30044 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 105 /Tuesday June 2, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Migratory Bird Hunting; Application for

Approval of Tungsten-Matrix as a

Nontoxic Shot Material for Waterfowl

Hunting

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of application.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) is providing public

notification that the Kent Cartridge

Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (Kent

Cartridge), of Kearneysville, West

Virginia, has applied for approval of

Tungsten-matrix shot as nontoxic for

waterfowl hunting in the United States.

The Service has initiated review of

Tungsten-matrix under the criteria set

out in Tier 1 of the nontoxic shot

approval procedures given at 50 CFR

20.134.

DATES: A comprehensive review of the

Tier 1 information is to be concluded by

August 3, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The Kent Cartridge

application may be reviewed in Room

634 at the Fish and Wildlife Service,

Office of Migratory Bird Management,

4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington,

Virginia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

R. Schmidt, Chief, Office of Migratory

Bird Management, (703) 358–1714, or

Keith A. Morehouse, Wildlife Biologist,

North American Waterfowl and

Wetlands Office, (703) 358–1784.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Service continues to seek to identify

shot for waterfowling that, when spent,

does not pose a significant toxic hazard

to migratory birds and other wildlife

when ingested. Currently, only bismuthtin and steel shot are approved by the

Service for use in waterfowling.

Tungsten-iron shot received temporary

conditional approval for the 1997–98

waterfowl hunting season (published

August 18, 1997; 62 FR 43444). The

Service is currently reviewing

applications for approval for shot types

other than those previously referenced

in this notice, and it is anticipated that

the certification of additional suitable

candidate shot materials as nontoxic is

feasible in the near future.

On March 13, 1998, Kent Cartridge

submitted its application with the

counsel that it contained all of the

specified information for a complete

Tier 1 submittal and requested

unconditional approval pursuant to the

Tier 1 time frame. Kent Cartridge also

advised that it had arranged for Tier 2

level acute toxicity studies to support its

Tier 1 submittal and would soon be

providing those results to the Service.

Approval is sought by Kent Cartridge for

Tungsten-matrix (see composition

below) as nontoxic pursuant to 50 CFR

20.134 (recently amended, see 62 FR

63608; December 1, 1997).

The Service has determined that the

application is complete, and has

initiated a comprehensive review of the

Tier 1 information. After this review,

the Service will either: (1) publish a

Notice of Review to inform the public

that the Tier 1 test results are

inconclusive; or (2) publish a proposed

rule for approval of the candidate shot.

The Notice of Review will indicate

whether other tests will be required

before nontoxic approval of the

Tungsten-matrix shot is again

considered. If the Tier 1 data review

results in a preliminary determination

that the candidate material does not

pose a significant hazard to migratory

birds, other wildlife, and their habitats,

the Service will go forward with a

rulemaking which proposes to approve

the candidate shot.

Kent Cartridge’s candidate shot is

fabricated from what is described in

their application as ‘‘* * * a mixture of

powdered metals in a plastic matrix

whose density is comparable to that of

lead. All component metals are present

as elements, not compounds. Tungstenmatrix pellets have specific gravity of

9.8 g/cm3 and is composed of 88 percent

tungsten, 4 percent nickel, 2 percent

iron, 1 percent copper, and 5 percent

polymers by mass.’’

Part A of the application contains a

statement of proposed use, a chemical

and physical description of the shot

material, a statement of the expected

variability of shot during production, an

estimate of yearly production, and a 5-

pound sample of the fabricated shot.

Part B of the application contains a

discussion of the acute toxicities of the

Tungsten-matrix components to

mammals and to birds, the fate of

ingested shot on captive-reared mallard

ducks, ingestion of the shot by other

vertebrates, and a summary of the

known Tungsten-matrix toxicity

information for vertebrates. Part C of the

application considers the effects of

firing on the shot, the half-life of

components of breakdown products, the

estimated environmental concentration

in soil and water, other environmental

impacts of components of the shot, and

a summarized request for approval.

References are provided to support the

information and conclusions contained

in the application; the list of references

cited is available from the Service upon

request.

Authorship: The primary author of

this Notice of Application is Keith A.

Morehouse, Wildlife Biologist, North

American Waterfowl and Wetlands

Office.

Dated: May 19, 1998.

Daniel M. Ashe,

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 98–14472 Filed 6–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P