physical

Qualifications as Part of the

Commercial Driver’s License Process

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meeting of negotiated

rulemaking advisory committee.

SUMMARY: The FHWA announces the

meeting date of an advisory committee

(the Committee) established under the

Federal Advisory Committee Act and

the Negotiated Rulemaking Act to

consider the relevant issues and attempt

to reach a consensus in developing

regulations governing the proposed

merger of the State-administered

commercial driver’s license (CDL)

procedures of 49 CFR Part 383 and the

driver physical qualifications

requirements of 49 CFR Part 391. The

Committee is composed of persons who

represent the interests that would be

substantially affected by the rule.

The FHWA believes that public

participation is critical to the success of

this proceeding. Participation at

meetings is not limited to Committee

members. Negotiation sessions are open

to the public, so interested parties may

observe the negotiations and

communicate their views in the

appropriate time and manner to

Committee members.

For a listing of Committee members,

see the notice published on July 23,

1996, 61 FR 38133. Please note that the

United Motorcoach Association and the

American Bus Association will serve as

full members of the Committee. For

additional background information on

this negotiated rulemaking, see the

notice published on April 29, 1996, at

61 FR 18713.

DATES: The sixth meeting of the

advisory committee will begin at 9:30

a.m. on March 24–25, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The sixth meeting of the

advisory committee will be held at the

Department of Transportation, Nassif

Building, Room 3200, 400 7th Street,

SW, Washington, D.C. Subsequent

meetings will be held at locations to be

announced.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Teresa Doggett, Office of Motor Carrier

Research and Standards, (202) 366–

4001, or the Office of Chief Counsel,

(202) 366–0834, Federal Highway

Administration, 400 Seventh Street,

SW., Washington, D.C. 20590. Office

hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

e.t., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

Authority: [5 U.S.C. 561–570; 5 U.S.C.

App. 2 sections 1–15]

Issued on: February 7, 1997.

George L. Reagle,

Associate Administrator for Motor Carriers.

[FR Doc. 97–3665 Filed 2–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P