Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21141

greater environmental benefits. The

legal implementing mechanism to be

used in this project is described in the

project’s FPA.

On July 27, 2000, EPA announced the

availability of the draft FPA in the

Federal Register (65 FR 46166) and

requested comments. As a result of that

announcement, EPA received one

comment from the National Rural Water

Association. The comment and EPA’s

response to it are available from the

contacts listed in the ADDRESSES section

and on the Project XL website at http:/

/www.epa.gov/ProjectXL/Columbus/

index.htm. No other comments were

received.

The City of Columbus XLC project

will test a potentially more effective

means of addressing health concerns

from lead through the Lead Safe

Columbus Program (LSCP), a program

run by the Columbus Departments of

Health and Trade and Development, and

through closer coordination between the

City, the State of Ohio and US EPA on

drinking water treatment issues.

Through this XLC Project, the US EPA

will suspend the Lead Service Line

sampling and replacement provisions of

the Lead and Copper Rule promulgated

under the Safe Drinking Water Act (see

40 CFR 141.84) for up to three years

beginning if and when the City exceeds

the Lead Action Level, provided this

occurs within six years of making a

drinking water treatment change. In

exchange for this regulatory flexibility,

the Columbus Division of Water has

committed to contributing $300,000 a

year for 15 years to the LSCP. The LSCP

provides free blood testing, public

education, medical intervention for

lead-poisoned children, and grants and

loans for lead abatement to residents of

Columbus in high-risk areas. The LSCP

targets an area consisting of twenty-five

high-risk census tracts within ten zip

codes in older, predominantly lowincome, minority neighborhoods in

Columbus, where 84% of all elevated

blood lead levels in the City were found.

Dated: April 19, 2001.

Elizabeth A. Shaw,

Director, Office of Environmental Policy

Innovation.

[FR Doc. 01–10515 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPP–00701; FRL–6769–4]

Pesticides; Draft Guidance for

Pesticide Registrants on Pesticide

Label Identification for Pesticide

Products Meeting the Requirements of

the National Organic Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: The Agency is announcing

the availability of, and seeking public

comment on, a draft Pesticide

Registration Notice (PR-Notice) entitled

‘‘Pesticide Label Identification for

Pesticide Products Meeting the

Requirements of the National Organic

Program.’’ PR-Notices are issued by the

Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to

inform pesticide registrants and other

interested persons about important

policies, procedures and registration

related decisions, and serve to provide

guidance to pesticide registrants and

OPP personnel. This particular draft PRNotice describes how pesticide

registrants can obtain EPA acceptance of

label language indicating that all

ingredients (active and inert) in a

pesticide product and all uses of that

pesticide meet the criteria defined in the

United States Department of

Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic

Program (NOP) Rule. The information

on the pesticide label will assist organic

growers and those persons certifying

organic production methods in knowing

which pesticide products meet the

requirements of the NOP Rule for use in

organic agriculture. Label language on a

pesticide product is not required,

however, for an organic producer to

utilize a pesticide product which meets

the requirements of the NOP Rule. With

this Notice of Availability, EPA is

providing pesticide registrants and other

interested parties with an opportunity to

review and comment on this draft

guidance.

DATES: Comments, identified by docket

control number OPP–00701, must be

received on or before June 26, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be

submitted by mail, electronically, or in

person. Please follow the detailed

instructions for each method as

provided in Unit I.C. of the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To ensure

proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative

that you identify docket control number

OPP–00701 in the subject line on the

first page of your response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Torla (7511C), Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;

telephone number: (703) 308–8098; fax

number: (703) 308–7026; e-mail address:

torla.robert@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

This action is directed to the public

in general. Although this action may be

of particular interest to those persons

who intend to market pesticide products

to farmers producing organic crops, to

farmers using organic methods, and

home gardeners who wish to use

organic methods. 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 information in this notice,

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

the PR Notice from the Office of

Pesticide Programs’ Home Page at http:/

/www.epa.gov/pesticides/. You can also

go directly to the listings from the EPA

Internet Home Page at http://

www.epa.gov. To access this document,

on the Home Page select ‘‘Laws and

Regulations,’’‘‘ Regulations and

Proposed Rules,’’ 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. Fax-on-demand. You may request a

faxed copy of the draft Pesticide

Registration (PR) Notice entitled

‘‘Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on

Pesticide Label Identification for

Pesticide Products Meeting the

Requirements of the National Organic

Program,’’ by using a faxphone to call

(202) 401–0527 and selecting item 6137.

You may also follow the automated

menu.

3. In person. The Agency has

established an official record for this

action under docket control number

OPP–00701. 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

21142 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

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 Highway,

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–00701 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, 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 Highway,

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–00701. 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

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 identified

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 notice.

7. Make sure to submit your

comments by the deadline in this

notice.

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. Background

A. What Guidance Does this PR Notice

Provide?

PR Notices are issued by the Office of

Pesticide Programs to inform pesticide

registrants and other interested persons

about important policies, procedures

and regulatory decisions. Pesticide

manufacturers and organic farmers have

indicated that it would be useful to have

some indication on pesticide labels to

indicate which pesticide products are

acceptable for organic production and

handling. This PR Notice describes how

registrants can obtain Environmental

Protection Agency acceptance of label

language indicating that all ingredients

(active and inert) in a pesticide product

and all uses of that pesticide meet the

criteria defined in the United States

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)

National Organic Program (NOP) Rule.

The information on the pesticide label

will assist organic growers and those

persons certifying organic production

methods in knowing which pesticide

products meet the requirements of the

NOP Rule for use in organic agriculture.

Label Language on a pesticide product

stating that the pesticide product meets

the NOP Rule criteria is not required for

an organic producer to utilize a

pesticide product which meets the

requirements of the NOP.

B. What Questions/Issues Should You

Consider?

1. Does this PR Notice provide

adequate information for a registrant

considering adding label information to

a pesticide product indicating it is

acceptable for use in organic

agriculture?

2. While we believe delisting will be

rare and almost always because of an

action taken by this Agency, does this

notice make the situation on delisting

clear?

C. PR Notices are Guidance Documents

The PR Notice discussed in this

document is intended to provide

guidance to EPA personnel and

decision-makers and to pesticide

registrants. This notice is not binding on

either EPA or pesticide registrants, and

EPA may depart from the guidance

where circumstances warrant and

without prior notice. Likewise, pesticide

registrants may assert that the guidance

is not appropriate generally or not

applicable to a specific pesticide or

situation.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection,

Administrative practice and procedure,

Agricultural commodities, Pesticides

and pests.

Dated: January 19, 2001.

Anne E. Lindsay

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs

[FR Doc 01–10435 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 a.m.]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S